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.

Construction Update

I just wanted to give everyone a construction update. For the past two months I have changed my focus from working on the Tsigmandru church to working here in Sighisoara. This basically began when the teen group came from Pearce. When they were here we started working on the apartment that the Church of the Nazarene owns here in the Baragon area of Sighisoara. No one lives there, but there are various clubs and prayer meetings that meet there five days a week. When the teens were here they scraped a type of calcium coating of the walls in three rooms and the hallway. These walls were then coated with a light coat of plaster. I have been sanding, painting, and laying carpet in theses rooms. Just this week I started to tear apart one of the bathrooms. I am currently pulling tile off the walls, scraping the calcium off, and beginning to change out the bath tub. It is hard, difficult, and time consuming work, but also very rewarding in the end. I am including some before and after photos of the other rooms and will soon do the same for the bathroom. Maurice

Thunder Snow?

Easter sunday was a beautiful warm day and the following day was even more beautiful. The spring flowers were already popping their heads up. It was about 70 degrees that afternoon. That Monday night Mel and I were at Monday night dinner when there was a huge crack of lightning. When I left for home it was just starting to snow and by the time I got up the street the snowflakes were even bigger. I took the boys outside to show them and the snowflakes were about the size of silver dollars.- Karen

Easter Sunday (Number 1)

I say Easter Sunday number 1 because here in Romania the majority of people here have not celebrated Easter yet. Orthodox Easter is April 27th which is when our Church here will celebrate Easter. Hungarians and Germans celebrated Easter on March 23rd. Let me tell you a little bit about how we spent March 23rd. At 7 am I climbed the stairs to the German Church on the hill for the sunrise service. This church is over 700 years old and has a crypt underneath of it. The service was all in German but it didn't matter- it was still beautiful. At first we all stood in a circle around the inside of the church while music was sung and the pipe organ was played. Then we slowly filed down into this small little crpyt where there were candles on the floor. It was so peaceful and really helped to picture what Christ's tomb might have been like. After a small service we each took a candle and walked back up into the church. We stood in a circle again and sang joyful music to celebrate the resurrection. Afterwards everyone was invited to the Lutheran priest's home for Easter breakfast. Breakfast was simple but beautiful. In America everything is pastel colors for Easter but here it is bright colors. At each place at the table was a bright red egg and the whole table was decorated in bright yellow, red, and orange. The red dyed egg is to symbolize the blood of Christ. It was really a blessing to be included in the German celebration of Easter.

Nolan and Liam knew that it was Easter in America and so expected that the Easter Bunny would come and leave some Easter eggs outside in the yard. I found a couple of eggs at the store and hid them in the backyard. The boys really had fun looking for them and were perfectly content to only get two eggs each.

After church we went out to Saes with Emil, Liana, Lian, and Andre for a gratar (grilling). I have really come to appreciate Romanian "gratar"s because they are so much simpler than grilling out in America. When we got to Saes we worked out in garden cleaning up dead branches and raking up all the dead stuff from the previous year. This all gets put in a big pile and burned. Once it is burned down enough the grate is put over the coals and the meat is cooked. Along with the sausage and cremwurst we ate some radishes and apples. The boys had a lot of fun. Nolan helped Emil and his cousin haul wood for over an hour. Emil calls Nolan "harnic" or hardworking. I can't say Liam is the same. He would rather just play.- Karen

Our Romanan Saturday

We have introduced before to our property manager, Emil. Last week he asked us to give him a ride to Deae, to take a few bags of seed (alfalfa I think) to his father's farm, since he does not have a car. We said sure, we would love to. We have learned here, though the language barrier and various other reasons, that when you committ to something such as this, you never really know what it will entail. Melanie had the boys for the day so me, Karen, and Emil were off to Deae. Before we left Emil asked if we could take a few other things, keep in mind our car is not very big. I had some old tires that he asked if his father could have for his caruta, I said sure, so we threw them in the car with the two large sacks of seed. Then we went to Emil's house and he asked if we could take their dog from their house to live permanently out on the farm, so we loaded it in the car. Then Emil asked if we could take the dog house also, we said sure. We also added a shovel and some various other tools. In the end it was good that the boys were not with us, because the car was totally loaded. Then we were off for the 40 minute car ride.

Deae is a small village in the middle of no where, accessible only by a very seasonable dirt road. When we arrived we meet Emil's father, who lives alone, is in his mid-sixties, and runs the farm with the help of his neighbor. They were in the process of plowing the potatoe field with a horse drawn plow. Karen immediately asked if she could try, they said sure without hesitation. I have no idea what they must have thought about this crazy American woman. We then got the tour of the barn and various animals. We saw the cows, chickens, sheep, turkeys, pigs, and rabbits. Karen especially loved holding a new little lamb, until Emil informed her that this lamb was the one we would be eating together for Easter, when Orthodox celebrate Easter next month. She thought he was joking with her at first, but he was not. Were then invited into the small farm house for some food. They sat me and Karen down at the only two spots available at the small table and found us some dinnerware. They put a bowl of liver and onions in front of us and insisted that we eat all of it without them. They also pulled out the biggest slab of slanina, raw pig fat, that I had ever seen. We also had bread, and they brought a honey comb, literally straight out of the bee box. We looked at it a little unsure, so they took the knife and scraped the honeycomb back and exposed beautiful honey in the middle for our bread. It was a great day, one that I will remember for a long time. It was a snapshot of how people in the heart of Romania live their daily lives on a small farm in small farming village. It is one of the many moments that I have had here when I can not believe that I would ever in my life being there. It is very surreal in a great way. Here are some pictures. In my next entry I will tell about the next day, Sunday. Maurice

What's Going On?

You may wonder where we have been and what we have been up to for the last month. I have heard from several faithful blog readers to say "What's Going On?". I promised my sister-in-law Amy that I would definitely write a blog this week so here you are Amy. Since our last blog on February 11th much has happened and we have been pretty busy.

Liam turned 5 years old on February 12th. It is really hard to believe that he is already 5. He is getting tall and losing his baby fat. He has quite an active imagination and often contributes anything he does wrong to the little guys who live inside of him. Conveniently- when I want to talk to those little guys- they have locked the door inside Liam and won't let him in. Melanie made him a really cute birthday cake and he got to open a few presents.

On February 15th a group came from Pearce Memorial Church. There were five adults and 15 teenagers. While they were here we worked on a house in forest in real need of some insulating and protection from rats, worked in the Baragan apartment where we hold a lot of our clubs, fixed and painted the main room in Magda B's apartment which had water damage, as well as tear off the walls in the Sighisoara church. Pretty ambitious- but everyone did a great job. The teens were fantastic workers. In addition to all the work we also had a great time of devotions every day with a different teen leading them. It was great for us to see this as these teens have grown up and spiritually matured while we have been away. It also got us excited to go back and work with the teens again. The first Saturday the teens were here we had a soccer game at the Baragan school. We had so many kids we had to have teams rotate out every fifteen minutes but everyone had a great time. At the end we played 6 on 6- America vs Romania. If you can't guess who won- let's put it this way- the America got spanked. Our American teens though were really impressed how great the Romanian kid's footwork was.


Another highlight was our trip to Mama and Tata's house in the village of Saes (shaiesh). The morning before I took four of the guys down to Mama's house to make Salata de Boef and prajitura. Mama made me a chef hat to wear. She said now I had my own kitchen staff. The guys had a great time and Tata really got a chuckle when he came in the kitchen and saw Alex wearing a flowery apron and cutting up potatoes. The next day we took everyone out to Saes and cooked mici (meech) on the grill and ate the Salata de Boef. We had a wonderful time but a couple of the boys got to experience the anger of a romanian mama. Two of the guys came back from the soccer field with questionable foot attire. Sid had no shoes on and Stephen had only shoes- no socks- because it was so muddy. Mama was "superat". When I was leaving to take the first group home she had both boys in the back room with their shoes off soaking their feet in steaming hot water. Quite a sight. Mama said "I told you so" to me a couple of days later when I told her Sid was sick the next day with a cold. It was definitely a real Romanian experience for Sid and Stephen.

The greatest thing about the team being here was the relationships with our friends from America. We got much needed encouragement and realized how much we miss our church family. It also got us so excited to come home and work with the teens again.

To read more about the teen trip from their perspective go to http://www.sighisoara08.blogspot.com/ or look at my attached photo album.

On February 29th Maurice, the boys, and myself took the train to Arad to spend the weekend with our Free Methodist missionary friends in Arad (the Dunn's). The boys had really been wanting to ride on a train but that got old quickly during the5 hour train ride. The boys had a great time while we were there as the Dunn's have a great dog named Madison. Stephen (their son) also has a car video game the boys loved and the Wii. While we were there we went out to dinner a couple of times and drink some really good hot chocolate at Paula's favorite coffee shop in town. We had a wonderful time just being able to talk, share, and relax together.

March brought a lot of new things. Mel is living out on her own now in a little apartment above Mama and Tata's. This means Liam and Nolan now have their own room (Mel's old room). It works out great because we don't have to retreat to our bedroom as soon as we put the boys to bed. It also means that Liam quits getting me up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. He is now right across from it. Starting March 1st the boys are no longer going to school here. We had been talking about taking them out for financial reasons as well as making sure Nolan is where he needs to be for school in September. The week before we took them out of school pretty much solidified the decision. I have never really liked the way they discipline the boys (black dot on the had when they are bad, red when good). For Liam who rarely had a red dot it was difficult. Every day he would get the message reinforced that he was a bad kid. Then they were coming home saying they had to wear these Christmas tree shaped hats when they were bad (dunce caps). Then they said that their teacher pulls their ears so hard when they are bad that Nolan can hear the inside of his ear crack. Needless to say- it's just not what I am used to although that is pretty mild for here. Home schooling seems to be going well now that I am getting some kind of routine. I try to take the boys one day a week to elderly club so they can sit and color with them or play Rummicube. Mel comes on Wednesday afternoons and does geography or history as well as music class with the boys. They seem to love all the silly songs they learn.

Since the group left Maurice has pretty much doing construction everyday in the Baragan apartment or church. Last Saturday there was a whole church construction day at the church and the whole thing got painted as well as the outside getting washed. It was great to see so many people work together. This Saturday will be another work day for the church but this time the plan is finish the apartment.

We have picked a tentative coming home date - June 10th. This will allow us time to get reacclimated to America before I hopefully go back to work June 30th. We still have much we want to accomplish here but we are not sure what God wants to accomplish through us. Please be in prayer for meetings we have coming up concerning small business in Tsigmandru. We will be working with Magda and Nelutu to develop a small business plan for the sewing workshop in conjunction with a Peace Corps volunteer that is here. Soon after we hope to have similar meetings in Sighisoara with the church here.

February had it's really great moments for us but was also filled with some real discouragements. I want to especially thank the Pearce team, the Dunn's, and Tracy for keeping us looking towards God even in the difficult times. God really blessed us though you. Thank you for all your love, support, and prayers. -Karen

For You Mom

I am writing this as a tribute to my mother. I received a special blessing this week that I never saw coming. I discovered a new kind of respect for my mom. I think my mom has really not quite known her purpose in life since my brother and I left home 14 years ago. This year my parents sold the dairy cows and mom was faced with finding and alternate means of income but also finding her place in the world. My mom came to Romania to see us in October and while she was here she had a chance to work with the elderly in several of the programs and found a real love for them. A week and a half after she went home she saw an ad in the paper regarding a Certified Nurses Aid in a local nursing home. For the last several months she has been doing the grueling training but has been so blessed by the interactions with the elderly she works with. The work is physically demanding but she goes everyday- even though the pain stays with her the rest of the day. The other night I talked to her on the phone and she told me how she does it. Every morning she gets up and prays. She tells God that only he can get her through the day- on her own she could never do it. Then she opens her journal and prays for each of the elderly from the nursing home. She also told me that she remember when I was little she would find cups under my bed with mold growing on them (thanks for remembering that). She realized that we are like that-we have mold growing on us, dirt in our hearts, uncleanness in our spirit and that each day we need to ask God to cleanse us. Only then can the Holy Spirit fill us anew and work through us. I realized how blessed I was to have a mother who loves God, who raised me to serve and think of others first, and to realize that each and everything is life we do- we are doing for God- no matter how hard or how difficult. Mom said she doesn't do it for the money (minimum wage is pathetic). She does it for God. Thanks Mom.- Love Karen

Praise- for a cold?

I wanted to share this praise with everyone back at home because for us it is a big one. Many of you know that one of our major fears about moving to Romania was Liam's respiratory problems. In fact it was the last thing really holding us back from the mission field until I heard something a much wiser missionary women from Cambodia (Yuko Williams) had said. She said "If you don't do missions work because of your children, then you limit your children to only experience a little bit of God". That finally sealed our decision to move to Romania with the boys. That didn't mean we were going unprepared though. We took enough medication and two nebulizer machines just to be proactive. For those of you who don't know- when Liam was one he ended up in the hospital with a severe respiratory problem. Over the next two years, every cold he got turned into asthma like symptoms and he need steroids and albuterol. Last year our pediatrician took an agressive approach and he was on inhaled steroids from the first cold of winter until the end of April. He did much better and only occasionally needed the albuterol. We were going to start him on the steroids this year in September but decided not to. He got his first major cold last week and we kept him home from school for several days. On Monday he was back to normal- no medications, no breathing treatments, no respiratory problems at all. What an answer to prayer. This is the first cold since he was one that has been just a "normal" cold. A little hot water with honey and lemon every day and he made it through. I just wanted to share this with you as so many of you have been praying about this and we thank you. - Karen & Maurice

Romanian Experience

This past Thursday I had a "Romanian Experience". This is an exspression that we have come up with here to explain when something happens to us that is truly unique to Romania. We do not pass judgement, it is not right or wrong, just different. So Thursday is the only day that we can pick up international packages from the post office. Melanie missed her opportunity to pick hers up last week and knew that she had more this week. Knowing that she would have an arm load of boxes, I offered to drive her(she does not drive in Romania). I parked behind the post office where I always do. We got back into the car and noticed that was a ticket under my windshield wiper, it was a parking ticket. There are several different types of police here and I do not completely understand the different jurisdictions and responsibilities, but I got this ticket from the community police. They are slightly different from the normal police. I got the ticket at 11:15 AM and I was ordered to appear at the Police station at 1:00 PM the same day. I was a bit confused for many reasons. I never saw any no parking signs. Signage is not as specific here as it is in the States. In many ways the most frustrating and exhausting part of a foreign culture is not understanding the "unwritten rules". So I talked to Roberta, the pastor here, and she explained to me where to go for my appearance. She said that she would be happy to go and translate for me. Keep in mind that my Romanian is greatly improving, I do not speak it perfectly, but I understand alot. I am pretty comfortable in most situations that I can communicate well enough to get by. When it comes to the police, legal, or governmental issues I always want a translator in these situations. So I stopped by her house on the way down to the police station to meet Roberta, but she was not back from a pastoral visit. I did not want to be late and I figured that the police would just want me to pay a fine. How hard could it be? I thought I can handle this.
You also must understand a little about about our car. In Romania you can tell where a car is from by simply looking at the license plate. Our car is registered to the Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, so our plate says we are from Bucharest. Now Bucharest drivers have a famous reputation for being bad drivers. Also police are far more likely to ticket a Bucharest car up in this region of Romania. So I went down town and walked into the police station all by myself. The ticket says nothing about how much the fine will be, so I have no idea what to expect. I am taken into a large room with about eight male and two female officers who were sitting around smoking and drinking coffee. This was incrediblely intimidating for me as a foreigner. This is were I usually announce in Romanian that I only speak a little Romanian, but this time I decide that I am just going to go for it. So one policeman says you are the one from Bucharest parked behind the post office. I answered him that my car was from Bucharest but we lived here in Sighisoara. Another asked how long I have lived here, and I answered six months. He complimented me and said that I had learned Romanian very well. They then asked for my passport but I now have my VISA that allows us to stay one year. We have humanitarian VISAs for the work that we do here, and says that we are American. This has gotten Karen out of a ticket already once, just by itself alone. So the policeman that had my ticket and information did some paerwork while I made more small talk with the other officers. Eventually he made me sign something, told me something about where not to park again, and then said thank you and goodbye. He did not fine me at all! I do not know his reasons for letting me off, if it was because I was not actually from Bucharest, if it was the humanitarian VISA, or if it easier for him to let me off. It may have been a combination of factors, but I strongly feel that it was my willingness and ability to speak their language. I walked out obviously happy to not have to pay a fine, but also proud of my assimilation into the society here. It happens so slowly, that it is hard to even notice sometimes. Then an incident like this happens and I realize how far I have come in a short period of time. Maurice

Second and Third Time

Well it happened again. Roberta, the pastor of both the Nazarene Churches here, went away for a week and a half. She had to go to a conference in Switzerland, so she asked me to preach again. Must be no one complained loud enough to her last time I preached. I said yes, I would love to. So last Sunday evening I preached in the evening service in Tsigmandru and then this past Sunday in the morning service in Sighisoara. I preached the same sermon in both services. I am not as polished or professional as Roberta. She preaches every Sunday morning and evening, and she never does the same sermon twice on the same day. Oh well, I am just a substitute. It went very well though. I liken it to a public speaking course I took in college. I am very nervous preparing and anticipating the actual event, but once I am doing it I feel very at ease. It is a great privledge and responsibility, that I do not take lightly, to stand behind the pulpit and preach God's word. These three times I have preached have been a great blessing for me. Maurice

I Rode on a Caruta!!

Today was a really cool day for me. I went out to Tsigmandru at lunch time on the maxi taxi. It just so happens that Maurice was on his way to Marius and Anina's house in the village so I went long with them. Anina made beef snitzel which was delicious and mashed potatoes. Afterwards we went back to church for a while so Maurice and Marius could finish a section of flooring. When we were done we asked if Marius wanted a ride home. He said no- he had to go to his sister's barn.

Note- at this point in America I would have looked at the clock, thought about all I needed to do, and say "Okay, See you later". But- if there is one thing I have learned since being here is that wonderful blessings come when you take time for relationships. So- instead I said " Can we go to?".

We walked back to the barn through a whole lot of mud. It was a nice little Romanian barn with some very loud geese in the barnyard, a haystack with puppies on top, and a haymow full of loose hay- and it smelled like a barn. I tried to explain the smell to Maurice on the way home. It is not a good smell by any means but for me it is a very comfortable smell and reminded me of my dad's farm when I was little. When we had thoroughly explored the barn I asked if I could milk a cow. Sure- but not today. Cows get milked at 5:00, but another day I am more than welcome to. All the cows in the barn get milked by hand- about 20. There is a small milk tank to hold the milk cold but everyday the milk is put in cans, loaded on a horse and caruta (pronounced carutza) and taken another rode over to the milk truck.

When we were ready to leave we thought we would have to walk back through the mud but instead there was a horse and caruta waiting for us. I have always wondered what it was like to ride one. It looks so easy but without hay in the wagon it is a little more difficult. It was still great.

Lesson is: Take time to live life rather than rushing through it.