Girls Day Out

Yesterday was such a fun day!

I (Cali) had a girls day out.

Joy (missionary), Ceclia (Joy's friend who ended up translating a lot for us), Aliz (girl from the orphanage who has become their good friend) and I all took a 1.5 hour drive to Salucea (no idea if that is spelled correctly).  This is a village where Aliz' sister, Leah, lives.

 Leah is 22 years old and she just had her 6th child three days ago.  She and her husband are very very poor.  They are gypsy, but are good parents. Joy said this is one family you do not have to be sad when you leave. You don't have to worry that they are beating their children.  They do the best they can and the husband tries to work when he can.

We went to the hospital to see Leah and the baby. Aliz brought boxes and bags of gifts for all of her neices and nephews (they were lots of them!).  Here are some pics from our fun day.

Leah (left) and sister Aliz

Leah is so tiny you wouldn't have known she just had a baby

Baby Ramas (i think)

Why do babies make you think such irrational thoughts??  

One look at this little cutie and I was ready to have another...

and then I came to my senses. 

One thing about visiting the hospital...it made me realize how special it is to have a baby in the U.S.  It brought back recent memories of having my own. I loved that Steve could be in the room with me and even though the nurses would take the baby so we could sleep we didn't want them to.  We just kept our babies right there with us and cuddled and stared at them the whole time. 

Well, it was so different here.  Leah wasn't even with her baby.  We went up to see him and they just held him up through the window. She did open the little door for me to get this picture. But momma didn't get to steal a kiss or hold him.  I realized how different it was for this family.  They do not have a horse and wagon, much less a car, so Leah's husband was not there with her when she had the baby.  I just thanked God for the blessings in my life, like Steve & I being able to experience the birth of our babies together.  

Joy & "the nikki" stuck in mud!  At least she still has a smile on her face!

The picture doesn't do it justice, but the front tire was in a very deep hole. 

Us ladies tried to push it out with our brute strength, 

but it wasn't happenin'.  

Thankfully Leah's husband and a friend came and got us out....

and got a mud bath...literally.

We had to park and walk the rest of the way.  Once you get to the gypsy part the road is so terrible.  

Yep....we had to stop for a "sheep crossing."  Hilarious!

Cecilia and one of Leah's boys

Pretty girl!  

We went to Leah's house so Aliz could see all her neices and nephews.

She brought lots of toys and shoes to them. It was like Christmas for them.  Because they live so far away Aliz doesn't get to see them very much.  We took Leah some diapers and formula.

armful of baby dolls

I want to try to paint a picture of what their homes looks like.  

One tiny room that is smaller than the bedrooms in most of our homes. 

Small single wood burning stove to heat the house and cook on that leaves a terribly strong burning aroma in the "house."  

One light bulb dangling from the ceiling. 

 Three couches line the walls and are covered in dirty blankets....these are where all eight of them will sleep.  

Large muddy rugs covering up the dirt floor.

No refrigerator because they have no meat or milk or cheese or anything that needs to be refrigerated.

No bathroom.  No sink! No running water.  

Smiling faces!

So humbling.  

Thank God for all your blessings, for meeting all your needs and wants, for your comforts and luxuries in this life!  I know we are!

Thanks Joy, for taking me on this adventure with you. 

the good, the bad, the ugly.....

We have gotten so many e-mails and encouraging notes from friends back home.  We have been extremely encouraged and everyone has made us feel "remembered."  That may sound lame and shallow, but one of our biggest fears was just being forgotten.  Thanks to so many for even sending e-mails of what has been going on in your lives! Those are the best because it keeps the friendship going two ways and ever growing!

It seems almost everyone wants to know what has been the most exciting and what has been the hardest.  I have not wanted to write about what has been the hardest.  Mainly because it has been hard.  I have been hesitant to write in fear of how others may interpret that.  Some may read words like "sad" or "homesick" or hard" and translate that to mean "mistake" or "regret."  That is not even close to how we feel.  We feel such peace from the Lord that we are exactly where we are to be.  BUT, that does not mean we will not face times of sadness or struggle.

So, I have been hesitant to write, but the Lord reminded me of the purpose of this blog.  The purpose was to journal our journey to Romania and by doing so, "Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name." (Psalm 96:8)  Part of that is being 100% honest and transparent about ALL of the places He takes us through and telling of the victory we have in Christ alone.  So, here comes honesty....

The first two weeks, I (cali) cried myself to sleep.  Every time we talked to someone from back home I would cry immediately after hanging up the phone or getting off of skype.  Some days this is still hard, but it is getting better.

So many people warn you of culture shock.  So, I had thoughts of it, but really didn't think much of it.  I really didn't think I would be homesick and neither did Steve.

Boy were we naive and totally taken by surprise!

Culture shock + homesickness+ sleep deprivation is a dangerous combo!  And if you are not in the Word and not in prayer the above combination can reek havoc on your mind.  Thankfully Steve and I had a lot of time during the first two weeks to spend in prayer and in God's Word and just talking together.  These last few weeks have been sweet together, with our little family and with the Lord.

The language barrier can leave you feeling secluded/isolated....very lonely at moments.

Each day things are getting better and better. We have discovered that the people here are so so generous and helpful.  We have learned that it is good for us to go out and experience Romania even if we struggle with language....it helps us more!

One thing we do that has proved helpful is that we have a Blessing Book.  This is more like a journal where for the last couple of years we write in it when something happens, big or small, in our lives and it is just SO evident it is of the Lord.  You know what I am talking about? Moments when something happens and you just know this could only be a work of the Holy Spirit!

Well, we've had a lot of those over the years.  But I just started doing it a couple of years ago.  The purpose?  I wanted to make note of evidences of Christ in our lives.  I want this Blessing Book to be something our children read one day and our grandchildren read one day and maybe even our great grandchildren.  I want these stories of what God has done in our lives to be passed down in our family so that they can see how faithful and true the Lord has been in our lives.  I just think that is neat. I wish I had something like that from my great grandparents to read.

Anyway ( I am digressing)....i brought it with me...the book that is.  It has been so good to write more entries of God's grace in our lives, but also to look back and see some of the obvious things God was doing in our lives to bring us here to Romania.

I hope none of that sounds bad and that you can read that with understanding. All in all we have been in really good spirits!  Our kids have done amazing.  Besides adjusting to the new time zone they have not skipped a beat.  Happy children make a happy momma and papa!  We want to be more like them! Everything here is so normal to them simply because mom and dad are here.  I will say, they do miss all those grandparents though! :)

The first week here the Lord gave me two words: WAIT and TRUST.

So I looked up all the verses I could find on waiting and trusting.  Waiting on HIM and trusting in HIM! So much easier to say and do.  He kept reminding me to wait on His timing for our home, defining areas of ministry we would work in and so many other things.  One thing I know.....He can be TRUSTED!  With every area of life! He is So so faithful!

In the first two weeks of being here Steve and I are sensing already that the Lord had us leave everything behind and brought us here to do a mighty work in our own hearts and lives.  We hope to share the Gospel with as many as possible while here, but we also hope to be very attentive to the changes He is calling for in our very hearts and minds.

A verse we have been able to cling to...it has encouraged us a lot.

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and HE will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."~Psalm 55:22

i love that!

I have about 15 other things that I would love to blog about.....but not right now.  I have a date night (at home) with my hubby!!!! :D

our first snow in RO

We were sad to hear that when we left to come to Romania, Knoxville got hammered with snow!  We wanted snow!

Well, it took a couple of weeks and now it is here!!

Here are some pics of fun in the snow!  Steve was out for the day, but the kids and I and all the animals had a lot of fun!

view from back yard

We made something more similar to snow bunnies...

snowmen are overrated anyway

(yes, i know..the carrots were insanely too big!) 

The kids absolutely destroyed them within seconds of "building" them.

Noah said they were thirsty, therefore they needed to eat some snow....

Mini the cat, MJ the pup and Glasses the chicken (yep, Noah named the chicken) 

having fun in the snow...hilarious to watch

silly americans

Today was momentous.  We got brave!

We took the bus AND the tram!

The tram here runs on a track on the road.  We have to take the tram to get to the grocery store.  We have been intimidated to do this.  Wondering what in the world we were going to do with all of our groceries and hanging on to our two kidlets....this could be interesting.

So, off we go.....bus was easy and it dropped us off at the tram.  We got out tickets and hopped on. Friends here had told us to get off at the third or fourth stop...we should recognize the mall (grocery store is inside the mall). Well, we get to the third stop....didn't recognize it. Got to the fourth stop and so excited that we are on the tram, we weren't pay attention to well....and still didn't recognize the mall.  So we continue to ride with giant smiles! :D

So we get to the 7th and 8th stop and realize we are way passed our stop.  Slightly panicked, but continue to ride hoping we will recognize something we have seen before.

Nope. Nada. Nothin'.

However, the ride was great! We saw so many things we would love to take our kids to on weekends this summer.  There are so many great parks and sights to see (to us).  We soon realize we have NO idea where we are and it is safer for us to stay on the tram and ride then get off and be completely lost!  So we just enjoy the ride and everything we see.  We wouldn't have seen it otherwise.

All of a sudden we are passed the center of the city and the tram just dead ends and curves around to head back to where we started.  Now we are relieved.  We rode this tram for at least 30 minutes....we rode so long that at one point we were the ONLY people on the tram....everyone had come and gone!

We get closer into the city again and know we need to get off soon, but we have no clue where.  Steve and I are talking out loud to each other about how lost we are and wondering where to get off. We were talking out loud....not being mindful about what we are talking about because we think we are the only ones who speak English.  There is a girl beside Steve who keeps staring at us.  I tell Steve to ask her where we need to get off.  Not thinking she can speak English Steve says, (in a loud voice), "LOTUS?" (lotus is the name of the mall where the grocery store is located).  She looks at us funny, so Steve says even louder and leaning into her, "LOTUS!?!"  

To which she says in perfect English, "next stop"

We about died!  We were somewhat embarrassed, but more just wanted to bust out laughing! This girl had understood everything we were saying the whole time and we talked to her like she couldn't understand what we were saying.

Next stop...of to the store we go.  We had to run to catch the tram and bus on the way back with our grocery bags and kiddos, but we made it!

It was quite an experience and we had fun!!

generous you

Our church back in Knoxville (Fellowship) is doing a series on the Economics of Contentment.  The church is reading through the book Generosity by Gordon McDonald.  There is a devotion series on their website (fefc.com) that anyone can do.  We are one week in and have been humbled and taught so many truths.

Today started a 21 day challenge of Generous You.  A challenge where for the next 21 days you display generosity to someone.  Hopefully this is something you already do, not out of duty, but because of the power and love Christ has shown you, you can do nothing but show generosity.

Being generous can look like so many different things. Praying for a friend, giving someone money, taking a meal to a family going through a hard time, babysitting for someone for free, etc.  You could think of so many creative ways to be generous.

Steve and I are in and we are so excited. Prayerfully seeking ways that God may want us to bless someone in an unexpected way.  So this morning we are seeking ways to be generous.  This afternoon we go for a walk to the local bakery to pick up some bread.  On our way we pass a dumpster by some apartment buildings and what do I see??

An old, wrinkly, dirty, hopeless, gypsy woman digging through all the trash bags looking for something to eat.  I could literally just feel my heart sink....a pit in my stomach.  She made no eye contact as we passed. She was so focused on looking for something to eat.

I have NEVER seen someone digging through the trash for food.  I mean, she was really going to eat whatever she found. Eat out of a dumpster people!  


I know it happens, but to see it was so different.  I just wanted to look her in the eyes and hold her face in my hands and tell her she was made in the image of God and He has so much more for her life!  Oh, I could just go on and on about what I wanted to tell this poor lady.  If I only knew Romanian! (workin' on it)

So we go to the bread store and buy two loaves.  While we are on our way there and back we see many more gypsies and little children are running to us begging for food or money.  But, a little later as we walked back by the dumpster Steve handed me the bread to go give to this woman....still digging!

I walk over and hand her this large bag of fresh baked bread.  She made eye contact with me, her hands shaking as she held the bread and spoke something in Romanian.  All I understood was "multumesc." (thank you)

I got to thinking...
This woman was digging in trash to find some scraps to eat in hopes they would satisfy her appetite temporarily until she could dig some more or beg.  I fear that so many days I am like her.  Scrambling through my days, going through life looking for things that may temporarily satisfy my wants...my needs...my spiritual needs at times.  Scraps.  Trash.  Rubbish. 

And God has this "large freshly baked loaf of bread"... holding it out to me.  Sometimes I am just seeking a lesser glory....

He has so much more to offer than anything this world ever could.

 Today I was reminded not only to display generosity for the glory of God, but to not settle for scraps and trash.  Today was a reminder that I have all I need in Him. He is the only One who can satisfy our deepest desires...our deepest needs!

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

the latest....

Highlights, happenings and thoughts we've had.....

Day 2

Rough night of sleep....let's just say Paige is still in Knoxville's time zone.  We slept till 1 pm!

Burnt my first batch of pancakes.....just haven't mastered the gas stove yet! 

Took a walk down the street to a fresh milk machine. I didn't have my camera, but I have to take a picture of this!  You take your own bottle, pay the machine and fresh, organic whole milk oozes out and fills up your bottle.  The fam likes it!  And it is cheap!

Made spaghetti with ground pork....a first for me and pretty tasty.

Day 3

Rough night of sleep again.  Paige sleeps from 8-10pm and wakes up ready to play and then have dinner.  I realized that this is her nap time back home. (RO is 7 hours ahead)  Then she stays up until 3 or 4 am...keeping ALL of us awake.  So, we woke her up by 9 am in hopes to have a better day...more of a regular schedule.  Praying!  

Other than sleep, our kids are doing amazing.   This is so weird, but they really have adjusted better to being here than they did when we moved into the missionary house in late June.  Maybe because they are older, we have talked about Romania for a long time or maybe because God is giving us MUCH grace!!  

The weather has been so nice here.  We actually wish we had some snow like there is in Knoxville, GA, KY and RI (where our families are)!  But, the weather has been great for walks and playing outside.  

The kids got to go outside and see all the chickens out back.  

This is Noah's favorite chicken. He named it "Fat Hog."  :D 

The park is so close we can walk to it!

First time on a merry-go-round

First time on a real see-saw...i know, they're sheltered ;)

I had never seen one of these before....like a rolling log 

Day 4

Yet another bad night of sleep.  I know she will get it, but we're TIRED!  New technique to try tonight.  And more praying. 

We just hung out at home today painting, playing and jumping on the trampoline. A first for my kids and all they did was LAUGH! Loved it!!

Tonight Steve and the men went to deliver some food to a very poor family in a type of government housing.  Rough living conditions. 

Tomorrow they will deliver more food packages to a gypsy village.  It is also Steve's birthday. :)  

We're doing great!! :D

First day in RO

We're here!!!

Had awesome flight...kids were amazing....slept like babies afterwards!

First day:

Whoa! This house is cold!  The house we are staying in temporarily is large and drafty and has a terrible furnace. So you have to wear thermals under your clothes, sweat shirts, slippers, thick socks and perhaps a hat to stay somewhat warm. :)  The kids have a toasty room thankfully!  I am much more appreciative of central heat, where I can just crank up my thermostat when I am a little cold. It isn't too bad though...Noah and Steve woke Paige and I up at 12:30 in the afternoon!!

Went to the grocery store today and spent about 3 hours just learning where things are and how much money I was spending.  Pat & Joy and their daughter Kelsey took me and walked me through it!  So sweet of them!

Came home, cooked my first meal on a gas stove.  We had stir fry! Felt like home. :)

Here is a picture of the first supper...

Look at the cute boxes of juice and milk. You can only buy it in liters. The apple juice is really strong!

Here is Noah so excited about the flight. This is leaving Atlanta heading to London. 

Paige was equally excited...she was elated to find that she had her own set of headphones!  This is her new cheesy smile for cameras!

Well, almost 1 am here...I need to go to bed!  Good night!

44 hours to go....

In 44 hours our family will be boarding a place heading to Romania!

It feels so surreal that the time has come.  We are ready....we think.  Not sure what we're getting ourselves into! :)

SO, next week much more interesting blog posts should begin. :)

If you think of it....please life us up in prayer and our precious cargo (noah and paige)!  Praying for smooth flights, smooth landings and to be able to sleep on the plane....is that too much to ask??

Nah!

We know HE is so good and faithful!  To HIM be ALL the glory!