“Our whole team – Americans and Moldovans – was awesome. I’m going to miss our Moldovan team so much!”
-Mandy

“We had the first Moldovan ultimate frisbee match – and this brought some of the older boys in. Nothing like some ‘serious competition’ for male bonding.”
-Tim

“One, ah, ah, ah.”
-Kenneth

“Amazing time. Going to miss the children of Moldova.”
-Dave

“Long hard week, but worth every minute.”
-Lori

“It was good.”
-James

“Sure beats Cleveland.”
-Scott V.

“It was legen….wait for it…..dary…”
-Jana L.

“Wow. I can’t believe we have internet access at the Chisinau airport. And we’re flying home with three Moldovan children. And we left Keeli, on purpose. And we saw almost 400 children.”
-Jeff

(quoted by Scott. Gotta love free wifi at the airport. Wish we had that in the States. See you soon!)

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons No Comments

For anyone that would want to know….(if you’ve ever had Peter as your van driver, this is a small accomplishment….)

-Scott

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons No Comments

The team is up and waiting on vans this morning. We’re headed to the airport in the next few minutes. We’re all excited about coming home, but, of course, we’d all like to stay a few more days/weeks/months….

Yesterday, the Straseni team watched their camp grow to over 160 older kids. We grew by over 100 children throughout the week! We had a pizza party for the older children. As I’ve been teaching the older boys (ages 13+), I can confirm that Moldovan boys can eat just as much pizza as any American teenager. If we had kept bringing them any more, I’m sure they would have continued to put it down. We had a decent soccer match yesterday, gave away 150 pairs of flip flops and a similar number of JMI-logo t-shirts, and watched the conclusion of our skit. In the end, the Superheroes recognized Joseph’s leadership and gave him his cape back after he helped us defeat Dr. Evil (although, Joseph still doesn’t have GREAT BAT STRENGTH!). It was very cool to watch how the camp grew in numbers from Monday to Friday. To have around 200 total people at camp (older kids, preschoolers, Americans, translators), the kids were going home and telling their friends. That’s what it’s all about!

After Straseni, we stopped at the art market again where I met the girl I sponsor (she’s at home over the summer, though her two sisters are at the Internat camp). This was the highlight of the week for me. She’s doing well and is as beautiful, smart, and precious as ever!

We went to Internat after Straseni where we once again had around 160 children. Great times of worship and sharing with those precious children. As an Internat veteran, they have a special place in my heart. It was great to re-kindle relationships this week and form new ones, especially with Ion.

Ashley led our worship time (think lots of Baby Shark – a new Moldovan favorite, Fruits of the Spirit, Rah Sha Sha – a Moldovan song about Noah complete with animal sounds, and “I Can Sing of Your Love Forever” in Romanian.) I spoke tonight at Internat, using Anne’s pregnancy as an example to lead into referencing Psalm 139 about being knit together in our mother’s womb, Isaiah’s “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast,” and the fact that the God who created all of nature’s beauty knows the number of hairs on our head. These beautiful children are known by their Father and are dearly loved by Him (and us). That was my closing thought for the children, and I can only hope we have left them with as much as they have given us.

After our time worshipping together, we managed our “good-byes” and the team went to dinner in Chisinau at the Green Hills Nistru. We thanked our translators, drivers, and hosts with gifts and had some final time fellowshipping with them and reviewing the week. Then it was back to the team houses for packing, some sleep, and getting ready to leave at 6AM for our flights.

We’ll see you all soon!
-Scott

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons 1 Comment

We have lots of stories to tell but there are also a number of “unsung” heroes around in addition to our Super Heroes. I’ll get to the skit later. Tonight I would specifically like to mention Harry Butler, who has lugged around many pounds of equipment and shot countless photos. He works quickly and is constantly on the move shooting video and pictures of the Straseni & Internaut kids and all that is going on around us. He’s also up late into the night pulling all the day’s media together and I know he is doing God’s work by compiling all the images and sounds. God has blessed him with a wonderful talent and it’s been fun to observe.

At night after dinner he pulls some of us aside to shoot video on our experiences, be it a person’s first trip or fifth. Harry is getting different perspectives on the things we experience and that is important. I’ll also mention that so many times we (us and the kids) don’t even know he is there, off to the side catching a photo at just the right moment. It’s much different from one of us pulling out a small shiny digital camera to get our picture taken with a kid or group of kids. Harry is catching the expressions and feelings of these children without any posing, and I can’t wait to see the finished products!

He also moved around today with one of the interpreters, a really bright guy named Andre, and shot group pictures of the kids as we lead them thru the day’s activities – in fact we are printing over one hundred copies right now for them to frame in arts/crafts. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that James Melrose is staying up into the wee hours of the night to print all of these pictures. I’m trying to keep him company as this is a slow process.

Also want to highlight the great work the Arts and Crafts team is doing to enable the kids to make things that will preserve the memories of Christ’s work in Straseni. Jessica, Ashley, Jana and Dave are leading 3 sessions of Arts/Crafts while dodging the rec activity going on nearby.

Now, back to the drama. Dr Evil entered the picture today, sauntering in with his small partner (we got one of the kids to play this part) and really getting the attention of the children in the audience. I’ve been looking forward to this part of the skit and all eyes were locked on Dr Evil as he walked in to the Imperial March from Star Wars. The Super Heroes promptly befriended him and decided to sell Joseph for some food and money. The deal was struck and both Joseph & the Wise One (Jana Z) became prisoners of Dr Evil. They were last seen on hands and knees cleaning Dr Evil’s floor with toothbrushes. Big events coming tomorrow as Dr Evil sets his sights on more prisoners, the Super Heroes themselves! Stay tuned.

Seriously, it’s has been a wonderful experience the past 3 days and we have been blessed in so many ways. I’m guessing that God will have some new adventures for us on Thursday and we welcome them. That’s it for tonight…good night from Chisnau!

James & Chris

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons No Comments

If you think you could experience 150 Moldovan children learning to sing “God is So Good, He’s so good to me…” in English or “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” in Romanian without tears forming in your eyes…
I challenge you to either get here before the end of this week or be part of the next Rolling Hills Moldova team…
These were just a couple of moments in a day full of Jesus beyond imagination that I can only begin to tell you about.

The first experience for the preschool team on day 3 as we walked up to the preschooler’s summer orphanage at Staseni was the squeal of delight from the three and four year-olds. Next came shouts of our names, the beaming faces, and being smothered by their hugs, then a close look into their smiling eyes as they pulled us close. If you had never seen, touched or felt Jesus, I tell you would have at that moment and in a huge way.
For me it was Vova shouting, “TIM, TIM!”, as he and Sandu ran the fastest and struggled for the privilege of rolling my backback – there was room for both. Then there were Anna Maria and Nastea and Igor, Vaselli, Alexi, and more who ran up and pulled me down for hugs and just to cling to me and all the team. Finally, Galena, by far the littlest, with a bright smile and teeny voice, looking up with those pleading eyes and raising her arms to be picked up… And yes, there HE was too – Jesus! These certainly are the “least of these” in this least of nations in Eastern Europe. I pray Galena saw Jesus in my eyes and felt Him in my hug as I did in hers. I pray that some day she will grow up to be healthy and vibrant, know Him and have a close personal relationship with Him.
Well… I have to run. You will have to read in future posts about a great day of puppets, skits, story time, painting, singing, and games with the preschoolers and then Frisbee, Bible study, and worship with the “big” kids at the village of Straseni and more at the Internaut summer camp.
Jeff has started the team meeting, and my eyes are blurry for some reason.

By the way, if you haven’t guessed, the title of this post is “I Could Sing of His Love Forever” in Romanian. This is our prayer… That every single one of these children and generations that follow them will be singing of Jesus’ love forever as part of His forever family.

Thanks for all of your support. Please keep praying for all of us, including our preschool team of Lori Campbell, Jamie Duke, Keeli Price, Scott Van Dussen, Kathy West and me.
- Tim Hayes

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons No Comments

As posted earlier, a lot was accomplished today (Tuesday). Things quite busy and I know God is watching over us as so many things have “fallen” into place. We were able to get all the missing bags with minimal difficulty so now the arts and craft supplies are in place. Kids seem to really enjoy Art/Crafts and the girls taped their bible memory verse from Day 1 to the back of the bookmarks they made.

More kids arrived today and some of the groups tripled in size so word is out in Straseni. I believe our camp will continue to grow throughout the week as more and more kids find out about all the great things God is allowing at Straseni. The story of Joseph has proven to be a great subject for teaching and the bible study time goes quickly, discussing all the challenges Joseph faced all the while standing strong in his faith. I have to note the fantastic job Kenneth Melrose did this morning giving his testimony. The kids were intently focused on him and it was one of the most touching moments of camp. I am proud to be working with Kenneth as we lead the young boys bible study and life skills.

5 girls are living in the Grace House now and they are studying life skills each night. These girls are praying for one another and sharing their personal stories, which is amazing considering the short time they have been together. Ashley, Ingrid, Jessica and others are spending evenings working with them and it has been a real joy to have them join us at night when we come together to pray and discuss the events of the day. We thank God for providing the Grace House for these girls and the ability to lead them toward bright futures!

As stated earlier, we ran just a bit short on sandwiches, hit the Chisnau McDonalds (you have to purchase your ketchup and mayo) and then moved on to Internaut by late afternoon. A great volleyball game kicked off where Steve and Jeff led a strong team of 6 to an overwhelming victory over kids, interpreters and drivers. I was lucky enough to participate with these 2 stellar athletes and one opponent said he was shocked by the prowess! Then a rain storm ran us off the court and we promptly moved into worship time.

So, we are now preparing crafts and sandwiches for tomorrow. It’s been a rainy evening in Chisnau and the moisture is sorely needed. We are thankful for God’s blessings over us, all the kids that are coming to camp, the times we are spending with them, and the fellowship we are sharing with one another.

Stay tuned for a drama update tomorrow – Dr Evil (Dave Shurson) will be making his much anticipated appearance and I fear the Super Heroes are in trouble. Only Joseph can bring them thru this ordeal…and Scott Meriwether’s “Great Bat Strength”!!

Blessings until tomorrow – Chris Pagel

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons 3 Comments

July 6
Day 1 at camp

Sorry for the belated post…I actually wrote this last night but was unable to post it because we were having internet issues.

I think at some point in life, everyone has been curious about what Jesus really looked like. I can say that now, to me, he looks like 17 little pre-school children. I have the privilege of working with the youngest group of children during the first half of the day at camp. After lunch, we join the older children, but in the morning, it’s all pre-school! We teach about God’s truth and love through Bible stories, role playing, and tons of other fun activities. The children (and their teachers) are absolutely precious. They were attentive and incredibly well behaved! I could not ask for a better time of teaching, learning, and loving than the day we had today.

I never believed in love-at-first-sight until I saw Slavic (6 yrs) smile. As he runs and laughs and squeals and plays, he seems completely unaware that his right leg is disfigured. We don’t know the story on that, but from his ankle to his knee, his leg is much thinner than his left. Also, his foot looks like he may have had some kind of surgery…lots of scar tissue, etc…all this is barely noticeable though in the shadow of his huge, beaming smile. He has two brothers, Igor (7 yrs), and Valsie (5 yrs) who are so sweet and precious. I don’t know how I will be able to leave them on Friday. As much as I already love these three little once strangers, I can only try to wrap my mind around how much their Heavenly father loves them. How much more? How much more? What a great honor it truly is to have been entrusted to be the hand and feet of Jesus to these little ones.

All glory and praise to our gracious Father who in His infinite loving kindness provided this wonderful opportunity for our hearts to be blessed by His beautiful children.

I pray that the thoughts of our hearts and the deeds of our days will be a sweet offering to our Father and a welcome refuge to the children.

Please pray for the children, our translators and us. Also, please consider sponsoring a child (or children) as God’s Holy Spirit leads you. It will be a fantastic excuse to come to Moldova next year! 

Peace and Love,
Keeli

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons No Comments

Super Hero’s Hit Moldova! Each day the children have heard a message from our Super Hero’s during the morning skit. Jessica Douglas as Super Woman, Scott Meriwether as Batman, Kenneth Melrose as Spider man, and Chris Pagel, as our own biblical super star of the week Joseph! Supporting actresses Mandy McDermott and Jana Zbinden have also appeared! You MUST see the pictures!!! Harry will surely have many to post.

Camp numbers are climbing! The older kids have gone to foster homes in the area for the summer. They come back daily for camp. We encouraged them to bring friends and that is just what they did! We prepared 120 sandwiches and we were able to feed them all but the team had to make a McDonlads run after camp. It was a nice break between camps today!.

Centers hit the sidewalks! In preschool the kids LOVED playing outside with a variety of games. Bubbles. dry rice with measuring cups/spoons(aka. sand table), and sidewalk chalk were a blast. Scott Van D. is the king of sidewalk chalk!!! The story of Joseph has been our theme this week. Some much fun to see Tim Hayes in a prisoner outfit as Joseph was sent to jail!

Manicures in Moldova! After a morning in Straseni we went to our regular afternoon stop at Internaut to hang out with the kids and have worship and a story. We played ball and polished fingernails. The kids loved lego’s but they quickly disappeared as the kids built something they were to proud to part with!

We finished the day traveling bak in the rain. One van had a fun round of “Celebrity”. Folks like Latoya Jackson, Cher, Batman, Frodo Baggins, and does anyone know who Rafal Nadal is? It’s been a fun filled day with lots of hugs given, hands held, and bible stories told! All Eyes Are On You Lord!

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons No Comments

After a good night’s sleep we all headed out to church where Dorel is the pastor in a nearby city. We had a wondeful time of praise and worship followed by an inspiring message by our fearless leader, Jeff, that was translated for the church family. We headed to the favorite local Pizza spot and then on to the Art Market. We then went to the ophange where we had a time of planning. We learned that our preschool group is not going to be as large as we thought. We planned for 40 but we will have 17. They may invite others nearby to join us.

We had a prayer walk around the campus and ask the Lord to show up in a big way. All eyes are on You, Lord!

Blessings,
Lori Campbell

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons 2 Comments

Hello to all!

This is Ingrid here! I am just writing a quick note to say that the team is is here. I have been in Moldova for the past four weeks, and will be joining the amazing Strasani team. Everyone made it here safe and sound, but I think 18 bags are missing. That has been a downer, but we are going to work with what we have. Pray that they will surface sometime this week!

Tomorrow we are going to a church in a village, and our Pastor will share with the congregation. We are going to prepare for our first big day of camp!

That’s all for now! Keep us in prayer!

Posted in Straseni, 2009 by Jeff Simmons No Comments