Moldova and the mission

I am about to begin the trip of a life time. It is not possible to describe the anticipation and great expectations associated with travel to the other side of the world to work with children who have only food and shelter, maybe two changes of clothing. I will be working with about 110 children, ages 6 through 15. They are residents of a state operated orphanage in Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova. During the winter months, 500+ children reside in the facility. Most of the children have extended family who will take them in during the summer. Those remaining have very little to do during the summer. Our children complain they "have nothing to do, I'm bored", but these children rely on the generosity of organizations and churches to provide the simplest of summer activities. We'll provide games, sports, activities for personal and spiritual renewal. We will also take craft materials and provide t-shirts for painting and other fun crafts that our children in this country nonchalantly enjoy every summer. One of my assignments is to provide Bible study and educational materials with the Moldovan adults who monitor the children during the summer. This will be my first experience to work with an interpreter. I am grateful for the opportunity.

I began planning this trip nearly a year ago. Last June I began investigating the possibility. It has taken, literally, a year to bring the plans to this point for departure. You may be interested in reading more about Moldova and the organizations who are sponsoring this trip:

CERI

Oakmont Baptist Church

21st Century Learning

For comments and reflections on 21st century learners see eSchoolNews

Summer 2007 at ECU

East Carolina

Welcome to Summer School at East Carolina University. Summer is fast paced. To be successful you must be very focused in assignments and readings. I have four major events planned for this summer--First; I'll be traveling to Eastern Europe in early June. I'll be in Moldova, a small country east of Romania and west of the Ukraine. I'll be teaching Bible classes at an orphanage and working with the adult camp leaders living in the capital city of Chisinau...more on this later.

Secondly, I'll be teaching two courses in 2nd summer term. I love EDTC 6035. It's a great course for both classroom teachers and media specialists. I'll also lead a seminar with about 10 interns in the MAEd IT degree program. This is the culmination of their degree program and we want this to be useful for preparing them in future careers and employment. I'll also begin with the MAEd IT cohorts that begin in 2nd summer. We'll have our first Summer Institutes in late June and early July. Many thanks to Tom Frye and Harnett County Schools for hosting the first institute. Schools in Craven County and in Charlotte will also host institutes.

Last, I will work with Pembroke Middle School in Pembroke NC. They've just been awarded an IMPACT grant from the state of Norht Carolina. In talking with teachers and the media specialist at PMS, I'm convinced this will be a two way learning opportunity---I'll learn more about the needs and interests of teachers in a middle school, and the teachers will gain new strategies for teaching 21st century students.