Day #5- Construction Begins

Today the team took their first step in the part of the trip that involved the renovation of a classroom in the Point of Hope Development Center in Tarneveni, Romania. But before the team got going hanging the sheet rock on the concrete walls of the center the team had to deliver some humanitarian aid to some children. The team arose at 7:00 am to get off to a good start for the day. After a hearty breakfast the team took a short bus ride to the Rose Marin preschool where the team was delivering 81 bags of goodies prepared the night before by the girls from the Buckner Group home. Each bag included a blanket which were collected in the ACF Project Respond humanitarian aid drives, 2 oranges, 2 bananas, a juice box, and some other candies. The team also had a large box of stuffed animals to distribute to the children. But before we handed out the Christmas bags we did a cute craft project. Using strips of construction paper each child created a Christmas ornament to decorate their classroom. Eventually those ornaments will be taken home for the children to enjoy there. Finally, it was time to play Santa Claus and bring the bags into the classroom. Their eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when they saw the bags and were told that each of them would be receiving one of the beautiful bags of goodies. The bags were then quickly given to the children and the smiles that followed were priceless. The room was a glow with happiness and joy. After the kids were told they could look into their bags the team was on the move to let the kids enjoy their presents with their friends and teachers.

The team had lunch at the local KFC (yes...Kentucky Fried Chicken) where the food was pretty much like what you would get in the States. Even though it was KFC the team enjoyed comparing the differences in fast food establishments. Most of the team then took off for Tarneveni where they would start hanging sheet rock. However, Dacian and I still had to visit a group home where 11 of the children ACF & Buckner has worked with for 6 years now reside. These children formerly lived in the Zau orphanage and have been attending our VBS camps since we started hosting camps in 2007. It was good to see these kids again and give them a nice gift and wish them a Merry Christmas. Each of the kids also received a video of the 2012 summer camp produced by an ACF volunteers Taylor Jenkins and Jessica Huettel. I think they watched that video 5 times in the hour I was with them. They loved reliving the memories of the past summer. Dacian and I then moved on to see the dance team from the Point of Hope Development Center at their first performance. The crowd absolutely loved the performance and 1 little guy named Alex stole the show as he performed with incredible energy and talent. I am hoping to link a video of the dancers in the next day or so.

The rest of the team got off to a great start hanging the sheet rock before the evening set in. When completed the room will be used to help educate the children in the after-school program. Currently, Buckner has 28 kids in one room trying to be tutored and teachers helping with homework. Once the team leaves the classroom will be ready and the teachers will be able to help the kids in a much more efficient manner. Thanks again to Christ United Methodist Church in East Moline, Illinois for the funds and 3 mission trip participants to complete this important part of the ministry. The goal for tomorrow is to complete the drywall and get it taped and mudded while also starting on the suspended ceiling.

I will plan on getting some additional pictures onto the blog tomorrow. Keep the team in your prayers and pray for health and general well-being. Your prayers are helping because as of now we have no big issues. Our long-term missionary and construction leader Dennis Lofton is fighting a bug so if you could pray for his quick return to health that would be appreciated. Thanks for your support!