Christmas Boxes

While you are all celebrating Thanksgiving this year, my apartment has been turned into Santa’s Workshop!  I received 180+ Christmas Shoeboxes for the children of Stroiesti this morning.  Along with the shoeboxes were lovely winter wear including handmade scarves and hats from a group in Minnesota, toothbrushes and tooth paste from a dentist’s office in PA, extra toys and school supplies and clothes for the children!  It is overwhelming.  Even more so that the boxes came almost 2 weeks early!!!  Praise the Lord.

In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be putting the names of the children on the boxes.  Each child will see their name on the box and know that it was packed with love and prayers for a wonderful new year.  Thank you to everyone who packed a box, make a scarf, and sent all the extras to the children of Stroiesti! 

Christmas boxes, clothes, toothbrushes, oh my!

Boxes of Shoeboxes

Yesterday’s Election

I have posted the link to an article about yesterday’s election here in Romania. It is interesting to see the similarities and differences between the Romanian and American electorial process.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34089368/ns/world_news-europe/

Field Trip

Yesterday, the children of Stroiesti were invited to an event in the city at a sister church. The event was kind of like a harvest-thanksgiving celebrations, kind of…..  35 kids from the village were there and there was 125+ kids in total.  There was a lesson about the tree that produces good fruit and bad fruit.  Followed by a game and then fruit eating.  The kids stuffed themselves with fruit.  They ate kiwi, coconut, and pineapple, some for the first time.  And it was only the kids from Stroiesti who decided to eat the veggies.   It was a fun event and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Music time

Ionut playing "guess that fruit"

All the fruit was gone in 30 mins.

The boys eating peppersEnjoying Fruit

 

Prayer Request

I found out yesterday, Bogdan’s father, Vasile, along with 11 other men from the village, will be going to Portugal on Thursday morning.  They will make the 3 day journey by bus and will pick up other Romanians on the way.  They will spend 3 months in Portugal picking olives.  They will be back in February.  While there, they will earn 35euros a day, about 2 1/2 times the daily wage here in Romania. 

This is the first time the kids will be apart from their father for longer than a week (camp) and of course everyone is sad.  The family sold their horse and will buy a new one in February.  It’s too expensive to keep the horse in the barn all winter, esp if it’s not being used. By going to Portugal, Vasile will be able to provide more for his family.  Please pray for safe travel and good working conditions.  Pray for the families who will be separated from loved ones, esp at Christmas.

In the details

We all know God is in the big things, but I know I sometimes forget that God is also in all the details.  He has reminded me of this many times recently, but yesterday, it was even more apparent.

 

You know we like to celebrate birthdays at Sunday School in the village.  Yesterday Gabriela’s 7th birthday.  We usually have about 20-22 kids come, so I made cupcakes and brough a couple extra. I had a total of 26 cupcakes.  Usually, we sing “Happy Birthday” at the end of the program and the kids can eat their cupcakes on their way home.  Well, this week, I decided that they could eat their cupcakes while watching part 3 of the “God’s Story” film  we have been watching.  There were 25 kids.  Each child got a cupcake (Gabriela decided to save her special cake for home).  No sooner than all the cupcakes were eaten and the papers thrown away, did 4 girls come in for Sunday School (we had changed the time and they hadn’t gotten the message about so they were very late.)  Had we waited, there would not have been enough cupcakes for everyone and feeling would have been hurt and children would have been upset.  Or no one would have gotten cupcakes (and I would have had 26 chocolate cupcakes to eat!).  But God knew and inspired me to have cupcakes early.  I am always amazed at how God is truly in all the details!

 

Happy Birthday, Gabriela!

 

All moved in

Yesterday, I hired 3 teens from the village to help me move stuff. I couldn’t have done it without them.  We made many trips in my car.  Turns out you can get a fridge in my car!!  A friend let us use his big truck for the stove and washer and other pieces. And then last night we got the rest out. 

We had about 4 inches of snow, which started to melt yesterday afternoon, and then turned into ice.  Today, it’s really cold and gloomy, but the snow that is here, is really pretty.

I’ll take some pictures of my apartment and post them soon.

First Snow

I woke up this morning to 2 inches of snow and it doesn’t look like it will let up any time soon.  Oh, and today is moving day.  Oh, this will be fun.

Studying…

I just love this picture and wanted to share it with you all.  Ana is using mini-books of the Bible to help her learn the order of the books.  I made the little books using match boxes.  We all use matches to light our stoves and ovens and in the village to light the fire.  The kids would sometimes bring me bags of matchboxes or maybe just one or two.  Some of the kids would pull them out of their pockets and they’d be all bent up.  I have used every single one they have given me.  We have one complete set and are working on another.  The kids like to compete against each other to see who can put them in the right order the fastest.

Address Change

About three weeks ago, there was an incident at my apartment, after which, my safety was put into question.  Along with MBK leadership, it was decided that I needed to move.  With the help my Sister C and other friends, I found a great apartment in the city center.  It’s smaller, but I am now able to walk to so many more places, including church, the post office, and the pharmacy.  I’m also a tiny bit closer to the village. I have started moving my belongings to the new place and my friends will help me later this week with the rest.  God really confirmed this was the right time and place.  I don’t have any classes this week in Stroiesti because the little kids are on mid-term vacation.  The owners of the new place are so sweet and wonderful and they are fellow believers. 

The new address is:

Str. I.V. Viteazu Nr. 1

Bloc B2, Sc.B Parter

Ap. 3

Suceava

Romania

One Year Later

I realized earlier this week, that it was a year ago that I started my training in Oradea.  It’s amazing to see what God has done in the last year.  I have learned so much and decided to make a top 10 list of things I have learned in Romania. Enjoy.

10. That children are the same everywhere.  They all want to be loved and hugged and will live up to the expectations you give them!

9. How to drive stick shift!  And to navigate Romanian traffic.

8. That Romanians can park their cars anywhere and so can I (including sidewalks and bus lanes).

7.  That I can totally live without hot running water, but would rather not.

6.  That there are matchmakers in every country (and every age…. even 4 year Naiomi  had a try).

5.  That making friends with the postal inspector is good; I don’t have to explain everything in the packages.

4. That when the kids start getting restless in class, a good song will get their attention.

3. How to speak Romanian and that Romanians are very forgiving when I make mistakes.

2.  That “Guess what kind of meat you’re  eating?” is not a fun game.

1.  That no matter what God is always with me and will guide and protect me.