Arad, Romania

Hello everyone!

We haven't updated our blog in over a week!  That's because it was an uneventful week for us - we didn't have the chance to go to Oradea like we wanted to because the trip would require us to go over our budget, something that we didn't want to do.  We were, however, able to go to a closer city, Arad, and visit a program there where a lot of orphans were.  It was a great visit, and we met three deaf orphans there.  

We are excited about the upcoming month of March, because that's when we will hop into a train or a bus and go all the way to Bucharest, the heart and capital city of Romania.  There, we will meet up with Alex's sister, Allison, and her husband, Ryan!  They are coming to Romania for three weeks to do a "mini-survey" of what they will do with orphans, and we have discussed on how we can work closely.  We are very excited to see what doors will open as a result of this.

We are also going to Bucharest to meet with two other organizations, "For God's Children International" and "Children to Love".  FGCI is an organization from Council Bluffs, Iowa and headed by Joel Burkum, a very cool guy who knows how to sign, as he used to work for Deaf Missions.  FGCI works with orphans, and we are going to meet with their Romania liaison, who is Jeremy Befort.  Will post blog and pictures when we do meet with him/them.  

For Children to Love - it is founded by DeAnn Sampley and her husband.  DeAnn is an ASL professor from Bakersfield, California and wrote a few books on ASL.  She has been kind enough to give us a contact person and even informed us about two deaf orphans that were in Bucharest, so we are going to meet with leaders of that organization and the two boys.  

Not only that, we are also looking forward to meeting the deaf church that meets in Bucharest and the deaf members who go there.  Bucharest is a BIG city, so there should be a lot to do and a lot of pictures to take, which is good for this blog and for you :)

Now - a little news - Alexa's dreads are gone!  That's because she got tired of having to do maintenance - rubbing, rolling, waxing, backcombing, all that.  She didn't realize that it was a lot of work, so she decided to cut it off (because you CAN'T undread dreadlocks!)  She is not used to it, but after a few days, she likes it!  

Enough words, on with the pictures!  We are sharing pictures of our trip to Arad and the program there.  You can check out the program's website at www.rcenterprises.org.  Not all the kids in this program are orphans, but a large number of them are.  

Alexa's new look!  

The entrance into the program at Arad.

The first classroom we visited.  The woman in red on the right is a teacher, and she knew how to sign, which was very cool for us, as we had an interpreter.  She signed in Romanian, and luckily for us, we learned enough to be able to understand!  The cute girl with the striped sweater on the front is a deaf/mentally challenged orphan.  Her name is Ioana.

  This school focuses on mentally challenged children.  Its approach to the deaf orphans is to integrate them with the other students, and try to teach them how to speak, as many of the other kids can't speak too - so they are "in the same boat".  The teacher in the red teaches the deaf kids on how to sign.
    

Another classroom where there is another deaf orphan.   

The second deaf orphan.  He has mental challenges as well.  His name is Dani.  The reason why Ioana or Dani is not at the deaf school is because when they were screened - they were found to have another disabilities, so they ended up at this school.  

Another classroom.  The boy on the far left (baby blue sweater) is the third deaf orphan in this program.  His name is Vali.  

Vali was obviously using his eyes to understand what was going on in this class - as the other kids could just simply use their ears.  Vali would imitate the teacher's hand movements, but when the teacher used her voice and not her hands, Vali would look away.  It is a challenge when there are deaf kids with mental difficulties - because they have more needs, and you can't just split them up to a deaf school and a special program.  

Outside.  Yes, it snowed!  The Romania flag is in the background.

The program split up the children in three houses.  Each house holds ten children.

Each house has its own little kitchen - there is no "big cafeteria".  This woman is the cook!  :)  

We liked this poster.  It's true.

The two women on the far left and far right are social workers - the ones who try to place the orphans into families who are willing to adopt them.  Only Romanians can adopt Romanian orphans.  I asked on if it was difficult, and they said YES.  They are able to place only two or three kids a year into homes.  Adopting an orphan is already a difficult decision for many families, but adopting an orphan with multiple disabilities is another thing.

We are amazed at the heart and the spirit of the people who work in this program - they could have worked any other place or with "normal" children.  But they are Christians and they chose a harder path, but they do get more rewards.  We  know that God looks down and smiles on those good workers.  

A diagram that explains the process that this program follows.  The big yellow house represents a state institution where orphans with special needs are abandoned.  This program adopts those children and gives them a good education, with a hope that they will be able to integrate into public schools and good families when they grow up.  

That's all for now!  God bless!