For Jamie Nelson and Karen Smart, best friends since college, a volunteer vacation to Romania with their teenage daughters was a parental dream come true.
"I think one of the reasons we took this trip is that as moms we always ask each other how is it that we can help our kids to understand how blessed they are or how much they have, or help them to realize there are other people in the world who do not have as much as we have. And I think this trip was kind of an answer to that," Jamie Nelson said.
For two weeks this past summer, the Utah moms and their teenage daughters took care of infants and toddlers in a rural Romanian clinic.
"These little kids, they didn't have a mom, they didn't have someone who was always there to love them and take care of them," Nelson said. "For us, it was just so much fun to hold those babies and cuddle them."
Vacation organizers note some volunteer sites lack the comforts of hot water and electricity, and many travelers suffer from culture shock.
But for those who would rather give of themselves than get a break, participants say volunteer vacations are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
"I wouldn't trade this trip for anything, I loved it so much -- I want to go back if I can," said Jamie's daughter, Ashlee Nelson.
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