Megan in Moldova

A lot of you have been asking me about my trip to Moldova and what I will be doing there. When and why am I going? What will I be doing? Is Moldova a real country... things to that effect. Although i don't want to make this blog entirely about Moldova, I will probably write about it quite a bit here.

First off, yes. Moldova is a real country. It is not next to Genovia and you don't have to enter through the back of a wardrobe. It is a pretty small eastern European country, landlocked right in between Romania and the Ukraine. The people there speak mostly Romanian, but a lot of folks speak Russian as well (thanks Professor Wagenblast for making my math quizzes in Russian, maybe that will help while I'm there!) The country is mostly agricultural and has tons and tons of sunflower fields (my favorite flower!). However, I will be living in Chinsinau, which is the capitol city, so there probably won't be an abundant amount of easily accessible flowery meadows.

Moldova has also struggled a lot financially since the fall of communism in 1991.  In fact, a lot of people are forced to illegally emigrate in order to make enough money to support their families. Due to the poor economic state of the country, a lot of children are abandoned by parents or trafficked. During my time in Moldova, I will be working with children at a state run boarding school. The program I am going with is called Word Made Flesh. It is a pretty spectacular organization that works to bridge the economic gap between people through mutual friendships. During my 4 months abroad I hope to learn from the people of Moldova and convey my love for them as well. I want this to be not just a mission for them, but a growing experience for myself. I want to learn how to love better and I want to know God more fully. I also want to share the love that I have received and to give my time and energy to people who have suffered in different ways than I understand.

I am leaving March 1st and will return sometime around the beginning of July. If you want to learn more about the organization or if you would be willing to sponsor me (I need to raise about $5,000 to go) you can go to the Word Made Flesh website at  http://www.wordmadeflesh.org/. In order to donate you need to click the donate button on the left hand side. Once you have filled out all your information, make sure you write my name in the box that asks where you would like your donation to go!