I scratched off the silver stuff from the game piece without any expectations of winning.... but luck was on my side. I had a winning ticket in my hand!   And not a mere Big Mac or Medium sized drink.... I won big time.... a 50 Minute Phone Card!

I quickly proceeded to the McDonald's counter and presented my winning ticket, expecting the friendly McDonald's employee to congratulation me and swiftly hand over my phone card.     She took my game piece and dryly stated, "Bulletin please."

I  presented my California Drivers License to claim my prize, but that didn't work, even tried to use my U.S. passport, yet that was not official enough for me to claim my 50 Minute Phone Card.

Bulletin?  What the heck is that? A Bulletin is an ID card, much like our drivers licenses or student ID's.   

At the age of 14, every parent is suppose to go to their local government office, present the child's birth records and register for a Bulletin.

A Bulletin is necessary for everything. It's needed to enroll in school, to receive medical care, or to obtain employment.  A Bulletin is needed before getting married, getting a drivers license, and obviously necessary to claim a prize.

What happens to all the kids in the orphanages?  Many of them do not  know their birth date.  Some don't have a clue as to what county they were born in, and a lot of them don't even know if their parents are still around to testify that they were born and produce a birth certificate.

The Bulletin also gives the bearer legal rights to the address that is connected to it, so even if these kids are able to find a birth parent, often they are unwilling to allow their child to record their address. This process is tedious and frustrating, but necessary for everyone in order to be part of the Romanian society.

After nearly two months of  leg-work, Jenny drove Silvia and Catalina to the remote village of Zimnicea Romania where both of these girls were born.   

The purpose of this visit was to pick up Silvia and Catalina's completed bulletins. (Check out Sanda and Jenny's blogs  for more details about this)

 Tears rolled down our faces as Silvia  held her bulletin out for us to see and proudly said, "Now I exist."

It's such a joy to be able to help Silvia, Catalina, and hundreds of other children that God has entwined in our lives. 

But the bigger joy is the fact that all of these children are known to God. 

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
 you formed me in my mother's womb.
 I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
 Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
 I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
 how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
 Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.

Psalms 139: 4

Bulletin's not required to claim this prize.

Once upon a time in a small country village lived a little girl name Alina.  She was the 2nd born child of a young woman who would bear 4 children before she reached the age of 20. Alina had 3 brothers, the oldest one born with a twisted hip and required much attention and care.  Times were rough throughout the country and with scarcely enough food to feed herself, the young mother was easily influenced to give her 3 younger children to a state operated orphanage, thinking they would at least have a roof over their heads and food to eat.

The three siblings were too little to remember much about their life in the village and they soon adapted to the orphanage.  Alina was a beautiful little girl with olive colored skin, large inquisitive eyes and a smile that could light up a room, yet was often hidden by her shy, quiet demeanor.  Although there were hundreds of children for Alina to play with she had just one or two girls that were her friends.  She learned to observe all of the happenings of the institution and hold the loneliness inside.  Several years passed  and Alina's two younger brothers ran away from the orphanage and eventually made it back to the their mother in the small village.  The mother had little choice other than to keep them, but nothing was eve said about Alina.  It was as if she was erased from the family... from the village.... and from anyone that had ever loved her.

Alina attended school at the orphanage and was motivated to gain all of the knowledge she could.  Her orphanage was better than most, yet it lacked proper sanitation and cleanliness.  Somewhere in her early teens Alina contracted hepatitis, probably through a common vaccination needle.

The children from the various orphanages became acquainted through public celebrations and special events.  During one of these programs, Alina caught the eye of Roby, a young boy from Plosca.  They began a friendship and soon were considered a couple.  As most teens, their relationship was on and off.

H2H had many opportunities to share the gospel with both Roby and Alina during these years and when Roby was required to leave the orphanage, he eagerly sought a place in H2H's Transition Program.  During the intense year, Roby grew from a boy into a young man, learning to accept personal responsibility, acquiring trade skills, and becoming independent and able to live on his own.  He accepted Christ as His Savior and grew in his relationship with Christ.  Upon completion of the Transition program, Roby moved to Bucharest and began working in construction.

Alina was accepted into the Girls Transition program a few years later and began learning the reality of growing up and living on her own.  After Alina finished the Transition program, H2H assisted in finding a job and an apartment for her and the other girls. Roby and Alina dated, yet most of the time, they seemed to be mad at each  other or in small arguments.

As in many "fairy tales" Roby and Alina made a bad decision and allowed their physical desires to steer their hearts.  Roby felt great shame and vowed to stay away from Alina.... but they soon discovered that Alina was pregnant.  Before receiving this news, Roby had decided to permanently break up with Alina and move on... but now he faced a difficult decision.

Tearfully and with much remorse, they sought t advice from H2H and their pastor.  Under God's blanket of grace and love, they received stern, yet loving counsel.  They had 3 options. Abortion, abandonmen, or commitment.   As each option was discussed they knew in their hearts there was really only one choice, yet they both expressed their uncertainties in their love for each other.

When Jim spoke to them he shared how God will honor their commitment to each other and to their baby and will be the source of their love.  Although it wasn't magical, it was amazing.... Roby and Alina began to blossom in their love for each other.  In a whirlwind 4 weeks, H2H helped them complete the legal papers, take the medical tests and plan two weddings; the required Civil ceremony, and a proper Christian wedding.  Their Civil Ceremony took place on April 24 in Rosior de Verde, and was attended by 45 or so of their friends.

Their Christian ceremony was on May 8.  It will go down as a day to remember in H2H's history.   Jim was honored to walk Alina down the aisle and present her to Roby.  Jen and I were honorary "mother of the bride," and the remaining H2H staff were the family of the bride and groom.

Now it's time for this part of the  story to end.... Although I can not say "and they lived happily ever after" yet,  I pray this for Roby and Alina.  "Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ, have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."  so you will live happily ever after...-

The much anticpated time of year.... Spring Break! Students all over the world look forward to a week of vacation, warmer weather, and the celebration of Easter.  Anna and I joined our staff for a fun packed week of activities.  

We invited our Transition Graduates and current kids over on Easter for an afternoon of food and games.... including an Easter Egg Hunt.  Who could imagine the excitement that our grad's enjoyed hunting for the golden egg?  It was so much fun as they hunted and solved clues that produced rewards.  At the end of the hunt they were allowed to trade in their points for treasures from the H2H store.  Hot items were bedsheets, deodrant, journals, pens, and hygiene supplies.

Easter is the most celebrated holiday in Romania, so for children in orphanages, the week of Easter can be long and boring, so we planned a week of field trips, games and special actitivies for the kids.

Each day we brought a van-full of kids to Snagov ( our Girls Transtion House) for music, arts and crafts, cooking, and dance lessons.

This will go into my memory bank as one of the best Spring Breaks ever.   Sharing in simple activities, teaching new dance moves, baking cookies, and creating masterpieces of art reminded me of how special these children are.  Their life stories are scarred and broken, yet through God's love, their hearts can be healed.

We're anxiously looking forward to spring.... well, let me be more precise...   Marinela's spring break is next week and we're looking forward to a break from grammar, algebra and vocabulary practice.  Marinela perhaps more than I, yet  the thought of resting my mind from the rules of grammar, from the order of calculation, and the confusions of "their, theirs, there, and there's" will be mind boggling.  Or not.

Throughout this brushing up on proper English and language skills, I've gained a greater appreciation for our H2H missionaries that have committed to learning Romanian and our Romanian missionaries that have committed to learning English.   H2H's new missionaries spend the first 6 months of their ministry in language lessons under the strict eye of "The Doamna"  They usually attend lessons three times a week for three hours each day.  Their remaining time is consumed by homework and preparing for their next lesson.  Stories have been told of the wrath of The Doamna if homework is incomplete or if she does not sense a total commitment to studying.  A sign of true immersion into language lessons is the day The Doamna makes our missionaries cry!  Sound grueling, doesn't it?

This painful and humbling experience begets the joy of whispering soothing words to a child; of sharing a funny joke, or of listening and sharing encouraging words with a troubled teen.

We tell our teams not to worry about the language barrier as they prepare to minister in Romania.  The H2H missionaries do an amazing job translating for our teams, often listening with one ear to a conversation while translating for another. Multumesc foarte mult! 

Next time you misspell a word, or misuse its instead of it's.... take a minute and thank God for the H2H staff and the words of good news they share with the orphans and abandoned children in Romania. 

Jim and I were invited to the Mission Expo at Bridgeway Church in Roseville CA.  We've had great teams from Bridgeway (and full time missionaries)  and look forward to many more to come.

The entire weekend was aimed to encourage people to "get out of their box and do something."  Bridgeway Church's 3 year goal is to send 25% of their church body on some kind of short term mission trip or service.  That's exciting... especially as we saw the auditorium that seats 1200 people, filled for all three services.  Watch out world!  Bridgeway Church is out of the box!

Richard Rohlfing Casey  Alfords(on accordion) Sharon Issertell

Emily Pettit

Mike & Sharon Issertell