Romania, here we come!

After a year's worth of preparation and planning, it was almost surreal to start packing and making final preparations yesterday to serve the Lord in Romania. And--as you can see--packing for the trip was no small effort. It took 10 of us two hours to get everything organized into our 11 suitcases.

Packing and organizing.

I think our packing experience was representative of what's to come on this trip. There will be a lot of hard work and times when things are seemingly in disarray, but in the end God will enable us to accomplish the tasks He has established for us. And when the day is over we'll all be exhausted, but we'll have smiles on our faces (much like the picture below) because of the great privilege we had to be a part of helping to grow God's kingdom.

All packed and ready to go!

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." -- Romans 15:5-6

Summer Mission trips are here!

I find it very hard to believe but June will be upon us in just a couple days! For Another Child Foundation that means mission teams will be making their way to Romania to serve the at-risk children and families. The children love to see the Americans come over to see them. When they realize the distance we travel to specifically see them they are always amazed.

This year the first team traveling to Romania with ACF is the team from Hope Lutheran in Rochester, New York. The team of 11 people will be putting the final touches onto another renovated classroom. Hope donated the funds last year for a complete renovation of 1 classroom and the staff at Point of Hope has been working getting the new windows, electrical, heating, walls, and floors ready for the team to complete. ACF is very excited to have Hope Lutheran on board to help reach, teach, and transform the lives of children. Their contribution will forever change the lives of the 15 new children who will have the ability to learn in a new and loving way.

Please be in prayer for the team's travel and mission outreach. Also, stay tuned into what this team is doing as they will have regular posts on this blog.

June VBS Camp to Camp Harghita

I have to admit that I was a little nervous on my way to the first team meeting, but those feelings were quickly replaced by total excitement as soon as I arrived! I was so happy to meet the others from the Illinois area and can't wait to get to know the others on the team. My mind is whirling and    and I'm eager to get working on the plans. Today I shared with my Sunday School class of first and second graders that I was going and asked them if they would be prayer partners for us. I was thrilled when I started the sentence that "We'd really like for each of those kids to know..." and they finished my sentence with ..."that God loves them!" Their excitement just fueled mine.  I'm looking forward to our next meeting  : )

posted by Karen Goy- 2012 VBS Camp mission trip participant

Jesus and Religion (Part 1)

Blogging my thoughts and feelings on different subjects is different for me. But, I feel it will really enhance my faith as I learn to put into words what God has revealed to me through scripture, friends, acquaintances, and news articles.

Today's subject is what I introduced yesterday. The video of a young man describing what a Millennial Generation person thinks about the larger church in today's culture. The link for that video is at the bottom of this post. To be honest when I first viewed the video I thought most of the things he stated in his poetic way were right on and accurate. After thinking on this for awhile I realize that he does not give the church credit for what it does do well. Being part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) I see many good things the church does. In the ELCA there is a campaign to eliminate malaria. This is a highly preventable disease that needs to be eradicated from the planet. Without the assistance of the ELCA and the larger church, malaria might continue to take the lives of many children throughout the world. The Youth of the ELCA are also doing their part! During the summer of 2012 thirty-five thousand youth will be joining hands in the city of New Orleans to lend a hand to the city and get the "Big Easy" back onto its feet. During that time the Youth will be collecting $250,000 to help drill 100 wells in sub-Saharan Africa. Without the vision of the larger church projects like this might not ever get done and even more importantly the Gospel might not reach the people members of the ELCA will come into contact with during these campaigns. These are just 2 examples of what one denomination is doing to help reach the world the the grace of God.

But, what I think the young man was mostly frustrated about was the emptiness of many so-called Christians. Those who are quick to judge, quick to act harshly, and intolerant of behaviors of people different than them. So, today as I continue to read through the book of Romans, I found myself starting chapter 10 which is titled "Israel reduced to Religion" in The Message translation. It talked a lot about how the Jews during Jesus' time thought of themselves above the rest because of the correct type of Religion they had in their lives compared to those of lesser intellect. The Bible says that the Jews pious attitudes were keeping them from living a life of grace. Their religion kept them from being the hands and feet of our Lord because all they could think about was protecting their own religious philosophy's. So, are today's Christian's doing the same? Are we being blinded by our religion? I encourage anyone reading this to give me some feedback on this. Feel free to comment below.

My next posting will dig deeper into the accusations of this young man and the perceptions of the Millennial Generation has for the larger church our religion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY&feature=share

Jesus and Religion

I saw a very interesting video on YouTube and Facebook that talked about the difference of religion and what Jesus had in mind when he came to Earth for 30+ years. Over the next week I will be posting some comments on this intriguing video and the thoughts of the Millennial generation.

Why I Love Jesus and Hate Religion

Team members thoughts!

Over the next couple of month's I will be posting some thoughts and feelings of different team members going to Romania for the first time this summer.Below is the first of those posts. This one was from Jennifer Adams from Jacksonville, Illinois.


The first team meeting heightened my excitment and really got my head spinning, I cannot wait to collaborate with everyone on different ideas! It was great to meet the Illinois team and I look forward to meeting everyone else and I am already dreading July 1st! ~Happy Easter~

Mission Team meetings

Today the mission team headed for Romania (the team members from Illinois) on June 21 had their first team meeting. At the meeting we had Karen Goy, Deb Dalton, and Jenn Adams. We covered some of the history of ACF and the connection to Romania as well as what the team will be doing during the 11 days. The team will consist of 5 people from Illinois, 4 from Texas, and 1 from Louisiana. The team will also be joined by ACF's 2-summer interns.


The theme for this year's VBS will be "IMAGINE". Using the popular song by Mercy Me, "I Can Only Imagine" the team will show the children how God wants us to imagine the depth of His love, the magnitude of His grace, and that His arms are always open to us no matter who we are and/or what we have done.


It is going to be an awesome experience for the team as we start getting into the details of how the trip will unfold. But, it will also be a pleasure to see God work outside of the plans we have made as the Holy Spirit will work through and in is as we serve the orphans in Romania. Please keep this team in your prayers as they continue to prepare to be His hands and feet.

Summer Interns?

Just wanted to get something out there regarding the opportunities Another Child gives to college aged students. ACF offers special summer intern opportunities to people aged 18-24 during June and July. The times in which a student can travel to Romania with ACF are very flexible. This year we have 2 interns ready to go. Taylor Jenkins and Jessica Huettel. These 2 will be fully involved in leadership roles while serving the orphans and at-risk children ACF serves. So, if you are interested or know of someone who might be interested ACF still has room for 2 more summer interns. Please contact us at 815.303.1725 or go to our website at www.anotherchild.org for more details.

The ACF Blog is BACK!!!

Hey everyone...it is getting close to the time of year where Mission trip plans are being finalized and the teams are really starting to get prepared. With this being said the ACF BLOG is back! I will be making regular (weekly) posts over the next few months up until our mission teams start making posts themselves.

The 1 item I wanted to start with is the idea of understanding how and why God works in our lives. God does some amazing works through the Holy Spirit. He speaks loudly and clearly to us through the work of the Spirit. At times our hearts burn for justice for those who do not have a voice, at times we respond to this burn with compassion and at times we just might ignore it because it might not fit into OUR plans for that day, week, or time. The longer we ignore the heartache God puts into us the dimmer our influence on everyone we come into contact with becomes.

The second and more easily answered question is that of WHY. Why does God want us to be good stewards of our time, talents, and treasures? I think Micah 6:8 tells it best when we read...

No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

If we are not the hands and feet of Christ going into the world looking for thones who need our help who is? The human traffickers? The people looking to trap the orphan into something they can never escape because of their lack of support system?

Please take this calling on your life seriously! EVERYONE is called to do something for someone. For who are you the voice of?

See you next week!

Abbey's 40 day internship is complete!

It is so hard for me to believe that I am on my last flight back into the United States as I write this! Although my 40 day Romanian internship with Another Child Foundation has officially come to an end, the memories from this summer will stay with me for the rest of my life. Coming to work with the kids of Romania has always been one of the biggest joys my life.  As a busy college student with an overbooked calendar during the school year, it is always such a blessing to leave it all behind for a little while and focus on things of lasting, eternal value. A lot of people ask what keeps me keeping coming back to Romania every summer and my answer is always the same: the relationships that are quickly formed with the different kiddos each and every summer. They all just want to be loved so desperately and as soon as they realize that you are there to love on them and serve, they latch on and hold tight! They are so thankful that someone is actually spending time with them and the huge smile that spreads across their face says it all : )

What an amazing experience this summer 2011 internship has been. M’Kayla and I have had the opportunity to work with such a wide variety of kids. We were able to work with the morning and afternoon program children at the Child Developmental Center, the Tarnaveni group home kids, the girls from the Buckner group home, and also the kids from the Zau orphanage. We have been able to minister to kids as young as three and four years old and even up to the age of eighteen—such awesome opportunity! Whenever we first arrived to Romania, we worked with the kids from the CDC who were enrolled in the kindergarten and after school programs. Next, we helped out the first mission team from Chicago with their camp for the kids from Zau orphanage and the Buckner group home. We were able to host a week long camp up in the beautiful Carpathean Mountains and provide the kids with clothes, hygiene products, medicine, and Bibles. It all went beautifully and we had incredible opportunity to talk to the kids about Christ. The next week we were back in Tarnaveni to host a vacation bible school for over 100 gypsy children. Although it was crazy and packed inside that small gypsy church, everyone had an awesome week filled with Bible Study, worship, scripture, activities, and goodies! For the remaining part of my internship, M’Kayla and I worked with the mission team from Lafayette and Houston. We brought the kids out of Tarnaveni every day to do different activities they could never do other wise. We were even able to help with the construction on the third floor burning and scraping off the old lead paint—it’s much harder than it looks, trust me!


I am constantly humbled by how powerful one hug or one loving word is to these children. It never ceases to remind me of how great and powerful the unwavering love of our heavenly Father truly is. “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” James 1:27

Thank you to Another Child Foundation for giving me this incredible summer. Dacian, Gabi, Liviu, and Tim all did such a wonderful job to make sure that M'Kayla and I were taken care of. 


Please keep M’Kayla in your prayers as she moves to Tigamorish for the last two weeks of her internship!

Monday, July 11th, 2011

The second mission team to Romania from Lafayette and Houston accomplished much during their time in Romania. The team split up into three groups upon their arrival in order to accomplish everything.

Group Number One:

One group of dedicated men from Lafayette stayed in Tarnaveni everyday and renovated three rooms on the third floor of the Child Developmental Center. Currently, only the second floor of the building is in use. It has been completely remodeled for the use of the kindergarten and after school programs that the CDC offers to the kids of the surrounding neighborhoods. The men’s hard work every day from early in the morning until late every night paid off and the end result is not only functional but also beautiful because of the artwork by Mrs. Lisa Jenkins! She and her daughters were able to paint a large mural of Noah’s ark on the third floor so that it is the first thing that can be seen as you enter the third floor. Because there will now be three additional rooms available, they will be able to take more kids into the program.

Group Number Two:

One group spent a few days in Tigamorish and remodeled the Buckner Transitional Home. The transitional home is a place where three older girls from the orphanage live as they are paired with a mentor who helps to teach them basic skills they need to survive once they leave the orphanage. The program is designed to help the girls durinf the “transitional phase” of their life as they leave the orphange for the first time and they are forced to survive on their own. They learn tasks such as washing dishes, taking care of an apartment, keeping up with school, balancing a checkbook, and looking for a job. While the apartment building was in good condition, it was in need of some serious sprucing up and Mrs. Judy was the perfect person to make it happen The team was able to remodel the two bathrooms of the apartment, put a fresh coat of paint on all the walls of the kitchen and bedrooms, recover the chairs, and make the place much more enjoyable for the young woman as they try to figure out life on their own!

Group Number Three:

 The third and final group of the team worked with the kids from the CDC everyday. The team was able to bring the kids out of Tarnaveni and into Tigamorish daily to do different activities that most of them would never have the opportunity to do otherwise! Most of the kids had never left the city and never experienced a bus ride so needless to say, the week was full of new experiences for everyone!

The kids as they toured of the TM fire station and then on our picnic in the countryside. 

The kids during “movie and McDonalds” where everyone got to watch “Tangled” and  enjoy happy meals. It was such a huge treat for them and everyone wanted to save their boxes and toys!

The kids as they enjoyed pony rides and visited a petting zoo at a local Tigamorish Ranch. They had the biggest smiles as they each hopped on their pony!

The kids as they toured the TM zoo and played on the jungle gym.

Monday, July 4th, 2011

Happy Fourth of July America!

My oh my, how wonderful it is to have a bunch of Cajuns running around Romania together. 

The team is currently split up working on several different projects throughout the cities of Tarnaveni and Tigue Mures. One group is currently in Tigue Mures "sprucing up" and painting the Buckner Transitional Home, one group is renovating the third floor of the CDC in Tarnaveni, and one group is traveling between the two cities daily with the CDC program kids.

Please keep the whole team in your prayers as everyone is traveling and staying busy with construction and working with the kids. More details and pictures to follow soon :)


Here are some pictures of the third floor renovations that are underway!