Dear Friends and Family,
Hello from a Chisinau that has bloomed into spring. Here’s a quick update.
Our desire to get to know children and build relationships in the city has taken us to the biggest orphanage/boarding school in Chisinau. We are working with one of the fourth grade classes, helping the kids with homework and playing with them during freetime. Some of us have also begun to help out with the first graders. We play games and give them some pages to color before they begin their homework at 4:30 everyday.
As we are not a registered organization yet in Moldova, we have partnered with one that has a working relationship with boarding schools and orphanages in the country. As a boarding school, some of the children stay during the week and go home on Fridays. Some children go home every night, and then there are those who do not have a home. The week after Easter is vacation for the schools. During this week, we spent our mornings playing games and facilitating short nature lessons with children who remained at the orphanage. In this way we were able to get to know some kids in different age groups.
Kids ranging in age from 1st grade through 8th grade remained at the orphanage that week, having no one else to say “Come stay at my house. Come home.” The staff do what they can, and the director of the orphanage truly cares about the kids, but they can only do so much. It is heart wrenching to know kids that have no one to pour into them on an individual level.
A few of us are also volunteering at a transition house for girls who have finished 9th grade. Magda, Rachel, and I spend a few hours every Thursday teaching guitar (Rachel) and helping with English learning (Magda and Annie). Many of these girls lived in an orphanage previous to moving into the house. Spending time with these young women (ranging in ages from 16 to 20) has been a gift. We are hoping to continue this partnership with the orphanage and transition house for at least another 4 months, getting to know the children and their needs.
Please continue to pray for our team and for the children we are beginning to know. These children need to know about God’s love for them – that they belong to someone. They need to know that Jesus knows them, and He has called them by name. Thank you so much for your care and support. It is only through these prayers that we are able to encourage and help the children and each other during this new endeavor. Please feel free to contact me anytime.
Much love,
Annie