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!

Saturday, July 2nd, 2011

We had such a fantastic week of Vacation Bible School for the Tarnaveni gypsy kiddos!


During the week we were able to minister to over 100 kids as young as five years old and even up to the age of fifteen. They had a wonderful time learning about David and Goliath, Queen Esther, Jonah and the whale, Daniel and the Lions Den, and about the death and resurrection of Jesus. We focused on how important it is to trust in God to protect us and provide for us, how vital our obedience to Christ really is, and also how the kids can choose to accept the free gift of eternal life that has been given to them!


The kids were able to make rainbow tissue paper butterflies, beaded dream catchers complete with feathers, and even enjoy some good ol' face painting. Although the weather outside was pretty nasty all week, we were able to keep high spirits inside the Tarnaveni gyspy church building every day. Our wonderful translators led worship every morning and even included several songs that we knew in English such as  "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and "My God is so Powerful." The kids loved getting involved with all of the hand motions and they participated beautifully! 

We all got the feeling that the Bible stories were making sense and that the themes were really "sinking in" because of the responses we would get on the following day. The kids really understood WHY it was that Daniel wasn't harmed in the lions den and WHY Christ had to die on the cross. It was so encouraging to see that they were learning!

It was awesome to have the chance to work with these precious kids that we have been forming relationships with for several years now. I lovedlovedloved getting to see my precious Vali who is now 11 years old (so hard to believe because of his thin frame!)It was so great to see how he's growing and maturing and to have more time to just love on him. Here's a picture of my little guy-->