Romania Part 5 - Character list for week #5

Sorry for the delay in finishing up my journal about our trip. We enjoyed a mini family get-away this past weekend and I am just now getting back into my routine.

As I mentioned in the last post, once we were done helping Iosif with VBS in Gataia we headed to Arad to do some work with Scott and Carolyn. This means that there is a whole new list of people to get to know. So here's the cast of characters for week #2:

Scott & Carolyn Pouncey: American missionaries living in Romania for the past 4 years. They've worked with street kids and orphans. They recently were able to start up their new ministry which I am excited to support. They have an apartment in Arad and across the hall they rent a second apartment. So far in the second apartment they have 3 girls plus a social worker, but they have space for a fourth girl. Their hope is to eventually have space for 12 girls (correct me if I'm wrong Scott!). All three girls living there have aged out of the foster care system and so they are now on their own. Scott & Carolyn work with them on finding jobs, finishing school, and learning the basic life skills that our parents teach us. They intentionally live out a healthy husband/wife relationship so that these girls can see what God wants for them too. They have truly become the stable parents that these girls never had. I do not know all the back story on the girls so I don't know their family situation. Some kids in the system have parents - it's just that the parents can't take care of them.

Gabby & Samina: Romanian husband and wife. Gabby has inherited land from his grandfather. He has always wanted to use it to share his love of nature and God with others. God brought him together with the Pouncey's and they are working as partners to use that land to build a horse ranch that will function as a therapy ranch for troubled girls. The only thing holding them back is money. Some of the girls that could be helped by this are ones that have been rescued from prostitution (which is common in Romania). Also, the general mindset of the male/female relationship is that if the guy needs to beat his girl into submission - that's okay. I kind of see Romania as having the mentality of the U.S. in the early 1900's. So there are young women that need to be restored. This ranch could help with that.

Jackie: an American missionary living in Romania for the past 15 years. She works with ministering to the gypsies and providing food to widows... among many other projects. She and the Pouncey's work together on some of her projects.

Adina: social worker living with the Pouncey's. Adina is a busy girl. Not only does she help the Pouncey's in their ministry (being a big sister/house mother to the girls, helping with paperwork for the Pouncey's, grocery shopping, etc.), but she is also employed by Jackie and helps her with all her ministry work.

The "girls": Even in the short time they have been with the Pouncey's (since May I believe), there is already much love. Scott is very protective of "his girls," especially in regards to the Italian boys who live on the floor below them. (He does NOT like the Italian boys. Just mentioning them brings a fire to his eyes).

Ramona: 21 years old. She graduated from a technical high school and currently works in a factory sewing clothes. She is very sweet and bubbly.

Mariana (aka: Fifi): 20 years old. She just completed her first year of nursing school. She is one of the most petite people I've ever met. :) (Thus the nickname Fifi).

Alina (not to be confused with Adina): 18 years old. Although she is 18, she just completed the 8th grade. Unlike the US, you have to take tests to be able to move on to the next grade. So being a certain age does not garantee you'll be at a certain grade level. However, it is virtually impossible to get a job without at least a 10th grade education. So being able to finish school is very important. Since Alina turned 18, she was told she had to leave the foster home at the end of the school year. But instead of living with a relative or maybe ending up on the street, she lives with Scott & Carolyn and will now be able to finish her education.

And the Pouncey's "son" - Liviu: he is Fifi's boyfriend. He also grew up in foster care. In fact, he met Fifi when he went back to the foster home to visit some friends of his. He is also the one that encouraged Fifi to live with the Pouncey's and take advantage of the opportunities they could provide for her. He is a strong believer and has a powerful testimony about how God has worked in his life. He is a stock broker and dreams of one day being able to visit Wall Street.

Dany & Lavina: Husband and wife (Dany is Adina's brother). They helped drive us around town and helped us on a couple of our projects throughout the week. Very sweet people!

Claudia: social worker that the Pouncey's met about 7 years ago when they were making yearly trips to Romania, but not yet living there. She is super sweet. She helped us out a couple of days toward the end of the week.

Well, that is the character list for this week. (I apologize to my friends if I spelled any of your names wrong!) I hope you enjoy getting to know them better as I tell you about the remainder of our trip.

Until next time...