Update for the 28th -

This update is actually from a couple nights ago. We had a terrific experience at a new kind of orphanage. There is an organization called Caminul Felix. Because the orphanages were so bad during the communist era, two missionaries from Sweden started this concept of family communities. In the old orphanages, there would be 3 and 4 times the number of kids that were supposed to be there. Children were often given medicine to make them sleep for hours on end. This stunted their growth both mentally and physically. We were at a community of 10 houses. The concept is that these orphans should be raised as a family - with a mother and father. This is similar to "foster parents" but so much more. For example, the man and wife who hosted us for dinner moved into this community at age 26, after one yr of marriage. They were given 17 children over that year! To see that family together was very heartwarming. The support goes beyond raising the children, it is for the rest of their lives - their weddings, their education,and so on. They end up breaking a cycle poverty as well. Two of the girls in this "family" were adopted at ages 8 & 7. They were living on the street because their mom had committed suicide. To talk to these girls now was really amazing. One of them is about to finish her last year in college in Cincinnati. The two pictures are of some of us with the family the other picture is of George (one of the older kids) sitting next to Scott.

I still have a couple days to update, but will need to do that in a bit. More to follow....