Before Week 2 begins

I have recently been feeling guilty about how little I have kept up my blog. I have told all these people to be reading it and I haven't posted but twice since I have been in Romania.

Every Monday we have what we call day camp where we meet the kids for the week and play name games to get better acquainted with the team. Later each team competes at different stations to begin the points for the week. Then on Tuesday we head out to Camp Vețca, which is a solid hour drive and it is an incredible time to sleep and/or sike yourself up for the week ahead. We stay at camp until Friday morning and then take the kids to a water park called The Weekend. After our trip to the Weekend we say our final goodbyes to the kids and head home for wonderful 30 minute showers (no less because no one showers at camp).

The reason no one showers at camp is because adults can only shower once the kids have gone to bed which is around 11 pm. In Romania at 11 pm it is about 55 degrees and the water is about 20 degrees. That is just a little bit too cold. So to avoid pneumonia we just dont shower until Friday night. I realize that 3 and a half days is a long time to go without showering but by the time the night is over we are all so exhausted we dont even have time to realize how gross we are.

This week we have a team from Northern Ireland here to help facilitate team time with our kids. My Irishmen are Di and James. Di and James are great guys with the coolest accents ever. My translators are Diana (yes same one from last week) and Oana. The girls are fabulous. Im not sure of their salvation so please pray for them on their behalf. I have 5 kids (or copii) on my team this week. 2 girls and 3 boys. Their names are Isa (pronounce Eeza), Marius, Rupee, Silvius, and then another girls whose name I have forgotten about 5 times already. My team seems very attentive and excited, two things that took my team last week a little time to show. I am very pumped about this week and know that God is going to do some amazing things. Be praying for the Spirit to move in a mighty mighty way.

Also, tomorrow is my 21st birthday. Pray that I would remember my purpose for being here and not focus so much on how much I miss my family and the comfort of my own home. I only have 18 more days left here, so I most definitely need to be focused on my goal for Christ. Pray for ample amounts of energy and excitement. Our team name is The Incredibles, try shouting that out over and over again for about 5 min. Itll wear you out, believe me. Also pray for my voice. It is already starting to go out. I guarantee by Friday it will be nonexistant. Well, I have written plenty and my brain is beginning to become mush. I love you all and appreciate your prayers more than you will ever know. I miss you all and will be home before you know it.

As the Romanians say, Noapte Buna (Goodnight).

Week One

So because my emailing time took so long I am left with not much time to blog. I will do my very best to adequately sum up my time at Camp Vetca last week.

On my team there were two interns, two translators, and 6 kids all ranging from ages 6 to 14 (Yowzas)!! As some of you can sympothize, at Pine Cove last summer I made it through week one thinking I could do the summer on my own. Here, I lasted three hours thinking I could do this on my own. My Tuesday night (which was our first night with the kids at camp) I was so blinded by doubt that I could not see my reason for being here this summer.

By Wednesday night, however, my kids finally began to come around. The girls were the hardest to get through. They have been so hardened by the bad in this world that they didn't even want us female interns to hug them. They would tell us "I don't need your love".

In these groups of children, there is not one child that has not even been abused themselves or watched their friends being abused. It is the saddest thing in the world to see. Also, it is very hard to see and hear about all that is happening here and has happened here and not feel powerless. There is so much wrong that needs desparately to be right. It so hopeless and dark, but still there is light. There is light because so many of these kids know that no matter what pain they suffer here, their Heavenly Father supplies endless strength for their souls.

On the last night it is a tradition that Leaders pray over each of their campers. As I held each of the girls in my arms I prayed that the Lord would raise up a family for them that will love them unconditionally and lead them to the Throne of Christ. I prayed that exact prayer over a 13-year-old boy (not on my team), Bela, who I have bonded with since day one. I couldn't control my tears as I pleaded before the Lord on his behalf. At the end of my prayer he looked at me and said, "Don't worry about me; I'll be fine." My heart was overwhelmed. He has no doubt that the Lord will provide for his needs.

I pray that you would be burdened for the injustice these children face every day. Pray for families to be raised up for them; families that won't abuse them like so many have done before. Pray for the interns and myself as we try to break the bond of fear Satan has placed on these children. And pray for hope; that the children would see the Lord in even the most difficult times.

I'll be home in 21 days. Hope to see you soon. Feel free to email me if you get a chance. My email is cbras88@gmail.com.

Love you all so very much

Caitlin

I'm here!!

Hello all!!! I must apologize to you all because I have been in Romania for 5 days now and this is my first blog about our time here. 

Friday and Saturday, the interns and I worked our butts off. Each day we worked hard for a solid 8 hours if not more. Shoveling gravel, raking gravel, cleaning dishes, setting up tents, beds, cleaning out sheds, etc. It was craziness. We all decided that none of us had ever felt so sore in our lives. The next morning there was not one person who jumped out of bed; we all gained about 20 years with aching bones and muscles. 

Today was the first day of camp, which is really more of a day camp since we met with the kids at their own orphanage and then said goodbye after about 5 hours of playing games and getting to know our teams. We had a great time; full of sweat, screams, and laughs. Tomorrow we will go to Camp Vetca with the kids and come back on Friday morning. 

Be in prayer for my campers as well as my translators; I'm not sure of their salvation, yet. The translators names are Vlod and Diana. 

I love you all and appreciate your prayers so much. I will be updating more later. God bless you all. 

You'll Come

For those who have forgotten or just didn't know, I leave for West Palm Beach on Sunday morning for Orientation and then next Wed. I leave for Romania until July 18th. I will be working with orphans all summer, showering them with Christ's love. I cannot wait. My life will never be the same after this summer, and I am so ready for that change.

This song by Hillsong, "You'll Come", has sort of become my anthem for my time in Romania. Especially the bridge. 

The song goes like this: 

Verse 1

I have decided, I have resolved to wait upon you, Lord. 

My Rock and Redeemer, Shield and Reward. 

I'll wait upon you, Lord. 

Chorus

As surely as the sun will rise, you'll come to us. 

Certain as the dawn appears, you'll come. 

Let your glory fall as you respond to us. 

Spirit reign, flood into our thirsty hearts again. 

You'll come. 

You'll come. 

Verse 2

We are not shaken, we are not moved. 

We wait upon you, Lord. 

Our Mighty Deliverer, Triumph and Truth. 

We wait upon you, Lord. 

Chorus

As surely as the sun will rise, you'll come to us. 

Certain as the dawn appears, you'll come. 

Let your glory fall as you respond to us.

Spirit reign, flood into our thirsty hearts again. 

You'll come. You'll come.

Bridge

Chains be broken.

Lives been healed.

Eyes be open. 

Christ is revealed

Chorus

You'll come. 

Let your glory fall as you respond to us.

Spirit reign, flood into our thirsty hearts again

You'll come. 

The Rainbow

In the old testament the rainbow signified God's promise to his people that He would never flood the earth again. I believe that rainbows come in many different shapes and sizes. My rainbow came in the form of one tragic event.  

7 months ago a sweet, sweet friend of mine, Caroline Hartrampf, lost her life in a car accident along with her boyfriend, Stephen. Caroline was a wonderful woman of God who cared deeply for all those close to her. Unfortunately, Caroline and I never got as close as I wish we could have. That, however, did not make her passing any easier for me. When I wasn't regretting my lack of depth to what could have been a completely amazing friendship, I was literally feeling the pain of those around me who did have the opportunity to get close to Caroline. One of those people was my boyfriend, Rob. 

Last spring break, Rob, Caroline, and several other amazing friends took a trip to South Florida. On that trip Rob and Caroline's frienship became closer. She transitioned from good friend for him to another sister in just one week. 

I remember exactly where I was when Rob got the phone call that rocked our world and changed us forever. We were driving in his car to Birmingham to get a dog. All I was able to hear was his half of the conversation which was, "What? Well let's make sure first before we freak out." As soon as he hung up the phone with our friend David, another friend Aliciana called and confirmed the shocking news. Rob immediately broke down. I had never before seen him cry, especially not like that. I told Rob that it would be fine if we turned around to go to Aliciana's. He insisted that we do what we originally came to do. 

We got a beautiful black lab/hound mix and named him Mac, short for McGuyver. As soon as we got back in to Tuscaloosa, we headed to Lici's house. We went in and began talking and reading the Bible. We read 1 Thess. 4:13-18. 

We got back to the house and started working on getting things for the dog. It was very distracting for a while and helped us to not focus so much on the sadness of what was actually going on. The stresses of having an untrained puppy, losing a friend, figuring out how to comfort my hurting friends, and tackle school got the best of me. I had to think fast about what I could do to lighten my load. The only thing of those four I could lose would be the dog. After many tears and contemplations, I took Mac back to the Humane Society in Birmingham. 

Through all of this, I slowly began to see my ties with my wonderful boyfriend loosening more and more. Thinking that taking the dog back would fix it, I felt a great sense of relief. I was wrong. His pain, caused by my absence, was deeper than I ever imagined. It got so bad that one night he literally told me that he "didn't feel comforted around me anymore." 

That was the absolute hardest thing for me digest. It almost literally felt like a knife went through my heart. How could this happen? How could I let the one person I love the most hurt so bad while I tried to figure out what was easiest for me? I was heart broken and utterly shocked and confused. It was at that very moment that I became determined to turn this around. It was everything but easy and he made sure of that. 

I remember one night at Rob's apartment thinking the whole night, "He does not want me here, why am I still here?" I went to the bathroom several times and broke down and cry. My biggest prayer that night was that God would give me the strength to stay even when I knew he didn't really want me there. I just kept hearing God reminding me that Rob needed me even if he didn't want to need me. I am so thankful that I stayed. 

A week later, Rob thanked me for my patience. We have never looked back, except to thank God for not allowing us to throw in the towel. Through all of the rain, Rob and I became closer than we ever would have had we not experienced what we experienced. I know that we would not be who we are or where we are if it weren't for our Faithful Father strengthening us at our weakest point. 

Lord, Thank you for the promises of the Rainbow.