Day 48-55: Gypsy Camp

We arrived back from camp in Sibiu this afternoon. I think we are all exhausted and a little relieved that camp is over haha. It was so much more work than I expected. Obviously, I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but I thought after having done this once before, surely it wouldn't be that bad. :) Wow, was I in for a surprise.

The children were fantastic on the bus going and coming, and we were all shocked. Only three of them got sick on the way there, and no one did coming back, so that was a blessing. Unfortunately, the good behavior didn't last very long after we got there. The very next day was chaotic. The one thing I have learned with these children is that they can change at the drop of a dime. They can go from being absolutely angelic to giving me the impression that they're possessed.

The most traumatic experience of my life happened the second full day of camp. I was in my small group of about 13 children and they were coloring a picture of David and Goliath. Everything seemed to be going fine, a few little aguments erupting here and there about the crayons and who had some one else's color etc., but other than that things were pretty calm. I turned around to help someone with a crayon and in the blink of an eye everyone was screaming and Florin literally leaped across the table and started strangling Mihaly. I mean he was choking the life out of him. Johanna tried to pull Florin off of Mihaly and by the time she did, Mihaly had passed out on the floor and his eyes had rolled back in his head. All of the children were suddenly flocking around Mihaly and I couldn't get to him. They were all trying to help and bring him to, but his head was just flopping back and forth and I couldn't push through to get to him. I thought he was dead. I really did. I was so shocked I couldn't speak because I was just sure a child had died right in front of me because I couldn't get to him fast enough. It was absolutely awful. Finally Sebi somehow got a jug of water and poured it on Mihaly and he came back to us. I am so incredibly thankful that God spared him because I honestly don't know if I could have handled it if he had died. I just sat down and cried with Zsuzsika because I was so relieved and shocked at the same time. Florin was sent home that day, and as far as I know, Mihaly is okay. He seemed to have a few mini seizures afterwards where he twitched a little, and I think it's because the oxygen was coming back to his brain, but other than that he appeared to be fine for the rest of the camp.

Here are a couple of pictures of our week:
On the second day that we were at camp, during our morning devotions, Katie prayed that God would reveal to us His purpose for us at camp, and I wrestled with that all week. I know that last year God brought me to camp so that I could learn how to serve, but this year was so different. Katie and I came to Romania specifically for camp last year, but this year it was almost just an addition at the end. I had so many times during the beginning of the week where I was so angry at the children for their disobedience and destructive behavior, and it really bothered me that I took it so personally sometimes. I honestly think that this camp and really the entire summer for me have been a lesson in love and how little I actually know about it. I think in my last post I wrote about God's unfathomable love for us, and it seems almost prophetic now as I read it, because I struggled so much with that during the week at camp. I love these children so much, even when they are at their most unloveable. It took me time to realize that, because I had moments where I couldn't speak because I was so upset with them. But the more I began to think about it, when the children would deliberately do the opposite of what they were told I no longer took it personally. I came to the realization that we live our lives in direct opposition to God's will every day. So this entire week was like a mini analogy of God's love for us. Even at their worst, I adore my children. Even at my worst, God adores me. There is nothing redeemable about me, and yet I have been redeemed! I was so humbled after this realization during the week that I couldn't possibly be in a bad mood. My heart was so light - even when the children misbehaved, I couldn't help laughing about it - (sometimes it really was just funny to watch their mischevous minds at work, other times it was infuriating haha).

I think Katie and I both feel like we've been here for 8 years instead of eight weeks. Sometimes I believe I've aged and learned more about myself than I ever wanted to know. :)
I think there will be quite a bit of an adjustment once I get home - however, I don't want to dwell on that. I wouldn't trade what I know now for anything, and I know that I'm not on this journey alone - and that's a comforting thought.