CHRISTmas

Christmas is done! Sigh of relief! :) Don't get me wrong, I really DID have a good Christmas. Actually, all of that week was really nice. And it was ALSO nice to not be working at Walgreens during the Christmas season for the first time in seven (possibly eight??) years. But I must admit, everything Christmas-y reminded me of home, so I'm glad to be moving on.


I was especially thankful this year for the wonderful team God has given me here. I can't believe that just a year ago these people were pretty much strangers to me...and now they're my family. (Andrew and Leah Postema, ME, Tom and Gela Graef)

I spent Monday-Thursday of Christmas week at "the little cabin in the woods" (as we affectionately call it!) in the mountains with Andrew, Leah, Grace(10), Rose(9) and Wayne(6) Postema. They really have been SUCH a blessing to me. We did virtually NOTHING together for four day. Games, cookies, puzzles, books...a really great way to spend time with people you love. It was wonderful. I'm thankful for "family" here I can relax with.

We came back in time on Thursday to finish shopping, baking and cooking for our team Christmas celebration on Friday. We spent all day together eating, playing games, talking, and exchanging gifts. Another really nice day.


I spent the night at the Postema's home on Christmas Eve so that I could get up with them early Christmas morning to open presents. Of course, Christmas with kids is just so much fun! Sorry, grown-ups, but we're pretty boring! :) There's nothing quite like watching a little boy open a Lego tractor and yell, "YEESSSSS!!! That's what I've ALWAYS wanted!!!!" on Christmas morning. (And for the record, that "perfect" gift was from me. OH YEAH! Points for Aunt Kristie!) We had breakfast together (yes, IBCers, those ARE my mom's famous cinnamon rolls on the table) and played with all the fun new toys before I headed home.


I made it back in time to catch my family back home (including Grandma and Grandpa!) and open presents with them! It was really fun to still feel like I was there (almost). I even got to see the brown dog bother everyone, which really IS a Christmas tradition. I'm thankful to live in a time when this is possible. It makes a HUGE difference. It was a good day.

So the holidays are done! Well...sort of! Caleb arrives on Wednesday (WEDNESDAY!! THIS WEEK!! TWO DAYS!!!), so my fun continues! :) If you got my last prayer letter, you know that he'll be here for a retreat we're doing this weekend. Please pray for all of us as we jump start back into ministry. I'm excited not just for Caleb to BE here, but for him to get to be a part of ministry that I have come to love so much.

Happy New Year, my friends! God continues to show me each year that, regardless of what He brings, HE is faithful and HE is enough. Thank you to those of you who have been praying for me especially over these last weeks. Our God truly IS Immanuel. He is with us.

Thanksgiving

It MUST be Thanksgiving. I'm sitting in my kitchen as I write this, keeping an eye on the milk on my stove that is currently evaporating. Unfortunately, I'm now well aware of the fact that this takes several hours. A year ago, evaporated milk came in a can that took two seconds to pop open. Now, I avoid recipes that call for it because seriously, who has a few hours to just SIT in the kitchen?? But it IS Thanksgiving, and even in Romania we can't have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. And it seems you can't have pumpkin pie without evaporated milk. (Ironically, I don't even LIKE pumpkin pie and hadn't made it until this year...)

I've been thinking about things besides pumpkin pie, though. I have so much to be thankful for this year. God has blessed me. I don't say that flippantly. I mean it and think it often. Seriously, I think I could just put up a permanent Facebook status that says "Kristie Abernathy is blessed", and that would cover me for the rest of my life.

I was asked to give a testimony Sunday evening. I shared about how I'd been reflecting lately on how thankful I am that God is always the same, regardless of where I am or what changes around me. He's constant and unchanging. He's the same God in Romania as He is in the States. I'm thankful that "if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast" (Psalm 139: 9-10). That's not just a possibility in my life. That's the reality. His hand is still here. And regardless of where I go, what I do, or who comes and goes from my life, He is here and He's the same. Amen, right?

I came home that same night to an email saying that my cousin's adorable little 19 month old daughter had very suddenly gone to be with Jesus. It was one of those times when I KNEW that even though being home wouldn't mean I could do anything more, I wanted to be there. My heart is so sad for my cousins, aunt, uncle, grandparents...why do things like this happen?? How can this be for ANYONE'S good? But even that same night, a dear friend reminded me that the same God who was with me on "the far side of the sea" was with my family back home. And I had to practice what I had "preached".

So I'm STILL really thankful that God is always the same. I'm thankful He's the same God on the other side of the sea with my family. I'm thankful that He'll be with them all tomorrow as they gather together for a Thanksgiving dinner that I know will be bittersweet. And I'm thankful that He'll be here with me as I miss them and wish SO MUCH that I was there. He's the same good God. (These words are written after a few intense days of wrestling with this. Thanks to those of you who knew and were praying.)

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends. What are YOU thankful for this year?

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."

Happy Memories :)

Going through all these pictures brought back so many emotions and memories. I know you don't have those same feelings, but I hope it at least gives you a glimpse into our summer and lets you see the faces of those you've been praying for.

Mighty to Save

Blogs can be such a great tool. I enjoy writing. It helps me process and work through my thoughts and feelings. Words can be so powerful! At the end of the day, though, words (and pictures!) can only do so much! I wish that you could all come and see what a week of camp looks like here. I wish you could experience the frustrations of bad weather and problem campers. I wish you could feel the spiritual battles. I wish you could see the smiles on camper’s faces when they’re playing "Peter Pan" or making up their team’s cheer. I wish you could hear us singing the same songs you know, to the same God you serve, but in a different language. I wish you could cry with us at the end of the week when you see a camper you’ve prayed for by name FINALLY make a decision to accept Christ. I wish you could join us for an exhausted, but joyful reflection on God’s faithfulness after the week is over. I wish this so much! I know, though, that no matter how much I write it will never QUITE do justice to the camp experience or the great ways we saw our God work. I think this is why is has been abnormally hard for me to write about the last two weeks of camp. I’ve tried several times without success. But here we go! Here’s a glimpse of the FINAL two camps of the 2010 season!


Teen Camp

If you read my last post, you know that we anticipated that the first week would be tough for a variety of reasons. Those of us who were working with the kids had a completely different experience than those who were working with the teens. We were kind of on our own little island (our motto was "Aloha!"), so everything I know about what happened with the teens is secondhand. HOWEVER, God did some amazing, AMAZING things in the lives of those teens! To those of you who were praying with us, be encouraged that God certainly DID answer your prayers and did more than we could have imagined! He was clearly working in lives all week and by the last day over 35 of the teens testified publicly that they had accepted Christ that week! Hold on, hold on…read that sentence again!! Over 35 teens!! How AWESOME is that! PRAISE GOD with us! He is mighty to save!


Please PRAY with us for these teens. PRAY that they'll desire to be in church and that the church would reach out to them and welcome them into the body of Christ. PRAY for wisdom for the leaders to know how to follow up with them. PRAY that these new believers would see God's power in their lives as they begin to walk with Him and that they'd be encouraged and protected in their new relationship with Him. Incidentally, we’re headed back up to this church this weekend for a “reunion” meeting. We hope to be able to encourage them to continue in their new faith and to be willing to stand for Christ even when it costs something. PRAY with us that God will use this to jump-start the church’s fall ministries.

Kid’s Camp

The kid’s program that week was a stretching experience for me personally, as well as the program director I was assisting (Anca). She had never done this job before, I had never done this job before and so we felt often like we weren’t sure what we were supposed to be doing! Our job that week included (but was not limited to!): planning the schedule, setting up and leading activities, moving tables and benches, managing conflict, sleeping with campers, encouraging and praying for counselors, handing out chocolate AND drinking lots of Coke! :-) It was an overwhelming and exhausting week, but it meant we also relied heavily on our Heavenly Father and each other. A big blessing from that week was that Anca and I were able to work together and communicate VERY well. At the end of the week we thanked God for each other and for giving us unity of thought and spirit. I’m so thankful for her continuing friendship. This was a definite personal blessing from this summer.


We didn’t have any KIDS accept Christ as Savior this week, but we DID see a definite change in the attitudes of some of the kids as the week went on (especially in these two girls in the picture). We know God WAS working on them. Please pray that the seeds that were planted in their hearts will be watered and grow. We were discouraged to see limited visible fruit, but DO trust that we serve a God who continues to work even after camp ends…thank goodness! :-)


Final Teen Camp

Our final week of camp should have been easy. That’s how it looked on paper! We only had 28 campers coming, we were ONLY doing a teen camp, and we actually had more help than we had the previous week! But for whatever reason it just WASN’T. It was a spiritually intense week and we were very aware of Satan trying to distract and disrupt. We had one camper who had to be sent home for discipline reasons (this is a good story…ask me about it!), and another boy was hurt badly enough that (after going to the hospital) he had to go home, too. There also seemed to be a spiritual apathy among the older boys in particular that we were battling all week. But I am SO thankful for the lessons that God had already taught us that summer, because seeing all this didn’t discourage us. It made us pray HARDER. And we prayed in FAITH because we had already seen that our God is capable of doing amazing things. And guess what? He did…AGAIN!! I can’t tell you how AMAZING it has been this summer to see God answer specific prayers over and over and see Him CLEARLY work in camper’s lives again and again! MAN! AWESOME!! So by the end of the week there were ANOTHER six salvation decisions (including the two girls in this picture!) and other decisions, as well, to live a committed Christian life. Remember those boys who were so apathetic? The pastor of the church where a few of them attend called OUR pastor and asked what had happened at camp…because the following Sunday they were sitting in the FRONT row of the church, LISTENING, and (are you ready for this??) TAKING NOTES!! How GREAT is our God??? Please PRAY that these kids will continue to love God and His Word even when the “camp” feeling wears off.


So please, those of you who were praying with us, spend some time THANKING God for what He has done. We certainly have. What a blessing and privilege to get to see Him work and change lives. I hope you’re blessed and encouraged by the way God used your prayers! We felt them and needed them! He heard and used them! What a powerful God we serve!! He is indeed mighty to save!

On The Road Again! (YAY!)

How funny that four weeks ago I was counting the days (and hours!) until I could leave camp and come home to Bucharest. NOW, however, I'm counting the days (and yes, hours!) until I can LEAVE Bucharest and return to camp! We're down to something like 21 hours and I CAN'T WAIT!! Let's get this show on the road!! :-) (I think it is probably a good sign that I feel this way!)

Our next camp begins on Monday! As excited as I am, I don't have an delusions about it being easy, which is why I'm writing this post. We need your prayers! Next week's camp has the potential to be the best AND the hardest camp we've had all summer. Let me explain.

*This will be the biggest camp we've had all summer! 95 campers plus 30 staff equals a totally full camp which is AWESOME!!! In fact some people will have to stay in tents! We are just THAT full! This really is AWESOME, but it also makes things more crazy! PRAY for the logistics of all of this.

*90% of the campers coming are unbelievers. Did you get that?!?! 90%!!!!! Think of the potential there! This is totally different from the way all our other camps have been, and so it means re-thinking how we do things. It also means Satan will want to keep these kids from hearing and understanding God's Word. Please PRAY for protection from spiritual warfare. PRAY that these kids and teens will come to know TRUTH this week and that it'll change their lives (and the lives of their families!) forever! PRAY also that God uses this to build up and strengthen the youth group at this church. They need encouragement. How awesome would it be to see ALL of the teens from camp become part of this body of believers?!? That's how I'm praying...and trusting God to do more than I could ask or imagine! We serve a God who is capable of all of this and more!

*This is a church we've never worked with before. Again, this is really exciting and they're already talking about having more camps with us next year! But it also means we're working with counselors and staff who aren't used to the way that we do things. And it IS different from the way most camps work in Romania. Example: the whole idea of being WITH your campers all day and even sleeping in the same room with them is totally foreign to what they've always done. This means there is potential for problems and conflicts. Please PRAY that our counselors would GET IT, see results, and be encouraged by the way that God uses them in the lives of their campers. PRAY that WE would see how to encourage them. PRAY that God would use this week in the lives of the counselors and that they would love their campers.

*We're running two camps simultaneously! We'll have one camp for kids and one camp for teens. We're super excited about this, but it DOES mean spreading our staff a little thin and again, the logistics are always interesting and complicated! :-) PRAY that God would bless BOTH camps and that we'll have the people that we need to be able to run both camps WELL!!

*On a personal level, those of you who know me will smile when I say that I am SUPER EXCITED to be a part of the kid's camp!! YESSSS!! I've enjoyed ALL the camps, but I'm so glad to be able to hang out with kids again! As I've prepared mentally, spiritually and emotionally for this camp, the Lord keeps bring me back to Philippians 2. I ask that you would pray this passage specifically for me. PRAY that I won't be selfish. PRAY that I'll look out for the interest of others. PRAY that I would have the attitude of Christ. PRAY that I'll be willing to be made "nothing" and be humble. It is easy to ACT this way, but pray that I would truly have this attitude and spirit as I do whatever is needed.

So that's how you can (PLEASE!!) pray for us over the next week. I hope you can sense my excitement in these words! :-)

We DO have another week of camp after that. Actually, this time next week we'll be on the road, headed to our next location! I've been so focused on getting ready for this camp with the kids that I honestly don't know a whole lot of details about our FINAL camp...but please PRAY for us, for our counselors and for the campers that God will be bringing us. PRAY that (as my Mom always says!) we will finish WELL! PRAY that God's Word would be understood as Ken Rudolph and Cheryl Fawcett speak. PRAY that we''ll love the campers and be amazed as we see what God does in their lives.

If you read my last prayer letter, you know that God has taught me much about the power of prayer this summer. Not only does God hear our prayers, He CARES and He answers! That's why I'm writing this post. I honestly believe that when YOU pray for us here in Romania, thousands of miles away, God hears and He answers YOUR prayers. Isn't that amazing!?! So please PRAY! We need it! And think of how awesome it will be to hear in a few weeks how God specifically and directly answered your prayers!

Three Weeks Down...

I've been home for three weeks now, and will leave again NEXT WEEK (YESSSS!!!) for more camp! But before I move ahead and forget , I want to make sure to take time to THANK God for the first few weeks of camp and reflect on the ways He answered prayer. So join me in praising Him!

Week One: Filadelfia Teens
This week almost didn't happen because a few days (yes, days) before camp started, we noticed a problem in the contract we had signed for the camp we were renting. Those were very tense days, full of negotiations and prayer, but God answered beyond what we could have imagined, and we had camp as planned! Thank you, Lord!

This was an emotionally and spiritually intense week. God did some great things in the lives of the campers, but it was an exhausting battle! Several campers were saved! The biggest challenge they left with, though, was to know, read, and study their Bibles. We've heard that since this group has returned home, they've ASKED their leaders to start Bible studies back up, even though it is the middle of the summer! Praise God for His continuing work!

Week Two: Holy Trinity Teens/Pre-Teens
For those of you who read my prayer letter, you know that this week was kind of an experiment for us. We tried (for the first time) running two different camps at the same time. Going INTO this week, (up until Sunday afternoon!) we really debated about whether or not this was best, but it seemed like something God was leading us to try. He really did BLESS this week and it was so neat to see the pre-teens open up and come alive in their own program.

Satan seemed to be especially opposed to the pre-teen camp. The morning the kids all arrived, the assistant program director for the pre-teens woke up, brushed her teeth, and realized that her tooth had (randomly!) come out! She had to be rushed to the closest dentist (and hour and a half away!) and camp had to begin without her. Just a couple days later, the program director for the teens became very sick with a high fever and was unable to lead the program for the next couple of days. Think this is just random? I sure don't.

I tell you these things because it was such a wake up call for me! I know in my head that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood", but it was just SO EVIDENT all week that there was a spiritual battle going on. When you see all this going on around you, what can you do except go to your Father in prayer and ask for His protection?? He was good, He answered our prayers, and He DID do awesome things in the lives of the campers this week, despite Satan's efforts to stop His work.

Week Three: Young Adults
After being the camp nurse the week before and taking care of sick people (yeah, that's a whole other story!), I became sick as we headed into this week. Thankfully, young adults don't need as much supervision and so I was able to rest more than the previous weeks. I was also able (along with one of my Romanian teammates) to spend good, concentrated time in prayer. How awesome to be able to see up close and personal that God hears AND answers our prayers! It really was amazing to see...it gave me goosebumps!

A couple more quick answers to prayer:
I made FRIENDS this summer! With the counselors, with the campers, with the staff. This is no small thing! I can walk into church now and actually KNOW people! Thanks, Lord!

My language abilities have improved. I understand more of what's going on around me, which is a nice feeling!


So those are the three weeks. There's so much more I could say, but this IS a public blog and some stories are better left untold! :-) This time next week we'll be headed north for our last two weeks of camp! I'm pretty excited! :-) Please, keep praying for us! Your prayers are important and God DOES hear and answer!!

To Be Continued...

Camp was awesome! Or rather, CAMPS were awesome. And our God is awesome. More to come, but for now, this will give you an idea of what our weeks were like!

The Official Start of Summer

The kids have been done with school here for several weeks now. The temperature has been in the high 90s for most of the last couple of weeks and the buses and trams are crowded and smelly. Summer visitors from the US have all arrived and are settled in. And I bought something resembling a cantaloupe at the store this week. But for me, summer will officially start next week. Why? We begin our first week of camp on Tuesday!!

Camp seemed like such a long way away when I first arrived (almost five months ago...wow!) and now it is HERE! I'm really excited and am looking forward to it, but I'm also a little apprehensive since this is something I've never done before. My main job will be supporting/praying for/coordinating the support staff, as well as helping with detail work.

Our first week of camp is for kids! The theme is "Discover the Treasure", and we'll be talking all week about the TRUE treasure...God's Word...and how it applies to our lives and daily walk. These aren't necessarily easy things for children to understand, but I think sometimes we don't give kids enough credit. They really ARE capable of not only understanding spiritual things, but applying them as well. Please PRAY that this happens next week and that lives are changed for eternity, for the glory of God.

As we've finalized plans this week, we've emotionally been up, down and everywhere in between. Early in the week we learned that an organization was going to help sponsor some of our kids! We entered the week PRAYING that God would send us just the right amount of campers. This has been a hard year financially for people here, and so the number of kids registered was much less than what we had been anticipating. This was such an answer to prayer! Later that same day, one of our counselors/worship leader informed us that he wouldn't be able to be at camp next week. Mid-week, we heard that another church was considering sponsoring MORE of our campers! You can imagine our excitement...only to find out yesterday that they decided to use the money for other purposes. Additionally, after five days of phone calls and prayers we are STILL without a guy counselor or worship leader to fill the hole. We're looking at the calendar and wondering how God is going to answer this...as we trust that HE knows what we need.

So that's where we are! I look forward to coming back next week (I'll be home for a week before heading out for three more weeks of camp), and telling you the ways that God worked and how everything was EXACTLY the way He wanted it to be...even if it wasn't according to OUR plans.

I'll leave you with a few specific prayer requests and ask that you PLEASE intercede on our behalf. We have an enemy who would love nothing more than to distract our campers and discourage our staff. Pray for God's protection. Please. The battle is real, and "our struggle is not against flesh and blood..." (Eph. 6:12).

*PRAY for a worship leader/guy counselor. Not just someone to fill the hole, but exactly the RIGHT person/people for the campers they will be working with.

*PRAY for the right amount of campers.

*PRAY for the illumination of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the campers so that they will understand God's Word and make changes for eternity.

*PRAY for wisdom/strength/enthusiasm/refreshment for our counseling staff:Ana, Miriam, Cristiana, Ionut, Radu and ???

*PRAY for our camp core team who at camp this week: Andrew and Leah, Dave and Kathy, Kristie, Anca, Felix

*PRAY for unity among staff and like mindedness.

*PRAY for our campers to be prepared, focused, and ready to learn.

*PRAY for safety for all, especially in the heat.

Finally Glad

There are days when I wonder why in the world the Lord has brought me here. There are days when I when I feel like I've accomplished nothing...and worry that tomorrow will be the same. There are days when I question how I am EVER going to be able to understand what people are saying to me, let alone CONVERSE with them. And to be honest, there are days when I would like to lock myself in my apartment and forget that I'm in another country. Today, however, was NOT one of those days, and I'm praising the Lord!

I've felt THANKFUL to be here since I first landed. I'm thankful for God's direction, guidance and provision. I'm thankful for my financial supporter's sacrificial giving that allows me to be here. I'm thankful for so many of you who prayed faithfully to get me here, and continue to lift me up before the Father. And I'm thankful for a family and church family that love me enough to let me go while assuring me that they're 100% behind me. So I AM thankful to be here. I have BEEN thankful to be here. But today, maybe for the first time, I was GLAD to be here. Which is a totally different thing. (Stop and think about it for a moment!)

It might have something to do with the fact that today was a totally GORGEOUS day. The sun was shining, it wasn't too hot and people were just out enjoying the day. As I was standing outside with the sun on my face, watching people go by, I was overtaken by the realization of how blessed I am to be here. Despite frustrations and bouts of homesickness, there isn't ANYWHERE else I'd rather be. I'm content. I feel comfortable here. I still don't necessarily understand WHY I'm here, but I'm GLAD to be here!

And so those are my thoughts for the day. "Blessed be God, because He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!" (Ps. 66:20)

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

I just wrote a new prayer letter, which I'll probably post on here, too, shortly. But in the prayer letter I said that you could see pictures of my adventures on here...so I better actually post some pictures! :-)

These are all the awesome MKs that I spent a week teaching in April up in the mountains. Romania really DOES have the best MKs! :-)


This is me teaching the kids while we were in the mountains. It really was more fun than it looks like in this picture!


I sent the kids on an alphabet photo scavenger hunt, which they loved! I was their picture for "K"!


Teaching my session on visual aides in The Republic of Moldova.


And these were my students!


As you can see I'm becoming quite Romanian!


And THIS little cutie is my new niece, Ella Rae Abernathy. She was born on May 3rd and is already so loved by her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and many other friends and family. Welcome to the world, Ella Rae!

Here, There, and Everywhere!

I'm writing something...because the longer I write nothing, the more overwhelming it becomes! :-)

The last month has been a busy one for me! I've had quite a few guests coming and going and I've done some traveling, too! It has been wonderful to see more of Romania. People kept telling me how beautiful it is (once you leave Bucharest) and I must say they were absolutely right! God has brought me to a country that has it all: mountains, woods, beaches, cities...what more could a girl want?!? :-)

The reason for my travels? I was helping with Sunday School Teacher Training in three different cities. What an honor to get to teach people who want to learn! For this round of training I was able to share a brief devotion at the beginning of the day and then observe the rest of the session. I really love what my teammates are doing! There is such a need for this, and the appreciation of the teachers is so humbling! Pray for me as I seek the Lord's will about how I can be involved in the future. I'm already scheduled to teach a session on using visual aids in Moldova on the 24th of this month! Scary!

As I write this, I'm surrounded by an assortment of bags. I'm leaving today for the mountains for a combined training conference with my team and the ABWE team in northern Romania. While the rest of the adults are sitting in sessions all day, I'll be in charge of nine kids! I have a fun (I hope!!) program planned for them and am looking forward to it...but please pray for me! I'll have the kids for 5-6 hours a day. I'm praying for good weather so we can be outside A LOT! :-)

The rest of April looks so busy, too! But more about that later...I need to finish packing the rest of the food, craft supplies, teaching materials...oh man...I'm going to look like a bag lady! :-)

Thanks for your continuing interest in God's work in Romania. Sometimes it is hard to see...but He IS working in the lives and hearts of people here. Once in a while He gives us glimpses of what He is doing.

(The video below is of me singing with a teammate in a small village church we went to on our way home from teacher training. Thought you might like to see me sing in Romanian! So cool!) :-)

Observations

I remember being amazed during my time in Germany how much I could pick up and learn about people just by watching. I didn't understand much of what they said, but by observing their body language, actions, and tone, I slowly started to learn about people. Of course, not ALL of my conclusions from my observations were correct, but many were and it was fascinating! I've always loved watching people!

I'm beginning to experience that here, too, as I adjust and settle into a routine. Yesterday, however, my observations were sad ones. I've been sitting in on (and doing crafts and such here and there) a Sunday School class for junior highers. They're fun kids and seem to like me, though I'm not sure why since we can barely communicate with each other! :-) I think I'm a novelty...the silent American girl who smiles a lot! Anyhow, as much as I genuinally like the kids, their attitudes upset me. My biggest observations? They seem to have very little respect for authority, and basically NO understanding that the Bible applies to THEM in their day to day lives. I know what you're thinking...how is that any different from kids in the US? :-) This isn't a new problem, and probably IS the case in many places back home, too, but it made my heart sad to see yesterday.

It ALSO made me even MORE eager learn the language. I want to be able to talk to them, to share a Savior with them who loves them and wants to guide them if only they'll listen and obey. I want them to see that the Bible isn't just stories, but REAL people with REAL lives who made choices just like us. I want them to own their faith and see what it means to have a RELATIONSHIP with the sovereign Creator of the universe!

Sigh...it is hard to have so much to say and yet no way to say it! :-) But God knows, and I continue to pray that He'll show me why I'm here and how to use my time. I'm at the point now where I'm having to choose between different opportunities. My observations yesterday, though, helped me clearly identify again what my heart's desire truly is: to see young people really come to KNOW our Savior and follow Him with a radical, life changing faith.

Please, Lord, show me how I can best do this, even with my limited abilities. If you can use anything, Lord, You can use me.

FIRSTS!

I've officially been in Romania for four weeks now! I can't believe it! I'm really not homesick yet, but on several occasions I HAVE missed the convenience of living in the States. Especially when it comes to cooking. No brownie mixes here! Canned soups are just a memory now. And edible frozen food is no longer a part of my life. All of this is probably for the better, but I admit I have had to adapt. I've also had to sort through my recipes and find ones that I can actually get ingredients for. Hmmm...it is almost dinnertime, can you tell? I didn't intend to sit down and write about food. Moving on!

I thought I'd share with you a few of my "firsts" in the last week or so.

FIRST time on the Metro by myself! I went to a new friend's birthday party and managed to find my way there and back by myself! I also met an interesting man with a snowboard who told me I had a beautiful face (in Romanian), which I suppose counts as my FIRST time getting hit on here! Yessss! Actually, I was pleased that he said this in Romanian first, because the bigger compliment for me was that it meant he thought I looked Romanian. That's what I'm going for! :-)

FIRST time getting lost came the very next day. :-) I was headed to church, and though I've ridden with teammates every other week, the weather was nice so I thought it would be a good time for me to figure out how to take the tram. It should have been easy. Just go three stops, get off and walk. But for me...well...not so much. I got off at the right stop, but then thought it didn't look right, so I got back ON the tram and went two MORE stops. By that time I knew I'd been right the first time. I couldn't figure out how to get back on the tram going the opposite direction (the stops aren't always marked well), so I started walking...in my nice Sunday church shoes, of course! I knew I had to turn down a side street, but I couldn't tell which one because although I had a map, the streets don't always have signs (or at least signs that I can see!) and I'm directionally challenged anyway! :-) Eventually I saw a group of women wearing skirts and decided to follow them. And guess what? They went right to the church! I'm not sure if they knew I was following them or not. But God certainly heard my prayer for help and I was only five minutes late! It was actually an amusing experience, and I'm glad I've been lost once now so I don't have to be concerned when (not if!) it happens again.

FIRST time teaching a class here! I had nine kids on Sunday night for my "English" Jr. Church. What a fun group of kids! We talked about being examples with our words, and they especially enjoyed singing "Keep Your Tongue From Evil", by Steve Green. The hardest thing is keeping the wide variety of ages (pre-school to fifth grade) all interested and engaged. This week I should have twelve kids, so we're already talking about finding some help for me. That'd be good! :-)

FIRST time paying a bill (other than rent) by myself! My very kind doorman (who speaks a decent amount of English), volunteered to walk me to the office of the building administrator where I had to pay it. As it turns out, the building administrator is the man who had come to read my water meter last week (which is a whole OTHER story), so we'd met already and he was well aware that I couldn't speak much Romanian. I paid the bill, and he tried to set me up with his sons. Oh Romania! It sounds much more flattering than it actually is. Everyone wants a green card. Ha!

FIRST Romanian dinner! I've made a new friend, I think, and the dinner was just the icing on the cake for the evening! She took me to a traditional restaurant and ordered me a traditional meal. I enjoyed it and especially LOVED the dessert! It was like donut/funnel cake covered in cream cheese and jelly. YUM!!! Let's not talk about calories! :-) It was a fun night, full of good food and laughter! Thanks to those of you who are praying I'll find friends. It IS happening...slowly. Please keep praying.

So those are some of my firsts! If your life seems dull, book a ticket to come visit me! Cause I can promise you...it NEVER is here!! :-)

The Land of Randomness

This last weekend I had a couple of guests! It was a blast and I was sorry to see them go. Becky is part of the Romania North Team, and Jenny is part of the South Team with me, but is still raising support back in the States, so she was only here for a visit. (Hopefully she'll be here for good soon...I'm really excited to have her here. Her goal is next January. Please pray that she comes quickly...for my own sanity!) I'd met them both before and was excited to have them come. We laughed ALOT. Jenny has lived here before and calls Romania the "Land of Randomness", which really IS a great description. I'm starting to love this country but man, does it make me laugh! Just in case you don't believe me, this is a video we took the other night on our way home from the Graefs. Romanian elevators are notoriously sketchy. This one, however, should win a prize. Not only has the light been burned out since I got here, the "Push for Help" button isn't exactly helpful. Listen and find out!

NOTE: Before this video was taken, David had to run down to the bottom floor to send the elevator up because it was stuck. Which made us feel even better.



Don't you love it?? When you all come visit, I'll be sure to take you in the laughing elevator! :-)

The View From Here

I thought a few pictures might be nice...so here they are!

The view from my window






And my apartment building



Inside my apartment building



And the building's dog. The doorman lets him in and the women put food on their doorsteps for him. I speak nicely to him and pet him...but when I do he tries to follow me in the apartment! :-) I think I need to name him...suggestions??




And finally, this is for those of you in Columbus who have had all the snow. You're not alone. And at least in the US they shovel sidewalks! :-)

Two Weeks In!

It is hard to believe I’m entering my third week in Bucharest. In some ways it seems like I’ve been here for months, and in other ways I feel like I got here yesterday. I hit a point early last week when I just kind of looked around and thought “Ok…now what?”! I was settled, my visa process was well under way, and I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself! Thankfully, in the last week or so God has begun to fill up my schedule.

I’m so thankful for the teammates God has given me! They’ve gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and comfortable, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time at all of their apartments in the last few weeks. It has been important, especially as I’m starting out, to build good relationships with them. They are my lifelines here, and I depend on them so much! They’ve been very helpful and patient as I learn all the things I need to know to live here. So getting to know all of them has been a big part of my last couple of weeks.

The visa process has taken quite a bit of time as well. It is pretty much like a giant, international scavenger hunt. You have to run all over the city, getting different places to fill out forms for you, collecting them all and eventually turning them in for the prize: a five year visa! Woohoo! I’m ALMOST ready to turn everything in to the government, and Scotte (my team leader) tells me having it all ready this quick is some kind of a record! I can be in the country for 90 days before I need the visa, so it should be done in plenty of time. Should be! ☺

Starting next Sunday, I’ll be taking over the Sunday night children’s program at church! It is done completely in English and mostly just MKs come, but it is still a good opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to it! My co-workers have been taking turns doing this, so I’m glad to be able to give them a break. Once I’ve gotten my feet wet a little bit, I think we may begin advertising it as an opportunity for OTHER children to work on their English, too. I’m excited about the potential and glad to be doing something so worthwhile!

I’ve also been observing the Sunday School program at the church I’m attending. I’ve especially “clicked” with one teacher, and have decided to start helping in her class. I’ll teach some, try a few ideas, and just try to get a feel for what’s going on.

I’m also going to be traveling quite a bit in the next couple of months! ABWE is doing three teacher training seminars in three different cities in March, and I have the opportunity to go and observe all of them, and have been asked to share a brief devotional at each one. In April, we’ll be doing a seminar in Moldova (a tiny country east of Romania), and they’ve asked me to actually teach a whole session! WOW! It is really intimidating, but as I prayed about it, I felt God telling me to stretch myself. So I’ll give it a shot! I’ll get my topic in the next few weeks and start working on it. What a cool opportunity!

In April, the Romania North and Romania South teams will be meeting in Transylvania for four days to do some planning. While all the grown-ups sit in meetings all day, I get to entertain the kids, which should be fun! I’m looking forward to it, and am glad to be able to help in this way.

The summer is also coming quickly, so planning is well under way for camp! I attended a meeting last week and am excited to be a part of this ministry! My specific role is still being discussed, but I’m glad to help however I can. Counselor applications and training will begin soon! I’m loving learning about the process of running a camp!

TOMORROW I will start my language lessons! I’m looking forward to finally being able to get into it because I want so badly to be able to communicate better. As an AMP missionary, I’m not required to take language classes, but I think it is important and really want to do it. I’ll be taking four hours a week and will have lots of homework, too, from what I hear! So today is my last day of freedom, I guess! ☺

Would you please pray specifically that I’d make some Romanian friends here? I’m trying, but it is HARD and it just takes time. I keep being told to “invite some girls over”…but that’s a little hard when I don’t know many girls, or even how to meet them! I love working with kids, but since I’m with them Sunday AM and PM, it makes it hard to meet people at church. I AM attending a Bible study on Friday nights, which has been good, but because it is English speaking, most of the people I’ve met have been from the US! So please pray that I meet people and am able to build relationships. That really is what I want!

Small Victories and Setbacks

Well I must say, I'm glad it is not LAST week!
And I'm also thankful that THIS week is coming to a close. It has been a good week, but the learning curve is huge and I'm glad I'll never have to have a first week in Bucharest again! I'm able to find my way around my neighborhood now, shop, go to the bank, and walk to all of my teammate's apartments. Good things to know how to do, yes? Let me share some of my victories with you. They may seem small to you, but they were causes of great rejoicing to me!

1. I learned how to work the washer and dryer! They're quite different here, but thankfully my time in Germany in 2006 helped, and I DID remember what to do.

2. I hooked up a printer! This has nothing to do with Romania being difficult...this is just my own idiocy when it comes to computers. I won!

3. I paid my rent for February all by myself! Thanks to instructions from teammates, I was able to deposit the money into my landlord's account. This meant going from US dollars, to Romanian lei, to Euros...but I did it, and I was quite pleased with myself and thankful for the kind girl at the bank who spoke English.

4. I figured out how to light (yes, light) my stove! Actually, having an oven I had to light at my apartment in Columbus made this a lot less scary. Isn't it funny how God prepares us?? I haven't figured out the oven here, yet. A goal for next week...

5. I picked up paperwork from a government agency on my own! I dropped it off with Scotte the day before to be processed, and then managed (miraculously!)to find my way back to the building, into the right room, and to the right woman to pick it back up. A small victory, but one that goes a long way toward building my confidence in my new home town.

6. The internet is WORKING!! This is really only a half victory because (a) I didn't fix it, and (b) it isn't COMPLETELY fixed yet...but I'll take it! The internet was cutting out generally every 2 minutes, which wasn't good since this is my only form of communication to the world OUTSIDE of Bucharest. I still don't have wireless, but the internet stays connected (after Scotte and Tom worked on it for a while!) so I'm pretty content with THAT!

Each of these victories were accomplish while talking with my Heavenly Father. I depend on Him even more these days, and am always amazed at the way He cares even about silly, insignificant things...like lighting an oven.

Thankfully, He ALSO cares about my defeats, and what week wouldn't have a few of those??

1. My lost luggage. You know the story by now. Resolved in the end!

2. Sinus infection! I couldn't do much Sunday and Monday and was pretty miserable. BUT, I'm so thankful I had antibiotics with me, and I feel MUCH better now, though my sinuses are still draining. Yuck!

3. Frustrating internet. We've covered that already. I prayed over my computer, but it didn't cast the demons out. :-( I had to call in the professional missionaries! ;-)

4. Stolen debit card number. Sometime before I left the States, my card number got stolen, and we discovered this on Wednesday. I've been racking my brain to try to figure out where it happened, but I just have no idea! Anyhow, the bank had to deactivate my card so they wouldn't drain my account, which meant I had no way to access my account or withdraw money in a country that runs on virtually only cash. Yeah....I had a few moments of panic. But that is why God put me in a TEAM here in Bucharest, and they were able to loan me money from the team account until I have access to my own again.

Those were my biggest defeats this week. Nothing too horrible. But of course everything seems more horrible in a new place, with new people. I've asked God "why now?" a few times (especially with the debit card situation!), but was reminded that these things really AREN'T big deals and I need to trust Him.

Next up? Well, I'm headed to an (English) Bible study at the Graefs for tonight with some other young people. Now that I have reliable internet, however, I'll write again soon about the ministry opportunities God is already giving me here.

La revedere!

Well...It IS Romania!

I am safely in Bucharest! And so is my luggage! I'm actually home tonight because I'm not feeling well. I'm fairly certain I have a sinus infection, but thankfully I felt it coming on before I left and was able to get antibiotics. (Thank you Dr. Steve!) Flying, however, didn't help, and I woke up this morning with a sore throat, too, so I'm taking it easy tonight in hopes that I'll be able to do what I need to do for the rest of the week. BUT, this does give me the chance to share with you how God showed me He was with me on my trip here.

Friday was a GOOD day, spent with family and friends...plus, I had Thai food for lunch! :-) My bags all zipped (a miracle itself!) and I checked in at Port Columbus without incident. Goodbyes (which I had been dreading since I made this decision a year and a half ago) were hard, but not unbearable, and I have to tell you, it was really nice to finally DO IT and not have it hanging over my head anymore. I flew to Detroit and had to wait only a few minutes to board my plane to Amsterdam.

I got on the plane and started to hope that the seat next to me would be empty so I could stretch out a little for the eight-hour flight. It hadn't happened to me on any other international flight before, but I started to pray that, maybe, just maybe, God would take pity on me and give me a little space. People kept getting on the plane...but the seat next to me was still empty! Yessss!!! Oh wait...the last person getting on? Are you serious? Not funny, Lord! So I ended up with a seatmate. Despite my disappointment, I smiled and made small talk and soon discovered that he was a believer and attended a Baptist church in Alabama! What an unexpected blessings! Even more "random" was the fact that he had a friend who is director of Campus Crusade for Christ for Eastern Europe. So he was super excited that I was going to Romania! So instead of feeling completely distraught as I watched the last bit of US soil fade out of view, I was sharing my journey with a fellow believer and being encouraged. Thank you, Lord!

We didn't talk much after the initial conversation. He took a sleeping pill and offered me one, but I don't make a habit of taking pills from men on airplanes, soooo I was awake the whole flight, and unable to get comfortable. I never sleep on planes, so I wasn't surprised, but goodness is that a miserable feeling! Eight hours, two (bad) meals and one (bad) movie later, we landed in Amsterdam on time. Yes, that's right, we LANDED on time. Unfortunately, we didn't pull up to the gate for another fifty minutes because the plane already AT the gate had to be de-iced and there was a sudden lack of de-icers at the airport. Thanks to the kind reassurances of the gentleman next to me that "all of the flights are probably delayed now", I didn't panic during those looooooong fifty minutes. If you woke up praying for me, THANK YOU! I could feel it!

Once we finally arrived at the gate and got off the plane, I discovered that SOMEHOW my flight to Bucharest was still on time. I had thirty minutes to figure out what gate to go to, run (literally!) to another concourse, go through security, and board the plane. And guess what? I made it! I was praying all the way, but I made it and was surprisingly calm the whole time. CLEARLY, people were praying.

After boarding the plane, I discovered that my NEW seatmate had also been on my plane from Detroit and had been through the same oh-so-exciting rush that I had. We bonded over that and chatted some. I'm not sure that he was a believer (I shared what I was doing and he didn't have much to say), but he WAS a homeschool dad of seven kids, which gave us a connection. He looked out for me during that flight and even gave me a clementine orange after another (especially bad) airline meal. Let me tell you...I was VERY thankful for that orange! :-) Another unexpected blessing!

We arrived in Bucharest on time. I passed through customs without incident and headed for the baggage claim with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. If I had barely made it on the plane to Bucharest, was there any possible way that my luggage had? My seatmate and I stood watching the luggage going 'round and 'round. Never in my life have I wished for pink camo bags, but whoever had THOSE bags got their luggage that night, and unfortunately I did not. And neither did the nice man next to me, which was terrible for him, but really nice for me because I had someone to figure this out with. I told him I was pretty sure God had sent him to keep me calm through all this, which made him smile. We went to the office, filled out some forms, were given papers and told the next plane came in at midnight. Lovely.

If you listen to my prayer requests from my commissioning service (ibccares.org), you'll hear me say something about not thinking I could handle it if my bags didn't get to Bucharest. God proved once again that while I may not be capable of handling that, He certainly is...and the whole experience wasn't NEARLY as traumatic as it could have been. So I left the airport with only my carry on, but was greeted by my whole team as soon as I walked out the door! How wonderful to get fifteen "hello" hugs, including some from kids who had no idea who I was, but were excited to see me! :-) We all stopped at Burger King (and also Starbucks!) before I was taken back to the Staabs' (my team leaders!) apartment and given pajamas and shower stuff for the next day. Then we headed over to my apartment.

This apartment is a whole blessing in and of itself and story for another time. But an ADDED blessing is that I'm less than a 10-minute walk from all of my teammates. How cool is THAT! I managed to stay awake until 10pm before going to bed for the first time in over 30 hours. Unfortunately, the combination of new noises and wondering when my bags would show up meant that I didn't sleep very well.

I fell into a deep sleep somewhere around 6am, but woke up two hours later to hear my (borrowed) cell phone ringing. I was VERY groggy when I answered, but the man on the end only spoke Romanian, and got frustrated with me when I didn't understand, so he hung up on me! I had understood the words for "airport" and "home", and so I thought maybe he was waiting for me downstairs. I threw on socks, shoes, and a coat and ran downstairs...to find nothing. So I returned to my apartment and tried to wake myself up enough to decide what to do next, or wait for the man to make his next move. He called back and I STILL didn't understand what he was saying, so after he hung up on me again(!), I called a teammate and left a message, explaining the situation and praying that my bags weren't on their way BACK to the airport, never to be seen or heard from again! Thankfully, just as my teammate was returning my call, the doorbell rang, and there, outside my door, was a large, flustered looking Romanian man with my bags!! YESSS!!! He brought all three of them up to me (on the 4th floor!) which was so nice, and I thanked him (in Romanian, even!) profusely! I can't even tell you how happy I was to see those bags! Wooohooo!

I unpacked immediately and am as settled as I can be for now! I had a nice lunch with the Postemas and really enjoyed catching up with them. For now, though, I just don't feel good, and my body needs a good night of rest. Which is where I'm headed shortly.

I'm not sure about the plan for this week. There is so much to learn, so much to do. I DO know I'm going grocery shopping with Leah tomorrow, so I'll begin to figure THAT out. And I have dinner with the Graefs. Beyond that, I'm not sure, but hey! I'm flexible! I'm looking forward to the day when this new life is "normal" and I don't have to double check to make sure I'm going in the right apartment.

I know this is long, but I wanted to share the ways God showed me His hand over and over and over on this trip. I know I'm not alone and I'm so thankful for that! I'm thankful as well, for the many, many people I know were praying. I've felt people's prayers before, but never quite like this. So thank YOU!

Please PRAY that I feel better quickly and get over the jet lag, too. Pray that I would be flexible and patient in a country where hardly anything goes as planned. Pray that God gives me a deep love for Romania and the Romanian people. And pray that I would find "normal" soon.

I'll update again soon...and hopefully it won't be NEARLY so long! But it IS Romania...which I think is my new motto!

Commissioning Service Pictures

The commissioning service was so special...as was the meal afterwards. These are a few pictures from the day. More to come, I'm sure! :-)

The Final Countdown

I can't BELIEVE I have a week left in the US. It is crazy, really. I've spent the last year and a half waiting for this day and time has gone so slowly! Then all the sudden, I finished at Walgreens and WHAM! Time sped up!

I spent last week traveling, visiting friends, which was such a blessing to be able to do. I have wonderful friends all over the place and I'm so thankful for them. AND I'm thankful for the chance I had to see them before I become a world traveler! :-)

Next on the agenda is packing. I've sort of started. I'm taking three bags (and paying an arm and a leg for them!), but the rest of my stuff has to be packed so it can go to Michigan with my parents. How do you decide what you'll need for the next two years??

Also in the near future (Sunday) is my commissioning service. OOooooh boy. I have NO illusions about it being easy. I've never been good at goodbyes. I mean, I don't think anyone really likes them, but some people are better at them than others and I am NOT one of those people! I'm not sure why they're called "good"byes, because I DON'T think there is anything "good" about them. But that's just my thought. ANYWAY, service on Sunday! My parents are coming, along with some more family, which is fun. I AM looking forward to that. I'm thankful for my church family and their support through all of this. Pray with me that God is glorified on Sunday and that His power is seen.

I was reading an old journal today and was amazed at the amount of "scary" things in them that I could "never" do: a break up, trip to Germany, trip to Romania, support raising, seeing my parents move, saying goodbye to my brothers...the list continues, because I'm just a naturally scared person! :-) God has given me strength each time. And He will on Friday, too, right? I know it in my head...but try telling my heart! :-)

A season is coming when I will write more often. I look forward to it and THANK YOU for your prayers for me, especially in the coming weeks.