I Should Be Sleeping...

Location: Temporary bedroom, Sighisoara, Romania (11pm on the 29th of December)

Ok, so probably I should be sleeping, but I found a few moments of computer-time today, and I wanted to update you.

Here are a few pictures... Two are from last week in Balan, and then Christmas dinner at our pastor's house made a nice transition into this week's outreaches. The week began with a trip to Cluj, and there is a photo of my friends there--we laughed so much that all of McDonald's was smiling! Thanks to all the tourists around this week, I have been loathe to take pictures during the outreaches, but I did take a picture of the salt/sand truck-snowplow during our bad weather this week. Look carefully and you will see that the salt-sand mixture is thrown out of the back of the truck by two guys with shovels!

Anyway, we have beautiful snow, a French team of about 8 visitors with whom we are doing outreaches, and a Swiss team of nearly 30 people living in our house! We have had some precarious travel in the winter weather, some changes-of-plans in our programs as we arrive and survey the circumstances, and a lot of laughter! Tonight we laughed so hard that you may have heard us!

I have been doing some translating, some teaching (of Romanian), some puppets, some preaching, some praying, some snowball-fighting, some improvising, some transporting, some clowning-around, and some pushing vehicles that are stuck in the snow or mud. Each team has been doing from one to three programs per day, and we have been working in conjunction with the local church. We not only give out boots and candy, but today we gave out loaves of bread, and we sometimes give out shoebox presents. Some of our programs take place indoors, others out in the weather. Today the programs went okay--the weather was certainly beautiful. Yesterday we had bad weather, but we were with our friends from Targu Mures and had fun programs. The day before was our inaugarel day, and except for waiting in the cold for the key for quite a while, it went pretty well. A few more days of this schedule, and then everything wraps up, and I move on to another season in God's plans for me. My contact may become a bit more sporadic; don't worry. Thanks for your prayers.

We have been laughing a whole lot. If you want to join us, I will tell you that the Swiss team was proudly amused to learn that when the French team complimented me on being prepared with a good French knife, I had to admit that I had bought it only after I lost my good Swiss knife!

We are preaching that Jesus must be first, that even before Christmas happened, Jesus was with God from the beginning. He is the only one who can forgive our sins, and we must take the first step toward Him, symbolized by the boots and socks we are giving out. Today I got to preach to an adult audience, and I reminded them that Jesus came to put a "face" on an otherwise "invisible" God, so we could know Him. Colossians says that He is the one who holds everything together, and if we take our eyes off of Him and start looking at our problems and challenges, things start falling apart.

As we enter into the New Year that God is giving us, let us do it with thanksgiving and praise; God is good! I bless you in the Name of His Son, Jesus!

Haven't Heard from Me?

Location: Boss' apartment, Sighisoara, Romania (8:30am on the 29th of December)

If you've emailed and I have not responded, it is because I have no computer time right now. I am in the middle of hosting two short-term teams from France and Switzerland, and there are 30 people living in my house. My internship ends at the end of this week, and as God leads me to the next step, I will do my best to catch up on correspondance. I usually take a moment to glance at emails, but I don't have time to respond. Soon you will hear--I have pictures and stories. Thanks for your prayers!

I survived...and want to say Merry Christmas!

Location: Bedroom, Sighisoara, Romania (3:17am on Christmas Day, 2009)

What is the best way to see how a Romanian family lives? Come with me!

During the last few days, we gave out 44 boxes of food in Balan, in addition to 30 plus in Gheorgheni, and each of those families, with the exception of 4 or 5 we saw in the street, were visited in their homes. Add to that tonight's "Colinda," approximately 7 hours of Christmas caroling and visiting with families in Sighisoara. So in the past week, I have easily been in more than 75 Romanian households! Yes, my legs, my back, my head--everything is tired!

But before I go to sleep on this Christmas morning, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas--Craciun Fericit! I will not see many of you this Christmas, but I am thinking of you and praying for you. So though I cannot enter your house in person to bless you, I enter it via my blog, knowing that the Lord can be with you, there, even while He is with me, here.

A young Romanian lady I greatly respect heard some of my story tonight and later, seemingly out-of-the-blue, exclaimed, "What I don't understand is how you can be so courageous to leave for Europe alone--I cannot even imagine traveling alone in Romania!" We discussed it, and I reminded her that I do not always feel as courageous as I look, but that the true answer remains that God is with me, before me and after me, and He is greater than anything that I could fear. Time after time, in big and small things, He has proven Himself faithful, and now I know I can trust Him in everything. As a coworker wrote to me in an email, "Emmanuel (God with Us) is with you!"

Sadly, I got no photos of tonights caroling, because I was not planning on going. So let me paint the picture: I arrived home from Balan at 2:30pm, was at the church around 3pm to rehearse for leading music for the 4pm Christmas Eve service, and then ended up caroling from there. The brief instants that I literally ran home (in my shirt and tie!) to drop off my stuff, two neighborhood kids acosted me and sang to me in the street, so I had to give them candy. You see, here you carol for a few songs, then you sit down and have special Christmas break, cookies and cake, soda or tea, and anything else the family wants to offer you while you visit for a half-hour or so. And remember we walk from house to house, because most of us do not have cars. By the end, when it is so late that everything is funny, I was sipping what was probably my tenth beverage of the evening to wash down my thirthieth cookie, and I was thinking to myself how silly it was to be given these same sweets at every house and to keep eating them like children who don't know better. I made the mistake of meeting the eyes of one of the teenagers, and I choked on my drink and could not stop laughing! It was ridiculous, yet fun. What better way to spread Christmas cheer than to visit friends and family, sing to them about Jesus, visit with them, pray for their family, and wish them a Merry Christmas?

So I enter your home now, hoping you can still hear the echoes of the beautiful canon we sang, "Jesus is born..." Now that we have visited a little, I bless you, I pray for you, and I wish you a very Merry Christmas, in the Name of Jesus! And if any carolers come your way tonight, have your sweets and best hospitality prepared for them--now you know what to do!

Wednesday Night

(Location: Heading back to Sighisoara for Christmas in a few hours; now it is about 7:20am on the 24th of December--Merry Christmas!)

"Not All There"

KJ looked around the room; they were not all there. No matter. They could go ahead and start; he knew people would trickle in for quite a while still. Certainly, it frustrated him sometimes, but what could he do about it? He had learned a long time ago that you cannot change other people. It is hard enough to change something about yourself!

The other six people were chatting quietly--or not so quietly in the case of Sean and Misty on his left. They laughed with shrieks and bellows, sharing a joke the others wished they had heard. Especially, Toni. Toni sat alone in the far corner of the room, trying to include herself in one of the conversations. Yet every time the moment seemed to welcome her debut, it passed quickly, before she was able to produce the right words. So she waited glumly, hoping someday she would be more at ease. She was unnoticed, however, by Charlotte, Christy, and Thom. Not loud, they spoke nevertheless with an intensity that made it difficult for an outsider to join them. At present, they discussed whether or not humanist social welfare tactics could or should be adopted by Christian charities.

KJ cleared his throat, now adept at interrupting. A few moments later, he relished the lull he had created, and then dove into it. "Let's begin with prayer, " he suggested as usual. "Who would like to open for us?"

Yes, it was a typical Bible study on a typical Wednesday night. They had been meeting together for four years, more or less. Occasionally a guest would visit, or someone would have to stop coming because of a change in work schedule, a move across town, or boredom. KJ tried everything he could to engage his peers, seeking topics relevant to their world, preparing in advance so he would be able to keep the discussion moving.

Charlotte had volunteered to pray, and a tired KJ found himself nodding off as her soft voice mouthed the words it had spoken dozens of times. "And please help us to..." He jerked his head up, having felt it drop into dreamland.

Knock, knock, knock! Knock, knock! Who would be knocking at the door? The regulars knew to walk right in. He started toward the door, but Thom beat him there. Behind the door was a stranger, who introduced himself as "John."

Immediately, the clan jumped into rhythm. They gave a roll call of names, tagging them to who was married to whom, to the host of the house, to who drove the green convertible out front. In moments they had explained how the study proceeds, and they had even offered a cookie to their guest.

John smiled, feeling welcome. KJ knew what he was feeling. This was a good group of people. Not perfect, mind you, but good. They each had different gifts and interests, and they looked forward to meeting on Wednesday nights. They loved each other, and they helped out when someone needed a hand. They were generous when it came to people's needs, and they liked to see others smile. They made each other feel welcome, and they sharpened each other as they studied the Scriptures.

As they began reading from the Book of Matthew, someone peeked over to confirm that John knew it was in the Bible's New Testament. Misty was reading and did not miss a beat when the door opened; she was used to people arriving late. Tucker and his wife, Jen, settled in next to John with silent introductory smiles; KJ noted their arrival with a quick glance and kept following the reading. This 25th chapter of Matthew always intrigued him. The door swung again as Misty finished the passage, and Toni asked a question. No one seemed to have looked up, but they had recognized Peter, some saluting him discreetly or throwing him a wink.

Toni's question sent KJ flipping through his Bible, and Thom filled the gap with a philosophical answer that provoked a rebuttal from Christy. Soon the majority of the minds in the room traded ideas, some becoming passionate, others more methodical. The regulars were impressed by John's input, and time flew by quickly. During that half-hour Nancy had arrived, along with Ana. Paul slid in quietly, too, and grabbed some floor where he could sit. Sean brought him up to speed: "Matthew 7:21," he whispered.

KJ was pleased. Good attendance. Good discussion. Good application. Nancy had helped connect the Scripture text to a man several of them had seen on their way in, shivering in the late evening hours--real life application. Ah, this was the Church. KJ felt happy; he felt comfortable. Masterfully, he wrapped up the evening, guiding them into a special time of prayer. He asked them to make a special prayer effort, for each person in the room, for those unable to be there, for the homeless and the hungry, and for Bill, a man from their church who had landed himself in jail.

The group eagerly joined in prayer. KJ played some worship music quietly in the background. Tucker and Ana were gently pacing as they prayed standing up. Paul prayed fervently aloud; Charlotte prayed no less intensely, but silently. They poured themselves into the moment, and then a peace settled in the room. They continued to rest in prayer, a couple of them stretching out on the floor, Jen rocking a little in her seat, KJ with his face in his hands. Three or four people hummed or sang softly; a couple drummed their hands on the floor.

The door opened again, but no one paid any attention. They were caught up in their prayer; they were used to people coming and going. Their prayers swelled to a well-known praise song. They smiled with their eyes closed, forgetting themselves briefly. It did not matter that Sean's head was drooping on his chest, an untamed snore sneaking out here and there. They did not see Misty dance across the room with a peculiar look in her eye; except for Christy, who also walked out the door with peaceful steps. Peter, already outside, stood humbly before a homeless man whose stature suggested not inferiority, but royalty. No longer was He shivering, but He was smiling. He reached up and knocked again, but no one inside heard it. A grimace of regret flashed through His eyes as He turned, put His arms around His friends, and continued His prayer, His communion with them as they walked toward Forever, together.

Meanwhile, KJ drew the evening to a close, not surprised that a few persons had checked out early. He made a few announcements as Ana and Jen prepared some snacks. Sean asked Toni to clarify a couple of the prayer requests he had missed, and Nancy and Thom began brainstorming about practical ways they could help their community. Paul and John still had their Bibles open, talking about how the sixth verse of the Matthew 25 passage could relate to Matthew 24:36-41. As a couple of the older persons rose to retire early, KJ called out, "See you next week! Same time, same place!"


(This story was written in November and is about more than Christmas; it is to remind the Church always to be ready. But tomorrow we celebrate the coming of Jesus--this Christmas, don't miss Jesus when He comes!)

Boasting!

Location: Bed and Breakfast, Balan, Romania (about 8pm on the night of December 22)

For those of you who do not know, I was rather ill last night, and I did not think I would make it to work today, despite it being an important day and my services being needed. In fact, my collegue left without me, both of us knowing I was in no health to leave the house.

Thanks to the grace of God and the prayer-covering of many of you all over the world, I had NO problems today! I still do not feel great, and I have eaten almost nothing. But I want to boast in the LORD--here is what happened:

After my collegue left, I began praising the Lord, singing in my bedroom . I was determined not to let the devil get me down. Besides, I had specifically asked people across several time zones to pray for me, so I knew I was covered in prayer all day. As I prayed about it, God seemed to say, "You have to trust me." He reminded me that I am in, not of this world, and that sickness is of this world. So I left the sickness in my Savior's hands, setting my mind on things above. I felt it important that I be present for the work today, so I spoke to my collegue on the phone and she picked me up before leaving town.

I have a friend who laughs because his wife gets sick and refuses to acknowledge it, but she seems no less sick. Certainly there is a fine line between faith and folly sometimes. But having prayed about it, I was confident of my course of action, and there was a non-refutable change in my condition today. Before leaving, I was not able to keep even a sip of water in me. However, as you began praying, my breakfast yogurt and tea stayed in me, and later a banana, and I was able to work all day to the glory of God. Thank you for your prayers; thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness!

Never forget that we are spiritual people, citizens of heaven living in an eternal life bought for us by our Jesus! Let us believe that, and let us live like that! Then we can face the daily challenges thrown at us in a way that is different from the response of people of this world, to the glory of God, since we recognize that many of these challenges are of a spiritual nature rather than a physical nature. Join me in boasting in our God! I thank you for your continued prayers, in the Name of Jesus!

(Check out the previous posts for more photos and descriptions of God's work in Balan this week...)

Evaporating Snot

Location: Bed and Breakfast in Balan, Romania (about 8pm on the 21st December, the last day of Communism in Romania, twenty years ago)

Remember the wild pigs in France that I feared I might meet alone in the woods? I am sitting with one right now!

Speaking of fear, I am hesitant to post too often, for fear that you will miss out on previous posts--please at least look at the fun pictures and skim them! But I wanted to let you know that you should be able to see a bunch of pictures (six new albums, I think!) on my Picasa page now (click the link to the right). I also wanted to give you a brief glimpse of today.

Finally, I understand what we are doing here. There is a German charity who has found sponsors for local children, and as part of the program, their families receive a box of food staples one time per month. Our job is to deliver said food, and an occasionally shoe-box Christmas present that still needs to be dropped off. So that is what we did today.

This morning was not cold--it was frigid, by far the coldest day I have encountered in Romania. Yet I hear it gets colder! My hands were aching despite two pair of gloves, and my toes were numb. My nostrils froze before everything else! Fortunately, the sun came out and warmed up a beautiful day, so that my snot melted and ran attractively down my face--you see, I am trying to impress gorgeous Romanian girls... We were in and out so much of the car and houses that my snot evaporated, just leaving a handsome trail as a souvenir. This happened in cycles, but the girls did not seem impressed.

Today we worked more in neighboring Gheorgheni, which is a Hungarian area, making our communication virtually impossible much of the time. However, I think today is the first time I was asked if I am Hungarian. We trekked across snow fields, train trestles, rickety bridges, ice patches, and more to bring glad tidings of food boxes. I saw horses steaming from exertion like train engines, people of all ages pulling sleds across the snow, brave souls trying to fetch water from a pump standing in the middle of a frozen flood, and a few persons standing outside with only a shirt instead of a coat. I was not able to take photos of most of where we were, though I did catch a picture of a house we visited outside of town.

This afternoon we made visits in the block buildings of Balan, though not yet in the worst ones that I told you about yesterday, and we had dinner with one such family. I learned that there are now about 5000 or 6000 people in Balan, and that the mine only closed three or four years ago, causing many people to move elsewhere.

It is still early, but today's work wore me out! Thank you for your prayers! We have a few more days of this. Please count your blessings today, and pray for those who struggle to count theirs!

The Gift of Coming

From Musical Chairs in the snow Friday...

...to the beautiful drive to Balan on Sunday...

...to the windowless tenements without electricity or plumbing that house the families we will be visiting...

...to the food packages waiting for distribution today... Welcome to Balan!

Location: Guest house in Balan, Romania, about 9pm on Sunday, the 20th of December.

I promised to edit my last post, filling in the gaps. Unfortunately, I was also promised internet access here, and so far it is not working. So since I cannot edit what I wrote, I will rewrite it and post it, doing my best to remember what I wanted to tell you. I also just organized oodles of photos, so I'll try to post them online at the same time as this post. (Ok, just got internet connection--I have time to post this because I wrote it last night, but photos on Picasa will have to come later, don't miss the photos and highlights from the previous post if you have not already looked... )

Balan is an old mining town that used to be booming; after the mine closed, the story changed. You will see the communist block-tenement buildings in my pictures, some without windows and electricity, yet inhabited by those who have nowhere else to live. We will be distributing food here during the next few days, and in a neighboring town. It is bitter cold here--how I pray for the warmth of Christ to saturate this place, tucked away in the beautiful, snow-covered and fir-populated mountains and valleys. We drove several hours through this beautiful landscape today, and for me it was a restful afternoon after a joyful celebration at church this morning, the kids using their energy to remind us to settle for nothing less than TRUE life! I even got a nap after we arrived, and this evening has been full of a quiet reflection.

My reflection is nestled in the memory of the past few days. As planned, my college-friend, K., arrived on Thursday with her friend, T. I had not seen K. in a long time, and her semester in Lithuania provided a closer departure point for a visit, so when T. joined her for some backpacking, a visit to Romania took place, too. I am glad it did!

Unexpectedly, I was able to pick them up at the airport in Targu Mures, and only a slight misunderstand with a cab driver hinted to them the adventure that could have been in store for them had they tried to find their way to Sighisoara on their own. But I made sure they were not wanting for adventure; within a couple of hours of their arrival in Sighisoara, they joined our team singing in a Christmas concert in the Orthodox Church! How is that for "orientation"? After orientation, we put them to work, and we measured socks till midnight, chatting and laughing and catching up. We then decided sleep would help prepare them for the next day's "field training."

Friday morning was our staff meeting, and afterward we finished up the socks. Then the girls joined me in the neighborhood, inviting kids to that afternoon's program in town. We were interrupted by a summons back to the base, for a load of firewood had arrived. So we made a line and put those tough American girls to work unloading wood and stacking for the cold days to come. That did not really leave us any time for lunch, so we grabbed a sandwich and hurried into town. We had to try to prepare a vacant lot for the program, but our two snow-shovels were no match for a field of snow, even in the hands of a determined K. So instead, we played musical chairs! We laughed, giggled, guffawed, chortled, chuckled, and cackled as pedestrians walked by, disturbed by delight. I was the live radio, and my voice echoed off the buildings until it would be interrupted by an explosion of hilarity when someone failed to find a seat and landed in the snow! Meanwhile, we were waiting for the plow that I thought I had arranged, only to discover that my Romanian skills had not been up to the challenge and no plow would come.

So we began the program, in conjunction with several churches and organizations, and it was like a movie. Large snow flakes drizzled down as we congregated at the foot of the citadel, the historic and more modern buildings a backdrop for our brisk Christmas pageant. (Check out T.'s great photos!) The program went fairly well, but K.'s toes froze, so we hurried back to the base. We three Americans did not mount camels and follow a star that night, but instead we were drafted to make dinner. It became quite the laugh-capade as we attempted to make breakfast-for-supper, discovering along the way that we were missing some of the key ingredients. But no one starved, so we chalked it up as a success and washed the dishes.

Wanna know what we did that evening? Good, I'll tell you...in a few moments!

The next morning, we once more drank in the beauty of the snow-frosted town, then we walked to the citadel for a quick tour before catching a maxi-taxi (minibus) to Targu Mures. An hour later, we stepped into downtown Targu Mures and began a photo rampage, posing with the snowmen and moose on skis that decorated the city centre. I am afraid we are guilty of making more innocent Romanians smile as our antics caught them off-guard. Certainly we were grinning, and perhaps we were contagious with the smile-flu!

Before anyone could accuse us, though, we ducked into a basement restaurant where we shared a couple meals of traditional Romanian food, sampling as many dishes as we could. Too soon I had to put my friends in a taxi and watch them drive off to the airport, thanking the Lord for the gift of their coming.

The gift of coming. That is what we will be celebrating this week, the gift of God: the coming of His Son, Jesus. If Jesus had not come, we would not be able to truly know God. We would not be able to have true joy. We would not have any reason to tear apart a sober society with riots of delight.

Fortunately, we have a reason for joy--joy to the world! After I watched my friends fade into traffic, I attended a children's musical near Targu Mures, written and prepared by some of my friends. The children sang about the gift of Jesus' coming, and I was deeply moved by their joy. I smiled at their simply delight, not only on stage, but just in life. For instance, one of the little girls saw me and grabbed her mom, saying, "Look, Mommie, Zorro!" She remembered a minute-and-a-half lesson three months ago when I had dressed up like Zorro, and she was happy to see me!

The gift of coming.

I know, few of you will read this. It is long, and who cares about the play-by-play of someone else's life? But let me tell you what the girls and I did on Friday night. We talked about Jesus, about what God had done in our lives, about the Church--about living life "on the edge" and staying on the "edge." For an hour or two, well past midnight, we delved deeper. When was the last time you did that? When was the last time you did not try to fill a silent or boring moment with a game or television or a text message or useless chatter, but instead talked about Jesus?

My favorite thing is not a thing at all; it is a person--Jesus! There is nothing else I would rather discuss. I love being sharpened and encouraged by other Christians! What a pleasure it is to recall God's goodness, His blessings in our lives! How wonderful to recall the lessons we have learned, and the beauty we have seen!

My friends were enraptured by the beauty of Romania, as am I. Yet we are even more awed by the beauty of the greatest story every told, of which the Christmas Story is an integral part.

The gift of coming:

Today I came to Balan, and I know that among the hours of hard work here this week, God's gifts will touch many hearts.

My friends came last week, just when I needed a breath of fresh air and a blast of laughter-recharge to a trampled soul. I think they are the first people to come to Sighisoara expressly to visit me (not passing through on their way elsewhere)--what a blessing to have friends like that!

Christmas is coming, because Jesus came. And don't forget: Jesus is coming! May you, too, join us in celebrating the gift of coming! Merry Christmas!

Running in Circles

Location: Dining Hall, Sighisoara, Romania (about 10:15pm on Saturday, the 19th of December)

Yes, this is musical chairs in the snow, without a radio, with adults and a few kids, in the middle of town with surprised pedestrians grinning at us as they walk by. You can see that my "la la las" were echoing off the buildings until I would stop and laugh as everyone dove for a kindergarten smurf chair!

I was going to write about this and the rest of my awesome past two days, but instead I had a pre-Christmas phone call with my parents and I need to get some sleep. So here are a couple of highlights, and I will fill in the details in the morning if time allows after I pack and before I leave for four days of outreach in the Balan area.
Blessings from the last two days include...

...a snowy childrens' program in downtown Sighisoara

...a God-send visit from two of my American friends

...socks, wood, American breakfast for dinner, traveling Romanian style, etc.

...a concert in the Orthodox Cathedral

...telephone stalkers

...(mis)communication in Romanian

...an original musical put on by children in Targu Mures

...a Romanian feast and a fondu supper...

...and much more!


Here are the instructions I gave my friends: "Follow the main road up and up and up, S-curve around the barking dog, and take the staircase by the electrical building that hums--if you get to the dumpster you have gone too far!"
So if you can't wait to hear about this much fun in my words, come and see for yourself, like K. and T. did! And thanks for being a blessing to me--you are all my Christmas gifts, and I thank God for you! I am the richest man in the world!

I received three extremely encouraging emails, all in this same day, and I will respond to them as soon as I can. Just know that you who wrote them really blessed me. May God get the glory!

Let's be like these little children and praise the Lord with everything that we are--in that way, we can reflect the Kingdom of Heaven to those who are distacted by the cold and snow, by the Christmas hustle, and by the wrong size or color of a gift they received.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Fight

Location: Dining Room, Sighisoara, Romania (nearly 10pm on the 15th of December)

Where to start? So little time and so much more to come!

Today was a rough day. Not because of the work, though it was hard, but because of my attitude. I was extremely frustrated about the way things were being done, or not, and about the help, or lack thereof. But it snowed today, a beautiful, first real snow of the season, and it snowed all day long. Which means that twice, in the midst of my work, I was able to have snowball fights with some of the little neighbor kids, and the Lord used that to lift my spirits!

So, are you curious about these pictures and the hints from my last post? I told you about the excellent beginning to my week last week, in the town of C. Wednesday morning we headed in the direction of Brasov, and I lived in the village of A. all week. The first picture above barely shows the room I lived in--it was the living room, kitchen, and guest bedroom of the small house I called home for the week. My hosts were wonderful, and having seen other houses in similar villages, I knew I was blessed to be living "high on the hog" for a week, even if I was sharing a two-room house with a married couple and two babies. At meal times, there were 6 or 8 of us there--eating in my room, often in two waved. No indoor plumbing (the outhouse was behind the house), no heat except a wood stove (it's in the photo above, back in the corner), a bed that twice fell off the fire-logs propping it up, no privacy, no internet, etc., made for an interesting week of counting my blessings. You can also see the buckets I used to fetch water from the pump down the road that gave us access to spring water from the hill, and the next two photos are from a quick, twilight hike up that hill my last night there. I wish I could describe the mountains we saw from our vantage point in the dimming evening, my sixteen-year-old guide and I moving quickly to stay warm (he is the brother of my fellow intern).

Yes, it was a difficult week, but a good week. You get used to waiting for the flocks of sheep or the horses and carts that are blocking the road. You get used to washing your hands and dishes in buckets. You get used to entering the house quickly so the heat does not escape. You even get so that you enjoy the trip to the outhouse because it is your sole instant of privacy during the day!

And like I said, my hosts (a young family) were super, and really taught me how hospitality is supposed to work! But I did not just live in that community, I worked too! From Wednesday through Sunday, we put on six "Sunday School" programs and gave out hundreds of pairs of socks and boots to anywhere from 100 to 700 people at a time. Our team joined the team presenting the lesson, and we added acrobatics, juggling, puppets, dancing, pyramids, clowns, balloons, and more to their already high-energy program. I often had to pleasure of being crowd control at the door, which was certainly an interesting experience.

It was fun to worship with their team each morning, a team comprised of a two generations of Sunday School workers, the teens being fruit from the first programs started several years ago in that area. I was the only American, and it was an honor to live as they did--without the amenities as aforementioned, eating baby food, TV dinners, and other items which had recently expired and had been sent from other countries to help the "poor people of Romania," and working hard with hands and heart in the cold days of early December. I also had the honor of watching my hosts open a box of clothing and food and other gifts sent from Switzerland or some other Western European wealthy nation; it was an honor to see how appreciative and generous my hosts were regarding what they received. It made me realize that when I have packed similar boxes, I have not done so in vain.

Speaking of which, yesterday we unloaded shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse "Operation Christmas Child" project. That is another blessing, for several years of my past included days where I bought items and filled and wrapped shoeboxes for this same charity. Now, instead of sending them, I am on the receiving and distributing end of the work, which is really neat!

That, of course, is only a drop in the bucket of the work we are doing right now. We are still dealing with our thousands of pairs of boots and socks. We are preparing to host more than thirty people from France and Switzerland just after Christmas when we do our blitzkrieg of outreach programs (today I cleaned and made beds all day!). We have a program tomorrow for the parents of our kindergarten, and the following day is our choir concert. Friday is a city-wide program sponsored by several of the churches to reach out to all of the children, and we are the emcees. Friday might include a quick visit to Targu Mures before Sunday finds me on the way to B. for four days of package distribution before Christmas.

Emotionally, this is an interesting time, and your prayers are greatly appreciated. Not only is Christmas approaching and my internship wrapping up, but all the American students in town finished their semester and left today to begin their journeys home. My best friend in Romania flew home to the States today, and thus is no longer only a phone call away. I am excited to welcome two American friends at the end of this week, which will help me make it through the stress of the people around me and their conflicting commitments. Some of my family is visiting in nearby Ukraine, though at the moment it does not look like we will be able to meet up. I am eagerly looking forward to God's plans for my January, but there are a lot of unknowns included in them, from my perspective, at least. And I have heard from many of my friends in the States, and you are dealing with deep prayer issues involving babies, health, work, following God, the Church, family, and so on.

All this to say, I am praying for you, and thank you for your prayers for me. Not only am I spending a lot of time in prayer, but you can see that my schedule is leaning toward "busy," too. So you know why if I am slow to return an email or a phone call--thanks for your patience. Meanwhile, I have been very conscience of my attitude, and grateful when God steps in to change my heart, like He did with these little girls delighting in His snow today. Or when my heart was not ready to do a program last week and mobs of people were pushing against me, and He led me to start singing peacefully to them.

Is your heart right?
Are you ready for Christmas?
Would you be ready if Jesus came today?

Don't let other people's stress pull you down. Don't let them push you around with their desire for more. Don't let the material things around you cause you to worry. I assure you that life can be happy without hot showers, toaster ovens, and pizza delivery. Friends may come and go, the weather might change, and the work situation might go from bad to worse, but God can renew your heart moment by moment. Let Him.

Some people are fighting to survive. Others are blessed by snowball fights. I bless you in the Name of our Christmas Jesus!

Could

Location: Bedroom in Sighisoara, Romania, the 14th of December, a little before 11pm.

I could write now, but sleep is the wiser choice. This is another busy week!

Watch for a post about my last week, spent living in a village of 1000 people, no indoor plumbing, wood-stove heat, eating baby food, sleeping in the kitchen, sheep-jams, etc. I have a few pictures, lots to tell, and so much to thank God for. Meanwhile, I am back "home" in Sighisoara, and I bless you in the Name of Jesus!

Jesus Is Coming!

Location: Small town near Deva, Romania (Tuesday the 8th of December 2009 at 7am)
So much to say, and so few words (in the four or five languages I have studied) to describe it! "Wow!" might have to do!

You will remember that we were preparing boots and socks for our December outreaches. We spent two chilly days among mountains of boots and bags of socks in an old, dusty, unheated garage (see for yourself!). But our work with over 5000 pairs of boots has already begun to pay off!

What do you see in these other pictures? A vacant lot surrounded by construction materials and demolished pieces of whatever used to be here? I see a sidewalk where several dozen people heard that Jesus is more than a baby who smiles on Christmas cards, and that they need to make the first step toward a God who is waiting for them in love!

These are a few photos from our outdoor venue for yesterday's children's program. But that stunning success was only a small link in a chain of awesome God-events that filled yesterday's measley twenty-four hours! I very much wanted to write last night, but I was exhausted!

We arrived Saturday night, hosted by a local ministry and church. We made preparations, then caught a few winks before church the next morning. All four of our team members present spoke during church, and the morning was a powerful foreshadowing of the days to follow. Lunch with a missionary and some of the local teens gave us extra enthusiasm as we hurried to make last minute prep for a children's program that afternoon. Having drafted several of the teens, we were amazed by their participation, and we were SO blessed to watch God work. With only four team-members from Sighisoara, we had expected a tough weekend. We found ourselves gliding through the activities in pure joy, our task easy and the result delightful!

Having learned that we would add a youth-group type meeting to Mondays already-packed schedule, we spent the night in more prayer and preparation, rather than in celebration of a great Sunday. We were operating in the face of some very discouraged ministers here, and we did not want to do excellent programs and leave--our aim was to do excellent programs while equipping them to do the same, leaving them with hope, determination, and an optimistic vision for the work that would follow.

Monday dawned early as my fellow intern, I., and I hopped in the car and headed into town. It will not surprise you that I had found out I already knew someone in this small town, and she had invited me to speak my "perfect American English" to her English class. When we arrived, she asked if I had prepared my speech (I had prepared nothing.). She also asked if I was nervous, and when I told her I was used to speaking in front of people, she warned me that these were not "normal" people. I. and I dove in and worked as a team, with him helping me translate, and we roared with laughter all morning! I spoke to three classes, and I have so many stories that I cannot tell them all. But a few highlights to whet your imagination include this...

We invited the principle/director to class--she had seemed initially hesitant to let us in since we had not made arrangements in advance, and then she smiled in the back of the room during my lesson!

We "snuck" into one class during their ten-minute break before class and gave them a teaser of what to expect, and they willingly gave up their next twenty-minute break to study English with me between classes!

My lessons included rapping, spelling MISSISSIPPI, speaking in dialect, confiscating notes, accidentally falling on the floor, tracing my shoe on the blackboard, professional wrestling, a pet elephant, and so much more!

Not only was class fun, but we saw some kids who had come to our program the day before. When we were entering the building, one little boy was leaning out the bathroom window yelling, "Hello, hello! I was at the church yesterday!" After a morning like that, I. and I were pumped up, and I. said we should go to school every day!

But we did not have time to revel in that experience, because the the next one was waiting for us! We hurried to the local soup kitchen (the "Cantina"), where we presented three programs for the folks who came during the next couple of hours. Several of them were kids from the church the day before, or from the school that morning, and they enjoyed our puppets and juggling and vocal-band. The teacher I knew even came to lend a hand, and neither could she escape recognition by the kids.

Then we all piled in the car for the next adventure--the program that transformed the vacant lot into a joy-filled demonstration of the power of God, surrounded by smiling "kids" from baby to adult. We used the last bits of sunshine to say goodbye and to arrange our things before racing the sunset to the church, where we set up for the evening with the young people. We almost had time to sit down while we swallowed a snack, and then we started full-speed ahead. Our evening included workshops on puppets, juggling, and choreographed dance, a time for games, worship, and preaching, and prayer and testimony. We saw the gates of Hell tremble as the Lord moved among the young people of C. last night, breaking some of the oppression that the people here have felt. We do not know the half of what was begun last night, but I believe this community will watch it blossom for months and years to come. Please pray for them!

We give God the glory, reminding ourselves that we could have done nothing without Him! We also thank Him, because He gave us the privilege of serving here this week, and He united our team in a very special way.

Today we will head back to our home base, just long enough to change our luggage before heading to the Brasov area tomorrow for the rest of the week. Thank you for your prayers--you are as much a part of this as we are. Romania thanks you for your prayers, too--there president was decided yesterday after Sunday's vote was counted, and though I know little about the man, he was the candidate most for whom most Evangelicals seemed to be voting. Not only did I get to go to school in Romania yesterday, but I got to go to the polls the day before (I didn't vote though; don't worry!).

Like Jesus' mother Mary, I am treasuring all these things in my heart, eager to see what God has in store for us today and each day after. We have been reminding ourselves that He might come back any day, and we are ready! But until then, we are going to help as many others be ready as we can!

Be blessed this day, and be ready--Jesus is coming!