As 2008 came to a close, I had the unique and humbling opportunity to serve on an International Teams volunteer Christmas team in Romania. Nine Canadians and one American travelled to the International Teams training house in Cluj, Romania to join a small Romanian volunteer team. During our time there we brought a bit of “Christmas” to children in several orphanages, and supported the ongoing Romanian team with every opportunity we could. We journeyed from large orphanages (like the one in Beclean) to the poorest of orphanages (like the one in Illisua). Additional opportunities to experience God in the faces of the poorest of the poor and broken-hearted came as we visited the bleakest of institutions for the elderly, hospital psychiatric wards, and a stark schoolhouse in the impoverished countryside of Figa. As part of this team, at each venue, I also had the unique and profound opportunity to play the role of “Santa Claus”. As cliché as it is to say – still, it is so – that a picture paints a thousand words. Thus, though impossible to fully explain the experience, this slideshow of visuals (set to the award-winning music of one of our team members) speaks volumes. The pictures were taken in facilities where we were permitted to photograph. (Which is definitely not all of them, for several reasonable, and sometimes shameful, reasons.) For more information about The Romania Project, and links to the broader work of International Teams, go to:www.theromaniaproject.com .

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