Caroling in Budesti and Curcani

As I write this I am feeling a little sick. It could be from not getting more then six hours a sleep a night or the fact I was sick on vacation and haven't had time to recover or that I have been eating sugar and sausage since vacation or it might cause my heart hurts for all my people in the village. 

We woke up bright and early yesterday to carol at the village. It was great. Our village kids loved seeing us sing carols to them and we got to hand out Christmas shoe boxes in Curcani.

This girl was so excited to get her box.  She is smiling with her big "Romanian" smile. She was so happy Kim wanted to take of picture of her.

I wanted to share the picture below. I was secretly laughing to myself. All the ladies were handing out food bags to some of the families and they told Kim and I to stay behind to sing with the boys. So here is Kim and I in the middle of village, two white girls singing gypsy music. You might think me singing Romanian was a big deal but singing Romanian gypsy music is a whole new level of singing. 

One of the families they took a bag of food too was my little girl's family. Her grandma was so sweet. Like many of our people in the village. She only lives in a two room shack taking care of her six grand kids. They have a dirt floor covered with a tiny rug in the room they sleep in and the other room is used to cook and store wood. Jenny said when they arrived the grandma started to cry and said, "Today I prayed for bread because I had nothing for the kids to eat, and look how He responded. He not only provided us food, but a visit from my friends as well. What a wonderful God we have." 

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. But this year it's a little hard. Knowing I am blessed with so much but my little girl in the village might not have anything to eat on Christmas. It kinda makes my heart hurt a lot today. 

Merry Christmas!

Crăciun fericit!

As I write this I am still singing. Today I had a full out Romanian day. Starting with church, followed by the village Christmas service and ending with six hours of Christmas caroling in Romanian. 

Romanian Christmas Caroling 101

1) You are suppose to invite the carolers in verbally, you should never assume that they would know you have been waiting for them with cookies and hot chocolate. 

2) When you are the caroler and someone hands you money. You take it. It's rude not to.

3) You eat at every house you stop at whether it's five in the evening or going on midnight. 

4) Romanian Christmas Caroling is serious stuff. It can last up to three days. 

With that all being said I will share some of our pictures from the village. 

My favorite little girl hasn't been in awhile, her grandma says they have a new baby in the family and she has been staying home to visit it. I am sad I don't get to see her every Sunday. But I get to see this guy! He is definitively one of my favorites. Always trying to sneak a wink at me. This boy cracks me up. 

Mihaela is another regular who comes every week. She is so faithful in trying to learn my name. She is so close, "Shan-nee"

And with Christmas being right around the corner, I think every kid in the village was trying to come today. 

Now I am ready to head out to a different village in the morning and continuing my Christmas Caroling all day long.  

Tuesday's

Today's Tuesday so I get to see this little man.

Stefan and Brianna (Sarah's daughter)

Stefan has a special place in my heart even if he has gotten sick on me more then once. Right now we don't have many babies. Woody was put in a foster home, Ghe-ghe wants to move around so he got moved up to the toddlers room. Leaving me to take care Stefan and the twins. 

Rebecca and Samuel are the names of the twins, their mother is only 16. She told the nurses she would come pick them up in six months. She comes to visit them every week but the poor girl has no idea how to take care of babies and probably has no money to take care of either. Please keep this family in your prayers. This girl truly is a loving mother. 

Special Guest

I don't think I have mentioned this on my blog yet but Ana is back! She went home and her dad tried to marry her off but she told him no.... We didn't get many details but we are happy she is back. She came to church with Jenny and I today, followed by a visit to the village to see some of my favorite people. 

We only choose to eat the best for lunch. But it was a taste of home. Yum..

Christmas Cheer!

I just survived three hours at the baby hospital by myself with all Romanians who only speak Romanian. This is a big accomplishment in my life whether I actually understand what the nurses were saying to me or not. Nobody got hurt and everyone was happy. So I decided I will celebrate by spending some Christmas cheer with a picture of our Christmas tree. 

Merry Christmas!

O-H-I-O

I am sure a lot of you saw the game Saturday with most of our Romanian team split between Michigan and Ohio State, we had a party. Luckily Ohio State won, so of course being the good Ohio fans we are. Kristy and I got enough people to take an O-H-I-O picture. 

GO BUCKS!

Christmas is Finally Here!

The third and last real Thanksgiving has finally been celebrated so the Christmas season is officially here. 

By far my favorite time of the year. I feel like I have been waiting for it forever!

We finished our Thanksgiving by watching "The Grinch" and starting our black Friday by picking out our Christmas tree and watching Elf.

The perfect start for some Christmas cheer. 

Merry Christmas!

The Revolution Lives

It's not a secret, I am a huge Hunger Games Fan. So I was so excited when my roommates agreed to see it in the theaters with me and not just any theater, the IMAX theater.

It was amazing movie, it reminded me of how much I loved the book and seeing it on the big screen was awesome but what made it even more great was seeing it here in Romania. Throughout the movie people would start cheering and clapping, bringing out the true revolutionist in many. For Romanians this wasn't just a movie this was something they could relate with. As Lavi said the other day, "The best gift Romanians ever got was when Nicolae Ceasusescu was killed on Christmas". Romanians know what it feels like to live with someone controlling their lives. 

I can't wait till the third movie comes out, it will be my goal to make it back to Romania to watch the final movie here. 

While you live, the revolution lives. 

Game Night.

We had game night with the orphan kids last night. 

We served them sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies. 

And they played tons of games. 

All in all it was a good night. And the kids were on their best behavior. 

Friends Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving last night with a whole bunch of Romanian friends. It was a lot of fun. It didn't seem awkward which apparently says a lot coming from me since I was the only one in the room who couldn't speak fluent Romanian. 

This is what happens when Boing takes a picture. We will know this for next time. 

I think my Thanksgiving belly will continue to next week from all our leftovers till the team celebrates real thanksgiving together. I still have some of the pumpkin bread I made left over for breakfast this morning. yum.

p.s. And I know your all dying to know. Romania lost to Greece last night. So they aren't qualified for the World Cup. Poor Romania. 

Anchor of Hope

Anchor of Hope is the non-profit organization I volunteer with at the baby hospital and the little kid orphanage I go to. Anchor of Hope is run by Sarah Smith. Sarah has been working in Romania since 2006. Anchor of Hope (aka Ancora Sperantei) provides stimulation, play time, and love to the babies who have no one at the baby hospital. Anchor of Hope also ministers to the Romanian staff providing them with time off, rest, and assistance. At the orphanage we share the love of Christ with young girls who have been abused mentally, physically, and sexually. These girls are at high risk for sex-trafficking and prostitution. Anchor of Hope provides a program with these girls that teach them about Christ and life skills. 

Sarah has an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Masters in Child and Family Counseling. If you would like to make a donation and help Sarah and her organization click on this direct link and donate today. 

Our greatest need right now is diapers. Our kids need them! We have 59 kids in diapers which means we use around 5000 a month. Unfortunately we are coming to the end of our diaper stock. 

Awareness

Last month was Human Trafficking Awareness. We all know about it. We have all heard stories.... but thankfully it hasn't touched me first hand. But for many orphan kids that's not the case. This past month, one of our girls, Ana, went missing. When Jenny asked about her, we were informed that her parents had picked her up to get "married". Knowing Ana didn't have a boyfriend and her father was abusive. The likeliness of her getting married is very slim. 

Photo from joshspear.com 

Romania is ranked in the top countries in the world to be trafficked from. Orphans are often easy victims.  Please pray that as Jenny tries to get more information on Ana that we will be able to find her and that God will keep her safe. 

I couldn't wait...

I know I just posted pictures of the gypsy kids yesterday but I just had to post the pictures from today. Especially knowing I am going to be out of town this week at the team meeting so this will probably be the only time I have to blog this week. 

Question: Boy or Girl?

That was the question Jenny and I kept asking each other. A lot of people dress their kids in whatever clothes they can find whether it's gender appropriate it or not. So with babies it's especially hard to tell what they are. But isn't the baby adorable. This is my little gypsy girl's relative. Her grandma kept on waiting for Jenny and I to take pictures with the baby. She knew we would fall in love when we got to hold it. None of the pictures of me holding the baby turned out since they were taken via phone but oh how I wish they would have. 

The boys thought it was the greatest thing ever that Jenny took their picture in front of the car. 

Here a picture of our kids during craft time. Working hard they were...

Well I hope you like the photos and you know little more of what a Sunday afternoon looks like for me. This week I will be spending my time with the team kids as the Romanian team gets together to plan for the upcoming year. I am excited to help the team out in this way. Please keep my roommate Kim and her family in your prayers. She flew back to the states this morning to help take care of her grandma who is very sick.  

Duminică

Tomorrow is Sunday, the day we head out to the gypsy villages. I am looking forward to it. The people are starting to realize me as a regular and every once in awhile I actually understand a little of what people are trying to say to me. 

Last week was Harvest Sunday. It's similar to our Thanksgiving service in the states. Except Harvest Sunday is something that is only celebrated in the church here, it's not considered a national holiday or anything. 

The picture below is of one of my favorite little girls from the village. I always look forward to seeing her. And she isn't bothered by the fact that we can't understand each other that well. Her grandma brings her and her cousins every week. Her family is so faithful. 

So great news, the personal trainer at the gym (the one I had mentioned in my last post) read the book of John. He said he understood why I believe what I believe but he still believes in his Orthodox faith. Which doesn't sound like great news but he wants to keep the Bible to read more of it so he can learn. So God is definitely working in his heart. Keep him in your prayers. 

Pumpkin Season!

We had David and Lovi over this weekend. We go to church with them and their parents. Their Dad is actually one of the people in charge of the Baptist Union here in Bucharest which is good to know when you are going through your visa process at the last minute. 

Well anyway the kids were over last night with the Postema's, it was movie and pizza night. David and Lovi got to spent the night. So we headed out to Obor this morning to pick out some pumpkins at the market. I love going to the market. It reminds me of the market in France with the fresh smell of produce. But here in Bucharest, the market isn't ideal for someone like me. With all the people there I and my not so good Romanian skills I would be asking for someone to rob me. So knowing that I took in the smell of the market and thought of all the friendly people at the market in France and how I would go there every Thursday and cherished those memories. 

We bought six pumpkins. Four to paint. Two to carve. Pumpkin carving isn't real popular here. So it's a good thing we only got two pumpkins to carve because David and Lovi, being true Romanians, could have cared less about carving the pumpkins after we had just painted some. So they left that up to Jenny and I. 

As I write this blog post, I have pumpkin baking in the oven just waiting to become pumpkin creamer for my coffee this week and just thinking about it makes me so happy. 

p.s. On a side note, I got to discuss God with the personal trainer at the gym. He is an Orthodox christian. I gave him a Bible today and told him to start reading the book of John. He was really open to what I have to say but he also is pretty firm in his belief. So pray that his eyes are open and that God works in his heart. And that when he ask me questions, God would grant me all the right answers to give him.

That Moment When Your Heart Breaks.

All our orphan kids are back from the gara (train station). Praise the Lord. These kids are so cute and they just want affection. Everyone who knows me, knows I don't like to be hugged or kissed. But with these orphan kids I really don't mind their hugs and kisses they crave the affection. And knowing no one is giving them the proper affection kids need breaks my heart. 

I am pretty sure we all have had that feeling of pain in our hearts. I had that pain a few times here in Romania. But I got it again today when Jenny said that our kids that had came back from the gara had to be detox from drugs. Which is so sad most these boys are under 12... These kids are having to face some horrible things. All we can do is show them the love of God and continually pray for them. 

Sweetest Day!

Since I have gotten a few compliments on my new blog outline. I decided I need to step up my game in blogging. Just to let you all know I designed that blog heading while watching The Voice with my roommates. I guess you can say that's where I find my true inspiration?

Anyway so a friend posted the origin of Sweetest Day on facebook. And it really touched me probably cause it began in Cleveland (woot woot, go Ohio!) and second because it was started by a man who wanted to bring happiness to the orphans which makes my heart happy.

This past week has been good in so many ways. I have gotten to volunteer at the orphanage partnered with Anchor of Hope. Which has been lots of fun. The kids are starting to recognize me even though they are so young. It's makes me miss the Stoner boys sometimes but I remember God put me with these orphan kids right now for a reason.

I also got to see my babies this week. They had a few more newborns come in from a couple different hospital so we have a lot kids right now. Sadly I didn't get to see my orphans kids at the Pinocchio orphanage. Kim's Pastor and his wife are visiting us this week. And stories of the kids have seem to come out more and more. All the horrible things these kids have went through breaks my heart. And of course it makes me want to be able to adopt them all even more. But since I can't, I am excited to see them and share the little love I can. 

Today we went to a different gypsy village. I am not going to lie at first I was disappointed because I have grown close to the kids at our normal village that I didn't want to leave them. But this new village was also great to visit, the kids were awesome so well behaved and polite with me as I was struggling to understand. I am really happy for this opportunity to have another village to serve.

After I shared with you how my week went, I will go back to why I started writing this original post. Because of Sweetest Day! A lot of friends have been arguing about whether it's only an Ohio holiday or not. Sadly it is (or was?) and many Ohioans think of it as a second Valentine's Day. But that is not the reason it was started. It was started to bring happiness into the lives of the orphans, shut-ins, and others who were often forgotten.

So with the discussion of Sweetest Day on my mind. I decided to share it with my roommates and we have decided that this week we will celebrate the kids. We do this every week but since we missed this past week with everybody being sick ( I forgot to tell you everyone has been sick, some stomach bug going around.), we are going to try extra hard to put more happiness into the lives of our kids. To think most of these kids have faced more horrible things then I could ever imagine, I like to think that for 4 hours a week I can see them with smiles on their faces. 

Romanian.

This past week has been pretty busy between homeschooling the Postema kids, going to the orphanages, and getting all my visa paper work done. I am very happy to admit I was fully exposed to Romanian almost all week but I am not going to lie that it was also a bit frustrating at times to try to talk to the kids in Romanian all the time. It's a lot mentally trying to speak in a foreign language let alone in a crazy setting whether it's orphan kids screaming or arguments breaking out at the immigration office. But by the end of the week I felt like I was slowly getting the hang of things. 

After much searching through facebook, I finally found some pictures of the kids I work with. Yay! Up above is a picture of the orphan kids I work with through Anchor of Hope. And the picture down below is of the gypsy kids we work with. The gypsy kids are awesome always starting up conversations with me correcting my Romanian. 

After telling you a little about my week, I will post a new blog post this week about the gypsy kids and give you more of the details of some of the kids. 

Hope you all have a great week!

Week-end by the Sea

Last week-end I went to the Black Sea with the Guess'. To enjoy a little get away while the girls were gone. 

It was beautiful. 

We ran across a 630 BC City of Ruins outside of Constansta. 

We ate a few times and visit a navy museum. For it to be a rainy week-end it was rather wonderful.

Happy Birthday CJ!

It's CJ's Birthday! 

He turned 6 today! It's his first step to manhood or so I have heard. The evening was spent celebrating with tacos, cupcakes, and caramel ice cream. And this weekend there will be more celebrating with the rest of the team :)

Busy Schedule

I know you all have been waiting in great anticipation to hear what I am up to in my life. And I am trying to stay pretty busy. This is what an average week will look like for me. 

Monday: Language Lesson

Tuesday: Jenny's Orphanage

Wednesday: Free Day 

Thursday: Jenny's Orphanage

Friday: Language Lesson

Saturday: Baby Hospital

Sunday: Church & the Gypsy Village

Please Pray that God will grant me with the gift of language. Sometimes it is so hard to communicate but the hardest part is more often then not I can get away with speaking English but then I am not building great relationships with the kids. When I was in France I prayed for a friend and God gave me the best friend I could ever ask for so now I am praying for the gift of language cause Lord knows I need to learn to communicate better. 

With my roommates being out of town this week on vacation. I have almost two whole weeks at the apartment by myself. Luckily the Guess Family has adopted me and I will be going to the Black Sea with them this weekend. Yay! And I got in contact with Sarah who runs a non-profit organization called the Anchor of Hope, since my roommates are gone I will be spending sometime at Sarah's orphanage volunteering and the baby hospital. Tomorrow is my first day at the baby hospital by myself, wish me luck! This is one of those instance when speaking Romanian would be helpful but God knows. 

Roommates

I got to say having roommates has been fun. With late night movies, funny quotes through out the day... It's like having a sister(s) except with less fights. 

Jenny and I have become so much a like we pretty much wore the same outfit to church today. We didn't realize till we were running 5 minutes late to church so we just decided to accept the fact and be twins. But nobody seemed to notice. .. But I still thought it was blog worthy. 

O Saptamana buna! Have a good week!

I will blog later about all the activities I have been getting involved with this week. A little something to look forward to on my blog :)

How Plans Change so Quickly.

Just last month I was thinking I was going to leave Europe behind and head back home. Well funny thing is God sorta had a different plan. After talking to the Romanian team and to the Stoner's a little more. I decided to try to extend my visa. I am still in the process but it looks like a done deal considering the Pastor in charge of the Baptist Union for Romania is the one writing my recommendation. The only way it wouldn't go through at this point is if the secret police decide to throw me out of the country. Which I am pretty sure I am no real threat. 

The rest of my time in Romania will be spent helping my roommates with the orphanage and village out reach. I am hoping to learn some Romanian so I can maybe venture out to a baby hospital by myself. We will see if that happens but I did start my first Romanian lesson today. I think it went well. I guess I will know  now in a couple weeks if I am learning anything by whether people can understand me or not. 

I feel really good about staying here. Kim and Jenny's church has already welcomed me and it helps a lot to know your welcomed and they are willing to let me serve with them. A lot of them are already trying to convince me to stay forever. And I just keep on smiling at them... haha. 

My time in Europe..

My time in Europe is slowly coming to an end. I got a message from the Stoner's yesterday informing me that they are leaving for the states tomorrow due to medical problems Dan is having. So I am going to enjoy the rest of the time I have here in Romania then start heading my way back home. I am hoping I will be able to stop in Amsterdam to visit my dearest and best-est friend, Rachel. I know God has a plan for all of this. We might not be able to see it now but it will all work out in the end. 

Through this information I have learned to reflect and enjoy the moments and memories I have had here in Europe even more. My awesome roommates took me to go see Dracula's house on the way to camp. It was pretty awesome. I sorta want to read the book now. 

I have spent the last two weeks in the beautiful Transylvania mountains for camp. It is so refreshing to be here in Romania. Not that Romania has a lot to offer but it's the little things. Like people speaking English to me or being able to stop at Pizza Hut, KFC, or Mickey D's to eat. Who would have guessed fast food would be a blessing?!

It was pirate week at camp. Arg! It was so much fun.

This blog post like my train of thought right now is sorta random so please think of me and keep

 the Stoner's and the Guess family in your prayers as they are both in the states for medical reasons. 

My Week in Bucharest

As I wait going on midnight to put my last load of laundry in the washer. (That what happens when five girls are living together getting ready for camp.) I thought I would put a blog post up considering I don't know when the next time my internet connection will be good enough that I can blog.

This past week has been fun. Learning how to live in the city was an adventure. I rode the tram (public transportation) not once but a few times by myself. Woah. It might have only been down the street to the Guess'house but it was a start. 

The first few days consisted of me hanging out by myself. I ventured out to the grocery store. Went on a few runs. Started watching the "Office" recommended by Jenny.

But Tuesday I went to the new water park with Jenny and Christina. It was pretty cool. 

Wednesday is when I learned how to ride the tram. Thursday I got to go to the baby hospital with Christina. Christina use to be a short term missionary herself so it was neat to see all the things she use to help out with. I was so happy I got to go to the baby hospital. Most of these kids are abandoned by their parents. It's a really sad situation and the nurses just do the bare minimum to take care of them. 

Then Thursday night we headed out to the movie theaters to see "Despicable Me 2" with the Postemas Kids. Highly recommended movie, it was hilarious! 

Friday consisted of babysitting the Guess kids, eating my first Shaorma, resting up for camp, and packing. Which is what I am still doing right now early Saturday morning. Only a few more hours till we leave for camp. Woo. I also got to skype my family and friends (A little shout out to my mom, sister, Andrea, and the Stoner's.) It was so nice to see the kids today over skype and them telling me what they have been up too. My heart is happy they haven't forgotten me yet. 

p.s. Please keep the Guess Family in your prayers. Mihi is having to fly back to the states this week for a surgery. She just found out this morning. They are an amazing family, who have been through a lot these past two months.