Message of the day- Emily

The same God who speaks to us in a still small voice also uses winks and nudges, each too good and important to miss. James Whitefield

Journal by: Terri

This morning started off with our usual breakfast chatter.

The realization that our team is going to be down by one half next week weighs heavily on my mind. When Dan arrives we sing Happy Birthday (only 9 days early) and present him with his birthday card. As we are waiting for the taxi to arrive it once again strikes me that next week no taxi will be needed.

We arrived at the clinic ready to work with the dear active children who arrived yesterday. Ion is a handful! He is in a fabulous mood today though. Soon after we arrive he discovers the bubbles in the drawer. The bubble blowing begins! Miastra loves to stare at one individual bubble until it pops and immediately demands another be blown. Marius giggles and claps the bubbles with his hands. Alena enjoys watching the bubbles from afar. Ion watches for a few seconds and then tries to pry the wand from your hand. All of the children grow tired of bubbles – except Miastra, who screams when she is taken away from the bubbles for a medical exam and continues to scream when she comes back until bubbles are blown again.

The morning continues with volunteers singing, drawing, taking field trips down the hallway, etc! Feeding time seems to be one of the most hectic times fo the day. Paula and Alena are the only 2 stickla (bottle) eaters who eat without assistance and Ion is the only sold food eater who eats without assistance.

After the children are placed in cribs or in the playroom the volunteers had a quick soup and pizza lunch. We then went back upstairs for a farewell celebration with the doctors, nurses and aides. Dan chose 2 delicious cakes and various other goodies from Berlin and the pastry shop upstairs. The manager of the hospital, Dr Magda, made a speech thanking the volunteers and asking us to understand that any mistakes were due to miscommunication and she is confident things will get better with time.

After the party Kerry, Krista, Lorry and Jennéa walked to a nearby gas station to use the internet. Emily, Jane and I took advantage of the break time by relaxing at the hospital.

The afternoon passed quickly as everyone kept busy trying to contain and amuse the children. The aides were busy cleaning in anticipation of being short handed over the weekend. We moved most of the children into the playroom so their bedrooms could be cleaned.

The afternoon snack came a little later than usual – feeding the children cereal with milk was somewhat of a challenge. J I think more milk was absorbed by clothing than actually swallowed!

The hectic afternoon left little time for our teammates to become emotional about their last day.

After showers we were together for our last dinner. The conversation was lively as always even though we were physically and emotionally tired. The Viennese chicken dish was delicious. We toasted one another and took our last pictures together. La revedere Kerry, Krista and Jennéa – you will be missed!

This weekend was a lazy one, filled with sleeping, a trip to the Penny Market and walks to the gas station/internet café. Hopefully we will all be prepared and well rested for the coming week!