Weekend in Rome

One of the joys of being in Europe is how easy it is to travel here.  We took advantage of this to go and spend a weekend in Rome!

We went with one of our missionary friends Talitha.  We packed in as much as we could in three days and it was really fun!

The Colosseum is really impressive, it is so massive! 

We really enjoyed walking through the Roman Forum, a whole area full of ruins from ancient Rome.  We had beautiful weather too as you can see.

We stayed in an studio apartment right in the center of town.  It was very near to the Pantheon which is a very well preserved temple.

Even some of the newer buildings were impressive like this monument to Italy's first king.

We also paid a visit to the worlds smallest country, the Vatican.  The museum was great with the best part being the Sistine Chapel.

The chapel was much bigger than we pictured and very vibrantly painted.  In the middle you can see the iconic scene of God and Adam touching with their fingers.  It was awesome!  After the chapel we went to St Peter's Basilica, the largest Christian church in the world.  It was amazing but also the most crowded of anything we saw.

One of our favorite spots was the Trevi Fountain.

The fountain is the largest and most beautiful in Rome.

We ventured outside the city to find a gluten free bakery and visited a St Paul's Basilica.  This is the location where the apostle Paul is buried and it was so beautiful inside and out.

We walked around a lot to find as many sights as we could, this is Castel St Angelo, a former tomb and fortress of one of the Roman emperors.

We also went out in the evenings to get some night photos of some of our favorite places.

The Spanish Steps were completely deserted on our way to the airport at 5:30 in the morning, what a good time to see the sights!

We enjoyed many wonderful meals in Rome such as risotto, pasta, fish, and pizza.  The awesome part is that Italy is a very gluten free friendly place, so we could have most things on the menus made with gf ingredients.  The pizzas we had were outstanding and the gf crust was just as good as the regular.

One of my main quests in Rome was to find the best gelato.  I love ice cream so I looked up beforehand where to find the go.  Instead of eating at any old touristy place we ate only at artesian shops that make their own with all natural ingredients, and boy was it worth it.

My birthday present from Rebecca was that I could have as much gelato as I wanted, so I got it five times and tried 10 flavors.  I also got to try Rebecca's and sometimes Talitha's so I tried a total of 17 flavors!  They were all great but my favorites were Lemon Pie, Amaretto, and Pistachio.  I miss it already!

Three days doesn't seem like much but it was a perfect amount of time to hit the highlights of the city.  We really enjoyed our time in Rome and are thankful that we were able to go!

Blessings and Prayers

Time is flying here in Romania!  It is hard to believe that it is May already and that the end of the school year is fast approaching.  As we continue to work with our kids in all of our various programs we have also been busy planning for summer ministry.  Please pray that the plans for the summer will come together so we can have a great one.

We continue to enjoy our reading classes with the younger kids at the special needs school.  We have noticed some definite improvements over the course of the year and thank God for giving us the opportunity to pour into these kids' lives.

We created a board game based on Candyland where the kids have to read the words on their card and go to the next space.  Would you please pray that they be able to learn to read and write?

We have fun doing different art projects with the older kids, they really enjoy art.

We were able to bless a class of kids with some shoes.  They are all from families and do not receive the same things as the kids in the orphanage.  One of the girls missed a lot of school this winter because she didn't have shoes!  The other day they proudly showed us that they were wearing the shoes we gave them.  So cute!

Some of the kindergardeners wanted to show us their headstand skills, they had some crazy energy!

Our tutoring has been going well, with some catching on really quickly and others needing more time, especially for the math.  Thankfully we do the tutoring in groups of 1 to 3 students so we can keep it going at their pace until they really get it.  They need lots of prayers to stay motivated and to study on their own so they can pass their college entrance exam.

The weather has been pretty nice as well, although it is a much wetter spring than normal.  We stopped along the side of the road to get some pictures of our favorite area on our drive from Bucharest to Rosiori.  These goats happened to come along and pose for the picture.

The rapeseed is in full bloom making the countryside light up in this vibrant yellow.

We were blessed to be able to spend some time with our friends Dan and Luella from Canada.  They have come every year since we've been here and we have enjoyed seeing them each time.  Dan and I share a love of photography and in fact a few years ago he gave me my current camera which I really like.  They are always very encouraging and we really enjoy working with them.

We celebrated my birthday with our friends Steven, Haley and Talitha.  They got me this assortment of Italian food and we cooked most of it up for a wonderful Italian meal.  You may have noticed that we've been making a lot of Italian food lately, that's because this weekend we are headed to Rome!  We are super excited and ask that you pray for safe travels and great weather.

Rebecca's birthday present to me is pretty awesome, I get to have as much Gelato in Rome as I would like!  I love ice cream, so I have searched out over 20 artesian gelato places in Rome.  They are said to be the best of the best and I can't wait to taste it!

I also had a surprise party at youth group since it was on my actual birthday.  Extra points if you can guess what this amazing birthday card is based on.  I also received some chocolates and a nice new bow tie from our Romanian coworker Sanda and staff.

We took our car in to the shop this week to have some major repairs done.  It is a really long story but the short version is that not long after we got the car a stone hit the radiator which caused it to overheat very badly.  It was fixed then and was fine for a while but the cylinder head must have been also damaged which has been causing loss of coolant.  Earlier this spring we started asking around for someone to borrow a car from while ours would be in the shop.  We weren't having much luck until last Thursday, when I asked our friend Cristi from church.  He said yes, he is taking a trip so we can use his car until ours is fixed.  That is an answer to much prayer.  Please pray for the issues to be found and for us to figure out the best way to fix it.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support, we are so glad to have you as partners in our ministry here in Romania!

Behind the Smile

Behind every smile is a story.  A story that often involves a lot of hurt and sadness.  

This week I was reminded again of how all the smiles can be deceiving.  Yes, the most of the kids are happy with us most of the time. But there is so much more...and I am going to share a bit of what life is really like for them.  Out of respect for the kids, the photos will not match the story.

I am abandoned.  I have living parents but I do not live with them.  Often when I call them they tell me that they will take me home for vacation but then they do not come.  Is it any wonder that I have emotional/behavior problems?

I have parents that I live with, but I go to the special needs school.  Well, I didn't go for several months because I didn't have any shoes.  The education that I receive is well below my ability level and gives me a very bleak outlook for my future.

I am in the 4th grade and still do not know all the letters.  I have not had the one on one attention I need to learn.  I bully the other kids and even punch them, it helps me not feel so bad about myself.

My mom took me home for the summer and then left me on the street to beg.  The authorities found me and put me back in the orphanage.  My sister is still out on the street, she is older and I wonder if she is selling her body to survive.

I am an adult now and have a job.  On the outside my life looks good.  On the inside, it depends on the day.  I do not regulate my emotions very well and often I choose to believe the lies.  I turn hard and push everyone out of my life.  I know I don't deserve to be loved and sometimes I don't let anyone in.

How can we deal with this?  Sometimes we simply don't and we end up on our knees crying and begging God to change things.  But I was reminded that God needs us to rely on him if he wants to use us.  If we are truly following after God, life will not be easy and we will go through many trials.  Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."  John 16:33

I am beginning to learn there is no better place to be than on my knees...

Easter Etc...

We had a change in our regular schedule because a dental team came.  The dentists and their families were hard workers and really blessed the kids!  We went with them to the orphanages in Bucuresti and had fun seeing kids we don't normally have the chance to see.

Face paint

Helping with the lamb crafts

The next week was spring break and we stayed in town to help with Steven, Haley, and Mariana's reading reward parties.  We had a lot of fun along with the kids!  We did an egg hunt, dyed eggs, played xbox games, made dinner and cookies, watched a movie, and hung out together.

Egg hunt (can you find the blue egg?)

Happy egg hunter

Got to love these kids!

Dying eggs

Here Ana is showing me her picture of us and Tyler from the dental team.  It was the first thing she did when she saw me, so sweet!

Mark and Florin boxing on the xbox, sore muscles ensued.

The traditional Easter Egg hunt with the graduates

The magnolia was blooming an egg!

We enjoyed the extra time we had to spend with our good friends Steven and Haley (and Talitha and Mariana).  Lets keep praying that the wonderful news of Easter comes alive and grows in these kids' hearts.

More Birthdays

We had the rest of the surprise birthday parties at the boys school.  It was fun to see their excitement for such a small celebration.  The kids enjoyed every part: the games, cupcakes, presents, and our presence.  The kids have also really grown attached to Tyler (intern)!

Getting turned around

Putting the candle on the cake

Trying to find Tyler

Success

Heads up 7 up

Cupcakes and presents

Gift bags

We also had our regular classes and I (Rebecca) made a book for reading class.

Looking at every letter

Tyler helping to sound out the word (in Romanian!)  Often time interns are more observers or need constant translating, but since Tyler learned some Romanian he could actually help the kids on his own.  He only has a few more days of his internship left, he will be missed!

Please remember to keep these kids and us in prayer.  The evil one wants nothing more than to destroy, and we see it in many ways.  In conflicts, in stubborn hearts, loosing focus of God and his will, the lack of justice, kids thinking they can never change, etc.  It is a battle and our precious kids are on the line and God is the only answer, the only hope.

Transition "Kids"

One thing we have not blogged about much is our work with the transition house young adults.  Every week we go to the boys transition house and teach english and some budgeting classes.  I thought it would be fun to play the price is right using prices from the grocery store.

Bogdan trying to find two items with the same price.

Florin deep in thought about the most expensive items.

Revealing the correct prices

The boys helping Mark sort out camping supplies.

Here we are with Elena.  If you remember back to 2008, we met her then and God used her to move forward his plan for us to come to Romania.  Elena has just had the opportunity to go to America to study at a University.  She left Wednesday and is staying with an awesome family.  Lets keep her in our prayers because this will be a time of adjustment!

Berki is a graduate from last year and works at a top salon in Bucharest.  He is still learning the tricks of the trade. 

 

The finished product, Berki did a great job!

Another thing we have been doing is a Bible study with Marius and the guys in his apartment (when they are home).  We are going through the book of John and have had some really good discussions.  You can join is in praying the God's word will enter his heart and that he will have true faith.