Back in the States

What was awaiting me when I got home :) thanks mom and dad!







Pepene! Whenever I see a watermelon I will think of Tata!



So I have been back in the states for a week now. And it has been a little different to get use to again. I find myself answering my parents back in Romania :-) Or listening to a few select songs that whenever they are played will forever remind me of my summer spent in Romania. I have notice that I take a little longer to do things :-)

There have been a couple overwhelming experiences. For example the other day at church I was a little overwhelmed because for the past three months I had been attending a church where you were able to say Buna! to everyone if you liked and have a small conversation. Yesterday I felt there was just enough time for a hello and then a good bye. I was not a fan of that.

Driving again has been fine.

I went into Target the other day with Cherie and Joey. We went down the toy aisle that was a little overwhelming.

At my dad's work picnic, it was at Crag's cruisers and I pretty much inhaled four pieces of pizza. (not because I missed pizza, oh no I got my share of delicious pizza in Romania). It just tasted really good.

Pancakes were my first breakfast food upon arriving home. I took a picture of them because it reminded me of Romania and also because when I put the butter on it formed the shape of a heart. But unfortunately my camera decided it wanted to delete all the pictures I had on my camera at that time :-(

My mom asked me what I wanted for my first dinner home and I told her a huge salad with Feta cheese :-) She was expecting me to say pizza. So she was very shocked when I said a salad. But it tasted oh so good. I then also made a rap at Cherie's apartment with Feta cheese, it reminds me of some cheese in Romania. I also found out that we have Blood orange juice here in the states! At least someone said we did and that made me really excited because I tried it in Romania and fell in love with it.

It is fun to talk in Romanian every now and then I feel like I have my own secret language. And to have my mom try and pronounce some of the words is quite comical.

I'm thankful for the people God has placed in my life that are able to sit and listen for a moment about the life changing experience that God brought me on. I'm also thankful that Dorothy had Angie and I read the Cross Cultural learning book, because it prepared us for what to expect when we came back home.

I learned a lot about myself, about working with others and about how much work goes into starting a new program.

I will not forget those three months of my life spent in Romania. I can tell that it changed my life for the better and I will not forget the people I met on the Journey!

I will soon be closing that chapter of my life once all the little details of the program are worked out. And I have already started the new chapter in my life called "Looking for a Job, Meets Finishing My Last Year at University!"

Thank you to everyone who prayed for both Angie and I while we were in Romania. I could tell we were being lifted up in prayer. There was no way we could of done it on our own. I think we tried and failed :)

So thank you again for reading and going along with me on this journey!

C-A-M-P-I-N-G!!!

The program has been going well. Last week was one of our best weeks. On Monday we played with the bean bags we made the teens really enjoyed them. On Wednesday we made giant snowflakes. And on Thursday we put a cake together. The participates seemed to really enjoy it.

This wee has been a little harder but all in all it has been a learning experience.

Tomorrow after club Angie and I will meet up with the other 90 some people for Veritas Camp. Please pray for good weather (no rain but not to hot), wisdom among the leaders and spiritual growth among the campers.

With there only being three weeks or so left here in Romania Angie and myself are realizing how hard it will be to leave. We both would stay in a heart beat if it were not for school. Once you make friendships with the people here, the friendship is life long.


Hope everyone is well back home!
May God Bless you!

52 days in Romania and a Lifetime of Knowledge=Priceless!!!

This is a picture of the name tags that the volunteers and the teens made during our first meetings, two weeks ago.

The completion of this past week marks the completion of the first full week of our program being completed!

This week brought many ups and downs, challenges and joys. This whole experience has been such a learning experience in so many ways.

Two weeks ago we first began meeting with the teens. We met with two on Monday, two on Tuesday and finally two on Thursday. We did not want to meet with them all at once because we felt this would be to overwhelming for them.

This past week was the first week that we had all of the participants meet together for three days. Our program meets three days a week for two hours each time plus two days of therapy (equestrian and aquatic). During this time we try to have the teens participate in different social settings, physical activities and cognitive exercises.

There have been different hurdles to jump over to finally arrive at the place we are at now. With working with such a diverse group of disabilities it has been challenging but rewarding to try and plan out what the week will look like for the program.

A typical day in the program might look something like this. The day would begin with some reality orientation, which would include asking the teens what day of the week it is, what the date is, what the weather is like outside and so on. We would then move on to the letter that we were going to work on for that day. We are working through the Romanian alphabet (Little tid bit of knowledge the English alphabet has names for our letters and sounds, the Romanian alphabet just has sounds). During the letter exercise we may split the group up because the participants are not all at the same writing level.

So Angie would take a couple of the participants and work on tracing the letter to get a feel for how to write the letter correctly. I have the other group and on the first day we did the letter A. And we tried to come up with as many Romanian words that began with the letter A. This did not exclude me :) Then we tried to make up a store with those words, it was quite a funny story.

We usually do some stretches, starting at the head and working our way all the way down the body.

We might play a variety of games, one of their favorites is beat master.

Around 11 o' clock we do snack and during this time we work on table manners and serving others. For one of the days this past week we allowed the teens to make the snack. We made pudding. And it was so great to see the teens being independent and doing different tasks on their own.

We try to end everyday with asking the teens what was one thing they felt they did well today (so we all leave on a positive note).

We are trying to do equestrian therapy on Wednesdays and on Fridays (starting next Friday we will do some aquatic therapy/swimming lessons)!!!

The fact that we will be starting aquatic therapy next Friday is a blessing in it's self. The story below will explain.

So since the beginning of the summer we had the thought to do aquatic therapy. We were not sure where this might happen but we knew it needed to happen. There are a few pools in Sigh. a couple public pools and a couple hotels have them. Angie and I wanted to have an hour or so by our selfs with the volunteers in the pool with no one else. Dorothy seemed to think this was possible, we just needed to find the pool that was going to allow this to happen. The first pool that came to mind was at Hotel Corona. We mentioned this idea to one of the locals and they did not feel like it would be possible to use their pool because it is a very fancy hotel and they probally would not be interested in helping out a special needs club.

When we mentioned the idea to Petra she thought we were crazy as well but she also said 'why not, your participants should have just as much right to use the pool as anyone else'. She wanted to see if he would let us use the pool for free and to be ready with a price if he said no. We had a couple other pools in mind if this one did not work out. So Angie, Petra and I went to the Hotel on Thursday to talk with the owner. Angie and I allowed Petra to do all of the talking and much to our surprise the owner was not only very, very agreeable but he said we could use the pool for FREE for one hour in the morning on Friday. At first he said we could not use it on the weekend and then by the end of the conversation he even mentioned that we could use it on weekends!!! It was truely and answer to prayer and my hope it that even after Angie and I leave Veritas will still be able to keep this agreement going. Petra could not believe it herself. So we will begin on Friday with some aquatic therapy and see how it goes.


Some other events that have taken place:

This past Monday Angie and I lead staff devotions. We talk about the book of Ruth and the difference between Ruth and Noami's Character and how we can choose to be like one or the other when having to make a decision. It is always amazing how God gives you things in your own life that you can apply to a message you need to present to others. There were a few decisions that I needed to make this week and I thought about our devotion and who I would react like. My hope is that we have now fulfilled our devotions duties for the summer until the end of the summer when we will present what we have done as far as our program went.


Sighisara had their second annual film festival last week and Angie and I were able to attend two of the movies. It was definitely a cultural experience because the Romanians would laugh at a part and Angie and I could not understand what might of been funny. There were English subtitles for all of the movies. The last few days were rained out. The locals say it is very unusual how much rain Sigh. has been getting this summer. One person recalled how last summer was so hot with very little rain and then this summer has been nothing but rain and a few very hot sunny days.

It is hard to believe that Angie and myself will only be here for one more month exactly today. And it seems like there is so much that needs/could be done. Please pray for wisdom, guidance, strength, compassion and energy.

Time will really fly by from here on out because next week there will be a huge craft show which both Angie and I are looking forward to and hoping to get most of our gifts bought during this time :)

And then the week after that Veritas has their camp for the summer, which Angie and I have been helping to plan. And then after that there will only be two more weeks of the summer left.

Not enough time at all!!!

Happy 4th of July weekend!

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Happy Father's Day

Dear Dad,
Thank you for being YOU!
I love you and am grateful to have a father like you.
Thank you for always providing for us and waking up before the sun to go to work.
I hope one day I can find a man who works as hard as you but still has time to spend with family. I hope you have a wonderful father's day and even though we are far apart I hope you know how much I love you.

Love,
Your middle Child :)



What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,

He called it ... Dad

~~Author Unknown.~~



"A Man's children and his garden both reflect the
amount of weeding done during the growing season."
~~Author Unknown.~~

Disclaimer: *Some parts of this post may not be suited for those with queasy stomachs.

So at elderly club on Tuesday I was able to play doctor and take the blood pressure of the people who were there one lady even asked me if I was a doctor. And another day I was doing pretty good I asked one of the ladies if she would like chai (tea) or Coffee, she said tea so then I brought the sugars over to see which one she would like. And she pointed to the one she wanted and I asked her uni (one) or Duo (two) and she said duo. Well then she wanted to take her medicine and I figured she would want water, but in her sentence I never heard the word for water which is apa. So I asked her if she wanted apa plata, and she said nu (no), nu (no). So I went to ask David and Mia what she might be wanting and they said water and I said no she said no to water when I asked if that was what she wanted. Then they asked if she maybe wanted chai and I said no she already has some. So they came to talk to her and sure enough it was cold water that she wanted. We all had a good laugh over it. And I thanked Mia for allowing me to still come even though I mess things up. Another example was with another lady earlier in the week. Mia told me that this one lady likes half coffee, half chai. So I was thinking in the same cup (weird but everyone their own). I brought it to her and she took a drink and made a face that I will never forget. That told me I did something wrong. Turns out she wanted one cup half full of chai and a separate one half full of coffee. Needless to say I will not make that mistake again :) I felt a little like the Amilea Bedilea Books :)

So Angie and myself lead special needs club on Monday. We had a great time with the participants. I got out some play dough and worked on some fine motor skills with Alex. He tends to favor one hand so I kept encouraging him to use his other one. They all said that they had a really good time with us. We also played some sequence.

I was given the opportunity to go on another amazing day trip. This time it was with the support group of the parents who have teens and adults with special needs. I had a wonderful time. And was able to see more of God's wonderful creation. We went to one of the highest points in Romanian and I saw my first waterfall! I was also able to experience every type of weather from sunshine to snow to getting soaked to the bone on my walk home in the thunderstorm. Never before have I experienced that much variety in weather in one day.

We went to special needs club again on Thursday we played with play dough again for a little while. Then Angie taught them some English words and then we played pictionary. It was a grand old time. On Thursday Angie and I also went to Aerobics class with Anita and lets just say we got our butts kicked. It was a lot of fun and we got what we payed for. We did some moves that I had never done before in an exercise class and used the exercise balls and with some of the movements I felt like a seal :)

*On Friday Angie and I were hungry, so we decided to have a little afternoon snack so we had some cereal and cherries. I had a handful of the cherries and enjoyed them very much. Later that night we were finishing up our dinner when Timmy joined us and brought some more cherries out. I had noticed that Timmy was opening her cherries before eating them and all I thought was why is she doing that, she is going to get cherry juice all over her hands. Well, I found out why she was doing that and it was because she was checking for worms. By this point I had consumed a good handful or so. I definitely felt like throwing up after realizing what had just happened. After that we were trying to drawn them in water. I could not believe I had just consumed worms. Our conversation then turned to other types of insects such as leaches, ticks tape worm, meal worms and so on. Great dinner conversation :) I'm sure I will not eat another cherry for a while. Our mama told us that she went to buy some cherries from a guy and she asked him why they were so expensive and he said because there is no meat (worms) in them. :-P


The day has finally arrived. After much anticipation, planning and hard work we will officially begin the new program on Monday, please pray for guidance, energy and strength. We have a great group of volunteers and teens, it will be great to see them grow and learn new things. Three months is not nearly enough time, the time has gone so fast and I wish I could slow it down. I have been trying to take it all in and just live in the moment. My host sister Timmy tells me not to think about it which I try not to. But then when I spend time with the people and begin to see relationships forming I can't help but think about how hard it will be to say goodbye. But I will try not to think about that and make the rest of this month and next month the most that I can make it. Live all out and leave nothing on the table to have regrets about later.

I pray that the Jr. High mission trip went well! And that relationships were build and lives changed.


Much Love from Romania!

Hope you enjoy the pictures and video. Sorry that the video is on it's side, if you turn your computer side ways you will get the idea :)

Bucharest, Skype and Guest Groups

First off Happy Birthday to my dear friend Amber! I hope you have a wonderful day today on your birthday and may God bless you with many more.


This past weekend Angie and myself were able to attend a conference in Bucharest. The topic was how does God view people with disabilities and how can the church and its members reach out to this population.

We left Thursday after noon from Sigh. by train. It was a six hour ride which included beautiful scenery and time to catch up on reading.

Arriving in Bucharest was definitely a little culture shock for both Angie and I. For the past month or so we have been in a slower pace of life and then to arrive in the busy metropolis of Bucharest sent our heads spinning. I do not mind big cities but when you through in a different language that puts a new twist on things. We had the pleasure of staying with Magda and Hannah (her sweet, lovable fury companion). The fellowship with Magda was very encouraging and uplifting. The conference was great but both Angie and myself were happy to see the familiar scenes of Sigh. And to be greeted by hugs from our host family.

This past Sunday was also a new experience for both my (usa :) ) family and I, as we were able to use skype for the first time. Everyone was there but Jake. I think Joey was taking his place. Whoever invented skype is a genius and it just blows my mind how much we can do with technology now a days. It was good to talk to them and to see their faces. And be able to introduce y host family to them and the beautiful view from my bedroom window.

We had/have two guest groups here. One group was only here for two day and then they were off to another place in Romania. Angie and I were able to put our servant skills to use which we really enjoyed. The other group is a group of medical students who have been helping with the elderly club by checking their blood pressure, making sure they are on the right medication and so forth.

Today was hard for me and a little overwhelming. We had not had language class for about a week because of different things coming up and with being busy with many things I was not able to practice as much as I would of liked to. Things were not sticking. I ended up asking my teacher if she had anything that I could listen to audio-ably. We will talk more about it tomm.

We also had our meeting with our volunteers who will be helping us with the program. It went well. On Friday Angie and myself will lead staff devotions by sharing with the staff what we learned at the conference. You will see a summary of it below. On Friday we will also go to visit the place where they do the equestrian training, I'm really looking forward to that!

The conference was great. There was a group of people from the organization Joni and Friends. Some of the key topics included: barriers and obstacles in Romania for persons with disabilities, causes of different disabilities, how other religions view disabilities, how God views those with disabilities, demon position, healing, practical ways that the church can become involved.

When asked what the barriers are for people with disabilities in Romania are some of the things that people mentioned included buildings not being assessable, lack of programs, fear of rejection sometimes even in the family, shame, no documentation of disability.

One girl mentioned how the hardest thing was how she was rejected by her own mother when she left her at the hospital. She was always rejected and she really wondered why she was ever born.

Someone mentioned how people would keep their children isolated so they could not socialize with others and not develop completely.

What does it mean to have a disability? One definition is normality in a different dimension.

Some causes of disabilities here in Romania include accidents, birth defects, infections, immunization or lack of, effects of radiation, at birth when the child is pulled out of the mother by forceps, alcohol and neglect.

Some people still believe that persons with disabilities are cursed or have a disability because of their sin or their parents sin. The staff of Joni and friends made it perfectly clear that because of the new confident of Christ coming to die on the cross for our sin and became the curse for us there is no reason why persons with disabilities could be under a curse. Therefore no curse can come upon us if we are in Christ.

Disabilities are a result of the fall of man not because of one person's sin.

How does God view those with disabilities? Gen. 1:26-27 Everyone was created in God's image. We bare the image of God not only in our physical manner but more importantly in our inner person. People with disabilities are fearfully and wonderfully.

If disabilities were the result of one's sin we would all have disabilities. "For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God."

Many of the people at the conference were parents of children with disabilities or someone with a disability and they wondered if it was wrong to pray for healing. The bible clearly says to pray for the sick, and lay hands on the sick. The main point that Joni and Friends wanted to get across was not to become obsessed with praying over healing but to focus on the inner person and what the person can do in the here and now because God might not choose to heal the person on their time here on earth. So do not let the the focus of them not being healed stop them from doing great things for God's kingdom. When our priorities are not right we miss God's plan for our life.

A huge misconceptions: If people with disabilities had enough faith they would be healed.

The way you love someone with a disability is the same way you love anyone.

A short story...
One of the speakers of Joni and Friends was visiting this church with his wife. And during worship time this girl with down syndrome came over to him during the service several time and gave him and his wife a big bear hug. He went on to say that even though he may be able to think more quickly then her, her capacity to love far out weighted his. And he went on to say how that is his disability in life. So ask yourself what is your disability? And what do you have that you can give to persons with disabilities? We all have Jesus to give, do we not? The lies that we believe about ourselves begin to isolate us. It is required of you to be the person to reach out to the least.

A lot of times we want to get people straight before we bring them to Christ but he does not care how they come.



Here are a few practical ways the church and community can reach out to person's with disabilities.


Disability awareness Sunday: this would give the opportunity to prepare the hearts of the people of the community and educate them on different disabilities and how to interact with persons with disabilities.

Build a ramp day: just what it says find a place in your community that is not assessable and build a ramp.

Luke 14 Banquet: Luke 14:12-14- Then Jesus said to his host, " When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." So you would invite person's with disabilities and those without to join you for dinner and then allow a couple people with disabilities to share their testimonies.

Sports and Recreation Day: just what it sounds like but doing some adaptive sports ex:wheelchair basketball, goal ball, soccer and so forth.

Love gift distribution Day: find out the needs in your community and then meeting those needs.


Advocacy is the biggest. Help strengthen the voice for those who have disabilities.

If you are interested in learning more about the organization Joni and Friends their website is down below.
http://www.joniandfriends.org/


Love and Prayers to back home.

Trying to be a Light

I was very encouraged by P.C.'s message that I watched on Wednesday. It reminded me to be a light while I am here in Romania.

We went on our fourth home visit yesterday. It went well. We have been able to meet two of the potential teens that will be coming to the program this summer. Please pray that things work out with this program. I have been having not uplifting feelings from the beginning, only because I found out this is what I would be doing the first day I was here. So I've just been going along with it. I have not been able to as involved as I would like with the other programs and that has been hard. The other group that was here with us will be leaving tomm. So we will see how things change. I'm hoping to be able to work with the elderly club for the next couple of weeks before our program begins. I will also be able to work with the special needs club. I'm just really missing being involved in people's life's. So I would ask that you pray I have a good attitude.

I was given the opportunity this past Thursday to go on a day trip with the special needs club and I think after going on that is what has made me have the above feelings. When I was with them I was doing things that I love and having fun. I just want to be able to pour myself into the people's lives here and not have the worry in the back of my mind of all the things I need to get done. I do not want any regrets with this summer.

So back to the day outing it was a long drive (3 hours one way)to where we were going but when we got there it was well worth it. It was a lake that use to be a volcano. I told Dorothy that I wanted to build a house just up the road from the lake. And I believe my home in heaven might be quite similar to how this place looked. Pictures would not do it justice so I took video and have attached it so you could see. It wasn't that busy but all the noise you hear is from a school group that was there for a little while but for the most part it was just our group. We had lunch there and just stayed for a while. Thursday was also a pretty big day because it was the first day I was able to put my hair in little pig tails!!! One of the adults that went on the trip kept playing with them and told Eva they looked like paint brushes, that made me smile :oD Right before we were about to leave we took a group photo and one of the adults decided he would put his arm around me (not knowing any better) well my host father did not agree with this and told him to take is arm off and said something about me being his daughter :) Then there was another guy Alex who was kind of teasing my dad by pretending to put his arm around me to see what my dad's reaction would be. It was a wonderful trip. And again I wish I could speak more of their language.

I still have anxiety with going to language class. I dread going. There is seriously something wrong with my brain when it comes to trying to remember sounds and how to read words. I pray before I go that I will get better but I don't feel like I am and I get very frustrated with myself.

Dorothy is having us read this cross cultural book and it is very enlightening. Has some great points that open up my eyes to certain things.

We had dinner with the girls tonight that will be leaving tomm. it was hard to say goodbye to them. I will miss them greatly. When I look at my clock counter I do not feel like I have been here for 18 days, it has gone way to fast and will continue to go fast, which I'm not a fan of.

This past week I got a glimpse of what it would feel like to live with six other sisters and one bathroom. Lets just say it equals craziness :) Our youngest sister had to other friends spend the night and in the morning it was everyone for themselves when it came to bathroom time.

We had some great sister bonding time last night with our host sisters we were all in the kitchen doing the dishes and singing along to Michael Buble's "Just haven't met you yet." One of the fondest memories I will have and it was pretty appropriate seeing how we are all single. :) And then one of my sisters borrowed an article of my clothing and I borrowed a pair of another sisters jeans, because today was the first day we did laundry since leaving home (amazing I know) so I think that makes us officially sisters :)

Mom, the package arrived on Thursday but I was not able to get it yet, hopefully Monday. Thanks again for sending the extra things!

I hope all is well at home and that you enjoy the video.

Much Love and prayers from Romania :)

Nopte Buna

Sunshine how I love thee...

What has happened in the past few days...

We went to a near by village to teach a Sunday school lesson. Our story we chose was the conversion of Saul. We asked the story out first and then did a little game where one child was blind folded and the other had to lead him/her to try and find and object. It was again difficult because of the language barrier. As a craft we had the children think of what would be something that they would miss if they were blind and then draw it on a piece of paper. Many children decided to draw their house. It went very well. The kids were adorable :) But it was also heartbreaking to see the living conditions that they had to live in. It was here that I finally got the chance to kick around a football(soccer ball) with some kids. It felt great! As a snack we gave the children bananas and we told them to put the peels in the trash but as we were leaving we joked about following the banana peels to find the way out and sure enough there was a trail. :)

We went for a three hour hike yesterday in the rain to a Monastery. It was very much worth the walk because it was very beautiful. Their were preparing for people to come today to celebrate Pentecost. Dorothy told us about different historical parts and about the Orthodox religion. When we were inside I was overwhelmed with the beauty of all the paintings on the walls and ceilings. Dorothy said if someone wanted to paint the inside of an Monastery they needed to go to seminary, be a great painter and the priest had to approve you. And inside there were not a lot of sits and Dorothy said it was because people were expected to stand during the whole three hour service. And the few seats that were in there were meant for elderly and the sick. That was part of their discipline.

We took communion today at church and it was different from any other way I have ever taken it. Because today was the celebration of Pentecost we did communion. Up front was one glass with some juice in it and a loaf of unbroken bread. Roberta (the pastor) took the bread and broke it while reciting the scripture "this is my body..." I like the visualization of how they did it. My first thought when I only saw the one cup was 'are we all going to drink out of the same cup?' me being a germ a fobe when it comes to sharing drinks was not so kine on that idea :) but we went up in a line one by one, each breaking off a piece of bread dipping it in the glass and then eating it. It was different from any other way I had ever taken communion. But I liked how they had a real loaf of bread and they were able to break it in front of the congregation. I know it would take our church a while to do it that way. I was able to watch P.C.'s message on Lettuce Not on Friday. I would make one small suggest, to add the worship portion to the videos If anyone out there reading this has the power to make that happen I would be one happy camper :)

We have one more week with the other girls who are here. They only came for three weeks. Once they are gone it will be interesting to see how things change. Next week Angie and myself will be going on a few different home visits of teens who may potentially be in the program we will be starting this summer. We will also be checking out a couple other organizations who are already have different programs for teens with disabilities.

Our host sister made us Cheesecake today! It was delicious!

Today was the first day of sunshine with out any rain! It has been cloudy and rainy the past 4 or 5 days. The days have began to blend together. Angie, Rachael and I went for a Sunday stroll and photo date. Or as Rachael likes to say lets go pose. :)



As I'm writing this I think of everyone back at home and of my church family. It is about 11am your time so it makes me miss you all and church. I hope all is well!

One Week Anniversiry

I've been in Sighisoara for one week now. Time flys when you are trying to adjust to a new culture.

Yesterday Angie and I met with the directors to talk about the program we will be starting. I'm getting more excited to see how it will go. We had to put together a questionnaire that we will take with us to a few families that might want their teens to be enrolled in our program. Next week we will be going on home visits of the teens that may be in our program this summer. There are about 7-8 that might be interested. We need to find out more about their needs before we can fully develop the program. Angie had a vision to develop this program two years ago when she was last here. While here on her visit she notices a teenage boy sitting alone in the park who seemed to have a disability of some kind and it made her think what types of programs are provided for teens with disabilities. After brain storming over this program for the last two years God has brought her back to Romania to try and start a program. Between Angie (an education major), myself (Recreational Therapy major) and one of the Head staff members (social worker), we should be able to come up with a unique program that will hopefully benefit many teens with disabilities.

Mom, you would of been proud of me I ate mushrooms today :-/ I try almost everything once. And I'm finding there are very few things that I do not like.

I made my first purchase today at a store, I bought a yard of ribbon that is the colors of the Romanian flag.

We had our second language class today I was dreading going but it turned out to go fairly smoothly, much better then the first one. I try to use it as much as possible with others so it sticks in my brain. We got our first home work assignment today! I was excited about that and already have it completed.

Pedro, I see random kids kicking around a football (soccer ball) and get very close to running up and kicking the ball around with them. One of these times I will, when I do not have to be some where. I will just go walking around town looking for kids playing soccer :)

I went on a home visit to a families house near by. It was an eye opening experience. Being here has helped me realize what I take for granted back home.

Tomm. we will be traveling to another town where we will lead a Sunday school class by telling a story, playing a couple games, doing a craft and having a snack.

I went out for Pizza tonight with the girls from the other group that is here and our little sister. It was very good and I'm very full now. And one of the girls from our group knew someone else in the pizza place who was also from America. They had both worked at a camp together and now the they were here trying to start a foster care program. Pretty crazy it reminded me of the time that Cherie saw a girl from high school in Spain. What are the chances.

We were given two different books to read:
Romania-Out of the Gray
and
Cross Cultural Connections, on Fridays we will meet with another staff member to discuss the book. I'm enjoying this one much more.

Mark,
If you are reading this we have devotions with the staff on Fridays and they mentioned the Greek word for fellowship (Koinonia) I was like hey I learned about that in Klema class.

I am keeping the people I love back home in my prayers!
Miss you and GN

Language class

Today was our first day of sleeping in :)

Angie and I both went to the elderly club. Again very hard to communicate with the people. But we still had a good time.

We also had our first language class today. Which was very overwellming for me. I have a hard enough time trying to spell and read in English let along Romanian :) I know it will get easier with time. It was just a lot in an hour and fifteen minutes. We will have language classes monday, tuesday and thursday every week from now until middle of July. So Here is another Romanian work for you Buna Dimineata! (Good Morning) There is suppose to be a little symbol above the a in Buna and a little tail below the t in Dimineata.

Tonight we will work with the teens club, should be fun.

Angie received her luggage tonight (Saturday night)!
Yesterday was a very long day of just sitting. We did devotions with the rest of the Veritas staff. Then we went to the international cafe (inside the House on the Rocks)and sat and talked some more. Then we got to visit the directors house where you guessed it sat some more and watch a pretty deep movie. After that we were off to an organ concert. I was beat when I finally made it home.

On Saturday we were also able to help with the with the English camp reunion. It was so fun getting to know the students. I was talking with a small group of them and I asked if they liked soccer, and I was not ready for their responses. They had nothing but negative comment to say about it. I just laughed because I was beside myself and did not know what to say. They said they were more a fan of basketball.

We also took a trip to Narcissus Meadow & Corund (Cherie and Christina I found a little something for both of you here ;) )

And then Saturday night we went to Night of the Museums. Which is when all of the museums are free to go into. There are only three but it was still fun and we were able to go to the top of the clock tower. The rain cut the festivities short. Our baby sister was part of a little skit.

We went to church on Sunday which was good, the service is translated so we knew what they were saying. There was one song where we sang in English while the rest of the congregation sang in Romanian. giving us a little taste of what heaven will be like :)

Sunday Afternoon was full of lunch with the family, movies (Horten hears a who and rrrrrrrrrrrrr-Hungarian movie that we watched with English subtitles), chocolate chip cookies (which are a delicacy here, our family was in Heaven when they were eating them and it just goes to show how fun can become so boring to you when you have it so often) and card games.

Today we did devotions with the staff again. Then I was given the chance to sit in with the special needs club. I so badly just wanted to talk with them. I think that has been the hardest part about this experience is not being able to carry on a conversation. It makes you value non-verbals so much more and I do not think I have talked with my hands so much in my life :) my ta ta (host papa) does not speak very good English which is said because I would really like to get to know him better. I treasure the small conversation we are able to have. He is such a loving father to his girls, I enjoy watching them interact with each other. It makes my heart happy.

I was also able to help out with the teen club and I really enjoyed that.

We start language classes tomm. which I am happy about. Learning the language has been hard for me. I have a hard time pronouncing some things. But I want to learn so I am able to talk with my Ta Ta better and other people of Sighisoara. This experience has helped me realize how someone might feel who is visiting America for the first time.

I think of home when I look at my watch and try and think what everyone back some might be doing. Like yesterday I looked at my watch and everyone back at home would of just been going to first service at church and that kind of made me sad to think about. But I was on the church website and was able to watch some of P.C.'s messages so that made me happy that I will be able to still get a taste of home.

Amber know that I miss our bike rides.

My Junior High girls-I hope you are learning new things about Christ and that school is going well for you.

And my family I miss you bunches- this includes Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, and of course my familia (mom, dad, big sis, brother Pookie, Bob a lue, Chico, Mama Cita, Dot Dot, Zoey and I suppose Sadie too :)

I would say that Prayer requests would include God giving me the energy to do what I am suppose to do here. And wisdom with how best I can help the people of Romania.

If my readers have any prayer request feel free to post them and I will make sure to pray for them.

Love you all!


Romanian word for the day: Buna! Hello!

Delays, Dogs and Jet lag

After long months of preparation I am finally here in Romania. It still has not fully hit me and not sure when it will. I can say that a couple things I will not miss about traveling is the packing part and the security part at air ports :)

How the journey here went... it started with a long ride to Chi town with mom and dad. Once at O'hare I found out my flight would not be leaving until 10pm instead of 8. This was a bummer but things happen. The reason for the delay was because of the ash. I was nervous to go through security but everything went fine. I then was able to meet up with Angie. I believe we will get along very well this summer. You can tell she is passionate about the program we will be starting and has a love for the Romanian people.

On the flight I sat with an older lady who was on her was on vacation with her husband. And an Indian girl who had just graduated college and was returning home to get married. (She said there would be 5,000 people at her wedding! 5,000!) So we had good conversations together. Did sleep well, plus my TV or light didn't work :( so needless to say it was an even longer flight then what it seemed. Toward the end I felt like I was going crazy.

My ears were not bothered by the altitude which I was happy for :)Taking off was pretty fun with how fast you get going and landing is a little scary. But both my flights were fine.

It was an amazing view looking down on London, reminded me of a model rail road set. And seeing the cars drive on the opposite side of the road was a dead give away that I was no longer in Michigan.

Because of my flight in Chi town being delayed we (Angie and I) now had a six hour lay over in London. Right from the start this air port gave me trouble first off I almost left my jacket on the plane because I tucked it so far under the sit. So I ended up having to go back on the plane to get it. Then when we were going through security I put my stuff in the little bins and some how my passport fell between the rollers and into another bin. So I had to wait for someone to pull that bin. The security guard just shook his head because as he was checking me in I put some cash money in the bin and he told me to take it out if I didn't want to lose it. So now having to go back to claim my passport he gave me a hard time. All in fun of course.

We flew out of London at 6pm London time, reached Bucharest around 11pm (Romanian time) I sat next to a Romania business man and we talked on and off. It was kind of scary landing at night plus there was a storm so that made it a little tricky landing the plane. When it came time to get our luggage, Angie found out hers was lost. I felt bad because earlier I asked her if she had ever lost it and she said no. But it should arrive tomm.

We ended up staying with a family that night so we would not have to make the five hour drive to Sigh. Which I was very thankful for. I feel asleep within a couple minutes. It felt like some of the best sleep I had gotten in months.

So then today we hit the road for Sigh. We were able to stop at a castle and take a tour. It took 40 years for the castle to be built. It was so beautiful and overwhelming how much detail was put into the decorations.

We arrived here at our host families house around 7pm their time so around noon back at home. It was so wonderful to finally arrive. It has been a LONG two days, but the moment I met my family it was all worth it. They have three girls living at home still who all speak English very well. They were so welcoming, mama had made a pizza like dish and even though both Angie and I said we were not hungry we got to sample some :) Our host family has hosted well over 50 or so students so this is nothing new for them. They are currently remodeling their house, it looks very nice.

Some things that were surprising to me is how many stray dogs there are running around, they are everywhere you turn. Something that broke my heart was while we were driving through Bucharest a young man with a disability came up to our car and started singing trying to get money. Dorothy said that there are not many resources for people with disabilities so they must beg.


I have been able to shower and now feel ready for bed :) Need to get rest for the fun to begin.

I hope everyone is doing well back home. And know that I am thinking of you and miss you bunches. Until next time.

Ticket Bought!

Bought my ticket last Saturday! Made me feel like a grown up.
It is a done deal, Romania here I come ready or not :)

The Syllabus for my class I will be taking this Summer

Romanian Language and Culture 4 credits
Romanian Studies Program – Sighisoara
Summer

Course instructors: Elena Istrati, Dorothy Tarrant. Elena Istrati will teach the language classes and evaluate the student’s performance in class and on homework and tests. Dorothy Tarrant will coordinate the cultural aspects of the course, presenting material about Romanian history and culture, facilitating discussion of required readings, and arranging for field trips and guest speakers. Prof Tarrant will calculate overall grades for the course, in consultation with Ms Istrati.

Required texts:
Romana cu sau fara professor, by Liana Pop, Echinox, Cluj, Romania, revised edition 2003
The Hole in the Flag, by Andrei Codrescu, Morrow, New York, 1991 (out of print, on loan only.)
Out of the Gray, by Tim Crutcher, Beacon Hill Press, Kansas City, 1996 (out of print, on loan only)

Course objectives:
This course is designed to give students tools for communicating in their daily interactions with Romanians: talking to host families, carrying out service activities, shopping, traveling, etc. The class will emphasize conversational skills, although some reading and writing will be required as a reinforcement of the speaking and listening activities. By the end of the course students should be able to engage in simple conversation on a variety of topics – family, the weather, shopping, food, hobbies, travel, health and sickness, etc. They will be able to ask questions, make requests, and relate information in the past, present and future tenses.

The aspects of Romanian history and culture included in the course are chosen to enrich the students’ understanding of the people they are living, working and socializing with.

Class schedule:
After the first week, when class will be held every day, the language class will meet three times a week; the actual times being arranged to meet the students’ schedules. There will be additional weekly class meetings focusing various aspects of Romanian history and culture, illustrated with films and PowerPoint presentations Students prepare for these by reading historical materials, excerpts from Romanian Literature, etc. A number of field trips to places of historical and cultural interest will be arranged during the course of the summer, generally on weekends.


Requirements:

• Romanian Language
Students are expected to participate actively in language classes. They should prepare for each class by leaning material assigned for study and doing homework exercises. Practice outside of class is facilitated by the host family setting. Quizzes and comprehensive exams with both oral and written components will assess students’ developing proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading and writing Romanian.

• Romanian history and Culture
All students will read The Hole in the Flag, which gives a personal account of the events surrounding the 1989 Revolution, and write a reaction report to the book (outline attached). Other shorter readings will be assigned for reading and discussion.
Cultural reaction papers: Students will write 4 brief papers (400 – 500 words), on a number of events which give them insight into some aspect of Romanian culture or history – a family event (birthday, wedding, funeral), a holiday, a field trip, a film, a conversation with a Romanian, a class presentation. An outline for these cultural reaction papers is attached.


Topics to be covered in the history and culture classes will include a selection of the the following:
• The origins of the Romanian people and language
• The three Romanian states, Vallachia, Moldova and Transylvania
• The Middle Ages, feudal structures and outstanding leaders
• TheGermans of Transylvania (including those who founded Shaessburg - Sighisoara)
• Vlad the Impaler, a.k.a. Dracula – the facts and legends
• The unification of the three Romanian states
• The Romanian monarchy
• Romania in the two world wars
• The early Communist era
• The Ceausescu regime
• The “so-called revolution” of 1989
• Post-revolutionary Romania – the transition to a western style democracy – government, economics, education, social welfare
• The Orthodox Church, and other expressions of Christianity in Romania
• Romanian icon painting
• Some Romanian myths – “The Ewe Lamb” and “The Master Builder”
• Great names in Romanian Art and Music – Constantin Brancusi, Nicolae Grigorescu, George Enescu
• Contrasting cultural values: American or Romanian?
• The gypsies of Romania


Bibliography – recommended further reading:
Café Europa: life after communism, by Slavenka Draculic
How we survived communism and even laughed, by Slavenka Draculic
Facing East, by Frederica Mathewes-Green
Bury me Standing, by Isabela Fonseca
Balkan Ghosts, by Robert Kaplan
The Balkan Trilogy, by Olivia Manning
Transylvania and Beyond, by Dervla Murphy
Vlad III Dracula: the life and times of the historical Dracula, by Kurt Treptow
With Christ in Communist Prisons, by Richard Wurmbrand
The Pastor’s Wife, by Sabrina Wurmbrand
Martor (Witness): the eighties in Bucharest - Museum of the Romanian Peasant Anthropology Review, 2002

Films:
How we spent the end of the world, Catalin Mitulescu, 2006
Blessed be O prison, Nicolae Margineanu, 2003
4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, Cristian Mungiu, 2007
Architecture & Power, Nicolae Margineanu, 1993
New Eldorado, documentary about Rosia Montana, Tibor Kocsis, 2005
The Death of Mr Lazarescu, Cristi Puiu, 2006
Fortunes of War, BBC, 1987

Grades will be determined as follows:

RLC I:
Language Exams (written & oral): 100 points
Homework and class participation (language): 50 points
Cultural reaction papers (10 points each): 40 points
Report on Hole in the Flag 30 points
Other readings 30 points

A=235+ points; A-=225-234; B+=215-224; B=200-214; B-=185-199; C+=170-184; C=155-169


Guidelines for Book Reports:
These are not book reviews. You are to write about your reactions to each book. What emotions did you have while reading the book? What did you learn from the book that was helpful in understanding Romania? Have you been able to apply information gained from your reading to situations encountered or people met? Did you find yourself relating to the author’s presentation of Romanian life and people? What questions did the book raise for you? Have you had any opportunity to discuss the book (or the topics raised by the book) with Romanians? Did they share the author’s perspective, or disagree with his/her views. Would you recommend this book to others interested in learning about Romania, and why?
Your book reports should be 1,000 to 1,200 words.


Guidelines for Cultural Reaction Papers:
• Describe the event, or summarize the content of the conversation or presentation (for your later recall, it is important to record names, places).
• How did the Romanians (if any) present respond to the event?
• How did the response of any westerners present differ from the response of the Romanians (if at all)?
• What new insight did you gain into Romanian culture from participating in this event or listening to this person?
• Do you think this event will impact your life here, or even back home?
(350 to 500 words - 10 points per paper)

""The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.""
— Albert Einstein

Some encouragement to my single brothers and sisters in Christ, from someone I just met this weekend : )

Single Gift
How blessed you are, you single one,
Don't talk of care and woes.
You've got too much to be thankful for,
Oh what, you'd like to know.

It's no mistake, no misdirection
Of God's perfect plan
That you've not found your special lady
Or you, that certain man.

God loves you so and has much more
To give than you've ever received.
That He's giving His best to you right now,
You really must believe.

His best is Himself, do you have it in full
Or only a bit on the side.
No man can meet your needs like God,
Nor can a lovely bride.

If your life's not complete, you know that Jesus is
And your life He will fill
If you'll only put Him first each day
And live to do His will.

He's gifted you for undistracted
Devotion to the Lord.
There should be nothing that can interfere
With Him and prayer and the Word.


Unless you let down the guard of your heart
And let others take His place,
Then you'll lack joy and peace and hope
And not experience His grace.

So give your heart right back to God,
Let Him keep it safe for you.
And when its better than His best,
He'll make your one into two.

~Donna L. Mihura

The Pearl

In every oyster there lies the ability
to produce something rare.
Truth like a grain of sand will produce
the pearl that is hidden there.

Young woman you are often mocked and scorned
And told you never should have been born.
You want to run away, to hide your hurt.
Your heart is wounded, bleeding and torn.

God makes not mistakes
every life is special
every life is planned
Seeds can sprout in sand.

Open yourselves up to the Spirit of God
Grow in grace and maturity
Be what He wants you to be
Your beauty your strength lies deep within you.

Young woman, young girl,
open yourselves up to God
Allow Him to reveal your pearl.

- Sylvia Hannah

9 Things To Look For In A Godly Man

Puts the needs of others ahead of his own
Rejoices in his relationship w/ Christ
Maintains Proper Relationships
Refuses to jump ahead of Gods timing
Seeks to meet the practical needs of others
Stands For what is right
Follows through on his God given responsibilities
Understands the importance of feelings/emotions
Flees temptation to compromise

It's not my place to tell you what kind of woman to be, because I already think you're amazing, but here are just some things to keep in mind when striving for Christ's approval and glory:

Lady Of Reckless abandonment
Lady Of Diligence
Lady Of Faith
Lady Of Virtue
Lady Of Devotion
Lady Of Purity
Lady Of Security
Lady Of Contentment
Lady Of Conviction
Lady Of Patience


Rejoice in being Single today and ask God how can I glorify you today in what I do?

When someone asks you do you think you are called to singleness just reply with a smile "today I am" : ) Because today is all we are promised. Hope this is encouraging to singles who may read this!

Amy Carmichael December 16, 1867- January 18, 1951

Amy Beatrice (a.k.a. Wilson) Carmichael (December 16, 1867–January 18, 1951) was a Protestant Christian missionary in India, who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for fifty-six years without furlough and authored many books about the missionary work.

She was born in the small village of Millisle in Northern Ireland to devout Presbyterians, David and Catherine Carmichael and was the oldest of seven children. After her father's death, she was adopted and tutored by Robert Wilson, cofounder of the Keswick Convention. In many ways she was an unlikely candidate for missionary work. She suffered neuralgia, a disease of the nerves that made her whole body weak and achy and often put her in bed for weeks on end. It was at the Keswick Convention of 1887 that she heard Hudson Taylor speak about missionary life. Soon afterward, she became convinced of her calling to the same labour.

Initially Amy travelled to Japan for fifteen months, but she later found her lifelong vocation in India. She was commissioned by the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society. Much of her work was with young ladies, some of whom were saved from forced prostitution. The organization she founded was known as the Dohnavur Fellowship. Dohnavur is situated in Tamil Nadu, just thirty miles from the southern tip of India. Under her loving guidance, the fellowship would become a place of sanctuary for more than one thousand children who would otherwise have faced a bleak future. In an effort to respect Indian culture, members of the organization wore Indian dress and the children were given Indian names. She herself dressed in Indian clothes, dyed her skin with coffee, and often travelled long distances on India's hot, dusty roads to save just one child from suffering.

In 1931, Carmichael was badly injured in a fall, which left her bedridden much of the time until her death. Amy Carmichael died in India in 1951 at the age of 83. She asked that no stone be put over her grave; instead, the children she had cared for put a bird bath over it with the single inscription "Amma", which means mother in the Tamil.

Amy Carmichael's work also extended to the printed page. She was a prolific writer, producing thirty-five published books including His Thoughts Said . . . His Father Said (1951), If (1953), and Edges of His Ways (1955). Best known, perhaps, is an early historical account, Things as They Are: Mission Work in Southern India (1903).



Quotes by — Amy Carmichael

"Bare heights of loneliness...a wilderness whose burning winds sweep over glowing sands, what are they to HIM? Even there He can refresh us, even there He can renew us."

"Can we follow the Savior far, who have no wound or scar? "

"Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow, Thou art the Lord who soothed the furious sea, What matters beating wind and tossing billow If only we are in the boat with Thee? Hold us quiet through the age-long minute While Thou art silent and the wind is shrill : Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, are in it; Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?"

"I wish thy way. And when in me myself should rise, and long for something otherwise, Then Lord, take sword and spear And slay."

"Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is."

"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving."

"It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desires which He creates"

"We profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could. I don't wonder apostolic miracles have died. Apostolic living certainly has."

"Give me the Love that leads the way The Faith that nothing can dismay The Hope no disappointments tire The Passion that'll burn like fire Let me not sink to be a clod Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God"



BY AMY CARMICHAEL (many reprinted by Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, PA):

1895 From Sunrise Land
1901 From the Fight
1901 Raisins
1903 Things As They Are
1906 Overweights of Joy
1908 Beginning of a Story
1909 Lotus Buds
1914 Continuation of a Story
1916 Walker of Tinnevelly
1917 Made in the Pans
1918 Ponnammal: Her Story
1920 From the Forest
1921 Dohnavur Songs
1922 Nor Scrip
1922 Ragland, Spiritual Pioneer
1923 Tables in the Wilderness
1924 The Valley of Vision
1924 Mimosa
1926 Raj
1928 The Widow of the Jewels
1929 Meal in a Barrel
1932 Gold Cord
1933 Rose from Brier
1934 Ploughed Under
1935 Gold by Moonlight
1936 Toward Jerusalem
1937 Windows1938
1938 Figures of the True
1938 Pools and the Valley of Vision
1939 Kohila
1941 His Thoughts Said...His Father Said
1943 Though the Mountains Shake
1948 Before the Door Shuts
1950 This One Thing
1955 Edges of his Ways


Various compilations:

1982 Candles in the Dark
1982 Thou Givest…They Gather
1986 Learning From God
1991 You Are My Hiding Place
1992 Mountain Breezes
1993 Whispers of His Power
1996 A Very Present Help
1997 God's Missionary (revised edition)


ABOUT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AMY CARMICHAEL:

Elliot, Elizabeth, A Chance to Die: the Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael. Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell

Sabina Wurmbrand July 10, 1913- August 11, 2000

While many in today’s world speak of peace, for thousands in the church today, their world screams of a different word…persecution. These Christians suffer for no other reason than for following Jesus Christ. For the greater part of the 20th century, one woman devoted her life to speaking out for the underground church in Eastern Europe.

Sabin Oster Wurmbrand was born on July 10, 1913 in Czernowitz, a city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which became a part of Romania after WWI and part of the Ukraine after WWII. She was born into a Jewish family and the town where she grew up was an important educational and cultural hub for the Jewish faith.

She graduated from high school in Czernowitz and then studied languages at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1936, at the age of 23, Sabina met and married Richard Wurmbrand. While the couple was vacationing that year in the mountains of Romania, both Sabina and Richard were converted to the Christian faith.

Upon returning to their home in Bucharest, they joined the Anglican Mission Church. During occupation Romania during World War II, Sabina’s parents, two sisters, and one brother were killed in Nazi concentration camps and in the ensuing years the couple spent their time rescuing Jewish children from ghettos that they were forced to live in by the Nazi regime.

They also taught in bomb shelters and were arrested several times for underground Christian activities. After the war a million Russian troops poured into Romania, enabling the Communists to seize power. As the communists attempted to control the churches for their own purposes, Richard & Sabina Wurmbrand immediately began an effective “underground” ministry to their enslaved people and the invading Russian soldiers.

The Wurmbrands also traveled to Budapest, smuggling in goods and food that were needed by refugees living there. During her travels, Sabina actively spoke to the Russian occupation troops about the Christian faith. In 1946-47 she organized Christian camps for Romania’s religious leaders of all denominations and conducted street meetings with gatherings of up to 5,000 people. This was the beginnings of what would become “Voice of the Martyrs”, a missionary organization that she founded with her husband to help the persecuted church around the world.

So effective was the work of the Wurmbrands that Richard was eventually arrested in 1948 after which he spent a total of 14 years in Communist prisons, three of those years in solitary confinement, suffering much at the hands of his captors.

Not many women have had their faith tested like Sabina Wurmbrand. Though she suffered much sorrow and loss during the war and post-war years, she never gave up her faith. During Richard’s imprisonment, Sabina selflessly helped the persecuted church while struggling herself for survival for her and her young son. Sabina was eventually arrested and spent three years in Romanian slave labor camps and prisons, leaving her young son to live on the streets. After being released, she spent several years under house arrest.

The Communist leaders offered her freedom if she would divorce her husband and renounce her faith. She refused. They then told her that her husband died in prison. She would not believe the report and kept a hope alive that she would see her husband again someday.In 1964 Richard was released from prison returned home. He soon resumed his work. In 1965, the Wurmbrand family was ransomed from Romania for $10,000 and Richard was warned again not to preach.

The family traveled to Scandinavia and England before arriving in the United States, where Richard testified before the Senate in Washington, D.C. regarding his inhumane treatment in Communist prisons. His story and the stories of many thousands of persecuted Christians from behind the Iron and Bamboo Curtains were carried across the world in newspapers in USA, Europe, and Asia.For the rest of their lives, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand worked with “The Voice of the Martyrs” to serve the persecuted church around the world. Christians are persecuted and imprisoned in Vietnam, China, North Korea, Cuba, Laoas, and even still in the former Soviet Union. In the Middle East and in parts of Africa, Christians are threatened on a daily basis by radical Muslims.

Many Christians are killed each day….yes, even today. The Voice of the Martyrs strives to bring practical and spiritual assistance to them while making their voice heard.Sabina actively spoke to churches, groups, and conferences for 32 years after the founding of the ministry and accompanied her husband to testify at Congressional hearings on religious persecution.

She wrote her prison memoirs in a book “The Pastor’s Wife” which detailed her testimony and has been published in six languages. Sabin Oster Wurmbrand lived to be 87 years old. She died in California on August 11, 2000.

Richard Wurmbrand

Born March 24, 1909 Richard was the youngest of four boys, he was born in Bucharest into a Jewish family. He lived with his family in Istanbul for a short while; his father died when he was 9, and the Wurmbrands returned to Romania when he was 15.
As an adolescent, he was sent to study Marxism in Moscow, but returned clandestinely the following year. Pursued by Siguranta Statului (the secret police), he was arrested and held in Doftana prison. Wurmbrand subsequently renounced his political ideals.

He married Sabina Oster on October 26, 1936. Wurmbrand and his wife became believers of Christ in 1938 through the witness of Christian Wolfkes, a Romanian Christian carpenter. Wurmbrand was ordained twice - first as an Anglican, then, after World War II, as a Lutheran pastor.

In 1944, when the Soviet Union occupied Romania as the first step to establishing a communist regime, Wurmbrand began a ministry to his Romanian countrymen and to Red Army soldiers. When the government attempted to control churches, he immediately began an "underground" ministry to his people. He was arrested on February 29, 1948, while on his way to church services.

Wurmbrand, who passed through the penal facilities of Craiova, Gherla, the Danube-Black Sea Canal, Văcăreşti, Malmaison, Cluj, and ultimately Jilava, spent three years in solitary confinement. His wife, Sabina, was arrested in 1950 and spent three years at penal labour on the Canal.

Pastor Wurmbrand was released in 1956, after eight and a half years, and, although warned not to preach, resumed his work in the underground church. He was arrested again in 1959, and sentenced to 25 years. During his imprisonment, he was beaten and tortured.

Eventually, he was a recipient of an amnesty in 1964. Concerned with the possibility that Wurmbrand would be forced to undergo further imprisonment, the Norwegian Mission to the Jews and the Hebrew Christian Alliance negotiated with Communist authorities for his release from Romania for $10,000. He was convinced by underground church leaders to leave and become a voice for the persecuted church.

Wurmbrand traveled to Norway, England, and then the United States. In May 1966, he testified in Washington, D.C. before the US Senate's Internal Security Subcommittee. That testimony, in which he took off his shirt in front of TV cameras to show the scars of his torture, brought him to public attention. He became known as the "The Voice of the Underground Church", doing much to publicize the persecution of Christians in Communist countries. He compiled circumstantial evidence that Marx was a satanist.

From Richard's son Mihai Wurmbrand- The next day over 80 percent of the major newspapers in America had my father’s picture without his shirt, on their front page, with articles on what made this Lutheran minister take off his shirt and break the pro-leftist demonstration. Invitations poured in and Rev. Wurmbrand had to extend his stay in the United States by two months and return again twice for extended periods. Eventually we immigrated permanently to the United States.

In April 1967, the Wurmbrands formed Jesus To The Communist World (later renamed The Voice of the Martyrs), an interdenominational organization working initially with and for persecuted Christians in Communist countries, but later expanding its activities to help persecuted believers in other places, especially in the Muslim world. However, when in Namibia, and confronted with the case of Colin Winter, the Anglican Bishop of Namibia, who had supported African strikers and was eventually deported from Namibia by South Africa, Wurmbrand criticized the latter's anti-apartheid activism, and claimed resistance to communism was more important.

In 1990 Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand returned to Romania for the first time in 25 years. The Voice of the Martyrs opened a printing facility and bookstore in Bucharest. He engaged in preaching with local ministers of nearly all denominations. The Wurmbrands had one son, Mihai, now 70. Wurmbrand wrote 18 books in English and others in Romanian. His best-known book is entitled Tortured for Christ, released in 1967.

Pastor Wurmbrand died on February 17, 2001 in a hospital in Torrance, California. His last address was in Palos Verdes, California. In 2006, he was voted fifth among the greatest Romanians according to the Mari Români poll. His wife, Sabina, died August 11, 2000.

Books by Richard Wurmbrand
100 Prison Meditations
Alone With God: New Sermons from Solitary Confinement
Answer to Half a Million Letters
Christ On The Jewish Roads
From Suffering To Triumph!
From The Lips Of Children
If Prison Walls Could Speak
If That Were Christ, Would You Give Him Your Blanket?
In God's Underground
Jesus (Friend to Terrorists)
Marx & Satan
My Answer To The Moscow Atheists
My Correspondence With Jesus
Reaching Toward The Heights
The Oracles of God
The Overcomers
The Sweetest Song
The Total Blessing
Tortured for Christ-His worldwide bestseller, translated into more than 85 languages.
Victorious Faith
With God In Solitary Confinement

Roaming to Romania

So... again a lot has happened sence being on here last time.

But the biggest news is that I am working on going to Romania this coming Summer for my field work.

I will be working with an organization called Veritas. Veritas is located in Sighisoara, Transylvania a region of Romania. The mother language spoken there is Romanian.

By going on this trip it will open up a lot of "firsts" for me: my first time on an airplane, my first time out of the country, the first time Grand Valley's TR department will have ever sent anyone overseas for field work and the first time for Veritas to have a TR major enrolled in their program.

Why Romania? In 2005 I worked my first summer at Lake Ann Camp, that summer we sponsored a sister camp in Romania. We were shown a video of the camp and there was something inside of me that said "I need to go there". I had a burden on my heart for the people of Romania and I needed to find out why.

I knew the only way to find out was to visit, and it was during that video that I knew one day I would go to Romania. I began to do research to try and find out more about the country. This is when I found out about the turmoil the country had been through after being under communist rule until 1989. The majority of my research was on the high number of orphans. It broke my heart when I heard how so many children over there were not able to develop properly because there was no one there to hold and love them. To think that just being held by another human being makes a difference, it made me want to devote my life to loving these poor children
(sounds good right?!?).

Romania continued to be a burden on my heart which is why I think the thought of doing my field work over there came to mind. Doors kept opening and I just knew that it was suppose to happen. After speaking to another student about her trip to Romania I decided to apply through the same agency that she went through. And I was accepted!

I will be leaving May 1st and returning sometime in August. Not sure on the date because I want to travel other parts of Europe and maybe visit friends in Spain :)

The way I look at life is I have this one life to live (not the Soap Opera :oP), and I do not want to be sitting around when people need help. If I have the chance to go I want to go and see if I could potentially see myself living in Romania for a portion of my life/the rest of it.

After talking with the director of Veritas I found out the organization has never had someone from my major, which is exciting to me! This is another good reason why I need to go.

I want my life to count for something and at this stage in my life I feel lead to go to Romania and learn from the people and their culture.

The process is coming together, thanks to many caring people because of their donations of pop cans I have been able to buy my passport which was such a blessing. The pop cans continue to come in and I continue to thank God for everyone of them. I am also appling for a couple scholarships to try and cover the costs of the trip.
May can not come soon enough!!!

The process has been long/fun/tiresome/rewarding and through it all my support verse has been: Philippians 1:16 ~ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

So continue to pray, for Romania, Veritas, the people I will meet there, funding and safety. Thanks for reading and I will be using this more to communicate when I am over there. I made a pleade with a close friend that I will not be on facebook :) which I think will be great!

The process has been long/fun/tiresome/rewarding/exciting and through it all my support verse has been:

Philippians 1:16 ~ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God Bless!