Hey everyone,

I hope the summer heat isn't forcing you indoors too often and that you are all able to enjoy some fun summer memories. Here in Romania, we were able to get away from Arad for the fourth year in a row. We took most of our kids and some others to the camp in Marga. It was an amazing time and this year, the program was led by some of our Romanian staff: Doina, our Director of Education, and Roni and Rodi Stepan, house parents at Ana's House. I am so proud to say that they did an awesome job! The program was similar to years past with crafts, games, Bible lessons, and music. It was very flexible and the daily program changed often. Doina asked a couple of the Americans to teach the Bible lessons on a couple days and one day, the teen-agers led the morning in prayer, music, and teaching. The Bible lessons centered on the book of Daniel and also drew from other verses and passages in the Bible. For example, the first day's lesson was on Daniel and his friends who refused to eat the king's food and instead asked for vegetables and water. The lesson was that God blessed them for their faithfulness and their decision to not compromise their faith in a situation of temptation. Our intern, Sarah Boyd, is such a blessing and coordinated games for the little kids everyday. Christine Bowers, our single team member, came with fun crafts and a willing heart to serve and help wherever she was needed. Walter Williams also helped in different areas and used a digital printer that was loaned to us by the Osoinachs (a wonderful missionary family here in Arad) to take pictures of the kids and then print them out for them to keep. I was in charge of coming up with games for the middle children and the teen-agers. I decided to do an adaptation of the Amazing Race (some of you may be familiar with this popular television show). The kids were broken into two teams and had to follow clues that led them around the camp. They had roadblocks and detours, and the whole thing was timed like the real show so that it continued on more than one day. As the game progressed, I worked out the kinks and overall, I think it went very well and was enjoyed by all.

The teams had to prepare and perform skits from the book of Daniel as a part of the game one day.

I also tried to interfere as little as possible, making it like the show. When a team member became frustrated and decided to quit in the middle of the game, his or her team couldn't continue the game until they worked out the problem together as a team. I think they learned that yelling at the person and demanding that they come back and play doesn't really work. I also gave time penalties for not playing by the rules and poor sportsmanship. These penalties were served by the whole team at the end before they could officially "check-in". This usually gave an advantage to the other team. When we weren't doing the daily program, the kids had free time and there was a lot of swimming, hiking up the mountain, soccer, and volleyball like in years past. There were no major issues, injuries (aside from a few cuts and scrapes) or illnesses.

We had a daily point system for good behavior, cleanliness, etc. As a reward, we set-up a store and the kids could buy things with the points they had accumulated.

Our shoppers thoughtfully perusing the store.

So the camp really turned out to be a great success. It was clear that the Lord went before us and we could feel His spirit and the prayers of so many people covering the camp. There have been some other wonderful things happening. Right before the Marga camp, Oana Kis chose to believe in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and was baptized at the Speranta Baptist Church. Many of you know Oana and this was truly a special occassion. Roni has a bunch of pictures and I will try to send you some soon. I have really noticed Jesus working in Oana. Her heart has softened in so many ways. She used to be one who would easily grow angered and struggled to have patience. Lately, she is showing so much maturity and thoughtfulness before she speaks and acts. On a couple days at Marga, she spent hours patiently playing with the little kids. I don't just mean Paula and Lisa from her house, but also Vasi, Simon, Cristina, and Alexandra from the House of Hope. Some of you may realize that this shows a huge change in Oana. After Marga, there was another special occassion here in Romania: Franklin Graham came to Timisoara and there was a three-day conference called the Festival of Hope. This event was well-attended (I'm estimating around 25-35 thousand people every night) and featured music (including a choir of almost 2,000 people from different churches around Romania). Every night, Franklin Graham gave a message and I was so blessed by his preaching style that is so like his father's, very straight-forward but filled with compassion, love, and the promise of hope. For the Romanians, his presence in their country was very special because it reminded many of 1985 when his father came and preached the gospel throughout Communist Romania.

Festivalul Sperantei cu Franklin Graham (The Festival of Hope)

So as you can see, the summer has only just begun here in Romania, but it is very busy. Walter and I just received our visas to stay here for a year. So praise the Lord for that and so many other blessings! I also praise the Lord for all of you, for your continued support and prayers. I have included some pictures from Marga and also a little film we recorded of the kids singing the song we learned at camp about Daniel. I thought it might be fun to see and hear them. Also, it might be fun to show your friends and churches. This message will also be posted on my blogsite but I wanted to include it here with the attachments. Thank you again for helping to make the Marga camp and the continued operation of Global Hope possible! God has richly blessed us through each and every one of you and I hope you know how much we appreciate it!


Teodora and me on the balcony of the camp overlooking the mountains.


Sarah Boyd, Lisa and Sanda

Our soot-covered "gang"


Vasi and Cristina chatting at camp.