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.