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The trainings and trip to Romania was the most heart breaking and yet heart warming experience I have ever had. Andreea Salinas generously opened her home to us. We spent the first few days in Bucharest recovering from jet lag. We then visited with agencies and prepared for the conference. The amazing people that we met were very helpful to give insight to help fine tune the conference presentation. Danut and Cristina Capatan from Orasul Sperantgi were the most amazing, dedicated, selfless people I have ever met. The hearts that they have for the street people, for the orphans, for other agencies and for our Lord cannot be described. The nearly helpless situation that they face daily with love and devotion was overwhelming to me. The conference in Bucharest honored this agency and many others dedicated to the children in a very beautiful conference room in the Marriot. The participants shared with me that it made them feel special and lifted them up. The lunches that were served for them were bountiful and loving. It helped to honor and encourage those working to help the children heal. The information of understanding Attachment Disorder, brain development and the tools to help the children to heal was translated very professionally by Andreea Salinas and well received by the enthusiastic audience. Some of the agencies that were represented were: Hope Romania, Hope Worldwide, Children To Love International, Word Made Flesh International, among others.

I was honored to be interviewed by Ioana Masariu for Radio Romania International that is heard in 17 countries. The days following the conference in Bucharest we visited orphanages, a childrens' home, a center for street people, the sewer where the homeless people live and the Romanian Ballet. The sewer was heart breaking reality. It brought home the hopeless situation for the children who don't get help early enough. Part of the work that Danut and Cristina do is to provide burial for the children that don't survive the sewer. To see such young people with no way of changing their destiny, inhaling paint fumes to numb the pain of hunger, cold and loneliness as they wait to die, broke my heart.

We traveled by train from the gray concrete buildings and trash covered streets to Constanta. When we arrived we walked along the Black Sea where there are no waves and it fit the country so well. As the people of Romania walk along the sidewalk or the hallways their faces are grim and gray. The lack of waves of the ocean mirrored that constant feeling that something was missing. Friends walk along and talk and laugh in our country. Both oceans splash and breath with waves. It's like Romania is holding its breath waiting to breath until someone turns on the air. I think communism knocked the wind out of their sails, stole their hope and left them gray.

In Constanta we visited an orphanage for HIV infected developmentally delayed orphans. The staff wore no gloves and hugged and loved and accepted the children just the way they were. We had a staff meeting with the head of Fundatia CHI RO, Adrian Olariu. He spoke with passion and grave concern for the children when he shared with us they are $100,000 short to be able to continue to care for the 100's of HIV infected children. He told us they started with 1200 children and that over 600 had already died. We had a tour of a state of the art dental clinic set up by a dentist from Colorado and a beautiful medical clinic where Dr. Olariu was caring for the children. We visited a state run baby orphanage where the director, Sanda Lordache, had many years of experience working with orphanage infants. We held and played with babies in the "socialization room" that was equipped with colorful toys. There were 17 babies and two caregivers.

We met Liliana Gaina, Ligia Silivestru and Cornelia Constantin. These amazing ladies run a very loving home for HIV infected children. They also have incredibly amazing foster parents who take in the older children and nurture them. The three day training was translated by Liliana. The room was filled with foster parents, adoption workers, orphanage workers and staff. Joel and Monica Klepac traveled from Bucharest to Constanta. They had attended the training in Bucharest and were so excited they wanted more. The entire audience was enthusiastic and excited to have the new tools to help children. At the end of the conference there was hope in their eyes and excitement in their voices as they presented me with a magnificent hand carved plaque of praying hands. I spent the next few days traveling from foster home to foster home encouraging, gaining a deeper understanding and being struck with awe at these loving women who open their hearts and homes to defiant, angry, developmentally delayed children that are infected with HIV and have little hope to even survive. Each home that I visited I saw the love between the mother and the child clearly reflected when their eyes met. It warmed my heart to see such powerful unconditional love.

I was fed and nurtured by the foster families in the peasant villages and the loving staff. The Romanian people are hard working, dedicated and generous.

When I returned to Bucharest the night before I flew home I met with Danut and Cristina. I was exhausted and heart broken. They were exhilarated and hope-filled. They shared with me that they had been working for the children for over 10 years, had had many trainings and that this training was the best they had ever received. They were lit up with joy as they described the improvements in the children that they were already seeing from the new techniques. I flew home with my heart broken from the sadness and the hopelessness I felt for the children of Romania and my heart filled with love and admiration for the amazing people there that are giving their lives to make a difference. I believe the heart-break of the entire trip was a good investment. I know that the time and financial investment that Daphne Weils and Cindy Williams donated from their hearts will be felt for years to come.