Copii ("children" in Romanian)

Today was our last Sunday at proDEO. We got to serve in Children's Ministry for the first and last time. We love the kiddos here! They are sweet and so fun to play with. It's pretty hilarious trying to communicate with kids that don't realize that we don't really speak their language. One of the funniest memories we have is with Luca, the pastor's son. He's about 5 years old. One day we were at the park and ran into him there. This was a while back, so at this point, he really didn't comprehend that we didn't understand all of what he said. He knows we don't speak much Romanian now. At the park, he basically started lecturing us about how we...

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Christmas Event

In our last few weeks, we have been helping OSCEC plan their annual Christmas event. This event will take place on December 11th at 6:30pm. In the two weeks prior to the event, OSCEC, along with students from another church, will be going into the dorms for the first time this year. They plan on caroling to the students on various floors, handing out a survey, talking to the students, and giving them a small gift. Hopefully we will get to go with them on the first night - this coming Wednesday.The event itself will consist of games: cardboard tree decorating contest, white elephant gift exchange, carol singing contest, various scenes woven throughout the evening about how we often hide the meaning of Christmas with all the hussle and bussle of the season, and finally a message about "unpacking...

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Lasagna with Radu & Andreea

Last night we got the joy of hosting two of our close friends for dinner. Radu and Andreea came over for some lasagna (Paul's favorite, and I would dare to say it's Radu's favorite too!). We love these two crazy kids that got married last month. We met them in 2006 at our first English Camp and despite our lack of Romanian and their lack of English, the Lord blessed this relationship and we really do consider them two of our closest friends here. We love them and if you have met them, I am sure you understand why! They are often kind to and considerate of others. Just the other night, after an OSCEC event, they offered to take us to the grocery...

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We're moving back home

I believe that most of you who would be reading our blog already have heard this, but I wanted to let everyone know that Cris and I will be moving home on December 6th, and will live in Knoxville for the immediate future. This was a hard decision to make, but we really feel that the Lord is calling us to go back to America at this time. We love all of our friends here in Romania, and are going to miss them very mu...

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A Beautiful Day in Craiova!

Last Sunday was a beautiful day here in Craiova. It didn't even seem like autumn, it was too warm! Paul and I wanted to enjoy the beautiful day the Lord provided, so we grabbed our books and headed to the park. Paul spent some time filling his head with theology (Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments), while I spent some time starting a new book (Knowing God by J.I. Packer). Let's just say that Paul hasn't been able to put Vos down since he started reading it! :) Hopefully I will follow him in his determination to finish books! Lately (the last year or so...) I have seemingly gotten distracted as I try to finish books. I know this isn't...

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Home Sweet Home

Alas, we are back in Craiova!!!! Celebrations are seriously needed. We were basically in and out of town for 2 weeks working on all of the visa paperwork and following laws (leaving the country). We went to Serbia, like I already mentioned. All that we can do up until this point is already done. We went to Bucharest and gave our paperwork to the Baptist Union as a step in the visa process. Now we are in "waiting mode" as I like to think of it. The lady from the Baptist Union called Paul today about a minor detail, which gives us hope that our applications are actually being processed! Woohoo. From the Baptist Union, our information goes to another office (we'll refer to it as the M.C. for now) and after receiving a letter of recomendation, we can turn all of our forms into the police...

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Visa Process

Hello! Sorry it has been a while since any updates. Most people are wondering what country we are in! Currently, we are still in Romania. Today we went to Serbia for the same reason we went to Bulgaria (long story).The visa is in process. We are going before a Baptist Union Board tomorrow to attempt to get a letter of recommendation from them which is needed in this whole visa thing. On Wednesday, we are going to Bucharest again (we went last week and ran around in circles for about 4 hours). We plan on turning in all of our paperwork after a month or so, we'll hopefully have an approval for our visas. There is still a chance we won't get a visa, but it is likely that it will be approved. Still, we want to trust the Lord and believe "The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer...

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