Snow bound... again!

Unexpectedly, after a few warm days, major snow is upon us. In the past day or so, we received about 10'' of snow, the heavy and wet kind. Fortunately, the roads are not too crippled. The girls prayed last night that there will not be any school today and their prayer was answered.

On days like these, when we can spend time with friends, we're reminded of how the Lord answered another prayer of ours. Before we left for Romania, we prayed that our girls would be able to make new friends here to help with adjusting to a new country and a new culture. Both Daniela and Lexi made new friends within walking distance from our apartment, and have been able to spend some time together this past week as we on the other hand feverishly tried to finish the unpacking of boxes.

Thankfully, our home looks a bit more livable now as we've been able to get rid of most boxes. Actually, even amidst our unpacking we've been fortunate to host several of our visiting friends. Our prayer is that we'll be able to use our home as a ministry center for God's glory.

During this upcoming week, Catalin will be meeting with the leadership of the mission clinic to help lay out a strategy plan for the year ahead. Our desire is to be able to provide not only a sustainable outreach effort in terms of socio-economic medical assistance, but to also develop new standards in providing healthcare to the population at large, standards which, we hope, will be exported to other medical clinics. At the same time, we hope to begin a more coordinated effort in reaching out to medical students.

Given that we've been unable to receive a visa yet, this Friday we'll have to go to Bulgaria for the day so we can renew our tourist visa. Please pray for a safe trip!

Leaving you in His hands...

Though the center of the town is clean and asphalted, some of the suburbs are in disrepair. Unpaved street such as this one are slowly replaced, which is why horses rather than cars are still a better choice here.

Horse-drawn carriages are still visible around the outskirts of Bucharest and still popular in the countryside. With low CO2 emissions and low maintenance, these vehicles are a serious alternative to the otherwise-poluting national vehicle - Dacia.

Home sweet home - house without 'stuff' is no better than a holding cell. Our 'stuff' has finally arrived, three months later... Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah!

More celebrating...

Naomi's birthday party, celebrating with friends.

Naomi's birthday - turning one year old today.

It is here!!!

Our container has finally arrived! Exactly three months after we shipped it from Arizona, after circling the globe from Israel to China, it has now arrived to Romania. In fact, as we type this note, we're sitting on our furniture. Does it ever feel good!?!

When we received word the container has been shipped to Bucharest from the port city of Constanţa, we were also informed the seal had been broken in transit and possibly the container broken into. As we met with a crew of ten government authorities, from police to customs to railroad representatives, and opened the container with everyone present, it became evident some things were missing. Unfortunately, because of the time of the day, the customs people informed us that taking an inventory of the container would not be possible until over the weekend, this meaning that the container had to wait in the customs receiving area. We declined having the container wait there over the weekend as we didn't know what else might disappear.

Upon unloading the container in our apartment, we realized what the missing items were: an end table, a rocking chair, an office chair, and... our brand new BBQ. And, yes, a box of Naomi's diapers and a 20-lb bag of dog food!

'Til later.

-C

"Close the door firmly"

This morning, as we left the building, we noticed a new note posted on the door downstairs. It read "Please make sure door is closed firmly." The note was both in Romanian and English - a thoughtful extra from the anonymous poster. While for security reasons it makes perfect sense to not allow unwanted individuals in the building, the ultimate fear is of Rroma (Gypsies).

Though in much lesser numbers than in years past, Gypsies are still a sizeable minority in Romania. There are many types of gypsies - some have become mainstream while others have maintained their own cultural identity. Even those in the mainstream are easily identifiable, often by their colorful language, facial features, etc. But it is the traditional gypsies most people fear and denigrate. Just this past week as I've visited one of the major hospitals in the city, I noticed a rather large group of gypsies camped outside the main ER entrance, while a smaller group was pushing their way into the hospital, though unsuccessfully because they could not get passed the guards. I went there three times this past week and I noticed their presence every time. Daniela and Lexi accompanied me on Friday, as we stopped by after picking them up from school, and I could not help but become rather cautious and protective of them when we went passed them. But then I realized what major cultural baggage I carry that stands in the way of effectively making Christ known to this minority. Thankfully, we've met missionaries in Bucharest who are here to minister to the volatile Gypsi community. And this exactly is why it is the entire Church that has been given the task of making Christ known to anyone and all. When and where we can't go, there are others who will do it. When and where you can't go, we are going to fulfill that purpose.


Speaking of the major hospital that I visited several times this past week, this was trully quite an experience. As I walked the hallways of the hospital, I was passed by rolling gurneys with people laying on them, some dressed, some unconscious and half-dressed, some moaning in pain, some possibly gone. This being an emergency hospital, the hallways were packed with people. Many were visiting family members and were bringing the necessary: food, water, clothing, medication, bathing supplies, etc. Hospitals in Romania are terribly underbudgeted and cannot afford luxuries such as gowns, extra medication, toilet paper, or drinking liquids. These are brought in by the patient's family. This particular hospital must have undergone a renovation in recent years as half of it was modernized and half was not. Modernized in the sense that tiles covered the walls instead of pealing paint, it had new doors and windows, and a new elevator. There are no private rooms, only wards hosting up to 15 individuals. Between beds there is a distance of not more than two feet, exactly enough space for an individual bedside stand with drawers to put in the food received from home and a change of clothes. Sitting up at the side of these army field beds would most certainly cause someone to bump knees against the neighbor's bed.

- C

Hip Hip Hooray!...Our container's on its way!! That's right, we received the go-ahead for our container to board the train in Constanza (the port city in Romania) and arrive in Bucharest by next week. After traversing the city several times and speaking to numerous customs officials the latest information we've received confirms that we have all the paperwork in order and we WON'T need to wait for our visas in order to obtain our container. Could we please get that in writing?!! Hopefully they won't change their minds by next week! Especially since our application for a visa was just denied AGAIN!! The gal who is helping us with this whole process was dumbfounded. She said she'd never seen the visa denied twice! So we're getting the feeling that they don't really want us here....at least SOMEONE doesn't want us here! Well they can't get rid of us that easy. We have 90 days that we can remain in the country without a visa. If we don't get the visa before then we will need to cross the border into Bulgaria, have our passports stamped, re-enter Romania and then we'll have another 90 days to try again for our visas.

One may wondering why the double denial. When we first applied for the visa, a Christian clinic sponsored our application but the very fact that it was a clinic rather than a church, and even though it was also registered for religious activities with the Ministry of Cults (a.k.a. Ministry of Religious Denominations), the request was quickly denied and we were asked to re-direct our request to the Ministry of Health. Knowing that the Ministry of Health only gives 6-month visas, we obtained a second sponsorship from the International Church in Bucharest and resubmitted. Unfortunately, the person remembered our name and denied it again. So, we thought, why not go talk to him in person. We explained what we are about to do, we invoked the support of the clinic and the church, and we argued that our activities are spiritually-rooted. But to no success. At one point he said that he could not approve the visa on the base of the letter from the International Church because 'they (the ministry of cults) did not really know what this church is about and if they were respectable (even though they were approved by this very Ministry).

Needless to say, the man turned out to be an arrogant bureaucrat with a contemptous attitude who could care less if any good was being done in the country. His demeanor brought to mind memories of the die-hard communists that once roamed free about the country, and of whom few survive to this day.

So, what's the next step? We're now going to try to obtain a letter of sponsorship from a larger denomination. Our motto is Jehovah Jireh - HE will provide!

Naomi will be one year old this month.

The Popa girls

Cabinet intruder

Learning patience

As we wait and wait for the arrival of our container and for all the proper papers to be processed and accepted by customs, I often wonder if we really need all that "stuff".  We've lived for 2 1/2 months without it and now I can't remember half of what we own.  Amazing how the things you think you can't live without become lost in memory after only a couple months.  Nevertheless, it WILL be nice to sit on a couch rather than the floor and to sleep in a REAL bed!  I think it will be a little like Christmas as we unpack boxes and are reminded of all the "stuff" we just can't live without!  A life application lesson that the whole family will hopefully not be soon to forget!

 

The snow is melting a little each day and with it the anticipation that I will soon be able to take Naomi for walks in her stroller.  You see the snow has prevented us from exploring our new neighborhood as it nearly impossible to maneuver a stroller through the snow-packed roads.  Naomi and I are home alone on most weekdays as Catalin takes the girls to school in the morning and then is busy with visa applications, gathering all the necessary paperwork, attempting to secure our container and arranging all the details associated with its transport to Bucharest.  He is also spending as much time as possible at the medical clinic where he is hoping to provide administrative assistance.  So Naomi and I have been spending a lot of time at home.  At times I feel like a prisoner as my independence as I know it to be (i.e. wheels and the freedom to go...) have been stripped and I am forced to become independent in other ways.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not writing this for you to feel sorry for me, I'm just expressing my feelings.  I'm trying to take the opportunity to meet my neighbors as much as I can.  I've met several people from various floors of the building.  Some meetings have been nothing more than a "good day" (buna ziua) while others have spoken some English with me as word gets around quickly that an American family lives here.  Everyone has been quite friendly so I am hopeful that friendships can be formed the longer we live here. 

I am also having an interesting time cooking.  I say "interesting" because I seem to be learning something new about the food here each time I cook (or try to cook)!  For example, I bought ground beef to make spaghetti but was very disappointed as we gnawed our way through the meal.  It wasn't ground the "American way" and was therefore so tough that I ended up throwing it out.  I hate throwing away food but everything I tried to do to remedy the toughness just made it taste worse.  So you can understand my elation when shopping at a small "supermarket" I spotted what looked like "American ground beef".  I had to try it!  And to my delight it cooked up and tasted the way I expected it to.  Wow, I was thrilled....it doesn't take much these days!  Then there's cheese....you have never seen so much cheese in your life!  But as I roam the isles of wall-to-wall cheese I see no hint of cheddar.  So what will my kids actually eat?  Thankfully they like Feta cheese because there are about 50 different kinds of Feta (I may be exaggerating just a little, but there are LOTS of different kinds)!  Well, you get the idea.  Shopping is a cultural experience in itself.  Not only does everything look different but at some shops you have to fight the crowds just to manipulate your cart down the isle.  No kidding....I was pushing my cart down an isle and seeing some items that I needed to my left I contemplated releasing my grip on my cart in order to grab the items off the shelf.  But as if I was caught in the river rapids I knew that if I let go of my cart I would cause a traffic jam so I planned to go with "the flow" and then at the end of the isle turn around and come back the other way.  My plan almost worked but I was cut-off by some employees of the store who were using an inopportune time to restock the shelves.  I was forced to turn around again and never did find my way back to that isle for my needed purchases.  Ugh!  I'll try again next time! 

 

So in all my frustration I'm attempting to maintain an attitude of gratitude.  After all, I DO have so much to be thankful for.  I'm thankful that I have the option to buy the food I need for my family, thankful for a car to transport the groceries, thankful for a warm home and a new refrigerator in which to put them.  I am reminded of the verse in Philippians 3:19 which says, "And my God will supply all your needs according His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  God continues to supply our daily needs, and He even throws in a few "wants".... perhaps just to put a smile on my face and remind me that He is there even in my frustration. :-)

 

Shannon