Our concrete dried! So we put up the floor joist's.
Then I went to stain the trampoline deck because the jobs up on the platforms only needed three people. So I went and stained the rest of the day.
Sarah, Josh and Steve made the ramp of death. Not really to deathly, but rather just a name for it. But it was definitely fun going up and down though. I tried it at least a time or two. Lol.
Chicken Spaghetti for supper!
Cards with card police making sure that we followed all the rules.
This day I had felt extremely unwanted and unuseful. I feel like there is no purpose for me here and because I am not pure muscle I wasn't able to help much. I think being alone while staining the deck so long didn't help much either though.
So when we went to bed Sarah and I talked about it and kind of talked me down. Which was extremely helpful.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Birthday Day! (Day 20)
This day was a very special day! It was one of my best friends, who was back in MO, Natalie Modica! Yay! So of course I was thinking about her all day, hoping she had a wonderful, fantabulous day! :)
Well, once I woke up I had a great new experience. Vitalis. Wonderful, good cereal that I don't think I can get back in the U.S..
Then I watered the hanging flowers and definitely knocked it off and broke the pot. Man, sad day.
Then before lunch we cut boards and made the 1st platform to connect the deck to the "stage" area.
Then we made the 2nd platform and 3rd level frame. I was put in charge in making sure everything was level and helping things go smoother.
Also while cutting boards, Sarah, Steve, Josh and I had help from someone called John, but sometimes he was more of a pain then a help. Yet he was willing to take the blame for all the mistakes. John, the silly piece of wood.
After supper we made some concrete mix where I found three little bird eggs in the mix. They were cute so I moved them to a safer place. And, I found Benji with two pups! Yay! So exciting, but Josh was pretty sure that it was actually Molly's and Baxter's pups because they in no way looked like Benji. Oh well. It was exciting to see them.
So it was off to bed for another long day tomorrow.
Well, once I woke up I had a great new experience. Vitalis. Wonderful, good cereal that I don't think I can get back in the U.S..
Then I watered the hanging flowers and definitely knocked it off and broke the pot. Man, sad day.
Then before lunch we cut boards and made the 1st platform to connect the deck to the "stage" area.
Then we made the 2nd platform and 3rd level frame. I was put in charge in making sure everything was level and helping things go smoother.
Also while cutting boards, Sarah, Steve, Josh and I had help from someone called John, but sometimes he was more of a pain then a help. Yet he was willing to take the blame for all the mistakes. John, the silly piece of wood.
After supper we made some concrete mix where I found three little bird eggs in the mix. They were cute so I moved them to a safer place. And, I found Benji with two pups! Yay! So exciting, but Josh was pretty sure that it was actually Molly's and Baxter's pups because they in no way looked like Benji. Oh well. It was exciting to see them.
So it was off to bed for another long day tomorrow.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Eventful Trip to Camp (Day 19)
In the morning we all met at the Mather's where we said good-bye to the Faber's. We were supposed to head up to camp to make a few platforms that connected to the cabins decks. So we said good-bye and the Faber's asked if I would visit them while in Iowa. I said sure, but I'm not too sure how that is going to happen since we have no way of contacting each other.
So Sarah, Josh, Steve and I headed back up to camp. On the way up were stopped by a police car for what seemed like 30 minutes. The trip before on our way up to camp a ball rolled out in the street and we ran into it.and it knocked our license plate off, so we went back to retrieve the license plate but where it secured on the car broke off so we kept it in the front shield of the car. And that was the reason we were pulled over. The police person said that it had to be connected to the car in it's original spot and was going to give us a ticket. So we waited in the car for probably 10 minutes for him to come back with this ticket, but in the end only came back with a warning. So we fixed it, but not right away. We were pretty sure he couldn't give us a ticket because the license plate was still visible.
After that whole fiasco we arrived in Focsani (Folkshawn for pronunciation) and did some grocery shopping at CarreFour (sp?) where I was able to put a coin in for the cart and when I returned it I got the coin back. Super good idea that I think should be implemented in the U.S., but not necessary.
When we finished shopping we just piled everything in the backseat with Sarah and I and finished driving to the camp because we forgot to bring our own bags. Here you pay for your bag or you bring them to the store with you. Which I think would be another good idea to implement in the U.S. to cut down on pollution but not necessary.
So finishing our drive Sarah and I had Salsa, chips, cereal, and canned food attacking us constantly.
We then arrived at camp, cut a whole bunch of boards with the sawmill and loaded them on the tractor.
For some reason I was a little bit upset, but not quite sure why.
Then we had sloppy joe's for supper, played some cards and then off to bed. And the day was finished.
So Sarah, Josh, Steve and I headed back up to camp. On the way up were stopped by a police car for what seemed like 30 minutes. The trip before on our way up to camp a ball rolled out in the street and we ran into it.and it knocked our license plate off, so we went back to retrieve the license plate but where it secured on the car broke off so we kept it in the front shield of the car. And that was the reason we were pulled over. The police person said that it had to be connected to the car in it's original spot and was going to give us a ticket. So we waited in the car for probably 10 minutes for him to come back with this ticket, but in the end only came back with a warning. So we fixed it, but not right away. We were pretty sure he couldn't give us a ticket because the license plate was still visible.
After that whole fiasco we arrived in Focsani (Folkshawn for pronunciation) and did some grocery shopping at CarreFour (sp?) where I was able to put a coin in for the cart and when I returned it I got the coin back. Super good idea that I think should be implemented in the U.S., but not necessary.
When we finished shopping we just piled everything in the backseat with Sarah and I and finished driving to the camp because we forgot to bring our own bags. Here you pay for your bag or you bring them to the store with you. Which I think would be another good idea to implement in the U.S. to cut down on pollution but not necessary.
So finishing our drive Sarah and I had Salsa, chips, cereal, and canned food attacking us constantly.
We then arrived at camp, cut a whole bunch of boards with the sawmill and loaded them on the tractor.
For some reason I was a little bit upset, but not quite sure why.
Then we had sloppy joe's for supper, played some cards and then off to bed. And the day was finished.
Church Day (Day 18)
This morning a group of us walked part of the way to church where there was a great sermon. It was about the difference between a professional minister and a real minister. As the professional minister views his title as a job with only a certain amount of required hours of "work" while the real minister was constantly trying to grow closer to God and it didn't matter what time of the day a need was to be met, but they would do it anyway. I in no way could do justice to the sermon, but that was the gist of it. Another thing that really stuck out to me was how we live our lives and treat others, such as if there is consistency or just every now and then we are kind. Like when we want something.
After church we all went to McDonald's like normal. On the way Coasty kept calling me his mother and I feel like he would like it if I kind of took him in and kept him, but unfortunately that is not really a probable idea. Also, after finishing eating there was a boy who looked rather bored so I decided to teach him arm wrestling and thumb wars. He definitely had a lot of fun and I saw later on that it definitely caught on throughout the summer.
And of course, Marinica really wanted me to sing. I was a little confused at why they kept wanting me to sing, but if it makes them happy I see no harm in it.
After leaving the kids Sarah, Rachel, Josh, McKenna and Renee and I walked around for a bit. We ended up going shopping where I was able to get a couple of pairs of flips flops since my other ones had broken at the orphanage. Renee and McKenna definitely helped me out with one pair and Rachel or Sara called the other pair I bought. Then we also shopped for headphones for Josh since his broke.
Then we all went back to the Mather's and Cami made apple muffins, which were super yummy. Then I helped make schnitzels for supper and we watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief for the Faber's last night before they were to leave.
After church we all went to McDonald's like normal. On the way Coasty kept calling me his mother and I feel like he would like it if I kind of took him in and kept him, but unfortunately that is not really a probable idea. Also, after finishing eating there was a boy who looked rather bored so I decided to teach him arm wrestling and thumb wars. He definitely had a lot of fun and I saw later on that it definitely caught on throughout the summer.
And of course, Marinica really wanted me to sing. I was a little confused at why they kept wanting me to sing, but if it makes them happy I see no harm in it.
After leaving the kids Sarah, Rachel, Josh, McKenna and Renee and I walked around for a bit. We ended up going shopping where I was able to get a couple of pairs of flips flops since my other ones had broken at the orphanage. Renee and McKenna definitely helped me out with one pair and Rachel or Sara called the other pair I bought. Then we also shopped for headphones for Josh since his broke.
Then we all went back to the Mather's and Cami made apple muffins, which were super yummy. Then I helped make schnitzels for supper and we watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief for the Faber's last night before they were to leave.
Seeing the Kids (Day 17)
What a morning! So I woke up and turned on the water in my bathroom and the water is orange. Then I turned on the shower water and it was orange too. Man, rusty pipes. Yet all of the other pipes had clean water so thankfully there was another bathroom, but what a way to start off back in Bucharest.
So a huge group of us went to the orphanage where we made lollipop flowers. Here we cut out construction paper flowers and then put them on suckers. It was really fun. Then they wanted me to sing for them, so I sang Twinkle, twinkle little star and they loved it. Especially a boy named Marinica. He was just so excited.
After the orphanage we went back to the Mather's and watched a few movies and then it was off our separate ways.
The day had been somewhat hard because of struggling with my morals and making sure it is what God has called from me and not me just making up rules and being legalistic. It turned out to be very hard to even think about while trying not to judge anyone else if their morals were different. It ended up being a really deep inner struggle, but I would hope that it would end soon and I could settle my thoughts.
So a huge group of us went to the orphanage where we made lollipop flowers. Here we cut out construction paper flowers and then put them on suckers. It was really fun. Then they wanted me to sing for them, so I sang Twinkle, twinkle little star and they loved it. Especially a boy named Marinica. He was just so excited.
After the orphanage we went back to the Mather's and watched a few movies and then it was off our separate ways.
The day had been somewhat hard because of struggling with my morals and making sure it is what God has called from me and not me just making up rules and being legalistic. It turned out to be very hard to even think about while trying not to judge anyone else if their morals were different. It ended up being a really deep inner struggle, but I would hope that it would end soon and I could settle my thoughts.
Returning to Bucharest (Day 16)
This morning we all woke up and Cami made french toast which was super super good.
Afterwards we went and played some more in the creek, which was extremely cold, and then it was off to stain the trampoline deck. Here, Janice, Cami and I worked out a great system to where we were able to work faster without running into each other to finish the railing.
When we were pretty much finished with that I went and had yummy yummy apple oatmeal and then cleaned up all of the stain area. Then I was able to jump on lots and lots of sawdust piles to pack them down for our volleyball court. And while we were down there the neighbor came by and wanted us to move a pile of our wood from his property. So a bunch of us went and moved it and gave him some of the better wood so we all could be friends. :)
Then we packed up and all headed back to Bucharest while on the way Rachel introduced me to 7 Days Croissant and I had some Ceai (tea) Verde! I absolutely love Ceai verde!!!!!! Also along the way back we passed a boy walking with a cow and she said, "Awww! Look at the boy and little cow." It was hilarious, but maybe you just had to be there. Because it was a huge cow and like a 12 year old walking it down the road.
Once we returned to the city we all were at the Mather's and we watched Toy Story 3 and had Dominoes pizza. Then it was off to bed, after playing some Peggle though. :)
Afterwards we went and played some more in the creek, which was extremely cold, and then it was off to stain the trampoline deck. Here, Janice, Cami and I worked out a great system to where we were able to work faster without running into each other to finish the railing.
When we were pretty much finished with that I went and had yummy yummy apple oatmeal and then cleaned up all of the stain area. Then I was able to jump on lots and lots of sawdust piles to pack them down for our volleyball court. And while we were down there the neighbor came by and wanted us to move a pile of our wood from his property. So a bunch of us went and moved it and gave him some of the better wood so we all could be friends. :)
Then we packed up and all headed back to Bucharest while on the way Rachel introduced me to 7 Days Croissant and I had some Ceai (tea) Verde! I absolutely love Ceai verde!!!!!! Also along the way back we passed a boy walking with a cow and she said, "Awww! Look at the boy and little cow." It was hilarious, but maybe you just had to be there. Because it was a huge cow and like a 12 year old walking it down the road.
Once we returned to the city we all were at the Mather's and we watched Toy Story 3 and had Dominoes pizza. Then it was off to bed, after playing some Peggle though. :)
Work Day! (Day 15)
In the morning Cami, Janice and Rachel went into town to talk to the school to see whether the kids from the town could come for the last half week of camp
Wilmer and Steve went to go work on the tractor (which seems to always be broken I am told) and had to run into town as well for some parts
While they were all busy, Josh, Sara and I used the saw mill to cut some wood for a Adi’s grave (a little girl who recently died in a house fire) which turned into quite the experience involving wrong measurements, inability to run the table and skill saw and paint everywhere.
After painting for awhile Janice, Cami and Rachel returned where Rachel introduced me to Milka chocolate which was super super good!
When the first layer of paint was drying Josh, Sara, and I went down to the creek with shovels and built a dam. I was a bit tired so I sat down and more moved rocks with my hands so Sara and Josh could take a lot of credit for the work, but I made a pretty cool island. J
We had supper and then Renee and I sat around and made up things that the clouds looked like which made up for not being able to play speed-mitten.
Then we watched Iron Man and it was off to sleep, which was able to come quickly after the previous night
Off to Camp (Day 14)
Woke up and packed for camp
Went to the Mather’s house for breakfast and then Janice, Cami, Rachel, McKenna and I drove up to camp in one car and the others in the other car
I was definitely having a hard time emotionally and really did not want to be there
Once at camp I learned/played a new game called “The Game” and we hung out for awhile
Unfortunately after one of the meals we found out that the dishwasher cord was stolen and that was rather upsetting
We watched the new “Karate Kid” and during the movie Steve went outside and saw a lunar eclipse so we all went out and admired it. Plus Renee was able to take some really cool pictures. I tried but it didn’t work to well
That night I had a hard time getting to sleep and I kept falling in and out of sleep
The Mather Reunion (Day 13)
More of a break day, but filled with lots of things so I was able to catch up on facebook and the blog
Pratt and I went to Mega Image (the grocery store) and got some food for a get together that afternoon
Cameron, Pratt, McKenna and I hung out where we Made pasta for lunch, played Peggle, and watched Drag Me to Hell (since we are the ones who like scary movies)
Afterwards McKenna and I made a welcome sign for Sara, Rachel and Josh (Mather’s cousin)
Pratt and I went to the Mather’s house while all the Mather’s went to the airport to pick everyone up
The Faber’s went to their hotel, while Pratt made garlic bread and I made the salad for supper
All of the Mather’s returned and then the Faber’s so we had supper and afterwards we were able to open up the tote’s with all of the goodies for camp
Then we talked awhile and went our separate ways to go to bed
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Needed Free Day (Day 12)
This day was filled with lots and lots and lots of sweet surprises. First off, Cami, Renee, the Faber’s and I went to Red Dragon around 7am in the morning. Red Dragon is like a huge Sam’s Club back in America, but for the whole country. It opens about 6am and closes down at 1pm. It closes so early because most of the vendors do not technically have a selling license and 1pm is the time that the police come down and check all of the booths. So instead of completely following the law, which we have no idea if they are or not, they all work together to bring this huge market place alive and tear down shop at the same time.
While we were there we bought many things. We were able to find many pairs of sunglasses for the Mather girls, toys for camp that the kids could play with, two really big stuffed animals for Renee’s upcoming birthday, as well as some extremely cute beach bags that we are going to give to the kids filled with many different random things. After our whole shopping experience at Red Dragon we were able to Obor and look around. Obor is one of the many malls in Bucharest. Mr. Faber did not enjoy it too much, but I know the rest of us girls did and Mrs. Faber decided that she really wanted a few more things so Cami and her were planning on going to Red Dragon again the next day.
After all of our shopping, which took us until about noon, we headed back to the Mather’s place. There, a huge group of people went and painted their faces for Kung Fu Panda 2 but before they could leave we all had to have some of Cami’s nom nom apple muffins. J
While they were gone, Cami and I made chicken noodle soup for us and the Faber’s and then we went sightseeing. First off, we started walking through a park and then went to the monastery where Cami and I got to have a nice long talk about all of the saints and the religion of Romania and what people here generally believe. I also found out that this monastery is the main one in town and when there is a huge Saint’s day, this is the special one that holds the service. We also lit a candle in remembrance of the little girl Adi (Adrianna) who died just a few months ago in a house fire after her parents took her back from the orphanage because they wanted the money from the state, but didn’t even try to take care of her. So when the house was on fire, nobody even went to go see if she was still in her room. Really really sad. Unfortunately that is one of the bad things here. People can just drop off children at the orphanage and then pick them up whenever they want if they want without a background check.
After leaving the monastery we took a walk to the big shopping area. On the way there we helped a man push his small little car across an intersection as well as buying a kurtos kolaci (sp?) which is a type of Hungarian sweet bread. Super yummy. Then it was off to Starbucks. There we had a lot of good conversation, or mostly just me listening, about many random different topics. God was discussed, as well as gambling and if it is right or wrong, and even things such as how the Dentist is that much cheaper here then back in the United States.
After a couple of hours at Starbucks we decided to walk around another mall where I was able to get a memory card for my camera and could start taking lots and lots of pictures. Then we headed back to the Mather’s place and along the way we saw Bucharest’s Tower of Fire. I have never actually seen one before so Cami explained it to me.
When we returned to the Mather’s house, Steve came back from camp and as well as the Faber’s other luggage, so that meant present time!!!!! We opened the tote’s and found lots of sandals, marshmallows, good smelling stuff, presents for certain kids at the orphanage, and normal everyday things like shampoo, some toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant.
When we finished opening “presents,” it was time to go out to eat. A group of us walked to the restaurant and the rest drove. Not everyone came, but McKenna, Steve, Cami, the Faber’s and I were all there. We had some really good humus and lamb and other good foods.
Afterwards we dropped McKenna off back home and then the Faber’s, Steve, Cami and I went on a walk through yet another park. Honestly, I really did not want to be there, but it felt like I didn’t have much of a choice. I was missing certain people, wanted a break from the Faber’s, and didn’t want to force a happy face anymore. So I slowly tried to hold composure and enjoy the walk. Then I was able to go home and take a break from people. Something I realized about myself this past semester is that I need alone time and lately I just wasn’t getting it. It was making me more and more on edge, not the easiest to be around, which led me to be even more untalkative. So off to bed it was for me. Maybe the next day would be better.
Baptism Day!!!! (Day 11)
Another favorite day of mine is Sunday and it was definitely an interesting day. The Faber’s, Cami and I went to the church that we have been normally going to while Renee, McKenna, Pratt and a whole bunch of others went to another church. That church was having four baptisms!!!! So they had an outside service and had four baptisms that day.
At our church we had the Associate Minister (Adii) preach and even though the sermon wasn’t as touching to me, I know that I really did appreciate him because of honest he was. He didn’t mind being truthful and sharing his downfalls and even using them as an illustration for us to learn from. He was/is even thankful that there are people in his life that are there and can rebuke him in love and just want to see him strive more and more after Christ.
Also at church I sat next to a really nice girl named Alexandra and she knew that I couldn’t speak Romanian so when Romanian verses came on the screen as well as the songs, she would pronounce all of it for me so I could learn. She was extremely sweet and I definitely appreciated her help. Reading here is much easier then it is actually learning the language because it is a phonetic language so all of the letters make a sound.
After church we went to McDonald’s like usual and when we left they gave us balloons. Cami mentioned how this McDonald’s really likes them because they are there almost every Sunday. The balloons went on these sticks and we gave the kids balloons but decided to keep the sticks and we are going to use them for an activity at camp like a relay or something as such.
On our way back from the orphanage we dropped the Faber’s off and wanted them to take a while to rest. Although this is what we wanted them to do, they stayed at their hotel for about 20 minutes and then walked about three minutes to the Mather’s apartment. When they were there they couldn’t really decide on what they wanted to do so we all talked for a bit and then McKenna and I decided to watch “A Series of Unfortunate Events” with them there.
When we were talking with the Faber’s they mentioned their favorite part of church. It was being able to sit next to the kids for part of the service, because they left for Sunday school after a bit, and also being able to pray with a few of them in a circle. Janice said that even though she couldn’t understand their prayers, it was still like a child’s prayer and you just can tell parts of what they mean.
I was really glad to hear that they had such a good time with the kids at church and later that night they went and saw a movie with some of the older girls from the orphanage. And as another surprise, part of their luggage had come in I was so glad that everyone was having such a good time and learning so much.
Meeting the Faber’s (Day 10)
Day ten of my trip to Romania was a Saturday. Saturday’s started to become my favorite day of the whole week because it meant that we were able to go to the orphanage and see all the kids, but first, I had the privilege to meet Wilmer and Janice Faber. We started the day out by all meeting at the Mather’s apartment to have breakfast. There is where I heard of the Faber’s adventurous travel to Romania.
Wilmer and Janice Faber are a couple from the northwestern corner of Iowa who are in their 50’s, had been to Romania eight times now, and own their own tractor company. They seemed really sweet and had such a strenuous flight over to Bucharest. It started out that their first flight was delayed, so then they had to find another flight. Then, the booked their flight that was meant to come in at midnight (which is the part that I heard) but found another flight that arrived at least an hour earlier but were unable to e-mail the Mather’s about the change. When they arrived they had no luggage with them that had arrived yet, which happens very frequently, and had no way of contacting the Mather’s to let them know that they had arrived. The Faber’s ended up finding a man who could call to America so that they could call the Mather’s on their American line here in Romania. End of the story, they made it to Romania with a few problems, but when I met them they didn’t seem like they had dealt with it in a good and calm way knowing that everything would turn out just fine.
After breakfast we were able to go to the orphanage and see all of the wonderful kids!!!!! I was so excited. I definitely enjoy being able to do such things. This time, we were all able to go inside and made flowers to put on top of chocolate cupcakes like we were “planting” our flowers. The kids were so absolutely adorable. They told Cami how that was “the best dirt they ever tasted.” J It was really cute.
When we were finished with making our “flowers” we played with the kids. These kids decided that they really enjoyed playing with my hair and making me into a “model” and we had many pictures taken. All you heard was “Posa! Posa! Posa!” throughout the room. I am pretty sure that “posa” means “picture” in English. You tend to catch on really quick when things are repeated often.
By the time we left the orphanage it was time to eat and I was able to have my first Shaworma. It was so absolutely delicious but unfortunately I was not able to finish it all. It was just too much for me to eat. A shaworma is like a huge taco, but with really good meat or chicken or just vegetables if that is what you want. I am not quite sure how to explain it, but it was so good!
After the Faber’s, Pratt, the Mather’s and I ate Pratt made some plans for all of us that night. Pratt ended up showing me a new game called Peggle, which I like a lot, and I only lost to one person and that would be Cameron. So not fair, but I guess I could live. There was a whole bunch of us there. A girl named Abby, Pratt, Renee, McKenna, John, Cameron, Joel, Rebecca, and me. We all played Cranium and then Scene It on the x-box. We also ordered in Chinese food and then sat down to watch the Green Hornet. I only watched part of it though. I wasn’t really into the movie and I heard later that they didn’t really like it either. After a fun night it was off to bed. I know I had a little bit of a hard time because I am not the best with a lot of people around, but that didn’t stop us from having fun and hanging out.
The Faber’s Supposed Arrival (Day 9)
This day did not quite turn out as originally planned. The plan for today was to wake up, get a few things done, pick the Faber’s up at the airport, bring them back to the Mather’s place, have supper, and then off to bed.
Well, to start off, Steve realized how little time we all actually had left at camp to finish things up before the kids came so he ended up going back up to camp that morning. Then, Cami called that morning and filled me in on the changing events such as the Faber’s were not going to come in until midnight (which meant we could have actually stayed at the camp one more day unfortunately) and that I would have a day to myself. In the beginning it seemed like things were not going to work out so well, but God always knows what He is doing even when it seems messed up. Yet a day to myself seemed great! There was a lot that I wanted to do.
One of the first things I did was to see if Pratt had any movies that I could watch in Romanian to catch some of the language. I definitely felt like I needed to learn more and more about the language to be more effective. But after talking to him I learned something quite interesting. Apparently DVD’s over in Europe and DVD’s over in America are different. American DVD’s are what is called Region 1 DVD’s and European DVD’s, and practically everywhere else, are what is called Region 2 DVD’s. This means that you cannot watch Region 2 DVD’s and Region 1 DVD players, which is definitely what I have, without messing up the formatting. So Pratt offered to let me use his but he didn’t have any good movies so that plan was shot down, but I knew there was plenty more that I could do.
So I decided to catch up with people who I had been recently falling behind with. For this reason I spent a couple hours just replying to facebook messages and e-mails and such. While doing this I ran across an e-mail from a person back in the State’s that I used to work beside and it said that he had just finished writing a book that you could read for free if you downloaded it.
At first I was a bit hesitant, but I had nothing else to do that day so I gave it a try. Little did I know how much it would change me and have an impact on me for so long of time. As I cannot remember the name of the book at the moment, the first chapter was called Good People and how we all see ourselves in a better light then what we actually should. We see ourselves as being nice and doing good things for others and for this reason we just can’t be bad people. Then, the next chapter was titled Bad People. In this chapter it talked about how we may judge how “good” we are because of how “bad” others are. We see the people doing and selling drugs and we know that they have to be bad people, but when we occasionally tell a white lie or make some inappropriate jokes we are still good people. This is only the case because we justify our actions by comparing those to the other’s actions.
Now the third chapter came at the perfect time. After explaining how we tend to think (or at least how I tend to think) the third chapter was about desperately needing Jesus. The way we view ourselves by our own standards and not God’s, we tend to feel as if Jesus is just the cherry on top of our lives. We don’t technically need Jesus because we view ourselves as okay people. It brought to light how I at least truly view myself and made me question if I desperately need Jesus or seek Him the way I need too.
After reading these three chapters I decided my poor little brain needed a break and time to soak in everything that I had just read. It was a lot to deal with and a lot to comprehend. Even though I yearned for more, I knew that this book needed time to make more of an impact on my life. So I went out for a walk where I was able to explore more and more of the city. I definitely passed a sign that said Kaufman and another sign that said Domo. Domo!!!!! That really made me happy because it reminded me of a good friend back home.
When I returned from the walk I decided that I would take a break and play a game that I could turn my brain off during. So I played the game for a couple of hours and then life returned to me, even while I was playing. I started to re-evaluate life and relationships with others. I evaluated things such as which friendships need to change and which friendships need to stay permanently throughout my life. What started out as a very relaxing day turned into a very impactful life altering day.
I came to many conclusions that day. Some were good, some meant change and others led me to question. No matter what the conclusions, God was able to come and make me realize things that at times I just refuse to even think about. The day had a specific plan, which none of it happened, but yet still turned out good. After such a long, exhausting day I was very glad to go to bed to start another wonderful day.
Last Day at Camp (Day 8)
Today was a bitter sweet day. I truly enjoyed being at camp, even with its emotional ups and downs, but I knew we had to go back to Bucharest. The Faber’s were arriving the next afternoon and as supporters, it would only be right for the Mather’s to be there and pick them up when they arrived. BUT, before we went back we still had some work to do.
Earlier in the morning, Cami and Steve trimmed a few of the many trees at camp. If I remember right they are hazelnut trees. I came to find out the Cami or Steve, I do not remember which, actually grew up with these type of trees when they were younger. So needless to say, they had experience with these trees. When they had finished trimming the trees, more like taking whole limbs and branches off they left to go finish staining the front of Cabin 2 aka the Girls Dorm.
While they stained I was given a task. They mentioned the day before that all of the brush needed to be burned, but they were going to add to the brush pile beforehand. So… as one who loves to play with fire, I freely offered to help move the brush to the burn pile. Plus it gave me some work to do. :)
Moving this brush to the brush pile turned out to be a very hard working day. It wasn’t too bad, but the amount of times that you had to go back and forth is probably what made it so hard to finish. First, it turned out to be a really warm day with the temperature at least in the 90’s. Then, I didn’t want to ask the Renee and McKenna, two of the Mather sisters, to help because it was their vacation. It wouldn’t have been fair to them to ask them to work. So, I carried the trees, branches, and limbs from the bottom of one side of the hill diagonal to a higher spot on the hill. Hard work that took me a few hours and left me a little dehydrated, but the job was finished with the help of a lovely Miss Renee who picked up all of the little twigs so I wouldn’t have to do it. She is so sweet.
After all the work for this trip was finished, we packed up the car and headed out. During this car ride I was super curious yet again and decided to ask questions moderately in order not to exhaust them in their answering, so a lot was learned. Unfortunately most of the facts are stored away somewhere in my brain and only can be recalled by the questions being asked again.
I do remember that I was extremely curious about how many tram accidents there are and I was told that there really aren’t many. Apparently a year ago though there was a pretty big accident and one person died, but that was all they could actually think of and that wasn’t even in Bucharest. With that knowledge I pretty much learned that public transportation is definitely a safe way to travel. Especially after you see some of the driving over here. J
Well, after a long day of work and travel, we were back in Bucharest and headed off to bed for another wonderful day with visitors arriving. What could be better? We accomplished things at the camp, had safe travels, a couple from the state’s were coming who were from Iowa, and life was good. If only we knew how the next few days were going to turn out.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Second Full Day at Camp (Day 7)
This morning I woke up and I was extremely tired. I know it wasn't from me working too hard the day before, but I was still tired. It may have to do with my sleeping patterns here. I have realized that since being here in Romania I do not fall asleep during movies, sleep well through the night, wake up before my alarm and I am dreaming. That is something very different then what I am used to and I am thinking about starting a dream log or something. When I do dream they are really weird and they also come in pairs. Very strange, but not too interesting unless you were there in the dream, so I digress. :)
The second day at camp was quite fun and felt a bit more productive. Steve, Cami and I started to stain the front of the other cabin and we had an amazing system. It worked extremely well and we still could not get over how beautiful the stain was/is. While staining, Cami took a break and I was able to hear all about how Steve and Cami met and chose to come to Romania from Steve. It was a good talk with a lot of insights.
Their meeting was super cute because they met at their workplace (they had two totally different jobs so they had never ran into each other before) and started talking. After talking for a bit, Steve invited her over to his house to help clean for it was the end of the semester and he needed to move out. At the time he was renting one of his parents houses and was moving out. He said that asking her this question would determine what type of girl she was. Well, as we can imagine, she said that she would come over and help. Then afterwards they went out to eat at McDonalds. Ever since then they have been together, which you can tell by there wonderful, loving relationship with each other.
Well, enough with the mushy gushy talk, but if you want to hear more, there is plenty more to tell but that can come at a later date. After Cami's finished with her break she came back and started staining again as I helped Steve by holding a ladder for him so he could finish something up on the roof. I am not exactly sure what he was doing, but I knew that if he got hurt it was definitely my fault so the roof was done.
After lunch I was able to catch Cami and talk to her about what had been on my mind so much lately. It turned out to be a very good talk and she said that she would try to include me with things and give me something to do so that I didn't feel useless. She also told me that I just need to speak up if I do not want to do something because she is very good at just giving directions and not thinking twice about it.
Cami also explained how this first trip up to camp was more for relaxation instead of work. She told me how things had been so hectic and crazy that everyone really just needed a break. That was also contributing to why I was having such a hard time with feeling useless and such. They (everyone except Steve, the dad) came up to relax and take a mini-vacation and all I wanted to do was work. This created a slight problem, but it wasn't too big because I understood how everything was being viewed so I could be more understanding of the situation.
We also talked about the differences in the length of stays in Romania. She said that because I am here for so long I will be getting more of a missionary lifestyle feeling while here instead of a shorter mission trip that is pretty much all work and no play. Later on in the summer I will see more of the difference in these two lifestyles and at that moment I was not very sure which one I would prefer better. I had a feeling I would prefer the shorter mission trip for just a few days, but I could not be certain of anything yet. Only time would be able to tell.
After another productive day we had supper, played some speed-mitten which had become almost like a ritual after supper thing, and Renee, McKenna and I chose a movie to watch that night. Because we are such great girls we decided that we had to watch 17 Again with Zac Efron. We were kind of on a Zac Efron kick because we had just watched the first two High School Musicals. :) Before the movie though, Steve and I installed a window which was somewhat tricky because we had to make it level, but we had two good pairs of eyes handy so it was not too hard.
After another day we went to bed and it was somewhat sad because we were going back to Bucharest the next day. Things were beginning to be accomplished, people were relaxing, and we were adjusting to a slower paced life again. Yet we had to go back. We had a couple of visitor's (the Faber's) coming in on a flight in a couple of days. So another adventure was about to start.
The second day at camp was quite fun and felt a bit more productive. Steve, Cami and I started to stain the front of the other cabin and we had an amazing system. It worked extremely well and we still could not get over how beautiful the stain was/is. While staining, Cami took a break and I was able to hear all about how Steve and Cami met and chose to come to Romania from Steve. It was a good talk with a lot of insights.
Their meeting was super cute because they met at their workplace (they had two totally different jobs so they had never ran into each other before) and started talking. After talking for a bit, Steve invited her over to his house to help clean for it was the end of the semester and he needed to move out. At the time he was renting one of his parents houses and was moving out. He said that asking her this question would determine what type of girl she was. Well, as we can imagine, she said that she would come over and help. Then afterwards they went out to eat at McDonalds. Ever since then they have been together, which you can tell by there wonderful, loving relationship with each other.
Well, enough with the mushy gushy talk, but if you want to hear more, there is plenty more to tell but that can come at a later date. After Cami's finished with her break she came back and started staining again as I helped Steve by holding a ladder for him so he could finish something up on the roof. I am not exactly sure what he was doing, but I knew that if he got hurt it was definitely my fault so the roof was done.
After lunch I was able to catch Cami and talk to her about what had been on my mind so much lately. It turned out to be a very good talk and she said that she would try to include me with things and give me something to do so that I didn't feel useless. She also told me that I just need to speak up if I do not want to do something because she is very good at just giving directions and not thinking twice about it.
Cami also explained how this first trip up to camp was more for relaxation instead of work. She told me how things had been so hectic and crazy that everyone really just needed a break. That was also contributing to why I was having such a hard time with feeling useless and such. They (everyone except Steve, the dad) came up to relax and take a mini-vacation and all I wanted to do was work. This created a slight problem, but it wasn't too big because I understood how everything was being viewed so I could be more understanding of the situation.
We also talked about the differences in the length of stays in Romania. She said that because I am here for so long I will be getting more of a missionary lifestyle feeling while here instead of a shorter mission trip that is pretty much all work and no play. Later on in the summer I will see more of the difference in these two lifestyles and at that moment I was not very sure which one I would prefer better. I had a feeling I would prefer the shorter mission trip for just a few days, but I could not be certain of anything yet. Only time would be able to tell.
After another productive day we had supper, played some speed-mitten which had become almost like a ritual after supper thing, and Renee, McKenna and I chose a movie to watch that night. Because we are such great girls we decided that we had to watch 17 Again with Zac Efron. We were kind of on a Zac Efron kick because we had just watched the first two High School Musicals. :) Before the movie though, Steve and I installed a window which was somewhat tricky because we had to make it level, but we had two good pairs of eyes handy so it was not too hard.
After another day we went to bed and it was somewhat sad because we were going back to Bucharest the next day. Things were beginning to be accomplished, people were relaxing, and we were adjusting to a slower paced life again. Yet we had to go back. We had a couple of visitor's (the Faber's) coming in on a flight in a couple of days. So another adventure was about to start.
First Full Day at Camp (Day 6)
This morning I woke up extremely early. I am not sure if it was nerves, excitement, or the chance to really start to work and do something. No matter the reason, I woke up really early and only Cami and Steve were awake. Steve was not really around, so Cami and I sat outside in the wonderful warm, but not too warm weather, and just enjoyed nature. The mornings here are beautiful as long as they are cool, but at times they get a bit hot. Yet this morning was a nice cool morning.
As we were sitting outside there were a few birds that had a nest just a few feet away. These birds were quite funny as they didn't mind getting close to us, but there were between 4-6 birds fighting over the same nest. They were just squawking at each other and kicking each other out of the nest. Eventually we took the nest down because they built on the outside of one of the cabins. As normal though, they built it up again and we had to take it down. I feel like taking the nest down may turn into a weekly occurrence, but time will tell.
After everyone woke up we had breakfast and as we sat outside I heard a bird, but this was not just any bird. It was a cuckoo bird. It sounded familiar, but I just could not place it. When I asked about it they talk about this bird and how the last team that was there helping with the camp was extremely annoyed by it because it just keeps going and going and going. Kind of like the energizer bunny, but rather the energizer bird. :) The bird reminded me of home because we have a cuckoo clock that goes off every 30 minutes. In a way I am thankful for that clock because I was able to tune the bird out so I did not get annoyed.
After breakfast Cami, Steve and I started to stain the cabins. It is a really dark and pretty stain and we had quite a time. Staining upwards we had a lot of trouble with drips and such, but eventually we were able to work out a routine and the next time we stained we started from the bottom and worked our way upwards. It made covering the drips up much easier.
When we were almost finished staining I cleaned up and helped David, McKenna, and Renee make a video. At first I was a little torn between what I should do, but Cami encouraged me to make the video with them. I am glad that I did because it was a lot of fun. We used so many different places and costumes. The video almost did not happen because my camera did not want to work. After the four of us messed with it for around 30 minutes we put some different and stronger batteries (because I left my batteries back in Bucharest and my SD card in the US) and it finally worked. Thank goodness.
While messing around with the camera to make it work, I definitely decided that I wanted to be part of the fun as well. So I put on random articles of clothing so I was dressed very strangely, but it was fun and that is all that matters. At times I was wearing a shirt as a skirt, a tie, a pink wig, a whole bunch of necklaces, a pink wig and/or a hat. It was wonderful. Kind of like dress-up for big kids. :)
Well for supper that night I was able to have a good European meal. We made schnitzel, which was extremely easy. You just cut boneless chicken really thin, pound the chicken so it is pretty flat, flour it, dip it in eggs, dip it in the breading (crumbs that are even thinner here then in America), and fry it in a pan. Super easy, but not the quickest. I really enjoyed eating them for the first time and thought it even more interesting that three different countries claimed the meal. Austira, Romania, and Germany all say that they invented the schnitzel, but looking it up on google it says that Austria is the original creator. Who knows what is really true though.
During the down time of the day I yet again struggled with being at the camp. Even though I helped with the staining of a cabin I was still feeling useless. I was to the point that I felt like I shouldn't be there. It's not quite that I didn't want to be there, it was more like I felt like I could be more useful somewhere else. That created a decent sized problem. The feeling stuck with me all throughout the day and I could just not shake it. So needless to say I was thinking about it while we were watching the movie Push that night. During the movie I decided that I should talk to Cami about me feeling this way because it is a very common thing, wherever I am at. I also decided that I should wait until the next day because we were both extremely tired by the end of the movie.
By the end of the day I wouldn't call my first day at camp a success, but things were accomplished and fun was had. I feel like no matter how I felt, it was a good day. Relationships grew stronger and the front of a cabin was stained. As well as having an amazing European meal.
As we were sitting outside there were a few birds that had a nest just a few feet away. These birds were quite funny as they didn't mind getting close to us, but there were between 4-6 birds fighting over the same nest. They were just squawking at each other and kicking each other out of the nest. Eventually we took the nest down because they built on the outside of one of the cabins. As normal though, they built it up again and we had to take it down. I feel like taking the nest down may turn into a weekly occurrence, but time will tell.
After everyone woke up we had breakfast and as we sat outside I heard a bird, but this was not just any bird. It was a cuckoo bird. It sounded familiar, but I just could not place it. When I asked about it they talk about this bird and how the last team that was there helping with the camp was extremely annoyed by it because it just keeps going and going and going. Kind of like the energizer bunny, but rather the energizer bird. :) The bird reminded me of home because we have a cuckoo clock that goes off every 30 minutes. In a way I am thankful for that clock because I was able to tune the bird out so I did not get annoyed.
After breakfast Cami, Steve and I started to stain the cabins. It is a really dark and pretty stain and we had quite a time. Staining upwards we had a lot of trouble with drips and such, but eventually we were able to work out a routine and the next time we stained we started from the bottom and worked our way upwards. It made covering the drips up much easier.
When we were almost finished staining I cleaned up and helped David, McKenna, and Renee make a video. At first I was a little torn between what I should do, but Cami encouraged me to make the video with them. I am glad that I did because it was a lot of fun. We used so many different places and costumes. The video almost did not happen because my camera did not want to work. After the four of us messed with it for around 30 minutes we put some different and stronger batteries (because I left my batteries back in Bucharest and my SD card in the US) and it finally worked. Thank goodness.
While messing around with the camera to make it work, I definitely decided that I wanted to be part of the fun as well. So I put on random articles of clothing so I was dressed very strangely, but it was fun and that is all that matters. At times I was wearing a shirt as a skirt, a tie, a pink wig, a whole bunch of necklaces, a pink wig and/or a hat. It was wonderful. Kind of like dress-up for big kids. :)
Well for supper that night I was able to have a good European meal. We made schnitzel, which was extremely easy. You just cut boneless chicken really thin, pound the chicken so it is pretty flat, flour it, dip it in eggs, dip it in the breading (crumbs that are even thinner here then in America), and fry it in a pan. Super easy, but not the quickest. I really enjoyed eating them for the first time and thought it even more interesting that three different countries claimed the meal. Austira, Romania, and Germany all say that they invented the schnitzel, but looking it up on google it says that Austria is the original creator. Who knows what is really true though.
During the down time of the day I yet again struggled with being at the camp. Even though I helped with the staining of a cabin I was still feeling useless. I was to the point that I felt like I shouldn't be there. It's not quite that I didn't want to be there, it was more like I felt like I could be more useful somewhere else. That created a decent sized problem. The feeling stuck with me all throughout the day and I could just not shake it. So needless to say I was thinking about it while we were watching the movie Push that night. During the movie I decided that I should talk to Cami about me feeling this way because it is a very common thing, wherever I am at. I also decided that I should wait until the next day because we were both extremely tired by the end of the movie.
By the end of the day I wouldn't call my first day at camp a success, but things were accomplished and fun was had. I feel like no matter how I felt, it was a good day. Relationships grew stronger and the front of a cabin was stained. As well as having an amazing European meal.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Traveling to Camp (Day 5)
This day was an extremely long day. I woke up around 5:30am so I could get ready and pack for the next few days at camp. Then Cami, Steve, Renee, and McKenna came and picked me up. Dave decided he wanted to go and thought that he could at least relax out there. So we all left around 6:45 or 7 ish for a three and a half hour drive. There was so much to see, but I didn't want to be too bothersome and ask questions every 5 minutes. Romania outside of Bucharest is so beautiful. It is so green with a lot of hills and lots of winding roads, AND they have lots and lots of round-abouts. They make me really happy. Driving here is pretty different though. I am still trying to figure out all of the lanes on the roads. Definitely not what we have in the U.S.. It is pretty interesting out here and knowing where you can and cannot drive. Also, going into towns there is a sign with the name of the town on it and when you leave there is the same sign, but a red diagonal line through it. Then until you hit the next sign you're pretty much in no-man's land.
The very end of the drive was a little bumpy. The camp is probably around 2 or 3 miles (or so it felt) on an actual dirt road They really aren't very fun to drive on. A couple of times I almost hit my head on the roof of the car. It was definitely worth it though. The camp was absolutely beautiful. I will try to describe it, but hopefully I will get pictures of it soon. First there is a beautiful creek that wasn't very high yet. I found out that last year I think they had a 50 year flood (a flood that happens every 50 years) that caused the creek to grow into a river and Cami and Steve spent a whole week cleaning up all of the debris.
Then, to the left of the creek was a nice little bridge that you could walk across, but instead we drove across the creek. After that we drove up a hill. On the right side of the hill at the base, there was a saw mill with lots of fire wood by it, Then a decent size plowed area that they are hoping to turn into a soccer field. Then going up the hill on the right side, lots of maple trees, a place they call the trading post where they keep all of their supplies, an out house, and a small cabin for all of the male staff. Then you are at the top of the hill. At the very top are two cabins that are connected. One is for the female staff and the other is for all of the kids. Across from the male bunk house is a stage area where speakers will be and such, then closer to the bottom of the hill, across from the soon to be soccer field is a deck area with a trampoline in the center. Also, behind the cabins at the top of the hill are the woods, a tree house, and a fire pit.
I hope you can kind of see it. I am sorry about not having pictures yet. I left my memory card in the states and didn't realize it until I was out there. Sadness, but I will try to buy a memory card by the next time I head up there.
When we got to the camp our first job was to set up the trampoline. The trampoline was connected to the deck so we got it all laid out and McKenna, the strong girl that she is, hooked all the rods to the deck. It was definitely hard work so I only did two. I really can't say much. The main problem was that you needed a tool to hook all of them into the deck, and there was only one of them and... I'm a weakling. Lol.
After setting up the trampoline Dave, Renee, McKenna and I stayed on the deck for a little bit longer. That is where I encountered my first tick. It was big and gross. Disgusting in fact. It was just crawling around on the deck and of course, since I was the only one with tennis shoes on, I got to squish it with a huge, disgusting pop! Blah! It was gross, but definitely dead. It's like it exploded under my foot.
After that wonderful event we pretty much relaxed all day. Dave, Renee, and McKenna taught me their version of Nerts, Presidents and what is called Heck of a Game. All of which were pretty fun and card games. They are pretty big on card games here so we spend a lot of time doing that.
After playing cards for awhile I was feeling a bit useless so I found Cami and she gave me a job. I was to make the beds. She explained to me that here in Europe they don't exactly sleep with sheets. They put what is called a bed covering over the comforter and sleep on the sheet and use the comforter with the bed covering over it as a their blanket. Putting the bed cover on the comforter is rather difficult if you have never done it before. It's just like when you put a pillowcase on a pillow, but it's a comforter and hassle.
I did that for maybe an hour and in the process of doing it I found rat poison in one of the blankets. We think that mice stored it in their pouches and then transported it into a big pile on a comforter. That was quite a surprise when I found it. Let me tell ya. Lol. Every year apparently the camp has a problem with some type of animal or insect. One year it was snakes, another year rabbits and I think that this year it just may be mice. Hopefully not, but it might be.
After preparing some of the beds I went to play some cards and then later went and sat by myself. When I was just sitting alone I was kind of having a hard time feeling useful. Honestly, I felt pretty worthless and that I had no idea why I was here in Romania. It really bugged me because I knew I had a purpose, I just didn't seem like I did because of how little I had done so far. Since being at camp I had only put bed covers on the comforter's. That wasn't much. So after thinking like that for a little while I knew I had to find someone to talk to or hang around. Just to get myself out of my own world. So that is exactly what I did.
The rest of the night went pretty well though. After supper we played speed-mitten and that was a ton of fun. Then we watched Van Helsing. Such a good movie and even better when you are in the country that it was filmed in. The Mather's were debating on which town it was filmed in because it looked familiar. After that we all went to bed to rest up for the next day.
Also, at the camp they have three stray dogs. They are actually really really friendly and are so sweet. There is Molly, who just had puppies, Baxter, a male, and Benji, who we are pretty sure is pregnant. So far we have not seen Molly's puppies yet. We think she is keeping them hidden from us because she is their mother and wants to protect them. She is a pretty black dog with brown eyes and her underside is white. Then
Baxter is pretty much the friendliest dog I may have ever seen. He almost looks like a husky and has the sweetest brown eyes. They are just adorable. Cami thinks he may have had a previous owner because of how tame he is. Every time he comes up to you he gets down really low so not to frighten you and he doesn't even try to get into the cabin. He is also the most social dog and always around us or sitting on the porch. He knows who we are and is very much protective over us and barks at anyone who comes onto the camp.
I didn't really see much of Benji though. She seemed nice, but looked pretty old. That conclusion may come from the fact that she is an all gray dog though. But all of "our dogs" are nice and friendly. Usually you are careful of strays, but you don't have to be with these. Just as long as you are careful not to touch one of their hurts from a previous fight they were in. :)
The very end of the drive was a little bumpy. The camp is probably around 2 or 3 miles (or so it felt) on an actual dirt road They really aren't very fun to drive on. A couple of times I almost hit my head on the roof of the car. It was definitely worth it though. The camp was absolutely beautiful. I will try to describe it, but hopefully I will get pictures of it soon. First there is a beautiful creek that wasn't very high yet. I found out that last year I think they had a 50 year flood (a flood that happens every 50 years) that caused the creek to grow into a river and Cami and Steve spent a whole week cleaning up all of the debris.
Then, to the left of the creek was a nice little bridge that you could walk across, but instead we drove across the creek. After that we drove up a hill. On the right side of the hill at the base, there was a saw mill with lots of fire wood by it, Then a decent size plowed area that they are hoping to turn into a soccer field. Then going up the hill on the right side, lots of maple trees, a place they call the trading post where they keep all of their supplies, an out house, and a small cabin for all of the male staff. Then you are at the top of the hill. At the very top are two cabins that are connected. One is for the female staff and the other is for all of the kids. Across from the male bunk house is a stage area where speakers will be and such, then closer to the bottom of the hill, across from the soon to be soccer field is a deck area with a trampoline in the center. Also, behind the cabins at the top of the hill are the woods, a tree house, and a fire pit.
I hope you can kind of see it. I am sorry about not having pictures yet. I left my memory card in the states and didn't realize it until I was out there. Sadness, but I will try to buy a memory card by the next time I head up there.
When we got to the camp our first job was to set up the trampoline. The trampoline was connected to the deck so we got it all laid out and McKenna, the strong girl that she is, hooked all the rods to the deck. It was definitely hard work so I only did two. I really can't say much. The main problem was that you needed a tool to hook all of them into the deck, and there was only one of them and... I'm a weakling. Lol.
After setting up the trampoline Dave, Renee, McKenna and I stayed on the deck for a little bit longer. That is where I encountered my first tick. It was big and gross. Disgusting in fact. It was just crawling around on the deck and of course, since I was the only one with tennis shoes on, I got to squish it with a huge, disgusting pop! Blah! It was gross, but definitely dead. It's like it exploded under my foot.
After that wonderful event we pretty much relaxed all day. Dave, Renee, and McKenna taught me their version of Nerts, Presidents and what is called Heck of a Game. All of which were pretty fun and card games. They are pretty big on card games here so we spend a lot of time doing that.
After playing cards for awhile I was feeling a bit useless so I found Cami and she gave me a job. I was to make the beds. She explained to me that here in Europe they don't exactly sleep with sheets. They put what is called a bed covering over the comforter and sleep on the sheet and use the comforter with the bed covering over it as a their blanket. Putting the bed cover on the comforter is rather difficult if you have never done it before. It's just like when you put a pillowcase on a pillow, but it's a comforter and hassle.
I did that for maybe an hour and in the process of doing it I found rat poison in one of the blankets. We think that mice stored it in their pouches and then transported it into a big pile on a comforter. That was quite a surprise when I found it. Let me tell ya. Lol. Every year apparently the camp has a problem with some type of animal or insect. One year it was snakes, another year rabbits and I think that this year it just may be mice. Hopefully not, but it might be.
After preparing some of the beds I went to play some cards and then later went and sat by myself. When I was just sitting alone I was kind of having a hard time feeling useful. Honestly, I felt pretty worthless and that I had no idea why I was here in Romania. It really bugged me because I knew I had a purpose, I just didn't seem like I did because of how little I had done so far. Since being at camp I had only put bed covers on the comforter's. That wasn't much. So after thinking like that for a little while I knew I had to find someone to talk to or hang around. Just to get myself out of my own world. So that is exactly what I did.
The rest of the night went pretty well though. After supper we played speed-mitten and that was a ton of fun. Then we watched Van Helsing. Such a good movie and even better when you are in the country that it was filmed in. The Mather's were debating on which town it was filmed in because it looked familiar. After that we all went to bed to rest up for the next day.
Also, at the camp they have three stray dogs. They are actually really really friendly and are so sweet. There is Molly, who just had puppies, Baxter, a male, and Benji, who we are pretty sure is pregnant. So far we have not seen Molly's puppies yet. We think she is keeping them hidden from us because she is their mother and wants to protect them. She is a pretty black dog with brown eyes and her underside is white. Then
Baxter is pretty much the friendliest dog I may have ever seen. He almost looks like a husky and has the sweetest brown eyes. They are just adorable. Cami thinks he may have had a previous owner because of how tame he is. Every time he comes up to you he gets down really low so not to frighten you and he doesn't even try to get into the cabin. He is also the most social dog and always around us or sitting on the porch. He knows who we are and is very much protective over us and barks at anyone who comes onto the camp.
I didn't really see much of Benji though. She seemed nice, but looked pretty old. That conclusion may come from the fact that she is an all gray dog though. But all of "our dogs" are nice and friendly. Usually you are careful of strays, but you don't have to be with these. Just as long as you are careful not to touch one of their hurts from a previous fight they were in. :)
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Church Sunday (Day 4)
My first day at church I was really not sure what to expect. I didn't know if it was only going to be in Romanian, English or both. I was definitely excited for it though. Excited enough that I forgot my Bible, which I will not do again. Church ended up being really good though. There are like three or four Adii's (pronounced Ah-Dee) and all of which were preachers and three of them spoke really, really good messages. It was almost like a three-point sermon, but each preacher made one point. One of the preachers spoke in Romanian and the other translated it to English. It was definitely pretty cool. And different, but good.
The first point was probably my favorite. It was taken from Exodus 3:1-4 and Isaiah 6:8 and it compared how Moses said "Here I am." and not willing to go and how Isaiah said "Here I am! Send me!". We were encouraged to be like Isaiah and be passionate for going instead of hesitant. Then we split up into groups and prayed for ourselves, opportunities to go and others who are going as well as encouraging each other. Then some announcements were made as well as a sending off prayer for a missionary family who is going back to the states on Wednesday to Washington D.C. after serving in Romania for three years. After this another Adii spoke about the first apostle's in the NT. How some were remembered by there mistakes (Doubting Thomas) and other's for their faith. Then he asked how people are going to remember us.
One thing that I have noticed with the Romanian church that I went to today is how much they emphasize trust and dependency on the Lord. I know that is emphasized in America, but there is just something different and refreshing about this trust that they talk about and live it. It's like they don't trust Him with independent things, but with everything together as a whole. That's a hard concept for me to comprehend, but I will be working on it and hopefully by the end of the summer I can have that sense of trust and dependency that I am being shown here daily.
Another strange concept here is that they don't seem to be hiding anything here. If they are mad, they are mad and they don't put on a face. When they feel like they need to they just don't go around other's. It is such an open place, but yet hardened place as well. The women have to learn how to be tough because they are put down so much (especially in the looks department) that they have to withstand it and move on. It seems like it is hard to have the soft-heartedness that we can have in America because of all the hurt that they are put through between the negative reinforcement and negative and demeaning comments that are given. Cami told me earlier in the week how she was so excited that I was here because she could see the tenderness of heart and misses that because your heart has to be hardened at least a little living here and it is such a fine line that it is hard to balance. That is something that I will be working especially hard on keeping while I am here for the summer.
Well after church the Mather's, David, and I as well as the orphans who Cami picked up to take to church went out to McDonald's. I had this beef sandwich that had cucumbers on it instead of pickles. It was so weird, but decent. I ended up sitting with Coasti, 15, as well as Madrica, 11, (I am unsure about his name, but hopefully I will learn it soon and it will stick) and we had a fun time. They kept asking questions about me and I in no way could understand them, but when I could respond I did. It ended up being a good afternoon with them.
After McDonald's I went for another walk and tour of the city. It was fun. I passed a big store called Domo and I think Kaufman but I had no idea what was inside because I haven't become that risky yet. I really do enjoy walking around the city. It is so much fun as well as entertaining. You get exercise, see people, could go shopping and just lots of things going on. I am really excited for my next long walk It will be one of my highlights while in the city and not visiting the orphanage.
This next week I am supposed to be at the camp prepping it for the incoming kids as well as fixing and building things until Thursday. More updates will come soon and hopefully will start to be shorter. Now they are so long because everything is so new to me and I want to share everything. More will be written soon. :)
The first point was probably my favorite. It was taken from Exodus 3:1-4 and Isaiah 6:8 and it compared how Moses said "Here I am." and not willing to go and how Isaiah said "Here I am! Send me!". We were encouraged to be like Isaiah and be passionate for going instead of hesitant. Then we split up into groups and prayed for ourselves, opportunities to go and others who are going as well as encouraging each other. Then some announcements were made as well as a sending off prayer for a missionary family who is going back to the states on Wednesday to Washington D.C. after serving in Romania for three years. After this another Adii spoke about the first apostle's in the NT. How some were remembered by there mistakes (Doubting Thomas) and other's for their faith. Then he asked how people are going to remember us.
One thing that I have noticed with the Romanian church that I went to today is how much they emphasize trust and dependency on the Lord. I know that is emphasized in America, but there is just something different and refreshing about this trust that they talk about and live it. It's like they don't trust Him with independent things, but with everything together as a whole. That's a hard concept for me to comprehend, but I will be working on it and hopefully by the end of the summer I can have that sense of trust and dependency that I am being shown here daily.
Another strange concept here is that they don't seem to be hiding anything here. If they are mad, they are mad and they don't put on a face. When they feel like they need to they just don't go around other's. It is such an open place, but yet hardened place as well. The women have to learn how to be tough because they are put down so much (especially in the looks department) that they have to withstand it and move on. It seems like it is hard to have the soft-heartedness that we can have in America because of all the hurt that they are put through between the negative reinforcement and negative and demeaning comments that are given. Cami told me earlier in the week how she was so excited that I was here because she could see the tenderness of heart and misses that because your heart has to be hardened at least a little living here and it is such a fine line that it is hard to balance. That is something that I will be working especially hard on keeping while I am here for the summer.
Well after church the Mather's, David, and I as well as the orphans who Cami picked up to take to church went out to McDonald's. I had this beef sandwich that had cucumbers on it instead of pickles. It was so weird, but decent. I ended up sitting with Coasti, 15, as well as Madrica, 11, (I am unsure about his name, but hopefully I will learn it soon and it will stick) and we had a fun time. They kept asking questions about me and I in no way could understand them, but when I could respond I did. It ended up being a good afternoon with them.
After McDonald's I went for another walk and tour of the city. It was fun. I passed a big store called Domo and I think Kaufman but I had no idea what was inside because I haven't become that risky yet. I really do enjoy walking around the city. It is so much fun as well as entertaining. You get exercise, see people, could go shopping and just lots of things going on. I am really excited for my next long walk It will be one of my highlights while in the city and not visiting the orphanage.
This next week I am supposed to be at the camp prepping it for the incoming kids as well as fixing and building things until Thursday. More updates will come soon and hopefully will start to be shorter. Now they are so long because everything is so new to me and I want to share everything. More will be written soon. :)
The Second Assignment (Day 3)
This was a super exciting day. Cami and I were able to sit down and talk about my observations, I received my first language lesson, and we went to the orphanage. This day was amazing all around. I will start with the observations I made. My observation and assumption about the greenery was right on the mark. Apparently, Romania just joined the European Union (which is like an organization of countries in Europe to make them, not literally, like our states in the US with common currency, ability to go country to country without showing your passport, etc.) a few years ago and they gave Romania practically billions of dollars to boost it up to par with the other countries in the European Union. Romania is still working on being able to meet this standard but is getting closer.
My observation about the dogs was also correct. Cami also told me about how the dogs on the streets were more muts than pure bread dogs and it was very true that they are bigger then the owned dogs. She also told me that the dogs on the street was way down from just a few years ago because a person came into power who euthanized some of the street dogs so the streets were safer. Although this sounds mean, I do not know if there is anything else they could have done. At least one person a year is bitten by a dog and dies from it. They have been interbreeding for the past 20 years and now there are a lot of dogs on the streets again because the new Governor believes the dogs on the street are okay so they numbers have been rising again. Here you cannot go down a street without seeing a stray dog or a pack of stray dogs that are really territorial.
The observation about everyone carrying things was correct but the assumption was very wrong. People are usually carrying things here because most of them do not have a car (even though there are a lot of cars here and they drive extremely crazily) to keep the purse or groceries and such in. So what they have, they have to keep with them, which makes a lot of sense.
My final observation and assumption about no one wearing tennis shoes was also correct. Style is a huge thing here and even if you are going down the street you have to be dressed like you are going out. Wearing a t-shirt here definitely shoes that you are an American. Cami also told me that just a few years ago that no Europeans wore white tennis shoes. That was only an American thing and now that is becoming a little bit more acceptable here in Romania, but still not very common. If Romanian's wear tennis shoes they are dark tennis shoes like black or brown and such.
Also talking with Cami I told her about the park I visited and how I wanted to visit all of them here in Bucharest. Apparently they have a lot but she thought it would be a fun experience so I am definitely going to try. Also in this conversation she gave me my second assignment. This assignment included learning more Romanian and using it. I asked to learn the phrases "My name is Amanda" (which has three different ways of saying it) and "How old are you?". I used the name one a lot and the other one just a few times, but the kids definitely understood me the first time.
So... going to the orphanage was amazing! Not only was I able to try out my new Romanian language skills, but I was also able to play with the kids. I met this beautiful girl named Alexandra and she gave me this huge hug and told me that she loved me in English and in Romanian. That was adorable. I also met a lot of other kids too, but so many new names and faces are hard to remember so I will only mention a few. I ended up playing bad-mitten with a few of the boys and a boy named Coasti (who is very attached to me) painted my nails. They were pretty cool. One hand was was pink with three yellow dots on them and the other hand had an orange stripe down the middle with a black line going out towards my fingers to make what looked like a cross. They were pretty cool. I would have kept them if both hands were the same, but since they were different I took them off. Unfortunately we were only there for two hours which was sad because they loved seeing us and definitely tried jumping in the car with us. I am getting really excited for camp and being able to spend almost a whole month with different age groups. It will be so much fun.
After visiting the orphanage the Mather's opened up their home to David and I and Renee and McKenna (two of the Mather's daughter's), Hannah, and Kaitlyn all watched a couple of movies and the girls re-painted their nails. We had a High School Musical day and then also watched She's the Man (all in English of course). Although it doesn't sound like what I am supposed to be doing over here, it was extremely good that I was there. I was able to build relationships with the girls who I will be working with on and off throughout the summer at the camp. Plus, it was a lot of fun. :)
At the end of each day I keep thinking about how God created the perfect timing for me to come to Romania. Everything fits together so well. I am so calm and feel so welcomed as well as building good relationships with others. It all just works. Making friends is coming easy which means these relationships can become so much deeper and influences, differences and impressions can be made for a lifetime. God is good, He truly, truly is.
My observation about the dogs was also correct. Cami also told me about how the dogs on the streets were more muts than pure bread dogs and it was very true that they are bigger then the owned dogs. She also told me that the dogs on the street was way down from just a few years ago because a person came into power who euthanized some of the street dogs so the streets were safer. Although this sounds mean, I do not know if there is anything else they could have done. At least one person a year is bitten by a dog and dies from it. They have been interbreeding for the past 20 years and now there are a lot of dogs on the streets again because the new Governor believes the dogs on the street are okay so they numbers have been rising again. Here you cannot go down a street without seeing a stray dog or a pack of stray dogs that are really territorial.
The observation about everyone carrying things was correct but the assumption was very wrong. People are usually carrying things here because most of them do not have a car (even though there are a lot of cars here and they drive extremely crazily) to keep the purse or groceries and such in. So what they have, they have to keep with them, which makes a lot of sense.
My final observation and assumption about no one wearing tennis shoes was also correct. Style is a huge thing here and even if you are going down the street you have to be dressed like you are going out. Wearing a t-shirt here definitely shoes that you are an American. Cami also told me that just a few years ago that no Europeans wore white tennis shoes. That was only an American thing and now that is becoming a little bit more acceptable here in Romania, but still not very common. If Romanian's wear tennis shoes they are dark tennis shoes like black or brown and such.
Also talking with Cami I told her about the park I visited and how I wanted to visit all of them here in Bucharest. Apparently they have a lot but she thought it would be a fun experience so I am definitely going to try. Also in this conversation she gave me my second assignment. This assignment included learning more Romanian and using it. I asked to learn the phrases "My name is Amanda" (which has three different ways of saying it) and "How old are you?". I used the name one a lot and the other one just a few times, but the kids definitely understood me the first time.
So... going to the orphanage was amazing! Not only was I able to try out my new Romanian language skills, but I was also able to play with the kids. I met this beautiful girl named Alexandra and she gave me this huge hug and told me that she loved me in English and in Romanian. That was adorable. I also met a lot of other kids too, but so many new names and faces are hard to remember so I will only mention a few. I ended up playing bad-mitten with a few of the boys and a boy named Coasti (who is very attached to me) painted my nails. They were pretty cool. One hand was was pink with three yellow dots on them and the other hand had an orange stripe down the middle with a black line going out towards my fingers to make what looked like a cross. They were pretty cool. I would have kept them if both hands were the same, but since they were different I took them off. Unfortunately we were only there for two hours which was sad because they loved seeing us and definitely tried jumping in the car with us. I am getting really excited for camp and being able to spend almost a whole month with different age groups. It will be so much fun.
After visiting the orphanage the Mather's opened up their home to David and I and Renee and McKenna (two of the Mather's daughter's), Hannah, and Kaitlyn all watched a couple of movies and the girls re-painted their nails. We had a High School Musical day and then also watched She's the Man (all in English of course). Although it doesn't sound like what I am supposed to be doing over here, it was extremely good that I was there. I was able to build relationships with the girls who I will be working with on and off throughout the summer at the camp. Plus, it was a lot of fun. :)
At the end of each day I keep thinking about how God created the perfect timing for me to come to Romania. Everything fits together so well. I am so calm and feel so welcomed as well as building good relationships with others. It all just works. Making friends is coming easy which means these relationships can become so much deeper and influences, differences and impressions can be made for a lifetime. God is good, He truly, truly is.
The First Assignment (Day 2)
So this week is full of lots of firsts. On my second full day in Romania I was supposed to meet Cami at BCA (Bucharest Christian Academy), have a meeting with her and then help pack up the school because they just got a new building for the next year and they were moving there on the last day of school. Although this was supposed to happen, since David hurt his ankle he had to go to the doctor instead. While David was at the doctor I was to complete my first assignment in Bucharest. I was supposed to pick one direction, make 4 observations and walk that way for 10 minutes by myself!!!! And if I was feeling daring to go on the metro somewhere else, then walk ten minutes one way. At first I kind of thought Cami was crazy because me in a big city alone is not the brightest idea, but she said it was safe. I only needed to be careful of pickpocketer's and dogs. Here in Romania they love dogs but have a lot of strays and some of them can get mean, but they usually aren't.
David went to the doctor with Dave and I started out on another adventure wandering around the city and making observations. I ended going on the metro to Distror 2 and started walking. At first I was a bit on edge because city life is so busy, but then I was disappointed because I forgot the camera. I stumbled upon this amazing park. I am definitely planning on going back to it. I feel as if it was a children's park because of all of the toddlers and such there, but there were older people as well. The park was surrounding Lake Titan and I walked around half the lake. It was huge. I spent about an hour there and then I figured I should get back on my walk in one direction. The park had a dog park inside it, rose gardens (which this city apparently has the best weather conditions for growing roses), fountains galore, a lake, and a few animals. It was definitely a park. So when I was their I bought some fristic ice cream all by myself and it was really good. Definitely recommended. And the best thing was, it only cost 2 lei or $0.60.
When I left the park I probably walked about another 20-30 minutes and then turned back around to go home. I did not have any trouble returning home. On my walk I saw a lot of block buildings (which are like small apartment complexes) and many little shops. The banks here are also huge. Some are small, but I have noticed that a lot of the really tall buildings that are not blocks are banks. There are of course a lot of other things here too. It is such a huge city and I can't wait to explore it more.
Well my assignment was to make 4 observations and then draw some assumptions from them. Four observations and assumptions included: There was a lot of greenery in the city and it was there so that the city would look cleaner (it is kind of a dirty city), peaceful, and for privacy; People who own dogs owned small dogs and I thought that this was because people did not have enough room for bigger dogs and they had even less space to go outside and run around; Almost everyone carries something around and it is strange to have someone not holding something and I thought this was true because people have no reason just to be out unless they are out to get something or be somewhere; and I also noticed that practically no one wears tennis shoes but rather stylish or dress shoes (even the males) and this was because it was all about style and in no way comfort. If you are dressed down people automatically know you are American.
The next day Cami and I were going to talk about my observations and assumptions. When I returned to my place I found out that David had fractured his ankle and had a cast on. Apparently Romanians like to put casts on practically everything. :) So I went to Mega Image, which is a grocery store, and bought some food all by myself and I learned the word for bag because here you practically pay for everything. Bags, Ketchup at McDonalds and even water at fast food places. It's crazy, but I bought the cheese pretzels (Stickletti) and they definitely taste like gold fish back in America and have an after taste of Mac N Cheese, WHICH I found out that they do not have here in Romania!!!!! So... I will be deprived for about three months from Mac N Cheese.
That was such a horrible thought to go to bed on, but I did anyway. Unfortunately I do not think that this was the reason I did not sleep well that night. It was an on and off sleep and when I was awake I was definitely thinking about stuff. God definitely put some heavy family stuff on my heart, which I am still working through so prayer for that would be much appreciated. Even half-way across the world there you can not run away from problems or just forget about them.
David went to the doctor with Dave and I started out on another adventure wandering around the city and making observations. I ended going on the metro to Distror 2 and started walking. At first I was a bit on edge because city life is so busy, but then I was disappointed because I forgot the camera. I stumbled upon this amazing park. I am definitely planning on going back to it. I feel as if it was a children's park because of all of the toddlers and such there, but there were older people as well. The park was surrounding Lake Titan and I walked around half the lake. It was huge. I spent about an hour there and then I figured I should get back on my walk in one direction. The park had a dog park inside it, rose gardens (which this city apparently has the best weather conditions for growing roses), fountains galore, a lake, and a few animals. It was definitely a park. So when I was their I bought some fristic ice cream all by myself and it was really good. Definitely recommended. And the best thing was, it only cost 2 lei or $0.60.
When I left the park I probably walked about another 20-30 minutes and then turned back around to go home. I did not have any trouble returning home. On my walk I saw a lot of block buildings (which are like small apartment complexes) and many little shops. The banks here are also huge. Some are small, but I have noticed that a lot of the really tall buildings that are not blocks are banks. There are of course a lot of other things here too. It is such a huge city and I can't wait to explore it more.
Well my assignment was to make 4 observations and then draw some assumptions from them. Four observations and assumptions included: There was a lot of greenery in the city and it was there so that the city would look cleaner (it is kind of a dirty city), peaceful, and for privacy; People who own dogs owned small dogs and I thought that this was because people did not have enough room for bigger dogs and they had even less space to go outside and run around; Almost everyone carries something around and it is strange to have someone not holding something and I thought this was true because people have no reason just to be out unless they are out to get something or be somewhere; and I also noticed that practically no one wears tennis shoes but rather stylish or dress shoes (even the males) and this was because it was all about style and in no way comfort. If you are dressed down people automatically know you are American.
The next day Cami and I were going to talk about my observations and assumptions. When I returned to my place I found out that David had fractured his ankle and had a cast on. Apparently Romanians like to put casts on practically everything. :) So I went to Mega Image, which is a grocery store, and bought some food all by myself and I learned the word for bag because here you practically pay for everything. Bags, Ketchup at McDonalds and even water at fast food places. It's crazy, but I bought the cheese pretzels (Stickletti) and they definitely taste like gold fish back in America and have an after taste of Mac N Cheese, WHICH I found out that they do not have here in Romania!!!!! So... I will be deprived for about three months from Mac N Cheese.
That was such a horrible thought to go to bed on, but I did anyway. Unfortunately I do not think that this was the reason I did not sleep well that night. It was an on and off sleep and when I was awake I was definitely thinking about stuff. God definitely put some heavy family stuff on my heart, which I am still working through so prayer for that would be much appreciated. Even half-way across the world there you can not run away from problems or just forget about them.
First Full Day (Day 1)
The rest that night was really good, but I could have definitely used more sleep. And of course, my adventures started right away. I woke up, sat up, stretched and felt something on my arm. Trying not to be too much of a girl I brushed it off, saw it was a bug at least an inch long, and then left my room quickly. I came back with some toilet paper to kill it with but couldn't find it. No worries though. I found it about an hour later and killed. No more creepy bugs. Later that day Dave, the Mather's and I were talking about the animal's here. The one that really freaked me out was that rabbit's here are about two feet tall and you see them at camp, which is where I will be most of the summer. Kind of freaked me out, but hopefully we won't see any. :)
Going back to more relevant things, on my first day in Romania BCA (Bucharest Christian Academy) was having a Field Day for all of the kids. BCA is a mostly English school that has a lot of missionaries children going there. Cami is one of the teachers and I heard that every year it gets rained out. The weather here is pretty funny. It is mostly sunny and such, but there will usually be about 30 minutes where it just pours down rain. Most of the time it is at the very least 30 minutes, but it can last up to a couple of hours. Well, the weather was nice so Field Day was still on and the kids were ecstatic!
Cami and I left around 7:45 to pick up a couple of girls from the orphanage so they could come too. One of them, Maria, was having a hard time so Cami wanted to keep her busy so she would stay out of trouble. So we picked up Maria and Kristina. They were extremely sweet and Kristina, taught me to count 1-10 in Romanian as well as "What is your name?" She is so sweet. She said that I was really smart because of how quickly I picked up on it. I think it was just because I had a good teacher. So off to Field Day we went.
When we arrived at Field Day it was starting to get a little cloudy, but we decided to continue on with the days activities. There were things like water balloon toss, hula hooping, football toss, relays and such. Well, after each group had done one activity it started to sprinkle. Then.... it started to down pour. That was no fun because they had to call off Field day so everyone went home. Steve, Dave, Kristina, Maria, and I went to McDonalds for lunch. They are so sweet, and sharing is a huge thing here. If people have food, they share it with others and see it as disrespectful if you do not accept. I learned this lesson really quickly and try not to be disrespectful as I now share my food as well.
Since Field Day was called off we dropped Kristina and Maria off at the orphanage and the Mather's had some of the high schoolers over for a movie so Dave and I kind of crashed that party. Then Jessica, John, Tamara, Dave and I went on a walk because it cleared up. We went to the park that had a trampoline and Dave and John went to go jump on it. Pour Dave to about two jumps and fell because he hurt his ankle. So we sat around the park some and met two more kids from the orphanage, one of which was Kristina's (the one I met earlier) brother. So Jessica bought them something to eat and John let them ride on the bumper cars.
After that David and I were going to go see one of his friends Katrina, but because he hurt his ankle we just went to Jessica's house. They are missionaries as well and were extremely nice. They fed us this wonderful salad and because Jessica, Hannah (their other daughter), Dave (their son) and Tom (the dad) were part of a worship ensemble at church they had band practice at their house. They sang songs in Romanian and in English. It was so amazing to worship God in two different languages at once. It was a great night. After all of this, Dave decided he wanted to check his ankle out but there were no hospitals open. Hospitals here in Romania are hard to get into. Even if it is an emergency. So the hospital was going to wait until the next day and I went to bed. Another calm, but eventful day. Just the way I like it.
Going back to more relevant things, on my first day in Romania BCA (Bucharest Christian Academy) was having a Field Day for all of the kids. BCA is a mostly English school that has a lot of missionaries children going there. Cami is one of the teachers and I heard that every year it gets rained out. The weather here is pretty funny. It is mostly sunny and such, but there will usually be about 30 minutes where it just pours down rain. Most of the time it is at the very least 30 minutes, but it can last up to a couple of hours. Well, the weather was nice so Field Day was still on and the kids were ecstatic!
Cami and I left around 7:45 to pick up a couple of girls from the orphanage so they could come too. One of them, Maria, was having a hard time so Cami wanted to keep her busy so she would stay out of trouble. So we picked up Maria and Kristina. They were extremely sweet and Kristina, taught me to count 1-10 in Romanian as well as "What is your name?" She is so sweet. She said that I was really smart because of how quickly I picked up on it. I think it was just because I had a good teacher. So off to Field Day we went.
When we arrived at Field Day it was starting to get a little cloudy, but we decided to continue on with the days activities. There were things like water balloon toss, hula hooping, football toss, relays and such. Well, after each group had done one activity it started to sprinkle. Then.... it started to down pour. That was no fun because they had to call off Field day so everyone went home. Steve, Dave, Kristina, Maria, and I went to McDonalds for lunch. They are so sweet, and sharing is a huge thing here. If people have food, they share it with others and see it as disrespectful if you do not accept. I learned this lesson really quickly and try not to be disrespectful as I now share my food as well.
Since Field Day was called off we dropped Kristina and Maria off at the orphanage and the Mather's had some of the high schoolers over for a movie so Dave and I kind of crashed that party. Then Jessica, John, Tamara, Dave and I went on a walk because it cleared up. We went to the park that had a trampoline and Dave and John went to go jump on it. Pour Dave to about two jumps and fell because he hurt his ankle. So we sat around the park some and met two more kids from the orphanage, one of which was Kristina's (the one I met earlier) brother. So Jessica bought them something to eat and John let them ride on the bumper cars.
After that David and I were going to go see one of his friends Katrina, but because he hurt his ankle we just went to Jessica's house. They are missionaries as well and were extremely nice. They fed us this wonderful salad and because Jessica, Hannah (their other daughter), Dave (their son) and Tom (the dad) were part of a worship ensemble at church they had band practice at their house. They sang songs in Romanian and in English. It was so amazing to worship God in two different languages at once. It was a great night. After all of this, Dave decided he wanted to check his ankle out but there were no hospitals open. Hospitals here in Romania are hard to get into. Even if it is an emergency. So the hospital was going to wait until the next day and I went to bed. Another calm, but eventful day. Just the way I like it.
Traveling to Romania
Well, to start off, I made it to Romania safely. :) That is definitely a plus. I left from Minneapolis and I was pretty nervous going through check-in and security. After those two things were done (which I made it through with no problems) I was extremely calm. All of my fears were gone. JNo more double or triple checking to see if I was where I was supposed to be. That can only be explained by God being with me and Him totally wanting me to come to Romania. There is just this peace that you have when you know that you are following His path for your life. This peace is something that I am hoping that I will never lose.
My first flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, in my mind, was going to take forever, but it went by so quickly. I was able to watch Tangled and Inception on the flight as well as trying to sleep a little bit. The person next to me was really nice. We pretty much kept to ourselves until we were about an hour away from Amsterdam. We never asked each others name, but we did talk quite a bit. He was an extremely nice guy from Wisconsin who was 19 years old and on his way to South Africa. He was heading there to study trees and he said that one day he would like to be a Botanist. He said that he wasn't smart, but I am going to say I disagree with that. When he was younger he went to a Catholic school and he said that they seemed pretty closed minded. That came out when we were talking about my recent graduation from Central. I really hope and pray that he can see the other side of Christianity and that not everyone is close minded. He was very nice and when we got off the plane we gave each other well wishes. I really hope he enjoys his time in Africa.
I had a few hour layover in Amsterdam, but no real big problems. I finally arrived in Romania at 1pm my time. There I had my passport stamped, grabbed my luggage (which all of it arrived!), and went through customs. It was a really easy process. Then I met David Pratt, Steve Mather, and another Steve at the airport. They made a very nice sign with my name on it for me. Later I heard how this sign was used to save a hedgehog from being run over in the street. That was pretty amusing. Then we went to the Mather's (the people in charge of Stepping Forward Romania), I met Cami (Steve's wife) and then Dave and I walked around for a few hours. He gave me a quick tour, but I definitely need a lot more time to explore this huge city. I am told that there are 3,000,000 people in just this city alone. That is a little bigger then Moberly, but I think I can deal.
After that we had supper at the Mather's and then it was off to bed. I was getting a little tired loopy around 8:30pm here. Some people thought it was kind of funny, but it had been a long couple of days for me. Traveling two days, an eight hour time change, and then walking through the city. My first day in Romania was amazing and I couldn't wait to see what was coming next.
My first flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, in my mind, was going to take forever, but it went by so quickly. I was able to watch Tangled and Inception on the flight as well as trying to sleep a little bit. The person next to me was really nice. We pretty much kept to ourselves until we were about an hour away from Amsterdam. We never asked each others name, but we did talk quite a bit. He was an extremely nice guy from Wisconsin who was 19 years old and on his way to South Africa. He was heading there to study trees and he said that one day he would like to be a Botanist. He said that he wasn't smart, but I am going to say I disagree with that. When he was younger he went to a Catholic school and he said that they seemed pretty closed minded. That came out when we were talking about my recent graduation from Central. I really hope and pray that he can see the other side of Christianity and that not everyone is close minded. He was very nice and when we got off the plane we gave each other well wishes. I really hope he enjoys his time in Africa.
I had a few hour layover in Amsterdam, but no real big problems. I finally arrived in Romania at 1pm my time. There I had my passport stamped, grabbed my luggage (which all of it arrived!), and went through customs. It was a really easy process. Then I met David Pratt, Steve Mather, and another Steve at the airport. They made a very nice sign with my name on it for me. Later I heard how this sign was used to save a hedgehog from being run over in the street. That was pretty amusing. Then we went to the Mather's (the people in charge of Stepping Forward Romania), I met Cami (Steve's wife) and then Dave and I walked around for a few hours. He gave me a quick tour, but I definitely need a lot more time to explore this huge city. I am told that there are 3,000,000 people in just this city alone. That is a little bigger then Moberly, but I think I can deal.
After that we had supper at the Mather's and then it was off to bed. I was getting a little tired loopy around 8:30pm here. Some people thought it was kind of funny, but it had been a long couple of days for me. Traveling two days, an eight hour time change, and then walking through the city. My first day in Romania was amazing and I couldn't wait to see what was coming next.
Friday, May 20, 2011
A Little Over a Week!!!
It is just a little over a week before I leave for Romania. Plane ticket has been bought and I am almost packed. It does not even seem real, but everything is going to happen. Not much really to say before I go except that I am really excited and a bit nervous, but I know that God has everything taken care of. I will be leaving May 31st at 3:10pm and will be arriving in Romania at 1:05pm June 1st. Here we go!
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