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!
3 comments:
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day but very muggy and hot! Quite different from your rainy days there. I hope it warms up for you but I don't necessarily wish it to be humid like it is here. :D We had mission trip meetings in the after noon and they went well. A prayer request is that we would be able to raise the funds that we need for both trips; we're still short by a lot of money so that's a huge request! We miss you like crazy and it seems impossible that you've already been there for 13 days! Wow. This week Courtney Crofoot leaves for Lake Ann so this is officially your small group's first week without an "official" small group leader. I'll be taking them until we break for the summer activities though so don't worry I'll try my best to keep them together and growing. The way you had communion sounds very interesting. I would love to see all that you are seeing but I will just have to wait until I can see all of your pictures! Sounds like you are having a great time and learning a lot too! I love the banana peel story! Very cute! So far there have been 4 babies born since you left: Lucy Nicole VanderKodde (Sadie), Elliana Kate Max (Katie), Noah .... Rivard (Ben & Kristy), and Selah Marie Rohne (Rachael "funk" Rohne). I think Ashley is the next one and she's not until July... :D fun fun! I hope you're having a great day! I miss you like crazy but I know that God has you in his hands and is using you like mad over there! Keep pressing on!
Lots of love and Prayers!
Buna fiica,
Christina is right it is humid here and today (Mon.)it may even get up to 90, can you believe it? How do you feel after your three hour hike? Any sore and stiff muscles? I am sure the monastery was beautiful as I am sure some of the building in Sigh are. Have you found the buildings that are in the picture on our screen saver at home yet?
I forgot to tell you that we almost had a house fire here last week. I had just put a load of clothes in the dryer when I smelt something burning. I quickly turned off the dryer and went and grabbed the fire extinguisher thinking I was going to have to save the day!!! I still don't know what happened, but believe something was burning inside of the dryer, dad hasn't looked at yet to see what happened. Luckly I was able to purchased a new clothes dryer for only $4 (clothes line and pins LOL) So guess I am experiencing a little of the Romania too. Dad strung the clothes line out on the front porch and I hung out three loads of wash out to dry including some tightie whites, so it's official we are rednecks!! Jake says he doesn't like it because his shirts are crunchy like chips!! I told him he has to use fabric softener and he said he doesn't use it to save us money, to which I said "can you imagine how much you are saving us by hanging your clothes outside to dry" to which he had no reply.
I have some sad news and a request for prayer. My cousin Mike (Aunt Phil's son) killed himself last week Friday. His memorial service is scheduled for this week Wed. Please keep the family in your prayers. He leaves behind a wife, daughter and step daughter and his sister Julie.
We continue to keep you and your family there in our prayers. May God bless you and your time there. We miss you and look forward to seeing you again. Stay safe and watch out for banana peels!
Dare to do great things!
Love, Mama
PS
The reason I was told that the praise and worship is not included with PC sermons is because of the cost involved with copyrights for the songs. It is very expensive!!
I can't believe all the babies being born. It's sad to think that Lucy will be almost three months when I see her. Same with Elliana (that is a cute name). And Becky will be having her in Sept. I'm glad it is the summer of babies and not weddings :)
No humidity and I hope it stays away.
Thanks Christina for watching over my girls, that means so much to me. I miss them so much. If you think about it give them all a hug from me, k.
I will be praying that the funds come in.
Mom,
I was fine after the hike. And no I haven't been able to find the exact spot. But I found some other ones.
Sorry to hear about your cousin that is very sad news to hear. I will try and remember them in prayer.
So about the laundry thing, i haven't done any laundry yet, does that surprise you? lol it is time though, one of my pairs of jeans needs it bad :)
Sad day on the worship thing. But I am thankful just to be able to get his sermons.
I am very tired :-/ we went on our first two home visits today, they went very well.
And I started typing my first bi-weekly report. It will probaly end up being 3-4 pages long.
But my eyes are hurting now because I have been looking at this screen for so long. I love both of you guys and hope you are doing well.
P.S.- Mom I tried to surprize you on Sunday with a phone call but could not get the thing figured out. I was really bummed.
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