I'm telling you...June 15th was a long day...and filled with amazing things...

I'm sure after reading my last post you are wondering...why did she decide to name her blog Zambeste? (as you may recall Zambeste means "smile" in Romanian.)  Smile may initially seem like a horrible title for a blog about the perils children face in Moldova.   I realize that the topic is very heavy....and that there are many heartbreaking moments...but these kids have been offered something amazing....HOPE.  If you could see the beautiful smiles on their faces DESPITE the horrible circumstances of their past...you would know why I chose SMILE.  If you saw the smile that these children put on my face....you would know why I chose smile...if you saw the joy through the pain...you would know...Zambeste just fits.    Their smiles come from their hope...Hope in Him.  All because Philip Cameron saw a need...and didn't just say "Something must be done!"  He DID something!  (And is still doing something...and he needs our help...so CHECK OUT THEIR PAGES Philip Cameron Ministries and Stella's House!!!!!)  There is still sooooo much that needs to be done in Moldova.  We haven't even scratched the surface!

But I digress...I am FINALLY going to wrap up June 15th for you...I know that you are all sad to see it go...because 6 out of 8 posts are about that day. 

After the girls shared their "Human Video" and their stories, we all felt numb.  How do you go on with life like everything is OK after you hear stories like that?  We sat still for a while...and processed....and prayed.   All the while, the girls were hugging each other and caring for each other like family.  Then, they all began smiling again.  I don't know how...well...that's not true...I do know how...with Gods help...they can smile...with Gods help...they are never too broken.  These girls just blow me away.  They are amazing....just stinking amazing.  You should see if their tour is coming to your local church...you NEED to see how God can heal ALL wounds...wounds that we cant even imagine. 
After hugging the girls and seeing their smiles again...we sat down to a delicious first meal in Moldova.  It consisted of Bread (we had yummy bread EVERY SINGLE meal), fried pork loin, potatoes, and a lovely Moldovan Summer Salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and oil).  It was DELISH!
After dinner, we sat around and played PHASE 10 Dice with the girls.  This was a very quick and easy way for us to learn our basic numbers in Romanian.  They love this game.  (We actually played it EVERY SINGLE time we were at Stella's House...its super fun...my team mate Heather has already purchased one for her home).  About 8 of us sat around and played until the sun began to go down (finally-it stays bright there until at least 9 o clock).  Mia, our lovely and wonderful host, told us that it was time to go.  We didn't want to leave the girls...but we knew we would be back to see them...and we knew that leaving them meant that we would be spending time at the orphanage...so we left...but it was a little bittersweet...even though it wasn't farewell...We piled into the Chevrolet mini van (whose nick name I will not share with you because I have been sworn to secrecy).    Look how tired we all look...this is like hour 36 of being awake for us....here we all are in the back of the van on that first night....we were becoming what I like to call LEDIRIOUS  (its that point where you are soo sleepy you are beyond Delirious...and you couldn't even say Delirious right because you are so sleepy...do you know what I mean...just ask my friend Courtney.)