Romania Trip - first few days

Sunday and Monday Dec 26-27
The flights started out eventful already- a 1hr 10 min delay for the flight to Chicago to Germany. Those of you who know me, this is no surprise. Somehow with the help of some encouraging prayers and text messages, I was able to not stress. The long flight was the same as always, filled with movies and not a wink of sleep, as I can never sleep during flight. I did, however, have an amazing view of the moon, a first. It was a half moon with the light reflecting off the wings…relaxing to gaze at while the rest of the cabin slept. When we arrived in Germany, we were late as planned, but should still of had an hour and a half to make our connection. We stood up, eager to stretch. We gathered our bags in the isles, and we stood some more…and kept standing. The “Cherry Picker” for the door was frozen and would not work. No worries, we would use steps out the back. We stood waiting somewhat patiently. The stairs needed to be de-iced first. We waited, and finally the back door opened…only to be closed again. The stairs were attached but were not yet deiced. Finally, somehow the original exit plan succeeded after at least a 30 minute delay. We made it to our gate on time and quickly loaded the bus to board the plane. Boarding went quickly and we sat and waited for them to load our bags…and waited…and waited. I said I cannot sleep during a flight, but apparently I can sleep on a plane- I took about a 45 minute nap while someone took forever loading the plane. I was awoken by the engines as soon as the plane began to move, my only sleep during all the travel. We were now delayed over an hour on what was a little over a 2 hour layover. When we arrived, we had to walk all the way out of the security and back in again at the ticket gate. Somehow, this also meant paying for our extra checked bag fee…again? Annoying. Only after paying were our boarding passes printed and we proceeded on a long walk to our gate at the other end of the airport. We went straight to the bus to board the plane. At this point, I was starving from all the travel. My brilliant father decided that the best way to make my medicine cold was to scoop up a quart size bag full of snow while we waited on the bus…and the ziplock bag was carried on the plane to act as my very own portable fridge. We had a long wait on the plane once again, and I was able to drink some of the coldest medicine I’ve ever had while traveling. Finally we arrived in Cluj, only a little late, and of course, missing one bag- my checked bag. This was no surprise to Emil, an expert at dealing with the Wedgwood team and our various travel issues. It was taken care of quickly and we were off to TM. A warm shower later, I was ready to crawl in to bed, stretching my legs as much as I wanted without the pain of airplane noise.

Tuesday, Dec 28
In the morning we went to a Gypsy village for a short kids program. I was so tired and really just observed more than anything. Dragos led and was great with the kids. It was good to see the village, but a hard start after so little sleep. From there we went to lunch at the LOC houses. The kids were coming in from sledding and were so excited. They chatted about random stuff and met my dad. Gabi took us from there to the baby hospital via bus. Somehow, I was able to fall asleep on the way there and back. It was nice, but now as I sit up writing this, I regret it a bit. The babies were sweet and as always it was heartbreaking to see them stuck in their cribs. Gabi knew each one by name and knew their personalities as well, which was encouraging to see how God was using her there.
She dropped us off at McDonald’s afterward for some fancy fast food. We then changed into warmer clothes to take the LOC kids down to the Center to look at Christmas lights. We saw two Santas (a bit confusing for young kids when there are two right next to each other) and took tons of photos. It was very cold, but a great time to just bond with the kids. We were anxious to get home to warmth and hopefully a good nights sleep before the next long but amazing day began.

Wednesday Dec. 29
Today we ventured out to a village a few hours away to see Maria, the LOC teenager I used to sponsor. She moved away with her boyfriend’s family and her sister and brothers had not seen her in a long time. Two of the staff members, Gabi and Dan, were able to take all of them for a short reunion. We had no idea what to expect from this family she lived with. They were so welcoming. As soon as we walked in, the served us a plate full of cakes and other treats, complete with Coke. We chatted for only a few minutes before her boyfriend offered for my dad to go hunting with him. He was in no way dressed for this (nor a hunter) so he declined but was then asked if he would like to see the guns. The next hour was filled with excitement as the guys posed for pictures with the shotguns and pistol. Apparently, guns are rare in Romania, so it was a treat for them to even see one. During this time, the siblings were each able to spend some time with Maria and hopefully have some quality conversation. Then the family fed us all a great Romanian meal..sarmalis and some pork (probably from the severed pig head hanging in the yard) plus some French fries added for my benefit ☺
Overall, it was a great experience and my first time as guest in a Romanian home. The family was obviously financially stable and treated Maria great, which is a huge answer to prayer.
After the trip back, we hung out with the LOC kids at the houses and watched videos and played with PhotoBooth on my laptop. Then Jeff took us in to town to an “authentic Romanian Italian” restaurant…aka some pizza and pasta. We finished the day with one of my favorite things, raiding the local grocery store for some Milka bars. We got in early in time to relax and even get to sleep in a little tomorrow.

Romania week 1

A week in Romania has come and gone. Some of you kept updated via e-mail or facebook. I can not even begin to explain the spiritual struggles that the team and I have been through. I can't speak for my team, but this was the most difficult mission trip week I have ever experienced. In it all, God was so faithful. I have never before felt so clearly the prayer support of my church family and friends back home.

We lost bags, which meant lost meds for me and learned to share almost everything...and currently our team is continuing to be unified and patient while they wait in a nearby city, Cluj, hoping to get home after a canceled flight. There are so many other things that happened that are not for the blogging world to know...God worked through them all though.

In it all, I still had an amazing week. The morning group of kids was my Camp Week 1 group two years ago. The two I knew best and prayed for so often were not there...they moved back in with parents. But so many others remembered me as well. And new relationships were formed. The third day I shared a little about being adopted and my story and the kids on my team began to open up and share their stories as well. Two of the kids shared how God gave them the ability to forgive despite circumstances. The others in the group listened well, but it was evident that they did not understand. It was amazing to see two teenage boys take my story to the next level and share what it meant to surrender their pain and past to Christ.

The evening group was the LOC kids, a group I have now known for 4 years now. The time with them was fun but not nearly as deep. The first day I spent with the kids (before camp started) I was able to have some meaningful conversations. As soon as camp began, they seemed distracted. My prayer this week is that God will give me a chance to be bold and finish some conversations I need to have with them.

Monday brings another group of kids and new challenges. I have so much to sort through, but more than anything, I pray that I am aware and obedient to what God calls me to this week...each conversation and appointment I make will glorify Him.

p.s. sorry for any grammar/spelling errors. tried to spellcheck and its set to Romanian somehow...almost every word showed up as a misspelling.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Today was a reality check for me. February is Domestic Violence Awareness month and we had a guest speaker from the police department come speak to the students. Normally when guest speakers visit, the students try to be polite, but nod off in boredom. Today was different. They listened intently. And they were vocal. They were sure of their opinions and shared willingly. Male and female both argued the same points. Overall, most the students said and agreed on the following:

1. Sometimes in a relationship, you deserve to get hit (Even girls deserve to get hit by guys sometimes).

2. Girls should know better to stay out of certain things and keep their place (one of the GIRLS said this, and many agreed)

3. It is ok to be jealous and keep tabs on someone you are in a relationship with because it shows love

4. It is ok to control things like cell phone use or who each hangs out with as long as you mutually agree to be controlling.

I don't even know what to say to this. I want to pull aside the girls who readily admitted they are in a relationship where they have been hit, about 10 girls whom I am close to and many others. They don't see any other way. No matter what was said by the speaker or us, they see abuse as a part of life. I can't imagine. It breaks my heart for them, and for many of their children that they will teach the same too. It never occurred to me that the same students who we see fighting in the school hallways as a means of problem solving take the same approach in their dating lives.

Throughout the month of "awareness" and today, it was said that if you are with an abuser you need to get out of that relationship. The cycle of abuse is hard to break and people do not change unless they want to. I realize now that for many males AND females in the room, they were actually the abusers and they did not see anything wrong. They have no desire to change.

Today was just another day when teaching grammar and literature seemed so pointless in perspective. Who cares if they can pass TAKS if this is the life the life they look forward to? So many more important lessons are needed. How does one even begin to make a lasting impact?

The Green Pen Self

I haven't blogged in forever. So long, in fact, that my own blog is not even bookmarked on my browser. There are multiple reasons for why, one reason that I have realized the past months how many people from different areas of my life have access to my blog. I never blog about things I'm ashamed about, but for some reason the reality of it gave me writers block. The second being that I am "working" on a big blog. I have been "working" on it for a year now. Or shall I say God has been working on it. I'm waiting for the end of the story and it will hopefully arrive soon. Patience is difficult.

Since I'd rather not just blog about my not blogging (boring), I finally decided on a topic to blog on...The Green Pen Self...

The past years (post-college) have stretched my faith like no other. I journal every night and occasionally go back and read past entries. Sometimes it even amazes me how little has changed over the years. But the past few weeks I have had a slightly different experience.

For the new year, I decided to go back and finish a Beth Moore study on David that I never completed. I knew it was from years ago, but it wasn't until a couple lessons in that I figured out when. As I do the study each day, I use a notecard to cover up the green pen answers scribbled years ago and write in my new answers neatly in black. Then I compare.

The factual questions still produce the same answers, of course. But the questions about struggles-not so much. I am learning more from past answers than current. The study is from my very first year out of college- that first year in seminary. Each green answer is a perfect Sunday school answer. As the study examines Saul's jealousy and pride, it asks questions about my own. The "green" self says she doesn't really struggle with pride and is rarely jealous. The "green " self didn't even bother to finish the book that year because quiet times became non-existant in the seminary world. The "green" self became so jealous of friends moving on with life while she was still in school that she almost lost all friendships. The "green" self ignored all the probing questions about pride and jealousy...too prideful to even notice. And pride comes before the fall- the book remained incomplete as well as almost every other attempted quiet time material for a few years after that.

If only I could have seen that what so clearly leads up to the years of struggle I allowed myself to have. Those who know me well or knew me then no the huge trials through seminary and trying to figure out my call to teach and work with youth. God had to use such extremes to humble me- things that to this day people cannot ever believe happened. Every night as I "redo'" my study, I think back- how I wish the "black pen" self could have been there to tell the "green" pen self a thing or to.

This may not mean much nor make sense to those who have met me after this time period. But for those who knew me in the "green" years, I could not be more sorry for the way I treated others...so many great friendships were lost at my own pride . And for those who still are there, I am amazed and thankful that somehow our friendship survived...obviously through God's power and not my own attempts at friendship. More than anything, I am thankful for God's grace as He constantly draws me back to Him. I can't wait to see what else He has to teach me through my "green" self.