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