I have just returned from Moldova & my mind is once again racing with so many thoughts!  I will send another email with a complete update from the trip, but first I had to share something that completely overwhelmed me.

As some of you may recall, the girl in the picture above is Valentina.  This was taken in 2008 during our first trip to Moldova.  Valentina was in Cupcui Orphanage & we spent a day there just loving on the kids.  Valentina immediately took to Sheree & me.  Throughout the day, if she was not with us, she would come running back to where we were to make sure we hadn’t left.  She constantly smiled.  I remember so vividly that night as the time for us to leave drew near.  I wanted to give Valentina something but pretty much had nothing with me.  I looked in my backpack & found a CD promo picture & gave it to her.  She ran into her classroom, got her notebook out, & put that picture in a sheet protector.  Then she turned it around to show me what she had done.  As we got ready to leave I looked at her & waved to communicate that we had to leave.  She shook her head “no”.  At this point I am already having to fight back tears.  She asked, through an interpreter, if we were coming back tomorrow.  I felt a lump in my throat as I had to tell her that was our only day there.  We stood at the front door as all of the children gathered around us to say goodbye.  Valentina runs up to me & just throws her arms around me & begins to sob.  (Even as I type this I can vividly recall that night).  I told my friend Irina to tell Valentina not to cry & I promised I would come back to see her one day.  As we got in the van, our entire group just broke down because of these precious children.  When I returned to the States, God gave me song about the orphans in Moldova.  Valentina was the inspiration behind this song, specifically the first few lines: “Did you see that smile upon her face; Did you feel that touch from her embrace?  And they ask you why you ever have to go away.  And they wonder, will they see you another day.”

Fast forward about a year.  I get a call that Valentina had been raped, gotten pregnant, & was forced to have an abortion.  When I told Sheree, we were both devastated.  And here I am begging God to allow me to fulfill my promise of going to see her again.  She began the painful road to recovery at the young age of 15.  Just last year an organization came in & shut down Cupcui (that’s another story that is now a miracle I’ll share in the next email).  They turned the children loose, offering even extended relatives as little as a can of paint to take them back in.  They would collect their “payment” & then kick their children out again.  There were times when I thought making good on my promise would not become reality.  Philip Cameron Ministries tried to get Valentina into Stella’s House, but her mom would not allow it.  One of the things I had hoped to do on this recent trip was to visit Valentina & fulfill my promise to her.  On the last day, that opportunity arrived.  We traveled out to her village to see her.  It was risky because there was no way to know if she would be there.  Earlier in the day I bought a nice winter coat, from me & Sheree, to give to her.  We also bought a bunch of groceries for her mom & little sister.  I was nervous as we drove out there.  Valentina had faced so much in the short 2 ½ years since we were last there.  I didn’t know if she would remember me or not, but that was ok.  I just simply wanted to bless her with this new coat & see that smile again.  As we drove up to her house in this poor village, her mom came out to the road.  We asked if Valentina was there & she said yes & invited us in.  Valentina came walking out & smiled as she saw the familiar faces of Philip’s daughter (Melody) & a friend from her orphanage.  She made eye contact with me & I waved & smiled.  I waited for just a moment & decided I was going to show her the picture of her & me at her orphanage.  I asked my friend Maia to tell her this: “Valentina, 2 ½ years ago we were at Cupcui & you & I took a picture together”.  She interrupted Maia & said “I have picture”.  I thought that was really cool, but wondered who would have given her this particular picture.  She went in her house & quickly came back out.  In her hands was the picture I had given her 2 ½ years ago, STILL in the protective covering she put it in that day!!  When I & the rest of the team saw that, you could have heard a pin drop as we were all overtaken by the moment.  I fought back tears to no avail.  This girl had faced some of the most difficult times anyone could face, & was living in extremely poor conditions, and she had held on to this picture!  As we went inside I was still in shock.  I managed to tell her that Sheree & I had bought her a new coat for the winter.  When I pulled it out she didn’t want to touch it because her hands were dirty.  She went outside, washed her hands in their dirty water, then came back in.  She put the coat on so we could take a picture.  Her face was lit up with excitement.  We asked her mom if she would allow her to come spend the night at Stella’s House that night, & she agreed.  Her mom was wiping away tears when she saw the person in that picture was standing beside her daughter taking a picture.  I told Valentina that I had made a promise to come back & see her 2 ½ years ago, and that day was my fulfillment of that promise.  She went to eat with us that night & then came back to Stella’s House…rarely leaving my side.  I told her that she was the inspiration for the song I wrote, “Song For Moldova”.  Then, in another moment I will never forget, I sang “Song for Moldova” with Valentina standing right beside me at Stella’s House.  I still can’t believe what happened on our last day.  God allowed me to find her once again, and for that, I am so thankful.  It was a great night!  And now there is the possibility that her mom is going to allow her to stay at Stella’s House permanently!!  Be praying for Valentina!  Take a look at the picture below.  I’ll never forget it.