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.