WE'RE HOME!!!

Just as the bells were chiming telling everyone it was noon on Monday, the Blue Moose came roaring into town telling everyone that we were home. We all had a blast in our two and a half weeks of fun. I have over two hundred pictures on my camera, a lot of which are of "The Little Man," Jesse. I got to spend some good quality time with my Dad, Mom, my brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew. I read almost ten books. After four nights on the bus I figured out I can sleep almost anywhere! ;) Over all it was a wonderful vacation. We are all glad to be home in our own beds though. God proved himself strong through our whole vacation, and I would just like to say a big thank you to him for getting us to our destinations and home again safely. Here are a few pictures of our vacation, I hope you enjoy. (Joanna, I hope it won't take forever for you to load this page with your slow connection, just let me know if you have problems and I will take some of the pictures off.)

One of Jesse's favorite games is to say "AAAAA" really loud and have us all yell right back, he always gives us really big grins!

After the bus broke down we were all pretty tired, here is Isaiah proving that we can sleep anywhere. ;)

Looks like Cabela's doesn't it? Well, it isn't, it is Trina's uncles living room. It is one of the most impressive living rooms I have ever seen. In this picture it looks really crowded, but in real life it doesn't look crowded at all. It must be my camera that crowded it altogether like that. ;)

This is everyone stuffed in a little corner in Starbucks chatting with Joanna. Everyone looked at us really weird, and we even had a lady come up and tell us that nothing was that interesting, we all said, "Yes, there is!" Joanna I thought you would really enjoy this picture.

On the bus with a few extra kids, they all sat on the back bunks waving and yelling at people and cars that we went by.

Hosanna isn't she the cutest. This ones for you Sarah. ;)

The night we left we all went out for ice cream. Nineteen of us rushed out of the bus and into a little ice cream shop ten minutes before they closed. The poor workers thought they were going to have an early night until they saw the Blue Moose!

Trina was really enjoying her chocolate milkshake, can't you tell?

This is a picture of me and my hairstylist Gracie. If anyone wants their hair done too, I can give you her number. ;)

This is a picture of Jesse which I have titled; "The Weary Traveler"

I can just hear him saying, " I can't believe the bus broke down again."

I still have many more cute pictures of Jesse, I told you I took a lot of him! :)

"Look at all the windmills!"

On the way from Iowa to Wisconsin we passed hundreds probably thousands of these windmills, out of many pictures this is my favorite one of the windmills, and I thought it an appropriate ending to a vacation post. Riding off into the sunset, looking for our next adventure in the Blue Moose.

Obedience is the very best way...

I thought that I would take this time to share with you what the Lord has been teaching me recently. I suppose that you would call me a goal oriented person, if I have some where to go or something to do I like to go and do it and not leave it for later, which in most cases I would say is a good thing but when it comes to life and the process of God's work in me it can be frustrating.
I mean if I'm on A and the ultimate goal is Z then lets get through all the other letters as fast as we can so that we finish. That is not God's idea though, he has all those other letters in there for a reason and they are just as important to him as A and Z are.
I was reminded of this truth the other day while reading "My Utmost for his Highest" in my devotions. Oswald Chambers says, "We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.
What is my dream of God's purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. If we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious."
So let me encourage you that no matter what you are going through to give it to him and let him lead you as he wills. Stop and enjoy the process of life and don't always want to rush ahead and get onto the next thing. Well that what I have been learning, I hope that it helps you as much as it did me.

A Post From Curtiss

Joanna's first Romanian Hamburger.

Joanna hadn't eaten since breakfast. I think she was either enjoying it or just really hungry.

I sometimes have the knack for taking pictures when one least expects it.

Just in case anyone wants to try out the same culinary delight.

Click Here:

A Drive to Cluj

Hello everyone! No I haven't disapeared or forgotten you but my days have been full of everyday happenings that I have already told you about but now I have a subject worthy of a post;) I believe I have told all of you about Sora Aneta, one of the ladies in the church here, she has a daughter that due to a sickness as a baby has lived most of her life deaf. A while back she had the opportunity of trying some one elses hearing aid and was able to hear and yesterday Curtiss and I had the opportunity of taking her and Sora Aneta (and another guy who happens to have a daughter who works in the clinic, is the one who had Mina try his hearing aids and due to these things knew how to get where we were going;) to the city of Cluj (a three to four hour drive depending on traffic and what you are driving) where there is a clinic that tests and makes hearing aids. We left here a few minutes to eight yesterday morning and since it has been rather rainy here and since the forcast called for rain all day we were loaded with umbrellas, rain coats of various sizes and descriptions and a change of clothes in case all else failed. The trip out was uneventful with only one stop for gas and a pepsi for the driver, the conversation a mix of Romanian and English. We arrived on the out skirts of the city after only three hours drive and proceeded to make our way to the clinic, and once we got there had to find some where to park which proved harder then it usually is in any of the other cities I have been to here (probably because it is the biggest) eventually we found a parking garage which we scared the Romanians by parking in it as they had never even heard of such a thing let alone use one, it was so funny to listen to them, even I who really can't understand a word that they say knew exactly what was going on and that they were doing some thing that was completely new for them. After that it was off to the clinic which is actually a large hospital for diagnosis and treatment of all kinds of things, at least that is what it said on the sign. Once inside we all made our way to the bathrooms where there was no toilet seat, toilet paper, running water or soap (which I guess would be useless without water) but it met the need and I can't complain since I had some tissues and hand cleaner in my purse (Curtiss said that the most important thing you can have in Romania besides your passport is hand cleaner;) By now it was almost noon and Curtiss and I were getting hungry so we exchanged phone numbers so that they could call us when they were done and we went in search of a restaurant. Now in Romania it is not an easy matter to find some place to eat in a city that you have never been in before in a country where eating places aren't plentiful in the first place and the local people tell you not to eat any where that hasn't been recommended to you by some one you trust. Now when you are in a foreign city there is no one around that you trust to recommend some place and so we just started walking to see what we could find. Scary you might say but definitely invigorating:) (I think I should mention here that all the preparation we had made to stay dry wouldn't have done us a bit of good as we left it all in the car, so I guess that it was a good thing that it didn't rain all day we were almost back to the village before running into any, but not near as exciting) At first we weren't too successful as we went the wrong way and there were no eating places any where in sight, we did find a very pretty park though that had a nice big pond with ducks in it and rowboats you could rent, mind you they looked like they would sink if you set out in them but they were there and the grass had been cut at some point and the walks were well cared for all in all not usually what you find when in a park in Romania. We then headed back the other way and within five minutes of going the other way from where we started in the first place we came to a little diner that served burgers and things of that sort. As it was getting late and we didn't know when we would get a phone call we decided to try it so in we went. Now picture a hallway that is about ten feet wide, tables set for four running down each side with a small aisle in between them and you have the restaurant. As it became increasingly hotter the further you went into it and because they don't have non smoking areas here (by the time we left I think every other person who ate there smoked at some point or another) we sat at the table closest to the door where I ate my very first Romanian hamburger(after praying really hard that we wouldn't get sick from them). Allow me to decribe: a beef patty (I think, it didn't look like beef) shredded cabbage and french fries all on a large bun dripping with (Romanian)ketchup and mayo. Yes, the french fried were on the burger. It was quite tasty. Curtiss got almost the same thing only his patty was breaded and fried. After leaving the restaurant we came across a sight that was quite surprising and that Curtiss and I are both kicking ourselves for not getting a picture of, I guess we were too shocked to be thinking cleary. A band of Native Americans in full costume playing on the sidewalk! Not a normal sight in Europe. And from there we went and looked at a huge stone Catholic cathedral that had it's beginning in the 14th centery, you can't ever find some thing like that that old in America, it was beautiful. While we were in there we got the phone call that Mina was done and that we could meet them at the gate of the hospital and we could then go to the car. The only thing to note on the way home was eating our second lunch;) Aneta had packed a lunch for everyone that we didn't know about until we got to the city but as we didn't know how long the apointment was going to last we still went and got those burgers but since the others hadn't eaten and because Curtiss was hungry again we stopped at a little road side park that had a few tables and ate lunch for the second time;) because I knew that we were going to be eating again I only ate about half of my burger and then half of my sandwich and so again I was able to avoid the overly full sick feeling! Exciting isn't it?

Now for a brief update on Mina. She was able to get hearing aids but can't really use them until a part is made that had to be ordered and she goes back to get them fitted to her. But she will be able to hear!!!! and we get to make another trip to Cluj in a week or so:) How fun! Please keep Mina in your prayers as she adjusts to life with hearing aids, she does have a very small amount of hearing in her one ear so she can speak a little but not much, and she has kind of lived her life in the background not taking part in much that has gone on around her so this will be an adjustment for her, but I think she is excited and looking forward to being able to hear what is going on around her.

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.