Romania 09

What an amazing trip we had. The team was a great group of talented women (and a couple of their husbands). As most of you know we went to host/run the first ever Women's Retreat for a group of women from around the country. 15 of them were pastor's wives and the rest were layleaders in their local churches. Most were from very poor means but had rich hearts and stories. One thing I noticed about them was that they were very open and honest about their emotion. I know their lives are very difficult but it seemed like they didn't wear the masks with each other like we do in the states. They openly shared their pain and imperfections in front of each other which only increased the intimacy and healing from the weekend. Before I left my room mate gave me a small, new Bible and told me to give it away to someone. I began praying that I would deeply connect with one person and know who to give it to. Early in the week our team spent a day visiting orphanages in Timasuara. We saw one place that was from the state that had 73 orphans (mostly handicapped) but hte love there was very healthy. We then went to another place taht was run by believers. It was all teenage boys and was run by a guy named Lorenzo who grew up as an orphan and now has a passion to see young men of God raised up from within. I was so touched and instantly went into youth ministry mode. Relating to these teens felt so natural for me and i just wanted to stay longer. Well, later that weekend we headed up to the mountains of Moneasa to start the retreat. None of really knew what to expect but began working with the conditions we had...setting up and preparing our workshops and worship. The first night was freezing...as I curled up wiht 4 blankets and tried to cover my head I smiled and thanked God for bringing me to this place to serve him. Throughout my next couple days I was drawn to a small group of young gals, one of which spoke perfect English and the others just wanted to interact with me. Saturday afternoon we had a block of free time and i went on a hike with this group. There was one girl I could tell was super special. Her name was Gabriella. We couldn't speak much together but we still tried and her and I ended up runnign through the forest together and taking cute pictures at pretty spots. As we walked back to the retreat I asked her friend to explain to me her family environment. Luci began telling me how Gabriella was 22 but had been raised in an orphanage since she was a baby. She was led to Christ by some American missionaries who came to help the orphanage every summer. I was so touched by Gabriella's story and also by our playful connection together. That evening Kristin Beasley talked about our worth as daughters of Christ and told the story of the 10 cow bride (I'll have to tell it to you later). But that night I was feeling so sick with a stomach ache, headache and I swear a fever....I told the Lord he had to do his work b/c I couldn't. As Kristin called me up I was very emotional as i began by asking how many women felt that special to God? There were tears in the eyes of almost every woman as i told my story of abuse, and a marred sense of beauty. I told them my name meant "Princess" and that God had showed me it was true for each of them as well. I really sensed the Spirit's power as woman after woman approached me afterward and told me that my story was their story. Gabriella was one of those woman and she came up by herself and said to me, "Me and you have same Father". She knew that i could relate to her sense of abandonment and pain. The last day I wrote her a card and gave her the little Bible....we both cried as we said good bye but I knew God had used both of us in each others lives.