Saturday - Our last day at the orphanage. Lots of sharing, playing and heartfelt goodbyes.

Keith and Goos working on their piggyback skills.  Next they'll be off and running with each other through the meadow of flowers!

Look Mom I've lost some weight and Goos can carry me like a baby.

Mmmm, cheese and chip sandwiches!

 

Yes, with hair loss like that it's a good thing Keith keeps a hat on most the time.

Showing off the pedicures and manicures.  What lovely nails.

Smile for the camera Joe =)

Jack and the Twins.  They just had to prove that Jack has gained lots of weight while Keith has lost weight, see it takes 2 boys to lift him.

Group Photo - can you name them all?

Please forgive me Pastor Dennis.  Dennis thinks to himself, "Costel has a lot of repenting to do".  In Reality Costel is presenting a cross that was made for the Clarksburg Community Church.  On the cross an inscription reads, "Har Bogat" Rich Grace. The white image represents the shadow of Christ, no longer on the cross.

Happy Birthday Jim Sorrels.  Note: the crossed arms and Jim's Body Language!! He blew and blew and blew the house down. Yep, one more year older.....

"New Team Members" arrive!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday morning, 5:30:
Dennis, Ken, Joe, and Kathi are on the way home - safe travels. Keith and Jack will follow later.

Friday - Organized activities can be difficult with these very active children but they really began to understand and form teams as we taught them how to play volleyball.

The urge to play soccer takes over during a volleyball game.

Ken prepares his magic act.

rope trick - the kids are rarely this still and focused.

Joe before ...

Joe after.

A new apprentice.

Thursday - Escaped the city for a trip to the mountains and the village of Sinaia by way of a glass factory. This area is known for its beautiful glass work. Actually saw glassware being blown by hand. Amazing variety of styles including leaded glass and hand painted works. Got lots of stuff to bring home.

Hunting for treasures at the glass factory.

Watching glass being blown.

"King Carol" in front of his castle. Seriously, this is the summer castle of King Carol and Queen Elizabeth - the first monarchs of the united Romanian states.

Guys of the team with Jim Sorrels.

"One for all and all for one" - "Stylish" shoe coverings must be worn in the castle. This is the only picture we were able to take inside the castle.

Romania Orthodox Monastery in Sinaia.

Jim Sorrels and Kathi Gomes admiring the fresco renovations.

Wednesday - went to an orphanage that has younger kids, mostly 3-7yrs. old. This was the 1st time H2H has brought a team here. The new director is really embracing the H2H ministries. 

Breakfast line

Happy faces and hands covered in sidewalk chalk.

Intern Kysten Kruse plays with one of the orphans.

Jack makes chalk silhouettes of the kids.

Colonel Sanders hopes for a new franchise in Romania - (some faces got chalked too).

Tuesday - we drove more than two hours to the village where the boy's transition home is. Stopped at Alexandria on the way where to of the girls had two go to get their Bulletins, (ID documents).

Joe and Kathi Gomes with the Alexandria Orphanage/School in background.

What can we say....

Kathi and Dennis in the kitchen of the boy's transition home.

"Classroom" in the boy's transition home.

Again words just seem to fail me...

Village farmer with homemade hay rake.

Collectively owned harvester left from the communist era - yes it still runs!

Gypsy "palace" - the whole "gypsy section" of this village has houses like this - some of them run various crime rackets (auto theft etc.) and then show off their wealth with these very poorly constructed homes.

The other side of gypsy life.

Two of the recent graduates from the girl's transition home with their Bulletins. These documents are very hard for orphans to obtain - lots of red tape - but are needed for many aspects of life in Romanian society, getting a steady job being the most important. When they got them the girls said, "Now I exist!"

As a team representing the Clarksburg Community, we helped finance needed items for the girls' new apartment. Including bedding, kitchen items, food, etc. Their faces reflected their great appriciation.