Ialoveni Memories
By Gloria Jones
What a wonderful experience our week in Ialoveni was! Our work at the orphanage began on Sunday afternoon after church services in the morning. We were so excited to meet the children! We were told that the children at Ialoveni are mildly disabled and when we met them, we weren’t sure what to expect, but they shyly waved to us and we were instantly drawn to them.
All the old beds in the dormitory had to be disassembled and carried down 6 flights of narrow stairs before the newly built beds could be carried UP those 6 flights! Some of us tired quickly, but the Lord gave us all strength to persevere as we looked into the faces of the children and imagined them sleeping in brand new cozy beds. We knew we were doing His will, and there is such joy in that, that it strengthened our steps and gave us an enthusiasm that only He can provide.
As we were building the beds and carrying them from the gym to the dorm, the children were helping us. Their enthusiasm and excitement were contagious! One little boy, Don, always had this BIG smile on his face and always had plenty to say. Don's legs didn't work very well and he walked with a crutch. One day as he was walking across the grass with us he hit an uneven spot in the ground and he fell to the ground. His crutch went sprawling away and he lay spread eagle on the ground. But in a heartbeat he picked himself up, grabbed his crutch, and off he went again talking a blue streak! No pity party for him! Most of the children we met were like this: amazingly independent and very caring for each other.
As we interacted with the boys and girls we could see they were full of love and eager to be loved. We were reminded daily that God created them in His image, and that He loves these children very much. Their culture views these children as mistakes -- but God tells us in Psalm 139 that when we were woven together that God saw our unformed bodies, and ordained our days upon the earth. He knows the plans He has for us. These children were "fearfully and wonderfully made" by God (vs. 14) and we fell in love with them.
Soon we were bringing up the mattresses and bed linens. We laughed so hard when we discovered that we were not very good at putting comforters in duvet covers -- but what a marvelous feeling it was as we stood looking the completed rooms full of new beds. The beds were so cheery with bright yellow linens, fluffy pillows and a Bible placed on each bed. The children were so excited about having a beautiful new bed to sleep on!
Because of God's mighty hand, we finished up all the beds for Ialoveni on Thursday, and on Friday we were able to travel to the orphanage at Orhei and there assemble the remaining bed frames we had. The children at Orhei are all boys and with severe handicaps and because the boys in this home are not educated, they had no day classes to attend and were able to help us carry out the old beds from their rooms and carry in the new beds. In record time we built and installed 55 beds! And because the boys were by our sides the whole time, we were able to be there to see them sit on their new beds for the first time -- smiling and beaming, and jumping for joy! Their excitement was the crowning moment for the trip.
In spite of tired muscles and a few bruises, we received so much more than we gave. We pray that our week with these children has reminded them of how special they are and of how much God loves them.
In 2 Chronicles 14:11 we read, "O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come...!" How blessed we are to have met these children, learned their names, given them high fives, seen them beam over their art projects, and kicked a soccer ball with them. Even now that we have returned from Moldova, we can still see their faces in our memories, and a part of our hearts remain with them.
