Stefan Cel Mare

We've moved!!

We moved into our home about a month ago, but I am just now catching up and getting pics posted on here for those of you who have asked to see it!

As most of you know things did not work out for us to live in the village of Meirleu. It really was not realistic for our family to live there.  We are still planning on doing some ministry work out there and hope to start doing two after school clubs as soon as we have a car!

Well, the Lord has been hammering into my brain for the last year and a half that HE is our faithful Provider! He knows our every need before we do.  He knew before we got here that we would not be in Meirleu and He already had a better place lined up for us. 

It’s kind of a long story about how we ended up where we did, so I will spare you.  But, something neat about it is that the first week we were in Romania Steve said he wished we could find a house near Sin Martin (the village where the other missionaries live).  I kind of snickered and said that would never happen….way too expensive and how would we ever find one. Well, guess what??  God brought one to us! We are so thrilled to not live in an apartment.  Nothing wrong with apartments, we just wanted to be in something that felt more like “home.”  

SO, we are living in a house (think of something like an attached apartment above a garage, minus the garage).   We can still walk to the park, the abc store, bakery, Bruski’s house, etc.  The best part is that our landlord’s are Christians and this is a big reason why we chose to live here and not an apartment.  No one could ever replace our parents/grandparents for the kids, but being so far away from family it has been such a blessing to have this couple right beside us who have been so helpful and just love our kids!  Their names are Petru (peter) and Florica.  Their house is attached to ours by one wall and we have a gated courtyard.  Our kids can just go outside and play and be totally locked in and safe!  Everything inside this house is new.  It is still very tiny, however, it has a separate bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom and lots of storage space.  It is very modern...not much of a Romanian feel on the inside.  It came completely furnished!  It is absolutely perfect for us to live in this year!  Praise the Lord!!  

Kitchen

everything we brought fits in this giant armoire

desk area in living room 

(Noah insisted on being in every picture

and wearing his dinosaur mask)

couch by day, bed by night

Sidenote: I know I continue to talk about the amazing food here….all those pastries.  Well, Florica (landlord lady) makes the most incredible food that makes all other pastries I’ve had seem like molded cheese.  She fed us something every single day the first week we were here. I am sure I gained at least 7 lbs. that week!  P90X continues to call my name.  

The first day she was here she brought over some hot homemade doughnuts….homemade people!  I ate about five doughnuts in one minute.  You put homemade jam on them and OH MY WORD! Then I went to her place and helped her out. I will have to take picture once I get a formal cooking lesson.  

Before I forget, Steve’s favorite part about all of this is that the name of the street we live on is Stefan cel Mare, which means Stephen the Great. Yes, it’s our street name.  The Lord even looks out for the ego of man.  ;)

Best Baby Dedication Ever....

Last Sunday at church the grand daughter of our landlords had a baby dedication at church.   Their son and his wife have an 8 week old little girl named Miriam. Beautiful baby!

If our church back in Knoxville is anything like yours, there is usually about 2-5 minutes allotted for a baby dedication.

Family is introduced.

Show off the baby for a minute.

Share your hopes for your child's future.

Church repeats vows to help parents train and disciple the child.

Thirty second prayer for baby and family.

Nothing bad....all good things.

But this church holds a baby dedication service like no other church I have seen.

Mom and dad brought baby Miriam up front to the church and introduced the new baby.  The pastor said a few things about the child and family and then led everyone in a time of prayer.  Not thirty seconds, but just however long the people wanted to pray.  The mom and dad prayed first. Then, random people in the congregation would pray over the child and family.

I could not understand the prayers (b/c they were in Romanian), but I could sense that they were so heartfelt by the way in which the words were spoken.  Some voices were quivering, almost as if they were crying out to God on behalf of this child...they were crying out to God.  It sounded so sincere!

**I want to pray for my children like this!  Full of sincerity and passion....crying out to God on their behalf for their salvation and protection!**

After the prayer time the parents and baby sat up front with all of the children in the church (they have a special place to sit up front to the side).  Then, the sweetest thing happened.  Each child prayed over baby Miriam and her parents. We have only been to this church one other time and every child prayed then too.  I think it is so neat that children are given the opportunity to pray corporately at such a young age...and they are being shown that they should not be ashamed to pray in front of others.

So the children ranging in ages from 5-13 (i'm guessing) prayed for the child. Then the youth sang about 5 songs over the family.  I wish I had a camera and could have taken a picture because my words won't do it justice.  The kids were standing huddled around the family as they sat there and just singing praises to God and blessings over this family!  It was absolutely precious!

Then, the pastor's sermon was on family.

Afterwards several of us went to our landlord's pensiunea (hotel) and had a Baby Dedication Celebration!  They do not have baby shower's here, but after the baby is born they have a dedication and celebration full of blessings.

This was very lavish!  Silken covered chairs, five course meal, beautiful cake, lots of fellowship and meeting new friends.

We feel so blessed to be in their company!  They have been so kind to us to let us be a part of this special time for their family and to experience some of their culture!

We're thinking we should switch up the baby dedication back in the States and take some pointers from the Romanians?!!  :)

Best Baby Dedication Ever!

Romanian Slumber Party Part 2

Here are some pics of today....day 2 of the sleep over......kids had a blast!

boys running away from Steve's ginormous snowball...

this was a close one....

he was laughing so hard....

Months ago I was showing Noah pictures of Simeon and Noah said,

 "Is he going to be my friend when we move to Romania?"  

Now their friendship is just beginning!  

Praise the Lord!

Romanian Slumber Party

Last night Noah & Paige had their first sleep over!!  Simion, who lives with Robin and Aaron, came over to spend the night.  We had so much fun!!!  Here is a glimpse of our night.....

settling in for a movie at the end of the day....very intense and focused

Making pizza crust

We played "Simion Says" instead of Simon says

ice cream & brownies...YUM!

one of my favorites of Simi....what's with the crossed leg??

SO CUTE!

We have learned so much Romanian!  It's been a great morning....lots of playing.  

Off to play in the snow later!! 

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....

snow.....Snow.....SNOW!

the street we live on

It has been snowing all day and it is beautiful!!!

Today we went back to the schools in Meirleu & Sumugiu.  We found out potential days that we can do an after school club.  We brought lots of school supplies to them because the teachers have to buy everything they use out of their own personal money!  Sumugiu is a poorer village and we just love it there!!  We are so excited to begin working with the children there and hopefully get to know their families, maybe.  Now we just wait on paper work to go through so we can be official and approved to do stuff there and we need a car (and learn how to drive it!).  Steve is out looking for a car right now.

The Orthodox priest comes to the schools to teach religion on Thursdays.  We will be going on Tuesdays.  Praying that the Lord would guard their hearts and that they would have understanding of the Truth of Jesus Christ!  Praying that they would not be confused, but would be enlightened by the Truth of His grace and justice!!  

the wheels are in motion.....

Today we visited two schools in two villages. One village was Meirleu and the other was....something like, Sumuguli ???  Not sure...gotta work on that one!

We found out some ways we can help them, with supplies and such and also if it would be possible for us to come and do an after school club with the children. Doing music, games, teaching character and Christian values, etc.  We hope to return this week or next to show them our objectives and speak with the mayor about starting this up soon!

We are VERY excited!!  It was so neat to see the schools, but mostly those who were IN the schools....all of these adorable little faces that were so precious and so excited about us doing something with them.   These children live way out in the country!

I mean, there isn't even a bathroom in the school....the floors are wooden beams....there is a wood stove in the rooms to keep them warm...the children are all wearing hats to keep warm inside because it is chilly....there were only about 50 children in Sumuguli from grades kindergarten to fourth.

We will update some more soon, but just had to fill you in a little!!

Psalm 34

I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul will make its boast IN THE LORD;

the humble will hear it and rejoice.

O MAGNIFY THE LORD WITH ME!

Let us exalt HIS name together.

I sought the Lord and He answered me. 

and delivered me from all my fears.

They looked to Him and were radiant,

and their faces will never be ashamed.

THIS POOR MAN CRIED, AND THE

LORD HEARD HIM AND SAVED HIM 

OUT OF ALL HIS TROUBLES!

THe angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,

and rescues them.

O taste and see that the Lord is good;

How blessed is the man who takes refuge in HIM!

O fear the Lord, you His saints;

For to those who fear Him there is NO WANT.

The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;

but they who seek the Lord shall

not be in want of any good thing.

The Lord is near to the broken hearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,

and none of those who take refuge in Him

will be condemned.

Psalm 34:1-10, 18, 22

Congratulations?

Hello everyone!  This is my (Steve's) first blog contributions to "The Long, Long Trailer."  I would like to take credit for some of the previous posts, but really all I can do is take credit for the title of our blog.  I would also like to apologize ahead of time for the rambling nature of my blogs.  Cali's always read so well thought out.  I wanted to share some thoughts periodically however about some of the encounters we have had here in Romania.

Sometimes when you meet new people you get many different responses... "God bless you!" "Chow!"  A "holy" kiss (both men and women).  But the one that threw me off the most--yes more than the kissing--was, "Congratulations."

Congratulations?  What were they congratulating me for?  For being from America!  Did I choose to be an American?  No, but we have on more than one occasion been stopped in our tracks by this strange greeting.  I did not earn this congratulatory greeting, but it was tossed my way anyway.

I don't know why but it just did not sit well with me.  I have been thinking about it for about a week now, and wanted to pass a couple thoughts your way.  Have you ever been given credit for something that maybe you cheated on or someone else poured their hard work into, but you took the credit anyways?  Have you ever thought about the responsibility that comes along with being associated with something much bigger than yourself?  When I thought about the implications of accepting a congratulatory greeting from the Romanians I encountered, I thought about both of these two questions.  I did not do anything to earn the right to be an American.  I was blessed to be born in a place where I could worship freely and God could grow me to be who I am today.  Of course, God could have done that anywhere so being from America really did not have any bearing on that outcome either.  But the second question was the one that troubled me the most.  You see, being from America in the eyes of these Romanians carries with it a certain expectation.  I think that the thought goes something like this...

Oh wow!  They are from America!  They must be perfectly content, have it all, be in perfect relationship with God because of how blessed they are,...


All I could think when I thought about this was what Matthew 19:24 said, "Again I tell you , it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."  I thought about how difficult it is for so many Americans (myself included) to be able to set aside the many American blessings and truly follow God.  Some of you reading this might be thinking, "whatever Steve, you are in Romania following God for goodness sake!"  But the reality is so many times throughout the day my heart is still in America.  I think that is why hearing a Romanian woman on a tram say 'congratulations' is such a hard pill to swallow.  I want to congratulate so many people here because of their perseverance through communism, for their ability to thank God over and over again when they have NOTHING, for their ability be overwhelmingly generous whenever an occasion allows them to show generosity to others.

So, when I hear good day, chow, get a kiss, or any of the other eccentric greetings, I think I will continue to return them happily.  And from now on, instead of looking blankly at someone when they say 'congratulations,' I think I will return that greeting happily and humbly back to them.

love is in the air

This morning I started doing a Bible study at the Maternity Center.

I love this place!

It is a heart breaking place and seems to be a hopeless place, but I find joy in going and find joy in bringing hope and light to very darkened lives.

There were only four women there today.  There usually are eight, but one left, one was having a baby, one was at a guys house and one was at the doctor.  I wasn't sure if they were going to be open to asking questions or if I would feel like I was just talking at them.  I didn't even know if they wanted to do a Bible study, but they agreed to sit in it for today and see.

I started by telling them about my family and my children.  The first question they asked was "are your children abandoned, too?"

Oh my goodness....abandonment is just so normal to them! It is all they know!


One lady didn't even know what a Bible study was. So I proceeded to tell them what my foundational beliefs are as a Christian....who Jesus IS, what He has done for me, the resurrection, Christ is the ONLY way to the Father, grace alone, not by works...and so on.  They shot back lots of questions, like this...

Will we all be resurrected up to Heaven like Jesus was?


Why does God allow so much poverty and disease?


Will I not go to Heaven if I have not been baptized?  


I was just so excited they were asking questions I could have peed in my pants!

We had a great discussion.

Then, in honor of V-day, I shared the supposed history of Valentine's Day.  This was an excellent way to lead into the two prominent types of love in the NT...phileo and agape.  I was able to share how St. Valentine could not denounce his beliefs and love of Jesus Christ because he had experienced the love of Christ first!  It is SO different from the way we love in our flesh!

How we love apart from Christ:
*selfishly--what am I going to get out of this??
*prideful--I want to be recognized or make a good impression on someone
*conditional--I base it on someone's performance (if someone is kind to me then I will love them, but if they wrong me I will show no love or grace or forgiveness)

How we love in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit:
*patiently
*kind
*do not keep a record of wrongs
*endure ALL things
*hope for all things
*does not seek to hurt or offend someone
*unconditionally

This was such a great reminder for me today!  A sweet time to reflect and remember God's grace and all His blessings.  HE alone is enough for me!  The last couple of days I just keep thinking in my head, why me?  I don't deserve You, Lord.  I don't deserve anything You have given me. It all comes from Your hand. Thank You for your mercy and rich love!

Those thoughts became even more intense today as I sat and heard some of the stories of these ladies.  I can't even imagine how they feel....the numbness, the anger, the void, the longing, the sadness.  Here are where some of them are coming from...

~One lady has three children, but has given birth to five. Her four year old died from sickness and they had no money to treat him. Her one year died from lung problems.  She is my age. Oh, when I asked for her children's birth dates she didn't know. They had to pull out the file to tell me. Seems so odd to not remember when your four year old was born....

~One lady has a teenager she does not see.  She gave away her other two children and now has a new baby.

~One girl will turn 18 next week!  I thought she was 30.  I thought this because she looks much older due to her awful life!  She was forced into prostitution as a young child to make money for the family.  There is more to her story that would just make your insides cringe.

~One girl has a lot of mental problems ( i think they all do, but hers is worse).  She just had her second baby taken away because she cannot take care of it.  She will leave the center next week to go to a mental rehab facility.

~One lady has a two year old who already has so much damage done from abuse and neglect that he screams most of the day and bangs his head against the concrete walls.  He struggles with a lot of anger. When I gave him crayons to color with, he had no idea what to do with them.

Whew!  Sorry, that sounds so depressing, especially on such a lovey holiday.  I just wanted you to know where most of the people are coming from here.  It is dark. It seems so very hopeless.  But, as I was sharing God's love for them today and the Gospel I was filled with so much hope for them!  I kept thinking about how He knows everything about them and He formed them in their mother's womb and He longs for them. I pray that God does something mighty in their lives....only He can.

I told them today that HIS love is greater than all of our sin combined!  I can't fathom this.

There is just nothing like HIM!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cherichu

Today (Thursday) we went to a Hungarian gypsy village called Cherichu.  Our entire family went with three of the other missionary men.  The purpose was to deliver monthly food packages.

There are 14 families in this village and all of them are supported with food packages from a church back in the States.  This is the only gypsy village I would take my kids too.  The people there are very sweet and it is safe there.

It is a one hour drive to get there, but the Lord really lead the Bruski's to minister here through one little baby.

Alex was a baby who was born at a little over a pound.  The nurses told his mother that he would not survive so she should just leave.  She did.  Meanwhile, one of the Bruski's daughters was volunteering at the abandoned baby hospital (where Alex was) and she fell in love with Alex.  She was going several days a week to hold and love on him, feed him and just take care of him.

Alex's mother came back after five months to see if there was a chance that her baby survived.  He had!  But Alex could not come home because he was still so small and he would not thrive if he went home so his mother, Rodica, had to leave him there again.  Meanwhile, Paige is still going to take care of him and as he gets older he is growing more attached to her as well.

One day when Paige went to visit him he was gone!  They discovered that his mother had come and gotten him and taken him home.  With a little help from the nurse they found out what village he lived in and spent a couple hours driving around to find him....and by God's direction and purpose they did!!!

Rodica was afraid they wanted to take him away, but they told her they just came to check on him and explained that their daughter had been caring for him for the last year and a half!!  Shortly after, Rodica came to know the powerful saving grace of our GOD!  This last summer several others in the village put their faith and trust and hope in Jesus Christ as well!!!

A baby changes everything!

Rodica, Alex & Shawny

Alex will be six years old March 19th. Last March when Steve and I came, we got to celebrate his birthday with him. Today while we were there Rodica told me she wanted me to bring Noah and Paige over for his birthday!!  They cannot wait! Tonight at dinner Noah and Paige kept saying, "Alex is my new best friend!"  :)

Today, when we arrived at their house me and the kids went right into their tiny little home to play with Alex and his toys.  It was so sweet to see them playing together!

The families in this village are very poor. The government has taken away most of their monthly money allowance that they receive. Normally they receive $200 RON (about $65 us dollars), but since December they have only been receiving $40 RON (that is $12 usd A MONTH)!  That is not just for gypsies, but even the Romanian people in that village.  As we were leaving today they told us they had not eaten anything today and were very hungry. As soon as we left they were going to start cooking.   These people really are survivors!

Oh, I could just go on and on and on....

Please pray for Rodica's nephew. He is a little guy, probably around 4 yrs. old and they believe he has a broken wrist. We saw him today and he looked pitiful and he can't move his hand/wrist and it is very swollen. Someone from the ministry is going out there tomorrow to take him to the hospital.  Not sure of his name, but you can still pray!  Thanks!

Maternity Center

Last week and this week I went with Joy (another missionary) to the Maternity Center.  Joy goes once a week to do a Bible lesson and a craft.  There are eight women there who all have children, mostly small babies.  I was in heaven….I got to hold a baby - baby the whole time.  The women live here for six months at a time and then new women move in.  It is like an emergency shelter to help these single mothers get back on their feet.  Hopefully by the time they leave they will have a job and housing….and hopefully the Gospel. 

This week Joy and I tag teamed and took in Valentine cookies for the ladies to decorate and snack on.  They enjoyed them! My crew at home made 80 cookies to take with me and Joy to the Maternity Center & Minor Center (like a juvenille detention center for kids who are caught begging or running away, etc.)

I hope to begin going once a week on a different day than Joy to provide another devotion and possibly a craft, game or cooking lesson for these ladies. Right now the only social activity they have is when Joy comes.  This will give them something else to do during their week, but also give me an opportunity to present the Gospel and build relationships with these women.  My first day alone will be on Monday morning.  

The stories you hear of their lives are just heart breaking.  Many of the people here (adults) seem like something is wrong mentally.  I believe it is a result of all of the abandonment, neglect and abuse they have endured.  Women who are 20 years old often act like they are 12 years old.  The women in this center have been through a lot....that is probably an understatement.  All of them were orphans and the few that are not technically orphans have been neglected or left alone for most of their childhood. For example, even if they lived with their parents, the parents would leave them home alone for hours to fend for themselves.  

Even this week as I was at the maternity center talking with one of the workers she was telling me that they will go into the ladies rooms to check on them and they often find the mothers asleep on the bed and the babies on the floor crying.  Mothers leave their children in the rooms alone for hours at a time while they go out on the streets to hang out with friends.  They are just doing all that they know!  This was how they were raised and so the cycle continues! 

Devastating!!

There is one woman there who is very lonely and seems to be one of the better mothers.  She had this baby with a guy who comes from a wealthy family and his father is a politician.  He did not want his family to know about this baby so he asked her to abort the baby.  If she didn't he would leave her.  Praise the Lord, she had her baby and kept it despite the fact that this man she "loved" didn't love her or the baby enough to take care of them and stick by them.  She has a precious baby girl!  

  

Since it is a government facility we are not allowed to take pictures.  Bummer.  But, I will continue to share about our time here.  Please pray for these ladies who are single and will face many challenges trying to provide for themselves and their little ones. 

it was so easy...

This morning we pasteurized the milk that Noah got as a gift from Topa de Sus.  I was so nervous to even drink it, even after it was pasteurized.  I was also nervous to even pasteurize...worried that I would do it wrong, not let it get hot enough...something!

Robin (missionary here) has done it several times and told us how to do it. So we did it exactly the way she said to and it was SO EASY!

If you want to know how to pasteurize milk keep reading....

here is the fresh milk

here is Noah learning all about pasteurizing milk....

first you have it to let it heat up slowly....

see all those tiny baby bubbles?  when you get those all 

around the edges you shut off the heat and let it sit for 

30-40 minutes....

then you funnel it into your bottle with a strainer, cool it

and drink up. 

It does smell weird...like boiled eggs and tastes different to us, 

but we will use it up!  I'm sure it's the healthiest milk we've ever had.

Topa de Sus

We just got internet the other day so blogging hasn't been an option. We have lots to give updates about, but it is late here.  Just wanted to give a quick blurp (steve said that was a word??)....

On Friday, Steve, Noah and two other missionaries went to a village called Topa de Sus.  It is about an hour away and they went to deliver monthly food packages to some of the poorest families that reside here.  I may have mentioned before, but this is the village where you have to climb a really large mountain to get to one of the houses.  The roads are terrible and especially this trip because of all the snow and ice.  They had to park even further away, which meant a longer walk.  Not really that big of a deal, but when you have a four year old little man joining in on a guy's day out it can make it a little tricky.

But, not for my Noah!  He is a trooper!  Steve said he hiked almost all of it all by himself and Noah said that when he fell on his butt "it only hurt a tiny bit."  The hardest part for Noah was accepting all of the many kisses from the older ladies. They LOVED him!  How could you not??! He is adorable and sweet and so kissable!!  He came home and said, "Mom, I felt a little shy because it was just too many kisses!" Cute!

I sent the boys off with Noah's snowsuit, a roll of toilet paper (ya just never know), snacks, water, beef and cheese (to deliver to a widow as a gift....she loved it and was lucky to get it with Steve delivering it), a doodle pad, and a large bag of candy for Noah to deliver to all of the children in Topa.

Normally, Steve takes lots of pictures when he goes places, but he didn't take any of the people this time.  Sometimes it just feels awkward to pull out a camera in the midst of so much poverty!  He did get a great picture of the view though.

My two favorite guys!

Noah had such a good time!  We're excited for more trips here in the future.  I think we go once a month and possibly more in the summer.  Very neat for our boy to be a part of this.  They delivered food to six homes and were able to pray with them.   

Everyone wanted to give Noah a gift.  One family they delivered food to had about 12 children and wanted to give Noah something.  So they gave him 2.5 liters of fresh cow's milk!!  (milked that morning!)  This was received very humbly by us because we know this family and so many others in that village could have used it more than we could.  Just before receiving this gift they were at a home of a family with four children. One of the children had a condition where his femur bone was deteriorating at the hip joint.  Milk probably wouldn't have done the trick, but it probably wouldn't have hurt either.  We are very grateful and humbled!  We are learning what it is to have a generous heart in a whole new way. 

We are going to pasteurize the milk in the morning and give it a sample....we hear it's the best in these parts!