Now...I don't want you to leave my last post feeling like Moldovans are completely void of life, love, and dreams...because that is not true....There are many Moldovans so full of love and hope that they could explode joy all over you:) The girls at Stella's House are a perfect example of Moldovans who are full of life, love and hope...and it all comes from one thing....Knowledge of, Belief in, and a RELATIONSHIP WITH Christ. (That may be the first time in my 20 years as a Christian that I have just laid it out there! Yay God! You still have a work to do in me) That's just it. If we want to change the future for Moldova and her children...we have to change RELATIONSHIPS. The root cause of the the hopelessness...(which causes high rates of alcoholism, high rates of child abandonment, sex trafficking, etc) is that they don't know THE HOPE. (And cue step down from soap box).
Its still my birthday...in fact...I have posted 3 times since I got up at 4:00....I am trying to play it cool folks...I don't want to overwhelm you with all that is going on in my heart and head right now....and I am trying very hard to stick to a schedule of events, when all I really want to do is sit down and tell you all the amazing and heart breaking things that I encountered while in Moldova....but I must stay strong:) I don't know all of the details of what God is doing in this household right now (meaning the casa de Jones). But Brian and I are BOTH changed in a big way...(I will call that my teaser trailer...hopefully that will make you want to keep on reading future blogs!!!!!).
But I digress (thanks again Sophia Patrillo)...By the way...if you don't know who Sophia Patrillo is, you have missed out...she is just one of the zany characters on the classic TV show Golden Girls who often tells flash back stories to Sicily...and then forgets the point to her story....I can sooo relate to her!
I have to admit...I was sooo nervous. I was thinking..."Are they gonna like me? How will we talk with them? What will I say? I don't know how to relate to teenage girls!" Ah yes....the old insecurities come back when you least expect it....and they reared their ugly heads many times on this trip.
Well...I was worried for NOTHING! We walked into a house full of giggling, smiling, loving, funny, amazing teenage girls! They EXUDE joy! True joy! Stella (not the namesake of the house) served as our Moldovan host. She is 18 and speaks at least 4 different languages (Romanian, Russian, English, and French). She is amazing! We hung out with the girls for a little while and then they took us on a tour of their town Ialoveni (pronounced YALLOWVEEN) :) Don't you love my pronunciation guides? I know I do:) Ialoveni is like a suburb of Chisinau. It is surrounded by rolling hills and vineyards. Beautiful. Here are pictures of Stella's Houses 1 and 2 and the Future Stella's Houses 3 and 4. With the completion of Stella's Houses 3 and 4...even more girls can be rescued!!!
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| Stella's House 3 and 4- WORK IN PROGRESS!!! |
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| Stella's House 2-About 18 girls live here |
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| Stella's House 1- Houses about 18 girls |
PCM has done an AMAZING job creating a family atmosphere at the Stella's Houses. We met several precious girls here and they agreed to take us on a tour of the village. Marchika bonded with us immediately and loved on my team members from the get go. Here is my favorite picture from the ENTIRE trip...it melted my heart....
As we were walking through Ialoveni, Marchika reached for Elizabeth's hand to hold. She just met her...and knew that she loved her. She spent the first 15 years of her life without being shown love...and yet she is open to it. God is amazing.
(June 15th is NOT finished...more to come!!! STAYED TUNED!!!!)
Zambeste!
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