This is Sergiu. He was in my bible study group the first summer I went to Moldova, and one afternoon, he slipped a picture and a note into my hand. He had hand drawn my name and written me a note thanking me for coming to camp. He showed me his cabin where he and his friends stayed during the summer. Its impossible to describe the kind of emotion that you experience when this child who has nothing begins to show you proudly his room and tell you that he loves you. I now sponsor Sergiu, and am grateful for a relationship with him that has continued to grow throughout the three years we have known each other.

As I began to ask more about Sergiu I found out that he had been taken away from his parents because they were both alcoholics. They have no legal right to him, and he has been at the orphanage since at least 2006 (when he was 8 years old). He has an older brother who turned 16 last year and graduated from the orphanage system, and Sergiu has no idea where he is.

Sergiu is very artistic and is also very smart. He always beats me at memory, and it's really crazy how easy it is for us to communicate with each other through symbols and facial expressions.

This is Viorica. Last year when we went to camp, Viorica was in medical confinement because she had a fungal growth on her scalp. She had been taken out of the orphange by her mother, who is a drug addict, and they had been sleeping under bridges and on sheep farms.

Thank goodness someone found her and returned her and her older sister to the orphanage so that she could get medical attention and have a roof over her head. She was in my bible study this summer and is now full of life! She's a beautiful 7 year old and loves to run and play. She has a beautiful heart and a killer smile!