Day 12

This morning before leaving Sally's, we took some photos next to the transitional homes. Cristi and another fellow were tearing down the roof of the shed. The work on these houses will continue to progress!

The whole group in front of the boys' transitional home's wood shed.

The guys who did the work! Tim and Lucci are such intelligent, hard workers, and kind hearts.

With Marius and Cristi, who put in a lot of effort this week! Sally mentioned that when she spoke to Cristi about this transitional home, he was so relieved and joyful; she didn't realize how stressed and uncertain he was about his future, so this newly purchased home is a huge blessing. You can tell he has such a pride in doing work on his future place. It's awesome to see! 

Inside the boys' transitional home. Much more work to be done, but it's coming right along! They are hoping to have it finished in September. 

Pastor Iovan expressed how thankful he was that we came to Talpos. He especially wanted us to convey to the whole church how much he appreciates our prayers and supporting the orphanage. One thing I will definitely walk away with is how much they all need our prayers. 

We said our good-byes to Sally, and prayed with her. Then we very appropriately sang, "I'm so Glad I'm a part of the Family of God". These words are so true! We're so grateful to have these friends we can call brothers and sisters.

We just love this special lady who selflessly impacts lives for Christ each day. She is an inspiration, and we have been so blessed by her hospitality and love this week. Thank you, Sally!

Tyson showing his disappointment of us leaving.

Dani drove us safely back to Budapest. We got to our hotel, then looked around at nearby St Matthias Church, and the Fisherman's Bastion. 

One of my favorite places in the world. 

💕

We were able to meet up with Ed and Heather for supper tonight. They've been so gracious to show us around the city, and to direct us to the correct public transportation. 

A few interesting menu items we saw today... 🤔

Chicken paprikash! 

Ed helping us get our transportation tickets.

Heading back to the hotel! We're staying on the Buda side the next few nights. (Buda is west of the Danube River, and Pest is on the east side.)

Thank you for your continued prayers. The next few days we'll be debriefing from our Romania experience, brainstorming ways we can help advocate for Sally and the kids, and taking in a few sights of this beautiful city. 

Day 11

The Happy Sunday!

This morning while Sally taught Sunday school class, the 6 of us had our own worship and corporate prayer time. 

In church, the youth group sang beautifully. A guest preacher spoke; he's on a radio broadcast, and had a great message. Sally interpreted for us. 

Walking to the orphanage for lunch.

We ate lunch with the kids in the dining area. Three years ago our team painted this room. Little Ionel. Yesterday he was showing me his bruises and scrapes from his bicycle. I said, "Oh, ouchie! You have a boo-boo." And now he's repeating it over. and. over. 😂 During lunch I taught him "cookie", and now he thinks that's hilarious. 😊

The ladies at the orphanage prepared us a lovely meal; we sure appreciated all the work they put into it, and their hospitality.

Sweet Alexandra wrote a chalk message for me. She's so thoughtful and observant, always making sure people's needs are met.

Denisa showing us one of their meat rabbits. 🐰

Tialyr has done a lot of hair braiding this week! All the girls have loved her attention.

Back at Sally's, the kids from the village gathered around for singing, Bible lesson, and play time.

Listening to them sing is so awesome!

The evening service was also terrific. 

Pastor Josh gave his greeting this evening. He spoke a bit about his background, and encouraged the church in their faith. Our identity is in Christ, and if we live our lives knowing our true identity, what a great impact that would make in our churches and beyond.

All of the kids, our team, Sally, and Tim. Our extended family! 

After evening church, we had a delicious meal of chili. Then the kids and teens came over for Bump and volleyball one last time. We then gathered in a circle for prayer. The kids prayed for our safe travels and we prayed God's blessing and direction on their lives. We walked them back to the orphanage, took photos together, and said our good-byes. The first time we were here, saying good-bye was heart-wrenching. For some reason this time was different for me. Of course we'll miss them terribly, but they're so loved and provided for here. I have faith God will bring us back together again. It's just a see you later. 💕

Love each one! 😍

Day 10

Our last day of work! 😔 The guys poured a concrete floor in the boys' 2 room transitional house. They finished it up pretty quickly.

Meanwhile the girls did some cleaning; I made a carrot cake, and we hung out with the kids who had spent the night.

Playing is always on the list! (Neighbor girl Raluca)

Tialyr and Raluca. She was always outside when we were, and looking forward to some attention. 

Our next project was to build a new ramp for the play set at the orphanage that was falling apart, and re-stain it.

I hammered in the loose nails.

The kids enjoyed hanging out with us all day.

Pastor Iovan stopped by to chat with us for awhile. 

Stabilizing the swings.

We ran out of stain, so they'll probably finish this project next week. Sally also said that they'll be purchasing a new slide next week with some of our church's gift. The younger kids are so excited to have a slide again!

For the next few hours, we played with the kids... With the basketball we played Horse and Bump, and then got out the parachute for a bit. Maybe you saw us playing on the church's live video. The kids really caught on fast to the game, and had so much fun!

For dinner, Sally decided we should go into Salonta for dinner. We passed through at the time when the cows come home. 

Hotel Slavia... Delicious Transylvania food, and great conversations.

Our lemonades with honey came in small individual pitchers. 

Chicken inside a hash brown.

Jeremy's Transylvania platter.

We are so very appreciative of Sally and Tim and everyone here who has welcomed us; they truly feel like family. 

We arrived home to Sally's ferocious guard dog, Tyson who wanted belly rubs. 😉 

The team had a good time of debriefing a bit before bed tonight. We have all had a wonderful experience, and are each taking away different lessons and ways God is speaking to us here. It's so hard to understand all what Sally does and her many ministries here in the village without seeing them first hand. She's said to us many times this week how much she appreciates everyone back in the states who prays for them or gives to the ministry. I don't know how she is able to do what she does without many people praying.🙏🏻

It's hard to imagine that tomorrow is our last full day here! We're looking forward to attending church and worshipping tomorrow. Pastor Josh will be giving a short greeting/devotional in the morning service.