The team is on their flight back to LA from Munich.

The Team is Returning Home

The team is eating breakfast before hopping on our vans for the ride to the airport to return home.  Below is their itinerary, please call or check online for any arrival changes.  Also, I'm sure it goes without saying but please be early to greet your child at the airport.  I've seen it happen and it's a sad image to see one student standing alone watching all the other team members being hugged and greeted by family.  Thank you!!  I'll post a quick blog when the team is on their Munich flight.

Lufthansa flight 0452 arrives in LA at 7:05 pm coming from Munich

Zoltan, one of our drivers & translators also shared that watching our students care for each other and interact has renewed his faith in this generation of high school students. Those are great testaments to the caliber of your child! Thank you!! We are now on the road again going to our final dinner celebration. My final text will be tomorrow when the team is safely on the plane for Munich and then again when they're on the final flight to LA.

The last full day in Romania and the best part of the entire trip happened a few minutes ago in the hotel lobby. Yes, we did tour the Parliament building and it was incredible. However, none can compare to our final team debrief. Everyone shared their 'elevator story' (ask your kids what that is) and then shared how the trip affected them personally and what they'll take back home. It was an honest and heartfelt time of sharing and reflection. This is always my favorite part of any trip, to hear how hearts have been moved and changed. Please ask your child about what they shared during our final group debrief. It was inspiring and encouraging. Debbie shared that they don't normally host teams of high school students & she admitted she wasn't really too excited about our team. The hard work, great attitudes and general behavior has renewed her faith in high school teams!

Day one of touring is over and we're driving to Bucharest for McDonald's and our hotel. We left camp early and made the beautiful drive to Dracula's Castle in Transilvania. The impression was that it wasn't as creepy as assumed. It was exciting to be there but lacking in the torture chambers and other Draculaesque stereotypes, but definitely a once in a lifetime visit and well worth it. Next up was King Michael's Palace, said to be one of the most beautiful and ornate castles. We were not disappointed! Gilded statutes, stained glass windows, crystal chandeliers, a sword and armor room, marble busts, and more than mere word or picture descriptions can do proper justice. And now we are back on the road for about a two hour drive to Bucharest, but it's like LA, the drive time will depend upon traffic! We are a tired yet extremely content group and sad to be close to leaving Romania.

But, everyone returned laughing and with a memory not soon forgotten!! Thanks, Julian! After lunch we stopped to visit a Bible Club host home and distributed Easter treats. Oh, and that's where Julian tossed a chicken and milked a cow, just another day in Romania with Heart of Hope's site director. After that stop, we drove to a placement center for special needs children, often the most forgotten and neglected of all Romanian's children. We distributed Easter treats and then the children were very excited to show us their rooms. It was a beautiful sight to see our students lead by the hand by one or more of the children, anxious to entertain their new found friends. And now we're at the end of a long drive to dinner, after which we'll return to camp and pack for tomorrow's departure for Bucharest and sight seeing. Tomorrow's post will probably around this same time. Thanks!

Our second stop was Cincsor, extremely poor cement government housing and the highlight was a soccer ball Pete brought over. Well, the actual highlight was watching Pete shoot goals on their goalie! Just before he made a shot, Julian gave him a surprise attack by throwing a rock at the ball just as Pete was about to kick.....flashes of the old Charlie Brown football incident flashed through my mind and I wondered if we'd be able to pick Pete up off his back! The deflection was a success but Pete kept his balance, thankfully. Our final distribution site was Sebes and that held the memory of the trip. As we prepared the line for distribution, a man rode up on his horse drawn carriage-great photo op, right? Little did we know, Julian worked it out for the student to cram into his cart and go for a little ride after we finished. The 'little' ride turned a bit longer than anyone expected.