Romanian Reflections 4 ~ What impacted you most and how did God use this trip in your life?

Lori:
·       The whole process from start to finish
·       The gypsy village
·       Friendships made on the team and in Romania
·       Watching God use my own children share their experience growing up with God as their Father to the fatherless
·       God’s amazing grace!
Christie:  I think the children’s joy impacted me the most.  The kids are all orphans living in a horrible environment with nothing.  It was very impacting to see how grateful they were for three meals a day when I take that for granted.  They never complained and would be sooooo happy with one small toy to call their own.  It was sweet to see the little kids hide everything they had under their pillow at night.  One child even hid his animal crackers.  This showed me how grateful they were to get something they could call their own. The one thing God tried to teach me on this trip was not to be so selfish, impatient, and ungrateful.  I have so much to be thankful for.  God has allowed me to live in America; therefore, I must not take this blessing for granted. 
Isaac:  The most impacting part of the trip was how grateful and happy the kids were.  Most of them don’t have good living conditions or even a family, yet when they arrived at the camp every child had a smile on their face.  Throughout the week joy and laughter spread throughout as God worked in the lives of the campers as well as on the American and Romanian teams!   The trip gave me a new perspective on life.  We hear about poverty where we live in our comfortable 21st century homes; however, until you actually go into the poorest lands it is difficult to understand their hardships.  The kids in Romania were so happy and full of life when they had nothing.  This taught me to be grateful for everything that God has blessed us with!
Evan:  I am so thankful that God gave my family the chance to go on this trip because it gave us an opportunity to love on children who have no families. This was my fourth mission trip and my second foreign mission trip. Out of all of these mission experiences, this trip was truly my favorite trip.  Foreign mission trips really give you a different perspective on life.  Going to a different country, culture, language, etc. was really cool. God really used me in a way that I didn’t think He could. God taught me how to love those who aren’t loved, do things I don’t usually do, and just obey Him. The orphans at the camp we worked at were such a joy to be around. When they saw that someone loved and cared about them, they were so excited!  We had the opportunity to share what God has done in our lives and give them hope and direction in life. 
Amy:  I believe that international mission trips are impacting in many ways.  Going to Romania really opened my heart for missions.  I know that I am the LORD’s servant, and am called to obey His command to go into all nations with the gospel.
Micah:  Many things impacted me on the trip to Romania.  One that stands out would be hearing the children pray in Romanian.  Another would be the worship where I tried to sing in Romanian and understand it.  Having a friend my age to hang out with was also cool.  I enjoyed being with someone who could understand my language, but also understood the culture of the land since was his home.  All of those things are what made this trip fun and memorable.   God taught me that you don’t have to have a large group to impact the life of another.  Also, even though you don’t speak the same the language, you can still talk to them and pray for them.  God has used this experience in many ways in my life.  International mission trips are a great encouragement to all.