On Monday Reel Blessed chapter of Fishing’s Future held our second fish camp in Ocna-Mures at Complex Agrement Bellavi with the kids from Casa Sanctuary. We started the day off by going to pick up all the kids at the orphanage. Some of the kids were going to swim; however, the majority of them, even the girls, wanted to fish. Tania was happy that several of the girls wanted to fish.

We arrived at the pond to start fishing at out 11:00 am. We had red worms, maggots, and a carp blend of bait we got from the local tackle shop. Greg decided to have a competition and give the first kid who caught a fish fifty RON, which is the Romanian currency and is equivalent to $10. Because of this we had all the kids get their rods/reels baited up, but they could not cast until everyone was ready.

I am not sure if Greg was expecting it to take longer to catch a fish, because of the other day no one catching; however, it was within five minutes the first fish was caught. The winner of the first fish was Antonia, one of the girls who wanted to fish. This was a great start compared to the other day when we fished for three hours, and no one caught any fish.

Not long after the first fish was caught, we could hear multiple kids yelling that they caught fish. One of the workers from the orphanage decided to play a trick on me, and with the language barrier I fell for it hook line and sinker. She had purchased a fish from the local store, and she came up all excited telling me they caught this big fish. I believed it until I was at the store later that night and I told Tania, hey look that is the fish one of the kids caught. Tania started laughing and told me it was a joke.

One of the boys wanted to catch a carp so was fishing with the carp bait and the special rig for carp fishing. It was a 40gram weight which was flat and it had a frame around it to fit into a mold to mold the carp chum around the hook. I have never seen anything like it but I bought every one the tackle shop had for the kids. He ended up catching a carp pretty quick, but he was off by himself, so we did not get a picture. On his second cast he hooked up a nice sized carp, but unfortunately it broke him off.

We ended up fishing until about 2:30 pm, at which time we packed up and headed to the Orphanage for a big BBQ. Every one of the kids and even one of the team members caught fish. Most of the fish caught were pan fish, but it didn’t matter the kids really enjoyed fishing. One of the girls even told us she now understands why the boys love fishing so much.

This trip has blessed Tania and I so much. We can’t believe how our ministry to use fishing to bring God glory has blessed not only families and children around the world, but has blessed us so much. We are so very thankful to all our family, friends, and sponsors who made it a possibility for Tania and I to share our love for Jesus and fishing with the orphanage in Romania.

** Join Us in Making a Difference! ** If you’re inspired by our fishing adventures and the joy it brings to children, we invite you to learn more about Reel Blessed and our mission. Discover how you can get involved, whether by donating to support our programs or volunteering your time to make these unforgettable experiences possible. Click the links below to find out more about who we are, how you can contribute, and join us in spreading happiness and hope through fishing. Together, we can cast a brighter future for children around the world!