Remote Romania

Well. Saturday I landed in Bucharest, Romania at 5:30 and I had a 7 hour car ride to a little town outside of Isai, (pronounce yash) called Cotu Morii. There I was greeted by Livia and Gabi, two girls from the church to help me settle in. I was tired.. so there wasnt much settling :)

Then we woke up for church. The services are a little different here in the small villages then in America. The service was about 3.5 hours.. the men and women sat on separate sides of the church. Of course I didn't understand any of it! But then we had a nice relaxing afternoon.

On Monday morning we left for camp in a really nice mountainous area. It was about a 3 hour drive from where I'm staying. The first day everyone kind of looked at me like I had 3 heads, but then by Tuesday some of the youth who had some English started to talk! It was nice!! They warmed up to me and we played games. I taught them how to play Spoons. Now if you know how Spoons go.. it gets a little violent and crazy... and they were no different!! Jumping across tables and grabbing from each  other.. haha. I was able to meet the team of workers here in Romania and start to get to know the people I will work with. I also learned a little bit more about what I will be doing here and about some of the ministries that they do here.

I will update again soon with pictures!! I don't have internet where I am staying but I have access nearby!! Thanks for your prayers!!!
Rache

Packing, Saying Bye, and Flying to a New Place Once Again

Its hard to believe my two months here in Portugal is over. It seems like I just arrived a few days ago but then when I think about all I've done and the experiences I've had it seems crazy that I have only been here for two months. I guess that's the beauty life.

I've once again made close friendships with the people I've met here, worked with and just lived life with. Once again I am finding it hard to say good bye. This past Sunday was my last at church because I fly out for Romania on Saturday morning, and I got teary eyed as I said goodbye to my friends and the kids I worked with over the summer. Even though I was here to serve them, they've imprinted themselves on me and made an impact. That is beautiful to me.

Youth from church+sponsors

I've had a great summer. I've laughed, lived, swam, ran, played, listened, learned, hugged, kissed, ate, drank, smiled, cried, made, rested, talked, read, watched and so much more. I've experienced culture, I've also experienced culture stress. I learned from it and kept moving. I've missed my family, my friends, my home, my comforts and my boyfriend. I've been out of the country for over 130 days.  That is over 1/3 of a year. I've passed the halfway point and its been hard at times. But the good has far outweighed the rough times. When Jesus commanded us to go out and make disciples of all nations in Matthew 28:18-20 he didn't say it would be easy. It may not be easy to wake up every day and know that I am 4,000 miles from home, but I've been commanded by my Saviour to reach all nations and if that means me being where I am right now then I will rest in Him and he will provide my strength. That is the wonderful part about our Lord, if we are faithful he is faithful and he is always there loving us and cheering us on even when we don't notice.

So I am finishing out my last week in Portugal. I spent Friday night with the youth at the church, we had a lock in. Then Saturday I went to Belem with my host family, in Belem there is a monument to the Portuguese discoveries! They discovered many places, and some that were very far away!! I also got to try some Pasteis de Belem- which are a traditional pastry from the area.. very good and creamy!

And of course the dreaded packing began this week as well. My least favorite part of this trip!!

Here are some picture from my weekend!! Keep me in your prayers as I travel on Saturday, my flight leaves at 6:55am.. so that is around 2am your time.. So say a quick prayer before bed. When I arrive in Romania I will pretty much be thrown right into action. There is a youth camp they want me involved in that first week so I should get into the culture very quickly. Pray that I adjust quickly and I fit into the team that I will be working with. The workers there are all Romanians so pray that we have clear communication and that I can connect with them!

Gil and I

Monument of Discoveries

Me in front of the monument

Monastery in Belem

Amphitheater in Merida, Spain

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In front of the Theater

I was in Merida, Spain today. I saw a Roman amphitheater that dated back 8 years b.c. And a Roman theater. This picture is part of the back ground of the stage in the theater. It was beautiful.
Then on the way home we stopped near a town in Portugal called Monteforte which was where a Roman family lived in the 2nd century I believe it was. There were ruins of their house, burials, olive presses and there was a Christian basilica with a cruciform baptism. Talk about history right there. There are only a few immersion baptisms anyway that old let alone one shaped like a cross. I'll post more pictures later!

And the Camping Continues

Patricia and I with our My Hope Material

So after a week of working at Minha Esperanca (My Hope) and the church library I left town once again for camp! This time it was with the teenage group!

But first let me tell you a little more about the work at Minha Esperanca. The project is launching a country wide outreach by having Christians invite friends into their home and then on a weekend in December invite them again and show a telecast of evangelism and worship. Then spend time talking to those who attended in hope that they make a decision to follow Christ. I arrived at the office and I was greeted by a group of Portuguese workers and a few Americans from the organization. They all seemed very passionate about the project and like great people. So I started working with Patricia on the material. She only speaks a little English and doesn't practice very often because she doesn't think she is very good at it. So she was nervous but excited to use her English with me. As the day went on we got to know each other and we were having fun. The job is very tedious and is exactly the same over and over. Did I mention they need about 5,000 of these envelopes!! So as we were working she kept expressing how thankful she was for my help and she kept thanking God that He sent someone to help her. And here I was thinking I wasn't really even doing anything important. But to her it was a huge blessing because it meant she didn't have to do all 5,000 by herself and it meant she had company. God keeps surprising me in the way he uses me.

Now back to camp! I really enjoyed this week, it was a completely different atmosphere and a lot more laid back. Because the group was older we had a little more freedom and less structure in the activities, so we did more hanging out and talking rather than all the games and things of the younger camp. We still had lessons and worship daily. It was good to practice a little but of my Portuguese again and I learned some new things.

We invented a game. Basically a knock off of Phase 10, but someone stole our Phase 10 cards so we created the deck with regular playing cards and wrote down the phases. We called in Ben 10 Remix. We played it all week! It was very fun, but I always got stuck on phase 4 for like 15 rounds. I wasn't a happy camper. We went to the beach and had a blast. This week it was much warmer and I got in the ice cold water. I did some laps for my exercise, I love swimming for exercise!!

Here are some pictures of the week! Enjoy!! I only have two weeks left here in Portugal. I don't know where the time has gone, but I pray I have been a blessing to those I've encountered. I'm still working this week and next at the My Hope office and the library.. and I will get to do a little touristy stuff as well!!

Hanging out at the beach with Luisaa

Ines, Kaio, and Silvio at the cafe

Gilberta and I

Volleyball at the beach

Ines and I enjoying the beach

Oh the pinata

Even the teenagers and sponsors scramble like kids for candy

Playing Ben 10

Beach!

P.S. I have been gone now for over 4 months. My time in Europe is over halfway finished. Continue with prayers as I transition yet again into another culture in two weeks. And also just for my emotions as I finish out this trip. Pray that I remain strong and not miss my family and friends too much.. And that I remain pliable and open to learning and serving. Thanks guys!! Love you all!!