Romania!

I made it from Africa to Eastern Europe! 

Romania is my month nine out of eleven. After this I will go to Moldova, then Ireland. Time flies.

Some interesting things I've noticed about Romania:

1. They have these crazy futuristic coffee machines everywhere, that you put a dollar into, and a cup pops out with a freshly made latte or cappuccino. Talk about taking the human interaction out of things!
2. To say hello, you say "Buna Ziua" (boo-na zee-wa) and to say 'how are you,' is "cheh my fasch?"
3. Most Romanians are offended when you assume they are 'gypsies.' The gypsy population is only a limited population. Many Romanians are of Eastern European, Russian, Roman, Middle Eastern, or Spanish descent.
4. A very, very small sliver of the population are Christians. Like 0.2% in the area we are living.
5. Romania has beautiful landscapes of fields, flowers, mountains, and trees. It is a beautiful country.
6. Produce and bread are fresh without preservatives. They go bad faster, but they are also way better for you.
7. There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE.
8. They are a very forward culture. They will say what they're thinking, even if it might offend you (opposite of Swaziland, Africa, where we just came from!)
9. A very normal method of transport are 'chariots.' They are carriages pulled by horses, covered in farm products, hay, supplies, tools, etc.
10. Shower heads are not attached to the wall, so you have to hold them with one hand and scrub your head in the other (random, but still kind of annoying!
11. People here love meat, pastries, and drinkable yogurt.
12. The currency they use is called 'lei,' and it is about 3.34 lei to every US Dollar.
13. Romanians can immediately tell we're Americans, before we even speak… by the way we dress

Other things about my month here in Romania:

1. We have a washing machine at our facility! This is the first time since…THAILAND, month three! We don't have a dryer, but it is nice to be able to throw clothes into the wash and not have to hand-scrub them!
2. I have been 'nannying' for a little boy named Yosef Timotei whose smile is like an angel-kiss. He is so sweet. I am growing in my 'maternal skills,' thanks to the Lord, and to the incredible graceful patience of Andrea, Yosef's mom.
3. We are working with RESO Ministries (which actually stands for 'Spreading the Gospel in Southern Oltania,' in Romanian language), and RESO covers an area in Southern Romania of about 500,000 people.
4. The Romanian language is beautiful. It actually sounds like a mixture between Spanish, Italian, and French.
5. I have also been leading 'Kid's Clubs' in different neighborhoods throughout the rural community of Dragonesti. The kids come and we play games, sing, tell stories from the Bible, and cover them with love. They are kind of shy, but warm up to us pretty quickly. I am thankful to all my summer camp songs and memories to bring to the kids here.
6. I have been enjoying what I like to call 'integration' more this month, meaning – practicing life more realistically like I will be living after The Race, and figuring out what that looks like. For starters, I have been doing the 'Insanity' workout every morning at 6:30am (killer) to start the day, and really enjoying praying out loud each morning before I get started with the day. I have found a quiet place behind the house to spend each morning in the wee hours with a cup of coffee and my Bible.
7. We have also been doing home visits. One family I visited just hatched baby chicks the day before so we got to hold them. Another family was a mother with seven beautiful children. They lived in a farmhouse and had a big garden and vast acreage. I went with their kids down to a shallow stream and played around in the water. (see photos)