A Week of Progress

As always a big hello is in order! This past week has been a good but very crazy one. It is most definitely mid semester and I think everyone is feeling it. Being the facilitator has helped me to see just how important a mid semester retreat is for group moral. The girls are all still doing an amazing job but they are getting tired so I think the trip we have planned for Budapest and Krakow will be a perfect way to get our strength back. I for one am super excited not only because get to get my sister, Kristen, a gift from where she served her mission (Budapest) but because I get to go to Krakow which has been a life time dream of mine. So yes I hope you are all ready for a great traveling email next week.

I have really enjoyed my time at the hospital as of late. We have broken up the floors so Melissa and I take Marius along with the floor below while the other girls take the other 6 floors. As a result while Marius plays the DS, which he is getting better at all the time, I have gotten to know some other kids a little better. There is a very amazing girl Alexandria that I have been spending a lot of time with. She is such an amazing kid but like all of the kids there she is dealing with some pretty hard things. Alexandria was born with clubbed feet and as a result has spent a lot of time in hospitals as they do surgery after surgery in an effort to correct the problem. I think somewhere along the way she has developed some pretty sever attachment problems because every time I go see her she asks me over and over again not to leave. I have tried to create a routine with her so she knows I won’t leave for a while. Every time I go in we change her diaper, give her a bed bath with my vast supply of hand sanitizer, and then put on good smelling Lotion. As a finishing touch we put on Chap Stick and paint our nails. She loves that part best of all. But more then that she loves to paint my nails. Needless to say my toes and toes nails have never been covered with more red polish. I also have been reading an animal book with her that my dear friend Ashley made me before I left. It has a bunch of animals with the Romanian word below. She is getting great at making the animal noises. My favorite is her fish face. Although things were going really well with her she was moved to the fifth floor so I don’t get to see her anymore which has made me really sad. I am not sure if our routine made a difference to her but I was surprised by how quickly it made me attach to her.

Thursday was Marian’s funeral and it could not have been more perfect. He was buried in a small city called Andréa Shawn about an hour towards the Moldova border. I was so happy to see that he came from a beautiful town with a great priest and people who made sure his funeral was done correctly. Meeting the priest and seeing the care he took of his town really changed the way I think of the Orthodox Church. I fear I had developed some small prejudices. I was glad I went for many reasons. Personally it was good for me to see that he was physically taken care of. Second seeing his family was a very enlightening experience. His mom was not there because she lives in a different city and simply did not care enough to come, but his grandma, two uncles and little brother came. They were super poor along with just about everyone in the town and one of the social workers told me that his little brother used to live with his mom but ran away because his dad beat him so much. Seeing them made me realize that the Orphanage really was a blessing in his life. He got more care and love there then he could have from his family. I found myself being grateful that the Orphanage existed. Third in the Orthodox Church part of the funeral service is that all of the person’s things are given away to the guests. All of the poor little kids in attendance walked away with Marian’s things. It was beautiful to know that Marian was able to make a difference in the lives of the people in his city and in that way he lives on.

Well just really quickly I know my time is up but two of the best things happened this week! 1. After the funeral I went upstairs to say high to my kids at the orphanage. When I got there and looked over there was Alex asleep in his bed. It was amazing to see him so calm. I just sat there looking at him with my eyes filling up with tears. One of the works Lumi saw me and came over and tickled his hand. Alex eyes immediately opened and he looked right at me and smiled. I think being there for him woke up could not have been more amazing. 2. Marion went outside and wore a shirt this week for the first time is 7 months! He is making so much progress.

-elisa