Blessings of Busyness!

Literally, a thousand things have happened since I last blogged. These things have kept me from blogging because we have been overwhelmed with busyness. Celia and I were talking the other night about how busyness is such a blessing because when we are busy it means two main things. Firstly, things are being done for the glory of God and we are not sitting here idle. Secondly, we don't have time to think too much, worry or be homesick.

Here are the main things that we have been busy with: 

Child Sponsorship

The Ruth School enrollment is up to 217 students which is a drastic spike from last year enrollment of 175. This increase is due to starting Class 0 which is now has 25 students. The Ruth School has also had many students transfer in from public schools. Several of the transfer students realized that the Ruth School was a place where they are loved, safe and valued this summer during the summer clubs run by volunteers.

Each of these 217 students were photographed & interviewed by Celia and I. We then wrote short biographies for each student to share with their sponsor. These bios and photos were sent by e-mail and snail mail to sponsors across the USA and the UK. This task took the majority of October to complete because while my Romanian is improving, speaking with each student took quite a while :).

We still have about 45 students that are not sponsored. Please e-mail studentsponsorship@projectruth.ro if you feel able to support a Ruth School student for $30 a month.

The GSS brothers during the session in October

Olympics, oh my!

Parade of the Flags for the Olympics :)

In late October, we were blessed with a team from NC. This team was incredible. They held a teachers appreciation week in which each teacher got a special treat such as brownies, hand lotions etc each day. They also hosted the Ruth School Olympics. Our students loved running, jumping and laughing as they competed during the week long session.   Tammy, Celia and I prepared lunch for the team each week. They loved my grandmother's poppy seed dressing!

Clothing Distribution

Doesn't Mari look precious in his new fuzzy hat?

Each student received a pair of socks!

Project Ruth is often blessed with clothing from various organizations and individuals all over the world. As the cold weather set in, we ventured into the storage room in search of winter articles to get our students warm as winter approached. Each student received a sweatshirt, socks and other various items depending on their age, size and need such as: blazers, long sleeved shirts, hats, gloves.

Positive Discipline

Playing Just Dance on the Wii :)

The Ruth School like every other school in the world struggles with behavior. Our teachers and staff implemented a new program this year to help our students be the best they can be. The students have standard punishments when they break one of the ten Ruth School rules and are held accountable for their actions. In order to not only discourage bad behavior but encourage good behavior, students can earn Ruth School points. These points are given to them by their teachers when they are 'caught being good.' Every Friday, Celia and I take each class up to the library on the 3rd floor where students can spend their points at the Ruth School store. At the Ruth School store, you can purchase various school supplies, candy, snacks, small toys and tickets. The tickets for some sort of Friday event. Some Fridays we have movie day after-school where our ticket holders can come, eat fresh popcorn, drink Kool-aid and watch a newly released movie projected on a wall--- the Ruth School Cinema :). This last Friday students were able to purchases tickets to the Wii Party. 11 students attended. They played tennis, Mario Kart and jammed to Just Dance. It was probably my favorite afternoon ever!

Please pray for our teachers as they continue to implement this program. It is working and student behavior is improving but it is often easy to get discouraged.

Coffee & Tea Bar at Youth Group

 This past week, I became obsessed with having a coffee bar at youth group. I felt and urgency to have it at youth group on Saturday. At the time, I didn't know why. It seemed rather silly because we had just had a youth group meal a few weeks ago for fellowship but God just kept telling me that we needed to have something to fellowship over on Saturday evening at youth and who doesn't want to have a coffee with various flavor syrups? So, Celia and I made flavored syrups, cookies and two very large pots of coffee. As we were arranging cookies on the trays and putting out herbal tea for those who aren't caffeine addicts, we noticed some of our Ruth School teenagers venturing in. Sami, the youth pastor at Providence, leads the worship time each week during our chapel service and had invited students from 7 & 8 grade to attend and they did! 11 Ruth School students attended the youth group for the first time ever last night. After a time of worship (all songs from chapel so our students knew them), prayer time in small groups and the Bible lesson, we all gathered around with our coffee and fellowship. It was a wonderful sight to see. - Sorry I didn't have my camera--- Youth that have been attending the church since they could walk were sitting and talking with youth from Ruth. Thank God for fellowship and coffee :)

First Day of School!

Celia and I made it to Romania on Saturday. On Sunday, we attended church, unpacked and tried to survive jetlag.

Then Monday was the first day of school! For the second year in a row, I got to be super excited about the first day of school because I am neither a teacher nor a student. Monday morning came and the alarm was way too early but Celia and I managed to get out of bed to be ready to greet the children. Oh man, did we have children! Currently, our enrollment is up to 210 students!!! They came all dressed up (well, what they call dressed-up) and many of them with parents in tow.

It was great to see all their smiling little faces again. It was especially wonderful to see Nicu's little face. Many of you may remember that Nicu underwent major surgery last summer to correct a birth defect on both of his legs. His recovery took longer than expected so he missed the last year of school. When I visited him in June, he proclaimed that he was not going to school because he didn't like it and couldn't get there. Yet, on Monday morning there he was! Nicu quickly found Robert (they use to live down the street from each other when they were little),they walked into school hand in hand and found two seats together. Robert informed me today that they were no longer sitting together because their teacher had asked them to separate. Evidently, second grade boys can be quite the talkers when they haven't seen each other in months.

New backpacks for all new Ruth School students!

Adjusting to being back in Romania has been fairly easy. On Saturday, Celia and I were welcomed to Romania at the airport by dear friends holding giant signs, then brought home to a freshly cleaned apartment and spoiled with pizza and cake. Praise God for the blessing of friends that become family.

6 weeks.

My bags are packed. My carry-on weighs more than a small (maybe even large) toddler because of all the chocolate chips, Reese cups and children's ministry books. Today is the day I return to my Romanian home of Bucharest.

Part of my family after my presentation at my home church

For the past six weeks, I have been in the US and boy have they flown by. My days have been filled of visiting friends and family. Afternoons learning how to make my favorite cookies with my grandmother. Browsing through clearance racks (we don't have sales like that in Romania). Lunch dates with my mom. Afternoons in the arcade with Zach. Wal-mart runs with Dad. Sharing my passion for Project Ruth and the Roma people in various churches. It seems like I have done a lot which I have but one thing I haven't done enough of .....  is eating bacon :)

Enjoying the beauty of Virginia with Zach

This evening Celia, who will be at Project Ruth for 3 months, and I will board our plane bound for Bucharest. Please be in prayer for our families and friends as we say goodbye and especially our moms who are left to clean up the messes that we have left from packing.

My blog has been out of date for a while. Sorry about that. This summer was a whirlwind of activities. We had a six week long bible camp for the 1-4 graders of the Ruth School along with many community children. Celia is going to also be keeping a blog this fall so hopefully that will help me get in a better habit of blogging on a regular basis. Thanks for hanging in there with me. 

School is out for summer!

Yesterday was the last day of school for the Ruth School. We ended the school year with a promotion ceremony for all of our students and spotlighted the ones who had made great improvements academically speaking over the past year. It was a very happy day as I saw students that I have now been with on school field trips, weekly chapel services and various events with take pride in their achievements. Sooooo proud! 

We had a great turn out for the celebration

Estera graduated first in her class and wants to be a fashion designer!

Our graduates!

We had a special chapel service for our 8th graders who officially finished their time at the Ruth School and will be taking their high school entrance exams on Monday morning. Special thanks to Bluefield College and Lydia Freeman for the caps and gowns that help make this event super special!

It's my birthday!

Okay, well it isn't really my birthday so Mom don't think you forgot.... but it is my Romanian birthday because I moved here a year ago today. Currently, I am resisting the urge to use this day as an excuse to make cupcakes :)

This past year has been overwhelmingly wonderful. It has been a year full of adjustments; adjusting to a new city, different grocery stores, a new culture, new traditions and best of all new friends. Over the course of the year, I have learned many new things (not as much Romanian as I would like to have) and am looking forward to the years to come now that I have the first year of learning the ins and outs of Romania out of the way. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

The past few weeks, okay month, have been super busy around Project Ruth. We celebrated 20 years of helping children in need in Ferentari. Project Ruth supporters and friends from all over the world gathered on May 24th for a day full of celebrations. It was overwhelming to be around so many people to whom God has given such a passion for the Roma people of Romania. It was a great encouragement to those of us who are here day in and day out to see just a few of the faces who pray for this ministry daily.
 
My dear friend from college, Lydia, served at Project Ruth for the month of May. She was a wave of fresh energy to Project Ruth, especially me, during this month. Lydia jumped in with washing dishes, making posters for the 20th, organizing almost everything, writing chapel plans, and just loving our kids. She returned back to the States yesterday morning. I was super sad to see her go but so incredibly blessed and encouraged by her while she was here.

Wouldn't change a thing!

Today, it is graduation day at Bluefield College! If I hadn't been a crazy person and taken college courses in high school, I would be graduating today and have spent the past year in college. Yet, that wasn't God's plan. I was that crazy person who took extra classes to graduate early and move to Romania to work here amongst the Roma in Ferentari. While, I have missed my college friends and the memories that I would have made this past year with them, I am so grateful that God made His plan clear to me because I wouldn't have traded this past almost year in Romania for anything!!!

The past few weeks have been super busy. We had a wonderful youth team from Bonsack Baptist Church over the Easter Break of the Ruth School. They were such a blessing to our students who were overjoyed to have special activities over their break. This team also helped our staff by painting the sports field fence, a hallway and a classroom.


 Also, I hosted my first ever holiday dinner! American and Romanian Easter are not celebrated on the same day which worked to my advantage. On American Easter, I had a few of my closest Romanian friends over for what I call "Brittany's family's traditional Easter" meal. We didn't have everything that the typical American Easter would have like ham but we did have the dyed deviled eggs that always make an appearance at my Easters in the States. I am so thankful for the blessing of friends that share their culture with me and don't mind me sharing mine with them.

I will be in the States visiting and sharing about my experiences/Project Ruth from August 1- September 14. I would love to come speak to your church, youth group or small group. E-mail me at garton.brittany@gmail.com so we can set something up :)

Easter eggs, English Club and Breakfast group!

On Tuesday, the students at the Obed Day Center spent part of their day celebrating the Easter season by dying Easter Eggs. Each student dyed four eggs. They were very patient as each student carefully retrieved their eggs from the dye. There were no spills :)

During the 7th and 8th grade English clubs this week, the students learned new English words by making crafts. 7th grade painted sun catchers and practiced words such as window, paint, sun, glass etc. 8th grade excitedly made fleece tie pillows. Their patience wore a little thin as they began tying the fleece but they were proud of their end products. And we learned that when you make pillows, you have to make a pillow fight :)


 On Friday afternoon, I went to visit Robert who
 had been missing quite a bit of school lately. When I first arrived on his street, he hid because he knew that he was going to be in trouble for missing so much school. After a few minutes of soccer, he told me that he didn't like going to school right now because he didn't know the alphabet or how to write like his classmates did. He had missed a lot of school through out the year for various reasons.

While I cannot teach him to read Romanian because that would require that I knew how to read Romania, I figured I could help him with his handwriting. He pulled out his notebook and showed me what he was suppose to be working on.
For a few minutes, we sat on the side of the road and practiced writing the letters "s" and "t". After awhile, the fact that there were UNO cards in my bag became know and the desire to play became a huge distraction. After a few games of UNO, the idea of a Saturday morning study session was born. After much debating as to what he wanted to for breakfast, it was decided. Robert would meet me at the Ruth School at 9:30 and I would have cereal, milk and a banana for him for breakfast. I held up my half of the bargain and so did he. Robert even brought his brother (Alex) and a friend with him. Luckily, I had invited my Romanian friend, Stefan, to help out. Robert and I spent the morning writing the alphabet on a dry erase board while Stefan worked with the older two on writing journals and adding fractions. It was a great morning! We all worked diligently for about 90 minutes before deciding to call it quits for the day. I didn't want to overkill it because they wouldn't come back the next week. All three boys promised to return next Saturday for more cereal, milk, bananas and oh yeah learning!

Gardner Webb Nursing Team

Last week, the Ruth School was blessed to have a group of nursing students, nurses and professors. This team of 11 performed health assessments on all of the Ruth School students. The neighborhood of Ferentari also had access to their expertise during a health assessment for the community on Wednesday afternoon. 

The teaching staff was encouraged by the team through a seminar on how to build self-esteem and self-worth in their students. Our 7th and 8th graders were given the hard truths of what drugs, alcohol and smoking can do to your body. The team urged them simply just to say "NO!" Going into this seminar, Tammy and I were both concerned because this age group rarely sits still and listens for more than five minutes yet they were attentive listeners for the full 35 minutes.

Our 1-4 graders were reminded of the proper way to brush their teeth through a puppet show complete with an alligator with real "brushable" teeth!





 On Thursday morning, the women of the team hosted Mother's Club and focused on healthy families. They taught the mothers many home remedies to keep their families safe and healthy. In addition, each of the mothers made a potholder from their choice of colorful tea towels. 

Thanks Gardner-Webb University for sending this wonderful group of servants to minister in Romania over their spring break!

BC Art Team

Well, the mural is done. As the team began ripping the tape off the borders of the mural, I felt more sadness than joy. Yes, I was overjoyed that the team had finished the mural with time to spare but sadness overcame me because it meant that their time here at Project Ruth was coming to an end.

This group did an amazing job at everything they did from painting the murals, teaching students how to mix primary colors, making hand puppets and even making my apartment feel like a small piece of America. I already miss them greatly but am so grateful for their service here at the Ruth School and the Ferentari community at large. Hopefully, many of them will be returning to Romania at some point in their futures in accordance to the plans our amazing God.

Check out some of my favorite pictures from the week!

Click here for a full album of pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150713225097780.463870.578177779&type=3&l=9a1912a568

 

The Beginning of Something Beautiful!

The Bluefield College team arrived safely in Bucharest on Friday evening. After  a quick dinner, the team fought through their jet lag and began the prep work for the mural on the hallway.

All day Saturday, the team was busy at working mixing, painting, drawing and enjoying being together. On Saturday evening, the team attended the Providence youth group meeting where they sang and team leader, Walter, gave his testimony. After the meeting, the group spent the next hour or so learning the Romanian way to play UNO. It was a great time of fellowship for all.

Today, the team has been painting. Around noon, two team members (Pip and Emily) went down the street to buy fresh bread for lunch. As they were walking back, a brother from the church stopped to talk to them because he had heard about the painting ministry being done at the Ruth School. He spoke very broken English but knew a lot about the Ruth School and its ministry. An hour later, the brother (Marian) came knocking on the door to help paint. He was quickly put to work painting mountains. After completing his task, he told us that he must go home for the day but will be returning tomorrow at 4pm after work to sacrifice his time to paint for Jesus Christ. Marian's faith and willingness to serve have already been such a blessing for this team.

Here are some pictures of the progress so far...

Bluefield College Art Team

A team of five college students, one professor and one staff member will be departing Bluefield, Virginia in a few hours to begin their over 20 hour journey to the Ruth School. This group consists of... well some of my best friends in the entire world and I am pretty much bouncing off the walls with anticipation for their arrival.

The team will be painting a large mural on the second floor hallway of the Ruth School to bring life to the plain white walls. Through-out the week, the team will also be involved in classes to teach art and other various lessons. They will also be leading the chapel services on Wednesday, in addition to English Clubs. If they have time, the team will also be painting a small mural in the nursery of Providence Baptist Church.

Please be in prayer for this team as they travel by van and plane to Bucharest today and tomorrow. Also, pray for the love of Christ to be shown in all that they do while they are here.

The supplies for the murals!

Singing Off Key...

As we do every Wednesday, chapel service was held at the Ruth School for grades 1-8. This past week we had to met upstairs in the library rather than the larger cafeteria. The library was jam packed full of kids as we told the story of the Lost Sheep and how God celebrates them specifically. Because of our packed quarters, I was sitting closer than normal to the first graders as I operated the PowerPoint. I don't think a single one of these students was singing on key but they were singing "Our God is an Awesome God," in Romanian of course, as loud as they possibly could. I am blessed daily by these children and the reminder that God doesn't need us to be what we think is perfect because He made us to perfect in His eyes so if we are tone deaf then He made us that way so we should praise Him unashamed of our pitch.

Will the snow ever end?

January 20th was the last time that I saw the concrete surface of the road that runs out in front of the Ruth School. Since then we have had snow, snow and more snow. It has been very cold some nights getting down to -7F. This past Monday was our most recent big snow. The weather forecast said we could get up to 11 inches in 24 hours. I'm not sure how much we actually got on top of the 18 or so inches we already had.

While this snow is certainly beautiful, it can be hard for the families in our community. Please keep the families and children of the Ruth School in your prayers as they endure this especially harsh winter.

Here are some pictures of the snow in Ferentari!

It's February!

Well, it is officially February. And I haven't blogged in what seems like forever.... My lovely mother keeps reminding me that it has been over a month but things just keep happening that keep me away from writing it all out and I will be posting more over the next week to avoid this being a terribly long blog.

Over the Christmas holiday, I was blessed to have two of my favorite people in the whole word visit me: Susan and Zach. Susan arrived in time for my birthday on the 23rd which we celebrated American style with lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, shopping at the mall and Domino's pizza delivery for dinner (Domino's just opened about 3 miles from my apartment which is very exciting for my American stomach!).

Susan and I spent Christmas Day with Ralph & Tammy and the Bunaciu family. We had a traditional Romanian lunch with Cabbages Rolls and Salata de Beouf (Beef Salad but it really doesn't have beef - it might need to be renamed). In the evening, Susan and I retreated to my apartment for some fried chicken  and Stove Top along with countless phone calls to family and friends in the States.

Two days, after Christmas Zach arrived with a suitcase packed entirely by my mother. As I opened it, it was like Wal-mart exploded in my apartment and I LOVED it.

Zach stayed in Bucharest until January 19th while Susan had to leave before the New Year. It was great to have both of them around and hanging out in my new town. The kids certainly enjoyed having them around. The boys down the street enjoyed playing with the new deck of UNO cards from Zach on the sidewalk.

The Ruth School is back in full swing again. We held English club for the first time in the new year this week. The most popular game this week was word searches. The students had never done them before and were quiet for nearly 15 minutes while racing to complete them with their eyes set on the chocolate bar of a prize.

Filip - the word search champion :)