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Sunday, November 30, 2008

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 shouldn't drink out of the public water fountain that we had just drunk from. All we could understand was that he said something about how there was bacteria in the water. His lecture doesn't hold much weight, but it was hilarious hearing him go on and on about why we shouldn't drink from the fountain. Oh, and we must tell you that our first introduction to any children was when we met Luca and Vlad (a 2 year old) during our first week here in July. Upon entering the apartment, Luca started crying and saying that he didn't like Americans and didn't want us to be there and he didn't want to talk to us. By the end of the night, we tickled him and we were his friends.

This first picture is of Luca & Serafim.


Next, I must tell you about Ruxi! She's my favorite...I know, I shouldn't have favorites, but she wins!!!! I liked her from the very first time we met, yet it took over 2 months before she warmed up to us. We didn't have a lot of interactions with the kids during that time, so 2 months is understandable, I suppose. She didn't like the fact that we couldn't really communicate, but during the church picnic in September, we had plenty of time to play and do other fun things with her. Since then, whenever I catch her attention she gives me this adorable smile and her big brown eyes are gorgeous! How can you not like this little girl? Oh, and I must mention that she is a rock star diva.



This next one is of Filip. He is obsessed with super heros right now. I think Spiderman is his current favorite. Just ask him and he'll turn into Spiderman in 0.5 seconds. We thought these two photos were hilarious in showing their about to be crying faces :)



How can you not love this little face?!



This is Ana, Filip's sister. The last couple of weeks, we have gone over to play with Ana and Filip and to teach Ana a little English.

Finally, it's us with Luca, Ana, and Filip!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

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 the meaning of Christmas."

Please pray for them as they go into dorms, for divine appointments with students, for softened hearts, and for people to be drawn to the event and ultimately to the Lord! Pray for the speaker as he prepares the message - that it would be God-centered and that he would clearly explain the gospel of Jesus Christ, for this is the true meaning of Christmas!

"This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15).

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

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 store, knowing it would really serve us. There really are countless other ways they seek to serve and bless their friends. Oh, and I must mention that they brought me flowers last night. I don't know what they are called in English, but Radu referred to them as "Pom-Poms." I'm sure you can see why in the photos below.





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 much.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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 a horrible thing, and I'm not being legalistic with it, but alas, it's an area I would like to grow! Speaking of which, I actually finished "Keep a Quiet Heart" by Elisabeth Elliot last night! Woohoo! I highly recommend it (Thanks Sarah Duncan for giving up your copy of the book 2 days before we left the country!).

This is the same park we go to frequently, or at least try to go to frequently! Enjoy the photos!









Tuesday, October 21, 2008

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 and then they will be the ones to issue us a visa, Lord willing.

This past weekend we went to a leadership conference put on by Willow Creek and in conjunction with an organization called BIG. Overall, it was alright and we were glad we went. We had some good conversations with a few others from our church that went to the conference and will hopefully have more continued conversations. With every message, there were some good things and some not-so-good things, but we just tried to be discerning. All in all, we are glad we went and hope to apply some things we learned.

Finally, Paul and I are in process of trying to start our conversational English classes: "The English Lounge." Creative, huh? Totally Paul. I am definitely not known for being creative! Anyway, we passed out fliers and talked to students today at the University. It seemed that some were geninuely interested. We are planning on going to campus again tomorrow.
There will be a general information meeting for the English Lounge this Thursday evening. Please pray that God would sovereingly direct us to who we should talk to and invite on campus and that students would come to the meeting on Thursday evening.

Monday, October 13, 2008

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 of the tongue is from the Lord."

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