Monday, June 23

Our little fellowship of nine in Romania had a full day of training with the SMILES staff. We were introduced to the director of various projects to get a brief overview of their work and challenges. SMILES has created meaningful relationships that show God’s love by caring for children, families, elderly, and the homeless population within the community. They have a full work-load, requiring emotional and physical energy. As such, a presentation on the signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue and self-care were timely. The Regent team shared key points on these topics and invited discussion to help the SMILES staff consider how the information applied to themselves. We also taught deep breathing and visualization techniques to reduce stress in the care giver and/or in clients. Interaction in small groups allowed us to better understand some aspects of Romanian culture and helped build a partnership between SMILES and the trauma team. The feedback seems as though the presentation was useful to staff and offered helpful ideas to maintain self-care. Another highlight of the day was welcoming another 8 team members to the site before dinner! The final 10 are coming on 2 flights and will be in during the late night/early morning hours. As a wise professor once said, “Blessed are the flexible for they will never be bent out of shape.” God has blessed us indeed with a positive attitude, team bonding, and His presence in our circumstances.