11.

So much going on!

Lavinia, one of the daughters in our host family, turned 20 yesterday. We spent our evening after DH baking cookies (compromising about half the ingredients because in Romania they don't have chocolate chips, brown sugar, or regular oatmeal). We took them to Piata Unirii, the big town square where we spend most of our evenings, and met our usual group of friends + some visiting boys from Bucharest. It was funny to watch every boy take a cookie, look at it funny, take a bit, and then with wide eyes grab two more from the bag. The rest of the evening we enjoyed each other's company and celebrated the birth of a dear friend. Ashley and I have agreed that half of our experience in Romania lies outside of our time at Deborah House. This experience would not be complete without the hospitality of our host family and simple nights in Unirii with good company.

At DH yesterday, we were again left without our dear Sanda. Please be praying for her, as she is still in the hospital for prenatal sickness. Apparently, when she is pregnant, she is miserably ill for the entire 9 months. She hopes to be back in the office tomorrow, but we'll have to see about that. We had some more quality board game and hair-making time with the girls today before we met with Diana, the psychologist. For about an hour, we asked her the questions that had festered in our minds for the past week: How do you personally treat PTSD? Are you allowed to cry? What do you do if you want to cry? Are you allowed to hold them when they are breaking down? Have you ever not known what to do? Can we look through your books?

It sounds like we were interrogating her, but really it was more of a dialogue between a mentor and her two, curious pupils. We have learned so much from Diana the past couple of weeks, and are so grateful to have the opportunity to glean from her expertise. She is one of the most warm-hearted professionals I have ever had the opportunity to meet. It is incredible to me how she is able to tend to each girl with such intentionality and guardianship. Meeting Diana has been such a blessing for me personally. Conversing with her in psychology terms and bouncing back therapy-related ideas has been an incredible feeling--like I am part of a worldwide alliance. I am not just a psychology student in Seattle, I am bound for a profession that is thriving! What a realization, I know. But grasping this was like having something all of a sudden click. It's all coming together, and it's all very exciting.