Day 1: When a Mission Became Reality
Yesterday was our first day here in Romania and it was an awesome one! First we went to an incredible orphanage that had 40 kids. We were given a tour of the building and we talked with the caretakers for about an hour. Coincidentally it was the kids last day of school and they were just getting out of school so we imagined they’d already be pretty excited but the excitement grew when they saw our team standing there waiting to greet them with fun, games, puppets, and balloons! They all went nuts and so did we! It was an awesome surprise and congratulatory celebration for the kids graduation from their current grade level and us as our first orphanage to visit in Romania. It was perfect. When it came time to leave, the kids and caretakers followed the team out to the bus. We stood there for another 10 minutes or so because we were all already so attached, but we knew we had more work to do and many more kids to see. We dropped off 140 bottles of Glycobears and 13 tubs of Ambrotose and our directors educated the caretakers on how the nutritional supplements will benefit the orphans and how to disperse them to the children. We gave big hugs, boarded the bus and we were all glued to the windows waiving and smiling back at the children chasing us down the drive waiving goodbye.
Needless to say, the team had succeeded in more ways than one. We successfully delivered the nutritional products, educated the caretakers, shared our love with the children, sang songs together, and realized the importance of our very own existence in the world by putting hope back into the lives of orphans. The team had witnessed and experienced an unforgettable life-changing event that they will never forget, and they’ll remember our mission for a lifetime.
After lunch and about two hours away we found our next orphanage. When we arrived the caretakers told us a little bit about the orphanage and informed us of their efforts in building a safe and inviting home for the orphans in their care. Unfortunately, just two weeks before they were devastated by a tornado that destroyed most of the roof on one of their buildings. They were confident they could rebuild the roof before the next rain to avoid any more damage. The kids were already waiting for us to get off the bus as we were introduced to the caretakers. Coming from the last incredible experience at the first orphanage, we were anxious to get off the bus and play with all of these kids just as much as they wanted to play with us! They went crazy! We had sour candy waiting to give them and everyone laughed together as we saw the first kids’ reaction. We stood outside for a good while just hanging out and getting to know each other before we went inside to unload the products. We all headed to the door to the home and it was an awesome surprise to see that all the kids had drawn welcome pictures for us! It was such a great feeling to see all the children’s artwork welcoming us into their home. We were extremely thankful and touched by their caring hearts. Once we got inside we found an empty spot on the floor to put the nutritional supplements we had brought in. Bag by bag the caretakers eyes got bigger and bigger. We made quite a footprint on their kitchen floor with all the bottles of Glycobears and Ambrotose. While our directors were educating the caretakers about the products, the rest of us went outside to play with the kids. We did some puppet shows, sang some songs with the guitar, played some ‘Futbol’, or Soccer, and even danced like maniacs! Everyone was having a great time!
Another success! We had an awesome time, impacted the kids, delivered nutritional supplements, and built an everlasting relationship with the caretakers. It was our privilege to bless them with the nutritional support they needed and do our part to care for orphans in need.
So at the end of the day, the team had become addicted to the feelings they had inside them, leaving our hearts hungry for more.
Well as some of you may already know, Global Rebirth is a branch of MannaRelief leading this generation in bringing advanced nutrition to orphans and children in need all over the world. Along with that, we want to show our generation that they really can make a difference and that we all share that responsibility. The most assuring way we can bring advanced nutrition to countries like Romania is to bring it ourselves. We see this as an opportunity to get a first-hand glimpse of the unfortunate reality that kids and people just like us have to live in every day. Taking tours, like the one we are taking to Romania, have been a huge wake-up call to so many us that have gone on trips before. In this case, seeing really is believing. We not only give purpose to our generation, but we can also give hope to orphans and children in need to a brighter future. With that being said, I strongly encourage any of you that are interested in going to Romania to make a decision to come with us. See for yourself the difference you can make and see if you don’t feel empowered, if not obligated, to do more. I can definitely speak for myself, I came back from South Africa last year, which was my first plane ride if that tells you anything, and I returned home noticing that I couldn’t stop thinking about the kids that I saw. I made connections with them and I kept wondering what they were doing at that very moment. I knew I had to keep helping them. Well I did, I quit my job and came to work for MannaRelief and Global Rebirth and now I’m sharing my story with you. I’m not saying if you go you have to come back and quit your job, but come with us. See for yourself the difference you can make and find something inside of you that you never that was possible. Then come back home and see where you’ll go from there.
