Romanian Summary ~ The Importance of Team Building

Monday, July 12th, 2011

Rise and Shine  Ready or not, here we come!

I woke up around 5:45 a.m. to a very loud bird singing and sunshine already reminding me of my girl scout camping days.

Getting ready was not much fun, and for me it seemed to no avail. The weather was super damp causing my hair to perform in out-of-control ways I usually had managed to keep out of sight from the rest of the world, ugh! Oh well, there wasn’t much that could be done about it here. What did it matter any way, we were active all day long. A pony tail, head band, or better yet a large hat, will be a must for the next mission endeavor (oh my, did I just say next?!)

Blood began to circulate as we joined together for morning calisthenics. Yes, you read that right! Many are very familiar with a simple morning jog or jumping jacks; however, not this pre-school missionary! After straightening the hair at my home, the morning routine consists of brewing a hot cup of tea and then heading to a place of solitude for some quiet time. Exercise is something I gave up for God . . . truly! Therefore, you can only imagine the fun we had when they announced that it was time for aerobics and a run around the camp!

After breakfast we spent the entire morning "team building."  Of course this didn’t excite me at all either; however it proved to be more fun than anticipated.  The activities were physically hard as we climbed rocks, scaled walls, and crawled through ropes and tires.  Many not only bonded with the team, but bruised with the team (literally). 
I was beginning to feel home sick ~ very, very home sick! 

No, I didn’t really want to go home,
but this was as hard as anticipated

and so far out of my comfort zone.

Lunch followed consisting of lots of onions and cabbage, foods I tried to avoid back in America. The afternoon was spent setting up the carnival to welcome the orphans upon their arrival.  Excitement soared when we heard the honking of the bus filled with the orphans pulling into camp . . . a big moment for all!

There weren’t as many orphans as I expected, and they were much older.  This was an emotional moment bringing flashbacks to my own childhood times of helping my mom at the Florida Children’s Home. I was going to actually interact once again with real, live orphans.

The kids enjoyed the carnival. I manned the bean bag toss, Christie served at the marshmallow bobbing, Amy, Isaac and Micah painted faces, and Evan enjoyed being a clown (this time not for his class).  The kids liked the prizes and had lots of fun.

Before dinner, physically I felt myself running out of steam…not a good sign since the day was only ¾ of the way over.  We had dinner with everyone all crammed into a very small room.  Afterwards we experienced chapel, but this time it was in the Romanian language.  By 9:30 p.m. I felt I just couldn’t go one minute longer.  Fortunately, our leader gave me a release to miss the evening game time, but warned me that this would be the only time I could have this "early bedtime pass."  What a decision to make now!

"Will I wish I had held onto that pass for another day later in the week?"

"Should I call it a day, a very full day I might add, or push myself to finish this daily race?"

I took the risk and opted to head back to the cabin.  After a shower in the quiet room, I crawled into bed. This was a good decision after all until . . . I couldn’t fall asleep!  I was still awake when the team came together for the team meeting.  Joining in spirit rather than body, silently I enjoyed hearing the highlights of their day.  Soon afterwards I drifted off to sleep only to wake again early the next morning.

Entries to follow:Camp theme and Bible study
Why is an international mission trip a positive thing?
What were the sweet spots for you on this trip?
What were the hard things?
What impacted us the most while in Romania?
How God has used this in our lives and what we have learned from this experience?