Saints in Romania: Our Last Day in Pro Vita

Today, sadly, was our last day here at the community. We woke up early ready to get some work done before the kids came home from school. It was a special day as well, as today was John's 16th birthday! On your birthday in Romania, it is a tradition for the birthday boy (or girl) to carry around a bag of candy. Well wishers then kiss the person on the cheek for luck and help themselves to a piece. John celebrated in that style, which is why he is pictured with such a large bag of sweets in many of today's photos! 

Our mornig started with some work in Pro Vita's garden. We were charged with breaking up the soil to prepare it for summer vegetables. It was a challenge working with only a couple rakes with the rest of us working with stakes of wood. The garden will be planted with beets, onions, cabbage, and radishes. Near the end of our time gardening, some of our Saints even planted a couple rows of onions. Ian Thompson reflected below on his time in the garden.

"Our task for the last day was to help in the garden. The dirt was in dried clumps, not wen close to being able to plant. Some of us were given rakes and hoes, but others just wooden sticks. We spent about two hours just breaking up the dirt and breaking it into lines. Towards the end a couple people started planting seeds."

After working, we walked up the road into the village to retrieve the kindergarten students from school. The students had a special surprise for John and sang and handed him presents as he entered. We then walked the students back to Pro Vita. It was an overload of cuteness!

It was then time to sit down for lunch where the ladies working in the kitchen surprised John with a cake. Since the Orthodox Church is still fasting for Lent, the cake was vegan yet still delicious! 

In the afternoon, we had one last chance to play with the children we have grown to know. Our students were swinging and sliding next to their new little friends. Jessica Gu wrote about our last afternoon with the children.

"After eating a nice lunch and celebrating John's birthday with a chocolate cake, we had some free time. Most of us did not leave the playground because we wanted to spend a large amount of time with the kids. All of us decided to go on a walk up the hill across the orphanage, and the view was beautiful! Before our final goodbyes, the kids seemed confused and did not quite understand that we will not be here tomorrow. Also, I came to realize that I might never see these beautiful, shining faces ever again."

Our trip departs bright and early tomorrow morning as we begin our journey home. But before it was time for us to say our final goodbyes, our hosts surprised us with one more birthday cake after dinner!