Just an ordinary Tuesday-where everyone needs to be seen.

The boys from Fagaras and Medias have quickly assimilated into the camp routine. There are all types of kids here this week. Here are just a few experiences I had today with some of them.

Marian is an older teen who is at the camp for the first time and likes to practice his English at meals..bread, plate, cup, knife, tea and so on. He is shy and sweet and would melt into the background if we let him, but no one on the team will. We see him.

Bogdan is the cutest boy on the face of the planet (of course my boys excluded) and he has a smile that crosses his 9 year old face from ear to ear. He likes to hold hands and say things like “I don’t like the food I don’t want to eat it (after he has finished it)” and I reply, “really?” and he says “Ba-Da”, which means...oh yes I do want to eat it, see it’s already gone. We play this game and many others with words in Romanian and our bond grows. So it is with Heather, Kris, Tracy and the others who he surrounds himself with. We see him.

“Cassette” is a 18 or 19 year old who knows more about components, blue tooth and binary code than some of the engineers I work with. He brought an ENTIRE DVD system with speakers to camp in his duffel bag, including a remote. He is brillant and trapped behind a lack of social skills and other disabilities. He taught me everything I now know about how components talk to eachother...amazing. I see him.

Gezha is a very dramatic boy. The first day he had me singing the theme from Titanic on the wall by the river because it is so dramatic. He likes to act out scenes from movies and lives in that fantasy land. I see him. Not his character, but who he really is. A boy who wants more. A boy who feels things deeply and loves to draw and create, but lives in a world where that is not practical. This week, he is allowed to show his emotions, in song, on paper and be seen for who he WANTS to be someday. He told me....I just need to find my talent. My hope is that he realizes God gave him that talent and no one can take that away from him.

Elvis is the ring leader. His past behavior at camp almost kept him from coming and to be honest when he arrived there were a few groans. This means a different dynamic in the camp. He likes to test, challenge and control the kids and the leaders. But...he also just needs to be seen. He also needs to SEE. To see he could be a leader without threatening the kids. To see he can get positive attention from others who see HIM if he would show respect. When he does, so do we. When he doesn’t, he is disciplined. He is 20 years old and I wonder if this is the week that he will learn something he needs to make it on his own. We see him.

Toma likes to play with our hair...we call him Coafor (hair stylist). Cozmin has made 5 or 6 friendship bracelets, Traian wants to play with a minge (ball) constantly and so on and so on. Cristan is the “doctor” and gives a great massage and is very intelligent behind a demeanor that would leave you asking if he had special needs. Of course he does. They all do. And so do all of us.

We each need to be seen. To know we are existing on this earth, in this life. We are all part of the flock. God sees each of us and as we are his eyes this week to these boys, they are being gazed upon by God, who created them, sees them and loves them.

Peace-

Jenn

The Waiting...

Today was a day of waiting. We woke up around 8:30 am and had breakfast. We each ate whatever we wanted. It was a good restful weekend so we were all rested this morning.
I was waiting to see the boys from Medias and Fagaras for less then a year and today we waited a few hours longer then expected. We sat on the wall waiting and waiting. We sat in the sun getting a tan and waited. We were hungry, but waited. After 1pm they came, but we still had to do the orientation, cabin set up and lunch set up. We didn’t eat till almost 2pm.
It was so wonderful to see many familiar faces and to get to know new ones. We had about 30 children come to camp which is a smaller number then usual. We had lunch and the kids became familiar with the camp and where they will be sleeping.
Talking to some of the kids I heard some sad stories about some of the kids who did not come this year. Some of them moved to a different placement center, some went to work in Sibiu, and others went home. But one story in particular made me really sad and that was hearing that Andrei (who was deaf and mute) passed away due to some medical difficulty.
This is the second kid who I heard passed away and it’s even more sad to know that they weren’t given the right care. Maybe it was due to the fact that they were from a placement center, or the fact that they were of gypsy ethnicity or because the doctors they were taken to didn’t know what they were doing. Whatever the reason, these kids deserve to be loved and taken care of just like anyone else.
The first day went well. The kids really enjoyed getting to know a new team. So far they are well behaved.
Please pray this week for good health, rest, and blessings on these kids.
Jilda