This is it!

Hello world… well in just one hour and 2 min from the moment that I started typing this email/blog I will start on my way home to you, well at least most of you. This past week might have just been one of the best in my whole lifetime. Literally this week consisted of one blessing after another. I am not sure why it happened with way but it did and I could not be more grateful. I honestly have done every single thing in Romania that I wanted two… I find myself leaving with no loose ends. Let me tell you about some of these little wonders that have happened to me.

The week started out with more Visa paper work. My dear friend Teo, who is helping Marius get to America, has been so worried about doing everything just right that we have all found ourselves spending a lot of time working on getting stuff ready for the big Visa meeting this Wednesday. On Monday while we were reviewing paper work I told Teo not to worry about helping me see my kids from last time that have been moved to another orphanage. Although this was a hard thing for me to do I realized that we had just run out of time and helping Marius was much more important at this point. The next this I knew Teo come running back in to the room and told me we had to go right now. Teo had lined up my going to Glata, the orphanage where my kids have been moved to without my knowing. She truly is such an amazing person. When I got there I could not have been more happy to see my little boy Flourin that I had worked with last time I was here. He is now 14 and comes up to my shoulder but is still the same old Frourin in his own little Autistic world. Of course when I saw him I could not help but cry as I hugged me little boy. He just looks so good and seems so happy. (I just read over those last few lines and am sorry that they have done a very poor job expressing what I felt. I wish I was a great writer so I could tell you how time stopped when I saw him but alas that is just not in the cards. Please do forgive me.) Teo also took me around to see some of my other kids and it was just amazing. I tried to thank her when we left but I just started crying but my dear Teo knew what I was trying to say. She just looked at me and said Elisa I know.

On Tuesday I got to spend the day with Marius’s older brother Inout, which was absolutely amazing. After only a day both Mindy and I totally fell in love with him. When we told Marius he was not very please and informed us that we were his friends not Iount’s. Inout truly is an amazing person. We helped him great ready for his big trip to the Visa office in Bucharest. The elders donated some clothes and Mindy and I got to pick out the rest. Needless to say we absolutely loved it and he thought we were totally crazy as we tried to speak to him in Romania. A real high light was when by accident I asked him if there was 6 million people in his town… as it turns out there is only 400. I thought he would die laughing. When we sent Inout and Teo off on the train both Mindy and I got all teary eyed. It was amazing how after only a day we loved him as much as Marius. Teo called me the next day totally exhausted to let me know that they got the Visas after a lot of convincing. When Inout found out Teo said he started dancing in the street, a beautiful moment.

On Wednesday I went to go visit one of my boys from last time in his foster home. This was also due to the work of Teo. I loved going there and I got to take a lot of really great pictures. More then anything I just loved seeing how happy he was. Seeing him there reminded me yet again that happy ending are out there.Mihai (age 15) with his 15 year old brother Alex

Last of all I want to tell you about one more of the millions of amazing experiences I have had this week…. Here goes this might be the highlight of my whole trip. Well Marius has started walking by him self now. He is so independent! He just wants to do every thing by himself and he is always so excited to show us just how much he does not need us. Today he was walking around being very careful not to fall. I was sitting there watching him on a bunch just thinking how hard it was going to say goodbye in a few minutes. When my dear little boy stepped over and put both of his arms around me and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. Simply this was one of the biggest tender mercies of my life. Marius made my heart skip about one billion beats and I knew that without I was meant to be here.

Well my dearest friends and family I must least you now but know I love you very much! And also keep praying for my girls they have two weeks left and they have so much to do. Thank you for sticking through this with me. I cannot begin to tell you how much your support has meant to me. I love you all.

-elisa thelys bushmanOur last group pictures! I love these girls! I will miss them!