Buná from Romania!

We timed it – we traveled for 26 consecutive hours. Anca and Christina picked us up at the airport in Budapest. We weren't in the van for more than ten minutes and we got to witness a two lane road accommodating three vehicles.

We are getting a lot of practice at being flexible – several times a day, in fact. The first three days were hectic. We drove to a cabin three hours away with 17 kids in tote. This eclectic bunch of kids encompassed gypsies, Romanians, and Hungarians.

I was not out of the van for more than five minutes and a little girl, Monica, clasped her hand in mine; and in that moment she stole my heart. I realized how much I have to learn from children. Monica taught me how to count to ten in Romanian.

I didn't know how to say "good job" in Romanian, so I would just give the kids a “thumbs up.” At first, they had no idea what I was doing or what it meant. On the second day, I gave a little boy a “thumbs up” and he gave me one back. He finally realized what it meant. It was an exciting moment!

We visited a group home that housed 12 special needs children. Christina gave us brief background on some of the children in the home.

One child was found locked in a cage with dogs. She sniffs everything.

Another child was found locked in a cage with pigs. These two children, when left alone, would just sit there and rock back and forth, which is just a classic result of a child who has been neglected and/or abused.

All of the children have severe physical and mental needs. I spent most of my time with a little blind girl. She would imitate everything you would say. She imitated me in perfect English. I sang "This is the Day" to her and she would sing it back to me. We would be sitting in silence and then she would just start singing it all by herself. The amazing part is that when she would start singing it by herself, she would sing it in Romanian and with me she sang it in English.