We Are Home

Well it took a while but we finally made it home safe and sound. The journey took 30 hours to complete, and if I figure it out correctly, we went about 47 hours without "sleep". I mean sure we dosed a little on airplanes and in airports, but I am talking about laying down and sleeping in a bed sleep.

It all started Monday evening in Romania. We had a early Tuesday morning flight at 7:15, so we rode down to Bucharest in Dorothy's van and left at 11:00 PM. It is a five hour car trip to the airport, which I helped drive, and arrived at about at about 4 AM. We waited a little while and checked our 9 suitcase plastic tubs. Our only scary moment was when we went through Romanian passport control, and the guard asked for our residence visas. Karen had hers stolen with her wallet about a month ago, and there really was not enough time to have it replaced. I gave him mine and he processed me and they boys with no problem, but then he said wait here and he took Karen's passport into a small room. Uh-oh! I am standing there thinking are they really not going to let us leave the country? He brought a higher ranking immigration officer and he asked us a few questions and let us go.

Our first flight was two hours from Bucharest to Munich, Germany. We than about an hour layover until we caught our long flight. We then boarded the plane for a 9 hour flight to Washington DC. This went very well because they had movies at each individual seat in the seat back in front of you. The boys loved this and they watched movies and slept alot. We arrived in Washington and this was the part I dreaded the most. You have to go through passport control, customs, un-check and recheck your baggage, and then go through security all over again. I was not really sure how we could drag two tired boys, four carry-on bags, and nine huge plastic tubs through all these stops. It turns out that it went great! We loaded three push carts with three tubs each and the smaller bags on top. I pushed one, Karen pushed one, and Nolan was able to push one. What a big guy and helper he was. We were first in line at all these stops and breezed through very easily!

Next we had about a four hour layover in Washington until our flight to Rochester. As I first entered the airport in Washington, I was overwhelmed with being thrust right back into American culture. It was hard for me after being immersed in Romanian culture for a year. It is difficult for me to even explain. It feels like you are standing still and everyone else is running circles around you. It is very much like sensory overload. As we walked through the terminal, I saw a Wendy's. I stopped and stared. Oh how I missed a Wendy's burger and fries. We found our gate and set up camp for the next four hours. The boys wanted to look in every store and wanted to buy ever cool thing they saw. I guess this was how they were trying to deal with there reverse culture shock being thrust into this situation.

Then we boarded our final flight, ah the last leg at last! There were going to be a group of family and friends who were going to meet us at the airport in Rochester at 6:44 PM. We boarded the plane quickly and then the pilot announced that all flights were delayed due to thunderstorms. So there we were, stuck on a fairly small plane, unable to take off or get off the plane. The pilot was great. He came back a talked to all the passengers and was very friendly. He then offered Nolan and Liam to come see the cockpit. He let them push buttons and sit in the captain seat! Nolan said the plane talked back to him when he pushed buttons. I was just hoping he was not dumping fuel or something bad. To make a very long story short, we sat in the plane for about four hours before we were cleared for take-off! Thankfully the boys were exhausted and slept the whole time. We were about to land in Rochester and we could barely wake them. Liam said "We are here already". Needless to say, most of our welcoming committee could not stand around the airport for four hours, but there were a few people. That was OK though- the boys were shy and we were all tired. Nolan and Liam were so excited to see their cousins. They helped us to load our luggage and gave us a ride home. We ended up walking into our house at about 11 PM Tuesday night. The only thing Liam has wanted for months was to come home and get his Buzz Light Year and Woody toys. When we got here the key for our room with all out stuff in it wasn't anywhere to be found. Liam was so upset. We got a hold of someone though and they brought the key right over regardless of the time. Liam was so happy. The boys spent all day yesterday rediscovering old toys and playing in their yard.

It was such a strange feeling walking into our home. In one sense, it felt like I had just left it a short time ago, but also it felt like so much had happened since I left. I am sure that we all had different and similar feelings, if that makes sense to anyone. It was like I pushed pause on my American life, while a year of my Romanian life happened. I also realize that this is not true, things here in America have changed and time has moved on. This is what will take time time to adjust to, nothing is the same as it was. We are different by what we have experienced, and things have changed here also. Now we just need time to process both of these things. Maurice

Miss You Liana, Emil, Mama, Tata, Lian, Andrei, Tanti, Lori, Sendi, and the whole Ludu family- Love Karen

Is he really old enough to be driving and going on a date?

We went out to a village called Viscri today where the Ludu's have a house. There just happened to be an old car there. It amused the kids all day long. Only after living here would Nolan and Liam play "Taxi" all day. Bianca Ludu is the one in the car with him. Lori is the one climbing over the back of the taxi.

June 10th

For those of you who do not know, June 10th is our return date to the United States. Wow, where has a year gone? It is very difficult to explain all the emotions involved in leaving. Of course we are very excited to return to our home, our family, our church, and our friends. Conversely, we are leaving all these very same things here in Romania. We are happy, nervous, and sad all at the same time. As I face our impending departure here each day, I usually go through the whole spectrum of emotions depending on who I am speaking to or the topic of discussion. Goodbyes will be very difficult here, we have developed some incredible relationships with people that we will never forget. We also have been reading a book about re-entry for missionaries back into their home culture, and we also know that this will be difficult. We have changed. In our year here, Romania and the people have reshaped who we are as people. We are no longer typical Americans anymore for many reasons. This is not good or bad, we are just different. How do you become a former missionary? If you have any insight please let me know. I have been told that you never really do. I have also been told that we will always feel that half of our heart will be here in Romania and the other half in America. Hopefully I am not rambling and you can get a glimpse of the emotions that we are going through.

I also want to take this opportunity to thanks the Dunns. Scott, Paula, and their children Stephen and Lydia are Free Methodist missionaries who live in Arad, Romania. Scott is our country leader for us here in Romania. The Dunns have served us as mentors, wise counselors, encouragers, but most importantly friends. When we were stuggling and did not know where to turn they were always there for us. They more than anyone perhaps, knew exactly what we were going through here. They did this while handling many struggles of their own. I hope that we were able to help them in some way and not just be a burden with our issues. So thank you Scott and Paula for all that you have done for us. We look forward to working with you and helping anyway we can in the future. Romania is lucky to have such committed Christians serving here. Keep up the great work. Maurice

Wrapping It Up

Why.....
I have been reading a book on "re-entry" after being a missionary. One major focus is to put closure on your time on the mission field. For me, I think it is important to get our blog current with what has been happening for the last month or so- not just so that others can read about it- but so that we have it for ourselves to read.

The Youth Retreat in Prod

We have been working with the youth here in Sighisoara since September. The first half of that time was spent reaching out to teens in the Baragan area. Although that was rewarding and challenging God seemed to be telling us to change our focus to work with the teens in our church. We have about 5 in our church. Most of these were not coming to the larger Baragan group but we thought that our time here would be much better spent helping them grow in their faith and allowing them to reach out to their friends. It has also allowed us to have more in depth conversations about God that we weren't able to have with Baragan outreach. We average about 7 teens in this group- some of which don't go to our church.

A week and a half ago we were able to take these teens away on a weekend youth retreat. Wow- what a lot of work but also a great time. ( A big thanks to Pastor Greg, Mike, Lynn,TC, Big Dan & Mary, and Doug for how much work you put in to making youth retreats happen at Pearce). All total 22 of us went- 9 teens from the group as well as leaders, Mrs Fleshar and Timmea to help cook, and Andrea Kazmierski, Kristen Spaulding, Aaron Roorda, and Kyle Eich who were here visiting Mel. There were two main objectives to the weekend- to have a chance to talk more about God but also to let the teens just relax and have fun away from the some difficult home and school situations. It turned out better than I hoped. We played a lot of crazy outdoor games, walked in the forest, played fotbal (soccer), and played a whole lot of Rapid Uno.



We also had some great discussion times. The first night Aaron gave his testimony. The second night Andrea and Kristen talked about the road to Christ (using versed in Romans) and what seperates us from Him. They really did a fantastic job. On Sunday morning we were able to have our own church service in the German church that is part of the retreat center. It was absolutely beautiful in there especially hearing the teens singing and Kyle playing guitar. We talked about the Sower's Parable and how that related to each of us after the message that we heard through Kristen and Andrea the night before. A major prayer request is that the seeds that have been planted during this retreat find their way to furtile soil, that people come into their lives to support and encourage them during these diffucult years, and that these teens grow up to really have a personal relationship with Christ that strenghtens and encourages them during the storms of life.



Vacation....


The church was wonderful enough to tell us to take a little vacation time before we came back. Right after Orthodox Easter we drove to Arad to say goodbye to the Dunns. After that we headed up into the Apuseni mountains of Romania. I had made reservations at a Pensiune in the mountains but nowhere on the internet did it say it was on the TOP of a mountain. We should have known the road was bad when Romanians we asked said it was a bad road- that it must be really bad. Needless to say we had to travel 16 km up the side of a mountain on a road that was more like a logging road. After an hour we were wondering how much farther it could be when the car died. As it was rolling backward we saw oil on the ground and the oil light on. Turns out that some way back on the mountain road we bent the screw that holds the oil pan on so badly that oil was leaking right out of the pan. Here were were on a mountain top - no town or tow truck for at least an hour- all we could do was pray (well Maurice offered the car a small kick before that). I mean- there is really nothing else you can do but pray and trust God to help the situation. I think that so many times we trust ourselves first and forget the God wants us to trust him first- he will take care of us.

The whole time up the mountain we didn't have cell phone service. I gave it one more try when the car broke and we got a hold of the pensiune we were staying at. God was already at work- it was right around the next corner. He came with his tractor and towed us to the pensiune. The next day a man was going to the city 3 hours away and brought back oil and the 2 part glue "Poxi-Pol". Roberta has always called this fix all glue but this gave whole new meaning to that. The man sanded the oil pan- put the glue on it- and the next day we filled it back up with oil- and IT WORKED.

The people who live in the mountains in that region are called "Mots". It was just like being int the movie "Heidi". They are very self sufficient, hardy, and amiable people- not to mention the cooking was incredible. Almost every meal was served with items right from the farm- incredible Rasberry jam, Zacusca, butter, fresh milk, pickles. As you can see - the car troubles didn't affect my appetite for good Romanian food. The whole reason we were in this area of the mountains was to see the Scarisaora Ice Cave. From the Pensiune it was a 40 minute walk. Maurice was confused on how you go into a cave when we climbed to the hightest point on the mountain. We quickly learned how. The cave was at bottom of a giant hole in the earth. A very disconcerting trip down the side of the hole to say the least. At the bottom the steps were still covered with snow. Once at the bottom of the hole you walk into a beautiful cave filled with ice. One part of the cave is called the church because of the giant ice stalagmites and stalagtites. Good thing Grandma wasn't with is- as Nolan says- she would have been freaking out watching the boys go down into that cave.

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After a couple days in the mountains we were ready to cut our vacation short and get back home to Sighisoara. We had an uneventful trip off the mountain but only 20 minutes down the main road another teaching trust moment came along. In the middle of nowhere the car starts making a horrible knocking noise and dies. We waited couple minutes and the car started. We drove for 5 more minutes when the car dies again at the edge of the very next town. This time there was no restarting it. There was a wonderful family across the street who helped us out. It was May Day in Romania which means no one works. It also means that this turns into a 5 day weekend and the only garage in town is closed for the next 5 days. Some of you may be saying- call AAA, get a tow truck, no problem. WRONG. Tow trucks and towing companies don't exist here. The family let us push our car into their driveway and helped us figure out how to get back to Sighisoara. Turns out there was was a bus in just a few minutes and the bus stop was just a few houses down. Pretty much where the car died. We rode two great buses, a taxi, and a train and got safely back to Sighisoara. God took care of us again. Unfortunately the car spent two more weeks of vacation in the mountains before we found a way to get it home. That was over two weeks ago and we still don't have the car back. The mechanic always says- Tomorrow. It is beginning to feel like the country song- "If Tomorrow Never Comes". Ah well- Ce Sa Faci. What can you do?

Stamping.....

We came with grand plans to start small businesses in Tsigmandru. Needless to say that our plans and God's plans were a little different. This has been a blessing to me. We set up the card workshop in the Baragan apartment and are working with a Mrs Ludu and Mia as well as Lori and Sendi Ludu on getting this project going. They are all excited about it. We have made over 100 bookmarks and have done well selling them. We have a basket in the House on the Rock where we can sell them. They have already sold over 50 of these in just three weeks of making them. Lori is really talented and I think has the enthusiasm to really make this successful. Pretty soon she will being making actual cards. I went to Targu Mures a couple a weeks ago and was able to have some stamps made that said Sighisoara, Romania as well as Multumesc- which is thank you. The proceeds are divided three ways, part for the church, part for the person who makes them, and part for supplies. We have a meeting tomorrow night to discuss the transition time as well as resupplying, selling overseas, paying people, etc. Please be in prayer for this fledgling ministry.

Other Ministries....

Last Thursday and Friday I was able to provide a ministry to Dorothy through the form of cooking. The Veritas Board was here last week for a Board Meeting. Dorothy was very anxious that they have great experience and had been preparing for them for months. I saw as chance to give something back to Dorothy for all that she has done for us and also to help relieve her stress a little. I offered to cook two Romanian meals for her guests. Mama was out of town so Liana helped me on Thursday. She made an incredible soup and salad but I was able to make the Salata de Beof and Chicken Friptura with wine sauce all on my own. On Friay I made Sarmale. It is good to know that I can actually cook this Romania food when I return to America. It is like bringing a little piece of Mama, Liana, and Romania home with me. The Board really enjoyed both meals which made Dorothy very happy. So- ministry a success. I wish they were all that easy.

Sunday School Room......

The Sunday School room area at the church has been filled with years full of stuff that teams bring and leave. Much of this in English that no one can use as well as tons of craft items in various places. All of this makes it very difficult to have Sunday School. About a month and a half ago I started working on pulling everything out a drawers, cupboards, and throwing lots of things away. On Sundays duirng Sunday school Lori and I would continue to work on it and put things in order. When Aaron and Kyle were here they helped Maurice and David get a huge, heavy cupboard out of the room that had been partially blocking the stairs to Roberta's office. On Saturday Lori and I spent 2 hours labeling every cupboard and drawer with exactly what was in it. She really enjoyed doing it and did a fantastic job. I think now that her big sister Sendi is going off to school (college) she is really looking forward to leading Sunday School (and at 12 years old). Please continue to pray for both Lori and Sendi. Sendi as she takes major final tests for school and then heads off to college starting a new chapter of her life. For Lori as she now becomes the oldest girl in the Ludu house and the one of the oldest teens in church. She wants to continue with youth group after we leave so pray that a way will present itself.

Construction.....

Lastly but not leastly. Maurice has been actively doing construction projects since the team left in February. He worked with a group that came from Maine and tiled the kitchen in the Baragan apartment. All the work we did on our own house before we left payed off. After the group left Maurice and I went down and grouted the whole kitchen. Who knew that when we we were grouting our own kitchen a week before we left that we would be grouting a kitchen in Romania? Needless to say the bathroom is completely torn apart but not put back together. I guess it is God's will for someone else to finish that. When Kyle and Aaron were here they worked with Maurice and fixed and painted the wall at church. It looks GREAT.

Pictures are worth a 1000 smiles

Over the last year I have been accumulating pictures of people from Tsigmandru. Pictures from literacy class graduation, people becoming members of the church, random pictures of children, and family pictures. A couple of weeks ago I printed them all out and sorted them into about 25 different packages. On Sunday before church I took them out and Dorina (Hordu's wife) helped me walk around and deliver pictures to everyone. It was like Christmas. There were smiles everywhere. It made me realize how much we take pictures for granted but that the people in the village rarely have any photos. The sad thing is- is that they have probably been photographed hundreds of times. Lots of people promise to send copies to them but it rarely if ever happens. Or they might give one copy of a picture when 5 different people are in it. Here is one of the pictures we handed out.Yesterday we had a family photo day out in Tsigmandru. Each family from the church was able to come and have a picture of each of their children as well as a picture of their family. I think we took over a 100 pictures and people were so excited. Little girls were all dressed up. I also took some pictures of a new playground that was built for the block of houses next to the church. In the background you can see the new wash house that is being built. The whole area is fenced in. The children seem to love having something to play with. Please pray that this playground can be used as a ministry and not lead to hard feelings within the village.

Over these last couple of weeks I have also been working with Mia and David to give each person from the elderly clubs a framed picture of themselves. They were all so pleased to get a picture of themselves.

I want to thank everyone who supports us while we are here- YOU made it possible for us to put those smiles on people's faces. It is really amazing what a simple picture can do. - Karen

Easter- What must it have felt like to be there?

April 27th was Easter here in Romania. I really experienced Easter in a much different way this year. The sights and sounds of Easter here made me realize so much more . I will try to describe this for you. On Good Friday morning we spent time with the Veritas staff in a beautiful, quiet little garden. We read a play called The Passion of Christ which tells the story of the persecution and crucifiction of Christ. In the middle of the circle was a table and on the table was a crown of thorns, a purple cloth, and a large antique nail. As the play was being read and it said he was made to wear a crown of thorns and a purple rode you could imagine it better with those images in front of you. How piercing that crown must have been- how beautiful the purple rode would have been if it hadn't been stained with so much of Christ's blood. The quietness of the garden felt like we were in the Garden of Gethsemene.

(Sorry if some of you are shocked or appalled at this part- but Christ's Crucifiction wasn't pretty. It was in the graphic detail that I began to really grasp his pain and suffering) That afternoon the boys and I took Emil out to Daie to slaughter the lambs for Easter. Actually seeing these innocent little lambs being slaughtered. To listen to a knife being stabbed in their throats as they hung helplessly upside down and to hear that last gasp of air. How much worse must it have been for Christ. After the lambs were slaughtered the heads were cleaned and the eyeballs were popped out. These were then thrown out to the chickens. The boys chased the chickens around the yard with these eyeballs just dangling out of their beeks. It made me realize how callously Christ was treated. We also took eggs home to dye red. The red color of those eggs was the color of blood and you couldn't help but remember that Christ shed his blood for us.

That night we went to Church and the feelings continued. Communion was served like it was the Last Supper. There was a table on the alter. We went to the table in groups and sat down. Roberta broke a loaf of bread and we passed the cup around the table. How intimate the Last Supper must have felt. The service was by candlelight and the candles were slowly extinquished throughout the evening. At the very end of the service, as the last candle was put out and the church was completely dark, there was suddenly the smacking of a hammer on a nail. Oh the shudder one felt at that sound. To hear what it would have sounded like as the nails were driven through Christ's hands. Then it was just dark and completely quiet. It felt like being plunged into darkness with complete sadness. How must the disciples felt, his mother, Mary Magdalene, his followers? Maurice said- it is easy for us living on this side of the Ressurection. How did they feel- hearing that Christ would rise again but not really understanding what that meant. How did they feel to remain in that utter darkness and sadness until he rose again on the third day.

Thank You for allowing me to share these feelings with you. - Karen

Last Week

April has just flown by. Debbie- a friend from our church was here last week. She had a chance to visit and work with most of our ministries. While she was here she was able to do a short devotional with the elderly at church as well as a lead a really great talk on the 10 steps of prayer with the Veritas staff. It was really neat because we were able to see that prayers can be written, spoken aloud, silent, or sung. You can sit still and pray or you can walk and pray. Debbie also had a chance to cook vegetable sarmale and bean soup with Mama which was a lot of fun.

I am glad the time she was here went well because the day she arrived started a little rough. I went with Nolan to pick her up at the airport. Nolan and I really enjoyed some good mommy-Nolan time. We had an uneventful trip from the airport to the train station and even enjoyed a little McDonalds while waiting for the train. When we got out to the train I realized I couldn't find my wallet. I went and looked around at McDonalds where a guy come up and told me he thinks a couple guys had stolen it. I called Maurice and told him to call our bank and cancel our credit card. By the time he called, which couldn't have been more than 45 minutes from when it was stolen, they had already tried to use it 3 times. Unfortunately in my wallet was my VISA permit for Romania, my driver's license, and some money. I really thank God though for taking care of us. Our train tickets were in my pocket and so we still had those and Debbie had money to help us get home. Our church ATM card which allows us access to all our funds for Romania was back in Sighisoara. God gave me a sense of peace about all of it- they were just material things and he was taking care of us. We had a nice trip on the train but almost had a longer than planned trip. When we got to Sighisoara we were waiting by the door of the train but when we stopped the door wouldn't open. We had to rush to the other end of the train. There was a conductor there but the train was starting to move away from the platform. She was trying to wave the engine down to stop, Maurice was calling to tell me that my train was pulling away and where was I, and Nolan was starting to panic that we were stuck on the train. The train finally stopped at the end of the platform and were were able to get off. Nothing like a little excitment to end the day.