I'm a terrible blogger. You would think that as the job search has been slow, and I've got no excuse except that I've been catching up with my niece (who turned 1 today!!), that I would do a better job at updating. The truth is that I have wanted to post, but I just can't find the words to express the things that come to my mind and heart as this transition is taking place.
I still know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I made the right decision to come home. I have a car, a job and a place to live. I have friends and family around supporting me and lifting me up.
I'll write more about what's bee going on since I got home, but please continue to pray for me as I continue to get re-acclamated to life here in the States....
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Some News
Dear Faithful Prayer Partners,
Again, forgive me for not being very good at keeping you updated on what has been going on with me. Much has happened since my last update, and big change is coming up.
This is not an easy letter to write this time around, but after much prayer and consideration, and after talking with many wise people, I have decided that it is best for me to return to the United States. I believe that this is the best thing for me right now, as I will have the opportunity to grow back in to the person I was before I left the States, only with more hard lessons learned and this experience behind me.
I am not giving up on my calling, nor am I copping out. I believe that this upcoming chapter in the States, though I don't know how long it will be, will help me grow in to a person who can be more effective in future ministry.
I thank you for your fervent prayers for me, as I know that they have brought me this far. Please continue to pray for me as I wrap up these last two and a half weeks here in Romania and get ready to go home. Pray that the Lord would provide the perfect job for me. Please continue to pray for my colleagues here in Romania and all of Europe, as this is a very difficult place to penetrate with the Gospel. Please also continue to support my colleagues who work for IMB and remain here doing the task that they have been called to.
Blessings,
Angela
Sunday, July 19, 2009
My Current Favorite
So my current favorite album to listen to is called "Waves of Grace" by Grace Community Church in Brentwood, TN. The worship team from this church came and led myself and almost 1000 other colleagues in worship last month in Greece and they definitely did an amazing job. They taught us my new favorite song (I think I had sung it or heard it before, but now I really remember it...) and so now I can't stop listening to the whole album. It is available on iTunes for $9.99 and it is well worth the 18 tracks of old songs, new songs, and Scripture.
My new favorite song is "Never Cease to Praise" by Jeff Bourque:
May we run this race
May we keep the faith
May our eyes be fixed on Jesus
That we'll not lose heart
In our struggle with sin
And through suffering know endurance.
May we arm ourselves
With the mind of Christ
To rejoice in trials and not be surprised
May our hearts be so consumed by you
That we never cease to praise!
May the words we share
Be your grace and peace
May our tongues speak your proclamations
That the many parts
Of the Body of Christ
Be affirmed in their right relation.
As we long and wait
For the groom to come
May we learn to love and spur eachother on
May our hearts be so consumed by you
That we never cease to praise!
When that day arrives
And the race is won
When our friefs give way to deliverance
We will fully know
As we're fully known
All our groans will end as new songs begin.
And a multitude
From every tribe and tongue
Wearing robes of white will stand before your throne
And our hearts will be so consumed by you
That we'll never cease to praise!
My new favorite song is "Never Cease to Praise" by Jeff Bourque:
May we run this race
May we keep the faith
May our eyes be fixed on Jesus
That we'll not lose heart
In our struggle with sin
And through suffering know endurance.
May we arm ourselves
With the mind of Christ
To rejoice in trials and not be surprised
May our hearts be so consumed by you
That we never cease to praise!
May the words we share
Be your grace and peace
May our tongues speak your proclamations
That the many parts
Of the Body of Christ
Be affirmed in their right relation.
As we long and wait
For the groom to come
May we learn to love and spur eachother on
May our hearts be so consumed by you
That we never cease to praise!
When that day arrives
And the race is won
When our friefs give way to deliverance
We will fully know
As we're fully known
All our groans will end as new songs begin.
And a multitude
From every tribe and tongue
Wearing robes of white will stand before your throne
And our hearts will be so consumed by you
That we'll never cease to praise!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
A Very Belated Post on Greece...
Well, friends, the last time I posted I was getting ready to spend 2 weeks in Greece. The first week was big conference for those of us working throughout Eastern Europe for a time of fellowship, meetings, and worship. The week was amazing and it was so wonderful to worship in English and be able to know fully and understand what we were singing and know every word that was being spoken over us. The speaker was really good and brought us some good messages, as well. I loved every minute of the fellowship I shared with some old friends, new friends, colleagues, and even met some distant relatives!
After the week of meetings and fellowship, two friends and I took off and went to Crete for a few days. We spent a couple of days in Athens on either end of our trip, then took an overnight ferry to Crete. The overnight ferry was THE WAY TO GO. We were able to get to Crete and not have to pay for another night of a hotel room. We took the overnight ferry back, as well, though the second one was not nearly as nice as the first one.
On Crete, we played lots of cards, took a bus to a sandy beach because the one we were staying by was only rocks and pebbles, and took a three and a half hour boat tour of two small islands right by the north coast of Crete. We had so much fun relaxing and had a great vacation.
For your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures....Ok more than a few...
Inside a tunnel at the ruins of ancient Eretria, Greece. This was close to our hotel for the conference.
God gave us some beautiful sunsets...this was only one of them!!
The Theater of Dionysos on the way up to the Acropolis.
What? I was there? For real?!?! Yes, me in front of the Greek Parthenon. It was incredible. My favorite part was when the wind blew, it sounded like music coming from the way it blew through the columns. The scaffolding may have had something to do with it, but I don't know. I like to think that the wind blew long ago through the marble columns and made "music" the same way I heard it in 2009. Amazing.
The other side without as much scaffolding in view. It still amazes me that this was built so long ago without machinery. Also, I never though I would walk on or see anything older than the Mayan ruins I used to visit as a child in Central America. This was like a dream....
The city of Athens behind me. The Acropolis is on a hill almost in the middle of the city and the city goes on forever it seems in all directions. Amazing....
The Olympic Stadium. The old one. There were two pigeons here having a race that we watched. Yes, Pigeon number 1 won, even though we don't know where they were supposed to be going. Haha, it was quite humorous.
The view of Mars Hill from the Acorpolis (Acts 17).
This is said to be the exact spot where Paul stood and saw the temples to other gods in Acts 17 where he was so moved to speak to the men of Athens, including Dionysos, who was saved and this contributed to the further spread of the Gospel throughout the known world at that point. It was neat to stand there and see what Paul would have seen, hear what he may have heard, and appreciate that he was so moved to speak God's word....
Funny story. If you have ever been to Guatemala you will recognize an item in this picture. The orange quilt made of guipils (Mayan blouses) sewn together and dipped in orange dye. I had an interesting conversation with the vendor about that particular item. I told him I knew where it came from and that it came from Guatemala not Greece. He asked me how I knew and I told him how I had grown up there and knew how they were made. He would not let down and tried to convince me that "they make these in Northern Greece, too!" I decided to let him think what he wanted but still wonder how many Guatemalan quilts people have bought thinking they are from Greece.....
The Port of Pirraus and the city of Athens at dusk from our boat headed to Crete!
The old Venetian port/harbour at Chania (pronounced Hania) town in Crete early in the morning. This was beautiful.
The lighthouse at the interance to the harbour.
Olives and Tzaziki sauce. Yumm...it doesn't get any better than this!! We ate all of those olives between the 3 of us, by the way!!
The little white church on a pier at the sandy beach we went to. We walked out there and it was beautiful.
The first glass of orange juice I ever remember enjoying. I guess back in the day sometime I experienced some bad orange juice, and have never liked it since then. But I figured that since I was in Crete, which is known for oranges (and olives), I would at least give some of the local faire a chance. Man was it good!! I loved it!! Now the problem is that no orange juice that I drink ever again will live up to this!
And finally, our poor map of Athens when we were finally finished with it.
After the week of meetings and fellowship, two friends and I took off and went to Crete for a few days. We spent a couple of days in Athens on either end of our trip, then took an overnight ferry to Crete. The overnight ferry was THE WAY TO GO. We were able to get to Crete and not have to pay for another night of a hotel room. We took the overnight ferry back, as well, though the second one was not nearly as nice as the first one.
On Crete, we played lots of cards, took a bus to a sandy beach because the one we were staying by was only rocks and pebbles, and took a three and a half hour boat tour of two small islands right by the north coast of Crete. We had so much fun relaxing and had a great vacation.
For your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures....Ok more than a few...
Inside a tunnel at the ruins of ancient Eretria, Greece. This was close to our hotel for the conference.
God gave us some beautiful sunsets...this was only one of them!!
The Theater of Dionysos on the way up to the Acropolis.
What? I was there? For real?!?! Yes, me in front of the Greek Parthenon. It was incredible. My favorite part was when the wind blew, it sounded like music coming from the way it blew through the columns. The scaffolding may have had something to do with it, but I don't know. I like to think that the wind blew long ago through the marble columns and made "music" the same way I heard it in 2009. Amazing.
The other side without as much scaffolding in view. It still amazes me that this was built so long ago without machinery. Also, I never though I would walk on or see anything older than the Mayan ruins I used to visit as a child in Central America. This was like a dream....
The city of Athens behind me. The Acropolis is on a hill almost in the middle of the city and the city goes on forever it seems in all directions. Amazing....
The Olympic Stadium. The old one. There were two pigeons here having a race that we watched. Yes, Pigeon number 1 won, even though we don't know where they were supposed to be going. Haha, it was quite humorous.
The view of Mars Hill from the Acorpolis (Acts 17).
This is said to be the exact spot where Paul stood and saw the temples to other gods in Acts 17 where he was so moved to speak to the men of Athens, including Dionysos, who was saved and this contributed to the further spread of the Gospel throughout the known world at that point. It was neat to stand there and see what Paul would have seen, hear what he may have heard, and appreciate that he was so moved to speak God's word....
Funny story. If you have ever been to Guatemala you will recognize an item in this picture. The orange quilt made of guipils (Mayan blouses) sewn together and dipped in orange dye. I had an interesting conversation with the vendor about that particular item. I told him I knew where it came from and that it came from Guatemala not Greece. He asked me how I knew and I told him how I had grown up there and knew how they were made. He would not let down and tried to convince me that "they make these in Northern Greece, too!" I decided to let him think what he wanted but still wonder how many Guatemalan quilts people have bought thinking they are from Greece.....
The Port of Pirraus and the city of Athens at dusk from our boat headed to Crete!
The old Venetian port/harbour at Chania (pronounced Hania) town in Crete early in the morning. This was beautiful.
The lighthouse at the interance to the harbour.
Olives and Tzaziki sauce. Yumm...it doesn't get any better than this!! We ate all of those olives between the 3 of us, by the way!!
The little white church on a pier at the sandy beach we went to. We walked out there and it was beautiful.
The first glass of orange juice I ever remember enjoying. I guess back in the day sometime I experienced some bad orange juice, and have never liked it since then. But I figured that since I was in Crete, which is known for oranges (and olives), I would at least give some of the local faire a chance. Man was it good!! I loved it!! Now the problem is that no orange juice that I drink ever again will live up to this!
And finally, our poor map of Athens when we were finally finished with it.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Greece so far...in a nutshell
A week of grown up meetings.
Lots of fellowship time.
The Acropolis and Mars Hill.
Athens and an overnight ferry.
A Venetian harbor.
A quaint hotel.
A Yaya with olives.
Octopus and a nice waiter.
All this and more when I get back to Bucharest!
I'll post lots of pictures later!
Lots of fellowship time.
The Acropolis and Mars Hill.
Athens and an overnight ferry.
A Venetian harbor.
A quaint hotel.
A Yaya with olives.
Octopus and a nice waiter.
All this and more when I get back to Bucharest!
I'll post lots of pictures later!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Happy Father's Day!
I just wanted to take a little bit to wish my dad and my grandfathers a very Happy Father's Day! For those who read my blog and don't know this, I am the third generation in my family to do what I am doing now. Both of my sets of grandparents are retired from the field, and my mom and dad have been on for 23 years and are still going strong...
Daddy, I love how passionate you are about storying and am so proud of the way that you have influenced the way that some people do ministry. I know that it has not been easy over the last many years, but also know that you are gifted in what you do and God has blessed your efforts. Thank you for being an example to Tim and me over the years and for teaching us to trust and obey the Lord. I love you!
Grandpa (Stanley), I can rarely be in the same room with any Baptist from Ecuador, Honduras or Mississippi where someone knows my last name and doesn't ask me if I'm related to you. Every time, I proudly reply, "Yes, he's my grandfather!" I'm thankful for the many years you put in to ministry and for the example that you are to all of your children and grandchildren of serving God. I love you!
Grandaddy (Ray), Many times, people also know that I'm your grand-daughter, and I'm proud to say that I am. You are a wonderful example of taking care of yourself and your family, working hard, and enjoying life and living it to the fullest. You know how to make people laugh and enjoy themselves, too. You are a Godly man and a great leader. I love you!
Daddy, I love how passionate you are about storying and am so proud of the way that you have influenced the way that some people do ministry. I know that it has not been easy over the last many years, but also know that you are gifted in what you do and God has blessed your efforts. Thank you for being an example to Tim and me over the years and for teaching us to trust and obey the Lord. I love you!
Grandpa (Stanley), I can rarely be in the same room with any Baptist from Ecuador, Honduras or Mississippi where someone knows my last name and doesn't ask me if I'm related to you. Every time, I proudly reply, "Yes, he's my grandfather!" I'm thankful for the many years you put in to ministry and for the example that you are to all of your children and grandchildren of serving God. I love you!
Grandaddy (Ray), Many times, people also know that I'm your grand-daughter, and I'm proud to say that I am. You are a wonderful example of taking care of yourself and your family, working hard, and enjoying life and living it to the fullest. You know how to make people laugh and enjoy themselves, too. You are a Godly man and a great leader. I love you!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
It's been a long time....again.....
So here’s another long over-due update. I don’t know where to start, but I guess I have to start somewhere.
The team from North Greenville University is long gone, except one girl who had asked if she could stay on a few weeks. Those guys did an amazing job and were troopers in Braila introducing the National Bible Reading Campaign to the streets of that city. God truly opened doors there and now workers are needed there to follow up on the contacts that were made.
After a series of events and conversations with various people, I decided it would be better for me to come back to Bucharest and pray for a ministry to become involved in. I have found that I became so frustrated with waiting and dissatisfied with where God had me that I sought another option. I didn’t have peace about it from the very beginning, but went ahead with the plan to move to Galati because I was so frustrated here in Bucharest. Why I didn’t have peace about it, I have no idea. Only God knows. I was raised to obey God and to do what I believe He has for me, and a way of discerning this has been to make the decisions I have peace about. I have peace about being back in Bucharest, so I guess it’s all right.
So after 3 nights in Galati and 3 weeks in Braila with the group, I decided to come back to Bucharest with a fresh start, a new perspective, and no expectations. I have found that every one of my colleagues here in Bucharest are in the same boat. Trying to find their niche, exactly what it is that their ministry will look like while trying to dodge the distractions that the devil is sending our way.
I apologize for not updating sooner, as I’ve been back in town for almost three weeks. I just haven’t been inspired and really haven’t sat down to try and put in to words what I have experienced in the last six weeks.
On Sunday evening, all of my colleagues in all of Central and Eastern Europe and myself will meet together in Greece for a week of meetings, worship, and fellowship with each other. At this time, I will sit down with a few people and try to come up with what the next half of my term will look like. Please pray that I would have clearness of thought, that I would seek Him first, and that I would trust the Lord to speak to me and those with whom I will meet clearly and precisely about this decision. My heart desires to be available to take some of the load off some of my colleagues that would help their lives be a little bit easier. I also want to be actively involved in a ministry, and the beginnings of something will be happening this Fall.
Above all, I know that He is in control, He is sovereign, and He sees all of my days. I know that He will take care of me and He knows what is in store for me.
After a week of meetings, I’m taking vacation with a couple of friends. We will be spending a couple of days in Athens, 2 nights on an overnight ferry to and from Crete, and 3 nights in Crete. I am so stinking excited about this opportunity to relax and see something new. You can for sure count on seeing pictures of that trip. Please pray that we will be safe as we travel, and that we will be wise in every decision that we make.
Oh and I just remembered I still haven’t posted photos from my trip to Poland. That will be very soon. Hopefully by the end of this week I will do that.
Last thing, I have not had internet service now for more than a week, and don’t have any word on when it will be repaired. I’m thankful for a dial-up connection that allows me to check the essentials and make a post on my blog. Sometimes when I have this internet problem, I think maybe we would have been better off if Mr. Gore never even invented the internet, because then we wouldn’t know what we were missing! Just kidding. But not really.
Have a blessed week.
The team from North Greenville University is long gone, except one girl who had asked if she could stay on a few weeks. Those guys did an amazing job and were troopers in Braila introducing the National Bible Reading Campaign to the streets of that city. God truly opened doors there and now workers are needed there to follow up on the contacts that were made.
After a series of events and conversations with various people, I decided it would be better for me to come back to Bucharest and pray for a ministry to become involved in. I have found that I became so frustrated with waiting and dissatisfied with where God had me that I sought another option. I didn’t have peace about it from the very beginning, but went ahead with the plan to move to Galati because I was so frustrated here in Bucharest. Why I didn’t have peace about it, I have no idea. Only God knows. I was raised to obey God and to do what I believe He has for me, and a way of discerning this has been to make the decisions I have peace about. I have peace about being back in Bucharest, so I guess it’s all right.
So after 3 nights in Galati and 3 weeks in Braila with the group, I decided to come back to Bucharest with a fresh start, a new perspective, and no expectations. I have found that every one of my colleagues here in Bucharest are in the same boat. Trying to find their niche, exactly what it is that their ministry will look like while trying to dodge the distractions that the devil is sending our way.
I apologize for not updating sooner, as I’ve been back in town for almost three weeks. I just haven’t been inspired and really haven’t sat down to try and put in to words what I have experienced in the last six weeks.
On Sunday evening, all of my colleagues in all of Central and Eastern Europe and myself will meet together in Greece for a week of meetings, worship, and fellowship with each other. At this time, I will sit down with a few people and try to come up with what the next half of my term will look like. Please pray that I would have clearness of thought, that I would seek Him first, and that I would trust the Lord to speak to me and those with whom I will meet clearly and precisely about this decision. My heart desires to be available to take some of the load off some of my colleagues that would help their lives be a little bit easier. I also want to be actively involved in a ministry, and the beginnings of something will be happening this Fall.
Above all, I know that He is in control, He is sovereign, and He sees all of my days. I know that He will take care of me and He knows what is in store for me.
After a week of meetings, I’m taking vacation with a couple of friends. We will be spending a couple of days in Athens, 2 nights on an overnight ferry to and from Crete, and 3 nights in Crete. I am so stinking excited about this opportunity to relax and see something new. You can for sure count on seeing pictures of that trip. Please pray that we will be safe as we travel, and that we will be wise in every decision that we make.
Oh and I just remembered I still haven’t posted photos from my trip to Poland. That will be very soon. Hopefully by the end of this week I will do that.
Last thing, I have not had internet service now for more than a week, and don’t have any word on when it will be repaired. I’m thankful for a dial-up connection that allows me to check the essentials and make a post on my blog. Sometimes when I have this internet problem, I think maybe we would have been better off if Mr. Gore never even invented the internet, because then we wouldn’t know what we were missing! Just kidding. But not really.
Have a blessed week.
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Next Three Weeks...
Today is the day that my group from North Greenville University arrives. We will be saturating the city of Braila, which is a 20 minute drive from Galati, with prayer-walking and some street evangelism trying to make contacts and find people who are interested in studying the Bible with us. Please pray for the 10 students, 2 professors, myself, my supervisor, Troy, and others who will be joining us in this effort.
I will do my best to update you all as much as possible with pictures and stories from the upcoming weeks. Also, hop over to Troy's blog here for probably more updates than you will get from me.
Thank-you for your consistent prayers and support. I appreciate you all more than you know.
Once I get a few minutes, I will give a run-down of my time in Poland. I will say for the moment, though, that it was excellent.
I will do my best to update you all as much as possible with pictures and stories from the upcoming weeks. Also, hop over to Troy's blog here for probably more updates than you will get from me.
Thank-you for your consistent prayers and support. I appreciate you all more than you know.
Once I get a few minutes, I will give a run-down of my time in Poland. I will say for the moment, though, that it was excellent.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
To get a better understanding of how my new job will work and what I'm getting myself into, check out my supervisor, Troy's blog: http://seekandsave1.blogspot.com/ .
I'm in Warsaw, Poland with my friend and it has been a beautiful day. I have officially decided that the Munich airport (in Germany), where I had a 3 hour layover, is one of my favorites so far. So calm and clean and easy to navigate. I have always been a proponent of "if you haven't left the airport, you haven't been there" and I stuck to my guns today. I didn't leave the Munich airport, but I was tempted to be a fake and buy a souveneir from the airport that I didn't leave. I abstained, and I'm proud of myself.
Kaylin took me to the pottery shop today where I indulged probably more than I should have. Fortunately, I was able to have what I bought shipped straight to the States, so I don't have to worry about getting it to Romania and then from Romania back to the States in a while.
Warsaw is much cleaner than Bucharest and I like what I've seen so far. I am glad, though, that I'm not trying to learn Polish. For example "drzwi" is pronounced "dgvee" and means doors. Who'da thunk? I'm just trying to figure out how on earth you pronounce a word that has four consonants and one vowell AT THE END OF THE WORD. I think I'll stick with Romanian for now....
I'm in Warsaw, Poland with my friend and it has been a beautiful day. I have officially decided that the Munich airport (in Germany), where I had a 3 hour layover, is one of my favorites so far. So calm and clean and easy to navigate. I have always been a proponent of "if you haven't left the airport, you haven't been there" and I stuck to my guns today. I didn't leave the Munich airport, but I was tempted to be a fake and buy a souveneir from the airport that I didn't leave. I abstained, and I'm proud of myself.
Kaylin took me to the pottery shop today where I indulged probably more than I should have. Fortunately, I was able to have what I bought shipped straight to the States, so I don't have to worry about getting it to Romania and then from Romania back to the States in a while.
Warsaw is much cleaner than Bucharest and I like what I've seen so far. I am glad, though, that I'm not trying to learn Polish. For example "drzwi" is pronounced "dgvee" and means doors. Who'da thunk? I'm just trying to figure out how on earth you pronounce a word that has four consonants and one vowell AT THE END OF THE WORD. I think I'll stick with Romanian for now....
Monday, April 27, 2009
I'm kicking myself.....again
for not taking any pictures on my trip to Galati last week. I should have taken pictures in my new city. But I have over a year to take pictures of my new city, so you should all forgive me please.
I had a very successful trip to Galati last week. The Lord provided for me to be with the girls to help look for an apartment for all of us to move into and He proved Faithful again. We found a great apartment for a good price. I won't have my own room, but that's ok. I prefer to share space than to have a whole apartment all to myself!
Tomorrow I'm off to Poland for a ladies' retreat and to visit a friend that I was in training with. I'm excited for a new stamp in my passport, going shopping for Polish pottery, and to see a new place. But I'm most excited for the fellowship that I will get to have with my sweet friend and others who work with us.
Ok, so to make up for not taking any pictures in Galati, here are some pictures of my last trip to the mountains.....
a village house
the mountain that still has snow on top of it in April
I tried to be creative
And again, I tried to be creative
the view from "Dracula's Castle" really he only stayed at this one for one night...
Where babies come from. That's right, ever seen a Stork's nest?
The walk up to Dracula's Castle
A pretty creek
Just a view of the countryside
I took this one from a moving car. I like it.
The gorge.
The lake that was still frozen in April.
Entering the gorge.
I had a very successful trip to Galati last week. The Lord provided for me to be with the girls to help look for an apartment for all of us to move into and He proved Faithful again. We found a great apartment for a good price. I won't have my own room, but that's ok. I prefer to share space than to have a whole apartment all to myself!
Tomorrow I'm off to Poland for a ladies' retreat and to visit a friend that I was in training with. I'm excited for a new stamp in my passport, going shopping for Polish pottery, and to see a new place. But I'm most excited for the fellowship that I will get to have with my sweet friend and others who work with us.
Ok, so to make up for not taking any pictures in Galati, here are some pictures of my last trip to the mountains.....
a village house
the mountain that still has snow on top of it in April
I tried to be creative
And again, I tried to be creative
the view from "Dracula's Castle" really he only stayed at this one for one night...
Where babies come from. That's right, ever seen a Stork's nest?
The walk up to Dracula's Castle
A pretty creek
Just a view of the countryside
I took this one from a moving car. I like it.
The gorge.
The lake that was still frozen in April.
Entering the gorge.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
My New Assignment
Well I've kept you waiting long enough.
I first want to thank all of you for your fervent prayers for me. The Lord has certainly had His hand in my life so strongly since I have been here in Romania. He brought me through the Winter and Holiday Season, and has now given me the gift of witnessing the "pop" of Spring. He has allowed me to see some really beautiful places in Romania, and I can't wait to see more.
But for now, He has opened the door wide and is directing me to move to the city of Galati in the Eastern part of the country. I went there in January and fell in love with the ministry that is taking place there. There is a very gifted team there that has been working for about four years at trying to get a Cell church started. Well, it's finally really taking off and starting to slowly snowball, and there is opportunity for me to fit in and serve there.
For more details about what's going on out there you can click here. Basically I will be involved in evangelism and discipleship and my goal will be to get one good group running and training and discipling of a leader out of that group to start another group that will all be part of the cell church.
Thank you again for your prayers in this. I know that the Lord has great things planned for me in Galati. I'm going out there tomorrow (Monday) morning for a couple of days. I will help the girls I'm moving in with to look for an apartment as well as to get some thing settled for a group that is coming for 3 weeks who will be working in a city close to Galati. I'll be back in Bucharest on Wednesday to pack up my things and get ready to move. I will then be leaving to attend a retreat in Poland for about a week and as soon as I get back I will move to Galati.
Once I'm moved, I will be living with four sisters who have had to learn to lean on eachother. This will be a welcome change from living alone for the last six months. I know that there will be challenging days, but I also know that I will learn a lot. Click here to read about one of these sisters. I am humbled that the Lord has given me the opportunity to provide a little bit extra support to them.
Thank you again for your prayers and for keeping up with me. I appreciate all of you so much and want you to know that your prayers have meant the world to me. It seems my adventure is just beginning.
I first want to thank all of you for your fervent prayers for me. The Lord has certainly had His hand in my life so strongly since I have been here in Romania. He brought me through the Winter and Holiday Season, and has now given me the gift of witnessing the "pop" of Spring. He has allowed me to see some really beautiful places in Romania, and I can't wait to see more.
But for now, He has opened the door wide and is directing me to move to the city of Galati in the Eastern part of the country. I went there in January and fell in love with the ministry that is taking place there. There is a very gifted team there that has been working for about four years at trying to get a Cell church started. Well, it's finally really taking off and starting to slowly snowball, and there is opportunity for me to fit in and serve there.
For more details about what's going on out there you can click here. Basically I will be involved in evangelism and discipleship and my goal will be to get one good group running and training and discipling of a leader out of that group to start another group that will all be part of the cell church.
Thank you again for your prayers in this. I know that the Lord has great things planned for me in Galati. I'm going out there tomorrow (Monday) morning for a couple of days. I will help the girls I'm moving in with to look for an apartment as well as to get some thing settled for a group that is coming for 3 weeks who will be working in a city close to Galati. I'll be back in Bucharest on Wednesday to pack up my things and get ready to move. I will then be leaving to attend a retreat in Poland for about a week and as soon as I get back I will move to Galati.
Once I'm moved, I will be living with four sisters who have had to learn to lean on eachother. This will be a welcome change from living alone for the last six months. I know that there will be challenging days, but I also know that I will learn a lot. Click here to read about one of these sisters. I am humbled that the Lord has given me the opportunity to provide a little bit extra support to them.
Thank you again for your prayers and for keeping up with me. I appreciate all of you so much and want you to know that your prayers have meant the world to me. It seems my adventure is just beginning.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Snippets
I apologize in advance for the potential length of this post....I have several random snippets to share with you and I just haven't sat down to type in quite a while. I don't know why....
Snippet #1: A few weeks ago, I got in a taxi at 7:30 in the morning to go to the post office and pick something up that required identification. The taxi driver was quite chipper. He showed me a picture of his dog and told me how he loves to play. He told me jokes and made up songs and was singing the whole way. He was very nice and very happy for that time in the morning. Then he told me he had not yet had his first cup of coffee and I thought, "If he's like this without his first cup of coffee, I wonder what he's like once he's had his first cup of coffee..."
Snippet #2: A couple of weeks after that, I had the opportunity to go to the Opera. Someone had bought tickets and couldn't go, so I got a free ticket and went with a sweet lady that also works here. When we got there, there were several nice cars and bodyguards and media everywhere. We didn't know what was going on or who was there. Turns out it was the 60th birthday of the Crown Princess of Romania and that evening was a special opera performance just for her. The whole Royal Family of Romania were there. They do not hold any political power, they are social Royals, like the British Royal family, but clearly not as famous. However, the performance made it clear that Romanians love their Royalty. They were in exile somewhere (Sweden maybe?) during Communism, and I don't think they have moved back to Romania after that. I think they just come for major holidays and occasions. Who knows, though. Now I can say that I went to the opera with the Royal Family of Romania. It was quite an experience.
Snippet #3: Since I last wrote, we put the veteran family that was here in Romania for 14 years on the plane. They don't plan to come back for various reasons. Please pray for their health, their family, and the unknown as they don't know where they will end up settling once their stateside assignment time is over.
Snippet #4: I know I left you all on a cliffhanger at my last post about what my new assignment will be. I will update you as soon as all of the details are worked out. That will be by this weekend hopefully. Please pray that as we sit down with supervisors this week that we would be of one mind and be able to make purposeful plans for this ministry that I will be involved in.
Snippet #5: This week I have been in the city of Bacau with a sweet family that has lived here 5 years. They have 2 kids, a 7 year old boy and an 11 year old girl. The parents went to a pastors' and wives' conference one night so I got to stay with their kids. Their son is just a constant ball of energy. He is so much fun. Their daughter is a sweet girl who is so helpful and is so caring. I have had so much fun getting to know their family and just spending time with them. Yesterday they took me up into the mountains to a place called Lacul Rosu (The Red Lake). There is a small lake there and several little shops where you can buy souveneirs. The little lake is still frozen, but there are sections where the ice is real thin and cracking. We drove through a gorge in the mountain alongside of a river to get there. It was so beautiful. I will post pictures in another post soon. This trip reminded me again that I serve the most amazing Artist who is the Creator of the Universe...He can carve rocks with water and glorify Himself with our enjoyment of them.
Snippet #6: Please pray for the next few days. All of my colleagues are getting together in the mountains for a few days of retreat and fellowship. We will have a speaker and a worship leader from the States who are coming to minister to us. Please pray that this would be a wonderful time of renewal and fellowship for everyone.
Snippet #7: As everyone in the Western World celebrated Holy Week and Easter last week, in the Orthodox world Palm Sunday was this past Sunday. We are now in Holy Week as to the Orthodox calendar. The Evangelicals here also celebrate this week. It has come to my mind that regardless of when we celebrate Christ's death and Resurrection, the greatest Sacrifice of all time, it happened. Truly truly He is Risen!
Snippet #1: A few weeks ago, I got in a taxi at 7:30 in the morning to go to the post office and pick something up that required identification. The taxi driver was quite chipper. He showed me a picture of his dog and told me how he loves to play. He told me jokes and made up songs and was singing the whole way. He was very nice and very happy for that time in the morning. Then he told me he had not yet had his first cup of coffee and I thought, "If he's like this without his first cup of coffee, I wonder what he's like once he's had his first cup of coffee..."
Snippet #2: A couple of weeks after that, I had the opportunity to go to the Opera. Someone had bought tickets and couldn't go, so I got a free ticket and went with a sweet lady that also works here. When we got there, there were several nice cars and bodyguards and media everywhere. We didn't know what was going on or who was there. Turns out it was the 60th birthday of the Crown Princess of Romania and that evening was a special opera performance just for her. The whole Royal Family of Romania were there. They do not hold any political power, they are social Royals, like the British Royal family, but clearly not as famous. However, the performance made it clear that Romanians love their Royalty. They were in exile somewhere (Sweden maybe?) during Communism, and I don't think they have moved back to Romania after that. I think they just come for major holidays and occasions. Who knows, though. Now I can say that I went to the opera with the Royal Family of Romania. It was quite an experience.
Snippet #3: Since I last wrote, we put the veteran family that was here in Romania for 14 years on the plane. They don't plan to come back for various reasons. Please pray for their health, their family, and the unknown as they don't know where they will end up settling once their stateside assignment time is over.
Snippet #4: I know I left you all on a cliffhanger at my last post about what my new assignment will be. I will update you as soon as all of the details are worked out. That will be by this weekend hopefully. Please pray that as we sit down with supervisors this week that we would be of one mind and be able to make purposeful plans for this ministry that I will be involved in.
Snippet #5: This week I have been in the city of Bacau with a sweet family that has lived here 5 years. They have 2 kids, a 7 year old boy and an 11 year old girl. The parents went to a pastors' and wives' conference one night so I got to stay with their kids. Their son is just a constant ball of energy. He is so much fun. Their daughter is a sweet girl who is so helpful and is so caring. I have had so much fun getting to know their family and just spending time with them. Yesterday they took me up into the mountains to a place called Lacul Rosu (The Red Lake). There is a small lake there and several little shops where you can buy souveneirs. The little lake is still frozen, but there are sections where the ice is real thin and cracking. We drove through a gorge in the mountain alongside of a river to get there. It was so beautiful. I will post pictures in another post soon. This trip reminded me again that I serve the most amazing Artist who is the Creator of the Universe...He can carve rocks with water and glorify Himself with our enjoyment of them.
Snippet #6: Please pray for the next few days. All of my colleagues are getting together in the mountains for a few days of retreat and fellowship. We will have a speaker and a worship leader from the States who are coming to minister to us. Please pray that this would be a wonderful time of renewal and fellowship for everyone.
Snippet #7: As everyone in the Western World celebrated Holy Week and Easter last week, in the Orthodox world Palm Sunday was this past Sunday. We are now in Holy Week as to the Orthodox calendar. The Evangelicals here also celebrate this week. It has come to my mind that regardless of when we celebrate Christ's death and Resurrection, the greatest Sacrifice of all time, it happened. Truly truly He is Risen!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
It's time I be up front with you...
I don't even know where to start.
Some nights I have been awake sobbing into my pillow for hours. On these nights I have been lied to by the Devil himself that I am all alone. It has only been when I have truly turned to the comfort of the One who says "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" that I have been able to calm down and rest in His grace. Each time, His promises are loud and clear in my heart, I lean on them and trust Him, and He fulfills them.
Some days I have asked what on earth I am doing here. Since arriving, many circumstances have led me to asking myself, and God, this question. Sometimes it is a sense of lack of purpose here. Other days it is an intense longing to be with dear family and friends again. Each time, though, He has said, "Be still and know that I am God." I have no choice but to trust Him.
I have been able to meet some great people and observe a couple of ministries, but since being in Bucharest, I have not become attached to any one thing in particular. This has left me very discouraged at times, but again, I have had no choice but to trust Him and His perfect plan, even though I don't know what tomorrow may hold. I know that this has all been a part of His plan for me here. I have had many opportunities to grow in my walk with Jesus. I believe He has purposed these past five and a half months for this exact reason. He becomes More to me every single day.
I believe that what I am about to share with you has been in His purpose all along for me to come to this place of complete dependence on Him.
In prayer and seeking purpose for my time here in Romania, I have wondered if I was too hasty in taking this job simply because the Lord had made it crystal clear that He had placed Romania on my heart before I even started the Journeyman process. There has been a twinge of doubt. But this last weekend, the Lord again faithfully confirmed that He has me here for a purpose. He has opened the door for me to participate in an amazing ministry that is going on here in Romania. Ever since experiencing just a taste of this ministry back in January, I have been drawn to it. I really fell in love with what is being done, and cannot wait to get started.
I will give more details as time goes on, but please keep me in your prayers. I feel I have a new energy and a confirmed purpose here in Romania. Who knew even a week ago that I would not have a doubt that I am right where He wants me.
I'm about to make this post twice as long, but I can't leave you without sharing some pictures of my recent trip to the mountains. I went back to the town of Sinaia, and this time got to tour the castle there. I went with 2 American girls (one who lives here in Bucharest and one who was visiting from the States) and 2 Romanian girls who are sisters.
A monastery...
On the way to the castle...
Yep, a castle...
A mural painted on the walls inside the courtyard...
...And what you've all bee waiting for, the castle in all her glory!
Some nights I have been awake sobbing into my pillow for hours. On these nights I have been lied to by the Devil himself that I am all alone. It has only been when I have truly turned to the comfort of the One who says "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" that I have been able to calm down and rest in His grace. Each time, His promises are loud and clear in my heart, I lean on them and trust Him, and He fulfills them.
Some days I have asked what on earth I am doing here. Since arriving, many circumstances have led me to asking myself, and God, this question. Sometimes it is a sense of lack of purpose here. Other days it is an intense longing to be with dear family and friends again. Each time, though, He has said, "Be still and know that I am God." I have no choice but to trust Him.
I have been able to meet some great people and observe a couple of ministries, but since being in Bucharest, I have not become attached to any one thing in particular. This has left me very discouraged at times, but again, I have had no choice but to trust Him and His perfect plan, even though I don't know what tomorrow may hold. I know that this has all been a part of His plan for me here. I have had many opportunities to grow in my walk with Jesus. I believe He has purposed these past five and a half months for this exact reason. He becomes More to me every single day.
I believe that what I am about to share with you has been in His purpose all along for me to come to this place of complete dependence on Him.
In prayer and seeking purpose for my time here in Romania, I have wondered if I was too hasty in taking this job simply because the Lord had made it crystal clear that He had placed Romania on my heart before I even started the Journeyman process. There has been a twinge of doubt. But this last weekend, the Lord again faithfully confirmed that He has me here for a purpose. He has opened the door for me to participate in an amazing ministry that is going on here in Romania. Ever since experiencing just a taste of this ministry back in January, I have been drawn to it. I really fell in love with what is being done, and cannot wait to get started.
I will give more details as time goes on, but please keep me in your prayers. I feel I have a new energy and a confirmed purpose here in Romania. Who knew even a week ago that I would not have a doubt that I am right where He wants me.
I'm about to make this post twice as long, but I can't leave you without sharing some pictures of my recent trip to the mountains. I went back to the town of Sinaia, and this time got to tour the castle there. I went with 2 American girls (one who lives here in Bucharest and one who was visiting from the States) and 2 Romanian girls who are sisters.
A monastery...
On the way to the castle...
Yep, a castle...
A mural painted on the walls inside the courtyard...
...And what you've all bee waiting for, the castle in all her glory!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Update...
What can I say?
I have not had too much going on the last couple of weeks that has been worth reporting. I was sick for about a week and am now better. The weather was bad the week I was sick, so it wasn't too miserable to stay home. Besides, being sick really throws me off my groove, so it's taken me a while to get back on track here. Hopefully next week I will have more to report.
I guess mostly I want to thank you all for your continued prayers. I will get details about the ski retreat I asked you to pray for and update you on that as soon as I can.
Please pray specifically for a couple of things over this month. Two families who have been here in Bucharest for many years are packing up their homes and following the Lord back to the States. Please pray for the transition for these families. One of them is the family of my supervisor since I got here. Pray for their kids as they transition back to life in the States and back into the school system there. Much of the reasons that both of these families are making the transition back is health-related. Please pray that the Lord will place them in the care of qualified physicians who will be able to help them along back to restored health.
Please also pray for a family that lives in another part of the country who will be leaving this Summer. They also have children, so pray for their transition back to the States, as well.
Please pray for each of these families that the Lord would guide them to the life He has for them back in the States. Pray that He will restore them physically, emotionally, and spiritually upon their return as they need.
I have had several good weeks without any major meltdowns. This is a good thing for me. I am thankful for the Lord's constant provision of comfort from His Word. Only He gets me through every minute of every day. I have learned that utter and total abandonment to dependence on Him is the only way I am ever going to make it. But you know, it's a relief to know that He can handle it and I don't have to.
I know this is like a bunch of random statements, but I really just wanted to type my heart to you tonight. Thank you again for your faithful and fervent prayers for me. Now that Spring is coming, I plan to get out and take more pictures so that you all can see more of where I live, so stay tuned!
I have not had too much going on the last couple of weeks that has been worth reporting. I was sick for about a week and am now better. The weather was bad the week I was sick, so it wasn't too miserable to stay home. Besides, being sick really throws me off my groove, so it's taken me a while to get back on track here. Hopefully next week I will have more to report.
I guess mostly I want to thank you all for your continued prayers. I will get details about the ski retreat I asked you to pray for and update you on that as soon as I can.
Please pray specifically for a couple of things over this month. Two families who have been here in Bucharest for many years are packing up their homes and following the Lord back to the States. Please pray for the transition for these families. One of them is the family of my supervisor since I got here. Pray for their kids as they transition back to life in the States and back into the school system there. Much of the reasons that both of these families are making the transition back is health-related. Please pray that the Lord will place them in the care of qualified physicians who will be able to help them along back to restored health.
Please also pray for a family that lives in another part of the country who will be leaving this Summer. They also have children, so pray for their transition back to the States, as well.
Please pray for each of these families that the Lord would guide them to the life He has for them back in the States. Pray that He will restore them physically, emotionally, and spiritually upon their return as they need.
I have had several good weeks without any major meltdowns. This is a good thing for me. I am thankful for the Lord's constant provision of comfort from His Word. Only He gets me through every minute of every day. I have learned that utter and total abandonment to dependence on Him is the only way I am ever going to make it. But you know, it's a relief to know that He can handle it and I don't have to.
I know this is like a bunch of random statements, but I really just wanted to type my heart to you tonight. Thank you again for your faithful and fervent prayers for me. Now that Spring is coming, I plan to get out and take more pictures so that you all can see more of where I live, so stay tuned!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Ski Retreat
I am posting to ask my readers for prayer for a Ski Retreat that is going on starting today. I am not a part of it, but I have been attending a Bible Study through the same organization that is putting on the retreat. It is an evangelistic effort for University Students to have invited some lost friends to go skiing and also to hear the Gospel. There are around 15 students on the retreat that do not know the Lord.
Until this week, we had not had snow in about a month. Therefore, only one slope has been open for a while, and this is a concern, considering they need snow for skiing. It snowed here in Bucharest once this week and has been on and off today. While I know that the Lord knows best what is needed at this time, the staff does not want the students to be bored and to think that they are not getting to have any "fun" on their retreat. My prayer is that the Lord will provide snow, but more, if He chooses not to provide snow, that the time that would have been spent skiing will be spent for lost students asking questions and hearing more about the Gospel.
Please pray for safety for travel for these students and also on the mountain that there will be no injuries.
Please pray that the Spirit will stir their hearts and open their ears and minds to hear and understand the Gospel that is being given to them over the course of the next several days.
Please pray for those students who know the Lord, that they will take opportunities to share with their lost peers on this retreat, and that they will not alienate themselves, but that they will all mingle and have uplifting conversations.
Please pray for the leaders on the retreat that they will be sensitive to the Spirit's moving and that they will be flexible and work with what the Lord puts before them.
....thank-you for joining me in prayer this week.
Until this week, we had not had snow in about a month. Therefore, only one slope has been open for a while, and this is a concern, considering they need snow for skiing. It snowed here in Bucharest once this week and has been on and off today. While I know that the Lord knows best what is needed at this time, the staff does not want the students to be bored and to think that they are not getting to have any "fun" on their retreat. My prayer is that the Lord will provide snow, but more, if He chooses not to provide snow, that the time that would have been spent skiing will be spent for lost students asking questions and hearing more about the Gospel.
Please pray for safety for travel for these students and also on the mountain that there will be no injuries.
Please pray that the Spirit will stir their hearts and open their ears and minds to hear and understand the Gospel that is being given to them over the course of the next several days.
Please pray for those students who know the Lord, that they will take opportunities to share with their lost peers on this retreat, and that they will not alienate themselves, but that they will all mingle and have uplifting conversations.
Please pray for the leaders on the retreat that they will be sensitive to the Spirit's moving and that they will be flexible and work with what the Lord puts before them.
....thank-you for joining me in prayer this week.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Counting My Blessings...
Ok so I haven't blogged in a while, mostly because I've been too lazy to try and put in to words what I have been thinking and feeling the last few weeks, but I will pretend that there's another reason I don't know yet.
Just kidding.
Remember in the Fall when I visited a Bible study for university students? Well I have been back now, twice in a row, and I'm really liking it. I'm meeting some people there and beginning to make friends. One of the young ladies on staff with the organization that holds the Bible study is in the small group that I'm a part of on Sunday nights through my church.
Oh, I just have so much to tell.
I've gotten involved in a small group on Sunday nights through the church that I have been going to here. It's really a nice time for fellowship and studying the Word more intimately with a smaller group of people. There are people from several walks of life in our small group. It is held in the home of some missionaries, who actually also work for the organization that the university student Bible study is through. There are 4 married couples, an older lady, a single guy and 3 single girls. One of the married couples is the missionary couple. Another one is a young couple who work at a British school here in Bucharest. He is British and she's Romanian. I'm becoming fast friends with her, and hope to be able to spend some time getting to know her outside of our small group. She told me one evening that all she does is work and then go home and cook and clean, and she really desires to make friends. She is my age, and I think this could be a good thing.
One of the other single ladies is a teacher at the local MK school in town. She's been here for about 5 years.
So as I said, the other single lady is on staff with the university student ministry that I'm hoping to partner with in local ministry opportunities when I have "down time." She invited me over to her apartment yesterday afternoon for lunch, and I visited with her and with another young lady that's on staff. They asked me about my growing up as an MK and about my testimony, including how the Lord called me to Romania. I enjoyed hearing their testimonies and just being around more examples of single ladies who are just doing life with the Lord and serving Him. They do a great job with the university students. I hope to be able to visit with them some more.
Amanda (congrats on sweet Annabeth, by the way!!), I will say that all of these new friends that I'm making are a direct answer to your prayer that the Lord would make people here as precious to me as those I left behind in Irving. I am certainly seeing His hand in this.
Funny story...so this evening I was at the student Bible study, and they offered my some tea. Well of course I accepted, but I set the mug on a shelf kind of behind me to let it cool. As I was talking to some girls, they asked me how one earth I had learned Romanian so quickly. Of course my answer is almost always automatically that I speak Spanish fluently, and that that helped a ton. One of the girls got so excited and started speaking to me IN SPANISH. She's Romanian, but she has studied Spanish and told me she feels called to go to Peru. So we agreed that she could practice her Spanish with me, and this is good for me, too, since I've had the fear that I would forget my Spanish while I'm here. This girl also goes to the church I go to, and I had seen her before but never talked to her. She sings in the choir and often recites Scripture during Worship. Yes, I said recites, not reads. I can tell that she has a true love for the Word and strives to hide it in her heart.
So back to my tea. Remember I put it on the shelf? Well this girl got so excited that I spoke Spanish, and I got so excited to speak Spanish to her, that I turned to put my tea back on the shelf after checking if it was cool enough for me to drink, and IT TIPPED OVER, FELL OFF THE SHELF AND SPILLED ALL OVER THE FLOOR.....RIGHT AS WE WERE GETTING STARTED. I was so super embarrassed, but oh well. What could I do??
Ok...what else??
I have been offered the opportunity (and accepted) to talk to the Seniors at the local MK school about re-entry in to the States and what it's like to live there for college, and just about my experience in college after being an MK. I'm really looking forward to this opportunity and hope that I can be of some help. I've always wanted to work with MKs and I think this is a good opportunity for me.
I am also currently helping a sweet 9 year old with her 3rd grade math 3 days a week while her mom teaches her brother his Math. They home-school, so I think it's a big help to them. Who'da thought that I would ever end up "teaching" Math?? I'm really enjoying it and am having fun working with her and helping her learn the essential basics of Math.
Ok so now that I've written a novel about what I've been up to, I will leave you. I'm off to bed and hopefully will get up in time tomorrow morning to go do some more Math!
Just kidding.
Remember in the Fall when I visited a Bible study for university students? Well I have been back now, twice in a row, and I'm really liking it. I'm meeting some people there and beginning to make friends. One of the young ladies on staff with the organization that holds the Bible study is in the small group that I'm a part of on Sunday nights through my church.
Oh, I just have so much to tell.
I've gotten involved in a small group on Sunday nights through the church that I have been going to here. It's really a nice time for fellowship and studying the Word more intimately with a smaller group of people. There are people from several walks of life in our small group. It is held in the home of some missionaries, who actually also work for the organization that the university student Bible study is through. There are 4 married couples, an older lady, a single guy and 3 single girls. One of the married couples is the missionary couple. Another one is a young couple who work at a British school here in Bucharest. He is British and she's Romanian. I'm becoming fast friends with her, and hope to be able to spend some time getting to know her outside of our small group. She told me one evening that all she does is work and then go home and cook and clean, and she really desires to make friends. She is my age, and I think this could be a good thing.
One of the other single ladies is a teacher at the local MK school in town. She's been here for about 5 years.
So as I said, the other single lady is on staff with the university student ministry that I'm hoping to partner with in local ministry opportunities when I have "down time." She invited me over to her apartment yesterday afternoon for lunch, and I visited with her and with another young lady that's on staff. They asked me about my growing up as an MK and about my testimony, including how the Lord called me to Romania. I enjoyed hearing their testimonies and just being around more examples of single ladies who are just doing life with the Lord and serving Him. They do a great job with the university students. I hope to be able to visit with them some more.
Amanda (congrats on sweet Annabeth, by the way!!), I will say that all of these new friends that I'm making are a direct answer to your prayer that the Lord would make people here as precious to me as those I left behind in Irving. I am certainly seeing His hand in this.
Funny story...so this evening I was at the student Bible study, and they offered my some tea. Well of course I accepted, but I set the mug on a shelf kind of behind me to let it cool. As I was talking to some girls, they asked me how one earth I had learned Romanian so quickly. Of course my answer is almost always automatically that I speak Spanish fluently, and that that helped a ton. One of the girls got so excited and started speaking to me IN SPANISH. She's Romanian, but she has studied Spanish and told me she feels called to go to Peru. So we agreed that she could practice her Spanish with me, and this is good for me, too, since I've had the fear that I would forget my Spanish while I'm here. This girl also goes to the church I go to, and I had seen her before but never talked to her. She sings in the choir and often recites Scripture during Worship. Yes, I said recites, not reads. I can tell that she has a true love for the Word and strives to hide it in her heart.
So back to my tea. Remember I put it on the shelf? Well this girl got so excited that I spoke Spanish, and I got so excited to speak Spanish to her, that I turned to put my tea back on the shelf after checking if it was cool enough for me to drink, and IT TIPPED OVER, FELL OFF THE SHELF AND SPILLED ALL OVER THE FLOOR.....RIGHT AS WE WERE GETTING STARTED. I was so super embarrassed, but oh well. What could I do??
Ok...what else??
I have been offered the opportunity (and accepted) to talk to the Seniors at the local MK school about re-entry in to the States and what it's like to live there for college, and just about my experience in college after being an MK. I'm really looking forward to this opportunity and hope that I can be of some help. I've always wanted to work with MKs and I think this is a good opportunity for me.
I am also currently helping a sweet 9 year old with her 3rd grade math 3 days a week while her mom teaches her brother his Math. They home-school, so I think it's a big help to them. Who'da thought that I would ever end up "teaching" Math?? I'm really enjoying it and am having fun working with her and helping her learn the essential basics of Math.
Ok so now that I've written a novel about what I've been up to, I will leave you. I'm off to bed and hopefully will get up in time tomorrow morning to go do some more Math!
Friday, February 6, 2009
20 Things That I Love About Romania, and a Few Things I Don't...
I love....
1. Public transportation
2. My apartment, though I miss having roommates
3. The mountains
4. When my internet works
5. Cooking more than eating out
6. Public transportation
7. Walking wherever public transportation doesn't take me
8. The piata where they sell fresh fruits and veggies
9. The church I'm able to be a part of and the small group I've been going to
10. Public transportation
11. The language and the fact that I've been blessed to learn it not perfectly, but quickly
12. New opportunities that are presenting themselves
13. Did I say public transportation???
14. That I've lost weight since I got here...Maybe by the time I'm done I will be back to my pre-college weight
15. New friends
16. When it snows
17. Beautiful days like today, when the sky is blue and the sun is shining...in what is supposed to be "the middle of Winter"...
18. Spiritual growth that I have experienced
19. That I'm not the only person that plays games on my cell phone on the metro
20. Oh yeah, and public transportation...
I don't love...
1. Nasty stuff on the sidewalks
2. Feeling like I have to push people out of the way in the grocery store
3. Getting pushed out of the way
4. When people talk fast because they think I'm fluent in their language
5. Not having roomies
6. When my internet doesn't work
1. Public transportation
2. My apartment, though I miss having roommates
3. The mountains
4. When my internet works
5. Cooking more than eating out
6. Public transportation
7. Walking wherever public transportation doesn't take me
8. The piata where they sell fresh fruits and veggies
9. The church I'm able to be a part of and the small group I've been going to
10. Public transportation
11. The language and the fact that I've been blessed to learn it not perfectly, but quickly
12. New opportunities that are presenting themselves
13. Did I say public transportation???
14. That I've lost weight since I got here...Maybe by the time I'm done I will be back to my pre-college weight
15. New friends
16. When it snows
17. Beautiful days like today, when the sky is blue and the sun is shining...in what is supposed to be "the middle of Winter"...
18. Spiritual growth that I have experienced
19. That I'm not the only person that plays games on my cell phone on the metro
20. Oh yeah, and public transportation...
I don't love...
1. Nasty stuff on the sidewalks
2. Feeling like I have to push people out of the way in the grocery store
3. Getting pushed out of the way
4. When people talk fast because they think I'm fluent in their language
5. Not having roomies
6. When my internet doesn't work
Monday, January 26, 2009
My Prayer Update
Friends,
I have been in Romania now for more than three months. I can't believe it.
I finished language a couple of weeks ago and have since begun working on some mobilizing of students and preparing for one group that is on the way here in May for three weeks. I got 100 on my language evaluation, and I'm thankful for the gift of the language. Now if I just had more opportunities to use it, that would be good for me to practice.
I went to Galati (pronounced Galats) the weekend I finished language. Galati is a city in Eastern Romania close to the border with Moldova and Ukraine. I was very encouraged by what I saw my colleagues doing there and am excited to be able to hopefully work with them some during my time here.
Thank you for your consistent prayers for me and I ask that you continue lifting me up. I have seen the Lord work in my life in many ways over the last three months and I know it is because of your prayers for me.
I will be meeting this week with my new supervisor and talking about some options for me to be involved in ministry here in Bucharest. We are having a lot of changes in the whole organization as well as a change of personnell here in Bucharest. A lot of coming and going of people is happening within the next few months and I'm sure that this will pose a change in the dynamics here in Bucharest, which may not be a bad thing.
I apologize for not keeping you all updated as I should. Hopefully some super exciting things will start happening soon and I will be able to keep you more up to date.
For now, please join me in praying for all of the changes going on in the IMB as well as here in Romania. Also please pray that the Lord would be clear with me in showing me His purpose and plan for me here in Romania and how He intends to use me in impacting lostness here. Pleas pray for the students that He is calling to join us here in ministry. Pray that they would hear the call, recognize it, listen to it and obey it.
Blessings,
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The last couple of weeks...
God has certainly blessed me already in 2009. I have never seen His hand move in my life in such a short amount of time than just the time between Christmas and now.
I made it through Christmas, like I said, without any major crises. He was truly good to me. And then He blessed me with a fun relaxing time with friends, which I posted about a couple of weeks ago.
Soon after that, He handed me some friends here in Bucharest.
I finished language last week. I scored 100 on my evaluation, which is crazy. I had never tried to learn a language before now, since Spanish comes as naturally as English, and I learned both of those at the same time. Romanian has come easier to me than I expected, and the great advantage of having Spanish is that it helps immensly with my pronunciation as well as understanding concepts in the language that don't make sense to those who speak only English. For example, I understand the concept of masculine and feminine (though it threw me off when they threw the neutral in there), and I understand the conditional form and how it is to be used, as well as the subjunctive. Some lessons, my teachers would tell me that Americans have a hard time with this, and it usually doesn't come until the next book (which I wasn't going to get to), but they would teach it to me anyway. More often than not, my response was, "we have that form in Spanish, so I know what circumstance I need to use it in." Now I don't have any excuse not to use my language. I'm thankful for this gift.
On Friday, I heded East to Galați (pronounced Galats), on the border with Moldova and Ukraine to see what's going on out there as far as ministry goes. I came back so encouraged. The team out there has a very specific plan that has cost a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get off the ground, but after almost three years is picking up momentum. I was tempted to stay there and not come back to Bucharest because it got me so excited for what's going on out there. Major props to the Galați team. I think I can honestly say that after catching their vision, my life and thinking of how to do ministry in Romania, and Europe in general has completely changed. Not that I had any thoughts on it before, but I will say, I have seen the light. Check out their website if you have time here.
Now I must be off to run errands. Have a great rest of the week, dear friends!
I made it through Christmas, like I said, without any major crises. He was truly good to me. And then He blessed me with a fun relaxing time with friends, which I posted about a couple of weeks ago.
Soon after that, He handed me some friends here in Bucharest.
I finished language last week. I scored 100 on my evaluation, which is crazy. I had never tried to learn a language before now, since Spanish comes as naturally as English, and I learned both of those at the same time. Romanian has come easier to me than I expected, and the great advantage of having Spanish is that it helps immensly with my pronunciation as well as understanding concepts in the language that don't make sense to those who speak only English. For example, I understand the concept of masculine and feminine (though it threw me off when they threw the neutral in there), and I understand the conditional form and how it is to be used, as well as the subjunctive. Some lessons, my teachers would tell me that Americans have a hard time with this, and it usually doesn't come until the next book (which I wasn't going to get to), but they would teach it to me anyway. More often than not, my response was, "we have that form in Spanish, so I know what circumstance I need to use it in." Now I don't have any excuse not to use my language. I'm thankful for this gift.
On Friday, I heded East to Galați (pronounced Galats), on the border with Moldova and Ukraine to see what's going on out there as far as ministry goes. I came back so encouraged. The team out there has a very specific plan that has cost a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get off the ground, but after almost three years is picking up momentum. I was tempted to stay there and not come back to Bucharest because it got me so excited for what's going on out there. Major props to the Galați team. I think I can honestly say that after catching their vision, my life and thinking of how to do ministry in Romania, and Europe in general has completely changed. Not that I had any thoughts on it before, but I will say, I have seen the light. Check out their website if you have time here.
Now I must be off to run errands. Have a great rest of the week, dear friends!
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