A Week of Summer Fun For The Little Ones

By Maya A. Volunteer in Romania

Our big event of the summer was a summer camp for some of the kids from the Roma colony of Mintia. These kids are often not allowed to leave their area, and even if they could, they don’t have a mode of transportation. Hence, we organized a week of activities for them to enjoy with us!

The week included: a water day (with lots of relay races), a trip to the pool, a trip/picnic in the park, and a day in the mountains!

Each day, the kids would arrive and eat breakfast with us. We would invite them into the chapel for a short morning prayer. Afterward, we had a small program with a lesson, and by the time we were done with lunch, we would head out to our afternoon activity.

We were fortunate enough to have some friends with large cars who helped shuffle all the kids around. However, one constant problem was the classic cry: “I’m hungry!!” It didn’t matter how soon we had finished a meal or a snack—this cry would come at all times.

One day, after leaving the pool, we experienced God’s providence. The walk home from the pool takes about 20 minutes, and I braced myself for the usual chorus of complaints. We had been walking, as the kids put it, “for freakin’ ever” (in reality, less than 5 minutes), so we took a quick water break.

Then, out of nowhere, a man named Michael appeared and handed us two large containers of fresh blackberries from his garden. It was such a relief and re-energized all the kids to continue our trek home.