A long time coming...

Wow! It sure has been a while since I've blogged. Sorry about that. We didn't have internet in our apartment for a whole week and then we've been quite busy since then.

Each week we have a group meeting at one of our apartments. We have dinner together and then share our thoughts and feelings. We always share our highs and our lows and so I decided to share mine this week. My low was on Tuesday when I went to the children's hospital. I walked onto the 2nd floor where I have been going since we started and was excited to see the three little girls, who all have club feet, I visited regularly. I especially wanted to see Diana, a little 4-year old with a spunky little personality. She has dark brown curly hair, brown eyes, and slightly darker skin. What I loved most about her is her laugh. She loved playing, blowing bubbles, and coloring whenever I would visit her. We hadn't seen her for a few days over the weekend and the last time Spencer saw her she had apparently just had a surgery and had an IV attached and didn't look to be doing very well. Anyway, I went to see her and found out she had been discharged earlier that day. I was so sad. At least she went back with her aunt.

What made me even more sad was that little Selina (her picture is in the last blog) was also leaving that day, but since her mom left to work in another country, she was being taken to an orphanage outside of our city. I held her and played with her as long as I could until a lady came and whisked her away to live at the orphanage. Because I don't get to see these kids every day, I was surprised by how attached I had become to them. I found myself tearing up and feeling so sad to see sweet little Selina leave. She always had a smile and brightened up everyone's day. I wish I could've just taken her away and kept her for my own to give her what only a loving family can give. But, I know it's not possible.

And then to top it all off, when I went to find Nicoletta Teodora (a beautiful 4 month old that I had fallen in love with), she had also left earlier that day. What a very sad day it was for me. I felt like I had to start all over again finding new children to bond with and love. However, odds are that my three girls will probably each come back for more surgeries and cast removals- hopefully I'll get to see them then.

As for my high, I was a Romanian celebrity for a day! Well, not really a celebrity, but I was on the front page of our city's newspaper and on the news! Who would've thought? The news was running a story on an 11-year old boy from the orphanage that Spencer and I work with each day. He has cerebral palsy and cannot control his body very well or speak. A few years ago the workers discovered how smart and inteligent Alex really is. With the help of a program provided by BYU, Alex can communicate his thoughts and feelings and even do school work. Using a web cam and this special program, Alex can control the mouse with his nose. To make a complicated process more concise... by moving his head, he can build sentences, count, draw, and play games and now Spencer and I want to teach him basic math. Alex is such a sweet boy who is so happy even in his restrictive body. He also communicates by nodding or shaking his head and getting your attention with his eyes.

The news reporters came just as I was getting ready to leave for the day, but then Teo (one of the workers) asked me to stay and be part of the interview. Teo described the program and the camera man was fascinated by what Alex could do. Before I left, they asked me to do an interview. No, I don't speak Romanian near well enough for that so they said I could do it in English. It was a pretty neat experience. The neatest thing for me is that the people here are finally coming to realize that people with disabilities are still human and can be very smart. I hope the article and news clip helped further that understanding.

Stay tuned for further pictures!