Dustin's GreenHouse Wishlist in the News and Record!

http://www.news-record.com/wishlist

Attention High School Seniors!!!!!!

20 Schools in NC have waived application fees for students who submit their admissions applications this week!

Bennett
Brevard
Campbell
Chowan
Gardner-Webb
Greensboro
Johnson C. Smith
Lenoir Rhyne
Livingstone
Louisburg
Mars Hill
Meredith
Montreat
NC Wesleyan
Peace
Pfeiffer
St. Andrews
Saint Augustine's
Shaw
Wingate

Here is a link to the article in the News & Record and to CFNC with more details:

News and Record Article

CFNC Details

Community Matters Non-Profit Festival

Stop by the Community Matters Non-Profit Festival this weekend. You can shop for holiday gifts and support local charities at the same time! We are selling some great thngs at our booth!!!

When: Saturday, November 7th, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Where: Operations Center, 1300 East Hartley Avenue (Across from Oak Hollow Mall, High Point)

Why: To Raise Money and Awareness for DGH Programs In-Country & Communities Abroad

"Half of US kids will get food stamps"

Associated Press: Nov. 2, 2009 - Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say.

The estimate comes from an analysis of 30 years of national data, and it bolsters other recent evidence on the pervasiveness of youngsters at economic risk. It suggests that almost everyone knows a family who has received food stamps, or will in the future, said lead author Mark Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St. Louis.

"Your neighbor may be using some of these programs but it's not the kind of thing people want to talk about," Rank said.

The analysis was released Monday in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The authors say it's a medical issue pediatricians need to be aware of because children on food stamps are at risk for malnutrition and other ills linked with poverty.

"This is a real danger sign that we as a society need to do a lot more to protect children," Rank said.

Food stamps are a Department of Agriculture program for low-income individuals and families, covering most foods although not prepared hot foods or alcohol. For a family of four to be eligible, their annual take-home pay can't exceed about $22,000.

According to a USDA report released last month, 28.4 million Americans received food stamps in an average month in 2008, and about half were younger than age 18. The average monthly benefit per household totaled $222.

Rank and Cornell University sociologist Thomas Hirschl studied data from a nationally representative survey of 4,800 American households interviewed annually from 1968 through 1997 by the University of Michigan. About 18,000 adults and children were involved.

Overall, about 49 percent of all children were on food stamps at some point by the age of 20, the analysis found. That includes 90 percent of black children and 37 percent of whites. The analysis didn't include other ethnic groups.

The time span included typical economic ups and downs, including the early 1980s recession. That means similar portions of children now and in the future will live in families receiving food stamps, although ongoing economic turmoil may increase the numbers, Rank said.

An editorial in the medical journal agreed.

"The current recession is likely to generate for children in the United States the greatest level of material deprivation that we will see in our professional lifetimes," Stanford pediatrician Dr. Paul Wise wrote.

Wise said the Archives study estimate is believable.

"I find it terribly sad, but not surprising," Wise said.

James Weill, president of Food Research and Action Center, a Washington-based advocacy group, said the analysis underscores that "there are just very large numbers of people who rely on this program for a month, six months, a year."

"What I hope comes out of this study is an understanding that food stamp beneficiaries aren't them — they're us," Weill said.

The analysis is in line with other recent research suggesting that more than 40 percent of U.S. children will live in poverty or near-poverty by age 17; and that half will live at some point in a single-parent family. Also, other researchers have estimated that slightly more than half of adults will use food stamps at some point by age 65.

DGH Highlighted in the Business and Philanthropy Journals:

Check Out the Article!
http://philanthropyjournal.org/nc/ncnews/dustin%E2%80%99s-greenhouse-aims-nurture-kids

DGH Volunteer Kick-Off Meeting

We are hosting a volunteer kick-off meeting on Monday, October 19th from 6:00-7:00. If you are interested in learning more about Dustin’s GreenHouse, and/or have an interest in getting involved in our Globetrotter or Village programs, we would love to have you join us!

Valleybrook Office Center 

5009 High Point Road, 27407

Please let us know if you plan on attending; we look forward to planting seeds of hope and opportunity together in the near future!

Congrats to this year's Hope Grows Here Golf Tournament Winners:

Championship Flight, 1st Place:
William Johnson
Jeff Crittenden
Rick Poston
Brent Marty

Championship Flight, 2nd Place:
Jim Costas
Chris Costas
Scott Hamilton
Gary Stratton

First Flight, 1st Place:
Dick Toomey
Fred Starr
Carl Smith
Jeff Holmes

First Flight, 2nd Place:
Layne Fuller
Burke Prarie
Chris Morris
Mike Mensel

Ladies Flight, 1st Place:
Kris Bullock
Lin Bostian
Krista Headley
Caren Bills

Ladies Flight, 2nd Place
Jamie Gulledge
Sue Miller
Debbie Champagne
Marianne Ganley

Long Drive:
Brent Marty

Closest to the Pin:
Tyler Handy

The GreenHouse Circuit

Hey Fellow Travelers!
Just wanted to let the team know that tonight I had Ashia and Genny (and Lou) attend my Greenboro Woman's Club meeting for the program. I told a little about DGH and Romania and Ashia and Genny told about our experience. They blew the room away! They both spoke so articulately and really entertained and touched the hearts of the women present. (I just wish there had been more members present....I guess, since it's nearly Labor Day people are out of town.). I was so proud of both girls. I had one woman ask if the team would be interested in speaking at her church and numerous people commented on how poised and well-spoken they were. Way to Go!!!

Vanessa

Admin:

A couple of new blogs to capture a couple of different chapters...

Leopard Umbrella: www.leopardumbrella.blogspot.com

"ie" Adventures: www.ieadventures.blogspot.com

Go Sara, it's your "first" day...

One of our GreenHouse leaders, Sara Corcoran, just got a job teaching Biology at Southern Guilford High School. Anyone who knows Sara would agree, she will definitely be the coolest teacher at school!
Good luck with your first day Mrs. Corcoran. We love you very much, and we are SO INCREDIBLY PROUD of you!

Play, Sponsor, Volunteer!!!

The 8th Annual Dustin's GreenHouse Golf Tournament is just around the corner! This is our ONE MAJOR FUNDRAISER of the year, so please consider getting involved either as a player, a sponsor or as a volunteer.

Tournament details are online at: www.dustinsgreenhouse.org

WFMY Interviews

Rosemary Plybon organized a follow-up interview with some of our 2009 team members since our return to the US. Here's a link to the interview in case you missed it on Tuesday: http://www.digtriad.com/news/GMS/article.aspx?storyid=128456&catid=67

Words of Wisdom from Ashia Neal

Females,

We slowly build our confidence and self-esteem throughout the years... then what happens? So many of us allow a man or a simple incident tear it all away...

We are too strong, too beautiful!! Don't let it happen. Rise above it. You are great! WE are great, inside and out, and don't you ever for a second get to thinking your anything less than the BEST!!!!

I LOVE YOU LADIES.

Back home, safe and sound!

Welcome Home Romanian Team

The Dustin's GreenHouse 2009 Globetrotters are on the way back to the states from their wonderful two-week trip to Romania!!!

Let's welcome them home with open arms and true Southern hospitality!!!

Would love for anyone to join us...all friends of Dustin's GreenHouse.

The team is due to arrive in Greensboro tonight (August 3rd),
PTI Airport, at 7:14 pm, USAirways Flight#3847.
I will update with any flight status changes.

Come one, come all to welcome home our Globetrotters!!!

See you at the airport...Ashley Staton

Perfection (by Sammantha Ingram)

In a perfect place where nothing is what it seems,
It’s like I’m in some enchanted, perfected dream.

The flawless houses and perfect sky,
How perfectly magnificent it is, you can’t deny.

The kind people with their perfect smiles,
Reaching the desired destination in the perfect mile.

The children are perfectly pleasant and their eyes are amazing,
To take in this perfect scenery is truly embracing.

This perfect journey is exactly what I need,
To witness this glorious perfection I see.

I don’t know any other way to explain it,
Other than this experience is absolutely, inexplicably PERFECT!

A few photo updates:

Tour de Kathleen:

Graffiti Tunnel:

Chain Bridge at sunset during a cruise down the Danube:

Floating on the Danube:

In front of the Budapest Parliament Building:

In the brightest festival clothes we could find:

A family photo at the "Whirlpool" with 2 Romanian ladies:

Working the fields:

Doing laundry:

Johnisha showing the Romanians how we bust a move in the States:

Romanian Reflections

We literally just crossed the border back into Hungary and came across our first unfriendly Romanian. The border guard was more like the KGB when she asked (demanded) for our passports, then told us to hurry up.

As I type this on the train, I am blown away that we even have the technology to do this. This day (Friday) has been a long one. We started midmorning with a walking tour of Cluj. The highlight of which was a beautiful catholic church built in the fourteen hundreds. After a not-so-quick trip to a mall, yes, a mall....the girls were in hog heaven....we set out on foot for more up close and personal Cluj, which culminated in a visit to an internet cafe and a lovely dinner at an adjacent restaurant. We then went back to the mall to catch a late showing of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Luckily, it is a very long movie, and allowed for some cat napping on the part of the leaders because when it ended the day was not over. Next stop, the train station for a 2:20am train to Budapest. I am amazed (and quite envious) of the ability of these girls to sleep almost anywhere, in almost any position. As for myself, I have only had a small nap on the train, added to the small nap I got during the movie, and well, I just see that I am going to be very tired as we explore Budapest today!

As I watch the countryside go by the in the light of the rising sun, I find myself reflecting on just what we experienced in Romania. As I missed the experience in Poiana, I can only comment on all the sights since the 25th of July. The Maramures region has been my favorite. It was definitely the most reflective of what my image of Romania was before I arrived. The Carpathian Mountains were the backdrop for this very rural area in the north of the country, where in places we could see villages in the Ukraine just across the Tisa River. Village life is very physical, from cutting the grass with tools found only in museums in our country, to using river water to wash rugs, and bicycles to get around. All the older women dress very traditionally, with skirts, leggings underneath, long sleeves and head scarves, even while doing this work. We visited the workshop of a master wood carver in an area known for their beautifully carved churches and entrances to their homes. We also met one of the first artists to bring back, after the fall of communism, the traditional iconic painting on glass depicting religious scenes and important figures of Christianity.

While I treasure this view of traditional Romania, the most impactful part of my experience in Maramures was the visit to the Museum of Arrested Thought in Sighet. It is a memorial to the victims of the communist regime and was a prison that housed Romania's top pre-communist politicians and intellectuals, in addition to other anti-communist activists or sympathizers. Romania was one of the last countries to experience the "Revolution" as communism fell across Eastern Europe in 1989. I had the amazing privilege of exploring the museum with Ashia, who literally drank in the details we learned. Our guide was a wealth of knowledge about the rise and fall of communism in post WWII Europe. This experience allowed for a dialogue to emerge with the girls about current political situations where human rights infringements are occurring every day. The same day we visited Ely Wiesel's home. It was from here that he was taken to Auschwitz, but miraculously survived his imprisonment in the concentration camp and went on the win the Nobel Peace Prize for his commitment to human rights.

“Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Whenever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political view that place must-at that moment become the center of the universe.”

-Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech Oslo 1986

Both of those experiences, the prison museum, as well as Wiesel’s home, spoke to the girls in ways that as leaders we could have never done. By planting the seeds of awareness, we are growing good citizens of the human race who will be better informed and less likely to be indifferent when faced with moral crisis.

~Sara Corcoran

Hello America... Can you smell us?

We have arrived in Budapest via the 2:45am train from Cluj and everyone is doing well. After a fabulous breakfast on the Buda side of the Danube, we headed over to Pest to visit the open air markets. The girls are outside buying little treasures now. We will do our best to find a phone this afternoon so everyone can check in.

P.S. Sara Corcoran has a humorous account of the train experience that she will post shortly.

Hugs and Kisses to all!

The Trip of a Lifetime

Reporting stateside...Hope you had the opportunity to see our Skype Shot on WFMY-TV2, The Good Morning Show at 5:45 AM this morning. If you missed it, you can go to http://www.digtriad.com/ and click on The Trip of a Lifetime to see the video. The comments bar will take you to photos of the trip and additional commentary. Thanks to Rosemary Plybon for making this happen!

Lorna Devkota, representing the Dustin's GreenHouse Globetrotter's, did a beautiful job conveying the differences between the living conditions in Romania and at home. She commented on "how much we take for granted in America and that can't be said enough." Lorna recounted their earlier visit to a hospital, unpainted with cracked tiles, which was filled with abondoned children. It felt more like they were in a prison; there was no air circulating.

The DGH team will undoubtedly come home with a greater appreciation of what we have here in America. Their horizons have been broadened by experiencing the rich culture in Romania, learning about the people and most significantly, working alongside with them, improving their living conditions.

The Romanian Adventure is almost over, but the impact of the journey will be lasting in ways beyond measure.

'Til next time...Ashley Staton

Irony - 21st century technology meets 17th century life

Standing here with a group of our girls at the Barsana Monastery in Barsana, Romania.

Half of our group is helping separate wool threads that the nuns will use for sewing clothes and blankets. The other half has gone with one of the sisters to change bed sheets in the pilgrims' house.

Hoping to connect with WFMY this morning, so if you are up, tune in!

Viseu de Sus by Train and Foot

We pushed the girls hard today and boy did they step up to the challenge! Breakfast was at 5:30am. We boarded the bus at 6:00am and made the 1.5 hour drive to Viseu de Sus in order to be on the Carpathian Steam Train platform by 7:30am.

I am learning that you just have to laugh at the girls in moments like these... They come dressed in PJ's, they can hardly form complete sentences, and they will lean on absolutely anything (walls, windows, bags, each other) with hopes of catching a few additional minutes of sleep.

Fortunately, out of the exhaustion came triumph; everyone in our group can say that she added another 7+ miles to her growing list of outdoor accomplishments. During our walk we had the opportunity to play with young kids who would run out of their homes as we passed through their villages. We inhaled a delicious picnic lunch in the fields of a famous Romanian monastery (in one of the most picturesque places I have ever seen in my entire life). We even tasted a "sweet" from a local woman who saw us passing by... she came out with a cardboard shoebox in-hand and shared homemade chocolate treats with everyone in our group. (Size 8, they were just perfect!)

For those of you who received phone calls from your girls this afternoon... they miss you dearly. A couple were in tears when they got back on the bus; a short wave of homesickness on the tail-end of an exhausting day. They broke out the Lee Greenwood God Bless the USA shortly after, and then laughter ensued… no worries, they are all in great spirits.

I am having a tough time loading pictures from here, but promise to share more soon. We are off to the nunnery and Cluj tomorrow. Sweet dreams America. We will be home soon.

Vadu Izei Earlier Today

From Ashlie: "A quick note to let you know we have arrived in Vadu Izei. We are living with a local family in three different houses (Sylvia's, Anka's and George's). We wake to sheep, roosters, chickens...pretty much every farm animal you can imagine. Meals have been spectacular: fresh cheeses, chicken, tomatoes, eggs and veggies."

"We are about to head out on a walking tour of the village. This will be followed by another hands-on cooking class and later a Romanian Folk Festival." (As I gathered from Ashlie, the festival turned into a dance party. I'm sure more to follow on that note!)

"We love and miss you to pieces!!!"

Lights, Camera, Action

The girls have requested that we post some of the video we have taken during our travels. Here’s to foreign airports, first arrivals, Romanian food and new friends!

Back in Oradea

In case you missed the flood of status updates on Facebook from the GreenHouse girls earlier today, we are back in Oradea. We picked up our long-lost Sara Corcoran at the hotel this afternoon. A huge relief considering she made the journey over all on her own! (A huge thank you to Ashley Staton and my grandmother for all of your help coordinating logistics!!!) Now it's off to Baia Mare tomorrow for part two of the adventure. More updates to come!

Hope Grows Here

For our last night is Poiana, we wanted to create an experience that could move us away from some of the pettiness and “drama” that comes when a group has been in close quarters and sleep deprived for a long period of time, and into a spirit of family.

We were in a magnificent setting with a mountain backdrop, a clear river washing over rocks as our lullaby, and our host family simply and joyfully exuding love; yet we had quite a bit of discord.

Earlier in the trip, we had small group dialog that had produced some very positive response. So we decided to build on that and focus on ways in which we had immersed ourselves in the village culture and on the fact that you never really know what someone else’s life is like until you “walk in their shoes.”

Our night-time skies prior had been filled with stars, and the girls barely noticed them. We, as leaders, decided to try to bring the girls together around a campfire, observe the stars, and have an open discussion. Storms were threatening earlier in the day, but by the time dinner was finished, the skies had cleared somewhat, and our helpers expertly built a teepee from wood that the girls assisted in gathering.

We started out slowly, talking about our observations of life for the villagers and how it contrasts to ours; the strong work ethic, simple organic foods, the focus on family and on nature. Then we gradually began to share some of our own differences and challenges. Some of our girls have gut-wrenching stories, and all of them have amazing gifts as well as individual challenges. The ways in which they – and the leaders – opened themselves up and reached out to support and surround each other truly broke down barriers and opened new doors of acceptance and love.

What beautiful energy for us to take into the remainder of our journey. One of our leaders (Joan) had stones made by a potter from the North Carolina Mountains with “Hope Grows Here” on the front and Dustin’s GreenHouse on the back. Our last night in Poiana was the perfect opportunity to share those with the group. We were all filled with such emotion. As it turned out, although the sky was covered in clouds last night, our stars were on the ground.

~Sheryl Bryan

Fun, Games & In The Kitchen

Yesterday was interesting. We helped prepare a traditional Romanian dish names Sormales. To me, helping make the food means so much more than eating the food the host provides. For us, in my mind, it lets me know that they trust us enough to include us in a part of their culture.

Also, we visited the Bears Cave!!! This was so interesting. It also lets you know America is not the only place that has history.

To close out the day, we had a sister-to-sister talk where we reached out to each other. We discovered that everyone here has a lot in common. You never know a person until you really talk to them. This brought us together in a way I could not have imagined. This next week will bring us together even more.

~Johnisha Watlington

To the top, as a team!

One of the hardest things 4 me 2 do on this trip was the hike. I guess it's because I'm out of shape and I usually don't exercise. At the beginning my legs were burning and I was complaining more than all the other girls. But Ashlie stayed behind with me and helped me stretch my calf muscles so that my legs wouldn't hurt as bad... I grabbed a walking stick and started having fun. In the end I fell about 4 times and got stung in the head 7 times by an angry set of bees, but I lived to make it 2 the top and I was like the 3rd person to make it to the bottom.

~Ashley Hunt

Perspective

My favorite part of the trip so far has been the hay festival. We woke up Thursday morning and after breakfast and a quick trip to the market, were told to grab a rake tool or a pitchfork. It was so interesting to see these hand-carved wooden pitchforks. I know in America we are used to seeing hay rolled up in the fields, but that is all done by machine. In Romania, they spend hours every day to bail their hay by hand. I gained so much respect for them as a people because of their work ethic.

The Romanian way of life is so strikingly beautiful to me. I wish America was less urbanized and spoiled so we would be more appreciative of our surroundings and what we do have.
We turned the hay bailing chore into a competition (who could rake their pile the fastest). But I kept thinking about how it isn’t a game to them, it is a way of life.

After bailing the hay, we went to the village school. It was so depressing to see these children beg and try to trick us into giving them what we had in our Give a Gallon bags. We played games and sang in the field behind the school in the beginning. Entertaining them was fun because they caught on pretty quickly. It was just hard to give our gifts at the end because it just didn’t feel like enough. As Sammantha said Saturday night, there is a difference between being broke and being poor.

~ Kathleen Harrington

July 23rd, in Pictures:

July 22nd - In Pictures

Why?

Today is Wednesday, July 22nd and we just arrived in Poiana, the remote mountain village where we will be living for the next four days. It is only the first “official” day of our trip, and already it is difficult to comprehend all of the miles we have traveled and the things we have experienced that brought us to this point. Together, we have journeyed through heartbreak, wonder, laughter and exhaustion.

Our day started with a trip to the main hospital in Oradea. Sylvia, the hospital’s Chief Administrator and Adi, our Host in Poiana, had arranged for us to hand out Give a Gallon bags in the Gypsy, Pediatric Oncology and Abandoned Children units of the facility. Going into it, I knew the experience would be challenging, and we did our best to prepare the girls (and ourselves) for what was in store. Looking back on it now, I realize there is no way to prepare anyone for this type of experience.

Before going any further, I wanted to share a little bit about the Romanian healthcare system. Socialized medicine welcomes a mother to live with her sick newborn/toddler (in a private room) at ZERO expense up until the child turns three years of age. Once that child turns three, that mother can continue living alongside her child for as long as she chooses, but the state does begin charging the equivalent of $3.00 a day for room and board.

If this sounds like a system designed to be taken advantage of, in Oradea I can assure you that is exactly what is happening! As we walked the halls of the Gypsy wing of the hospital it was overly apparent that they operated more like a daycare or live-in shelter than they did a healthcare provider. We struggled differentiating between patients and visitors. Women lined the halls socializing with one another while their kids ran up and down playing. It was dorm life meets playgroup... absolutely craziness!

I asked Sylvia about the situation and she shook her head with disgust. She explained how the Gypsy families grossly abuse the system. Some come up with excuses as to why their children should be admitted: a runny nose, a small cough, diarrhea… then they either move in with the kids, or drop them off, go out for coffee and disappear for indefinite periods of time. We were all shocked to see that this is a way of life for a lot of families in Romania. Briana kept saying, “And I thought people in America abused welfare!”

I share this experience not to be political, but to point out the difference between the two cultures. So many of the parents I know dream of giving their children a better life. These women were strategically abusing the system; they are trapped in the cycle of poverty. It breaks my heart to think about their children's future... I don't know how they will ever learn how to break free.

Down the hall and blocked off from the Gypsy wing of the hospital is the Pediatric Oncology unit. Fortunately, I have not spent much time in American Oncology units, but the little bit I have experienced has been hopeful… doctors and patients optimistically evaluating ways to fight the horrible disease. The mood in the Oncology unit of the Oradea hospital is much bleaker. Some of our girls tried to give one of the patients a Give a Gallon bag and the nurse sitting beside the child's bed shrugged off the gesture. She mumbled something along the lines of, “Don’t waste your bag on this child, she is going to die.”

If you think this is gut-wrenching, go up another 2 flights of stairs to the floor for Abandoned Children. You know you are somewhere different the second you arrive. While no place in the hospital is in quality condition, here the floors are missing tiles, paint is peeling off the walls and the air is still and eerily silent. Sylvia introduced us to the ONE nurse who works in this unit, and together they walked my group in and out of rooms on the hall.

The first room we visited was divided into two halves; there were three children one side and two on the other. Thankfully one of the five kids living in this dismal space appeared healthy. She rested quietly in a carrier on the floor. Just above her head were two cribs, one with a young boy who has Down Syndrome and another with a 5-month old little girl who is paralyzed from the waist down. The little girl with the spinal injury was positioned on a pillow such that her legs looked hyper extended. When I went over to pick her up I quickly realized how long it had been since anyone had cradled this child in their arms – much less exercised her legs. Her legs were unbelievably stiff and there was a white fungus-looking substance growing in the creases above her knees.

On the other side of the room we met a young boy who was born with a disease that causes his head to grow at a disproportionate rate than the rest of his body. His name is Istavan and Sylvia told us he has very little brain function. It bothered all of us to see how quickly Sylvia dismissed him because of his condition – again it was the “he won’t notice, so do not bother” attitude.

The child that stole my heart was lying in the crib next to Istavan. Her name is Evaleen and she is three years old. Evaleen has a terrible clef pallet, obvious developmental disabilities, seven fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. When we first approached her crib, she was lying on her side with her back to us. She would move her legs if I rubbed her feet and rock slightly as I stroked her back. I do not know if Evaleen was capable of sitting up, but she eventually rolled over onto her other side, allowing us to stare back into her deep and lonely brown eyes.

This is the point where I lost it emotionally. I stepped out into the hall to get a breath of fresh air and fell to the floor in tears. These kids have no one yet need everyone. Their physical disabilities are one thing, the absence of love and care is another. Why God, Why??????? Life is not passing children like Evaleen by; life never came to Evaleen and Istavan in the first place.

I could not bring myself to take pictures while we were in the hospital. In many ways, I did not need to because the experience will forever be engrained in my mind. Please say a prayer for these children, and for these families. It will not be the last time you hear me speak of them. While I do not know what we can/should do, I know we have to do something.

We are now three hours outside of the buzz of city life. You could describe the place where we are staying as a cute little house in a big, beautiful wood. (There are actually two houses here – a main house where 11 girls are sharing 5 rooms and 1 bathroom, and a river house where 10 girls are sharing 3 rooms, a pullout couch and 1 bathroom.) We keep the windows open at night so that we can marvel at the stars and enjoy the melody of the river. If ever there was a place where you could try to make sense of the craziness in this world, perhaps it is here.

The Journey So Far...

The Dustin's GreenHouse team has visited a local hospital where they gave 100 (of the 300 taken) Give a Gallon bags to orphan children.

100 more Give a Gallon bags were taken to a school in the village of Gorani. The DGH girls did relay races with the students, elementary through 8th grade. To share our American culture with them, the girls played Duck Duck Goose and danced the Hokey Pokey. Our girls were adored by the students and were treated like celebrities. The air was delightfully filled with laughter, singing and clapping.

Before school, the girls bailed hay which naturally became a contest to see who could build the higher mountain (of hay.) With only a rake and pitch fork in hand, the girls were mounding hay around a pole. The locals would push the DGH girls to the top of the "mountain" where they could compress the hay, dancing like "Ring around the Roses."

In freezing cold water, in their bathing suits, the girls played in the river behind the cottages where they are staying.

Divided into teams for breakfast and lunch, the girls are setting the tables and cleaning up after meals. They are washing their clothes in the river and are making their beds each morning. Parents and guardians, take note!!!

Being without the usual amenities and not too concerned with appearances, the girls are boasting "hot mess" hair!

The food is good and the DGH team has eaten very well. Goulash, schnitzel, and meat knish are a few of the native dishes they've sampled. Raven was prepared by bringing 2 power bars for each day in case she did not like the food, but has not needed them!

The team, girls and leaders, have shared a "natural sanctuary" devotion in small groups.

Reminiscent of our hikes in Boone, the team completed a rigorous 5-mile hike where they chose the waterfall versus the trail version. At times they were wading in water chest-high. Asked to rank the degree of difficulty, Ashlie said "just shy of needing to be strapped or cabled." WOW!!! Ashia commented that "If I can do this, I can do anything!"

When not in the water, the jungle boy guides were clearing the way for the team by thrashing brush along the way. Genny and Nikki said the "American boys need to step it up a notch."

Some random thoughts from your stateside reporter...

Technology is amazing! When Ashlie called this morning, she sounded like she was sitting right beside me. And within the next two hours, Janii and Adi were on the radio, 1075 KZL, live from Romania. Forget about the old-timey radio, I listened on my computer.

Earlier today, Sara Corcoran, a Dustin's GreenHouse leader, was departing for Romania to join the group and we were going over some last minute details. I was sharing pieces of what the team has experienced so far and we were both filled with emotion. Sara, exhilarated by what lies ahead for her and me feeling a part of the team although they are halfway around the globe.

The Dustin's GreenHouse Globetrotter Romanian adventure has barely begun, but the impact is already immeasurable both in what has been given and what has been received.

'Til next time...

Live from Romania

Good Morning Friends of Dustin's GreenHouse! Tune in this morning to 107.5 KZL at 9:50 - the girls will be reporting LIVE from Romania on the Jack Murphy show! Janii James will be our correspondent today. More to come on the Romanian Journey...stay tuned.

www.1075kzl.com and click on the "Listen Live" button or access via this link: http://www.1075kzl.com/pages/3973588.php

Reporting stateside - Ashley Staton

We have arrived!

Apologies in advance for the quality of this post… I am nearing a point of deliriousness, but wanted to share a quick update since our arrival in Romania.

Just before noon we made our way out of the Budapest airport. Unfortunately, we had to leave two bags short... Janii and Samm's bags did not make the journey. Thankfully, both girls are handling the situation with grace and patience.

Our group loaded into two vans and buckled down for the last leg of our trip, a 155 mile drive into Oradea, Romania. We drove through beautiful sunflower fields, past a couple of meager towns and by several rundown, institutional-looking buildings.

When we finally arrived at the hotel, our gracious hosts awaited. Thank you to Adi, Lavi and their beautiful daughters, Becky and Sai, for providing us with an incredibly warm welcome to the country.

After a massive baggage unload and a quick "fluff," we sat for dinner at a local pizza restaurant located on the bank of the Crisul River. After a long meal and many more laughs, we are (finally) off to bed, or if you are cool, to the party in room 218 "where the Dustin's GreenHouse Ladies get in for free." (Don't worry parents, the party is in Lorna and Briana's room and they are playing board games.)


A bit of airport humor collected over the past two days:

"They have the same message here; sex sells."
~Raven Wilson

"I asked the lady if they had a water fountain and she told me to use the water in the toilet."
~Ashia Neal

"I have already taken 125 pictures and we haven't even left the airport."
~Kathleen Harrington

"I just met a dude from Israel and officially shook his hand. How cool is that!"
~Ashley Hunt