A Picnic

You all may be wondering when in the world did that happen? after looking at the last post or maybe you are thinking I knew it all along and it sure took them long enough to get around to it but regardless your reaction we all know that God's plan and timing are perfect and Curtiss and I are working in the bounderies of his timing and discovering his plan for us.

Yesterday we went on what I guess you would call a date as last Sunday Curtiss asked me to go some where with him just for fun and I accepted at the time neither of us (especially not me) sure where we would go (not a good idea for just any one as it could get a little dangerous depending on who you go with but completely safe for me at least until Curtiss reads this;)

Eventually it was decided that we would go to the Eastern Europeon headquarters for Precept Ministries as it is a beautiful drive and there were a few questions about the books, that came from there, that we are using for the Bible studies that we are doing. And some where along the way we would stop for a picnic. The headquarters are located near a man made lake a couple hours away from here and so we thought that it would be nice to make it to the lake and eat somewhere where we could see the water. Once we got to the area we started driving around looking for the perfect place for a picnic, do to the fact that there are houses all around the one side and because there aren't very many places to park not even a shoulder on the side of the road we ended up driving most of the way around the lake before finding a little dirt road not heavily used where we could park the car in the ditch and eat in an orchard from which we could see the lake. We got the blanket out and I started getting the sandwich fixing from out of the cooler bag when I suddenly remembered something... we didn't have any bread! kind of an important element for sandwiches. We were suppose to stop somewhere along the way and get some but it had slipped both of our minds so we loaded everything back up in the car and headed back to the nearest village (only about a mile away, if that) as bread is a staple almost anywhere and especially in Romania it wasn't long until we found the little town store and got a loaf of bread then back to the orchard we went. This time we had more success making lunch as we now had all the necessary items and we had a great time sitting on a blanket in the sun eating turkey sandwiches, Lays potato chips, peaches and drinking Coke (at least I was Curtiss already drank his, he had water) a very Romanian meal don't you think? Anyway onto what you all are waiting for. After eating and while we were talking we discovered that both of us weren't going to use the terms boyfriend/girlfriend with out first consulting with or having the other do it first and that neither of us minded if the other did. So there you have it, it's really just that simple.

Precept Ministry headquarters was very nice and when we got there we met some one that the Archers knew who was there taking one of the courses and she needed a ride back to Hunedoara that day. She said that she had been planning on staying there until Friday but that she had gotten a call from her work and she was going to need to go in Friday morning and she had just finished praying asking the Lord how she was going to get home when we walked in the door, which I thought was cool. She was thrilled to meet me and the whole way home she would reach up and rub my arms or play with my hair, which I thought was funny. And that was our day for the most part the rest you will have to come up with on your own as I'm not sharing;) I'll just say it was great and Curtiss is already saying we need to plan our next one.

Allow me to Introduce...

My boyfriend

Weep with those that Weep and Rejoice with those that Rejoice

This is going to be an interesting post as I have very opposite things to report, one sad and one very happy. I'll start with the sad. Yesterday morning we got the news that the night before one of the guys from the village fell over dead (we think from a heart attack) while he was in front of his house chopping wood. I have never met them and the Archer's don't know them well either but we have been keeping up with what is happening, small village life everybody knows what everybody else is doing. He was only in his mid thirties and he leaves a wife and child. We were told yesterday that his little girl (she's about 5) hasn't been told anything about what is happening or that her daddy isn't ever coming back. The family is a very Orthodox family and they believe that the only way a person can be saved is if the people that are still living do things for the dead like how the funeral is done, lighting candles, ringing church bells and paying the priest. I don't know exactly how funerals work here but I do know that right now the family has the body in their home and people are going over there and sitting with them, the actual funeral is tomorrow sometime so the body will have been dead for over three days by the time it is burried. The whole thing is just so sad to me, please join me in praying that this loss will make the others become dissatisfied with the emptiness of what they have and that they will start to look for the truth, for Jesus.

Now for more happy, exciting news. Please join the Archers as they welcome Nathaniel Curtiss Archer into the world. Daniel and Whitney Archer (the Archer's oldest son) are now the proud parents of an 8lb 3oz 20in baby boy. Whitney is doing well and both mother and baby are healthy. It is so much fun to see the excitement as Grandma and Grandpa celebrate, they have gotten to see a couple of pictures and they are definitely very proud. They are very thankful for Internet that allows them to get the news so quickly that he is here and doing well and can even see him.
Well, I think that about wraps it up, this was definitly a most interesting post to write, it is an amazing thing that one family can be grieving and the other rejoicing over the loss or gain of life and we as christians can (and should) feel for both even though what they are going through is so vastly different. Our god is awesome.

Pictures

I thought that you all might enjoy some pictures,
hopefully it won't take all day to upload these
I resized them so it should be good. Enjoy!


Here I am napping in the garden


deflating my bed :)


The first baked goods that I made in Romania

The cake that we were served we all got a piece this size

Rachel (Rahela) and me

The roses that one of the English students brought to us

and that I got to arrange

Eat, Sleep and Drink Coffee

Yesterday we were invited to go and have a picnic at the Simion's garden, it was my second time going there as I went there last year when here with Susan. It was the perfect day for it as it was a little bit too warm to be comfortable in the sun but under the trees with the breeze blowing it was very pleasant. Mr John met us at the gate when we pulled up and asked me how I was to which I tried to answer him in Romanian but I don't really understand which word for "good" is used when as near as I can figure it there are at least three different ways to say it. But he understood what I meant and after asking whether Curtiss was a good driver or not he ushered us into the garden. They already had the fire going and the food frying (not that they would've let us help anyway) and after saying hi to Mrs Simion and their daughters mother in law who was also there we were told to sit down. They started us out with appetizers, sliced meat (like a salami) cheese, cucumbers and a fish egg spread that they put on bread. I must admit that I had never had fish eggs before and I was kind of glad that I had already taken a bite before I knew what it was as it would've been harder to take the first bite otherwise but it really wasn't bad and if you think about it what is the difference between eggs from fish or chickens? I ate as little of the appetizers as I could as I had gotten a glimpse of the pan of fried potatoes, there was more then last year when we had to eat them all, also I saw the pan of mici (meech, Romanian sausage) and knew that I was going to get a plate full. Mr John tries to get me to eat just as much as he possibly can and I on the other hand try to avoid most of the food that he tries to get me to eat, so it is most amusing, whenever we get together, for everyone else to watch our maneuverings to see who conquers who, and yesterday was no exception. They filled our plates down by the fires (there is no go through the line and take as much or as little as you'd like here) and brought them to us, a soup bowl full of potatoes with the meat on top. I ate about half of it and gave the rest to Curtiss (who I think felt very full for the rest of the day) after my plate was empty Mr John tried to get me to take more food and I said no that I was full so he reached over and took some of the salami and cheese and put it on my plate, I let him do it (I think he was surprised that I wasn't fighting him) and then I took my plate and put it in front of him, he good naturedly ate what he had put there but said that it wouldn't have made me any fuller to have eated them as you would just take two bites and it would be gone, that I think depends on who is taking the bites:) After eating comes coffee and I of course got a cup (thankfully I got to put a extra spoonful of sugar in it and it went down the easiest of any cup yet;) and Mr John told me to drink up as there was digging to do in the garden, so after finishing my cup I asked him where I was suppose to start digging and he said over there on the far side where the corn is, start there and work your way across the whole garden, there are hoes in the shed. So I went and got a hoe wondering how far he was going to let me go, I got the hoe and was on my way to the corn when he called me to come and when I got there he said he was going to teach me how to use it so he took it in his hand and held it out in the air and took my arm and turned me around like he was going to paddle me and told me that if I didn't go and sit down he would show me how it was used;) While all of this was going on he had been busy blowing up a inflatable flat beach tube that after he was done he lay on the ground next to some mats that they already had laid out and called me and everyone else over so that we could lay on them. That was a first for me to go and over to some ones elses place and have them bed you down after feeding you. So we all lay there resting and chatting while Mr John continued to work, cleaning the cooking pots and picking raspberries that we were suppose to eat. After spending most of the day there doing absolutely nothing but eating and resting it was time to go, as the Simion's garden is a couple of miles from their home we gave Mrs Simion and the other lady whos name I don't know a ride back into the city (Mr John rides his bike there and back almost daily) and of course we had to come into their house and have some juice and cookies. While we were there the Simion's son came in (who they had earlier offered to let me marry if I wanted to) and after shaking hands he asked me how old I was after answering him he went into another room and we didn't see him again (we weren't sure if I scared him or if I was too young so there was no use hanging around) By this time it was after six and we had a few groceries to get so we headed out the door, on the way out Mr John tried to get me to take the last cookie saying "one more just one more" and I told him that I had already had one but he instisted and finally he picked it up and set in on the top of my shirt so that if I hadn't grabbed it it would've gone right down my shirt. So the moral of the story is when around Mr John wear turtle necks :)