I'm not sure I could do the work Scott & Carolyn Pouncey do. Its not that its physically hard, but it is emotionally, mentally, and spiritually draining. I admire them.
It was interesting listening to Scott tell about how they ended up in Romania in the first place. It all started because they wanted to give their daughters (who were teenagers at the time) a world view. They started exploring options of where they could go on a mission trip. Romania, for various reasons, is the place that worked out. Fast forward a couple of years and they started visiting on a yearly basis, working with Iosif (more about him later) at the camps he ran for orphans. They both felt that God was telling them to pursue mission work in Romania. So, together, they decided to pursue their options until doors closed. All the while they're thinking, "At some point the door is going to close." ...But it never did. In 2012 they welcomed the first girl into their home.
Scott & Carolyn work with girls who have aged out of the orphanage or who have come from abusive situations. They intentionally only accept a few girls into their home because they want it to feel like a family environment instead of just another institution. They help the girls learn what it is like to be part of a family, something that they either never experienced or only experienced for a short time. They also help them find jobs or finish their education. In a nutshell, they become Mom and Dad to their girls. Thus the emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion they face.
To protect the girls' privacy I will not give their names. I will just refer to them by the first letter of their name. I also will not tell much of their backgrounds, because their stories are not mine to tell.
There were 4 girls staying with the Pouncey's. R was the first girl that came to live with them. We met her when we were there in 2012. I don't know why, but she really likes Keith. We were really excited to get to see her again and to introduce her to our kids. She is so quiet and usually doesn't like to be in group settings. So, Keith made sure to spend time with her wherever she was at so she didn't feel like she had to be in the group to get face time with him. Sometimes, he would just stay up late with her watching a movie while I was entertaining our kids with the other girls.
The other three girls have been with them anywhere from 18 months to 10 months. Right away Emma hit it off with A. A is so sweet and so good with the kids! She took them to the park and to get ice cream. She has a little dog named Snoopy. (the Pouncey's have a dog named Chili Bean who is Snoopy's daughter). The dogs loved playing with Emma and A would use the dogs to teach Emma Romanian. Within two days Emma was giving the dogs commands: "come," "stay," "open," "shut," "leave it," "fetch." Even now, when we talk to A via Skype, she asks Emma to say her Romanian words so she doesn't forget them. A wants to go to school to be a teacher. She will be so good at it! A, if you're reading this, I want you to know that I have faith in you. You can do anything through God who gives you strength and I believe that he has given you a heart for kids. You will make a wonderful teacher. Don't give up!
E has been there about 18 months. At first, I don't think she was sure what to think of Keith. It's interesting to me how he can have such different relationships with each of the girls. With R, he is the older brother watching out for her, taking care of her. We didn't get enough time with A so I'm not sure how I'd categorize their relationship. With B, he's just the weird guy who is fun to hang out with. But with E, he was the pest, but in a loving way. He'd pick on her and give her a hard time. At first I really was worried that she would want nothing to do with him. But by the end of the trip they were mutually obnoxious (but in a sweet way) to each other.
B was pretty quiet around us. I think mostly it is because she does not speak much English even though she can understand quite a bit. When she wasn't working, she and Emma hung out. A lot of times it was spent just playing on each other's tablets or playing with the dogs. B laughs a lot and has a beautiful smile. She also sang in the church choir, so when we attended we had fun waving to her from the audience.
The first few days there were just rest days, but it gave us a lot of free time to spend with the girls. We even got to celebrate the 4th of July with them. That night we had a cook out with some missionary friends of Scott & Carolyn. It was so much fun! Believe it or not, we celebrated with people from New Zealand, Romania, Scotland and Britain! Best 4th of July ever!!! We even had fireworks which was pretty cool. As we sat around the campfire we took time to pray over each country that was represented there. I've celebrated the 4th of July ever since I was a kid, but this was the first time I think I truly understood what freedom is all about. We are blessed to live in America. I think over the years I've fallen victim to the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome, but we have it REALLY good here. Even our worst is better than some countries' best. We need to remember that and be thankful! Being grateful does not mean that we settle for less than we are able to achieve as a country. But it does mean we need to recognize what we do have and stop complaining about what we don't, because our "don'ts" usually are pretty selfish things anyway.
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