Music Camps

To finish off our summer camp programme, we had music day camps for the kids who are interested in learning to play band instruments after the summer. I had one on one time with each of the kids  trying out the instruments that they were interested in, to choose the right one for them.

We also had a 2 day music camp for the kids who are still at the orphanage and are currently in the music instrumental programme. Instrumentalists from 2 orphanages played in the band for the first time together.

Girly Camps

In addition to our day camps, I was involved with the girly camps. Again our theme was the Olympics, but we addressed issues that were relevant to the age and stage of the girls’ lives, concentrating on how God wants us to live and make good decisions.

We also had a lot of fun in our teams competing in games and quizzes and individually in dance competitions and making bracelets and other crafts.

Melting ice only using our bodies! Good job it was hot!

Putting a cut up banana back together using drawing pins!

 

"Just dance" competition!

We are the champions!

This summer, our theme for day camps was the Olympic Games. The 2 days were spilt into 3 sessions with the afternoon of day 2 allocated as pool time!

The 3 sessions were; “I am a good sport”, the lesson I taught about having a good attitude, session 2; “I am a champion” about running the Christian race and session 3; “I am forgiven”, about salvation and how to receive this prize.

Each session was packed with intersting stories, information and discussions and fun activities like crafts, songs, memory verse challenges and loads of games and as it was in the 90’s we had a lot of games involving water and water balloons!

At the opening ceremony, each orphanage was split into 5 countries - my team was Australia - we coloured in the flags, made up a team chant and paraded with the flags as we chanted - each team trying to chant chant louder than the team infront!!

 Being put into our teams!

 Making sport photo frames at one of the day camps.

 One of the fun games!

 He might Olympic gold at the games in 2016!

 Session one - Corni and I teaching the lesson on having a good attitiude.

 The first boy caught having a good attitiude got to hold the Olympic mascot for a while!

 More fun in the pool

 Boat races - come on teams!

 Bowling - good shot!

 Competition time - which team can put the memory verse in order first?

 Some of the finished photos frames

Our youngest competitor with his medal at the closing ceremony - too cute!

Winding down!!

June is the end of the school year and traditionally the time we are supposed to be winding down.

The band practiced frantically to perform at the end of school award ceremony, the older kids in music classes had a demonstration and a try of some of the band instruments that some of them will have the opportunity to learn after the summer. The younger kids had fun making and decorating a variety of musical instruments including, shakers and guitars out of elastic bands, empty tissue boxes and paper plates etc.  then the end of year parties began. The general music classes each had their parties with music games like musical statues and musical bumps etc. aswell as music board games like musical snakes and ladders and the band kids got to come to the teamhouse and have a pool and pizza party.

We also had a pool party for the older kids from the youth groups in the2 Bucharest orphanages and the orphanages for Rosiori De Vede.

 Our homemade guitars!!

 Musical bumps!!

 One of our musical board games

 Making tie - dye T shirts at the pool party!

 making beaded jewellery at the pool party!

Chaos in the pool - guess where?? You guessed it! The pool party

My birthday

This year on my birthday, the H2H staff went to the mountains to investigate a “new road” to take the boys to camp. It was a dreich day, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. We set out late morning in two vans and after stopping for a quick picnic lunch we continued our journey finally arriving at the narrow, single track, rough and sometimes crumbing at the edges road we were looking for.  We drove for what seemed like forever round bends, through potholes, sometimes stopping to let other vehicles past until we arrived at a standstill. They were still constructing the road and had to wait for the trucks to move before we could venture on.

We pulled into a makeshift passing place and turned off the engines to wait.  After a while it was time to set off, but one of the vans would not start. I should point out that I don’t like heights and so I was a bit nervous to start with. One of the guys decided it would be a good idea to jump start the van rolling it backwards down this narrow and windy road, so all the passengers got out and left him to it! After much starting and stopping and coughing and spluttering (the van, not me), it started! Relief! We decided that that van should go back down to Sinaia and only the other van should go to the top.

I spent the rest of the afternoon drinking hot tea and visiting the shops with the others from that van. The rest took a LONG time to get back to the bottom – I think they took a wrong turn! When we did, we celebrated my birthday with a  lovely international meal; Romanians, Americans , Scots (only me) ate at an Irish pub in the Romanian mountains!! A birthday I won’t forget easily!!

Scoala Altfel - a different kind of school

On Monday, we went to Rosiori de Vede with the Kiwanas team and after a lovely Romanian lunch with the boys at the Boys Transition House, we went to the forest. The H2H missionaries who work there, have been teaching the children in Rosiori about life in other countries and most recently America, so we used this opportunity for the Kiwanas team to tell the children a little information about sport and life in America and then the children made various “American” themed crafts.

Some of our boys presently in the BTH, staff and team members

Some of our American themes activities and crafts

A couple of our kids wearing their "American hats"

On Tuesday, we went to one of the orphanages (P) in the outskirts of Bucharest that we work in. They were learning through a puppet show about how to look after your teeth. After this the children made some crafts outside.

The puppet show

More crafts

On Wednesday the P band and dance class performed to the school and the team. They all did very well. Even a couple of new band members who have only been playing a few were able to join in.

On Thursday, in the afternoon we had 4 stations at P. All the kids had about 30 minutes at each station. The stations were Music, where they learned some melodies on Boomwhackers, Dance, where they learned some dance moves from different genres, Photography where they learned a bit about how to use a camera and Baking, where they made chocolate crispie cakes.

Having fun with the boomwhackers

On Friday, we took some of the Art class to the village museum. We walked around looking at the different types of houses from different parts of Romania and from different periods in history and the kids had to choose there favourite house, answer some questions about it and draw it. Later we sat near the lake and they made bookmarks and other fun crafts before heading back to the orphanage. It was a really fun week.

As near as I'll ever get to wearing the Romanian National costume!

How did she get in there?

Don't think they'll get very far!

I don't think her mouth is quite big enough!

This is the house he is drawing.

Some of the crafts we made

Christ is risen!