Viaţă în România --------- Life in Romania

Blogger, I'm finished with you!

2009-02-14T19:33:00.002+02:00

This Blog is officially over...on blogspot that is.

All older posts will remain on this site.

My updated (hopefully more often than recent) regularly blog is now (drumroll please...)

http://kelscaleb.wordpress.com

Make the change, come and visit. Please and thank you.

Blog Issues

2009-02-14T07:46:00.000+02:00

So, the deal is this. I want a better template. No, I want a cool template for my blog.
I tried last night to put one on. I got it saved but then it won't let me put in my title or anything. No, I'm not smart enough to figure out how to change the HTML so that I can do that. Nor, do I want to be : )
Anyway I'm not settled on this pink deal you see now. It's a temporary fix until I get get "cooler."
Can someone help? Please?

I was clearly in the wrong...

2009-02-13T20:32:00.000+02:00

When I first dissed this guy. Actually I dissed his name. Someone asked me in August if I had ever heard of "Phil Wickham." Since the team was from England I kind of made a joke about how English the name sounded and who the heck was Phil Wickham and how the heck would or should I know him? (And, I'd just like to add here, how in the world would I know whether or not a name sounds English or not.?) They went on...he's a worship leader, he's my friend, he's from the States, thought you might have heard of him so on and so on. (Something like that - can't exactly recall the conversation.)
Well during the time the team was here they played a CD they had of his. Secretly I got hooked to this one song they seemed to have on repeat a lot. But, I couldn't let them know that I actually liked the song. I mean, c'mon, I dissed him Day 1. You know? Hopefully, since I haven't been posting to this blog so often lately, some of those team members will have forgotten to check this blog and still never find out the whole truth.

The truth continues...
I searched for him on iTunes. I know. Although I honestly and completely didn't expect him to have anything there. Afterall he was just "a friend of _________" and let's be honest. There are about 5 million male worship leaders in the States who have put together a little record. Just because this team had an album didn't mean he had reached iTunes.
But, there he was. iTunes. Not just 1 album, but more than 1 album.
Dang it. There was nothing stopping me now. I really, really wanted to have that song I had heard. There was no way I could ask the team for it because then they would know that I actually liked his music. I couldn't remember the song exactly so I was going to have to buy the entire album. To make it a little more worthwhile I set a personal goal and once I reached it I would allow myself to buy it...but just for that "one song."
I reached that goal last week and finally bought this guy's first album.
This is al I have to say after listening to it pretty much 24/7 since getting it.
I, Kelsey Corrina Winters, swear to never ever ever ever judge someone's name as "sounding English" ever again.

Seriously. I'm going to be really honest here. This guy brings a musical style to worship that is so lacking in Christian music. And, it's good. Really good. Just speaking from hello dorky Kelsey went to music school point of view. I'm serious - he's really talented. And his voice is so unique as well. That is awesome as well to hear. Not that he was the one who decided what his voice would sound like but...you know.
Now, to put this in a Jesus perspective. Right. The words that God pours through this guy's songs...the music He led him to put to it...all of it....it has cracked open a part of my soul that I didn't know needed to be laid bare before God.

You and Jesus need some time together? Put this album on and be on your face for awhile.
It was like streams of water for me today...
http://www.amazon.com/Phil-Wickham/dp/B000EU1PNM

I found his website earlier tonight if you want to check that out instead...
http://philwickham.com/blog/

I think I'm ready now to deal with the consequences from the team. Maybe it's good that I got this out in the open before I see them in a week and a half. I'm not going to try and save face - just going to be honest. I more than like the music. There - it's out!

How am I going to see the team from England in a week and a half? Let's just say that when a $33 roundtrip plane ticket shows up you just buy it. Actually ended up being $46 when I checked my bank account. Not sure how that happened but still $46 roundtrip. Are you freakin' kidding me? I'll fly from Budapest up to Glasgow and stay with really close friends there. After spending some much needed time with them, and hopefully some me & God in the beautiful hills alone time, I'll head down to Carlisle, England to visit the team. (It's just a little over an hour by train from Glasgow to them.) I've been trying to save up for a trip to visit my friends in Glasgow for a year and a half...just haven't been able to pull enough together. God has been so incredibly provisional. All my bills are being paid each month. My rent is paid each month. Caleb and I have food each month. But putting anything aside for Scotland just doesn't work. And, that's okay! I had been praying though, since September, that God could somehow make a trip work this year. The only tickets I had found were at least $120 roundtrip - a no go for Kels financially. Then one of the cheapy airlines 2 weeks ago had a 2 day sale with these roundtrip tickets in February and March. "For fun" I decided to check out some dates and ended up buying one. I had been able to put aside the amount for the ticket over these past months so I definitely had peace that God had prepared this ticket for me to go. Hard, as usual, that Caleb can't come. Ugghh. I just miss my son so much when I'm away from him - and I know he has such a hard time without Mom. Thankfully though, he'll stay with my good friend and her son (Caleb and him are like brothers) while I'm gone. I'll be returning the favor for her when she takes a week break at the end of April and her son will stay with us!

The Latest from Casa Alba...

2009-02-03T21:03:00.001+02:00

And that would be...TUG OF WAR.
This is how we started off our program 2 Saturdays ago. It was HILARIOUS. The girls won once (the first time actually) and the boys won the next two times. I am so thankful for our very creative donation warehouse boss, Martin, who came up with this extremely creative "rope" for us. (Old hospital blankets tied together!!)
Enjoy the pictures below from the fun! (Click on Shutterfly Link Below)

6 pictures
View Album at Shutterfly

Let's see...what else. This weekend the foundation I serve with hosted a youth conference. This is the second year in a row and it was amazing. The speaker from last year returned and the Club was PACKED. Only the very last two rows way in the back were empty. (Which turned out to be the perfect spot for Caleb to spread out his memory cards, as well as color, while Mom soaked in the teaching!) This particular speaker is very blunt and very transparent...I have so, so appreciated the impact his teaching has made on how I view God. If I can find a website with some info on him I'll post it.

CRISTINA LEFT TODAY! WOOHOO! All of you who have prayed for this day - well, it finally came. She was able to permanently move to the home of an immediate family member. How many years has it been since she arrived...2, more than that? I can't even remember now.
Some of the kids were crying during her goodbye party today. I think in part it was that their friend was leaving but also they were crying out of hurt that they weren't the ones leaving...well, at least I'm going to guess that was part of it. Please continue to pray that these kids would be able to leave SOON to families that desire to love and raise them with HIS love and wisdom. Amin!

By the way, this is "fun." I made the cake for the party today. My friend had it in her lap as we were driving to Casa Alba. As I turned the car around, the top layer slid off into her lap.
Yup, that was grrrreat. Then, I carried the cake into Casa Alba and the top layer slid onto my shoulder. Even more grrrreat. The staff at Casa Alba were, thankfully!, able to patch it up enough that I didn't feel like I had ruined the party : )

Gray, Rain, Cold...

2009-01-23T08:43:00.000+02:00

That pretty sums up the weather we've been having here since the beginning of December. Okay, I know we've had some exceptions to this but if you took a majority count...it would come down to just that "Gray, Rain, Cold." I am a sun person. In and out sun. I've asked the Lord to relocate Romania to the desert but so far He's decided against that...(perhaps piggy backing too much on Lost?). When the sun is out - I feel that I come out. Do you know what I mean? When the sun is shining it just reminds me so much of who God is and who He desires us to be and I overflow with joy! When it's gray...uggghhhh...Kelsey goes into a shell. I don't WANT to, it just happens.
I think that's why I've been not so good about updating the blog this past week. So much rain, so much gray, so much cold. Sorry everyone!
We had a couple of hours on 2 days this week where the sun came out and the weather was warm enough to just have jackets on. Boy, was I pumped or what. Then after a couple of hours it returned to the theme of this winter : Gray, Rain, Cold.
Yesterday morning I told Caleb how God is in charge of everything. Even the sun has to obey God. We began praying that the sun would come out! It didn't : (
It rained pretty much all day and all night (I heard it everytime I woke up...and especially when Caleb woke me up from seriously a very deep sleep YELLING "Mama! Mama! My bed is cold!"
I think I somehow mumbled "Please just stop yelling at me and climb into my bed then."
(Laughing about it right now...)
Anyway I woke up and the same - a nice thick of gray covering everything. BUT, looking out the window now I see little pockets of blue sky through that gray. Oh gosh, how awesome would it be to have an entire day with sun??

What do you think?

2009-01-15T09:34:00.000+02:00

I had a conversation with someone yesterday who has been gone from work because their son was ill. I wanted to speak with them and let them know that I had been praying but also to find out what exactly had happened. All we had been told was that they had to go to the hospital in the city for it to be treated. Basically this person told me that the left side of the boy's face had been paralyzed. He initially couldn't even see out of his left eye and his mouth was distorted on that side of his face as well. He's not that old of a child so I asked this person "How did this happen?"

The answer was really interesting. This person replied with "We were out in the country where the air is a lot colder and harsher. The cold air made him paralyzed on his face."

I've heard from others who have also been to other parts of Eastern Europe that there is a similar thinking pretty much across the board that cold air and breezes are dangerous.
For instance, if you are in a taxi in the summer time you generally (from many personal experiences) are not allowed to have windows open on both sides of the car. Why? The cross breeze can make you sick. This concern is elevated most when young children are in a car, train etc... If you open a window to get a breeze there is immediate words and action taken to close the window because the child could get sick from the breeze. It is an extremely common site here to see people with cotton stuck in both of their ears...especially when it is windy out (even if really warm outside) and now, too, when it's cold outside. From asking about it I am told that they don't want the breeze to blow through one ear and out the other because it will either make them sick or hurt their teeth.

Really interesting, right? For me, now, I don't really think about it so much. Hey - it's their culture and honestly sticking cotton in your ear isn't going to hurt you at all is it? Go for it!
I do get frustrated when I'm not allowed to open windows when it's really stuffy or unbearably hot but, to be honest, those instances aren't really that often. Now that I have my own car I don't need to take the taxi's to the city anymore.

So, back to this boy's paralysis.
My initial reaction was really sad. How in the world could they believe that cold air created this paralysis? I didn't say anything to this person other than how sorry I was that their son was going through this and that I was praying for them. I have to admit though I was a little mad at the doctors in the city for telling them this load of something or other. This reaction of mine is based on some experiences with medical care here. One time I was with a gypsy mom and her baby at the hospital. The baby was receiving injections for an infection that it had. When I asked the Mom what was wrong with the baby she told me that the baby was getting injections in the hand - to get rid of the infection in the arms, injections in her bum - to get rid of the infection in the back of her body, and injections in the front of her leg - to get rid of the infection in the front of her body. When I heard this I didn't know if the doctors had just told the Mom this because they didn't think she'd understand the real reasons or, did the doctors truly believe this themselves? Really interesting.

So this time, in regards to the paralysis, I really wanted to go and see what I could find on online. I mean, let's be honest, these very - very different medical views had to come from somewhere. Just because they aren't embraced in the States doesn't mean they don't have value, you know?

I was really surprised at what I found by a quick Google search.

Traditional Chinese Medicine
believe that face paralysis is caused by cold air freezing the Qi (life force)
and blood that normally flow freely in the face.
Meanwhile, western medicine diagnoses the condition as a viral infection that attacks the nerves in the face.
TCM doctors treat patients with acupunture, as well as a ranged of other natural treatments.
While they may look a bit unorthodox, many patients regain use of their facial muscles after several visits.

Now, I know for a fact that this child is not receiving acupuncture. BUT, they are doing electrical massage (which I've had before in physical therapy) and lots of other creams and masssages. He has regained the sight in his left eye already.

What do you think?

Romania's Neighbors...

2009-01-11T21:59:00.001+02:00

aren't really being friendly right now. (To put it in Caleb's language.)
Russia says Ukraine is stealing gas, Ukraine says that what they are taking is allowed under their contract. News can't really find the absolute truth - only those dealing directly with this situation in both those countries really know what's going on. What the rest of us know is he said - she said and the effects of the decisions they have made. Which, this time round, is hitting pretty hard in a very real way in Europe. Russia decided to cut us all off from importing their natural gas because of their issues with Ukraine. Nice. Bulgaria and Poland are pretty much without any gas at this point. Romania's temperatures have been at about 10 F, before windchill, steady so you can only imagine what no heat in weather like this is for the people of Bulgaria and Poland.
Now, onto how this affects Romania. I actually hadn't heard about it at all (yikes) until a friend brought it up at lunch today. Then I came home and found an e-mail from some friends wanting to know if there was any heat in Marghita. I figured I'd better go read what was happening : )
I found out some really interesting facts about Romania's natural gas industry and importing on some Romanian news sites. All which helped explain why there really isn't anyone talking about a gas crisis here (and why it hasn't hit us in Marghita.)

Here's the deal :

Conflictul dintre Gazprom si Naftogaz incepe sa afecteze si Romania, ieri compania ruseasca sistand furnizarea de gaze naturale prin statia Isaccea. O treime din gazul consumat in Romania vine din Rusia. Daca situatia persista, Romania poate compensa deficitul de gaz din depozitele subterane, aflate in cea mai mare parte in proprietatea Romgaz, companie de stat. In prezent, capacitatea Romgaz este de 2,8 miliarde metri cubi, iar oficialii societatii spun ca depozitele sunt pline. In lipsa importurilor, aceasta cantitate acopera consumul normal pentru cel putin patru luni. Intr-un scenariu optimist, potrivit ministrului Economiei, Adriean Videanu, cantitatea de gaze stocata poate asigura consumul Romaniei chiar si pentru sase luni.

Okay, so what does that say?
The conflict is beginning to affect Romania as well because yesterday the Russians shut down the station from which Romania gets their imported gas (The Isaccea Station...located on the Black Sea.) A third of all consumed gas in Romania is imported and comes from Russia. If the situation persists, Romania can compensate for the gas deficit from subterranean deposits. These deposits are found mainly on the property of Romgaz, a national Romanian company. Presently the Romgaz capacity is 2.8 billion metric cubes but officials say that the deposits are full. If having to make up for the missing imported gas, this quantity can cover the normal gas consumption (for Romanians) for at least 4 months. In an optimistic scenario the Minister of Economy, Adriean Videanu, says that the stocked gas could assure Romania's consumption for even 6 months.

To sum it all up.
Kelsey's apartment, and the rest of Romania, has heat for at least another 4 months, maybe 6, despite being cut off by Russia and the possibility of still being cut off for awhile.

Sure wish I could share some with Bulgaria...oh gosh those people are really suffering right now.

Ants on a Log!

2009-01-10T09:45:00.000+02:00

Caleb needed a haircut, real bad. We went 4 times to his hair guy and he was never there. Yesterday we tried again and found out that now, as of yesterday, he's on vacation until February. That meant I had to take him to my hair dresser and he wasn't so happy about that (she's a girl, you know.) Still, he survived and looked pretty darn handsome after the cut! I asked him to pose below and he would only take pictures with his eyes closed - he was in silly mode. The box he's holding in his hands is from a local grocery store. He noticed it a little over a week ago and asked the women working there if he could have it when it was empty. When we walked in yesterday it was still full but the women felt bad so they emptied it for him. He was SO excited and has been playing with this cardboard box non-stop since yesterday evening.

Ants on a log! I have received some recent donations through the mail to help the kids' diet at Casa Alba orphanage. Two of these are : jars and jars of Peanut Butter (thanks April!) and raisins (thanks Aunt Connie!). I bought some bananas and during the middle of program on Wednesday morning we made ants on a log. They had never eaten them before (well, as far as I know) and they LOVED them. Although Joni (picture below) was doing homework Wednesday morning (when I do program with the 4 year olds) he popped in at the end. I ask him if he wanted to try one and he willingly agreed : ) All he could say was (with a stuffed mouth ) "More Kelsey, I want more, I want more!"

9 in '09!

2009-01-07T15:25:00.000+02:00

Are you willing to pray about it?

9 in '09

Zoning Out...

2009-01-01T12:05:00.001+02:00

That's what I've been doing for about a week now. My Dad arrived and I checked out : )
I've been really thankful for this time to do absolutely nothing, well almost nothing. It's hard to be able to take breaks here. I can't leave the country (for upcoming Residency purposes) and Caleb isn't allowed to leave the country at all...so pretty much leaving the country is out of the question. Travelling in Romania is difficult with a 4 yr. old, of course, seeing as how there really aren't kid friendly travel spots. So the best solution to the problem was Dad coming just after Christmas and it has been great!

We did head down to Timisoara for 2 days and it was like a little mini Vienna. Very beautiful - lots of lights - and a small Christmas market. FREEZING cold - out of control cold. My Dad has always wanted to visit the site where the Revolution that overthrew Communism started - so now he has!

Caleb did really well; I was so proud of him. His favorite parts were :
1. McDonalds
2. Pigeons in the square of Timisoara
3. Live Sheep in the Manger Scene in the square

My camera battery died after 3 pictures in Timisoara - sorry.... : (

Monday marks the return to 'everything' : ) The kids are all returning to Casa Alba on Saturday afternoon so programs will be up and running starting next week.
Today though will be a bit of a change as Dad is going to preach at a small, local Hungarian congregation. No, not in Hungarian - ha! A good friend of mine in town speaks English and it's her church home - so she'll translate. It's really common here to have a New Year's Day service. Their service starts at 5pm tonight.

My old neighbor insisted on making our New Year's Eve dinner for us last night. When it was finished she called me, and a friend and I went over to pick it up. She said that we HAD to eat foods that brought good luck (interesting) which meant that she made a meal of Rabbit in a Red Wine/Garlic Sauce and Pork Snitzel. I made some veggies, mashed potatoes and Sarmale (Cabbage Rolls). Well, I heated up the Sarmale. They were left over from the lunch we had at Caleb's kindergarten teacher's home the day before. Oh, and my neighbor made this huge cake - good gracious. She knows that this particular one is my favorite and so she made me a huge one, big enough to feed 15-20 people. It was out of control. I told her "You know you're crazy, right?" She said "You know you're crazy for all of the ways you help me, right?"

If only she knew that I love helping her and her husband, very ill with cancer, out for NOTHING. I think it's something she'll never understand - I just keep telling her though...maybe someday it'll sink in!

I'll post some pictures later...right now I have a request from Caleb to play "Go Go Giraffe!"

Craciun Fericit!

2008-12-25T22:01:00.000+02:00

FCE Christmas Party

2008-12-20T21:46:00.000+02:00

Last night was FCE's annual Christmas party. (FCE is the Foundation that I serve under here in Marghita.) It was a packed house - about 350 were there.
Because money is so tight they cut back on the courses for the meal. Which, I thought was a great idea and saved a lot of time and hassle as well. They had some fruit on the tables, brownies and crackers for the appetizers. Then we had a main meal of chicken, mashed potatoes and rice with little bits of veggies in it. Dessert was traditional Cozonac bread. (It wasn't my favorite type of Cozonac so I was a little bummed : ) Although I saved adding a couple of pounds by not eating a lot of it! Ha, ha ha.)

Everyone and their Mom shows up to this party each year. And, each project within FCE does something. I was supposed to do a song with the Casa Alba orphanage kids, as I did last year as well. The thing is that I felt the need to spice up the night a little bit. I mean, c'mon, everyone knows the Christmas carols already...right? So what did "Today Christ was Born" (Traditional Romanian Carol) morphe into?
That's right, a very wannabe rap song.
Annnnnnd, I was able to get a pair of sunglasses for each kid to wear as well.

Yup, and who was sitting at the very first table in front of the stage? The newly elected Mayor of Marghita and his close friends/family (I wouldn't know exactly).

I wish I had a picture to post but I was up front "rapping" it up with the kids!

Ohhhhh hilarious...

Rain, rain go away!

2008-12-18T14:35:00.000+02:00

That's what we've got here, again. Rain. I told God that if we were getting February weather in December then that means that we need to have good weather in February. This is the second week now of rain. Bluck!

I couldn't believe that it has been over a week since I last updated this blog. I'm sorry.
I can't say that the past two weeks haven't been easy, for reasons I can't post here, and I've had to focus pretty much all of my energy on just getting through each day...
On Monday I read a verse and I immediately broke down after reading it....it ended with "and God knew." God knew just how hard and horrible the situation was when the Israelites were under slavery to the Egyptians. He knew.

Okay, moving onto other things.
In order to try and push the rain aside I've been listening to - and subjecting Caleb to (ha ha ha) - non stop Christmas music. We have lights and the decorations up in the house, music playing and the Christmas cookie factory has been going 24/7 for a week now. It is now closed for the season and we have 3 huge bags filled with cookies. I made up plates for each of my team members and took those over to everyone yesterday. Next project is to make up plates for all of the widows/widowers in our building...there are quite a few. When we see them in the halls they really enjoy the interaction they have, if only for a few seconds, with Caleb. I think they'll enjoy getting some Christmas cookie lovin' as well!

Kids in pre-school get SO MUCH STUFF at Christmas time here. Caleb has gotten 2 huge bags filled with candy (expensive candy), croissants, cookies and juice now 2 days in a row. The Casa Alba orphanage kids are getting visits non stop now from people wanting to give them bags of candy and cookies as well. I think it will take Caleb about 6 months to eat through his two bags that he got. Oh wait, make that 3. He got one from Children's Church on Sunday as well. Seriously...I can't remember getting this much when I was growing up?

Yesterday was his pre-school's program at the Civic Center in town (Casa de Cultura - Cultural House). Each group (Small Group, Middle Group, Big Group, Preparation for 1st Grade Group) did a song/dance or two. Caleb's class dressed up in traditional Romanian peasant costumes and did some traditional dancing to a song. I was so proud of Caleb - he danced SO WELL with the girl he was paired up with. I'll post pictures later today.
It's such a difference between the States and here. The program was introduced by the principal talking about how Christmas is a Holy time of year and the celebration of Christ's birth. The program ended with all of the kids singing "Today Christ was Born" (Astazi s-a nascut Hristos).
If a public school in the States tried to do that then there would be lawsuits flying left and right.
I thought it was pretty special, though, to be in an environment where it's expected and accepted to speak about this - and for Caleb to experience this as well! Although I'm not sure just how much of the speech was lip service and not really honest speaking from the heart - still though, I prayed that God would move people's hearts from even just hearing the words yesterday!

For Christmas Mihai, from Casa Alba orphanage, will come and stay with us. He is so excited. I love being with Mihai and including him in our family. He'll stay with us for 3 days and then go to one of the staff's homes. He is close to her as well so I think he's going to really enjoy his Christmas! My Dad comes the day after Christmas and both Caleb and I are going crazy "trying" to wait for him to arrive!

Well, Caleb's rest time is almost up which means I need to finish this up! We are heading to Casa Alba this afternoon to do a Birthday Cake for Jesus that Rocio found online. Once we're done with the cake then I need to finish up some snowflake ornaments that we've started together. After ornaments then it's time to practice their song for the Foundation's Christmas party tomorrow night!

A venit Mos Nicolae

2008-12-09T18:42:00.000+02:00

Christmas IS beginning already. Here in Romania we celebrate the first stage of gifts on the morning of December 6th. Well, the kids do at least! The kids leave their choice of shoes out at night and Mos Nicolae comes and fills them with small toys and candies. If the child has been bad then he just leaves a stick. Caleb, now at 4 1/2, is definitely understanding these traditions now. Still though, the thought of some man coming into our home while we are asleep is a little freaky (it was last year as well.) This year I told him that Mos Nicolae had 2 rules. The first being that he can only come once Caleb is asleep. The second being that he can only come when Mommy is awake so that Mommy can let him in and out, as well as lock the door after him. : ) Caleb chose his boots - the biggest shoes he has - to wait for Mos Nicolae. I stuffed them with a couple of books that my parents sent awhile back, candy (including a kinder egg - actually officially "Kinder Joy" - his absolute favorite) and some small cars. He was so overjoyed and told me that the things he got were exactly what he has always wanted and he is "just so pleased and thankful!" (I loved it!)

I had to buy a new, fake tree this year. Mine burned in a house fire last year (my tree ended up not at my apartment for about a month last year and during it's time away got caught in a fire at that home) but I was able to get a real one for free! This year I don't think I'll be able to get that real and free one again, so I purchased the cheapest, fake one in the city last week after church. Once we got home from church Mihai, Caleb and Dani helped me set it up and decorate it. Mihai didn't know what to do with himself he was so excited...seriously. I bought an ornament for him and put his name and the year on it. Caleb and I both have ornaments with our names and Mihai will be spending Christmas with us so I thought he deserved one as well! He couldn't believe that he actually got his "own" ornament. So sweet...

And, in the pictures below, you'll see Caleb's favorite use of our kid friendly manger scene. What to do...my kid is obsessed with cars- everything becomes a garage!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I liked this! (Watch the whole thing...)

2008-12-08T17:04:00.000+02:00

What can happen with 6 kids on 1 walk?

2008-12-03T22:34:00.001+02:00

Just imagine it. 6 kids, 4 of which are 4 1/2 yrs old, 1 is 7 years old, 1 is 4 years old annnddd, me.
And, they are all orphans. Well, Caleb isn't anymore so we'll say that 5 of them are. Which, means, that they do not listen and are pretty much everywhere all the time. That can mean a lot of fun, no honestly, and really stressful as well. Our walk yesterday proved to be both.
I signed up to work a shift at Casa Alba orphanage yesterday. Normally I only do programs with the kids - never work a full shift. This is mainly because of Caleb and his schedule...the shift starts way before he's up in the morning and the evening shift ends over an hour after he is usually asleep each night. The problem is that there is a huge shortage of staff right now at Casa Alba. So I told them I could work until about 7pm yesterday. I thought that having a staff person until 7 was better than none, right? The open afternoon shift was with pink room - most of the kids in this room were the ones I originally worked with when I first came over four years ago.
I decided that there was NO WAY we were going to stay inside yesterday. Once the kids were up from their naps and had eaten snack I decided that we were heading to the park. No problem right? A 15 minute walk there, they could play until the sun went down, and then just a 15 minute walk back. I knew I was the only adult but I also knew I wouldn't have to worry about Caleb running off into the streets...that even at the same age as the other kids he would actually help with the "crowd control" : ) I think it probably took about 20 minutes to just get shoes, coats and hats on. All 5 kids are yelling "I need my shoes! Kelsey! Kelsey! Kelsey! Shoes! Hat! Coat! Aaaaghghg! Kelsey! Help! I can't do it! I can't do it! I can't do it! Help! Help! Shoes! There! No! Not mine! Too small! Aaaaghghg!" at the same time in a space about the size of a walk in closet. I think Caleb, watching all of this, thought Mom was pretty crazy to actually venture out of the gates of Casa Alba after just the shoes and coats. I tested the kids by saying that they could run outside ahead of me if they promised to stop at the gates to the street. They repeated what I said and YAY! they actually stopped at the gate. I praised them for having been so strong by listening and thought it would be a breeze to get to the park. I paired up the kids into 2's to hold hands and then we combined all hands together. We made it around the corner onto the main sidewalk and then I realized I had a problem on my hands. The line of 7 of us holding hands took up almost the entire sidewalk and in addition to people not being able to get by us, we were quickly approaching a huge - huge puddle. I started shifting to the right to avoid the puddle as much as possible and poor Cerasela, the smallest of the 6, couldn't keep up with the directional shift and fell flat on her face. (Also to note that Diana, our Down's Syndrome 7 year old, was so excited and happy to be on a walk that when I shifted direction she was still so thrilled by the hanging Christmas lights that she pulled in the completely opposite direction...aiding poor Cera's fall. I almost couldn't keep from laughing - it was really comical.)
I hugged Cera and we all comforted her. Once the tears stopped we continued on our path. We came to a tight section of sidewalk so Caleb opted to climb up on some stairs to make room for us to walk. Gheorghe, holding Caleb's hand, tried to climb up too. I told him "No" because I couldn't have my right arm a foot above my head for him to climb and then keep the other 4 in check with my left arm. Gheorghe jumps down, and in doing so pulls Caleb off his ledge and Caleb did a flip in the air and really hit the ground hard. Okay, time to stop again. I have all the kids sitting now on the apt. bloc's steps as I comfort Caleb. Meanwhile no one can get into the apartment building, which also houses a popular copy store, because I have 6 children sitting in a straight row on the steps! Right, Caleb has calmed down so we head out again. Now it's Cera yelling at Alex. It was hilarious. Alex was walking way faster than the 3 girls (they were on my left). Diana was on the end still going her own way to get the best glimpses of the Christmas lights. Gina was holding her own pretty well but Cera...her little legs just couldn't keep up. Alex is literally in front of all of us - eventhough I'm holding his hand - and my left arm is stretched out as far as possible. I decided at this point that a switch of hands was going to have to happen. I moved Cera to my hand and Diana to the middle. There, now we're getting somewhere.
But, not for long. It's time to cross the street. We get to the street and I stop and ask the kids to look for cars. What happens instead? The 3 girls and Alex, on my left, continue walking out into the middle of the street while Caleb and Gheorghe stand perfectly still on my right. I had to raise my voice, just a bit, at that point to get them back to the sidewalk before a car met them. Whew. That was tough, and a little scary! We make it down the street and Gheorghe trips on his boots and totally wipes out. He was so said, little guy! Thankfully though, the rest of the chain remained intact through that fall : ) We had another 2 street crossings that followed the original one. Ay yai yai - we STOP when we come to the street. : )
Overall, I had a fantastic time with the kids yesterday. Plus, I think that was the most interactive walk I've ever taken in my life! If the tears hadn't been real, and if the falls hadn't hurt so much, it wouldn't made for a pretty good comedy routine!

These kids can scream!

2008-11-30T20:49:00.001+02:00

Especially when they are answering the questions of :
"Do you like clementines? (the little oranges - you know.)"
"Do you like chocolate?"

I was getting the Casa Alba orphanage children pumped up for our very fun snack making time Saturday morning. Each kid got 2 clementines. 1 to eat right away and 1 to make into the activity snack. Take off the peel of the clementine and separate each section. Melt your favorite chocolate (I bought a middle of the road brand Romanian milk chocolate bar) in the microwave and let it cool enough to not burn the child during dipping : ) Prepare an additional bowl with grated coconut. Dip half of the clementine slice into the chocolate, then the same end into the coconut and then directly onto waxed paper. Stick it into the fridge until cool and hardened.
They taste awesome. Even better than how they tasted was the joy in doing these with the kids. Every single one of them could make these fun orange slices and they looked like professionals had made every one!
Even the staff was asking about "the recipe" details so they could make them at home...
Here's the official recipe : Clementine Bon Bons

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-27T22:29:00.000+02:00

...Mom and Caleb...

Caleb balanced the whipped cream pretty well : )

Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without my Mom's PB Pie.
I followed the recipe to a T and I have never seen my team destroy a pie as fast as this one!

the day before...

2008-11-26T09:34:00.000+02:00

and i'm sick. Really sick. There's no time to be sick here. Being sick means trying to still be Mom and keep a very un-sick : ) 4 1/2 yr. old boy entertained even though I would rather be passed out in bed. Being sick means that the programs with the kids at Casa Alba orphanage have to be cancelled today. More than that, they have to be rescheduled later this week - and trying to figure out where we can reschedule them is almost impossible because there are hardly any spots left in the week where we can do the programs. And tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Who is supposed to make all of the pies and the Turkey? That would be Kelsey this year. I guess as long as I don't touch the turkey or the pies once they come out of the oven then they are germ free : )

Enough of sick talk. Moving on. Among the e-mails that I received this morning were two that made an impact on my day.
My Dad sent me an I love Lucy clip which, made me laugh.

A woman from my church sent me Lincoln's Thanksgiving address which, was extremely powerful.

Also, some Marghita news for you. On Monday night they turned on the Christmas lights in town! And, you can get Clementines for 3.70 RON per Kilo in a tiny little store near my apartment. Everyone else is selling them for at least 5 RON per Kilo. What a rip off. Way to go hole in the wall tiny store!! Want to know the exchange rate? Go to www.xe.com and click on "other currencies" in the drop down list.

Psalm 46:5

2008-11-24T09:14:00.000+02:00

"God will help her when morning dawns."

Okay, I know that "her" isn't necessarily referring to "me." (All of you who go crazy about exact meaning and reference you may want to stop reading now.)

This morning though, these were God's words to me. Personal, intimate, hopeful, encouraging and exactly what the core of my soul needed.

This made my week...

2008-11-21T20:19:00.000+02:00

Wednesday mornings is Pink Room's group time with Rocio and myself. Pink Room is comprised of the youngest children at Casa Alba orphanage. Sometime during the program, I forgot when, Rocio left to go get glue or scissors or something. While the kids and I waited for her to return, Cerasela and Diana began a very interesting discussion. They were talking about their birth moms. Cera looked at me and and stated that Diana's birth mom had been there visiting recently. Diana, unable to contain her absolute delight in this recent event, was overcome with giggles and smiles as she admitted that this was true. I smiled and said "Really Diana? That's great!" Diana looked up at me and screeched in delight, jumped up from her chair, threw her arms around my neck (seriously squeezing so hard I couldn't breathe) and planted the biggest, breakfast smelling kiss on my cheek. Then she threw herself back down onto her chair, again in screeching, beautiful giggles and told me "She brought me chocolate." Cera then added that Diana had shared the chocolate with her as well. I complimented Diana on having such a giving heart. It was then that my heart just lifted... Cera says....
"I have a Mom, but she isn't my Mom - Mom anymore. I know I'm going to get a second Mom. Then I'll have two Moms. And, Diana too."
I cannot TELL YOU how long I have waited to hear a child speak this themselves...without me working this into prayer times or speaking about it to them. Cera, without us even talking about Moms, said this on her own. The kids at Casa Alba have really been shielded from the truth about their situations. Well, knowing the full stories of their abandonments and family history is not such a good thing to tell a 4 year old. BUT, knowing that they do have birth moms and that they will be betting a "second" mom is something I have longed for the children to understand.
And out of the mouth of the littlest one at Casa Alba it came.
From the breakfast smelling kiss to this statement from Cerasela...my week was definitely made!
God is so good!

Morning Menu!

2008-11-16T14:47:00.000+02:00

Let me tell you, breakfast can be difficult for Caleb and Mom. Mom has had it : )
So I came up with the idea of "Morning Menu." I printed off pictures of the options that Caleb has every morning for breakfast. Then together he and I glued the pictures to a cardboard folder and decorated it. You may notice that there are no fruits or veggies on the menu - here's the disclaimer. We always have veggies or fruit at breakfast regardless of what we are having. So, those are the staples, the menu holds the options.
And, I am proud to say, that in the 3 days that Caleb has woke up and "ordered" from his morning menu we have had NO problems at breakfast time! Woohoo!
Plus, Mom has been enjoying the "payment" for each breakfast ordered : )

Ugggg, internet problems!

2008-11-13T21:33:00.000+02:00

I know I haven't posted in over a week. Yikes! I never go that long without updating the blog. Usually I update every 2 days or so. I'm sorry, it's the dang internet here...it shuts off and reconnects itself constantly. It is driving me crazy! Thankfully, after an hour of acting up, it has held the connection for about 10 minutes now. Thought I'd try to do what I can before it shuts off again.

I haven't been feeling well for the past week. Yuck. Not so fun symptoms are passing through our team like wildfire. Tonight I have a massive headache and feel like I could sleep for about 2 days straight. This, though, is a welcome relief to spending the night feeling like I was going to throw up ever 30 seconds!

Switching gears a bit...

I decided to change the curriculum that I was using at Casa Alba for 2 of the rooms. Tonight was the first night using Group Pub.'s 10 Commandments book. I need to still get used to the flow of how their activities go...and how that ties into how the kids come to understand the truths about God throughout everything. After a disaster last week at Casa Alba I spoke with the director about ways in which I can better work with the children and have them behave respectfully during group. I used her ideas tonight and felt that it worked well for about 1/2 the children but the other half didn't care less. Still though, it was a really successful introduction lesson to the 10 commandments. The kids learned that rules keep us safe. That God gave us "loving laws to keep us safe." We played games without rules - then with rules. We learned about how sheep have fences to keep them safe, and then made a craft with popsicle stick fences and cotten sheep. We reenacted the thunder (wooden spoons on metal pots), lightening (a bright flashlight), and trumpets (hands on the mouth and loud trumpet noises) for what happened when Moses ascended Mt. Sinai to receive God's "loving laws." And, of course, we built a chair fence around Mt. Sinai (a chair on top of a table with a blanket over top), for them to understand that the Israelites were not allowed to go near the mountain. I think this new curriculum draws the kids into the lesson in ways that I couldn't even think up, and in a way that their attention spans can handle. I am very thankful for this material!!

It is still a very warm fall. This is the 5th fall that I have been here for and by far the warmest. We have moved into needing winter coats and hats in the morning but by afternoon you only need a light jacket. I am LOVING it. Give me hot weather year round and I am set!

(Uh oh, internet just disconnected again...I am praying that this post still goes through!)

Caleb is really struggling with all of the changes going on in his life and around him right now.
It's always been his thing, change. Little changes, big changes - they affect him big time. I remember one day, maybe a month and a half ago, I needed to go down and move our car. I had parked it right next to our building and the men cleaning out the gutters didn't want my car to get covered in what they were throwing down. Caleb was just so upset because he didn't understand why we needed to move our car. Why were we leaving the house just for a few minutes during breakfast to do this? It really was traumatic for him. So starting kindergarten, our friend moving homes and some leaving Marghita for good...he really is having a hard time. Tomorrow though will be a Mommy and Caleb day. . . we had a M & C morning this past Monday and he had a FANTASTIC day. I am praying that God does the same with tomorrow...that Caleb would feel safe and peaceful.
Oh, and today's kindergarten update?
The teacher threatened to throw all of the "bad" children in a basement with rats.
Nice.

: )

A few days of firsts...

2008-11-04T21:32:00.001+02:00

There have been 2 firsts for Caleb over the past few days.

1. Super Caleb and Treat'in Marghita Style! I have to be honest. Caleb was so cute in his thought up and made in 30 minutes costume that I could have cried that whole day. I love my son...
And, the best part was, he was so excited about his costume. He was telling me what his special super powers were and he had moves to go along with it. Absolutely hilarious and awesome!

2. His first day of Gradinita...Romanian kindergarten! I won't go into the details at the moment but I was forced to enroll him. He will go every Tuesday and Thursday (thankfully I had a choice about whether or not I wanted to send him full time which, I did not). This week though, it being his first week, I sent him Monday as well. When I picked him up on Monday his big story of the morning was that he wasn't the child "beat" by the teacher. A.K.A. One of the girls wasn't listening so the teacher rolled up a magazine and gave her a hard whack on the head. Unfortunately I kind of knew already that this is pretty normal here in the kindergartens. (One of the reasons why I didn't want to send him.) And then this morning Caleb tells me this : "Mom, it's okay if another kid hits me because the teacher will just come and hit them back." The teacher also uses words that I would never use as a parent, nor as a worker with the Casa Alba children. Although I have noticed over the years that harshness is much more tolerated. Before we left the apartment this morning I really had to explain to him that just because she tells the children to "shut up" during class doesn't make it a good choice. That under no circumstances is he allowed to start using that phrase. I cannot believe what my 4 1/2 year old is learning after just 1 day there. I have been praying so much that God would protect his little heart while he is there. And we have been praying yesterday and today for his teacher to have more patience and that the kids would know Jesus' love. I think it helps me as well to pray that and not stress out so much about him being there!

You may be wondering what the pictures just above are. The one is of Caleb standing outside the kindergarten doors, holding the box of chocolates for his teacher that we bought, on his first morning! The second is JUST ONE of the MANY bulletin boards lining the main hallway of the school. : )

GOOD DAY!

2008-11-01T21:52:00.000+02:00

Yes, a very good day. It started off with some crazy aerobics at the Club with about 20 kids. Yup, that's what I decided to do to get them "calmed down." Maybe that seems a little backwards to you but it actually WORKED. Amen. Amen. Let me say that again, Amen!
What worked about it was that all of the kids :
1. Loved that they got to move in a crazy way.
2. Enjoyed it enough to want to pay attention to what aerobic activity I would switch to next.
3. Did it together as a GROUP; almost every single child was participating in the same activity without beating each other up.
4. When the aerobic activity switched to "sit down and be quiet now", THEY DID IT!!

Gosh today was awesome with the kids. We had a few children who weren't there this morning from Casa Alba orphanage and that made a huge difference in the dynamic of the group. There also was one staff member who does an exception job with her room of kids. That room of kids happens to be one of the most disrespectful groups of children together but with this staff worker today, no problems whatsoever! That was a huge relief. The children who were gone can often pose some behavioral problems during this Saturday morning program. Without them there we were able to actually do the games and activities with few time outs and disrespect.
To tell a child to stop talking rudely and then have them continue, and continue, and continue to do so while you are explaining a game...well, that's difficult. Make it 15 children and then you can understand what group times with these children are like. Discipline doesn't work, for the most part, so it's very hard to know how to give consequences for the bad choices. Plus, there is no consistency between staff workers and volunteers with consequences so that poses a problem in itself. Sorry, off track now. What I'm trying to say is this. God poured a whole bunch of His grace into the morning and it was fantastic.

One of my highlights was the "Praise Walk." You have the kids form 2 lines, facing each other. Each child has to walk down the path in between while all of the other children are shouting praises and encouragement. We screamed "I love you!" "You're beautiful" "Bravo!" "You're smart" all while clapping and cheering for every single child.

The smiles. If only you could have seen the smiles on their faces. It literally was priceless.

At the end of the walk was a tree that my friend and I had stuck bananas in. After finishing the Praise Walk the child had to immediately turn into a monkey, complete with sounds and motions, and grab a banana of their choice. Ha! It was great. I wish you all could have been there to see it!

And yes, Halloween was yesterday. And yes, some of us scrambled for last minute costumes for our child. And yes, a few of the kids went around getting candy from just a few (literally) spots around the foundation's grounds. And yes, they all loved it. And yes, even Mom who really - really - really scrambled for a costume with only 30 minutes to make one, absolutely loved watching the kids get candy. And yes, pictures will be posted tomorrow!

What God has done this week...

2008-10-27T11:56:00.000+02:00

That's right people, it's about time I put up a post of praises. And, this week had a few so I definitely want to share them. Hopefully you are encouraged by reading what has happened this week.

Car Insurance. I did not have the finances to pay the monthly amount for this year. The first payment is due November 1st. Two friends of mine asked their fellow teachers at their school if they would be willing to give towards this need. (Wow!!) I got an e-mail a couple of days ago saying that they were ready to transfer the money. AAAGHGHGH! God is SO awesome. Seriously.

Caleb has had two very rough weeks. His discouragement over Grandpa not coming yet (Christmas is still a ways away) along with not having a Dad hit BIG TIME. He was waking up every morning in tears and his days were filled with not listening to Mom and anger. About every other sentence out of his mouth was "Mom, I am so sad that Grandpa is not here. I am just so so so sad. Mom I want a brother or sister. Mom I am so sad, so sad." This was followed by more and more tears. Not to mention that he wore himself out so much that he started taking a nap each afternoon as well. I have been praying so much for his broken little heart and that God would take care of this because I can't just "make it stop" or "fix it". Well, PRAISE GOD, this morning Caleb woke up wanting me to read to him - which we did - and we have had NO problems, only happiness, all morning long. He even prayed awhile with me after breakfast - yay! GO JESUS!

Chris Tomlin released a new album awhile back that I wasn't aware of. I got it on iTunes just this week and have been so thankful for the encouragement through the words and music!

I have often mentioned that I can manage 100 gypsy kids 100 times easier than 8 Casa Alba children. And I have felt this more and more these past couple of weeks. Sometimes I just cry out to God wanting to know why do the children become MORE rude, hurtful and disrespectful with each passing month. I look at them and their behaviors and it rips my heart. (Please remember to pray for those pictures of the kids that you received in June or September. Want a picture? Leave a comment on this post with your e-mail.) Anyway at the end of a difficult group time this week I looked over at Rocio and asked her if we could lay hands on each of the kids and pray for them instead of them praying for each other. She was all for it and it was one of the most powerful times of prayer I have ever had with these children. God, thank You so much...

(note, Click on "Rocio" above to read something amusing about their apartment!)

On Sunday night some women from my team get together at my apartment and we pray together. Usually I am exhausted and can barely concentrate on praying which is not how I want to be. Last night only 1 other person could come and I thought about whether or not we should pray or not since it was just the 2 of us. That was a bad thought to have, I admit it. Anyway I asked her if we could pray with just the two of us and focus in on our kids and stuff. It was amazing. God really was amongst her and I and spoke to each of us during the time. My suggestion for you this week - get together and pray with someone : )

Every morning for about two weeks I have been going to bed early and waking up feeling as if I hadn't slept at all. It has been horrible. I finally realized, hello Kelsey, on Saturday that I should just ask God to fix it. Sunday morning I woke up and actually wanted to get up and out of bed as soon as I woke up because I felt so rested. YAY! Praise God!

Jack O' Lanterns in Romania!

2008-10-25T18:56:00.000+03:00

My little garden that I did with Mihai and Joni last spring and this summer only produced one, tiny little pumpkin. The many pumpkin blossoms got trampled by little feet wanting to get to the wild grapes in August : ) One little pumpkin survived though and, as you can see, Caleb and I carved it this afternoon!

The best jack o' lantern tip EVER :

Dry the inside of the pumpkin after carving it. Then rub cinnamon on the inside of the pumpkin. Once you light the tea light candle you will have the best smelling pumpkin ever! I personally just dumped about 1 TBSP of cinnamon inside this little pumpkin and then shook the pumpkin around, over the sink, until the entire inside was covered.

Some sights around Marghita!

2008-10-21T16:12:00.000+03:00

I grabbed my camera as Caleb and I headed out the door to meet our team for lunch today. Now you can see what we saw on our way! Upper Left is a very common sight in town. People load down these pull carts with all sorts of items. I usually see these carts being pulled on Fridays as old women head to the market to sell their garden's produce. The carts don't look easy to pull empty, let alone weighed down by scrap metal above. And, this man and women are just at the base of a nice incline - I hope they made it up without too many problems! Upper Right is something I've wanted to take a picture of for awhile. This is a portion of a small construction store. They have painted the bricks outside of their store so that customers can know what the colors of paint for bricks actually look like once dry. And just to the left we have Caleb. He ran ahead of me when I was taking the picture of the people pulling the carts. I found him climbing up to the unused, outdoor patio of a local restaurant.

(And, Dad, just so you know we finally got his hair cut after lunch today!)

Snapshots from this past week!

2008-10-18T21:59:00.000+03:00

Notice my son's hairstyle? He found the bag clip in our silverware drawer. He put it in his hair. He insisted on wearing it on our walk over the foundation (where we needed to deliver the bottles to.) Yes, I let him. Yes, every single person we passed on the 15 minute walk through town stared at my son's hair and the bottles we were carrying. It was hilarious! No, he didn't carry all of the bottles above himself. I asked him if he could please carry all of the bottles down the stairs because I had *cough* 6 *cough* bags of trash to carry downstairs as well. Once the trash was in the dumpster he was left with 2 bottles to carry and Mom with 4 : )

Fall's colors have come to Marghita! This is the view off from my kitchen balcony.

Caleb + Phone Call to Grandpa + Candy Corns : Pure Delight!

I must note though that even without Candy Corns his eyes light up just as much when on the phone with Grandpa!

Walking down the stairs...

2008-10-17T16:40:00.000+03:00

New Financial Post

2008-10-14T11:57:00.000+03:00

Calling all people who enjoy cars and enjoy them being insured : )

Click HERE for the newest financial update!

God is good!

2008-10-13T15:19:00.000+03:00

So many of you read my post on my recent visit with the authorities for the foreigners. That day, in itself, was an amazing day. God showed Himself big time. I was so encouraged and so humbled by his Sovereignty.

Today almost blew last week out of the water.

The same woman who God used so much on my behalf last week came to make a personal visit to all of us in Marghita today. We got a call 45 minutes before and were told to show up with our documents. I was so confused as to why she was coming when we just met with her and renewed all of our papers through her last week in Oradea. I still don't know why but what I do know is that God wanted to do some crazy things again. It was awesome!

She came with her partner from the office. Now, this guy has been "our contact" since I've come. FCE has most connections with him so we always deal with him when we go for Visas and stuff. He is also the man who took my file to "send" to Bucuresti almost 2 years ago. (The file was never sent - sat at that office for 9 months if you remember). Anyway they came and we sat down with them and they explained that they needed to just double check that where we said we lived we actually did live. Then this woman goes off - it was GREAT! We started asking her questions about what the European residency papers allowed Europeans to do. She said that she sees NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER if those people want to apply for foster care. Adoption is another story. But still, no problem with foster care. Oh man you should've seen the guy who was with her. He has said this was impossible, that the residency didn't mean this. This woman says that she will tell Child Protection whatever they need to hear, and she will prepare whatever papers need to be prepared in order for this to happen. She said to the Europeans on my team today (many of them want to adopt/foster care - volunteers who have been here for years or came here for this purpose), that it is their right with this European residency to try for this. Oh my word was the guy sitting next to her NOT happy about her council. At the end of her conversation she finally said "He doesn't care about anyone." He just looked at her and didn't say anything.

God is moving on behalf of the abandoned children in Romania and on behalf our cases as well. I know I'm not European but I still can't help but be so overjoyed for how He will move through this for these people on my team - and all over Romania really.
For so long we have prayed and prayed and sought God's JUSTICE for these kids. I believe this is part of His response to that.

I told the woman last week and I told her again today that what she is doing for us and explaining to us is God's working. I'm not sure if she agrees or not but what I do know for sure is that God is using her!

Amin.

(Arwen, sorry there were no pictures with this post : ))

New Kitchen!

2008-10-10T20:10:00.000+03:00

So for some time now a new volunteer house has been in the works. As certain parts were finished we would start using them. Today which one was that? Why, THE KITCHEN! The kitchen is the size of the old kitchen and the old dining room. And, yes Erik and Simon, it didn't seem as large seeing as how the mess I made in today tripled in size...looked just like how I cooked in the old house. Heck, if you've got the room you might as well use it - right? Anyway, I was the first one to be able to use the kitchen to cook for our team. How fun! Erik and his wife were signed up to cook and clean with me so I asked Erik to snap a picture. Washing spinach for 43 people means a lot of spinach and a lot of time!

I made a really good salad that I hadn't made in awhile. You curry some peanuts or cashews and then make a sesame honey dressing for the spinach. Mix it all together - YUM! We also had not fried, fried chicken : ), Butternut Squash Souffle, Erik made bread - he is the bread king by the way, Baked Potato Soup (minus the bacon) and Italian Tomatoes. It got a little out of hand - I'll have to admit. I didn't mean to make all of the food it's just that once I got to the big outdoor market and found all of these great veggies and stuff...I couldn't help myself.

Check out those big, brown eyes...so beautiful. Anyway, the reason for this picture is as follows. I asked Caleb to go and wash his hands, a minute later I hear a blood curdling scream. I run to the bathroom and see my son with blood all over his mouth and in his mouth. He didn't even know what happened but once I got enough toilet paper wadded in there to soak up the blood I noticed 2 pretty good sized indents from teeth on tongue. This picture is from the morning after, you can see it slightly on the right hand side of his tongue. He said it hurt so bad he needed something cold - hence the Icee! Once the bleeding stopped he was able to tell me that while reaching for the soap he banged his chin on the sink. And, in addition, that the sink was "very bad and we need buy a new one Mommy."

Olimpia, Mihai, Joni and Dani. Yesterday at Casa Alba we sent them on a shopping spree with some coins. The coins were worth hardly anything yet they were able to buy some gum, candy and a very cheap snack. If you knew how much these boys loved "buying things" you would enjoy this picture even more. Olimpia went along 'for the ride' so to speak although I think she enjoyed as well getting some money to buy something with. Mihai and Joni though, they are crazy about money!

Meeting the "Big Big Boss"

2008-10-08T17:02:00.000+03:00

Today I went to the police in Oradea to get another Visa for this year. A new woman working there, so kind - so helpful, actually seemed excited about helping us with our Visa processes. This just doesn't happen in Romania - you are usually an inconvenience to whatever business, store or governement building you walk into. She was different. Immediately she begins looking at my documents wondering why I haven't been given early residency yet. WHAT? I immediately had a few words with God - "Uhhh Lord, see You and I have been working on that for 2 years and in March I got a "final no" to get it early. Where is this coming from?"
She listened to my whole story and was upset with how my case was handled, and extremely confused that everyone else got early residency for adoption EXCEPT me. What does she do? She gets me a meeting an hour later with the head of the police!

Before I walked in she told me to "be really tough - I mean it, do not let this guy off this case - it is your right to have this meeting and to be treated fairly." (If you only knew how UN Romanian this woman is - she must be a Christian.)
I sat down and laid out my situation - after some time he finally sort of apologized for his office's part in messing with my case. He also sort of admitted that it was due to corruption. He also told me that I can apply for residency as often as I want until I can formally do it at the 5 year mark (one year from now). He told me to personally call him and he will take my request in hand and be the one to send it to the police in Bucuresti (who makes the decisions about residency.) I was in shock.

Heck YES I will try again before the 5 year mark!

Unfortunately you need to have NOT left Romania 6 straight months before doing so. Since I was out of Romania in late September I will need to wait 6 months from then. By the time I put in my file I will be at the 4 1/2 year mark - God can move the hearts of Kings, why not Immigration in Bucuresti? If they say no again at that point (which I have to wait 6 months for their answer) then it doesn't matter because I will be at the official 5 year mark and can just apply then, as I have been planning on doing anyhow.

Still though - perhaps God will give me the residency at the 4 1/2 year mark?

Regardless - with the visit to the birth mom this week I believe God wanted to show me that He is still here and He is still working on my behalf with the adoption process. What a great day to see Him show Himself in such a CLEAR way - the same week that the social worker will be asking the birth mom to resign abandonment papers.

It was such a crazy day - you could speak with my team members who were there witnessing everything if you want proof : ) I was like 'Pray! Pray! I'm talking to the Big Big Boss! AAGHGH'

Oreo Fun!

2008-10-03T20:57:00.001+03:00

A supposedly lost package arrived at the post office this week! What was inside? Some very much appreciated American goodies which included Peanut Butter Cream Double Stuf Oreos!
Caleb went to town on them...well, with the 4 that I let him have for snack.

And we begin with "the dip."

Hmmm, I'm thinkin' this first bite wasn't so bad.

Check out what they look like in my mouth, Mom!

They're all gone now. I want more. My hand is dirty - look.

Mom just pointed out that I could "go fishing" for the pieces that fell into the milk. Yahoo!

Yesterday it was winter, today it's summer.

2008-10-02T20:07:00.000+03:00

And let me tell you - I am not complaining one bit about the weather today. The thing that's hilarious is that my apartment is so cold that I put on a winter jacket when heading out this morning. I dressed Caleb in a really heavy jacket as well.
As soon as we got outside I realized that it was in the 70's and how ridiculous we must look in our winter jackets. These cement apartments are really good at retaining whichever temperature they are most exposed to. Since it's been so cold this September that means the apartments are freezing cold as well!

Rocio and I had a really good time at Casa Alba today doing program with the Purple and Green rooms. Well, sort of Purple and Green Rooms. We took out Renata (Reni) and Dorin who are Green room because they are in a group now on Wednesday afternoon. Dorin is probably the most difficult child for me at Casa Alba. On top of that, he is even more difficult in groups. So we put him into a smaller group on Wednesdays to help this, and to not have so many "difficult" children piled together on Thursdays...there are quite a few between even the Purple and Green rooms. Anyway, the group went fantastic today. We are using Romanian material that my friend, Rachel, found at the Christian bookstore in the nearby city of Oradea. She surprised me with the books as a gift- so fun! I am not so impressed with the activities but I like the way they condense the Bible stories so the kids can understand. I wanted to give the material a try and have promised myself to run with it until the end of the book. It is more work in a way because you need to come up with the activities yourself. We actually did the Christmas story today. We sang a Christmas carol and talked about what a manger was like, along with what it meant when Jesus was "swaddled." Kind of a hard word if you think about it! What better way to learn than to actually experience it, right? To do this I brought in a huge piece of fabric and proceeded to swaddle each child in, I'm assuming, a not very accurate but good enough for 5-7 yr olds way of how Jesus was swaddled. To finish off the lesson we made yogurt carton and egg carton little puppets of Joseph and Mary. As always, we ended our time together praying. The kids thank Jesus for something and then they pray for the child next to them to get a Mom and a Dad. When they come to me it's for "un sot" (a husband). Lots of giggling when it comes time to pray that for Kelsey. : )

I am super lame - sorry. I left my camera in the car downstairs or else I would post pictures of the swaddling! Why not go and get the camera? Easy. It's 4 flights down the stairs and up again in the pitch black because there are no lights in my building. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow!

Oh, can I just say one more thing. Mihai. I love this boy. I didn't used to love this boy. Last year though I started praying that God would give me love for him and now I can definitely say he's "my kid" there now. He's also one of the most difficult children there, I know that too. The thing is that today during group he knew ALL of the answers to the questions I asked about our last 2 times of group. It rocked my face off. I was so proud of him! And, this boy who was told he was never allowed back in school again because he was "so bad" last year...this same boy is doing SO WELL in school this year. Thank YOU JESUS!

Grandpa has bought a ticket!

2008-09-26T15:15:00.000+03:00

My Dad is calling it "Caleb's Christmas Surprise." Only thing is that Dad already told Caleb that he's coming at Christmas. : ) I don't know how my Dad or Caleb is going to handle the waiting until December 26th, when he'll finally arrive in Marghita. Apparently a certain Grandpa woke up at 3:30am THIS morning full of excitement.

Also, our friend in Germany sent Caleb a kids' digital camera - of course covered in Lightening McQueen (Caleb's absolute favorite). Welcome to Caleb's picture taking world!

Bake Sale Day!

2008-09-25T22:00:00.000+03:00

Money is low at Casa Alba orphanage. Low to the point where there isn't enough to last until the beginning of October. And, of course, this weekend just happens to be "Zilele Marghitei" (Marghita's Days).Marghita's Days is an annual fair that happens at the end of September.
They close down the roads in the center of town, have carnival rides and games, vendors, traditional foods made over grills and kettles hanging over fires, and even a stage set up for various musical and dance acts. It's a big deal. I personally love it. Marghita comes alive for these 3 days. Everyone is outside and stays outside pretty much for these 3 days straight. You get to 'see' Marghita.

The deal is this though. The rides : almost $2/ride. Expensive right?. (Minimum wage is about $300/month). If there's not even money for the essentials at Casa Alba to last the month then there definitely isn't money for the kids to be able to go on the rides this weekend.Caleb and I got to thinking about this and came to the conclusion that we needed to do some baking. That baking then would need to be sold for donations towards the kids at Casa Alba being able to go on rides at Marghita's Days this weekend. So what did Caleb and Mom do all morning - make cookies. I'm serious when I tell you that Caleb did his fair share. We made PB cookies and Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies. There are 21 kids at Casa Alba and I wanted to try and get 6 Lei per child. 6 Lei will pay for 1 ride or a small toy. So that came to a total of 126 Lei that we needed to raise. We prayed that Jesus would work through the cookie sales and get the money the Casa Alba kids needed for this weekend. Caleb and I made a sign, stuck the cookies in a huge tupperware box thing and headed to the Foundation. In the four years I have been here I have yet to see a bake sale. I think that's a pretty American thing to do. So, that being said, I really had no idea how this concept would work - especially with the Romanians. We headed to the office and all of the workers bought cookies! And, the coolest thing is, they gave donations that went way above and beyond what the price of the cookie should be. I was so proud of Caleb...carrying around the cookies and putting the money in the little bag. And, hilarious, he insisted on wearing his apron from the morning while we were selling the cookies. He wanted everyone to see that he had really made the cookies - not just Mom. May I add - he has such a sweet heart. When people were confused about the concept or didn't have the money, he just gave them the cookies instead. He was so eager to share!

Right. So we got home and I counted the money - 106. 50 RON! YAY! There were a couple of people who took cookies today and didn't have money but promised to pay tomorrow. Maybe that will bring us exactly to 126 RON? O sa vedem...we'll see.Regardless, Jesus DID provide a lot of money for the kids' enjoyment this weekend. I am so thankful for that.

Next Thursday morning will not be spent making cookies. Thursday mornings are 'school mornings' now for me. I will begin again the Bible classes I started online over a year ago. I am really excited about being able to have a morning per week to focus on this. I believe that investing time in this learning will have a huge impact on the ways that God is using me here in ministry.

This afternoon was spent at Casa Alba with program for the Green and Purple rooms. They are a lot of work! I am exhausted. : ) They are so cute though - even the more difficult kids. I was thinking today that I just wanted to grab them all and hug them for hours and hours!
They really need Moms and Dads...

Waiting for a translator...

2008-09-22T22:17:00.000+03:00

Can be really frustrating at times. (Why the heck is my neighbor using a drill through cement at 10:18pm???)
Back on topic now. Sorry. Tonight we had majority Swedish at our team's worship and Bible Study. My boss, Lars, spoke SO MUCH tonight about all the cool ways God had shown Himself to him over the past 10 days. I have to be honest, Lars doesn't really open up that often. He almost couldn't be stopped tonight he had so much to share. This is an answer to prayer, really it is.
Anyway he kept saying things and all of the Swedish people (about 20 of them) would ooo and ahh and ohhh about what he was saying. There were 4 of us there who weren't born in Sweden. 1 of them is married to a Swede so she understands. That left 3 of us to have to wait for the translator to figure out how to translate, and for us to also (HELLO PUT THE DRILL AWAY NEIGHBOR MAN) hear him through the ooo's, ahhh's and ohhhh's.
I think I need to learn Swedish. You wouldn't think so seeing as how I live in Romania. When 90% of your team is Swedish and 90% of all visitors are Swedes wellll...you start rethinking why you ever learned Romanian first!
I should share one huge thing that Lars spoke about tonight.
TODAY he met with the HEAD OF CHILD PROTECTION in a private meeting.
She invited him to this meeting - can you believe it? Child Protection in this county is known to be the worst of the counties in Romania. Most people kind of say things like this "Oh in Bihor county they are really messed up there with Child Protection." This county is known, at least when it comes to abandoned children, to make it SO SO difficult to do anything on behalf of the kids. Well Lars says that he has this meeting today and that he didn't know how it would go. He said that the Foundation's relationship with Child Protection has been very rough for about 6 months now (I had no clue.) He had never met the head head honcho lady before and she actually invited him to a meeting with her. He said that it was AWESOME and that he considers her a "friend to the Foundation" now. OH MY GOODNESS.
Maybe it's selfish but I am praying that God uses this relationship to open up a door for Caleb and me. Is that wrong to admit that? I mean it's not all I hope for with this incredible miracle from today...it's just that I almost started crying hearing Lars speak tonight knowing that it could maybe make a breakthrough from the dead end I'm at right now.

And they're married!

2008-09-18T23:18:00.000+03:00

My little brudder is now a married man! He was fighting back tears the entire time - about made me lose it a few times watching him... They had a really cool ceremony that reflected them...that included walking down the aisle together! (That's what the Swedes do as well, in case you were curious. Oh yes, there is no limit to my knowledge of Swedes!)
And, very fun, his wife is all Greek. That meant very warm and welcoming people all weekend, as well as incredible food! I am very thankful I got to go.
Still not sure how I got roped into sitting in the front row with Mom while all my other siblings sat a row behind....

The best part of flying is...

2008-09-17T17:23:00.000+03:00

GETTING OFF THE PLANE.

I am back in Marghita. Praise God...whew, it is good to be back home. A really difficult trip coming back - I don't think I've ever had such a jacked up time travelling. Anyway, doesn't matter now, because I am home.
I have a very happy little son here who is throughly enjoying the Lightening McQueen racing track that Grandpa and I found together. We haven't run into any major meltdowns but have talked a lot about how much Mama missed him and how much he missed Mama. He was able to tell me how much he cried for me and how glad he was that I was back. I am grateful that he is able to use words more now than screams to tell me how it is when I have to leave for some time. Yay!
I am really thankful for the time I had with family and with old friends - many who I hadn't seen since the 10th grade! And, as usual, all goodbyes were met with "This just wasn't enough time!" My answer "I know. I know. I know." Caleb said to me this morning "Why couldn't I go with you?"
Both of the questions really come back to the same thing : Romania.
When Romania lets Caleb out of the country then we can finally spend proper time with friends and family. Who knows when that will be? I don't know. What I do know is that it is good to be here. Good to be Mom and Caleb. Good to be working at Casa Alba orphanage. Good to be worshipping with my teammates. Good to have a great apartment that truly is home for me and Caleb. Good to be living here. Good to know that I am used here. Good to know that this is God's spot for me at this time.
So, when will the next trip to America be? Will Caleb be able to come?
I can't answer either of those. What I can say is that it is GOOD to be back home in Marghita : )

From Philly to Denver

2008-09-11T20:56:00.000+03:00

Last night I arrived in Denver from Philly. I am throughly enjoying still being in my PJ's at noon! Just spoke with Caleb on the phone and he was so confused how I had just woke up and he was just going to bed. Very fun!
Today I will go and get a new pair of glasses - I can't wait. I have a pair from 6 years ago but the prescription isn't even close to correct.
I am really thankful for God providing the money last month in a surprise gift for me to be able to do this!

Kelsey has landed!

2008-09-09T15:23:00.000+03:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I made it safely to the States. It was a little crazy this trip so I am thankful for all of your prayers! More to come...

Here's the more (a couple of hours later now...)

Let me tell you this trip here to the States sure was interesting! It started off with my reserving a seat in the overnight bus from Marghita to Budapest, Hungary (where we have to fly from.) Instead of the nice kind of bus/van deal showing up this very old 15 passenger van pulls up. The driver started yelling at me out the window telling me to "get over here to the other side of the road" so I could get in. I couldn't even tell if it was a legitimate company or not. The van was so dirty inside and smelled awful. I was not a happy camper. Then a lady yells at me because I was in her seat. (When I got on she got off to run to the store to buy something to eat.) I looked at her and said "Ma'am, we are all paying the same so does it matter?" She, in not so many choice words, told me that it did matter because she had set her water near that seat. My patience ran out and I said pretty sarcastically as I moved "Are all of the seats reserved or is there one I can actually sit in?" I know, I should have been more kind. Late at night, awful van and really hot outside all helped to add to the sarcasm. Then we drove around to tiny villages EVERYWHERE picking up gypsies. Now, it's not that I'm against gypsies. It's just that they all had been drinking and they usually don't bathe so so often. So the smell of the van was really bad with the combination of body odor and alcohol. And, I knew then that I couldn't let myself go to sleep because in my purse was the money I needed to get new glasses. Which, to a gypsy, is a lot of money. (A lot of money to me too!) So being squashed in with all of those people I knew I needed to keep eyes open. The driver then set up folding chairs in the back of the van that he stuck into holes on the floor. Four of the people in the van sat in these chairs the entire way holding onto the back seat to not fall. The driver took us to a border very far away because, after I questioned his decision, as he told me "I know the border guards here and they let me get away with the chairs in the back seat etc..." Which means, he bribes them. Because we had to go to so many small villages and to the border far away, the ride took SEVEN HOURS.
It was not worth the $27.62 (70 Romanian Lei).
Got to the airport at 3am Hungarian time and I knew check in would start around 5amish for my flight. I get in line and begin the check-in process when the lady tells me that my FLIGHT IS BOOKED FOR THE NEXT DAY.
What?
Yup, there on the e-ticket it said for Tuesday, September 9th.
No. Impossible.
See Alitalia had really messed up my ticket from the beginning.
1. They didn't let me purchase the ticket at the price that was listed on their website.
2. They refused to let it originally be a an e-ticket so made it a paper ticket.
3. The paper ticket, after 2months, never arrived. "We're waiting on the New York offices to issue it, Ma'am."
4. My little sister did some work with their customer service and 1 1/2 weeks before I arrived they finally agreed to switch it to an e-ticket.
5. The e-ticket they issued was for the wrong date.
6. "Smart" Kelsey didn't realize this until she was standing at the counter checking in.

Here's where GOD'S GOODNESS kicks in. The flight I needed to Rome left at 7am. It was 5:20am when I realized the date was wrong. The Alitalia office opened at 5:30am but the lady was there at 5:22am. She immediately took care of the problem and only charged me $135 to switch all of my flights to Monday. If I can prove that Alitalia messed up I'll get a refund of that.
And, the cool thing is this, I handed her my debit card to pay for it and she said she was really sorry but the system wouldn't let her use Mastercard - the system was too old. I got some one-time cash gifts in June that I had just left in my wallet so that when I came to the States for this trip I could use it for needs now. It was awesome, she said I could use American Dollars to pay for the charge - even though we were in Hungary. Thanks to God's provision with those one time cash gifts I was able to pay for the ticket change.
I made it on time for the flight. And, another blessing, the 9 1/2 hour flight from Rome to New Jersey, I had 2 seats all to myself. The flight was only about 1/2 full. It was great!

It was fun to see NYC out of the plane window on the landing...and to see the Statue of Liberty. All of the Italian on the plane were so excited - it was fun to watch them. It's been a really long time since I have been to NYC. I know that I wasn't going there but still neat to see it!

The Newark airport staff wasn't exactly so friendly in explaining to me where I could catch the shuttle train to the NJ Transit station (where I was catching a train to meet up with my friends picking me up.) Because of this I missed my train by TWO MINUTES. I know. Lame. I had to wait an hour for the next one.
It was cool though because I got to talk to so many people about Romania while waiting there! At the same time though my brain was going "48 hours since you went to bed, 48 hours since you went to bed..."
I got on the train and met a really nice guy who helped me figure out the whole how to get off the train deal. Let me tell you - it's not what you think it should be like. Basically they announce just before your stop which train doors they'll open to let you out. So you have to run through the cars trying to find those doors and get out before the train goes on. I was really thankful for his help, and I successfully got off!

Seeing my friends, pretty much family actually, thankfulness overwhelmed me.
There are few people who have known me since I was younger through now.
This family has known me since middle school and they were our closest friends when my family lived here. Their kids and us Winters' hung out a lot. The Mom was such a good friend to me and my Bible Study leader back then.
Seeing them just made me want to cry. I was telling the Lord this morning "I'm just so happy!" I really couldn't think of any other words...

Well tonight I head to the church that my Dad pastored when we lived here. I'm so excited to see what God will do through this time! Just need to find an acoustic guitar...I forgot to ask for one awhile back...I will teach them one of the Casa Alba songs so Lord, could you please get me a guitar for tonight? : )

Ouch!

2008-09-07T15:32:00.000+03:00

My foot really hurts. Something happened at church today. I can't pin point when it happened but I'm thinking that when I was jumping or dancing during worship that I must have done something to it. Anyway I am now limping around everywhere...ay yai yai!
Hours before I leave on a super long journey to get to the States I can barely walk.
Nice one Kelsey. I asked God to heal it and He hasn't yet. So for now I have my foot on a block of ice.

I'm so thankful to be able to head back to Pottstown and then on to my brother's wedding. It tears me to pieces inside that Caleb, yet again, cannot come with me.
Every time I go I swear it's the last time I'll have to leave him here but I never seem to be able to make it work otherwise. Good friends of mine will be filling in for me while I'm gone this time.
Please pray for his little heart that he won't be too angry that Mom is gone again. Now that he understands more I know it's difficult on him that I'm going to see Grandpa, Grandma and all of the aunts and uncles without him. He loves them so much and doesn't understand why "Romania said no."

I snapped this picture at the market this past week when we were watching our friend's son, Adi. We bought a bunch of fruits and veggies for Casa Alba with money left by the team from England! And, just to explain the other picture. What you are looking at is celery root.
Connected to that is immature celery stalks. They use celery root here all the time but not the celery stalks. So when you go to the market you can find celery root all over the place with very not good tasting celery stalks attached to them. I would love it if one of the vendors would be willing to let the stalks grow and bring them in for me to buy...hmmmm, now that's an idea!

One Away! Wow!

2008-09-03T15:43:00.000+03:00

God's ways of provision rock my face off, seriously. I have really seen this especially with finances as I am only ONE AWAY from reaching the goal of 10 people giving $30/month.

So, is that you? (Smile on my face...)

Click Here :
www.cten.org/giving

Click on 'Missionary Support' and then search for me, Kelsey Winters, Romania.

And, can I just share a pretty big financial praise in addition to the one just stated?

Due to some donors giving some special gifts in the month of August (which I received now for the month of September) ALL ALL ALL of my financial needs and obligations were 100% covered for this month! I don't regularly get special gifts, as I did in August. So, I am very thankful that during this time of trying to raise more monthly support that I was - for this month - able to pay the bills. That is a huge praise - huge. It's been quite a few months in a row now where I have been at about 30% of what I need. To have a month where everything was covered - wow! Thank You Jesus!

I am grateful...

2008-09-01T10:53:00.000+03:00

for my new washing machine. And, my car. Very grateful for both.
Yesterday a friend from Sweden and I were discussing differences in how long it takes to travel between our home countries and Romania. For Swedes, it's about a 7 hour trip total. That includes time driving to Budapest, Hungary all the way until landing in Sweden. The flight is usually just about 2 hours long. I told her that if I lived that close to my family that, most likely, every month there would be visits. Plus, for $100 round trip for a ticket...seriously, you can't beat that. An average ticket to the States is about $1000 bucks for me. My travel time next Monday to get to the States (in comparison with just 7 hours to Sweden and only a 1 hour time difference) will be about 22 hours straight (that includes a 7 hour time difference).
My trip back from the States a week after that will be about 30 hours straight...the longest I've ever had to travel in one straight shot.
Anyway I was just thinking that we become so much more grateful for convenience when we haven't had it. I don't think I've ever had so much thankfulness in doing laundry as I do now having my own machine in my home. I've never ever said a prayer of thanksgiving every time I've gotten into my car, as I do now having my own vehicle to use here.
The same would be true of visiting family and being with them I think. That is, if we ever lived near each other again.
Washing Machines
Cars
Plane Tickets
Kind of an odd mixture for a post!

Nutri-Grain Bars

2008-08-30T21:03:00.000+03:00

Today was spent doing some odds and ends around the apartment and then some odds and ends around our new volunteer house. We have a construction team arriving from Sweden tomorrow so our construction guy and his wife asked if people could help organize the rooms where they'll be beginning work on. My duties were to move all of the couches to the middle of the living room, cover them and then empty the rest of the room. Caleb was "helping" me by vaulting himself over the couches. It was hilarious! I found some really interesting items hidden in the corners of that living room. Wasn't really sure where to put them exactly so, shame on Kelsey, I kind of just found new corners for them in other rooms. Okay, please don't tell anyone...

AND, OH MY WORD. Do you KNOW what arrived on the donation trucks from Scotland yesterday? NUTRI-GRAIN BARS AND COOKIES! I didn't even know that Nutri-Grain sold cookies as well. But they do - just so you know.

We headed home and found that the pink room kids were at the park next to our apartment. So Caleb and I headed there for about an hour and had a blast hanging out with Diana, Alex, Cerasela, Gina and Gheorghe! I think Caleb really, really enjoyed seeing his friends and playing with them.
As Caleb gets older he understands more his story and how he came to Casa Alba etc... Alex arrived the same week as Caleb to Casa Alba so I think Caleb really enjoys being with Alex. They've been buddies since babies, you know?

Yesterday Caleb was at it again...composing away. You may remember my post from the end of July with his super silly fan song? : ) Anyway, here he is on Mommy's guitar yesterday. Enjoy!

Friday Cooking Day

2008-08-29T15:36:00.000+03:00

Yup, just got home from Friday cooking day. Every week we are required (and I love it so it isn't so much a 'requirement' in my eyes) to sign up to cook and clean for the team of missionaries here. I was sure missing the team from England though this morning (that's right - Tim, where were you?). The past two times I have cooked I had a team of youth taking over for me. Which, was really fun, I have to admit.

I was thinking a lot this ,while I was cooking, about miscommunication. This has been something that God has laid so much on my heart over the past year. Different people, different groups of people sometimes can struggle with something more than others. I think here in Marghita, those of us serving together most struggle with communication. Almost every day there's something jacked up because of miscommunication.
Earlier this year I spoke to my team about how this is so not how God wants us to live as brothers and sisters in Christ. God is NOT a miscommunicator. How He communicated, when He communicates, the way He communicates - it's perfect for every situation. So, I believe, we are called to strive to be good communicators. Even if it goes against our culture to communicate in a different way, we should. If doing so means that we are communicating better with each other. Unfortunately I don't see enough motivation - not just here, more in general - from those who love Jesus to want to be better communicators with each other. It just makes me really sad. Sometimes to be a better communicator means having to become really humble. I understand that - and it's really hard to give up pride in place of good communication. Believe me, the past 4 years on this team has been a learning process of this big time. I am more and more so choosing to give up the pride for the sake of good communicating but it's still not perfect...I know that. But, the deal is this - we have got to get over the "humble is hard" deal and just start communicating well. Miscommunication can cut so deep.
Right. So that's what I was thinking about all this morning while making Cheeseburger Pie for 24 people. : )

Caleb and I are in our final "free days." Monday will start the year's schedule. When I say 'year' I mean September through May - more of a school year. We've had about a week and a half of taking it easy, helping out where needed but no set schedule. Monday though - bring it on!
Each day will start with preschool for Caleb (Mommy style!) and then off to the various responsibilities and areas of serving that I am involved with here in Marghita at FCE. Mainly that will be at Casa Alba orphanage running the Bible programs with all of the kids. And, the great part is, my friend is going to do this with me this year. Yay!

I'm really hoping to get some more songs written and FINALLY be able to record the kids' romanian worship album. For two years now I've put this as a ministry goal and nothing has happened. Mainly, because I don't have a spare minute EVER.
And, also, I am praying that my bosses accept my new schedule for this year which would also include time to FINALLY continue the Bible courses I started online. I feel this is a door that God opened and I haven't been able to take it seriously because, once again, no spare minutes. These courses, I think, could help shape some of the giftings that God has given me - ones that I use on a daily basis. Would be good to give them more of a firm foundation - does that make sense?

Oh, and I just wanted to clarify how the heck I'm heading to the States in another week. Some of you were a little confused about this. My younger brother is getting married, my little sister bought me a ticket. Totally a surprise for me! So, there you have it. The shortest explanation I've ever given for something in my entire life. I was able to plan a stop over in Philadelphia on the way to the wedding to share about Romania with a church that I did a lot of growing up in. We moved there when I was heading into the 3rd grade and moved after I finished the 10th grade. I can't wait to go back and I can't wait to see my little brudder get married! Yay!

Annnd we're done with Wednesday!

2008-08-27T22:58:00.000+03:00

Actually, should've been an hour ago. Can't understand why I didn't go to bed an hour ago. I usually hit the sack around 9:30pm (hold the comments please, all of you who are regular comment-ers on this.)

So today. Gosh did I wake up sick. It started Monday night and hit its peak last night/this morning. Haven't felt that sick in a really long time. After a few rough patches with Caleb over breakfast God gave me a huge blessing : a home made drum set. That's right all of a sudden Caleb wanted to make a drum set. He set to work collecting every sort of item you could think of and put them all over our couch. He would test it and then say "Mom I need another cymbal." Apparently all parts of a drum set are cymbals : ) Half of his play room and my tupperware cupboard are now on the couch. He used a set of colored pencils that he just got as his drum sticks. All morning long he did this. I was running at about 1.5% of my normal self so I was extremely grateful that he couldn't tear himself away from his project.
And, what did I do? Well I had front row seats all morning long to his new musical compositions while I cleaned. Yes, I cleaned. When I get sick I clean. I think I do it because I know I can't go back to bed and sleep (hello, 4 year old running the house alone then?) so I have to do something that doesn't require any thinking but keeps the hours moving...so I clean.

My new Casa Alba partner came over and, somehow - don't ask my how my brain did this, we planned all activities for Casa Alba for the fall. Yay!!

A friend took Caleb to our team lunch, I didn't think I could even walk there. I was really grateful for her doing that. During my time alone I was able to really prepare for a time of prayer that our Foundation was having this afternoon. And I gradually felt better and better as the day wore on...that is huge because I needed to be at a time of group prayer later in the day.
I asked my leaders if we could invite everyone and have a time of prayer. The finances here are really bad - it's been about a 2 year downhill process. For some months now it's been no money at all. I know individuals are praying and maybe groups within the foundation are praying - but we haven't come together to cry out to the Lord as one. You know? I was really excited when they agreed to this and set a time and place. God led me to some scripture that I felt was really fitting for our time - from Judges. Walking out the door to go to the prayer (Caleb had just come home) Caleb grabs his stomach and bum and says "Mom, I have to go to the bathroom RIGHT NOW." Merge burta. (If you know what that means). So we ended up late to the prayer - I felt awful. I had asked them to pull it together and I was late. But as a single parent I think I get a "Get out of Jail Free" card once in awhile, especially when your little one has an awful case of merge burta just as you are walking out the door. Poor little guy...
I was a little disappointed, initially, at the gathering for the prayer. Only because I really thought that a lot of the people would come from the foundation to pray. There were 5 of us volunteers, my 2 leaders and an additional 3 workers from the Foundation. At our Christmas parties, when every person that is part of the foundation comes, we have about 300 people.
No, I knew that all 300 couldn't come. But to be honest I thought that with the severity of the situation that more would want to come and pray together for it.
Baby steps. Something that I have been encouraged to work on - and have been trying to. Not having too high of expectations of Christians.
Seems a little backwards though at time.
Regardless, people came. That's fantastic! This is only the 2nd time since I have been here at this foundation that there has been an invitation to pray with people from all over the foundation. At the end of our time together I looked at my boss and said "So next Wednesday then?" He agreed. I look forward to meeting again.
It's not that God doesn't respond to individual prayers. It's just that when the children of Israel were in great need of provision or repentance or _______________, they cried out together - as one - to the Lord. There's power when the body comes together and enters His presence through prayer...

Caleb or a Horn Worm?

2008-08-25T17:17:00.000+03:00

My parents always send Caleb e-mails with pictures of the wildlife around their house. Yesterday's e-mail was about 2 Horn Worms that my Dad found on his tomato plants. Caleb and I printed out the picture that he and Mom sent and have it posted in our apartment. This morning it was so cold in our apartment that Caleb grabbed a green blanket off from the couch to wrap up in while eating breakfast. I told him he looked like one of Grandpa's Horn Worms! Then I remembered that we had a tomato from our garden in our fridge - he grabbed it and fell quickly into the role of a Horn Worm. H-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s!

Today started off pretty rough with about 2 hours of screaming and crying before we got to "Horn Worm" smileys above : ) The day continued really well, though. We had a group of Hungarian missionaries from Budapest here. They went and brought about 15 of the residents from Ciutelec (an orphanage for adults with special needs - many of them elderly) to Marghita for coffee and worship. The residents loved the fact that these people spoke Hungarian (since most of them grew up in primarily Hungarian - Romanian families.) There was so much joy today as they worshiped the Lord together...I brought 3 Casa Alba kids with me to this time. Before leaving CA I explained to the kids that we were going to share the love of Jesus with some people who were very lonely. I was so proud, especially, of Mihai - going around, shaking hands, greeting each person. He is one special kid! Caleb even felt comfortable enough to begin dancing with the Hungarians during one song - (without Mom!!)...it was such a joy to watch him!

Most of you know that going to Ciutelec each week is something that I do. Although for most of this summer I actually haven't gone....one crazy summer! When I do go I usually help out with the singing and then do the teaching. As much as I enjoyed being with the residents today and worshiping with them it hit me again that it's something I need to pull back from. The ministry within the team and with the Casa Alba kids is expanding - a lot. For about 2 years now I've wanted to not be a part of the Ciutelec team on a regular basis but have realized that God had plans for me to continue. But now I really feel that it's time to step out. Not that I don't care or don't feel that God uses me there - or that I'm not needed...it's just too many things on 1 plate. I'm praying that my leaders will - hopefully - understand and give their blessing for me to leave this particular area of ministry so that I can better focus on the team and Casa Alba!

Almost time for our team's worship night...I'm really excited about the Lord has put on my heart to share. I am praying that He rocks their faces off with it. I'll most likely put a new devotional post up about this within the next day or two...

A few more "off" days and then, one week from today, begins "THE SCHEDULE." Somehow putting that in caps makes it have more importance or something : )
What is "THE SCHEDULE", you might ask? Basically it is what will happen on a weekly basis from now through May. Of course twists and turns will work their way in but it's a good deal to aim for, I think.

I feel like I'm just blabbing. Enough of this. Done. Gata.

For Arwen (and maybe some others...)

2008-08-23T19:50:00.000+03:00

My younger sister says that Caleb is growing up so fast and it's hard that she can't be here to see it happen. So here's a picture from today Arwen! He is just so beautiful... He has been going around the house reciting this mini-rhyme :
"Bingle, Bingle Pop
The cars are in the shop.
Help them pass the time,
by finding things that rhyme!"
(From his pre-school leap frog 'computer' that Grandpa and Grandma brought in June!)
Also, on a side note, the playroom is clean. The living room is clean and people can sit down. Almost all laundry is put away from the past 2 weeks. Just so that you were updated from the last post : ) AND, I totally tricked Caleb tonight. My kid will eat anything - any veggie he is down for. Except, peppers and mushrooms. Once in awhile he'll fight me on onions but if he doesn't know that it's there we usually get them in the mouth without a hassle. Tonight we had a wannabe omelet with cheese and tomatoes and, I did some pan potatoes, added Yellow Peppers, Onions, Garlic and (because the open can from smoothies this morning was sitting next to the stove ) PINEAPPLE. I know, maybe a little weird but it tasted great. Because every item looked the same - had a similar color - once it made it to his plate, Caleb ate IT ALL and NOT ONCE did he pick anything out. I was pretty proud of myself I have to admit... : )

So you can put some faces with the stories....

2008-08-21T19:20:00.000+03:00

We took a picture on our last morning together - here they all are! Trying to get 18 people to all look the same way in a picture turned out to be harder than expected :)
You may be wondering about the wall in the background. One of the days the team taught about Joshua and the Walls of Jericho. During the teaching rotation on that day they used this wall to have the kids march around. Our last day together I had the team fill in things that God had done during their time here, on each of the bricks on this wall. You can see some examples of those below. I'll keep this wall hanging up for my entire team to see - as a reminder of what God is possible of doing!

Sad Goodbye...

2008-08-20T20:13:00.000+03:00

The team left this morning. They really became my friends these past two weeks. I know, high schoolers friends with a 27 year old? Let me tell you - these kids kicked my butt big time.
I wonder what it would have been like if I really had known Jesus the way they do when I was their age?

So now that the team has gone you may be wondering how my days will be spent : )

For the next 2 weeks Caleb and Mom will be having some serious catch-up time. I also need time to start preparing for Casa Alba's fall schedule. I think there will actually be 2 of us working together to disciple the kids - I am very excited about that!

Errands. Lots and lots of errands. Today Dani and Caleb, very willingly I might add, followed me around town as I did things that should have been done before today. For instance, picking up a package at the post office from France. Or, from Germany and England. The post office couldn't tell where the German package came from so they just wrote France. A couple of months ago, when I received another package from Germany, they wrote Poland. Again for the same reasons. The time before that they wrote Netherlands. For the same reason again.
It's hilarious. Really - c'mon you're smiling right now too, aren't you?
I also was able to do a pretty dang good job of using hand motions and every word I know in Romanian at the plumbing store today to get the final piece I needed to make my washing machine work. That's right, I am the proud owner of a washing machine! I almost had tears in my eyes as I did the first load today. Talk with my Mom if you want details on just how much of a difference having a washing machine in this apartment will make.

Cleaning my apartment. It looks like moving day here. That is not a good sign.
I have the kitchen sort of back to normal. Enough to make cookies and sourdough buns. Caleb really enjoyed helping me tonight. He took the cookie dough and made them into balls and then flattened them to the tray. So cute! Then he took to washing the dishes. He successfully, on his own, washed a few cups before splashing all of the water on himself and the floor!
Laundry from 2 weeks ago needs to be put away. The bathtub hasn't drained water in 2 weeks. I spent a couple of hours trying to clean out the drain with chemicals and home remedies. Neither worked. Then I pulled open the drain on the floor and was met with serious nasty uggghhh....not even a word to describe it. After cleaning that out I tried threading a wire up to the bathtub but it kept bending. Tried threading the wire from the bathtub to the drain on the floor. Kept bending. Nothing is working - arrrghgh!
My living room barely has room for people to sit and the playroom cannot be entered.
Yup, a lot of cleaning to do!

Tonight Caleb and I were praying for the kids at Borumlaca...that their hearts would continue to grow in the love of Jesus. That they would choose His life over what they are exposed to everyday. Please pray for these kids as you remember...

One day left...

2008-08-19T00:37:00.000+03:00

I'm not really sure why I'm updating my blog at 12:38am. Probably not the smartest move on my part but at least I'm doing it!

There's one day left with the team from England. Tomorrow will be spent doing odd jobs and finishing up projects, as well as saying goodbye. They'll head out Wednesday morning around 10am or 11am I think.

The VBS finished today at Casa Alba. It went well but was really different from past years. I think because the team has poured themselves out so much that it was hard to find the energy to do Casa Alba. I could sense the same thing in my heart as well actually. Also I could see that God really connected their hearts to the gypsy kids in Borumlaca. Not that they didn't care about Casa Alba but HE did something different in Borumlaca that was hard to push aside to focus 100% on Casa Alba. I never heard the team members complain, just could see it in their eyes. You know? Regardless the staff and kids were really impressed and happy with the 5 days of program at Casa Alba.
Today was t-shirt day. The kids made t-shirts with a cross in the middle and then drew around their feet on either side of it....following Jesus. They LOVED the t-shirts today!

I want to share one cool thing as well. Before this team came I had really wanted to write a song that kind of tied everything that they were going to teach together. They could have a "team song" of sorts to sing with the kids. Making sense? Well everytime I sat down to write nothing came. At Borumlaca though one of the leaders and I were trying to translate an English song for the kids to sing in Romanian...it was their memory verse. She couldn't remember the tune exactly and I had never heard it before so out of that came a brand-new song. A song that the kids totally grabbed hold of - both at Borumlaca and Casa Alba. I can't wait to continue incorporating this song into the times of worship with the Casa Alba kids!
We were just in awe that God dropped the song in our laps. I tried so hard to write one and instead He wanted to literally just give it to us.
(Those of you reading this from the team's home church...make sure you have them sing it for you the next Sunday they're all back together!)

Anyway, just wanted to kind of update you all.
Also, Todd and Rocio have now arrived for their beginning of long-term stay in Marghita.
Check out their blog to the right of this post.
The team from England spent hours and hours and hours cleaning out their apartment for them.
I am so SO thankful for the servant hearts of this team. I'm telling you now, their leaving on Wednesday morning is going to be really difficult for me.
I usually joke through good-bye's so that I don't have to think about them too much. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to brush these goodbye's aside...
I never EVER anticipated the amount that I would be ministered to by these high schoolers!

It is hot...I mean really hot here.

2008-08-15T21:53:00.000+03:00

We're talking about near 100 degrees each day along with extremely high humidity.
This is the deal - I love hot weather. Ask any of my family members - Kels is the one who most enjoys the heat. So, if I'm telling you that I am absolutely miserable right now then you know it is bad. Which, brings me round to the team that is here from England. They aren't at all used to hot weather - much less THIS hot of weather. Please pray for them. They aren't really sleeping at night and it seems impossible to find spots where they are busy serving that are in the shade, or at least a cooler environment. Even with fans last night most of them only got a few hours of sleep. We've moved them, as of tonight, to a different building that we are hoping will be cooler for them.

The word on the streets of Marghita yesterday and today is that tomorrow night there is supposed to be a massive storm that will bring the temperatures down from almost 100 degrees to 80 degrees. I'm hoping the humidity will take its leave as well!

We finished up at Borumlaca on Wednesday afternoon. As of yesterday the team is now staying in Marghita all day long. And, only half of the team is leading the Bible Camp (VBS) with the Casa Alba orphanage kids. In the morning they are in town - kind of spread out everywhere - serving in different areas. The half that isn't doing the Bible Camp continues these everywhere serving jobs in the afternoon as well.

I was pretty frustrated at myself today. Yesterday I went to buy outdoor paint for metal as some of the guy were going to repaint the gate that leads to Casa Silvia, our home for handicapped children. I thought I had clearly explained what I needed to those at the hardware store but they were really busy, and really stressed out. And, I also believe that I accidentally told them it was for a concrete gate (which are common in Marghita). So, that's right - I bought paint for outdoor concrete walls. Not until the guys were finished painting did they notice that the paint was coming off with water from their skin and tools...not a good sign.
That paint was so expensive and because of my mistake that money was wasted. I bought new paint this morning, the correct paint I mean : ) Still though -aaaaghghgh that money...!

The youth are going crazy for Jesus here, I am lovin' it. I'm also, I think, getting more used to their accent and seem to be asking the following question less "Huh? What did you say?"
Just for some reason I have the hardest time understanding them - I really feel stupid to be honest : ) Hello, we are both speaking English...right?
I've added a few new words to my vocab as well. Next time I see any of you in person - prepare yourselves...

Final Day at Borumlaca (Day 5)

2008-08-13T20:18:00.001+03:00

Each day at the teaching rotation the kids learned about a man of faith from the Bible. Check out the very cool sketches the team brought along with them each day!

"I love God"

Today as a whole didn't start off so well, for me at least. I woke up at 6am (thank you church bells of Marghita) and still was running late for everything all morning. I hate being late - it really bothers me. And, it bothers me when others are late as well. So, I definitely wasn't excited about the impression I was leaving on the team that is here right now.
Then this sadness just set upon my spirit. I didn't know what was going on - what exactly was the Lord trying to tell me through this? We left for Borumlaca and the 2 things that were most on my mind were.

1. Good gracious these roads are awful - I don't think I can sit in the back seat of this van anymore. I did let the driver know that I did, in fact, want to make it to Borumlaca alive today. : )

2. The sadness.

So we get closer to the town and the heaviness was growing so just as we came to the "Borumlaca" sign I told them to stop the car. I literally could not even enter the town. We spent time praying and I hear God say, really clearly, "My presence will be with you." Over and over again He just kept speaking those words through the prayer time. I couldn't stop the tears...

We arrived in Borumlaca and I got out my guitar to start with the songs. As soon as I started worshiping with the kids God's presence was there. Whew. Immediately He changed my 'mourning' into dancing. What joy filled me! It was awesome - then I was like "bring it on! let's go day 5!".

The team of youth were, again, incredible. Seriously - there are not words to accurately describe how impressed I have been with these teens. I and another translator switched between the teaching rotation and the Bible verse station. The teaching session today really touched my heart. I know, that sounds cheesy. For some reason though, the message of salvation - brought in front of these gypsy kids - taught with such compassion from those running the group...it was really powerful for me. Most of the kids said that they wanted Jesus to live in their hearts - really awesome. Praying that the church that has been started in this village would be able to disciple these young faiths!

Today also was really cool because when the parents and kids starting spreading the word that we were making t-shirts...well, at the very end those that didn't have their kids in our program starting appearing - begging for t-shirts. The threats were a lot more serious than the tortilla chip madness on Day 1 so I immediately went to the team's leaders and was like - we're going to have to make a quick exit. I started praying for peace to settle over the angry, screaming crowd... By the time I got back to where they were, they had dispersed. We were able to finish the time with worship and say good bye to all of the kids! And, all of that happened without any of our rented vans having windows broken - which is what was about to happen when I ran to tell everyone that we had to leave.

God is good. His presence was with us. Amin!

Take a gander...

2008-08-12T23:08:00.000+03:00

Yes, I just did use the word "gander." The words this team uses makes me smile a lot.
Tonight we had a debriefing at my house. Saved me the trouble of finding a babysitter for sleeping Caleb and I was able to unload a bunch of junk food in my house for ice-cream sundae toppings.

Score and score!

I asked them if I could do a little video "hello" and they agreed. They were pretty tired tonight so cut them some slack. Still though, some of the guys dug deep and pulled out their favorite Romanian phrase thus far..."esti frumoasa." Which means, "you're beautiful, girl."

Also appearing are Roland and Courtney. Roland is our team's translator and Courtney showed up for the ice-cream...I mean prayer time with the team tonight. She didn't understand why I didn't say hi on the video if she had to. I told her that there are enough pictures of me on this blogspot so just go look at them again. While looking at them imagine me going "Hiiiiii friend!"

Pictures! Borumlaca Day 1...

2008-08-11T23:07:00.000+03:00

Update on Borumlaca

2008-08-11T13:52:00.000+03:00

I would love to post some pictures only I have forgotten to bring my camera home 2 days in a row now. Maybe tonight I'll finally get myself together enough to remember!

I just wanted to update you all on how this week has been. You probably have guessed that a "YP" is some type of person by now : ) They are 13 youth from a church in England that have come to do VBS style programs with the gypsy kids in Borumlaca and, starting on Thursday, run the entire program again with the Casa Alba orphanage children.

We've finished 2 days at Borumlaca, this afternoon will be the 3rd. Day 1 was a little difficult. I had assumed that the kids would remember how we ran it last summer. Most of them said they weren't even here for the program last summer. That confused me. How the heck did 100 children just switch themselves out? I think they probably just forgot.
Mass chaos is the best word to describe our first day. The end got a little crazy though. Sorry for those of you that receive my weekly prayer updates when I used the word "violent."
I should have used extremely - extremely physical...pushing, hitting, screaming, kicking, people falling all over each other...all for bags of tortilla chips. The youth got into their vans and a couple of us stayed long enough to just empty the boxes of chips and shut the back of the van (from where we were distributing). I wasn't so much scared as much as extremely stressed out.
Interestingly enough, even with that experience and the difficulty in getting the kids to understand what the heck we were doing, most of the youth said at debriefing that night that they felt it went really well. We prayed for the next day that evening and during the trip there...

Day 2 ROCKED. God pulled a 180, you wouldn't have even known that it was the same group of kids and adults (who, by the way, were the ones pushing - screaming - kicking - hitting from the day before) from Day 1. The kids listened - we got into a good groove as a team - the kids stayed in their groups - and they UNDERSTOOD Moses (Moise in Romanian). Not just sort of got that the day was about a guy named Moses. More like they knew the story inside and out.
That rocked my face off the most. That the truth we handed to them they received and understood.

We are just about ready to leave for Day 3 at Borumlaca. The other night I played Passion's "God of this City" song for the team to pray over Marghita and Borumlaca.
I encourage you to pray that same for us today. We will do our final day, Day 5, on Wednesday.

What is a YP? Part 2

2008-08-08T21:22:00.000+03:00

I figured it would be fun to continue the guessing game a bit.

So your hints for today are the following...

2. Someone who spends their morning holding up little boys from Casa Alba in tall trees so that they don't fall out and break every bone in their little bodies!

3. Someone who spends 3 hours straight holding a very tiny 1 month old baby whose Mom has abandoned her to the local hospital...praying that the contact will help reverse some of the horrible side affects of being left alone in a room all day except for when being fed.

What is a YP?

2008-08-07T20:07:00.000+03:00

Took me awhile to figure that out as well. If you really want to know you'll need to book a flight to Marghita by Aug. 20th to find out. If you can't swing that I'll give you a hint. Pictures to follow tomorrow.

Hint #1 : There are 13 of them in Marghita at the moment.

: )

An original composition by Caleb at Casa Alba Camp last week!

2008-08-04T20:04:00.000+03:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Outdoor Camps are Over!

2008-08-02T09:58:00.001+03:00

Breakfast, week 2 kids.I think they were much more excited about getting CEREAL for breakfast (something they don't often get) than me taking a group picture!

Playing outside, week 1 kids! I couldn't seem to get a shot of them all looking at me...don't worry though my update (coming out later today) will have a lot of close-up shots of the kids!

After an extremely bumpy, almost 2 hour drive in a blue van with apparently no shocks we, the 2nd half of the Casa Alba orphanage kids and adults, arrived back in Marghita. My neck and shoulders hurt so bad this morning from driving that van again - yikes! The majority of the kids and supplies were set up in the massive air conditioned 15 passenger van while I volunteered to drive the one mentioned above. The roads are really horrendous with massive potholes all over the windy road back to Marghita. I was really thankful that God kept us safe both weeks of driving up there and back...
The camps went really well. Thank you to all of you who were praying. The first week was pretty difficult. It rained almost the entire time and the kids we chose for that week definitely struggle with some behavioral issues that made working with them in a new environment pretty difficult. I think being with them for that time, though, allowed me to be re-burdened for them.
The second camp was amazing - the weather was perfectly hot the entire time. The kids, for the most part, handled the transition to a new environment really well. I feel that during this past week I fell in love with these kids again. Being able to do the camp a 2nd week also allowed me to have a second chance at running the camp and activities again. Mistakes from week 1 were fixed during week 2 : ) Also the spiritual environment was different week 2. The kids, in my opinion, really were able to grasp the truth that God is the Creator of all thing. The kids during week 1 seemed to not 'get it' the same way as week 2.
God is the Ultimate One...growing all seeds that were planted. I am so thankful for the time that the kids had OUT of Casa Alba. So thankful that I could be there to interact with each one. So thankful for the 'friend times' I had with the other adults there. So thankful that the kids were able to see God's creation right in the middle of a beautiful setting!
Thanks to all of you who, through your prayers and finances, allowed this camp to happen and allowed me to be there running it!

This cracked me up...

2008-07-27T21:27:00.000+03:00

Caleb is playing with the fan, flicking it on and off - on and off - on and off.

Mom intervenes.

"Caleb, stop."

flicking continues...

"Caleb, no more."

another 3 flicks...

"Stop."

another 2....

"Stop."

another flick...

"Caleb listen to your Mom, I said NO MORE! That's 2 minutes on the floor by yourself now buddy. You did not listen to Mom. This is your consequence."

The screaming begins followed by an angered response of :

"Jesus is bigger than you Mom!!"

What? Oh my word...I just about died laughing. It was hilarious. Even when he's mad he is just so cute I can barely stand it. Jesus is bigger than you Mom? Where did that come from? Priceless. I replied "He sure is bigger than me!"

These make me smile

2008-07-20T22:34:00.000+03:00

Caleb at our team's 4th of July party. Held actually on the 5th but hey, who's keeping track anyway? We celebrated at least. That's what counts, right?
We made S'mores over the grill.
You do what you can...Caleb took this small cart and made it into a skateboard in our living room last week. Hello, my way creative son.
It was so fun to watch him do wheelies and crashes!

Just Lookin' for 10...

2008-07-19T16:17:00.001+03:00

That's right, I'm looking for 10 people. Just 10. 10 individuals who are willing to find $30 per month in their budget. I know, not an easy feat these days. Possible? Most definitely!
I am setting a challenge before all of you who read this blog...to help me find 10 people who are willing to start a monthly support of only $30 per month. If you click on my financial giving link just the right you will find all of the details.
Will you be one of the 10? Would you be willing to help me find 1?
The goal is to find 10 people by September 1st. I think we can do this!
As I mentioned, just click on the link to the right about financial giving for more details!
love and thanks,
kels

When I get to Heaven...

2008-07-19T09:13:00.000+03:00

(As told to me this morning at breakfast by my son, Caleb, age 4).

1. I want Jesus to put me up on his shoulders. He can do that, right? Then I'll be so tall because Jesus is bigger than everyone!

2. I want to play drums for Jesus. Do you think He'll let me? Then I can play the drums and it'll start raining outside everywhere. I want to play drums with Jesus in Heaven.

3. Where are we going to sleep? Do you think Jesus has a big bed - a REALLY big bed that goes "all the way to the shelf" and we can all sleep in it together?

4. I want to play a guitar for Jesus. Do you think he'll have a real guitar for me - a big guitar?
A blue guitar, that's what I want. To play guitar for Jesus.

*note. i have no idea what "all the way to the shelf" means in terms of bed size. we have no shelves in our bedroom. hmmm...*

7 Teenage Boys + Kelsey + Caleb

2008-07-15T16:05:00.000+03:00

Going food shopping with some of the transit boys this morning
(Caleb in middle : ))

That was 8am-1pm today! The foundation, FCE, that I serve under here in Marghita has a project they call "Transit Homes." Youth from the State Orphanage we work with are hand picked and come to live in the 3 Transit Homes that FCE runs. They are generally the youth who have the highest probability of being able to live on their own successfully in the future. They live in the Transit Homes with a Romanian family, who teaches them how to take care of themselves in every way possible. From hygiene to food, to chores and how a family runs - and how Jesus is a part of that all. These boys and girls stay in these homes from 2 to 4 years until FCE feels they are ready to move out on their own. When they do move out they then move to the "Final Help" project within FCE. So although they are 'on their own' they are still being emotionally, spiritually and financially supported by FCE.
We have 2 homes for boys and 1 home for girls. The parents of all 3 homes get little or no vacation time per year. As you can imagine, finding fill in families to take care of 7 teenagers is almost impossible. Well this year the families were kicked out for a month for a mandatory vacation/rest time : ). Some of us signed up to help with taking care of the boys while the parents are away. I was on for this morning and will be again Thursday morning with the Transit home that is right here in Marghita. I know those boys the best and Caleb really enjoys being with them as well. I helped them plan out their meals for the day, go shopping on a very tight budget ($3/boy for all 3 meals!) and prepare the food. I wasn't sure if it was going to be a stressful time or not this morning, I have to admit that. But, I am really pleased to say that Caleb and I both had GREAT time this morning with those boys. Thursday morning will be something to look forward to as well! I'm really excited.
Caleb is really confused at the moment why a piece of corn-on-the cob, that he found dried up on the floor, isn't able to be re-planted in the garden that we have. Poor little guy at 4 years old just doesn't get why something that looks like a seed can't be planted and grown! : )
I've tried explaining how if it's boiled it won't work...he's not so happy!

A Very Full Sunday

2008-07-13T19:57:00.000+03:00

Going to church and back took us from 8:36am until 2:15pm today. Caleb's good friend, Dani, hadn't seen the new "Hermie and Friends" video that I had brought from the States. So, Dani and his Mom came over so the boys could watch. I then spent the video time going over the VBS material for the 2 mini outdoor camps I'll be running with the Casa Alba kids starting next week. Helena, Dani's Mom, spent the time secretly doing my dishes - yahoo! Helena then tried to leave with Dani but ended up with Caleb as well. That was great because I was able to finish going through all of the material and making the to-do list and need list for these 2 mini camps.
We headed over to Herculane, the Volunteer House, to go swimming and I worked on recruiting some help for finding everything I'll need for these camps. Just before we were about to leave one of the current volunteers who was building a deck and a stone pathway needed help pushing the stone bin up the hill from the stone pile a couple of times. So I helped out with that and ended up irritating a muscle that I've had problems with for about 8 years now. Been to therapy for it, been injected for it, on different medications for it...nothing fixes it. Somehow when I pushed that bin it just twisted it the right way to be super painful. Excellent. Caleb cried a third of the way home, through drinking a cold glass of milk, through a cool off shower, peeing before bed, bed time routine and for 30 minutes after that as well. He is exhausted I think, to say the least. So is Mom. Thing is prayer group meets at my house in 23 minutes and I still haven't finished planning for the team Bible Study and worship tomorrow night. Plus, it's my Cooking Day for the team tomorrow. That means I need to leave the house at 8am and I'll get home at 2pm. Lots to do! Lots to do!

You know you have a 4 year old son when...

2008-07-12T21:18:00.000+03:00

1. You crawl into bed and find a Battery Operated Lightening McQueen car 'tucked in' to your pillow space already.

2. You are told "Mom, when I get big we are gonna be married and then after we are big and married we are gonna' buy a car. Kay?"

3. You are reading a book about a donkey named Clopper. Only you can't read 1 page without hearing the following, "Mom, why isn't his name Clopster? Clopster is better. Not Clopper. Clopster Mom, Clopster." Then follows the laughter.
Every page. That's right, every page this happens.

4. You are preparing supper when you are shot with water from a squirt gun down the hall.

5. A 4 wheeler (the only one in Marghita by the way) rolls down the street and you hear "Mom, for my 6th birthday I want one of those, Okay?"

6. You are suddenly aware that there is a Lion living in your apartment that only shows up during the 45 minutes in which Rest Time occurs. And, this particular Lion is, "Really A LOT scary" and makes for being alone in the bedroom at 2pm impossible.

7. Your most powerful disciplinary tool is to take away "the fast cars."

8. You hear "And me" after Mom says "I love you."

Vacation with Grandma, Mom and Caleb!

2008-07-05T21:25:00.001+03:00

Some pictures from vacation in Patrahaitesti and Sibiu...both in Romania. My camera battery died in Sibiu and I forgot to take my camera with me to the 100 foot waterfall in Patrahaitesti. I know, I know - lame. We had a really great time though and some of the flowers and scenery in Patrahaitesti I had never seen before. Caleb held up really well and really loved hiking in the mountains!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Home is Where the Heart is...

2008-06-26T09:18:00.000+03:00

And, that's about all I remember of that Steven Curtis Chapman song. Sorry. If you had caught me at about 9th grade I could've sung it by memory at your wedding.
Enough of that.
: )

I am HOME. Whew. It is good to be home. When my son, Caleb, ran into my arms saying "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" all I could do was squeeze him tight and cry. I ached for him during these 12 days apart. I am very thankful to be back home.

Even though it was a long to time to be away from Caleb this trip was the perfect amount of time for what I needed to do. I am SO THANKFUL for all of you who made this trip possible. Each one of you who paid for a plane ticket, bought me a meal, gave me a gift, enveloped me in a hug, prayed for me...thank you. My home church, ECC, in Bloomington Indiana labels themselves as a "Receiving, Equipping and Sending" church. That's what each one of you did in Chicago, LA, Denver, Michigan and Bloomington...you received me, equipped me to head back and then sent me again. I loved it. It was needed.

And, props to my Mom and Dad. They were here in Romanian taking care of Caleb while I was in the States. I know, they're awesome!

There were some really cool things that God did on this trip - all airport related. I wanted to share them with you because they rocked my face off. I think you will be really encouraged to see God's miraculous hand in these 'small', yet significant, ways. Be encouraged!

1. At O'Hare, when I checked in for my flight to LAX, the computer never asked me to pay for the 2 bags I was checking in. It should've been an automatic $25 fee.
2. My flight from Chicago to LAX was the only AA flight NOT delayed the entire day.
3. My luggage on the flight above was supposed to arrive with a different flight but for some reason actually arrived on the flight I was on!
4. Checking in for my flight from LAX to DEN I realized both my bags were like 10- 15 pounds over. The guy next to me in line paid $80 for 1 of his bags being ONE pound over. (Note, his line was being run by a woman who has spent a lot of money to become a Janet Jackson look alike.)
My line was so congested that I stepped back to try and move the extra pounds to my carry-ons. Some people with carts moved in front of me and blocked me from approaching the desk for the lady to give me my luggage tags and weigh my bags. The lady instead came to me and I told her that they were 'way over.' She responded with "I don't care today!" Stuck my tags on and said I was all set.
5. I headed to Denver to check in for my flight to Michigan. The charge was supposed to be $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second. Wouldn't you know...the computer BROKE just as I had to enter the number of bags. That particular screen just froze up. Instead I had to put "zero" and skip that page altogether. She entered my bags manually instead and says "When did you buy your ticket?" "Sometime in February", I responded. She looked at me for awhile and then sticks my tags on and I was good to go. No charge!
6. I'm trying to remember right now what happened at the Indy airport....oh yeah. Same deal. My bags are overweight but I was able to transfer enough to my carry-ons to check them in. No charge again for my 2 bags. Everyone else in line is paying.
7. In Chicago, checking in for my flight to Budapest, one of my bags was overweight. She let it slide because my other bag was a little underweight.
8. My flight from Chicago was delayed but I still had enough time to make my tight connection in Amsterdam. I was pretty sweaty at that point though - way to go Amsterdam in being the longest airport ever.
9. I made it home safe - with no bags - but safe. The taxi should deliver my bags today.

God rocks.
3.

Where am I?

2008-06-17T15:35:00.000+03:00

Hey everyone!
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. And, actually, I need to run right now.
Before I do that I wanted to just let you know where I am and where I'm headed.
I'm currently in the LA area and tomorrow morning I will fly to Denver.
I have really enjoyed my times so far in Chicago and LA and have seen God give me rest through my good friends in each of those cities. It has been nothing short of incredible to be here. Thank you to all of you who made this trip financially. And, big thank you to my parents who are doing a pretty good job living in my apartment with Caleb during this time! Go Mom and Dad!

Wendy's and My Birthday

2008-06-09T18:46:00.000+03:00

My friend put this up on her blogspot. Her and her husband are awesome adoption advocates and examples. I have been so awed at their openness to foster and to adopt children from all different backgrounds. Goooo Fannins!

Romania, I'm addressing you now. Adoptions can be GREAT, they really can.

Anyway, they put this up on their blog today. What does it have to do with my birthday?
Well, you see, June 15th is my birthday. That means that not only will I be able to celebrate my birthday in the States with close friends BUT I can get a FROSTY AND support adoption!
I am lovin' that for sure. So, Dan and Amanda you're pretty much going to have to drive to a Wendy's on the way home from church on Sunday. : )
On June 14th and 15th when you buy a Frosty at Wendy's 50 cents (per frosty) will be donated to the Dave Thomas Foundation. The Dave Thomas Foundation helps find adoptive families for children in foster care.

Cool off with a Frosty (or two) and support adoption!

On June 14th and 15th when you buy a Frosty at Wendy's 50 cents (per frosty) will be donated to the Dave Thomas Foundation. The Dave Thomas Foundation helps find adoptive families for children in foster care.

Cool off with a Frosty (or two) and support adoption!

Where to Be in June!!

2008-06-07T09:11:00.001+03:00

http://kelseyiscoming.blogspot.com

Yesterday, Thursday, June 5th,

2008-06-06T07:20:00.000+03:00

my little sister got married.
I wasn't there.

People ask me a lot "Kelsey isn't it hard to be in Romania so much and never go back to the States? Don't you miss the States?"
Okay, it's true I don't go back very often. Last time I was there was over 2 years ago and I only went for 2 1/2 days. (My big brother got married).
But the deal is this, I don't miss the States. I miss my family a lot but I don't miss the States.
I have a son here, I have a home here. And, the MAIN reason why I don't miss the States is this...
I KNOW God wants me to here and that gives me SO MUCH JOY that I don't want to be anywhere else right now.
In addition to this - I can't take Caleb out of the country. I understood that when I accepted God's calling to be his mom and I understand that now too. Understanding this also leads to a pre-acceptance of not being able to go to the States for breaks or for every incredible family event.
That being said. I miss my family, I miss my family a lot. Not the States - but my family and some very close friends.
And, I have to admit, it wasn't easy to have the phone passed around at lunch yesterday from family member to family member and have that be the most I could participate in my little sister's big day.
Wasn't easy at all...
For almost 4 years now the "phone passing" is the way I have arrived at every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthday, Easter and now, Arwen's wedding.
Starting next week I will be seeing all of my family at separate times for a day or 2 days each.
I can't wait!!
But, I am most looking forward to September. My little brother is getting married and my little sister (the one who got married yesterday) bought my plane ticket already. FOUR WHOLE DAYS with the ENTIRE FAMILY TOGETHER.
I am stoked.
Bring on Denver and the Winters family!

Congratulations Arwen and Derek!

PS. Why didn't I go to their wedding yesterday? The wedding was planned after I bought my plane ticket to leave next Friday. I know, I KNOW.

Top 4 Places to be in June!

2008-06-01T21:55:00.000+03:00

Since it's been...ohhh I don't know...about FOUR YEARS since I've seen most of you then I think that pretty much makes wherever I'll be a "top place." : )

Come and here about what God is doing in Romania!

Top Four Places to Be in June :
http://kelseyiscoming.blogspot.com

PS. A Chicago location is being worked out. If you're in the area in June check back at the blog above in a few days for more info!!

From the rising of the sun...Most

2008-05-30T15:29:00.000+03:00

...to the going down of the same. The name of the Lord is to be praised. Praise ye, the Lord!
Praise ye, the Lord!

Caleb is having rest time on his bed right now and that is what he is singing. I am constantly in awe of how Jesus speaks to Him, uses Him and grows Himself in him.

It's a beautiful, fairly warm and sunny day here in Marghita. Today is Friday - that means market day. The streets crowd themselves with a mixture of horse-drawn wagons, Communism era Dacias and newly imported European cars. It's an interesting mix for sure.

My goal for market day today? Yes, there's usually a goal for me when I head to that insanely crowded outdoor market each Friday. Today. Strawberries.

See, here in Marghita, we get strawberries only 1X/year when they are in season. You can't get them otherwise. So for about 2-3 weeks now we'll all eat strawberries as if our lives depended on them. I'm not joking when I say that Caleb and I downed almost 2 Kilos just for breakfast this morning. They are so good. And today, I wanted the best strawberries for the cheapest price.

The strawberry sellers are a little sneaky here. They'll show up early and sell at 7 RON/Kilo and then 3 hours later go down to 4 RON/Kilo. Usually early bird gets the worm but here it's a little opposite. They just trick you into thinking you got the worm. I know, I know - very tricky!

Because of a meeting I had this morning I actually couldn't get to the market until almost Noon. I started asking the strawberry vendors "Capsunii - cat dati?" Strawberries, how much are you giving them for? Most of the vendors said 4 RON/Kilo. Then, then I found the 3.5 RON/Kilo vendors.

SUCCESS! Then it was decision time. Which 3.5RON/Kilo vendor has the best strawberries?
I walked from one to the other a couple of times before deciding on the guy who had the least dirt all over his. I picked up 4 Kilos. I dropped 2 Kilos off at Casa Alba for the kids to eat as snack this afternoon and took 2 Kilos home for Caleb and myself.
I've been buying strawberries for the kids at Casa Alba each day this week now. I have no idea why the staff aren't buying them for the kids - hello, 3.5RON/Kilo!! (It's 2.4 RON to $1 ).
So I've taken matters into my own hands concerning the kids and strawberries and have just been buying for them. A lot easier than going through all of the 'powers above' to get money to buy them out of the Casa Alba budget.

Mihai had a hard time today...they got out of school early so he was outside playing. Another boy was bothering him and wouldn't stop so Mihai pulled out every swear word he knew.
Yup, that means he was in trouble. I asked him if I could sit next to him (his punishment was to sit at a picnic table and not be able to play) and we talked some. We talked through what happened, why it happened and how he could choose better next time. Then we talked a lot about how his heart was feeling. It didn't feel good, he said. We prayed and asked Jesus to clean his heart up from the swear words and to make him feel better. Then, he decided he was strong enough to go and apologize! I was pretty proud of him!

Chicken Breast

2008-05-26T23:10:00.000+03:00

Life is so much easier when you can buy defrosted chicken breast.
Yup.
That's pretty much all I have to say.
Oh, except for this.
Props to Marghita for finally having a meat store where you can actually buy defrosted chicken breast.
I, for one, am very thankful.

Duminica (Sunday)

2008-05-25T23:13:00.000+03:00

Man my head is in a million different places tonight. This is due to various factors...

1. My update in person/support raising trip planned for June is taking many, many detours from its original plan. Trying to not freak out about this and trusting that God has something better in store is proving to be easier said than done. I think that when you have all of the plane tickets bought and they can't be switched well...well, okay, it opens up an even bigger door for God to do something more miraculous. I can't not go to some cities just because the presenting Romania things have fallen through because the tickets are already bought. So, yes, God must have something pretty incredible planned for those times in each city! Please pray that I can focus on this and not just become saddened by what *isn't* going to happen or financial support that *won't* be raised because *my* plans have fallen through.

You know what? I was going to list all of the other reasons why I'm everywhere but I think that there's no purpose really in that!

So, instead, I leave you with some really awesome highlights from this past week.

1. The YWAM team from Budapest prayed for me yesterday before they left. It opened a door in my heart and after crying for some hours (no, really) I now have a lot more hope for what God is doing in my life right now. Their time of praying broke and restored me all at the same time.
The Holy Spirit was moving like crazy - the words they spoke over me were very prophetic and with every word I could point to a time over the past month where God had spoke the same thing or led me to the same scripture. So, I knew that it was Truth being spoken.

2. The Casa Alba kids are learning Proverbs 3:5 this month and are doing a GREAT job!

3. Worship at church this morning was pretty much a repeat deal of the YWAM Budapest team praying yesterday for me. More brokenness, more restoration.

They've translated another song and although I think the Romanian is more powerful than the original English (sorry not to diss the English it's just that there's something about the translation that rocks my face off even more) here are the words for you. God opens my heart into His presence immediately with the first notes of this song.

Planetshakers : You're my Healer

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in You
I trust in You

I believe You're my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my Portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

My Healer, You're my Healer

Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

Clown-in around at Casa Alba!

2008-05-22T20:16:00.000+03:00

One of the men on the Budapest YWAM team does clown ministry. He and two of the other ladies came to Casa Alba this afternoon and did a program with the kids. The kids loved the clown and loved how he told the story of Noah through his presentation. The ladies did macaroni necklaces with all of the kids while the clown then went around and made whatever balloon animal/shape each kid wanted. I have to admit it was a bit chaotic, as I expected it to be. Our kids really have difficulties in being thankful for what they are given and being respectful. I believe it's more than just a 'kid phase' since all of our kids are like this all the time. In my eyes it's a huge spiritual battle. I think I told all of you last summer that doing the Bible Camp for the 120 gypsy kids was a piece of cake compared to doing the same program with the 20 children at Casa Alba.
On a side note, it was hilarious driving the clown to Casa Alba and back today. You should have seen the people's reactions when they saw him in my car!

There is a Swedish construction team here this week as well. One of the members is a man named Kea. Kea is in his 70's and one of those men that when you meet him you immediately can feel God's presence around him. He comes about 2X/year and when he isn't here he is in Sweden collecting donations, putting together construction teams to come and work here, and raising financial donations. When he comes he spends his time praying, teaching and pounding in nails. He is a chef by trade and this week we've gotten treated to his food creations 3 times already!
So, why am I talking about Kea so much? There's a passion in Kea and a depth in his faith that makes me want the same in my relationship with Christ. Everytime Kea comes I immediately connect to the Lord in a fresh way. When I first saw him last week he saw me coming and said "Kelsey, GOD IS FANTASTIC!" I started crying and the Holy Spirit filled me with so much joy as I yelled back "Yes, God is Fantastic!" There's a connection between Kea and I - I'm not sure how to explain it. I think we both desire to see God's redemptive power go crazy here in Marghita...and, it's not that others don't want that. It's just that somehow we get how each other wants that and we connect somehow in that. Or, maybe I shouldn't say "somehow" as I know it's the working of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ. All this to say that I have been GREATLY ENCOURAGED by Kea here this week.
I keep asking him when he is moving here. He just laughs. To think that a man in his 70's and me at almost 27 could truly call each other brother and sister in Christ. Really neat huh?

Annnnnd the day is over...

2008-05-21T20:33:00.000+03:00

Whew. What a day. Hardly any sleep last night and then Caleb woke up just 5 minutes after me and immediately woke up his friend, Dani, (staying with us for a week). That means at 6:25am I hadn't even gotten a chance to mix the boiled water with the instant coffee before 2 little boys started chasing each other around the house. We took Dani to kindergarten after first picking up Antal from Casa Alba (he attends the same kindergarten). After, Caleb and I bought breakfast for the office staff and dropped it off with a note for them to enjoy! Then we headed over to the donation warehouse (we call it the depot) where I picked out some carpets to replace old ones I have in my apartment. We received a ton of donated carpets which are just for the volunteers. How cool is that? Caleb and I hustled over to Casa Alba for Bible program with the pink room and then off to the FCE Club for lunch. After eating really fast we then ran to the kindergarten to pick up Dani and Antal. We walked Antal home to Casa Alba and then we walked home and crashed in our beds with books for 'rest time.' After a quick snack it was back to Casa Alba for program with the Purple and Green rooms. We learned how to "respect missionaries" today. We talked about what the definition of a missionary is : someone who tells others about Jesus, and does that wherever God wants them to. And then I asked them "do you know any missionaries?" I honestly was curious to see if they knew any...then, in total surprise, they said "Kelsey!" I looked at them funny and then went "oh yeah, you're right!" : )
We talked about how Peter was a missionary and he went and shared about Jesus wherever God wanted him to. And, that they can be missionaries in Marghita too! After the 2 hour program I headed home with Dani and Caleb and we ate blueberry pancakes and fruit salad for supper. Then into bed.
By the way, my neighbor from my old apartment building just knocked on the door with a bag of fresh eggs from her mom's house. I am so blessed by them.
OKAY. Onto another subject. Below are some pictures from my new place. Things aren't put into place perfect and I still haven't managed to have the table totally cleared yet...but, it was neat enough the other day to snap some photos!

The kitchen...ohhhhhh yeah.

The dining room section off from the kitchen. Big storm (furtuna) approaching outside.

Living Room

Hallway with 2 nice sized closets. You can see the door to the apartment at the end.

The "comfy couch and chairs" that came with the living room!

Visitors!

2008-05-20T09:28:00.000+03:00

This week part of the YWAM Budapest team is here serving alongside us.
Check out who they are at their website :

http://www.ywam-budapest.com/

Devotional Updated

2008-05-18T18:44:00.001+03:00

Click on the pink "Weekly devotional by Kels" under the "Ma gandesc" title to the right to see the updated devotional for this week!

Be encouraged!!

Cowboy Caleb

2008-05-15T11:42:00.000+03:00

Some pictures of the new apartment.

2008-05-13T17:03:00.000+03:00

Okay, I'm finally caving in. My Dad has been on my case for pictures of the new apartment. I have been unwilling because it still isn't unpacked yet. Not the apartment, but the boxes that are everywhere. Don't give me a hard time, please, it's kind of a lot to do everything by yourself sometimes : ) Yes, I have had some help, do not think me and Caleb have been abandoned in moving time. But, unpacking boxes is something I need to do for the most part because only I know where everything needs to go. Pickin' up what I'm puttin' down? Finding time to unpack, be Caleb's Mom, full time ministry, planning and preparing for the update-in-person trip in June, and get all of the summer ministry planning done...and realizing that the last time Caleb and I had a break just to be Mommy and Caleb...well, it kind of piled up. So, I have taken off today and tomorrow to try and work on some of those 'piled up' things. Anyway, back to the point. I took some pictures out of my living room window and off my kitchen balcony. That's as much as you'll get today! (Happy Dad??) On a side note, my apt. owner (who lives in France), called her friend who installed the Thermopane windows to come and measure for screens. I can't just tack up screening like I've done in every apartment before. I have to get the Thermopane screens. They are pricey. Anyway the guy came over today to measure and roughly estimated the price to be 560 RON or, according to www.xe.com $236.97. I told him I definitely could NOT afford that at this time but maybe I could work out a monthly payment plan with him. He said he would call me in a few hours and confirm the price with me and then we could discuss payment options. I get the call and he says "Listen, your renters are the "________"(he said their names) and we are really, really good friends. The wife begged me to give you a really big discount and since we are so close I have decided to do so. We will give you all of your screens for 420 RON ($177.73)." Okay, that price is still pushing what I can afford but by doing some serious belt tightening this month I think I can pull it off. I am so thankful. What a blessing for today! Today has been gorgeous. High 70's, beautiful sky and everything seems peaceful. What an opportunity to have a day like today! Another blessing for today! I took the pictures the other night. Enjoy!

Sunset out of my living room windows.

Marghita, off my kitchen balcony.

Kitchen balcony View 1

Kitchen balcony View 2

Caleb Turned 4 Today!!

2008-05-10T22:09:00.000+03:00

Click on the picture below to see a slide show of the birthday pictures!
He told me tonight, as I was tucking him into bed, "Mom I want to have my birthday for 6 more days!"

Caleb's 4 Birthday

Some changes...

2008-05-08T22:45:00.000+03:00

I'm trying to freshen up the good ol' blogspot here. It may change a bit every day until I lock into something I really like. Have fun though dealing with it : )

Ciutelec...the elderly home where we do a worship service each Thursday afternoon. Major changes happening there. Quick background first. Okay so during Communism kids were born healthy and then abandoned. Shoved together in cribs, without any bonding, they developed Reactive Attachment Disorder syndrome. 2/3 of all children who experience abandonment develop this of some degree. There are young adults living in Romania who were serious victims of this disorder. If you were to see one today you would think that, of course, they were born mentally retarded and their behaviors so destructive and violent that, of course, they should be in a round the clock special care facility.
Well, the thing is, the worst of these young adults were scattered among old peoples' homes during Communism. The government trying to hide them... Well, communism is over and there are hundreds of these extremely destroyed young adults living in our area alone.
They cannot live on their own. They are in all definition of the word - destroyed. They can be very violent and throw large and dangerous (to themselves and others) tantrums. They live in facilities where they are beaten because they are not controllable. They are growing older and there seems to be no place that accurately meets their needs, both physical - emotional and spiritual.
It's a very ugly leftover of Communism.

Well, like I said before, a lot of these teens and young adults as they grew older during Communism were hidden away in old people's homes.

Ciutelec is now going to become home to 31 of them next week. 2 of these young people arrived 2 weeks ago. Today one of them, not exactly attacked, but tried to hurt me. Thankfully he didn't break the skin anywhere. Other than being a little scared I was okay. What scared me the most was that I could not get out of his grip - he was stronger than me. And, I was pushing one of our residents up the hill in his wheelchair and he started rolling down the hill. Finally a staff member, after I yelled to her for help, yelled at him to let me go. He began a string of really awful swearing and hand motions to accompany it.

This is just 1. 31 more come next week. Ciutelec has gone from being an old people's home to now a psychiatric ward of sorts. The current residents are really scared. The staff has promised to "isolate" these 31 in a seperate building. And, Ciutelec recently cut staff so that leaves - as one resident explained, 1 staff for the 31 new residents per shift.
It is going to turn into Hell there.

It is not the fault of these young people. It is the fault of pure evil and the communism that it tried to mask itself behind. All I could think today was "this young man was most likely born a healthy baby boy...and now he is destroyed."

To keep those 31 new young people isolated in a building - what kind of life is that like?
And, for the staff at Ciutelec who is used to working with old, sweet people in wheelchairs...to now work with seriously mentally ill young adults. Whew. That is going to not work so well. I'm sure that physical abuse is going to become quite common.

I feel so empty for words to even pray about this. I just want to say "God, look at my heart - do you see the hurt over how this is going to turn out for everyone...does it have to happen this way?"

The new people coming....
The current residents....
The staff...

Very, very rough transition next week. Please pray as God leads you. I'm sorry that my thoughts were everywhere. It is difficult to explain what you understand once you see.

Great Day at Casa Alba!

2008-05-03T21:13:00.000+03:00

Today was a really hopeful day at Casa Alba. There were glimpses of breakthroughs everywhere and I could barely contain myself! Although my joy was kind of masked between my cold having returned from Wednesday...but it was there, honest!

First off, it was garden morning with Mihai and Joni. Joni was at a staff person's house so it ended up being just Mihai and I. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed being with Mihai. How he listened and learned how to pull weeds carefully among our sprouting corn and beans. We worked together as a team and only 1 time did I have a major behavioral issue to address. I loved being with him today. (What Kelsey, you don't love being with him all the time?) No. I don't. But, I CHOOSE to love him everytime I'm with him despite the choices, usually bad and hurtful, that he makes all the time. This is the FIRST TIME since January that I have had a day with him like this.

This afternoon Hattie and I did program with the Green and Purple Room kids. We have started a book with them called 'I learn Respect.' It talks about the Biblical meaning of respect and how that was shown in the Bible and how we should strive for that today. The stories and activities fit perfectly with our Green and Purple room kids. And, they are probably the 2 most DISrespectful rooms of children at Casa Alba. Today, for the FIRST time, we were able to get through the lesson with the children ATENT and not having to constantly be reprimanding.
This is a HUGE breakthrough for these kids and their time in program.

It's about time...you pray for months you know and finally one day it goes as it should. Praise the Lord!

Mayo and Spinach

2008-05-02T12:57:00.000+03:00

My brother, Kyle, sent me a Sam's Club box of Mayo packets about 2 years ago. Kind of a joke, kind of not. Anyway, when I make food that requires Mayo I sit there and squeeze out Mayo from each packet until I have what I need for th e recipe. So Kyle, this is proof that I'm actually using them!
Only 500 more packets to go...Spinach salad...no problem for Alex and Caleb!

Very Unusual Day

2008-04-30T21:54:00.000+03:00

So Caleb woke up shortly after 6am...again. I've done the baby and toddler waking up early deal already. We've gone through those days - now it's been 7ish for Caleb for about a year now.
I love that. I wake up somewhere between 6 and 6:30, have some Bible time and then he comes scampering out with that little smile on his face between 7 and 7:30am.
Ever since we've moved into the new apartment it's been 6. Our bedroom window faces the east now so we get blasted by the sun really early. Which, is why, I believe he is waking up so early.
The thing is, I have curtains up. Then I put mattresses over the windows. They didn't cover it all and the curtains were too thin. So i added 4 more curtains. Still still didn't work. I added another 2 curtains last night. And, well, we can all see how succesful that was.
Do you know what I did tonight...it's so ghetto. I put cardboard all over the windows now. I could barely see to tuck him into bed tonight. This had better work, that's all I've got to say.

So back to today. When he woke up I was not a happy camper Mommy. Oh, come on, all you other Moms reading this can just admit that once in a while you do not greet your little one in the morning with smiles. There, I've said it. I've taken one for the team - I've admitted our early-morning once in a while sin. The reason why I was not a happy camper Mommy is because as soon as he woke me up I knew I was sick - really sick. I felt so horrible. And, I knew it was only about 6am. On top of that I could tell that he wasn't feeling well either.

I tried to get him to go back to sleep - he wasn't interested. We ate breakfast and after that had some snuggle time in one of the 'comfy chairs' that came with the new apartment. We were reading his Bible and he FELL ASLEEP in my arms. Caleb? You fell asleep at 8am? Really weird. I got him into his own bed and realized that I could barely walk. The cold medicine I took an hour earlier had kicked in and I was reacting quite strongly to it. I think by accident I took Benadryl...which, I never take because it literally puts me to sleep. At 9am I honestly couldn't even stay standing and it made me feel so sick. So, I climbed into bed and Caleb and I slept until 11:20am! Once the Benadryl wore off (not until this afternoon I think) I started thinking, when was the last time I took a nap in the morning? I can't remember...in my adult life I don't think I ever have. So, a very unusual day for sure.

I had to cancel Casa Alba programs today (with 3 rooms! bummer!) because we were sick. I will, instead, do those programs on Saturday. So, the kids are still gettin' some Jesus learnin' in...just a few days later!

The administrator for this apartment bloc came pounding on my door tonight, of course 5 minutes after I put Caleb down for the night. FYI : All apartments are individually owned. The administrator divides up the costs for the building itself and divides it between each person in each apartment. For instance, heating - garbage - water, etc...
I was going to start asking around who the administrator was but hadn't had time yet.
Women are not always so respected here in Romania. My conversation with this man tonight reflected that. What is funny is that I was trying to introduce myself to him and although he did shake my hand he refused to tell me his name. And, he doesn't like how I write my number "1", after I wrote down the numbers from the water meters and gave it to him. "You haven't done this right!!" Then he tried to add them together, couldn't (great - and this is the money guy for the building??)...and blamed it on how my numbers were. So, I added them together for him and wished him a nice evening. He did tell me that he lived in Apt. 4. Interesting. Just this afternoon I found a credit card on the ground, matched the name to Apt. 4 and returned it to them. I didn't run into this guy though when I returned it.

More benefits...

2008-04-27T22:38:00.000+03:00

of the new apartment.

* No horrible smell of sewage everytime my neighbors above me flush their toilets. I have no neighbors above me now.

* The stove and oven combo. The entire kitchen. Now I for real can fulfill my dream of becoming the Romanian version of Betty Crocker! Do you know that I get to pick on my oven if I want it to heat up normally or to heat up with hot air blowing around? How is an oven like this even in an apartment in Marghita? Seriously though...

* The steps. When my prayer group came over tonight they told me they had decided I was going to have the nicest butt on the team soon. Having to climb all of these steps multiple times per day and all that. I guess we'll find out soon. No, I'm not putting up before and after pictures, too bad. But, I am REALLY glad for the extra exercise. No, I'm not being sarcastic.

* The kitchen table is...huge. 8 people can fit around it. Hello people can COME OVER for dinner now!

* The ants. Yes, I have ants everywhere in this apartment. Why are these a benefit? Because, it means I have to sweep and mop all the time. God is helping me keep my apartment cleaner!
True, I already went out and bought poison. But, I'm pretending that the poison didn't work so I'm still sweeping like crazy all day long.

More to come...

Kids and Electric Toothbrushes

2008-04-26T20:34:00.000+03:00

One of the greatest pairings of all time...

Moving In

2008-04-22T20:44:00.000+03:00

77 Steps. In case you are wondering it is exactly 77 steps up to the fifth floor where my new apartment is located. Let me tell you my legs and butt are feeling the additional exercise. And, after move - in day yesterday... I lost count of the amount of times I climbed the steps with boxes in my hands. A bunch of my team members showed up to help me move as well. I was so thankful for their help; I was so thankful for their attitudes. You know, I don't think I heard anyone complain about the stairs at all! And, there were not a "few" boxes to move either. I came to Romania 3 1/2 years ago with 2 suitcases and 1 book bag of things. Ha ha ha...if you could see the amount of boxes and bags that I'm sitting in the middle of right now you would probably laugh. There is certainly a lot more than what I came with!

Caleb went to sleep quickly tonight and I am very grateful for that. I wasn't sure if it was going to be difficult for him to fall asleep in the new room. He told me tonight on our way up the stairs for about the 5th time, "Mommy my legs are SO tired!" We are still sharing a bedroom but maybe next year he will move into his own room. For now though we will take changes 1 at a time. We have the move now, then Romanian kindergarten in the fall...so, I think I'll wait till next spring for him to have his own room. I'm okay with that extra room being the play room for now! Something fun, all day long Caleb has been saying these little prayers out loud at the most random times. Riding in the car to each lunch with our team : "Jesus, thank You for the new apartment!" Walking down the street : "Thank You Jesus so much for the new apartment!" On and on it went today. And, very interesting, on our way home tonight he saw a little girl and her mom coming home from the park. He went up to her and told her that we lived "up there" and "where do you live?" Her mom immediately went into a long conversation with Caleb. It was so neat to see. I told her that we had just moved and he was so excited about telling everyone. He asked what the girl's name was and then proceeded to say that his name was Caleb. And, he said Caleb with an English pronunciations - not how the Hungarians and Romanians say it. The mom right away said "You have a name from the Bible! It's very beautiful!" With a face of shock I said to her "No one EVER knows that!" Usually people make me repeat a million times how to pronounce his name and I really don't think that EVER someone has known where the name came from. I always tell them hoping that it will help them remember his name easier. I really hope that we run into this woman and her daughter again...see what God wants to do with this beginning!

I thought I'd list some of the benefits of the new apartment for you all, as I'm just discovering today as the "first day" in the apartment.

1. The toilet flushes. For real flushes. No more pulling a chain from the ceiling that is broken so it never flushes anything down. No more filling bucket after bucket with water from the tap to try and get the toilet to flush! Now, I just lift a button thing and it flushes. Woohoo!

2. The front balcony, facing the west, is a perfect spot for me to put my laundry rack to dry clothes. No more putting the laundry rack in the living room, which took up the entire living room, and having no living room space at all until the clothes are dry! YAY!

3. Okay, so I sort of knew this already but...INCREDIBLE VIEW OF THE SUNSET. Being on the 5th floor with no taller buildings in front of me means I can see just the hills and fields in the distance...and the sun setting over them each evening.

4. Hot Water for showers and baths. Yes, anytime now I want to take a shower or give Caleb a bath I'll have hot water. No more letting the water run for 20 minutes to only have luke warm water. Then, running and boiling water on the stove to add to his bath to make it warm enough for him to stay in it long enough to get him clean! I have my own heating system in this apartment and that includes water as well...ohhhh yeah!

That's it for tonight! I'll get some pictures once I remember to take my camera out of my old apartment and bring it to the new apartment : )

New laws, no explanations.

2008-04-16T22:04:00.000+03:00

That seems to happen a lot in Romania. Or, maybe I should say, in the area of Romania where I live. Once EU *bliss*, along with the specific size that each cucumber needs to be, came to town it seems to have created more confusion than ever before. I know, I know, it's been well over a year but I was thinking about this a lot today.
What the EU seems to have overlooked is that the EU rights have not been explained through laws clearly enough. For example, all EU residents have the right to residency in any other EU country. So, every person on my team here who is from Sweden and the UK has received Romanian residency, no questions asked, within 30 days of applying. Now, if you were to ask ANY of the police chiefs in Oradea (the city closest to us) what this residency actually means...NO ONE can tell you. And, I really mean that, NO ONE. For us, we want to know if that means these people can adopt. Which, would mean, that Romania has sort of opened up international adoptions...to a point that is. They are handing out these EU residency documents left and right like candy at a parade but no one knows what they are and what they really mean. You would think, that if they were handing out residency that they would also know the rights that this level of residency allows. You would think that the EU would have done a proper job of explaining and training the Romanian Police that work with foreigners what the heck they were giving out. Yes, you would think... Of course, this isn't the case. Now the question has gone 12 hours by train to Bucuresti where we are all waiting now for "Bucuresti to write some laws concerning this and then we'll all know what exactly is and isn't allowed with this level of residency."
Huh.
The laws have to be written already because other Europeans have been doing this in other European countries for years now. One thing I do know about the EU is that they pride themselves on everything being exactly the same. As I mentioned before this involves cucumbers, the size of strawberries and residency.
So, how did Romania get left out of the loop? And, honestly, what are these poor rural farmers going to do when the laws on fruit and vegetable sizes start being enforced at our Friday outdoor market?

Wednesday

2008-04-16T08:37:00.000+03:00

I'd just like to share some fun things and praises from this week so far!

Monday I took Olimpia and Cristina to a small, local lake. It's man-made and the sides are cement but it still was beautiful to go to. You should have seen their excitement!
We sat down and I talked about the time the disciples were in the boat and the storm came. How Jesus saw them as he walked down the hill and then walked on water towards them. The disciples reaction? Ghost!
When I got to that part these girls started dying laughing. They could not believe that the disciples thought that Jesus was a ghost. And, at first, they thought Jesus just walked through the water...no, he walked ON the water girls. Their faces broke out into complete awe.
The story should do the same for us, yeah? Their innocence lets them see the greatness of Jesus and react to it as it merits, I think.

Tuesday I met with my new renters. They showed me the ins and outs of the new apartment. They are FIXING the things wrong with the apartment before they leave. They are having the kitchen and living room ceilings repainted. Maybe this should be normal but let me tell you, in Marghita it's not! When you rent an apartment you *maybe* will get the renters to repaint but most times you don't get to pick the new color. And, to have the things fixed that are broken - never! As I went to leave she says "Oh, by the way, we decided to LOWER the rent."

Excuse me?
Lower the rent?
Kelsey starts crying.

We had decided on 80 Euros/month and then in the summer when I'm not using the heat I will pay extra on top of that. No, now they ONLY WANT 70 Euros/month and they don't want extra in the summer. A year from now they will raise it to 75 Euros and continue to raise it 5 Euros/month each year.

I said to them : "Why, why did you give me this apartment?" (I know it was God's favor and love but I wanted to hear their reasoning...you know?)
They replied : "It's a miracle!"

On my way to church last night I got pulled over. It was hilarious. Outside of the villages you can go 70 KM and inside the villages it's 50KM. I saw a police car ahead, at the entrance to a village, and - as usual - I began slowing down anyway. Let me say that he was OUTSIDE of the village limit. I drove past him, slowing down, and continued to slow down to 50 KM. Well in the NEXT village there is a group of 3 police cars at an intersection and they wave me over. I'm so glad it takes 3 police cars full of officers to work a speed trap. Honestly.
He says "They clocked you at 67 entering that last village."
"I reply, I'm really sorry because I always slow down. I know it's 50KM in the villages and I was slowing down to 50. You can see that I had just begun slowing down when he clocked me. I always slow down, I'm really sorry."

He says "Oh, it's no problem." He takes my info and comes back in 5 minutes and says "Just a warning today and 2 points on your license have a good evening!"

Ohhhh yeah. : )

Before Church I stopped at the European Home Depot in Oradea (called Praktiker). I bought paint because ALL of the money I need for paint has been PROVIDED! And, the paint was SO MUCH cheaper than what it is in Marghita that I will now be able to buy screens for the windows of the apartment. There are special thermopan windows so they require special screeen. I just can't go buy screen and tack it up which, is what I've always done. Each screen is about 10 Euros so I'll be able to at least get 1 in each room. Mosquitos and flies are ruthless in Marghita. They'll begin dumping white powder all over town from an airplane soon. And, they'll come and fumigate the apartments about 2-3X each. I always feel sick for some days after they do that...I don't think it's done in the safest way....
Anyway, I can get screens up - I will be thankful for that mosquito/fly free breeze this summer!

I got home safely last night in the rain and on one of the most terrible roads in our county. I don't think I even hit a pot hole at all!

This morning Caleb sneezed twice. He always has done that...when he sneezes it's always twice in a row. I love it, it's so cute. Now he's sitting on our newly donated trampoline and taking apart his "fast cars" while trying to repeat the words to "Count Your Blessings" (a song on a new kids Worship CD we got.) I love him, I love being his Mom, I love being a Mom.

So much to smile about today....

Moving In Needs

2008-04-13T22:26:00.000+03:00

Hey, just wanted to update you all on which of the financial needs I'm still in need of and which have been provided for already! So, scroll on down to the post below and check it out, IN RED!

What financial needs are you talking about there Kelsey?

Scrolllll on down to find out! : )

WEDNESDAY UPDATE : ALL OF THE FINANCIAL NEEDS COVERED! PRAISE THE LORD!

Apartment Awesome-ness

2008-04-11T15:33:00.000+03:00

My new renters, although I don't think they realize it, are allowing God to work through them in incredible ways. I have been thinking about how God told Moses, before he went to Pharoh, that Pharoh's heart was going to be hardened. What was the point then? I think because God needed Moses to step it up as a leader big time and this was the way he was going to accomplish that.
Then, you think about God being able to do that - harden hearts. Which, means, that he can soften hearts too...right? I don't think I will ever be able to accurately describe just how STRANGE and completely impossible this new apartment is working out to be. I believe that God has PURPOSELY softened their hearts for Him to show me His power, His love for me and that He has everything under control. Something, I needed to really know today as I received word from Bucuresti that I WILL NOT receive early residency. The renters created a rental contract for me today allowing me to live there for an UNLIMITED period of time (something that I'll HAVE to have once I do get around to adoption time.) The thing is, it is impossible to make an unlimited contract while charging rent. It has to be a free agreement. This means the renters are willing to trust me on our verbal agreement for rent. Which, is at 70 Euros/month.
Now, onto that. 70 Euros per month - are they crazy!? No, God softened their hearts once again. I GUARANTEE you will NEVER find someone in this country allowing to live in this type of apartment for 70 Euros/month. The going rate for this apartment in Marghita per month is 250 Euros...in Oradea it would be close to 400 Euros per month.
I know, can God make Himself shown even more?
Yes, He can...because He did. Get this. The renters tell me today that, "We'll set up a bank account in town for you to deposit the money in each month. You just put in whatever you can pay. If you don't have enough money one month, just put in what you have. If, in the summer, when your utilities are lower you can pay more...then just put more in. Whatever you can pay we want you to pay."

Stunned. Stunned. Stunned.

Thank You Jesus...

If any of you are thinking you might want to give up ice-creams for the month or something : ) there are a few expenses that I have with moving into the new apartment.

It's kind of tight this month with only receiving 40% of what I needed for the month so I would be extremely grateful for your prayerful consideration of helping in the following areas below...

1. The rental contract was $30.
As of Sunday, TAKEN OFF THE LIST - THIS NEED HAS NOW BEEN MET!
YAY!

2. I have to cancel the current utilities for the apartment I'm in now and make new utility contracts for the new apartment. Both of these will cost money. I am estimating about $50 needed for this.
As of Saturday, TAKEN OFF THE LIST - THIS NEED HAS NOW BEEN MET!
YAY!

3.STILL NEED Paint...the apartment hasn't been painted in about 8 years. If you understood painting cement walls, and the *quality* of paint here you would understand why it needs to be done.
I need about $300 NO ONLY $200 NOW! AS OF MONDAY! YAY! for the paint. Yes, it is expensive here AND I have an apartment now triple the size of what I've been used to moving into and painting.

Maybe a group of you at your workplace are interested in helping out with one of these, or your small group Bible Study. Just send me an e-mail (kelsey.winters@gmail.com) and we can work out the details.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Signing the Contract Tomorrow!

2008-04-10T21:25:00.000+03:00

That's right. I guess God decided He wanted me in this apartment because they called me at 9:15pm tonight saying "When can we sign the contract?"

God is GREAT!

Now, for a name. "Winters Wonderland Suite"... something like that. I'll send a nice Romanian chocolate bar to whichever of you can come up with the best name. I'm the very last apartment on the very top floor - I can put a sign on the door and no one is going to care.
Believe me, you get me a good name and it'll be there for all to see. That is, all who are willing to climb the 4 flights to see it : )

A little peek into our Sunday worship services...

2008-04-10T16:57:00.000+03:00

Click on the link just below...

WORSHIP AT SALEM VIDEO CLIP

At 1min. 07 seconds you'll see a girl in a white shirt, mainly her arm, clapping and jumping up and down. Yup, that's me. Thank you sir, for standing near me that morning video taping with your camera. Ha, ha, ha.

I love this song though, here is the translation :

With You all things are possible
With You all things are possible
I believe in Your Word
I will believe in You forever

I am Yours
You are mine
You are my God
Nothing will separate us
I will always love you