Irony

Eighteen years ago, before the revolution, Romanians stood in lines like this to get bread, a couple of eggs, a little bit of sugar. And what do they wait for today? To pay their bills...for cable television and internet access. I dare say they didn't even dream of this 18 years ago!

I intended to pay my own internet bill on Thursday morning, the first time I spotted the line. However, I know that the line inside is only half as long as the line outside, and I've waited inside for up to 45 minutes before. With temperatures below freezing, I wasn't particularly interested in standing in line outside for up to an hour and a half and then inside for another 45 minutes. So, I went back later in the afternoon. The line was still outside. Yesterday morning? Still outside. Afternoon? When I finally took this picture. Although lines to pay bills aren't unusual, the length of this one definitely is an aberration. Truthfully, I can't figure out why they all stood there and didn't just come back later. When I was there just after they opened at 9 o'clock this morning, I was the 5th person in line (and still waited for almost half an hour!). My bill is paid, I had some amusement for the week, and I dare say I'm not half as cold as those people who stood there forever and are probably still wondering if they will ever feel their toes again.

Bureaucrazy

Is that a typo? Well, kind of. It was a typo this first time I typed it. Then I realized it was pretty accurate, so I left it. Bureaucracy. Craziness. Put the two together, and you have an accurate description of the process I have gone through the last 2 days in order to reregister my car.

Here's a recap of the process (as best as I can remember it...honestly, I'm trying to forget it all in order to lower my stress level):
1. Call the police station. Verify that my new visa has arrived.
2. Walk to the police station; move fast so as not to freeze in place.
3. Look for the officer who has my visa in his desk. Not there. Go through doors marked "access forbidden", "authorized personnel only", etc. looking for said man. He's taking a break (with all of the other personnel in the building, apparently, precipitating the need to go behind said doors). Sign my life away, get my new visa (complete with no-smile picture...cuz if I smile, he'll make me take the picture again until I can keep a straight face).
4. Walk across town to another police station (we have different stations for every different police function, all in different parts of town).
5. Take a number, wait my turn, and ask the man behind the glass exactly what documents I need in order to register my car so that I don't run around like a chicken with my head cut off. Make a list.

Stick with me. This is where it gets good.

6. Go home. Gather all documents on aforementioned list.
7. Return to the police station (visit #3 today, if you are keeping track).
8. Take a number, wait 45 minutes for the 3 numbers before me to be called.
9. Give the man behind the glass all of the documents he told me to bring. "Umm, where is this? and this?" Umm, I don't know, since you never told me I needed those!
10. Go back home, pick up another document.
11. Go to the office next to the police station, pay them to type up a request asking that my car be registered and to make copies of my passport, visa, etc.
12. Go back to the police station (visit #4). Take a number, wait in line, blah blah blah.
13. Give my stuff to the man behind the glass again. "Why isn't this document stamped by the mayor's office?" Umm, I don't know. Maybe cuz no one ever told me that it needed to be. And there's no actual place on the form asking for the signature or stamp of the mayor's office. Apparently, my mind-reading skills have failed me.
14. Walk across town to the mayor's office. Stand in another line. And then another. Get the stamp that I need on my papers (Romanians have a love affair with stamps...I need to get my own!).
15. Stop at home to take the old plates off of my car (during visit #4, the man behind the glass told me to bring them with me).
16. Back to the police station again (visit #5). Take a number, wait in line.
17. Talk to the man behind the glass. "Where are your tax receipts?" What tax receipts? "Go to this office, pay this much for this tax and this much for this tax, then come back." Thanks, think you could have told me all of this the first time I was here? Or the 2nd? Or the 3rd? Or even the 4th?
18. Go to said office. Stand in line to pay taxes. Actually, there was no line. I just stood there, waiting for the clerk who was clearly bothered by the fact that she had to help me. I told her what I needed to pay. "You can't pay those here." This is where I was told to come. "Well, you can pay the first one here, but then you have to go over there to pay the other one." Pay tax #1. Go stand at another window. Wait for clerk who is clearly ignoring me while filing her nails. Eventually, pay tax #2.
19. Return to police station (visit #6). Take a number, stand in line. Man behind the glass sees me standing there, tells me to come ahead to the front. "Okay, everything looks good now." Wait. "Come back tomorrow morning." Guess I shouldn't have been surprised by that. Wouldn't want to make it TOO convenient!
20. Walk home...
21. ....and the next morning, walk back to the police station (visit #7). Take a number, wait my turn. Show my receipts, tell them what I came for. Wait. Wait. Ah, there they are. Sign for the registration paperwork for my car. Wait some more. They can't find my license plates anywhere. 15 minutes later, someone else comes out and tells me I have to come back next week to pick up my plates. Boy, that's a shocker!!!
22. Walk home, scan old plates (which the man behind the glass decided he didn't really want after all yesterday), change the number, print them, cut them out, cover in clear Contact paper, put fake plates on the car (This is legal...really! I have all of the legal paperwork for the car, including the number assigned to my plates, so I can make temporary plates with that number until the new ones are ready. Most people use a black marker on a piece of cardboard.).
23. Next week I'll go back and pick up the plates. Not bad...by the time the process is completely done, it will have only taken 1 1/2 days, about $60, and 8 trips to the police station.

Can't wait to do it again next year...

Christmas Caroling

Unless you've been Christmas caroling in Romania (or elsewhere in Eastern Europe), just forget whatever mental picture you might have based on the title of this post. I promise the experience here is different than anything you've experienced.

This is my third Christmas in Romania, so I've learned some important lessons. First of all, Christmas caroling here is an all-night experience (for the purists, at least). The first year, I showed up at church at 6, expecting to be home by 8, 9 at the latest. Since it had been a busy day, I figured I would eat dinner when I got home. Big mistake! This year, I made it home by 2:30 am (we're a little bit older and have a little less stamina than the purists!).

I've also learned to dress in lots of layers. Two years ago, I wondered if I would ever warm up after a long night of caroling. Last year we had a very mild winter, so it wasn't so bad. This winter is FREEZING! I was as prepared as possible...boots, scarf, gloves, long wool coat, 2 pairs of socks...and I still felt like an icicle. I came home and shivered for several more hours. Not sure if I can call that a lesson learned or not???

So, here's the night in pictures:

We drove around a lot in our caravan of 6 cars,



...we did some singing,




...and we were served lots of Christmas goodies and drinks.






I walked around all night with my big camera bag & alternated between the digital camera, the video camera, and my mp3 player (which makes decent audio recordings). Once in a while, I even put all 3 away and actually sang. I love Christmas caroling Romanian-style, though I must confess that one night a year is sufficient for me!

Remembering

Dad entered the presence of his Savior Jesus Christ 4 years ago today, December 20, 2003. I found this poem earlier today, and I think it might be the poem that we included in the funeral program. But, honestly, those days are a blur & I'm really not certain. And in the unheaval of moving to the other side of the world the next year, I'm not sure what happened to my copy of the program. Maybe it's tucked away somewhere.

Christmas in Heaven
I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below,
With tiny lights, like Heaven’s stars, reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear,
For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year!

I hear the many Christmas songs, that people hold so dear.
But the sounds of music can’t compare with the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,
For it’s beyond description, to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me, I see pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away, we really aren’t apart.
So be happy for me, loved ones, you know I hold you dear,
And be glad I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year!

I send you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above.
I send you each a memory of my undying love.
After all, Love is a gift, more precious than pure gold.
It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other as our Father said to do.
For I can’t count the blessings or love He has for you.
So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear,
Remember, I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year!

- Wanda Bencke

'Tis the Season

What's up with YOU?!?

I'm not a big fan of December around here, so I'll spare you the details. But, you can click on "comments" below and let me know who you are and what's going on in your corner of the world. It'll brighten up my gray December days!

Till then...here's some snapshots from the first 10 days of December.

December 1 is Romania's national holiday, not so much an "Independence Day" as a "Unification Day" when the three provinces were joined to form one independent nation.





During that same weekend, we took a group of teens and college students to a youth conference in Alba Iulia. Maybe someday I'll write about the somewhat traumatic process of getting there...


As part of the conference, each group was sent to a village church or church plant to minister during the Sunday morning service. Our kids did a great job in the little village church in Daia. For many of them, it was their first opportunity to minister in a church other than our own.



Also during that same weekend...the first mall in Targu Mures officially opened. It took me a week to finally get there, and I won't be rushing back anytime soon. But then, I'm not a big mall fan anywhere. Rumor has it that KFC might be coming to the mall someday soon, but I'm not holding my breath.


Last week we had our annual team meetings, talked about dreams & vision, and worked on next year's budget. Just as we were wrapping things up, the courier arrived from the publisher with student book #8 - The Exile and Return, hot off the presses.


Saturday we started rehearsals for the teens'Christmas program. Last night (Tuesday) they recorded the soundtrack for the program.


Some took the process a little more seriously than others. :)






And that's all I've got for you tonight.

Doing The Winter Shuffle

No, it's not the latest dance craze. Rather, it's a "new" way of walking that I rediscover with the first significant snowfall of each winter. Sidewalks are rarely cleared or salted here, so snow turns to mush, which turns to uneven ice, which in turn makes for a somewhat tenuous walking situation.

Unless you learn the winter shuffle.

It goes something like this: lift left foot (careful, not too high!), carefully slide it forward a bit, establish somewhat sure footing, lift right foot (remember, not too high...you can't be TOO sure that the other foot will stay exactly where you put it!), carefully slide it forward, establish somewhat sure footing, repeat as many times as necessary to arrive at your destination. NOTE: Multi-tasking while doing the winter shuffle is strongly discouraged. This is an activity which requires all of your attention. Failure to focus properly could have painful (and potentially embarassing) consequences.

My Precious

I've been looking for a new perfume since the beginning of September (haven't had one I like for several years). I found one toward the end of September, but it was expensive...way more than I was willing to pay. But, it went on sale for Christmas a few weeks ago, and I snaped it up.

Here it is, "Precious" by Oriflame (a Swedish cosmetics company).



Can I tell you a secret? Although I love the perfume, the bottle makes me chuckle almost every time I see it. See the "design" on the top? It's a ring, right? So, every time I look at it, I hear (in the voice of Smeagol from the Lord of the Rings, of course): "My Precious..." And I smile and chuckle to myself. It's no wonder people think I'm losing it.

Sorry for the interruption...

...but I decided to take an unannounced break for Thanksgiving. So, now I'm home again and will catch you up.

Wednesday, Nov. 21 - The drive to Bucharest

Guess what happens when you are on a 2-lane "highway" thru the mountains and there is an accident? Traffic stops. And, since there is no where to go, everyone just sits. And sits. And sits. Until finally the accident is cleared away and traffic starts moving, ever so slowly, again. Five kilometers in 45 minutes isn't exactly what I had planned for the day. Until then, I had made good time and was looking forward to being through the mountains and almost to Bucharest before dark (5 pm, these days). Post-accident, there was no hope. Combined with unusually crazy city traffic...the 6 hour trip became 8 1/2.

But I arrived safely, and that's all that really matters. I stopped at the grocery store for the last couple of things, spent a little bit of time with the Postemas, and then baked my pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner.

Thursday, Nov. 22 - Happy Thanksgiving!

I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner, relaxing, and playing games with the Postema family, the Staab family, Terre Ritchie (Leah's mom, here visiting) and Donna Messenger (visiting on the journey from Singapore to the States). Lots of good food. Even more great fellowship with friends! Donna and I spent a long time talking tonight. Good times!

And I had my very fist Starbuck's, too! Hot chocolate of course. Cuz coffee still doesn't taste anywhere near as good as it smells.



Friday, Nov. 23 - Happy birthday, Allen!
Today was my "little" brother Allen's birthday. I tried to call to wish him a happy birthday, but he was gallivanting around Washington D.C. and didn't answer his phone. I haven't talked to him since June or July :(

I walked a lot today and played the bum for the rest of the day. It was great!

Saturday, Nov. 24 - Christmas already?

Leah cooked breakfast for us today...yum! I don't eat hot breakfast very often (and when I do, it's usually breakfast foods for dinner!) because I don't feel like cooking just for myself in the morning. So, that was a nice treat.


Postemas bought their Christmas tree and put it up today. While they were gone, I went with Donna to the pharmacy to pick up some antibiotics; she picked up some kind of respiratory infection, we think. Gotta' love the fact that I can just walk into the pharmacy and tell the pharmacist what I want, and she gives it to me without a prescription (doesn't work with everything...but with antibiotics, it's no big deal). After dinner, we all went to Staabs and played an out-of-control game of Pictionary. Rummeys were there, too, so it was a good size group. Note to self: Pictionary with this group of people is not suitable for apartment living, at least not during quiet hours. Man, were we loud! In fact, there were MANY times when I was shouting at the top of my lungs and couldn't be heard by the person drawing.

We ended the day back at Postemas' apartment where they opened Christmas gifts from Grandma Ritchie while she's here. Holidays are so much more fun with kids!


Sunday, Nov. 25 - Happy birthday, Dad!

Today my dad would have been 55. He died about 3 weeks after his 51st birthday, almost 4 years ago. In some ways, it seems like yesterday. In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago. I know I'm not a little girl anymore, but I still miss my daddy.

Today was a beautiful day for the drive back to Targu Mures. Two of my friends from Tg.M. came to Bucharest on Friday and rode home with me. It was nice to have company, even if they slept most of the way home :). I made it back in time for the 1st choir rehearsal at 4, then the choir sang in the evening service. During the 2nd (normal) choir rehearsal after church, I had a tough time staying awake. I love to travel and had a fantastic weekend away, but I'm glad to be home!

Monday, Nov. 26 - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
I have about 20 bazillion things to do in the next 2 weeks, and I have no idea how I'm going to get it all done. So, what did I do with my evening? Keep working on the book I need to finish? No. File expense reports? No. Respond to e-mail? No. Nope. None of it. I decided, for one evening, to be completely irresponsible and ignore all of that.

I cleaned my living room, moved furniture (I've been wanting to do that for 2 months!), and started decorating for Christmas. I don't go all out. Few people other than me will see it, anyway. But I did put up my tree and my nativity sets. They make me smile :)





Whew...thanks for sticking with me to the end. I won't let another week go by until I post again!

Let Me Be A Woman

That's the (English) title of the book one of my Bible study groups is working through right now. It is actually a collection of letters written by Elisabeth Elliot to her daughter as a wedding present. If you keep that in mind, it's got some really good content (don't expect profound theological insights or even Scripture-searching).

Tonight was my turn to lead the group (3 of us take turns), and something caught me off guard. The book doesn't have a study guide, so I read through the 4 chapters, jotted some notes, and then developed a couple of discussion questions related to the text. Toward the end of the meeting, 3 of the ladies all made comments about the way that I was leading the group, not just talking about it the text but trying to take it a step further, figuring out how it relates to my relationship with God and, even beyond that, how it relates to how I minister to others. Honestly, my style didn't seem like something all that unusual to me ;) . But, having sat through a lot of Bible studies here (with several different groups of people), I can tell you that it is kind of unusual.

My new mission? Helping the other 2 leading our group to develop "questioning" skills. Because, as any one on our team can tell you, I am the queen of asking questions! Now if I can just get everyone else to appreciate that skill as much as our Bible study group did tonight...

What? No. 2

I've got tons of these (odd pictures to post as "What?", that is). This one is much less obvious than the last one (that was just a warm-up). If the answer to this one seems as obvious as the last one, you probably need to guess again. I promise that it is not. There are 2 parts to the correct answer for this one:

1. What is the object?
2. Where is the object?




Again, there is a prize involved for the first person with the right answer!

Missionary Appreciation Night

This evening, our church invited all of the missionaries who typically attend the church to come and share testimonies, prayer requests, blessings and struggles of working here in Romania. There are quite a few of us (about 15 last night), working with several different organizations, and with varying degrees of involvement in the church. There are so many of us coming and going that, often, I don't think many people in the church know who we are or what we do. In fact, someone just asked me last week, "Aren't you a teacher at the English school?" I've only been here for almost 3 years...and yet there are people in our church who don't know who I am or what I do (the church isn't THAT big...probably around 100 most Sundays). So, I was glad for this opportunity to share with them what I actually do do. After being pressured for several months, I also sang again last night.



I don't enjoy singing in church here. Truthfully, I was spoiled by the soundtracks I used in the States and by the really good accompanists who spent time rehearsing with me ahead of time, etc. (I miss you all!) It's much more challenging for me to find tracks here with which I can sing. Anyone who uses them gets them somehow from the States. I have a lot of tracks...but not for songs that have been translated into Romanian (and my translation skills DEFINITELY don't stretch to translating poetry with meter!). So, I have to either sing acapella (hmmm...no) or use an accompanist with whom I've only rehearsed once or twice right before the service. So, I'm more nervous here than I was even when I first started singing in the States. Which means that my breathing stinks. Making the whole thing sound not-that-great.

Good thing I'm not singing for the applause of men anyway. Cuz they (and I!) would be sorely disappointed these days.

Temptation

Tonight I taught the lesson for youth meeting, a lesson from Genesis 2-3 about the strategies Satan used to tempt Eve into sin and how we experience those same things.

Before the meeting started, I had a bowl of chocolates sitting in the front of the room with a sign next to it saying, "Do not eat!" (in Romanian, of course :) ). I didn't ask him too, but our pastor did a great job of ignoring the sign and eating some of my candy (which the kids just basically ignored for one reason or another). I'm glad he did, because the illustration wouldn't have worked as well if everyone just ignored the temptation. Because life doesn't generally work that way...we aren't very good at just ignoring temptations that are sitting there calling out to us.

When I asked the kids why they didn't eat the candy, their answers were pretty simple. "The sign said not to." "I wasn't allowed to." (Even though I basically left the stuff there unattended and even left the room for a few minutes.) "I knew I couldn't have it, so I stayed away from it." Truthfully, I wish my response to temptation were always so clear cut and easy..."I know it's wrong, so I'm not going to do it. Period."

Instead, I too often seem to be like our pastor (who really ate the candy just for the sake of the illustraton...or so he says!). "No one was watching." "What would happen if I got caught? It's not like there would be consequences." "It was sitting there, no one was watching, and I just kept looking at it, getting closer to it, until I couldn't ignore it anymore." It took a while, but eventually at least some of the kids began to understand that they use these same excuses for sin in their lives.

For example, cheating is rampant in this society. In fact, it's pretty much expected...by the teachers as much as by the students. Teachers allow (and sometimes encourage) cheating because good test scores make the teachers themselves look better. Even Christian kids rarely think of cheating as wrong. So we talked about how Satan lies to us, just as he did to Eve, making us believe that it something really isn't wrong even though God has forbidden it. And we looked at Scriptural principles regarding cheating (accurately translated as "stealing" in Romanian).

I love it when a lesson that I am asked to teach has a very strong, very practical lesson for the kids. Even though that lesson may not be easy to hear (or easy to put into practice). I love knowing that they can see how Scripture applies to their everyday life rather than just being a bunch of ideas and theories. Tonight was one of those nights!

Yummy

My options for dinner weren't quite as dire as these, but I have to tell you, it was a little disappointing to find the fast-food places closed this evening. Friday evenings are tough because we have Bible study from 4:30 until 7 or so, and I never feel like cooking dinner when I get home between 7:30 and 8 pm. Tonight I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to restock my yogurt and granola bar supplies. Then, I was going to grab something on the way home. But, apparently, "no water" also means "no fast food." Oh well. I'm probably better off without anyway.

P.S. If you come visit me, I'll take you to a restaurant where you really can order crap. Seriously. Don't believe me? Come and see! ("Crap" is the Romanian word for carp - we used to be able to buy cans of crap, but I can't find any anymore.)

The one thing I forgot...

...is that, in this land of hot-water radiators, "no water" means "no heat." There's nothing I could have done to prepare for it, but it was a rude awakening this morning. Especially since today's predicted high is only 39 degrees.

When my heat works, this apartment is VERY warm. But when it doesn't...well, it's like living in a concrete cave. There's no warming up until the heat comes back on. Whenever that might be. If you're looking for me tomorrow morning, I'll probably be the lump under the huge pile of blankets on my bed. Hopefully that lump will not be frozen solid.

You know you're in Romania when...

...you receive a notice in your mailbox saying that all of the water in the entire city will be shut off for 24 hours. Something about upgrading the system to meet European Union standards.

Not "don't drink the water for 6 hours or you might die." (I've gotten this message before.)

Not "you won't have hot water for the week of..." (I get this notice every summer; since the water is heated elsewhere and piped here, there's no hot water for a week in the summer while they clean and repair the hot water pipes.)

But "there will be absolutely, positively NO WATER for at least 24 hours" (the original notice said 48 hours). No washing dishes. No doing laundry. (Ooh, beginning to sound like vacation!) No flushing the toilet. No taking a shower. No swimming (the pool is closed). And, once the water comes back on, it will probably be cloudy and dirty for the first couple of days.

So, tonight I've been running around trying to think ahead & figure out how I can best prepare. Fill up the bathtub. Put a bucket of water in the other bathroom (for toilet-flushing purposes). Fill a pot of water to set on the stove (just in case I decide to make something for dinner tonight that demands water...I can't think that far ahead). Fill up the sink in the kitchen to put dirty dishes in, since I can't rinse them. Shower taken. Bottled water in the kitchen for drinking, teeth brushing, etc. The only left to do tonight is wash lettuce for the next couple of days' worth of salads.

I hope I'm not forgetting anything, because it won't be easy to "fix" it if I did. Since no one else in the city will have water, either.

Can't imagine what it will be like in the hospitals or restaurants here in town. I think I'll stay home for the duration :)

Wednesday, Nov. 14

Today I got to go back to the pool after the weekend away and then being sick. A couple of weeks ago I discovered the community pool here in Targu Mures and to my delight found that it is actually clean and chlorinated! I've been swimming 3 days a week & loving it. Proximity to the water is one of the things I've missed most here in Romania.

If you're expecting a picture of me at the pool, well, don't hold your breath. It's quite the sight, I assure you. Swimming caps are required. You'd be impressed with my swimming cap. And it's not even one of the disposable shower caps they sell at the entrance for those without the real thing.

Unfortunately, swimming was REALLY irritating my chronic sinus infection. I looked everywhere for ear plugs, but none were to be found anywhere in town. Mom suggested looking at the hardware store which is very logical. If you live in the US where people working with power tools think about protecting their hearing. Here, the man with the jackhammer digging up the street is more likely to wear flipflops than steel-toed boots. No ear plugs at the hardware store.

Remember my trip to Moldova last weekend? We spent a couple hours walking around Saturday evening, and guess what I found at a little hole-in-the-wall in Chisinau? Yup, ear plugs. A very practical souvenir, if I do say so myself.



That ranks right up there with the dictionary I bought during my high school senior trip to Florida. Which I still use, by the way. That's right, laugh at me. But Webster is still helping me remember how to spell in English...almost 15 years later. And I haven't had a single problem with my sinuses now that I have my ear plugs.

Monday, Nov. 12 - Driving Home

If you want...

• to see sheep on a regular basis, this is the country for you. They're much cuter when they aren't walking down the main European highway.
  

your cow to come home on time, don't salt your roads. Because the cows will stop (again, in the middle of a main European highway) and lick every last grain of salt off of the road. Even with logging trucks trying to gently edge them out of the way. And car horns screaming in their ears.

to get carsick, feel free to ride in the backseat of a car across the aforementioned "European highway" - which is actually just a two lane road that winds its way through the mountains - for 20 hours over the course of 4 days. Sometimes the road is nice and smooth, and other times it's...well, not so nice and smooth. I did really well on the way to Chisinau and okay for the first half of the trip home. The last half of the trip...not so great. But I've recovered now.

to see some of God's great handiwork, drive across the aforementioned highway. No, the highway itself isn't the greatest of handiwork (God didn't make it!), but the views are pretty spectacular.

too see snow, come visit. I'll take you to the mountains. We saw LOTS of snow there. And, just after we got back to Targu Mures, the snow started falling here. It melted off overnight, but I'm sure more is on its way! Here's the Monday evening view from my living room window (you can just make out the falling snow in the streetlight). So, come on over. The guest room is waiting ;)

Sunday, November 11 - Happy birthday, Mom!

Since I archive all of my pictures every couple of months, I don't have many pictures of my mom on my computer (last time I saw her was April 2007). But I did manage to find one...one of the last pictures I have of Mom and Dad together (at my sister's wedding in May 2004).

And we drove back across the border into Romania. After a bit of hassle with my new passport, they let us back in and we spent the night in Iasi.

Saturday, Nov. 10 - Teacher training in Chisinau

Our colleagues Dave and Penny Winget, who serve in Kharkov, Ukraine, met us in Chisinau. Dave taught Saturday's teacher training workshop on using object lessons. He has hundreds of ideas! In this picture, he's balancing 10 nails on the head of a single nail.

This is always one of our favorite teacher training sites because the Sunday School teachers are always so receptive and eager to learn.

Friday, Nov. 9 - On the Road to Moldova

Cheia Bicazului (yes, that's snow on the top of those VERY tall evergreens)

And the newest addition to my collection of Romanian road signs that make me laugh...

I'm home

I'm also sick. And very tired. So I'll try to catch you up on the weekend tomorrow, okay? Off to bed...

A Study in Contrasts

I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for pics to post...I think I need to take some new ones. I had to go back 6 weeks or so to find these.

The first, a sports car we spotted while driving back into the city from Ikea. I'm not even going to venture a guess as to the make of the car...I'm sure I'll get it wrong and then you'll all have to correct me. It's better that I just say "sports car" :) The second, taken earlier the same day as I came up out of the metro. That's one of the many contrasts in Romania...the flaunting of wealth alongside the desperation of poverty.

If you don't hear from me the next few days, I promise I'll be back soon and I'll even post "make-up" posts for the days I'll miss. We're off to Chisinau, Moldova early tomorrow morning for a teacher training session. Back to Romania on Monday, so I'll be back then!

Thanksgiving

DISCLAIMER: This post was written by an American from a purely American perspective and, yes, with a bit of sarcasm that doesn't necessarily come through in writing. Rest assured, no offense is intended and I beg your indulgence for a few brief moments.

Romanians don't celebrate Thanksgiving, at least, not the way we Americans do (surprisingly, they don't quite get the whole pilgrims & Indians thing...maybe that's because some of them live in houses older than our country). Yet, since coming to Romania, I've celebrated more Thanksgiving than ever before.

You might remember that I have Canadian teammates. Being a bit strange in the north-land, they celebrate Thanksgiving on the first Monday in October (let's face it, Thanksgiving on Monday is just plain weird!). The turkey dinner is always yummy, and I don't mind eating it more than once a year. But I always get the urge to get my Christmas decorations out the next day. I have to keep reminding myself that I need to wait another six weeks until the real Thanksgiving ;) .

Romanian churches have somewhat adopted the custom, and many set aside a "Thanksgiving" Sunday some time in the fall. Every church has a different date; last year, Libertatii (our church) celebrated on the last Sunday of October while I was in Turkey, and this year they celebrated on the second Sunday of the month. Gotta' confess...sarmale, no matter how good it is, still isn't Thanksgiving dinner in my mind. But it is a good time of fellowship, testimonies, music, etc., followed by Romanian food in the church basement. (Sarmale, in case you do not know, is a cabbage roll stuffed with ground meat, rice & spices. The ladies in our church made over 1000 of them for Thanksgiving this year!)

But I'm excited for the real Thanksgiving this year. I'm excited for turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie (which I can't stand the taste of, but love the smell) and all of the other good Thanksgiving "stuff". I'm looking forward to traveling to Bucharest with some Romanian friends (who want a shopping weekend in the city) and then spending a day with American friends in Bucharest & not having to run back to my computer to get more work done.

Until then, here are some pictures from Romanian Thanksgiving this year.

Pastor Nicu Stremtan

Deacon Vio Gaga


Giving away all of the goodies...they asked questions from the different Sunday School classes and those who answered correctly got to take some of the fruits and/or vegetables home.

Edible decorations :)