The Wheels Keep A-Turnin'

Location: Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, in a nice room hosted by the folks who are the heart behind the wheelchair distribution that will take place this week; it is about 5pm on Sunday afternoon, June 28.

We just finished, moments ago, unwrapping dozens of donated and refurbished wheelchairs sent from the United States to be distributed to the local community this week. They were wrapped in plastic like my school peanut-butter sandwiches used to be, and needed minor assembly. It took a couple of hours, even with a team of about 15 people working hard in the hot sun and scattered rain sprinkles. I regret that I did not adjust my plane ticket so I could be here for more of the week, but I am looking forward to the team in action tomorrow. These wheelchairs will literally mean new life for many persons and families!

These days in Cluj have been a blessing. Most importantly, I have had a good bit of time to spend just with my Lord. In addition, I have spent a lot of high-quality time with my friend, J., and several of her local friends that I met upon my arrival to Romania a month ago. Yesterday we had an unexpectedly free Sabbath day when J.'s friends from the States were unable to make their original flight that would have brought them to Cluj yesterday. So instead, J. and her Romanian friend, M., and I ran a few errands and then spontaneously put together a picnic and skipped town, heading to the forest at the edge of the city. We had a beautiful day of laughter, Frisbee, hiking and the like. In the evening, we met some other friends (new to me) and dropped downtown to have dinner and enjoy a lighted fountain.

This morning, we joined our host and his family at church (3 hours long on wooden benches and without air-conditioning for those of you who miss having church with substance!). It is a traditional, conservative Pentacostal church, but I certainly enjoyed it. I must say, I had some deja vu when the eyes of the church turned to the Americans who were supposed to stand up and maybe say something, but we managed to survive with nothing more than blushing and apologies afterward. (A similar thing had happened when I was obviously an American visitor at a church in Cuernavaca, Mexico a few years ago.) It is a blessing to be reminded of the grace the Lord offers us, often through His servants.

So the time in Cluj has been refreshing, even if I still have not been as disciplined as I ought about sleep. There was, though, one silly "speed bump" in my adventures here. I lost my knife--my Swiss Army knife.

I know, you are going to think that it is good that I have gotten rid of most of my possessions since I have broken or lost so many lately! It is a little ironic, because my parents, especially my father, taught us how important it is to take care of belongings so they stay nice for a long time. And I am careful with my belongings, and it frustrates me each time something breaks or gets lost. Thus, I hate that I lost my knife. It was a gift, and it is a good knife. So it is not with a little regret that keep looking in my pockets for that knife.

But you see, in a very important way, I am not sorry. I am not sorry because I brought it knowing I might lose it. I brought the camera knowing it could get broken. I brought the laptop knowing it could get lost or stolen. My point is, these things have served me well, and I would rather that they serve me well for a time instead of gathering dust in a drawer.

Is there anything in your life that is like that? Something that you are tempted to keep in a display case, away from the dangers of reality that might break it? Is your faith like that? Is it something you keep pretty by not using it? How about your love? Are you afraid to share it, to use it because of what could happen? Your money? Your skills? Your time?

I have made many mistakes, but I try to learn from them. And I can assure you that my faith and my love and my money and my skills and my time are not going to gather dust. I am going to use them to the fullest. Yes, they will get lost and broken and stolen sometimes. But why have them if I never use them?

There is a tiny story in the Bible about a man who left money with his servants who were supposed to invest it. One of them buriedthe money to make sure that nothing would happen to it, and he is the one who incurred his master's wrath.

I am on the brink of a Romanian cliff, looking into a French abyss. And now without a Swiss Army knife! But I will not hesitate--off I leap. I might get broken or lost, but you will never be able to say I did not dive in. With the Lord's help, I will boldly dive into whatever He has in store for me. Maybe it will be distributing wheelchairs, doing dishes, or accepting a surprise preaching invitation. Maybe it will hurt, scare me, scar me, or worse. But where the Lord is, there I will also be. I have watched too many people shelve their lives in a "safe" routine, a "display case" better called "Death." Instead, I choose to take the risk and live. I am investing myself in life. I want the Lord to use me to the fullest, to love me to the utmost, to take me to the farthest horizon in eternity!

Come with me! Use your knife! Bring your camera! Things will get broken and lost. You might get hurt. You will be scared sometimes, but oh! how it is worth it! Let the Lord live in you; take your life off the shelf and exchange it for His! You do not have to come to Romania, or France, or anywhere else! Just invest the life the Lord has given you; invest it in the people around you!

(It is now almost midnight; my typing was interrupted a few times, and we finally picked up our American teammates who were delayed in their travels.) Goodnight, dear friends! Get ready for the morrow; it promises to be lively!

Rain, rain? Go away?

Location: A red and blue bench with a nifty roof that kept me completely dry while everyone else fled the Botanical Gardens in Cluj (26 June, 2009, at about 4:30pm)

So the rain has pretty much stopped.

But the adventures surely have not.

When N. and I arrived in Cluj last night, we hopped in a taxi, only to find that the man who proudly spoke English did not know where our hostel was. He radioed for help and still took us confidently to the wrong place. We went ahead and got out, because I knew that arguing would lead to higher fares and more wrong places. Naturally, we entered the hotel where he left us, and the receptionist gave us a map and directions to our hostel. The hostel was fine and very hostel-ish.

This morning, we had to get N. to the airport in a timely fashion. We hopped a bus just as the ominous clouds burst, and with help from other passengers, made it to the correct stop in time to dodge a few raindrops and puddles. N. was a little anxious about catching his flight, so it was not long before all the staff in the small airport knew him. I waited with him until he checked through security; he only looked back when they made him throw away his Coke!

By then the rain had stopped, so I pranced to the bus stop far from lurking puddles. Somehow, though, while I was waiting for the bus, a large truck realized that I had not yet showered this morning and hit the only pothole in the area, strategically spraying me even at my safe distance. Soon afterward, a nice Romanian man arrived and tried to strike up conversation about the weather, but I warned him that I spoke poor Romanian and that there was a dangerous puddle nearby.

I made it back to the hostel and showered and attempted a nap--I forgot to got to bed last night and was pretty tired! The shower was successful, the nap not, so I headed out with no destination in mind. Interestingly enough, the LORD led me straight to the Botanical Gardens, so I paid and entered, and enjoyed a fabulous time of prayer with Him. He showed me that it was to rain, so I told Him I trusted Him to shelter me, and sure enough, I arrived at this handy bench just before the thunder and lightening sprung a leak. How wonderful it was to sit here and watch the rain!

J. just called and told me that the competition with the kids in Oradea worked out perfectly between the morning and afternoon rain showers there. While I admitted I had prayed about the weather, God gets the credit. I thank Him for His perfect timing! I feel funny about praying for specific weather most of the time. I pray that God will be glorified in whatever weather He allows. Very rarely do I think that my plans and activities are more important than God's creation and weather. The Bible explains that the Lord hears and answers our prayers, which are in accordance with His will. It is always God's will to glorify His Name. He has taught me a lot about prayer, and many of you ask me to pray for you. I count that a great privilege, and I do not take it lightly. However, I ask the Lord to show me how to pray, that I might pray according to His plans. I want Him to be glorified.

That is how I ended up in Europe: I asked God to glorify His Name. That is how I ended up praying on a red and blue bench during a thunderstorm in a garden: I asked God to glorify His Name. Time and again I have watched the Lord answer prayers, but only when they are according to His will. What are you praying? What is the Holy Spirit leading you to pray?

N. went away today, and hopefully he will soon arrive safely home. But I am glad the rain did not go away. I like the rain, and so far, He kept me out of it, but within reach to enjoy it. I bless you in the Name of Jesus, that our God and Father may be glorified!

Slipping Away

Location: Seat #38 on a Cluj-bound train from Oradea, about 7:30pm on the 25th of June.

The mountains on both side of the train are slipping away into the twilight as N. and I glide toward Cluj-Napoca. Not long ago, the platform was slipping away as I hung out of the train with Alfred (my human-sized backpack), clinging to the bar above the step on which I was standing. When the whistle had blown, I had hurriedly hugged my friend V. and sprinted to the train (carrying Alfred). As the train took off with me waiting on the step for lingering passengers to leap off, V. was pacing beside me, ording me to get on. I smiled at her and said, "V., it's another adventure!" before I swung up into the train and waved goodbye.

Yes, it sounds romantic, and I have to admit that I love such situations. N. was less than thrilled when I found him waiting on the train, but he was happy to see me since I had the tickets! But more seriously, we made such good friends in Oradea! How nice it was for a couple of them to send us off at the station, even in fast-forward! I have decided that this past month has been one of the best months of my life--in part because of the people God has put in my path!

How I hate to leave Oradea! But I look forward to God's plans waiting for me, and I expect these days in Cluj will also be wonderful. Will I returned to Oradea? To Romania? It will be fun to find out!

No, goodbyes are never easy, but it is better to say a hard goodbye than to just find out that people have disappeared! Last night, J. had a great goodbye dinner for us with some of our coworkers, and not only did we have some apple dumplings for dessert, but I also got to have some "kitchen pace." That was helpful in preparing me to find out, upon our arrival home, that we had no running water in our apartment! I told N. I was sorry to hear that, but that I would see him in the morning, because I was going to bed. As I prayed, I knew we would have water in the morning (though I was tempted to doubt when we still did not at 3:30am), and this morning the Lord confirmed it when I was reading Psalm 63. The words about praising the Lord even in a "dry and weary land where there is no water" declared themselves to be powerfully true. I rejoiced and shivered as I took a shower in cold water this morning, but water nonetheless! Cold showers make you feel alive!

Before dinner last night, we had enjoyed a last hurrah in the park with several of our friends. Talk about a variety of people! We were persons of different ages, different nations, different ethnicities, different languages, different abilities, but together for Ultimate Frisbee and fellowship. By phone and and email and some brief handshakes, we did our best tonight to say goodbye to those that were unable to make it to join us last night. It is amazing the number of persons you can meet in one month!

I had a nice dinner with J. the other night at a Chinese restaurant, and while we were eating, I recognized the little boy in the doorway as one to whom we had taught American football!

Some of you tease me about writing too much, and if I were to try to record all of our laughs and memories and mistakes and lessons, this page would truly never end! So instead, I have to treasure them up in my heart as Mary did at the birth of Jesus, and ponder them, discussing them with the LORD. As He uses them to bring me nearer to Him, then I can share with you the meat, like a carefully prepared dish for beloved guests.

In the same way, it was a month's worth of relationship with the young people at work that we had to walk away from today. Tomorrow our friends will be having an integrated competition with local high school students, and we will have to miss the fun. We miss them, and they are already missing us, for they told us how much they need us and asked when we would return.

It may be best that most things in life only last for a season; that way we do not take them for granted. I strive to pour myself wholly into every relationship, every job, every day of life I have. It is not worth always waiting for a better one. It is not worth letting the moments and days and years slip away. Better to dive in, even when it feels like hitting concrete sometimes, and to trust the Lord to work in you and through you. For example, our hosts, I. and H., shared their apartment with us for a month. It was a nice goodbye as we blessed one another, knowing that the Lord was leading us on different paths, but that we would share eternity together even if we never see eachother again on this globe.

Eternity is a tough concept, and it is normally misunderstood. Some people prefer to ignore it because it is so immense. Others make it their first priority, speculating on the details of the unknown so much that they never live a moment of the life that is slipping by them. Eternity is nothing more than life. It is life the way God created it. He created us to live forever, with Him. It is not a reward, it is the way things should be. We as humans chose to stray from that plan, and when we chose immorality instead of God's glory, we chose to separate ourselves from the Eternal God. Yet Jesus came with the fullness of God the Father dwelling in Him. After He was crucified, He was raised to new life, and us with Him. He told His followers that He would sent His Spirit to live in them. If you have surrendered yourself to the Lord, if you have let Him remake you into the man or woman He created you to be, if you have invited Him to dwell in you, then you have the very life of God living in you. That does not make you God, that makes you an empty vessel filled with a precious treasure. God chooses to live out eternity with us. The language the Bible uses is us "in" Him and Him "in" us. While this world still turns, He is living in us and through us, accomplishing His purposes. As this world passes away and is restored to what it was originally created to be, we will live in Him, in the splendor of His glory, forever.

In otherwords, eternity exists for everyone. We have the choice to spend it with God or apart from God. But as soon as we choose to spend it with the Father who is lovingly waiting for us, who lovingly sent His Son to die for us, our eternal life begins. Our old life was crucified on the cross with Christ, and now His eternal life is living in us.

As I watch the beautiful Romanian countryside slipping away, I cannot help but to enjoy eternity. One of the beautiful details of this land is that there are few fences in the pastures, just livestock freely grazing, watched over by shepherds and herdsmen. In the same way, let's forget the fences of this life and live out these moments of eternity. It makes goodbyes easier, relationships richer, and love stronger.

Do not let it slip away!

Lost in Space

Location: A heavenly seat in a breezy, pace-filled sun porch in the fourth floor apartment of my great friends J. and V., Oradea, Romania, mid-afternoon on the 23 of June, 2009.

Wow. I could just sit and rest in this spot for a very long time. I am tempted not to type, but just to relax.

The last several days have been very busy, and the next several promise the same. That is why I am thoroughly enjoying this "space" I momentarily occupy. It is in an apartment of two girls that have been wonderful friends to us during our stay here, often twisting our arm to take a meal with them. (They are pictured above in nearby missionary's home.) It is a place where we have completed many fix-it projects (which I love), such as wardrobes and cabinet drawers, a night-stand hinge, and more. We have washed lots of dishes here, some windows and floors, our own laundry, and we have enjoyed great fellowship and dinners in this place. Though my current home-away-from-home is a mile or two from here, this has truly been a peaceful place, a second home-away-from-home in Oradea. As my world spins among cultures and travels, comings and goings, work and play, and helter-skelter rushing around, I am utterly thrilled to be, even just for a moment, happily lost in this space.

Yes, time rushes by, and our days in Oradea are numbered. In only a few days we will head to Cluj, N. will leave for the States, and I will leave for France a few days later, after helping with the first half of a wheelchair distribution. The next few weeks include a wedding, prayer, and a lot of unknown, so please bear with me if I have trouble accessing the internet for blog posts or emails. If you do not hear from me, assume I am safely in the Lord's hands!

What have we been doing besides handyman work and dishes? We have continued to work with the young people with disabilities, from whom I learn so much. We had the opportunity to take them to the thermal pools on Friday, and it is humbling to learn such grace from them as I try my best to gently carry them or help them change their clothes. I hate to say goodbye to them later this week, and they are already asking when we will be back!

Yesterday, N. and I left work a little early and joined friends K. and M. and M. who work with a center that provides Christian programing after and outside of school for local children of the gypsy communities. We joined in teaching an English lesson to about fifty youngsters ranging from probably 7 or 8 to 16 years old. I was drafted to play the piano (which was truly a miracle since I do not really know how!), and we sang, practiced the words for body parts and family members, and enjoyed watching the interaction with these children.

It has been rainy again with storms the last few days, and the weather cannot decide if it wants to be hot or cold, humid or dry. Nonetheless, we plug along with the Lord's plans. You will notice the photo of N. the "Grill-Meister" above. We enjoyed a cookout (under the edge of the garage because of the storms) at a local missionary's house, and she promoted N. to his new position, which he held all night long, to his great pleasure, I could tell! That was a fun evening: we had to take taxi's beyond the reach of public transit, and we got to meet an American gal who we found out was at the same Moody Bible Institute Founder's Week Conference in Chicago that I attended!

(I am back now in the same spot. I was interrupted by a good discussion with one of my hostesses, followed by a grocery run, Chinese dinner, preparation of two batches of apple dumplings, and chili for tomorrow night. During the baking, we invited J.'s grandmother and my mother to join us via Internet webcam. My mom was sitting on the toaster! It is now almost 11pm, and I may be interrupted again with dirty dishes, but I will eventually post this!)

So back to Saturday night... We had just finished dinner when the missionary (whom I had never met until that evening) handed me her cell phone saying someone was calling for me. On the other end of the line was a girl I had never met; through two dropped calls and a third successful one, she asked me to preach the next morning at a Gypsy church a half-hour outside of town. I said yes, and the next morning found N. and me waiting for that girl to pick us up at a gas station. We met up with some other folks and I learned that I may be leading worship with a guitar, too. It ended up that my only role was preaching, and I had a great translator. It went well, because the Lord spoke through His Spirit. He had been teaching me from Psalm 131, so that is what I taught on. He continues to teach me humility, so that is what I preached about. It was a memorable morning! Thanks for your prayers!

(OK, it is just now midnight, and I am back at my apartment, hopefully to finish this post and get some sleep...)

Sunday afternoon we had lunch with our new friends, and then we made it back to Oradea for pizza with other friends, before going to the home of even more friends for some laundry. The LORD has blessed us with wonderful friends here!

For instance, I was with some of those wonderful friends when I made a silly decision on Saturday. We were fellowshipping in the park before leaving for the cookout, and we were about done. It was hot, and we were tired, ready to go clean up. Just before we left, the football or the Frisbee went over the hedge that N. and I have jumped a few times. We had been teasing N. about falling in it, so I felt the need to show-off that I could successfully clear it. Unfortunately, a few mis-steps later, the concrete of the sidewalk on the otherside confronted me with the truth, my camera breaking the fall. The camera still takes photos--it took the ones above--but the screen is busted and therefore pretty useless. If you think it hurts to land on the concrete face-first, you should see my pride! That hurts even worse! Of course, God was watching over me. Not only did I do it in front of a medical student and a physical therapist, but I survived with just a few cuts and bruises.

I have said before that I am constantly being humbled, and this fall was another example of it. So was God working in the park several times this weekend, not to mention working with our friends at the day center each day. That is probably why the Spirit led me to preach about humility. I believe that humility is one of the most important keys to a loving relationship with our loving, almighty God.

Thank you for your prayers as I head into the next phases of my journey. I do not know where I will be going for much of it, nor what adventures await me. But I know that you will be following via blog and praying for me, and I know the Lord will go before me. May He get the glory!

Catching Up

Ok, Friends, I am mostly caught up on emails, I have train tickets, I'm finishing up little projects here and saying goodbyes. God is moving powerfully! I have to run to work, but I hope to give you a real post soon. I have some more pictures to post, too. Thanks for your patience. I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and well.

I pray that you, too, are truly ALIVE!

I bless you in the Name of the Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE!

On the Run!

Location: Apartment bedroom, Oradea, Romania, late afternoon on the 21 of June.

I don't have time to write at the moment, but I wanted to let you know we are alive and still enjoying Romania! This is a picture from when we took the kids to the thermal pools on Friday. After that we hiked up a big hill and spent some time in prayer, ate dinner back in town, and hung out at the park. Yesterday was terribly humid (it is usually drier here) and hot, and N. and I spent our time doing some fix-up projects for J., building relationship in the park, and visiting an Greater Europe Mission missionary outside of town for a cookout. Today, we just now returned from a village out past the east side of town where I preached at a gypsy church. Now we have a dinner date and maybe laundry after that, and at some point I need to medicate my fatigue with some sleep.

As you can imagine, there are lots of stories in between the lines, so I will try to elaborate more later. Until then, there are a couple more pictures on Picasa Web, and if you want to check it out, I preached on Psalm 131. Oh, and my emails are building up, so thanks for your patience as I tried to juggle the irons I have in the fire!

Have a super Sunday!

Slow Motion

Location: Oradea bedroom, Romania (June 19, just before bedtime)

Just a brief post for those of you who roll your eyes when my post is long enough you have to scroll down once or twice (smile and wink!)... Seriously, I need to get a bit more sleep than I have been, and as soon as I tried to catch a nap yesterday afternoon, the hammer-drills in the aparment being renovated below our bedroom began shaking our beds off the Richter Scale, leaving us in a land of afternoon insomnia!

But before I enter the world of dreams let me tell you that today was super. I hope to post some new photos tomorrow morning. Today we took the kids to the thermal pools, which kind of resemble an in-ground pool in early spring after it has been stewing leaves all winter. But what a humbling experience it was to carry these friends from wheelchair to water, knowing that several cannot walk, some barely talk, none really swim! What a privilege to help them do simple things like put on their sunscreen, eat lunch, change clothes, and blow up beach toys!

After that time in the sun, N. and J. and I headed for the hills, literally, and climbed above town to pray for the city. God is at work here! We had a terrific time of peace and prayer before coming down to watch God's plans unfold. Before dinner we ran into our Mormon friends again, and dessert for our dinner was time in the part with O. and then E., two Romanians with very different backgrounds and needs, both of whom I have been very frustrated with at times while growing to love them dearly! God very much used J. and her Romanian language, which allowed me to pray and watch God work. What a day! May the Name of the LORD be praised!

I also celebrated a birthday the other day, which was fabulous because of my fabulous friends and family and my fabulous Father! Look at the "my-grandma's-apple-dumplings from scratch" that J. made me, then imagine their taste and multiply it times unbelievable! Maybe I can write more on that later. But for now I am watching the sands in the hourglass tumble in slow-motion as the end of our stay in Romania races toward us. People are begging us to stay, and I have to admit that I love it here. Yet I also love spending time in prayer, and the Lord still has lots He is telling me about Romania, the rest of my summer, and the rest of my life.

Stay tuned; I am sure there will be more. But for now, rejoice with me, because the Lord is good! His mercy endures forever! Great is His faithfulness, and His blessings are abundant!

A Question from a Reader

Location: Again in the sleeping apartment at the other end of Thursday, the wee morning hours of Friday, 19 June in Oradea, Romania.

One reader emailed me a question that echoed my own questions from my past:

If I had been born somewhere else, would I be following the God I now follow?

Here is an unpolished response; maybe you will find it helpful...

The question is excellent. You should know, too, that you will never be satisfied with an answer, but you will only be satisfied with God, Himself. So do not worry too much about looking for true answers; instead look for Truth itself. That is when you will find God, and the answers will come along in that relationship.

This question stunned me, because it is almost the same question I asked myself when I was questioning my faith. In fact, I had to think carefully, because I thought maybe I had written it somewhere in the blog. Here are some of my thoughts about it, as you read them, pray, and the Lord will give you the wisdom to recognize what is true. Check what I say with what the Bible says, for I, too, am only human.

I have friends of many different religions or non-religions, it is true: some of them seem more "Christian" than the Christians! So I, too, asked myself if I would be a Christian if I had been born somewhere else. I believe the answer is YES!

No one can know God except if He reveals Himself to them; and the Bible even says that God revealed Himself to those who were not seeking Him (Isaiah 65:1 and Romans 10:20). The problem is that people think being a Christian means following the Christian religion. Sometimes that is the religion of their family, of their community, of their people, of their nation, of their friends, etc. And though community is a very important part of Christianity, faith is intensely personal. We have a personal God who knows each of us by name. This means that no one can be a Christian for someone else; we each have to make the decision to follow Jesus ourselves. Sadly, there are many people in the Church who do wonderful things and go to worship regularly, but who do not know Jesus as a friend and brother. They are the ones who will say, "Lord, Lord, we did many works in your name!" but to whom He will reply, "I knew you not!" (Matthew 7:22).

All religions, even Christianity (when it is a relgion), are they same: they are humans trying to work their way to God. Usually this is by doing good works or following special rituals. But true Christianity is a relationship with a loving God who knew that we could never be righteous enough to make it to Him, so He came to us in the form of His only Son, Jesus. That is different than every religion! While we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8) And God looks at our hearts, but humans look at outward appearance. From the outside, there are many Muslims, Hindus, Christians, atheists, humanists, environmentalists, etc. who are doing wonderful things for many people. But what good does it do to save an entire continent from HIV and AIDS, or to extinguish poverty and hunger in the whole world, if all of those people still end up spending eternity apart from the God who loves them?

See, it is not about what we do, or even about who we are--it is about who God is.

As I asked myself this question, I thought about what it means to be God.

Philosophically speaking, one god (not two or more) seems to be the only possibility to me. Why? Because as long as there are many gods and hierarchies of gods, none of them is perfect. By definition, there can only be one truly complete, perfect thing or person. If there were two or more, you would not be able to tell them apart, because they would be identical. If they were not identical, one would be more perfect than the rest. And if we had a God who was not perfect, that would mean there was the possibility that another god who was more perfect could come along and take over the first. Finally, if we could not know God, it would not matter if there was a God or not. Therefore, I think there must be only one God, and I think He must be perfect and knowable.

I thought about the many religions in the world, and there are five primary ones: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Since I believe God is knowable, it makes since that He is not hidden, worshipped only in a small corner of the world by a handful of people. It makes sense that many people have heard about Him, and that some of them know Him, and some of them are mistaken about what they know about Him. Of these five religions, three claim to be related: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three all claim that there is only one God, but only Christianity demonstrates that God as intimately knowable. Finally, many details of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus and the facts of the Bible have been substatiated through very reliable evidence, which also supports the truth of its claims.

This information is profond and overwhelming, but it gives my mind something to think about. Ultimately, though, it is not my mind that must decide, it is my heart. Even if I understand all of this in my mind, but I do not know Jesus, it is worthless. If this makes sense, or even if this does not, just pray to God (who is seeking you and me) and ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a way that you understand, if in fact He is who He says He is. Better than an answer is the one who knows all the answers.

We cannot judge for or against a god based on its religious followers. In fact, if God is really God, who are we to make a judgment about Him at all? Instead, look for God Himself, and when you find Him, encourage those who know and follow Him, and have mercy upon those who are still searching in the wrong places.

I hope this helps--let me know if I can clarify anything!

I bless you in the Name of Jesus the Christ!

Dating

I just noticed that my blog post time and date must still be set on Indiana time--that's another reason I try to record my location and time and date when I type, since it may be different from what the automatic stamp says. I have received many notes from you, and I know many of you are praying for us. Thank you! Right now God is giving me glimpses into the next weeks and months of my life--I will keep you posted (no pun intended!) I have a few more photos to upload, and I hope to do that soon. (I did post a photo--scroll way down--of the first bloom from one of my two "pet" rose bushes transplanted to my parents house in Indiana when I left the country--isn't she beautiful?) For now, though, know that all is well, God is good, "and the beat goes on!" This is the short version; the real post is below! Have a super June 18th, wherever and whoever you may be!

With the Sunrise

Location: In a sleeping apartment in Oradea, Romania, 6:00am on June 18.

I have already been enjoying the day for several hours--the sun seemed to sleep in a bit today. It has been a wonderful day as the Lord woke me up and invited me into a moving time of prayer. Many of you were there, too, whether you knew it or not. I thank the Lord for you and for His work in you.

What can I say except that I have been blessed beyond measure? And I pray that every blessing, every moment of my life, every bit of who I am is only for the glory of God. Today I celebrate, that He might get the glory!

That may be a foreign concept to you, especially if you have not yet realized that the reason God sent Jesus was to invite us into intimate love with Him, the God of the Universe. You may never think about God or His glory. Prayer may not sound pleasant, especially in the middle of the night.

That's okay. The Lord will continue to love you as He invites you closer and closer to Him. Let me tell you about how He has been loving me.

I am in a part of the world that I hardly knew existed, thanks to an odd sequence of events that included a French degree and a mysterious knee injury and a God that pulled me through the darkest times of my life when I was not even sure He existed. Certainly, I am athletic, but I have no great love for constant sports, especially American football. Nevertheless, last night found us in the park with a dozen friends, five of whom were kids twelve and under, playing football and Frisbee and keep-away (called "Cat and Mouse" here). Earlier in the day I had taught the young people with disabilities how to do the Hokey Pokey, and only one was pulled out of his wheelchair during Tug-O-War! We had been able to visit the gymnasium of a local high school to use their facilities for therapy and games. Their smiles were wonderful!

In fact, yesterday was a day of laughter! J. got tickled a few times and basically fell over laughing, and her laugh is so contagious that everyone else joins in no matter if they do not know why! I enjoy laughing, so I participated, too!

So here I find myself being blessed by people I did not know three weeks ago through laughter and sports. A visiting American missionary had to go to the hospital with some sort of food-poisoning, yet N. and I have been healthy the whole time. Many people (here and in much of the world) do not have jobs, and N. and I get to work with wonderful people in all sorts of settings here! And this is only a brief global stop among the many places I have visited or lived!

If you can read and comprehend these writings about my life without seeing the work of God, I am truly amazed. I can tell you that I am who I am only because of who He is. I am only who I am because of the loving God who listens to and answers the prayers from the hearts of many people. I can tell you that I am able to eat bugs (I know I ate one yesterday), to learn other languages, to interact with people far different than me, to leave my loved-ones behind as I cross oceans, to sell my possessions, to live happily "unemployed", to survive dangerous situations, and so much more only because of the grace and power of a Living God.

Yes, I am weird. You cannot look at me an see a "normal" young man in the context of this world. I do not fit. But do you see anything you like? Do you see that "normal" is often over-rated, or just plain wrong? Do you see that there is a better way? Do you see that God made you to be someone, YOU, and you do not have to spend all of your time wondering what everyone else thinks about you? (I promise that the rest of the world is too self-centered to even be thinking about you at all 99% of the time.) Do you see that you have dreams and passions for a reason, that you were given a heart and a mind? Do you see that you do not have to stay in a rut, that you can make decisions and purposefully interact with the people around you, impacting and influencing lives even as you are impacted and influenced?

What if only one life was influenced for the better because of your life? Wouldn't that be worth it? And I can assure you that if you are more than one year old, dear Reader, you have already impacted many lives for the better! God is at work in you whether you recognize Him or not!

Today, I celebrate you, because you were hand-crafted by a loving God. I do not know why you are reading this blog today, but I hope you come away with hope. I hope you come away encouraged, knowing that you are loved. I hope you come away with the desire to encourage someone else today, to remind them that their value, like yours, is very precious, because they bear the fingerprints of a compassionate, merciful Maker.

I hope that you are not afraid of these questions. I hope that you are not afraid of the questions inside of you. N. and I were just laughing the other day because he asks questions looking for answers about everything! That is because he was trained as a mechanical engineer. Me, on the other hand . . . I was trained as a philosopher, and I learned that my questions often lead to more questions, so I am comfortable leaving a question unanswered for quite a while. If you have questions, take a look at them. Feel free to email me about them, or journal about them, or pray about them. Questions lead us to the Truth, and God is the source of Truth. That might be a scary thought at first, but I can tell you from lots of international experience that there could be no better way!

I bless you in the Name of Jesus!

Ziploc Bugs and Twisty Flies

Location: Apartment living room, Oradea, Romania, just after dinner on Monday evening, June 15.

Yes, for those of you who read my post a few days ago, this is N. in that fateful elevator that trapped him recently. It now works again (I tried it, because understandably N. was scared...)!

What you might not know is that the morning after the elevator incident, poor N. was very unhappy, to my great amusement, about finding bugs in his cornflakes. We had noticed that Romanians do not seem to have twisty ties available, though we were told by one friend that he had seen them here. That same man did say, though, that they do not have Ziploc bags here. J., however, being a seasoned missionary, keeps things like Ziploc bags on hand, so she donated a few to our cause. Yet when we went to put our new cereal in them this morning, we found that the bag already had a hole in it, and the little buggers had already found their way in. For those of you who remember the delight of searching inside a cereal box for some sort of prize, you will understand why I enjoy the challenge of sifting through my already-not-very-appetizing cereal to try to find the dark moving spots with legs before I swallow them. N. is a little less fond of this game, and though I'm sure I, too, swallowed several of our little friends, it makes me laugh as I watch his face contort in disgust. The best part is that with the Ziploc bags, it is now like having an ant farm for breakfast! They are much easier to see now!

Certainly, anyone who has traveled will know that food is always an interesting issue in a new culture. Last night, we decided to use it to our advantage, and we took two friends, V. and E., to the pizza place where we dined last week. We wanted to talk to the waitress again, for she had expressed interest in our visit to Romania, and we had been interested to hear her experiences with Christians of different denominations. The meal was okay (mine had anchovies on it, and I had ordered it knowing the waitress said it was not good!), but the fellowship was excellent. The time was very relational as we conversed with our friends about all sorts of important things. Furthermore, after the meal, the waitress pulled me aside and asked me some questions about religion and church, etc.

Here in Oradea, people are very divided by denominations and labels, like in many parts of the United States and other parts of the world. I hope to be able to explain to people that the Living God does not want our traditions or an hour of routine one day per week, but that instead He wants an intimate relationship with us. He does not want a Baptist or Orthodox or Presbyterian or Catholic or any other kind of label on us, He wants to reside inside of us. He wants access to our innermost thoughts and feelings, and He wants us to have access to His heart. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus, to be that door into the depths of His Spirit. Imagine being welcomed into the very heart of God...and we are!

So the meal was very good from a spiritual perspective, and I understand why Jesus so often used meals as a stage for His teaching. The environment is very important. For example, N. and I attended a large church twice yesterday (the second time we knew we were attending a children's concert, but did not realize that came with a whole other service!)--apparently it is one of the largest in Europe.

In the morning, I was miserable there. As you will see in the photo, the chairs are stacked closely together, and both N. and I had to fold our tall frames tightly into the small spaces and sit very still for a two-hour service (the shortest service I have been to in Romania was about an hour-and-a-half). Not only was I physically uncomfortable, but I understood next to nothing that was said, and we could barely see from where we sat.

Though I was not excited about doing it again in the evening, I am glad we went again. This time, we were given translation headphones, which help with comprehension, though they do a great job of making you feel schizophrenic as you try to decipher the different voices in your head. I found the doctrine to be sound and the sermon worthwhile, despite some things I had heard about the church and even felt in the morning.

It just goes to show that it is important to give people a chance. Maybe something seems very uninviting because it is too large, or has a bad reputation, or seems uncomfortable, or unfriendly. But maybe that is all just false perceptions and the reality is much different!

N. and I talked a lot this evening about why we are here, about our expectations, perceptions, and reality. We are focusing on relationships; I have found that to invest in another person is NEVER in vain. We are not here to make people become like us. We are not here to tantalize them with our version of Christianity. We are here to be obedient and humble before the Lord, that if He chooses to live in us and to manifest Himself through us, that we will be ready and available. In fact, missions work does not exist in my opinion. A true Christian is someone who surrenders everything to the Lord, allowing Jesus to live in and through Him in everything. A missionary is someone who is a true Christian wherever he or she happens to be at the moment. All true Christians should be missionaries. We happen to be Christians in Romania right now.

The LDS (Mormon) religion understands this to a certain extent. I very much disagree with them in many important things, but I also love the Mormons I have met, and I believe we can learn a lot from them. N. and I met a few Mormons in Oradea and have their phone number; one of them we saw again right after I was praying for them. The Mormons send out their members all over the world, believing that they should all be missionaries (at least all the men, if I understand correctly). But they also do a splendid job of making people feel loved and welcome, and of emphasizing family values.

I often thoughtfully disagree with many people (even people in the Church), and I hope that despite our disagreement, our acquaintance with these Mormons becomes friendship. I hope that though we may argue many key beliefs, they may see Jesus Himself living through me, that they may know that I love them not because of who I am or the love I have, but because of the miraculous love of Jesus that exceeds all expectations and overcomes all obstacles. I hope you see that, too!

Church, we need to welcome the people around us into this love that we enjoy! We need to love the people around us like we are loved! We need to set our priorities straight, and instead of accomplishing great missions for God, we need to let Him accomplish what He wants to in our lives and in our families! We need to surrender ourself humbly to our Lord so that people stop seeing and meeting us, but instead see and meet the One who loved us so much that He died for us while we were despicable sinners! We need to forget our missions and let Him accomplish His mission in us and in the people around us every minute of our ordinary days in our everyday places!

Sometimes that may mean swallowing bugs or getting stuck in tight places. Sometimes that may mean paying too much for pizza with dead fish on it in order to set the stage for important conversation. Sometimes that may mean buying someone a cup of coffee or listening to a stranger unload heartache in a grocery line.

I don't know who you are; people of all faiths, of many nations, of many perspectives read this blog. Maybe you enjoy my exotic adventures. But can I tell you a secret? Almost nothing I do here (in Romania or another part of Europe) is different from what I did when I was in Indianapolis. At home! I am simply a follower of Jesus wherever I am, now in Romania, before in Indianapolis.

Who are you? Where are you? Is it worth it? Whose are you?

At the Foot of the Cross

Location: at the foot of a large silver cross near the top of a high hill overlooking a monastery and the city of Oradea, Romania with N. at noon on June 13, exactly one month since my arrival in Europe.

Today is beautful with cotton-cloud ships sailing through the sky oceans of a sunny day, pushed by a cool breeze that is enough to give me goosebumps in the otherwise warm weather.

I had explained that silence is hard to find in Europe, at least that it has been for me. Oradea, like any city, is full of noise, too, so when J. had suggested that a monastery outside of town was peaceful, I mentally added it to an invisible list of must-sees. I had decided to set aside all or most of today for prayer, and when N. and I were discussing our plans, we realized that a trip to the monastery would be pleasant for both of us. We got up at a decent hour this morning and headed out on foot, winding out of town with only occasional glances at a map.

We found our way here with no trouble, though I had not expected the gaudy decor of the edifice, forgetting that it would probably be Orthodox. Have you ever gone looking for peace with God only to find yourself distracted by someone else's idea or expression of the "holy"? Though we may go back and poke around the grounds a little, we simply walked straight through the monastary and up a lonely road that led to a lonelier path up a hill.

I hope to be able to post several of the pictures I took, but if not, picture this. We had to pass by an abandoned trailer-type house with dogs sitting in its shade. Have you ever gone looking for God only to find an empty church building or an empty "Christian"? We continued up, and the path became more narrow and more difficult. That did not surprise me, for I learned long ago that the path with the Lord is very narrow and often extremely difficult, contrary to the popular preachers that proclaim prosperity every step of the way.

Then we had to pick our way through a pile of trash. That, also, is normal for walking with God. Even when our journey leads us down in the dumps, the Lord is with us. We continued on, until we reached the foot of the cross. I hope you will able to see in my pictures what we found: a very pathetic, weather-beaten picture of Jesus, several empty alcohol bottles and cigarette butts, animal scat, a candle, etc. This made me very happy!

Why?

Because I came here to pray. I came to pray for you and for me, but especially for Oradea. I came to bear the burdens and the immorality and the garbage of the people of Oradea to the foot of the cross. For it was on a cross that Jesus forever removed the sins that so easily entangle and condemn us! It was at the foot of the cross that Joseph of Arimathea took down the broken body of the crucified Jesus. Like all over the world, the Church (the Body of Christ) in Oradea is divided by denominations and factions and split by sin and corruption and religiosity. Today I symbolically brought the broken Body of Christ of Oradea (the Church) to the foot of the cross, knowing that God the Father wants to give it new life, just like He gave us when He raised His Son from the dead. The foot of the cross can be a nasty place. It is where we deposit our burdens and our dead, our refuse, our illnesses, our addictions, our sins, and our evils. We lay ourselves down and let God redeem and reform and renew us. That is why there are bottles and butts there. We come to the cross as we are, and we are transformed by the love and mercy and grace of the new life of Jesus!

Sitting high above the world stretched out before me, I still struggled to find silence. Men with weed-eaters raucously interrupted the already annoying noise-age seeping from the city. But I was fascinated as I watched the nameless and faceless nuns below me work the fields by hand. N. and I had walked along the river on the way here, and there was a fishing tournament, but we saw no one catching any fish. We also passed a parc with some blatant graffiti displayed. How often the Church is like that! A big display of reaching out into the dirty waters with nothing to show for it. Young people expressing their feelings all over town without the Church noticing. What if instead we were like the nuns, dressed in black in the hot sun and dutifully and humbly tilling the soil in which the Lord was sowing, allowing Him to do what He does best--bring forth something new out of something old and dirty!?

Someone recently asked me what God is doing in Oradea... As I was praying beneath the cross, the Lord showed me several things.

While I was reading in the Bible, the wind suddenly ripped the pages over to Joel 2:28-32:

"And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on your servants, both men and women, I will pout out My Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mt. Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls."

This is a familiar text, but I felt that the Lord wanted Oradea to know that He is pouring His Spirit out over its people, and that all who call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.

There was a partially constructed house on the top of the hill with the cross--the house looked abandoned. The Lord wants Oradea to know that He will finish building His house in Oradea, and that He dwells not in buildings, but in the hearts of men and women.

He showed me that He has been wanting to heal and deliver the people of Oradea for a long time. They have been held captive by things like drugs, bribery and greed, immorality, prostitution and human-trafficking, Communism, religious traditions, racism (especially toward gypsies), deformity and illness, and even foolishness. Unfortunately, until now, they have been unwilling to let the Lord deliver them. Instead, like much of the world, they have preferred to try to save themselves, looking to education and technology and money to make a way out of the despair. Now the Lord is saying, "I still want to fulfill my plans in you, People of Oradea, please let me! I know what is best for you, and I want to do it, and I can, but you have to humble yourselves and let Me!" Until now, He has been watching over them and guarding them, but He wants to set them free completely!

The Lord also showed me that He has special plans for many individuals in Oradea, some natives as well as some of the foreigners, even N. and me. Thanks for your prayers for Oradea, for us, for God's will to be done to the glory of His Name throughout the earth! I bless you, dear ones, in the Name of this Jesus that gives us hope!

I set my eyes upon the hills; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth!

Trapped!

Location: Hiding in the kitchen in Oradea, Romania, trying to keep from waking my roommates so early!

I know, I know, I need to post new pictures. I do not take many, and I am limited in what I can take and post when I am with the kids at work, due to privacy restrictions. Picture this, I played more soccer (real football?) with one of the girls in a wheelchair yesterday. What is more, I even danced with her, doing some ballroom-type spins a dips with her in her chair as we enjoyed the shade of a sunny day. We all had fun smiling and laughing!

The hot weather is a little cooler but still nice, though we actually had two thunderstorms during the previous two nights. These don't stop me, of course, and I got up and went jogging with one of the local teens yesterday morning. That also resulted in N. and I visiting his house yesterday afternoon, which was an honor. His mom promised to make us a special Romanian meal sometime, and we are looking forward to it! However, that came after he learned we were friends with J. He evidentally met her a year ago and has been hungry for her homemade chocolate chip cookies ever since! He was expressive about her baking that we had to call her on the spot and tell her about her fan club!

J. is a good baker, and a good cook, and she had a nice meal for some of her collegues last night. That was a plus for me, because I was invited to wash more dishes. I know it is hard to believe, but I really do enjoy it. I spend some of the time in conversation with my hostesses (kitchens are always a good place for meaningful discussion, in the heart of the home), but mostly I softly sing praises to my Lord as my hands do their work. It is so relaxing for me!

Unfortunately, my decisions sometimes have consequences for others, like for N. He got dragged along, and I really appreciate his patience, because I do not think it was quite so peaceful for him. And to top it all off, as we left, I took the stairs as usual, but he decided to take the "lift"--the elevator. I descended, knowing I would meet him at the bottom.

Have I told you about the elevators here. Most of them I have seen would be promoted if they were called a telephone booth. They are about the size of a small coffin on end, with doors you often have to hold closed. Many of them are less than reliable. J.'s building has two, a newer and an older, but N. was lucky enough to find himself in the older, smaller one last night.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I heard a bang that made some pedestrians jump. I gave a passing thought to N. and then went into the lobby to wait for him. Soon I heard a buzzer ringing, and I thought, "Surely he's not stuck in the elevator..." But I was proved incorrect when I started hearing my name, the shouts muffled by a couple of elevator doors! I ran over laughing, and learned that the lift was in between floors with my cousin trapped in it. I assured him we would get him out within a week (after all, it was already 10pm here)! Not to worry, moms, we got him out, but I had to call back up to J. laughing uncontrollably! I guess that is a picture I should have taken!

All is going well. I continue to make new friends, and I saw one of them in town yesterday as I waited to meet my jogging buddy. Romania is very relational, which is great, because so is God! We met some Mormon missionaries on the tram the other day, and I told the one from Utah that I had recently visited Salt Lake City. We have a number for them, and I cannot help but wonder if God will cross our paths again in the near future. Neither we nor they blend in! I continue to learn Romanian, though I have to admit I took a brief nap yesterday when I could have been studying. I like it here, and I have been invited to consider staying. Of course I am praying about it, right now not having a strong feeling either way. It is interesting to consider how your perspective changes when you travel. For instance, N. and I were celebrating because we successfully lit the stove yesterday--a great victory for us! Here our priorities are assessing grocery status, counting how many days' worth of clean clothes we have left, and trying not to make cultural faux pas! Nevertheless, I am still curious to see where God is taking me. Maybe He will open up some doors here, or in Frankfurt, Germany, or back in the States. For me, home is where God is, and I love being home! He has given me family and friends like you all over the world, and it is a privilege to be loved and cared for by such an awesome God, often through you!

Thank you for your prayers. I know I say that a lot, but that is because I am thankful a lot. I cannot explain to you how much I am being blessed, in big and small ways, and I am not naive enough to overlook the prayers that have been lifting me up to our Father. Multumesc foarte mult--or just plain thank you so very much! I bless you in the Name of our wonderful Jesus!

Housekeeping and Footwashing

Location: Oradea apartment's living room, Romania (just as the city is waking up today--I don't remember what day it is...)

I do not have many special adventures to tell you about this morning, or new pictures to post, which is good because I do not have much time to type. But before I go on an early morning jog (this time by choice, with a local teen who is working to loose weight), I wanted to let you know the latest.

Last I wrote, I was telling you about some wonderful times of discipleship and counsel as we were able to discuss the deeper things of life with persons around us. So after that Day of Discipleship was Tuesday, which proved to be the Day of Relationship-Building, and Wednesday, the Day of Services.

Tuesday was a neat opportunity for us to get to know some of the people around us better. After a great day at work with the kids, we joined V. and her friend, M., for lunch. But after a fun fellowship with them (and some laundry!), we had to skedaddle by taxi because we were almost late for football in the park. Some first-timers showed up for football, so we had fun teaching them the game, but then we had to run to get back home for Bible study. On the way I found out that I. had run into a snag and would be late, so I had to open up the apartment and host the twenty-people till he came. N. went out on the town, meanwhile, running some errands and exploring the tram lines. The study was so packed that I had to stand for three hours, and I practically fell into bed afterwards.

Yesterday, then, went well again at the center with the kids; I even took one of the guys in a wheelchair around the block to the grocery with me. Then we got a call from a good friend suffering from terrible blisters that prevented her from walking very much, so we ran some errands for her and helped her finish her baking and cleaning in the kitchen. We thought we were finishing up the day with a slow-paced meal at a local cafe with some other Americans and anglophones, but when we arrived home at nearly 10pm, we joined a cleaning party at our apartment until after midnight.

You may be noticing the trend of a good amount of housekeeping chores that we are doing. We have washed many dishes, mopped floors, done laundry, taken out garbage, and much more. In fact, that is what I am tempted to answer when I am asked the most popular question: "So, why did you come to Romania? But all this housekeeping makes me extremely happy! Shall I tell you why?

Imagine coming home from a busy day of your normal routine. Maybe you have a slight headache due to stress, maybe your refrigerator and your stomach are both empty, maybe you don't think you will be able to stay awake long enough to make it to your bed. Now what if your best friend or your spouse had beat you home, prepared a simple meal for you that was waiting on the table, and slipped away to leave you some peace for the evening. How would you feel? Grateful and blessed, if you are like me.

That is what we have been doing here. N. and I are mostly free from the confines of normal routines and responsibilities. This leaves us free to help anyone that needs a hand. When daily stresses eat away at the people around us, we have the privilege and the freedom to make sure they come home to a sink empty of dirty dishes. We can quickly run errands that would otherwise overwhelm their already busy schedule. We can entertain children while their caretakers have a moment to discuss the logistics of long-term care.

Maybe you think that we are crazy to come halfway around the world to do people's housekeeping. But as we bless the pastor and missionary and medical students and others around us, they, in turn, are freer to bless others.

Do you ever feel like what you are doing is worthless? Do you ever feel like you are stuck cleaning toilets while others are out saving the world? I encourage you to think about that next time you are housekeeping. Maybe you will be washing dishes or cleaning toilets, maybe taking out the trash. Whatever you are doing, think about a couple of things. Think about the blessings you have that result in the privilege of having trash to take out or a home to take it out of, of having a car to wash or food to clean off dishes. Think about the blessing of having the physical abilities to do these chores, as not everyone does. And think about how you can use the little things in life to make a big impact.

Maybe I won't save the world, but I can impact a lot of lives by washing dishes and cleaning toilets. And unless I miss my guess, I will be a humbler man for it.

Jesus washed his disciples' feet and said that if He, our Teacher and Lord should do such service, we should do likewise (John 13:14).

Taking the Heat

Location: Apartment Living Room in Oradea, Romania (early enough that everyone is sleeping on June 9)

You will notice that I posted some new photos of N. and me. Though I want to take a picture of him feeding the pigeons, I do not want to be there when he feeds them! So you will have to wait for that photo to happen.

What you will notice, though, is that we have been busy. N. was trying to feed the pigeons while we worked on J.'s chair in the park yesterday, despite my vehement objections! A slideshow I posted shows the chair in more detail--basically it is a special adjustable therapy chair for a child. It was missing some pieces when J. found it, so she enlisted us to make some modifications. This work, which normally would have been simple, was greatly complicated by our lack of the right tools. While we had fun doing it and mostly succeeded, we certainly attracted the curiosity of the locals who where enjoying there Pentecost holiday in the park. One man watched and watched until he finally got up the nerve to come ask what we were doing. Unfortunately for him, my poor Romanian left him with probably a less-than-satisfying explanation! The chair, though, is functional, and J. is keeping her eye open for another one, because she is treating three-year-old twins. The only one she found so far is in the USA (though this one came from the UK), and they are not cheap!

Since yesterday was a holiday, the children did not come to the center where we have been working. We do plan to go today. However, we kept busy with the chair project all morning, and then made lunch for V. since we had to stop by her place anyway. You can see that she used my camera to capture us enjoying some more kitchen "pace" ("peace" for those of you who already forgot your Romanian lesson). We have lunch and laundry date there again today, so we are looking forward to more of the same!

In the afternoon, we had a new adventure. One of our young friends took advantage of the (very) hot sun and invited us to come play basketball at the local high school. This was like old-fashioned street-ball that you see in the movies. There was graffiti covering the cement walls around the paved courtyard, and chain nets to report every basket scored. We joined about 10 other young Romanian jocks in the afternoon sun. Imagine a philosopher, a medical student, and a mechanical engineer sauntering out to challenge semi-pro high-school Romanian ballers! They got a good laugh at the Nerd Squad, but it was great! And by the end, they were not laughing at us anymore! It proved to be a great opportunity to meet more of the local youth, and we anticipate future interactions with them.

Even better was the discipleship opportunity with our young host. Frustrated by his performance and our cocky opponents, we had excellent conversation discussing self-control and self-discipline. I reminded him that when we get hot-tempered, our opponents have already won. Our character is not determined by what is said to or about us, but rather by what comes out of us. Therefore, we must be disciplined about what we put into ourselves (food, media, words, etc.), but we must be self-controlled about what comes out. It is when people see that we respond differently to our situations that they gain respect for us. No one can be the best at everything, but certainly we can choose to engage each moment "to the max," as V. would say.

So we engaged those moments, and they proved very rewarding. In fact, the Lord gave us several opportunities to disciple people yesterday, and we had excellent conversations of a deep nature. N. and I have been enjoying not only making each other laugh, but working together to try to encourage the people around us, whether they are studying medicine, learning new cultures, ministering, growing up, or anything else. One neat opportunity involved our waitress on Sunday.

Sunday (here celebrated as Pentecost) N. survived two lengthy church services with me. The first, all in Romanian, is hard to follow because of the language barrier. We met some American friends and had a nice time of fellowship for lunch. (We may have the opportunity to join one of these gals in her work with Gypsy children in an after-school type program, at some point. We were invited, and we are very interested. The Gypsy people are considered inferior here, and I have seen them treated very poorly; they often act very disrespectfully, too, though I think a lot of that has to do with the weight of social disdain that they carry. I threw the Frisbee to a couple of young kids in the park the other day, and our non-Gypsy friends became very angry with me and commanded me to never do that again! I knew they are known for pickpocketting and begging and the like, but I nevertheless explained that the same God who made us made them. In other parts of the world where racism is practically a curse word and often judged to be declining, we forget that the Gypsies and folks like them are being "gypped" by deeply engrained traditions that hold people captive with irrational hate.)

After lunch we unexpectedly attended our roommates' church, and the format was quiet new for my cousin. All of that made us hungry, so we ducked into a pizza place we had passed that had some nifty architecture. The pizza was okay, but we hope to go back to discuss more with our waitress who was very interested in why we were in Romania. When we told her we were on our way home from church, she was asking us about which denomination--for such distinctions are extremely important here. She is Orthodox, and she has been hurt by other so-called Christians who have told her that she is not Christian because she attends the wrong church.

Have you ever been offended by someone who considers themselves more of a Christian than you? I have. It feels nasty.

There are many people who have been reading this blog, and I do not know in what you put your faith. But I thank you for your patience with me as I try to explain my adventures and my life in a way that you and I can both learn from them. God has been teaching me a lot, and blessing me a lot, but it hurts me to see people offended in the name of God.

Sometimes Truth offends. Jesus certainly offended the religious leaders of His day. Yet Truth should only offend during the process of edification, the process of growth and learning. Only God knows someones heart. And while it is true that we can recognize the character of a person by what comes out--his fruit, if you will--our job is to trust the God we serve to bring them from any error into the mercy of His love. Meanwhile, we must dwell there, too, allowing Him to bring us out of our weaknesses and faults into His wisdom and goodness.

Of course I think my way is right--otherwise I would be doing things differently. But I also know that you will respect my way much more if you see me live a bold, quiet life of integrity before you, supporting and loving you as you work out your faith with fear and trembling. I can find something to disagree about with most people, but thanks to the grace of God, I can love them, too.

If you have been told you are not who you claim to be--a Christian, for instance--don't throw a tantrum. Instead, go before the Lord our God our Maker, and humbly ask Him to reveal to you what it means to be His child. Ask Him to show you how much He loves you, and how He would like you to live as a recipient of that love. When you have invited the Lord to be the Master of every part of your life, you can live confidently knowing that your value and identity comes from Him, not from what others say about you! Perhaps our Orthodox waitress knows the Lord intimately, perhaps she has been blinded by the traditions of her church. My prayer is that no matter where she is now, she will allow the Lord to draw her closer to Himself, correcting anything that needs to be corrected, and strengthening the gifts He has given her. My prayer is the same for me, and for you.

Thank you for your prayers! The elder at my church, R., is not recovered yet, but he is due home from the hospital now. Also, O., who was in the hospital here, is due to come to Bible study with us, but then is leaving for Spain this week--for five years! We are hoping we had a positive impact on his life, and we ask you to pray for him as he goes to marry his girlfriend who is due to give birth in December. Our friends are finishing up their medical exams and would appreciate your prayers. Finally, please do not forget the work God is doing in Oradea, especially among the Church, in people like A., and through people like J. As an update, thank you for your prayers regarding health. Neither N. nor I have been ill at all. I am especially thankful for your prayers regarding my headaches. I have not taken any headache medicine since my arrival in Romania. I have had a few minor headaches, but they went away quickly--even yesterday, when normally I get a migraine after strenuous activitity. I have not had any more problems with a runny nose or sores in my mouth (you'll remember that those started when I arrived here.) We have been safe and healthy, despite often interesting food situations. Your prayers are very important to us; thank you for sharing our burdens!

Running on Empty!

Location: In my now shared bedroom in the apartment in Oradea (God has arranged for us to stay here longer. Thanks be to Him!) It is about lunch time on June 6.

Today was supposed to be a "chilax" day, and I was hoping to catch up on this blog, on emails, on personal stuff, and on rest. But, my plans usually change when I surrender them to the Lord.

As I was praying this morning, my phone rang, and though I usually ignore it during prayer, I answered it since it was one of the young Romanians that the Lord has brought into our lives here (O., the one who was in the hospital). Unfortunately, he speaks almost no English, and my Romanian is poor to say the least, so we have trouble communicating effectively. I heard a few words I understood and said yes, I understand, and then goodbye, and returned to prayer. Not long after that, to my surprise, he called again saying he was out in front of my building. I said I would be down in five minutes and threw on some clothes, only to find that I had agreed to go running with him. Many of you probably know that running (outside of emergency purposes and athletic competitions) is not my idea of fun--especially without breakfast! Nonetheless, I had just told the Lord that I was ready to live according to His plans, not mine today, so off we went, with me trusting the Lord for strength, and clinging to the hope that I could keep up since my friend is a heavy smoker. A few miles later, I was pleased to have survived and kept up, and we said our goodbyes until football in the park later today.

My cousin, N., is seeing that missions work is often much different from the stereotypical work project or door-to-door evangilism. It is based on relationships in which the Lord uses people like you and me to reveal Himself and his great love to those He draws to us. It often involves changed plans, waiting, patience, creativity, endurance, flexibility, and investment. It means not "doing" missions projects, but instead being available for the Holy Spirit to move freely in us as He desires. I am very pleased with the way things are going, though it certainly includes many surprises, challenges, and frustrations. As you can see, even when I don't go looking for adventure, it comes knocking, thanks to our wonderful Father God!

Last night proved exciting, too. When we prayed yesterday morning, N. and I had known something was in the works from God's point-of-view, but we were unsure as to what. Our day consisted of a fun day with the young people, a couple of whom received new wheelchairs. Then we explored part of the city on foot for a few hours, having met up with my Romanian friend S. and his friend, L. (While we were with them, the police approached us! By now rather used to adventure's arrival, we waited quietly to know what was happening. It turned out that L. was getting scolded for having his foot on a park bench! They wrote down his name and address in a small notepad so that if they caught him doing it again, he would get fined! Then they told us to have a good day! I was amazed to say the least! What else can you get fined for here?! I hope we don't "fined" out!) Finally, we met up with V. and her Romanian friend, E., at a cafe for a few laughs before our appointed football date in the park.

Football was fine, and a Sri Lankan-Saudi friend of H. joined us. I am excited to see God using it to transform lives, though it will be interesting to see if it continues to be football or if it changes to something else that invites relationship.

But what was really exciting was the walk home. I was chatting with A., the teenager with me in the photo above. We have given him a nickname, J., so if I accidentally refer to him by more than one name, please forgive me. The Lord had just led our conversation around to Himself when we reached the apartment, so I told H. and N. to go up without me; A. and I were going to finish our conversation. My expectations for a 15-minute discussion turned into more than an hour as we discussed the things of life and the LORD, and I told him about how the Lord brought me to Romania and what He had done in my life. I have probably told you that we are sure that God has special plans for Oradea and Romania as a whole. What I maybe did not tell you is that A. and his friend K. are two young men that we have noticed seem to be designated to play key roles in whatever God is doing here. I think you will be hearing more of A.; he is an amazing young man, with many talents, a great mind, and a deep heart. It is my pleasure to introduce him to you right now; please pray for him as he continues to seek Truth in this difficult life.

I have told you that that I am trying to be transparent, and for the most part, I have done well. But I tend to tell you about the adventures more than my struggles and weaknesses.

I mentioned above that I answered the phone while I was praying. Despite cultural and other changes, I have continued my normal practice of endeavoring to pray always, with a special emphasis in the early morning, as well as some time in the Word of God at the end of the day to clear my mind and fill it with life and the power of God. However, I need to remind you that the Lord gave me a very clear teaching several months ago that I shared with my Pressed but not Crushed group.

The teaching had to do with the relationship between our physical and spiritual lives. When we do not take care of ourselves, our spiritual lives suffer. For example, if we do not get enough sleep, our pray life is not healthy, we may fall asleep as we study the Word, we may be grouchy when we meet people, and so on. The same is true if we do not eat properly, exercise regularly, nourish our mind with healthy matter, and many other things. Our physical and spiritual lives are directly connected, as many with depression and similar diseases acutely know.

I must confess that though I have been keeping my spiritual disciplines as routine, I have found myself doing a poor job of getting all the sleep I need, of eating what I would consider a proper diet, and of setting boundaries on my time. Please pray for me in this regard. I am of little use to other people if I do not allow the Lord to meet with me as He wishes. If I am falling asleep during prayer or study of the word, I am not internalizing His Truth. I am finding that recently I have not been receiving God's teaching as easily as I was during the past year, so I need to make sure I am more aptly preparing myself to be in His presence. Thanks for your prayers. I believe that the Lord has great plans for our remaining 20 or so days in Oradea, and I want to be ready for anything and everything! The last few days I have been doing a bit better, but I hope to continue to improve!

Despite my shortcomings, the Lord continues to use me, by His grace. Not only have I had some high-quality relational time with O. and A. and others, but a few nights ago I had the privilege of ministering via translator to a man who had come to our apartment for healing. As in the past, I found the Lord giving me His word and His wisdom, and my roommate, I., even ended up leaving me to minister alone when he had to leave. Please pray for R. as he thirsts for alcohol and for love; the Lord is working in His life.

Finally, just to remind you to smile, I have to quickly mention that N. and I find ourselves in extreme disagreement over pigeons. He enjoys feeding them, while I want them nowhere near me, especially when I am eating. It is N.'s great delight to attract these feathery globs of flying pooh germs while I assure him that we are no longer related by anything other than proximate, and that that may soon change! Who knows where those birds have been?!

Joking aside, I return to the work of the Lord. Who knows what today holds? Not I, but I know Who holds it! If you do not know much about Romania, I encourage you to research a little. Look at the slideshow of a few small glimpses of its countryside. It is a fascinating land, and I have a feeling you will soon be hearing more about it as the Lord reveals His power and mercy in this place!

Let's Go For A Walk!

Location: Miniature sun-room in our apartment in Oradea, Romania (late afternoon on June 4)

Walking is a lot different in the United States and in Europe.

In the United States, some people do fitness walking wearing special sneakers and keeping their arms at a 90 degree bend as they glisten beneathe their stylish jogging suits over handicapped-accessible paved trails. The rest of the time, everyone avoids walking whenever possible.

In Europe, mass transit means walking to and from bus-stops or metro stations, carrying groceries while walking, walking in the rain or snow, and allowing more time to get places because it takes time to walk. On an average day in Europe, I walk more than in an average week or month in the United States. Fortunately, I like walking.

With the arrival of my cousin, N., I have learned a couple of more things about walking. For starters, I think N. has trouble keeping up with me, or even J. (whose legs are shorter than mine), despite his tall and lanky build. Some of that might be him merely hanging back to see what crazy adventure I am leading him into...

More interestingly, though, I learned that, at least in Romania, to "take a walk" means to go on a date. I learned this after my adventures in Cluj yesterday.

While it is true that I left my wonderful mother praying for me in the United States, I have gained several more "moms" here in Romania. My peers, J., V., and H., have all taken up the slack, making sure I am all right no matter what is happening. Not only did I buy train tickets to Cluj successfully in Romanian a couple of days ago, but I made the trip by myself yesterday (receiving three phone calls from my mom-friends en route) to pick up N. I made it to Cluj no problem, but then accidentally hopped a tram that took me to the wrong corner of town. When I realized it, I jumped off, and while returning J.'s phone call, I missed the bus I needed. Keeping an eye on the clock, I still was not too worried when I caught the next bus, until I found out that I was on the Number 6 bus going in the wrong direction. So I changed 6's and headed all the way back into town, the whole time being helped by various Cluj-dwellers who spoke--a lot!--to me only in Romanian. But I understood enough to make it to the other end of the line and switch to the Number 8 (with the help of a boy that was maybe eight-years-old). Now over a half-hour late, I was finally headed to the airport properly.

On that bus I met I., a young Romanian gal who also happened to be going to the airport. We began in Romanian, passed through French, and ended up in English. But we were going to the exact same place, so we helped each other get there (I was nearly 45 minutes late!). N. was quite surprised when I arrived with a new friend, but I think he was secretly relieved to be freed from his airport captivity. ("Yes, yes I was!" he just affirmed.) Before we left, we received instructions from I. on how to return most directly to the train station. Since she was so helpful, I carefully asked if she would be comfortable giving me her phone number in case we needed any help when we come back through Cluj in a few weeks. That's when she asked if I was wanting to "take a walk" or something. I thought that was bizarre, until I later had that English translated into Romanian context: a date!

We arrived back in Oradea in time for me to (finally!) pick up my laundry. It all seems to have been dry-cleaned (despite my specific instructions to the contrary), and N. says I am the only guy he knows who has had is "undies" dry-cleaned!

We then dodged a rain storm and met I. in town to get the key, making it the apartment with a lot of baggage, in time for N. to get a shower and an early start on sleeping. However, we had an unexpected prayer session a little while later, so I think his "pace" was interrupted for the first hour or so!

This morning we spent a couple of hours working with the kids at the center below us, and then we were introduced to the "Sam's Club" of Oradea, which actually is a different store with the same concept. From there we grabbed a sandwich, and then we met J. at a nearby hardware store to pick up parts for the chair we are working on for her, and only now made it home.

I always have more to write, and I hope to post some photos of the chair project and of the Romanian countryside from yesterday's train-ride, but I also have more life happening. We're going to go get dinner before we meet up with the youth in the park for some American football!

I'll write more when I can--thank you for your prayers! I am praying for you, too!

Answered Prayers

Location: Same

By the way, I can't keep forgetting to let you know that your prayers are being answered. Thank you, and do keep praying!

For example, I have not had a headache after those first two, and my runny nose has been gone for almost a week. I am feeling very healthy despite smaller amounts of sleep than normal and an abrupt change in diet.

Even more exciting: O., who was in the hospital after a bad car accident... He's out! I called tonight to try to visit him when I go to Cluj, and I found out that he was back and even here. He was just around the corner so we had a late-night rendez-vous with the help of a girl (from the Bible study) translating. He even accepted her forthright invitation to next week's Bible study! Praise the Lord, and thanks for your prayers!

I look forward to hearing about R.'s progress in Indy, for the same Lord is answering your prayers!

I am very grateful for you, and to the God we serve. I bless you in His Holy Name!

A Whole Lot of Nothin'

Location: You know it--Oradea (late afternoon, June 2)

Today found me working with the "kids" as usual, but after that, it seemed like everything else ended in "nothing." Twice I tried to pick up my clean laundry and was told (a lot of Romanian words that amounted to) "come back later." I went to look at a project that J. has for me, but I can't start till I get the parts. I tried to call O. with J.'s linguistic help, but his phone was not available. The only success was picking up a few groceries my roommates asked me to grab, but even then I almost mistook my friends British accent of "onions" for "honey"--that would have been a surprise!

I, like many of you, have been in prayer a lot today. There is a plane missing over the Atlantic Ocean. I have friends in the hospital and friends in mourning, another friend who is abroad and quite homesick, a missionary friend dealing with health problems, lots of interaction with people who can't walk or talk, and a bunch of unknown ahead of me! I also have many loved ones in another part of the world, scattered among many persons who have not yet understood the love with which God Himself reaches out to them.

Yesterday found me walking with God a lot, and much of that was in prayer. Have you ever done a prayer walk? Those of you who have not yet met the Lord Jesus will probably find this a foreign notion, but others of you know the power of walking in prayer. It can be soft or silent, or even aloud at times, as you walk and pray in areas that have been threatened by the enemy. We as followers of Christ have not only His righteousness and grace living in us, but also His authority. In addition to that, the physical world is directly connected to the spiritual world. Therefore, though the immediate result was very tired legs, it was a pleasure to prayer-walk through Oradea. Some of you may scoff at the practice, but likely you yourself have benefited from prayers of those walking near you or in your neighborhood, whether it was me or another part of the Church. I make it a practice to include my enemies and scoffers in my prayers.

After that, I laid down to rest my weary legs, only to find that God was not done with me. A phone call and another walk later, and I found myself dining with J. and V. and two American girls visiting Oradea. We had a pleasant meal before I scampered off to meet H. in the park for our second round of American football. The Lord had different plans, so we prayed to discover them. We eventually met up with one of the young men from Saturday night and spent some quality time interacting with him, in town and in the park. As we left the park, we saw a beautiful candle-lit cross before a group of singing people remembering the many lives lost to abortion. Yesterday was a special holiday in Romania: Children's Day.

So that is most of where I'm at right now. Today is a hinge day, because I expect everything to change tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers. I have just begun to find a groove that feels relatively comfortable here, but I think a lot of that may change, quite possibly for the better, with the arrival of my cousin. Long ago I learned that God works in seasons, so this is likely only a change in seasons, and I predict many more blessings ahead, mixed in with some challenges, certainly.

In a little while, it will be time for Bible study, and our apartment will again be packed to the edges. May your life be packed to the edges with the love of God!

The Sounds of Silence

Location: You guessed it--my spot in Oradea! (9am on Tuesday, June 2)

Silence is almost always relative. Unless you are floating in outer-space or sitting on the deepest ocean floor, what you consider silence probably is not. Nevertheless, silence is a beautiful thing, rarely appreciated anymore.

Many of you know that one of my biggest concerns about this time in Europe was whether or not I would find some personal time and space, which greatly helps me deal with the rest of life's chaotic trajectory. God has been gracious in providing that for me, such as during my dishwashing or even now as I blog. Yet I have found that I am having trouble finding silence anywhere, which is a difficult adjustment for me.

Contrary to most of my generation, I am unsettled by constant background noise. Yet I find that especially from my point-of-view in Romania, everything is loud! Our apartment is on a major street in town, and so it is never quiet. Both churches with which I worshipped on Sunday were very loud in singing and preaching. The children with whom I work, like me, can get quite loud at times. And as if to prove my point, I was awakened just after midnight last night by a ferocious argument and yelling somewhere in my building or on the street below.

I find that it is more difficult to hear God and enjoy His presence amidst much noise. But I am focusing carefully on Him, and He is certainly moving mightily here.

For instance, just after I went to bed last night, I received a call from O., the young man in the hospital. That might not seem like anything special, especially had you heard us trying to communicate in two languages that went grossly misunderstood by the other for seven and some odd minutes. However, let me remind you that this young man is a man we met in the park on Saturday, talked into playing American football, and invited to join us for another game on Monday. Sunday, he was in a bad automobile accident and had to be hospitalized in a city several hours away, and yet he still thought to send a message to someone he barely knew who speaks another language, regretting that he would be unable to make it. J. had helped me respond via text in Romanian, and then I received a phone call! That is not normal: imagine that you were hospitalized after a bad accident. Would you go to great lengths to contact a foreigner you had just met in the park two days before? Thanks be to God for the plans and purposes he has! I hope to visit O. (with a translator?) this week when I am in Cluj.

So now I am short on time before I go to work, but I will try to catch you up before more adventures happen today.

At this time yesterday, I was hustling through town. My first adventure came in the form of the laundromat, which was not a do-it-yourself place, but more like a dry-cleaners. I (barely) survived the entire transaction in Romanian, and only one customer behind me left because I was taking too long. Victory Number 1! I hope to pick up my clothes today!

After that, I swung by to buy train tickets to Cluj. J. had planned to help me, but since I was there, I decided to try on my own. After another stressful situation that included me draw pictures and gesturing (but not using English!), I triumphantly exited with the tickets. I was only temporarily dismayed when J. told me I got the wrong ones, for upon closer inspection she was impressed to realize that by God's grace I had succeeded. Victory Number 2!

I hurried to the centre to work with the kids, swinging by a convenience store on the way. This was the first time I successfully brought my lunch to work in Romania. Victory Number 3!

This might seem like small things, but I can tell you that they were great achievements for me! Until you have lived and operated in another language and culture, you have no idea the magnitude of the challenges of tiny, everyday tasks. God is humbling me continually, but also giving me great blessings!

That all came on the heels of me enjoying my Nigerian roots the day before. In the afternoon, I joined my roommates at their charismatic, bilingual church service, that was primarily attended by Nigerians and Romanians. Not long after that (and after a quick Nigerian meal), I went to another Nigerian birthday party. I love being Nigerian!

Oops--I have to run! I'll finish later!