And so it begins...

Here are more of my jounal entries from the Moldova trip. Most of what I wrote was not dated. It's mostly stream of consciousness.

12/13/04

A heart that hurts is a heart that feels, lives and eventually has the capacity to heal others. Let your heart be moved. Be there.
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"We're all orphans. God sees us in our need and adopts us."
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Went to two ophanages today. We sized a lot of kids and were able to distribute some shoes. Little kids recited poems and Christmas rhymes. Beautiful kids. the orphanage directors have been gracious thus far. I'm trying to speak some Romanian, though I'm truly horrible at it. I'll keep trying. The vocabulary will come.

The container from china is MIA. As a result, we've done way more sizing than fitting. It's really hard to tell a child in need that they will have to wait a little longer for a pair of shoes.

Durel went to the port in Ukraine to try and locate the container. After a day and a half of a lot of leg work, phone calls and prayer, we've been told that it has been located. Awesome! Now a few people will form a team to backtrack and distribute shoes to the children who did not receive them on our first few stops in the south.
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As a side note, the translators that I've been working with are among some of the best that I have ever had the opportunity to serve beside.
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The container arrived in Chisinau today. We spent the morning confirming inventory and clearing everything with a customs agent. Afterwards we hit the road. We had a lot of ground to cover and now with all the shoes and socks, we wouldn't have to make anyone wait.
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The last orphanage was an eye-opener. The director was anything but accommodating. she refused to cooperate with us and made everything more difficult than it should have been. Several of the kids were bruised up... the workers did a lot of pushing and shoving.

The conditions were less than conducive to raising healthy people. It was a Darwinian environment that fostered the lower elements of the human condition...

Ryan pointed out one little girl with a black eye. She seemed a bit jumpy and timid. "Take your time with this one," he said. The young girl sat down in front of Jackie to be fitted. Jackie was in no hurry and made it a point to smile, talk and hug on the girl. As she did, the little girl lit up. There was a light in her eye that seemed conspicuous in this dark place. That was the highlight of my whole day.
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I can't help but feel like more needs to be done. Though we acted with the best of intensions, I wonder if we have in some way enabled a corrupt system... I fear that there is a strong possibility that many of the shoes given here may have been taken away to sell for cigarette money.

My biggest consolation for today is that we were able to smile with and touch some kids that really needed just that. Presence does make a difference. I also believe in a reckoning with those who perpetuate evil and injustice. I want to believe that God has a special interest in widows and orphans ...the homeless and the loveless... andwoe to those who fatten themselves on the portions allotted for the least of these.
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Today we traveled North to two different sites. These were much better than our experience from yesterday's second orphanage.

At the first, we set up inside a gym and were able to fit quite a few kids with shoes. Met a young man named Victor. He was a friendly fourteen year old with a pleasant disposition. He was in a group of boys around his age that we met outside while details were being worked out with the director. I want to have hope for him. He struck me as one of those kids that could do a great deal of good if given the chance and the right influences.

While we were doing our formal address and telling, or trying to convey in words how God loves them, I was standing to the side with a few of my team members. One of the kids leaned into the row where he was sitting and started saying something to the other children around him. They scrunched together, some on each other's lap, so they could offer me a seat. I was honored to be able to sit down in the middle of them.
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Headed further north. This was the first place where we saw that the children were decorating for Christmas. The director took us through to introduce us to each grade. They shared carols and Christmas rhymes with us. This director seemed to actually care about the kids. The way he interacted with them and they with him (they weren't flinching) makes me want to believe that such is the case.

There were a few children there that are still in my head. A couple of them I first saw in a special ed class. This one little girl was all bundled up in a hat that made her seem like a character from a Dr. Seuss book. She'd check everything out with her big, beautiful, inquisitive eyes and a wonderful grin. I was so blessed to be able to walk her from one station to the next as she was sized and fitted. I just picked her up and hugged her. ...a beautiful soul.

One of the last girls to receive boots also left an impression. As I led her to the last station, She gestured to Olga (the wonderful lady assisting with the documentation) to wait. She scrambled over to a cubby were she pulled out a piece of knit work she had made. Giving it to Olga, she said, "Multsumesc".

She may have received some new boots, but she gave me the treasure of a beautiful memory.
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"...Reach out to the homeless and loveless in there plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world." -JAMES 1 The Message