Camp

Well, I've been going to the hospital every morning for two hours, then going to the orphanage and then returning to the hospital in the afternoon, early evening. I have grown so attached to David, the boy with Cerebral Palsy who I visit at the hospital (who is normally at the orphanage). His little mouth opens and he laughs when he sees me come. We always fill our time with activities like being held, walking around the room (with him in my arms), listening to my iPod, eating (which takes him a LONG time), or giving him a massage. David loves the massages and the music, but he seems the most responsive to being held with his face near mine. I ask him to give me a kiss and put his open mouth to my cheek and make the kissing sound. He does not have the muscle control to pucker his lips. You should hear the beautiful sound of him laughing when I tell him that he has kissed me! :)

Tomorrow early I leave for a camp in the mountains with the orphanage. Some British volunteers are going to accompany us! Please pray for a successful time in the mountains, for peace and harmony with the staff and volunteers and kids! I pray that kids are exposed to a different world. They are so excited to go to camp. Today my Romanian friend mentioned having the 3-year-old sleep with me. I like this idea, but the 3-year-old is still being potty trained so I need to wake up in the middle of the night and take her to the bathroom to avoid an "accident." Needless to say, I am so excited about camp! I am planning on bringing my guitar and singing worship songs! I pray that God use us!

God's Will Be Done

For the past four days I have been going to a baby hospital where one of the little ones from the orphanage was placed after a coma. He is very small for a seven year old and doesn't speak due to his Cerebral Palsey. It is so sad to leave him there in the hospital after only a few hours of visit. Thankfully he is getting better. Today there were no more IVs or oxygen masks and his Godmother was able to feed him with a spoon!

I was playing with an eleven year old autistic girl today and one of her care givers walked by and told me that she was a very bad girl. Twice the eleven year old put her hand on my throat tightly. I'm not sure why she did this. Perhaps she likes to feel the vibrations in my throat when I speak, but I need to be on gaurd when I'm with her. I felt in a new way how misunderstood she is today. She seems to function best with lots of physical intereation and very few words. When I communicate with her I try to include a physical direction to what I'm trying to say. For example, if I say "No" I also shake my head "No" and wave my finger in a way that also means "No." I heard from another volunteer that this is a better way to communicate with autistic children. A teacher for autisic children in the US said autistic children respond better if they see a picture of what they're to do, rather than through hearing a verbal command. I am hoping that body language can be a physical picture for this girl. I've heard that autistic children only process about 20 percent of the words they hear.

Please pray for a new boy who seems practically normal who has come to the orphanage. He is about six years old, and I've heard a rumor that he's autistic, but he speaks which means he's at a much higher level than our other autistic children. Because this orphanage is more difficult than others for children, I pray that God will open up a way for him to be at another orphanage if that is better for him. God's will be done.

Tantrum

Vasile is about 12 years old and most likely a genius, though he can not speak and has never learned sign language. Besides not speaking he has other handicaps as well. I took him on a walk outside the orphanage grounds today. His teacher said he could only be out for 15 minutes. I told him as we left and he was giggling with excitment that we had to come back in 15 minutes. When we returned he threw a horrible tantrum. He wanted to walk more. Fifteen minutes was not enough. I felt so bad for him. I hope his teachers and care givers will still allow me to take him out even through he threw this tantrum ...

I also got to walk with another older girl outside. She was scared to even leave the orphanage. She didn't know how to behave in public, but I think it's good for her to get this one-on-one time with an adult and to begin to be confortable with the neighborhood around her.

Juice

Today I took Adriana, a girl who is about 20 years old with Cerebral Palsey, for a walk outside. Adriana, because of her CP, spends most of her time in her bed. Days can go by without someone putting her in a wheelchair. Thanks to some of my training at Green Pastures, I am able to put her into her wheel chair without asistance, and can also give her a bath without aid if required. I thank God for how he has used my training at Green Pastures in so many ways. Once outside, we bought bottles of juice. Though the bottle cost about $1.75, Adriana couldn't stop talking about her juice. Oddly enough, she didn't want to drink any of it. She told all the childcare staff that she had some juice when we returned to the orphanage and offered them some. She was eager to share. I think she just wanted to feel that SHE was doing something for others rather than being served all the time. I let her call another volunteer on my cell phone. "Come to the orphanage," she told them, "I have some juice for you!" In the end, I think Adriana needs much more than juice. She needs someone who will help her go out and buy some. She needs someone who will drink it with her. She needs someone she can give to without receiving anything in return.