This Is Why I Do What I Do

Today, I had a great reminder of why I do what I do. We spent the day in Tinca where we visited two Manna feeding centers and the girls' home that serve the gypsy communities here. We finally got to hang around while the kids ate in one of the centers and everyone really enjoyed seeing that. There was also a lot going on with the dental clinics today, and Grace and the dental team had a ton of difficult extractions and issues like that to deal with. I cannot remember the exact order we saw/did everything in but I ended up back at the girls' home for about an hour and a half after lunch so that I could drop off some stuff with the girls and have a good time with them (e.g., friendship bracelet strings, nail polish). When I got back to the dental clinic later that afternoon, I was in and out of it either playing with some of the kids or actually helping with the clinic (e.g., bagging up antibiotics, holding hands, flipping a switch for the water drill). There was supposed to be a church service around 6:00 but it had been cold and raining all day so it was canceled. We ended up working until 7:30/8:00 and had a quick dinner and discussion about tomorrow before coming back to the hotel. Now, most of the group is at McDonalds doing a late night pie run (they've been gone over an hour and it's already 11:15 pm!) and I've been busy uploading pics and catching up on this blog.

It was kind of difficult to write this post because I think the pictures speak louder than words about the conditions here that we were dealing with (there are some below). There is a ton of poverty and very little care (if any; like dental care) in this specific area. Manna provides the physical and spiritual support; volunteers like us help provide the social and emotional support. It's really cool to come on a trip like this and know that you're a part of this. Whether you donate time or money or another type of support, you matter in some sort of way. I know that making friendship bracelets with kids isn't going to change the world. But if I can serve as an example or a role model to even just one child, that's enough for me. By continually returning to the same country (and to a country that I happen to love because of the wonderful people here), I'm showing these children that they matter to me, that someone cares enough to visit them multiple times. Who knows... that might not do anything for them. However, I would like to hope that somewhere down the line, it will make a difference regardless of how big or small it is. I am just one little part of a very large equation. I don't really matter that much in the large scheme of things. But when you put me together will all the other little tiny pieces, it does matter. It only takes one drop to completely change the nature of water or the lake or whatever saying that I just made up there.

P.S. I have a ton more awesome pics that I posted on Facebook and will eventually get up somewhere else for everyone to see.

P.P.S. Tomorrow morning, we're going shopping with the girls from the group home (they pretty much only have the clothes they came in wearing) and getting them a washing machine for the house before heading off to do another clinic in around 10:30. Then, the plan is to leave around 2:00 pm and do the 4 hour drive into Budapest (Hungary) so there is a little time for half our group to see the city in daylight. Five group members fly out of there on Saturday and in turn, we pick up a few new group members who will be coming back into Romania with us and basically do the reverse trip of what we've done.