Moldova, Thursday, August 5, 2010...

Our day started with a significant drop in the temperature which was such a welcome experience. We didn't need jackets but we certainly enjoyed the moderate temperature and humidity. But somehow by late afternoon, the sun was back with its intense heat. But we didn't let that detract from our time at camp.

I have been meeting with the oldest girls in camp along with Lesley from our team. But today I gathered the adult teachers who are working at the camp this month. Two of the 6 women were here last year and have been here during several other of my times here. They had mentioned that they hoped there would be time for me to meet with them as a class. I was able to share recent family photos and update them on my life and hear things about them. Ms. Galina who has been the camp director for many years, is now retired so there's new leadership. These adults work hard to provide care to the children. Most are seasoned teachers at the orphanage and a couple of them are university students in education. I'm hoping to have another opportunity to meet with them tomorrow.

Today's theme was "unshackled" as we were talking about the 10 Commandments. I had sketched a drama I thought the kids could act out and had brought some props with me. We didn't have adequate time to work with kids to do this so I asked the translators if they would tackle this. They readily agreed and I have been blown away by this talented, energetic, godly group who definitely have leadership skills. The drama was in 2 parts. This morning the scenes all related to people breaking some of the 10 Commandments - worshiping a Budha figure, coveting, stealing, murder... Police wearing badges capturing the criminals, hand-cuffs etc. Tonight was a trial scene. The actors had rehearsed after lunch and did an amazing job developing the drama. They had even borrowed my camera, staged crime scene evidence of the criminal, downloaded them onto our computer and projected them on the screen during the "trial". Just before the judge sentenced the murderer to life in prison, someone jumped up to take his place, quoted verses about Christ taking our punishment for us and was handcuffed with the criminals handcuffs after he was "unshackled". The kids loved the lively action and the translators loved the limelight and the "power" of a few props. Lots of fun and I think we'll all remember the 10 Commandments after this day.

And Adam Raccoon stories have been holding the children's attention during most of our sessions.

I was able to spend some quality time today with the 2 girls who are at camp that we sponsor. One of the gals seems quite "low" so hopefully there'll be time to continue showing her "parental" care she doesn't have. Her mother is deceased, her parents weren't married when she was born and a father has only recently surfaced. We will have some additional time with these gals Monday and Tuesday. That will be so precious and important.

Everyone in this team house now is busily preparing for our last day at the camp. We have selected the long-sleeved T-shirts we'll be giving the children tomorrow and have packed little gift bags with some candy and a variety of small items. The t-shirts have been printed with a design created using the symbols we chose to signify each day's lesson. Following our lesson in the morning, we will all have our small groups paint the design using permanent markers we have with us.

We'll be at camp until 2pm tomorrow when we'll return to the team house for lunch. Following that, some will go to the house where we'll do a work project on Sat. They'll access the needs and purchase the supplies so that we'll be able to maximize our time on Sat. The rest of the team will have a short shopping adventure before we host our support team for dinner at a traditional Moldovan restaurant.

Two team members will leave Sat. am. Six others will leave Mon. am and 4 will leave Wed. am. How can the end be so quickly arriving?

Your prayers are bolstering our strength and are sweet encouragement. Our hearts are joyful.