I'm kind of in denial that we're currently in our 6th and final week of full-day camp. I wish I could stay forever or, at the very least, find a way to slow time down.

This is my 4th week as the craft station leader, and I think it goes without saying that having the opportunity to be at craft the past few weeks has been one of the most unexpected blessings of this summer. At first, I was a little bit worried that as a station leader, I wouldn’t be able to build connections with the kids since I wasn’t leading a color team, but the opposite has actually turned out to be true. Because all the kids come to craft, I'm actually able to get to know way more of them than I normally would be able to if I was leading my own team of kiddos, and I've definitely been able to get more than my fair share of the hugs and snuggles and high fives. Craft is my favorite station because almost every single camper (it doesn’t matter how hyper or how quiet or how old or how “cool” they are) will sit down and be engaged in making the craft in front of them. Many of these kiddos don’t have the chance to do things normal kids get to do, so I love seeing these kids be creative and be encouraged to be creative at craft time. Few things are sweeter than having a kid run up to me and proudly show me their finished craft. It makes my heart melt every. single. time. I also feel like the craft rotation is also a time for the leaders to relax and let loose a little bit, and I'm pretty sure I get some of the best entertainment because so many ridiculous things just happen during craft time. The craft room has turned into a runway for a couple of fashion shows, a temporary tattoo parlor and makeup room, and a battlefield for sticker wars (things get real intense, y'all). There's really never a dull moment in "lucru manual" (Romanian for "craft" - another cool thing about being a station leader is that I've picked up a ton of random Romanian phrases).

I also love that I get the chance to hang out with all the leaders when their team is at the craft rotation, and as a result, I've gotten to know a lot of the translators really well. And can I take a minute to brag on all our incredible translators? Our translators are all high school students, and they probably have the toughest job at camp because not only do they have to babysit their kids, they also have to babysit their Americans and make sure we understand what the kids are saying and vice versa. They're literally the glue that keep camp from falling apart, and I'm so, so thankful for each and every one of them. It's so much fun getting to go to "work" with these dear Romanian friends, and I have no doubt that they're going to be some of the people I miss most when I have to go home. (Shoot, I'm tearing up just thinking about that. I don't want to say goodbye!) Craft is also an awesome time where I get to hear about how my fellow camp interns' days are going, pray over them if they're having a rough day with a trouble kid, and celebrate the gospel conversations they've had with their team. My fellow interns are some of the most caring, compassionate, hard-working people I know, and it's been incredible getting to serve alongside people who share the same heart and passion for orphans.

As I've been preparing my heart to go home and reflecting on the past couple of months that I've been in Romania, I sometimes struggle with doubt that the work we're doing is making any sort of impact on these kids. After all, we only get to have them for one short week in the summer, and for most of us, we'll never have the chance to see these kids again, so it's hard to know whether or not this week of camp we do have with them will make a difference in contrast to the harsh realities they have to face on a daily basis during the rest of the year. Sometimes it's incredibly difficult to pour out love on kids week after week when we don't see the fruit of our labor, but God doesn't call us to be fruitful, He's merely called us to be faithful. God has placed us here in Romania at this particular time serving these particular kids for a particular reason, and because of that, I need to love these children fiercely and unconditionally regardless of how hard they are to love and whether or not we'll see them again after this week. I feel like I tend to overcomplicate and overthink about things when it's really quite simple - all God is calling me to do here in Romania is to love these children and the people around me. That's it. He's not asking me to find them all families and heal all their emotional wounds and save them all because heavens know that there's absolutely no way I would be able to do that. That's a burden only He can carry, and when I think for a second that anything I do on my own strength will make any sort of impact, everything gets screwed up because as imperfect human beings, that's just what we tend to do. But when we surrender our pride and become obedient in the seemingly simple things He's called us to do, that's when mountains are moved and lives are changed because Jesus works wonders when I allow Him to use me however He wants to use me to further His kingdom. In the midst of all the team posters, paper flowers, and trophies that are being created during the week, I'm constantly reminded that God is faithful to His promises that as the Defender of the Fatherless, He is creating something beautiful in the hearts of these kids as well.