AFTER CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AND GRANOLA

Christmas day meal at the Boinganu's and a snow picture from last year to represent the Christmas snow we enjoyed here. Tal's snow pictures did not show off the snow as this one posted does.

Wednesday was a day for shopping. Ben took us to a location of town that he had not been to since the communist stripped this city of it's life. The buildings were beautiful in their exterior architecture. People lived in apartments above the stores and they were actually trying to restore this section. Ben expressed sadness as well as delight as memories flooded his mind. He took us in a very small men's clothing store that sold some of the nicest dress shirts you will ever see and at a reasonable price. He explained that Braila manufactors these shirts that are sought after all over Europe.

The city police had blocked cars from driving on this street and it gave it the feeling of "holiday". A large covered deck like structure was in the middle of the street that allowed for relaxing with eatery or as a place for entertainers. This of course would happen in the summer. We made a purchase and headed over to Ben and Anna's for another of her good meals. Almost all meals begin with a soup of flavored broth with potato chunks, etc. sometimes a bit of meat or floating corn dumpling. Sliced bread, more dense than our, is eated at every meal.

We were finished by 3:oo and Ben announced we would go to Karrfore before taking us home for the evening. This is a super Walmart with a Mall attached. You can find almost anything in this grocery store. Some foods are more than I want to pay, so I will do without until I return home.

Before we left the house swarming with all ages of their foster children, 10 and three friends who came home from college with them, Anna and I put on a batch of Granola according to my recipe. After about 30 minutes of grocery shopping, Anna called the girls to check on it. They had already checked on it twice. I called about noon today to see how it turned out and if the family liked it. Anna said when she went downstairs the Granola was almost gone. We had made a 12 cup recipe. She saved me a bit to taste. I think the children liked it.

GYPSIES GET CHRISTMAS BOXES

The Gypsy community of Braila got their Christmas Shoeboxes. About 100 people packed into this one room chapel above. We gave out 80 boxes to very happy children. Honestly, this is all the Christmas these children will get. We took our food bags to the poorest of these families. This seems to be a solid work among the Gypsies of Braila. Also the village we visited Wednesday.

Ben's vision for future work is to empower the youth generation to go to school and if need be to move out of the area to find work. Several youth have caught his attention and they have responded with hope, showing signs of discipline that has taken them past the 4th grade. Most do not go beyond that. Ben also hopes to give promising men the training and financial loans to start independant business.

In the second picture, the woman named Sophia is a prayer warrior. She will call Ben occasionally to ask how he is and what the needs are. A month ago, she asked him about the arrival of shoeboxes. Ben had no answer for her, so she said, "Well, I pray about it." Thankfully, the delivery was able to be made. Sophia's daughter is a senior and wants to go to college. To go to college in Romania, you have to have the grades and pass college entry exams. I would personally like to provide financially for her.

GYPSYS NEED JESUS

I have struggled with this posting. You will understand why I say this if you have ever tried to explain a situation or share an experience and discover how impossible it is to communicate your heart. When you take a picture that is meaningful to you, it can't display all the little things around it that gave it depth, feeling, perspective, and imprinted your memory.

Life for the Gypsy is hard and trying to help them is complex. Many of them do not have jobs, therefore their children beg and steal. They are victims of a bleak social order that locks them into poverty and crime. Ben Boingeanu has a heart for bringing the Gypsy community to Christ. It is interesting that the Orthodox religion does not change their heart, but knowing Christ does. We took food bags to several families that Ben knew and 4 or 5 other men came to the house to pick up their food bags. I did not see any house that had more than two small rooms, no running water, no in-door toilet, no refrigeration. The dirt floor was covered with old and filthy carpets. Several homes had thick hangings covering mud dabbed walls that helped with insulation. Notice their stove/oven/heater in only one room of the house. This is where they eat, sleep and stay warm.

Many of the children do not have coats or adequate shoes. They leave their shoes outside. With melting snow there was ice, mud, puddles of water, dirty, messy shoes just outside the door. We stepped very carefully so as not to fall.

This delivery of food bags took all afternoon. In all the depressive things I experienced today, God is at work. I will share more tomorrow. Pray for those who carry the Gypsy communities on their heart.

MAY ALL PEOPLE CALL HIM HAPPY

The Jewish Translation I have been reading from for two years now, Psalm 72:17 says, "May all nations call Him happy." Other translations say, May all nations call Him blessed." We are not accustomed to thinking of God as a happy God. We most often think of Him as mad (angry), sad, disappointed, harsh, unapproachable and hard to please. The following is from my spiritual journal, March 2010.

Father, I do not easily see You as a happy God. There is so much to grieve the soul, trouble the mind, poison the body and deny the soul it's soaring on wings of Spirit energy.

This is an important truth to establish in my heart. A HAPPY GOD! I want to know more, so I ask You, Spirit of God, to open my understanding and allow me to live in the vibrant flow of a happy God. What a magnetic drawing to my soul! If it is true that people can bless themselves in God who is happy, my concepts must change to support the blessing. God is not made happy by my doing, (my performance) but by my being in Him.

John Piper writes much about our joyful God. If He is not joyful, He can not be my joy. Bill Johnson often says, "God is in a good mood, always." Then why wouldn't I want to draw close to Him? I know from my experience that God often invites me to come dance, come dine, come join the eternal party. Somehow we have misunderstood the character and mood of our happy God. Could it be because we are looking at God through our filter of personal perception?

When I think about how God feels when He looks at me, my first thought is not a smiling, radiant face, but a sad one, hoping for more and better. Yes, I glow in His grace toward me, but I need to spend more time celebrating the "being of me" that He created for Himself. He is happy over my being, not my doing. I wrongly think I am loved and valued because of how well I perform duties and keep commandments, how I compare with others, how beautiful I look, how much I accomplish for Him. Reputation seems more important than enjoying this happy God. Thus I become either like the prodigal son or the elder son with a bitter attitude. Neither son knew the heart of their father.

NOTE: If God's joyous heart and happy face depends on our good behavior, if He glories in His children, as we think, based on pleasant circumstances and our doing "right", then He could not ever be happy or joyous. Then where would I get the joy and the peace He promises?

Cut off from the Source of all joy and vibranat LIFE, man falls into self-consciousness. What a pit! Let this HAPPY GOD draw you deep into Himself. It will allow you to turn loose of so much that creates misery, depression, disappointment, etc.

Father, You creaated me to be the receiver of Your life flow, Your words, Your peacefulness, Your joyfulness and yes, your happiness, creativity and eternal vibrancy. I think it is time for me to walk into the warmth and safety of Your arms and dance until I can let go of all this junk that makes me sad. You only make me happy.

AMBROSIA

Ambrosia is what Tal's mother called a bowl of Citrus Fruit and Coconut.

While I was sick with a head cold and Tal the flu, we both found this dish healing and refreshing. Fortunately, even in Romania, Oranges and Grapefruit are plentiful and tasty.

Cut up twice the amount of Oranges as Grapefruit. For the two of us, I cut up in small chunks:
1 Grapefruit
2 Oranges
1 Apple
Pecan
1 Banana
A handful of Coconut
No sugar please.


Another dish I crave when I am sick is CUCUMBER PARSLEY. So cleansng and nourishing.

1 English Cucumber chopped finely.
1 handful of Parsley, chopped finely.
Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt

Also try this Liver and Kidney cleansing dish. You can juice these vegetables to drink in small amounts through the day. Beet/carrot/celery/apple juice replentish and rebuild your energy after a sickness, but you can also shred up 1/2 of a Beet and sprinkle with Olive Oil, Lemon Juice and Sea Salt. The Lemon Juice takes the earthly taste away from the beet. You can do the same with shredded Carrots or combine the Beet and Carrot. Eat two spoonfuls at a time, periodically through the day. This is the time to simi-fast. Leave meat, sugar, processed foods for another day.

Now try making a side dish for your meal. BEET APPLE SALAD

Shredded Beet
Chopped apple
Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Sea Salt

Celery and Pecan may be added if you like.

A VISIT TO THE LEPROSY COLONY

Thursday Ben picked us up along with another young man and we drove to Isaccea (sounds like Esacha). Our association built a church building for this Christian community and they are very proud of their building.

WE went first to the Leprosy colony to visit an elderly lady Tal has visited before. Her daughter was there visiting. Her tiny house is the smallest quarters I have ever seen. Notice in the picture that I am almost touching the heater and Tal is right inside the front door. I felt I was in a Hobit house (Lord of the Rings). There was one more room with a bed, chair and chest where the daughter slept. They cooked on a one eyed stove of sorts and had a tiny sink. This woman's hands are quite disfigured. She had no fingers, so when her daughter isn't there, someone must help her. Ben prayed with them before we left and then she prayed. The whole visit made me cry as we drove away. They have so little, yet are so gracious and grateful. This kind of leprosy is not contagious, but totally devastating to the one who endures it. Modern medicine have been able to stop the disease process.

One man who lived there was cured and left to live in Braila. He married and has two grown sons. One lives in Isaccea. The father and son stay at the Leprosy village three days each week as missionary/pastor to them and also the church in Isaccea. This is the young man we picked up in Braila and we left him there at his home. He is really enthusiastic about the work started. This seems to be a solid ministry in Romanian hands.

The little blue chapel was built by Romanian Baptists for this Leprosy village when it was established to care for them.

WEDDING ROMANIAN STYLE

The day of the wedding, I felt well, no symptoms of the head and chest cold. Sooo, I had Ben pick me up. Tal was still feeling rotten. I left the apartment at 11:45 and returned at 9:00 p.m. An 8 hour celebration.

I wish now that I had taken the camera to share a picture, but I didn't want to keep up with it. For some reason I have a slight fear of cameras. Haven't given it much concern though, Tal takes care of photography.

The couple was in their early 30s and both had good jobs. The Bride, followed by two Bridemaids, entered from the back. The Bride joined her Groom and sat together on the specially decorated wedding bench. The Bridesmaids sat on the front row during a 30 minute exposition of Christain Marriage and Family from Scripture. The grooms family was not Christian, but they experienced a healthy dose of Christian values. Then Ben led them in making their vows to each other.

We drove to a restaurant at the edge of town for the celebration party. This was a meal plus all kinds of activities helping us to get to know the wedding couple and celebrate their life. Christian music was presented the entire time by recording and by a small group of young people from the church.

The food offerings were over the top. From the time we arrived at 2:00 until we left at 8:40, food was being served, one course after another. Each table had a center piece of fruit - banana, oranges, grapes, and bowls of nuts. The first course was a lovely salad plate with tomato bowl filled with eggplant spread, a fish pate, cheese cubes, rolled deli ham. That would have been enough for me, but soon the next plate arrived. It had fried potato wedges and some kind of meat. That was taken away and a bowl of soup was brought. I was looking for dessert next, but two more plates were to come yet. Next was some kind of fish steak with a sauce and vegetable, then another plate of assorted meat. Other things were served that I don't remember. Oh, the dessert finally did come and it was worth waiting on.

It was a great celebration that I enjoyed even though I did not understand much and could not communicate with anyone. They are warm and friendly and I can smile back, but wow! how important is language understood!

DECEMBER 9

While parts of Europe are under heavy snow storms, Romania is not. It was another sunshiny day with mild temperatures. I felt much improved but Tal's fever has not stayed normal yet. We are invited to a wedding tomorrow afternoon, but I think we should both stay in if we plan to attend church Sunday. Luggage did arrive two days after our arrival.

I went to the grocery store with Ben and Anna this afternoon to get a few things for next week. Carrfore is like our Wal-Mart. I found grapefruit, oranges, bananas and apples, came home and immediately cut up some of each for a tasty fruit salad. Anna had brought me still warm creamed potatoes and Snitcel. Snitcel is a pounded piece of ham, dipped in an egg/flour batter and fried. Delicious! That is supper and the fruit again later before bed. I found plain yogurt and Kefir to help us keep our digestive tract healthy.

There are a lot of street dogs. They seem friendly but are always looking for a handout. Some restaurant owner must have provided a banquet for them because we were greeted one evening by a dog with two bones connected together by raw meat. We had walked about three city blocks to visit another missionary couple the second day. They reminded us about the dogs, that in some sections they are more agressive and territorial. On one earlier visit, Tal had a dog grab his pant leg in an unfriendly way.

It seems they are everywhere, in grocery store parking lots, looking so pitiful, holding one paw up in that begging position. Anna and I felt sad for them, but you don't dare reach down to pet. More tragically are the young boys in parking lots, trying to get money from anyone walking by. It was cold and foggy at the airport as we made our way to the car and a young boy looking about 8 or 10 years old followed us to the car, hoping for money. "Money!" holding his hand out. At the grocery store (Carrfore)a teenage boy was pretending to help folks find parking in hopes that someone would pay him. This breaks my heart. To give money usually creates more problems for you. It is like feeding the birds on the beach or in the park; suddenly more appear.

The IBM couple we visited told us that last Christmas a man and wife with daughter came up in their apartment building and seranaded them with carols. They were good and so they opened their door and gave them a small amount of money. It wasn't long before others came, who weren't good nor nice. The next several days, others came to try to sell things to them. When they refused to open the door, they quit coming and have had no more trouble.

TRAVEL ADVENTURES

Wow, what a frustrating experience! Air travel international. And we have to do it again inorder to get home in a month. Oh well, I will follow Scarlet O Hara's example: I'll think about it later.

The flight from Tri-Cities to Atlanta was cancelled due to severe weather in Atlanta, so Bill returned to the airport and we spent another night back home. Back to the airport the next day, making it to Amsterdam. We were given business class seating, which was most enjoyable. I was impressed with the comfort of the seats that allowed me to stretch out almost flat to sleep. Still didn't sleep but about three hours.

Our situation went sour again when we boarded our plane for Romania. We sat for five solid hours, not moving. The pilot kept asking for our patience while we waited for a place in line for de-icing for take off, which never came. We do not know what happened, but here are my suspicions.

Either the pilot did not want to fly to Romania for personal reasons, or the Ampsterdam airport was so disorganized due to the weather that they let us sit 5 hours being ignored by air traffic controlers. The pilot may not have felt competent to bring the plane down at the Bucharest airport in such dense fog, or he had some prejudice against flying to that destination or some unknown determination not to travel that day. Planes on our right and left were flying out, but not us.

There were a couple of angry men on board that spoke personally with the pilot. They had important business in Bucharest in the morning. Bet they missed the meeting. Two small children were on board and we never heard a sound from them. I couldn't believe it. The other travelers were pretty patient but bumbed out over the conditions we found ourselves in, as we were.

Can you imagine what it was like to join the people from 150 other flights who couldn't make their connection due to closed airports in England, Scotland? It was a zoo. And to make matters worse, one airport attendant would instruct us to go to this desk with 500 people waiting for re-ticketing, only to be told later by another person that we need to be somewhere else.

We were finally given accomodations in a hotel with no new flight assignment. They gave us a telephone number to call from the hotel for booking a new flight, but Tal couldn't get through to anyone. He finally called Kim at the Holston office and she quickly got us a flight to Bucharest through Paris. Others we talked to on our flight had still not been able to secure new flight plans when we boarded our plane the next day. THANK YOU KIM.

After the second night with even less sleep, I was beginning to feel pretty weary. Too much pulling luggage behind me at a fast pace. BUT WE MADE IT SAFELY, thanks to the skill of the pilot from France. He brought that plane down in thick fog. We couldn't see the runway until we were right on it. Just before getting off the plane I realized a head cold was asking permission to move in. Tal said his throat was a bit sore.

Of source, our luggage didn't arrive with us. It was left in Amsterdam on board our stalled plane or on the flight from Atlanta. We were met by friends and driven 3 hours to Braila, where Anna and Ben were ready to feed us. We got to our apartment about 10:00 p.m. We slept until 1:30 the next day. Tal nor I slept a wink all night this second night here. We finally got up at 5:30 a.m., fixed coffee and toast and are now pecking away at the computors. Still no luggage.

I hope we get ourselves in rhythm with our environment here in Brailia by this evening. I won't bore you will all the details every day. Good morning or good evening, which ever it is when you read this.