Day 1 with Red Page Ministries

We began the day with a flat tire :(    Much to our surprise, the spare was a regular sized tire - no doughnut.  Thank goodness we were running ahead of schedule.  Changed the tire and headed for the vulcanizare to get it fixed.  Total cost - 12 lei (about $2.85).

After our early morning exercise in tire changing, we met with the mission team from Lubbock to purchase groceries for the families that they serve in the Susani area.  After purchasing the food, we returned to the church to separate into bags.  80 bags were filled with 1 bottle of oil, 1 bag of flour, 1 bag of beans, 2 bags of sugar, a small can of porc pate, 1 bag of pasta, 1 roll of salami, 1 bag of cereal, 4 apples, 1 tub margarine, 1 tub of hazelnut spread and a bag of wafer cookies.  The team also picked out shoes and clothing, along with some personal hygiene items, for 10 families.

After lunch, we divided up into 3 teams with specific families to visit.  We loaded a bag of groceries, the clothes and shoes for each of the families, then headed out to make a home visit.  The 1^st family that “our” team visited had 13 children.  We were greeted by one of the older girls, who was taking care of the smaller children.  We entered a courtyard area, with pig stalls to the left.  Ovidiu, the local pastor, shared with us his concern about the health of the children – the pigs are usually out in the courtyard.  This becomes an area contaminated with fecal material, and the children are running around in it with no shoes on.  Also, they will play with things outside (getting it on their hands) and then go inside and eat.  Or, as in what we saw today, they bring the feces inside on their feet/shoes and track it in on the floors; the baby dropped his apple several times on the floor and then picked it up and ate it.  The bedroom was about 12’x12’ and held a crib, 1 toddler size bed, and 2 double beds.  The only other room I saw was a kitchen area that we entered the home through.  I’m not sure if there was another bedroom, or if the entire family slept in that one room.  Anyway, the children were excited to get a new pair of shoes.  The baby acted as if this was the 1^st pair of shoes he’d ever had.  What a joy to see the excitement on the children’s faces!

 The 2^nd family consisted of 10 children.  Their home was a one-room shack about 10’x’10’, where all of them lived.  The father is currently in Germany where he is working.  As I took some pictures of the kids, the mom pulled out their school pictures to show us.  The pride in her face and eyes was amazing.  The family is attending a local church, where the children are learning to play instruments – mainly guitar, with one drummer.

 

We visited 3 other families, each with their own stories.  It was great to meet new people and share with them.  What a wonderful ministry that Red Page is doing with these families.

The last visit today was to a new family.  Since this was the 1^st contact, we thought it best if just Ovidiu made the initial visit.  When he returned to the van, he said it was good and he thought they could be some help to the family again.  As we were backing out of the yard…..as we were backing out of the yard………….as we WEREN’T backing out of the yard………we were stuck!  Dennis and one of the college students got out to push……….didn’t work.  So the rest of the group got out to lighten the load………..no good.  Now several are pushing and we’re all laughing at our situation.  Bet the other teams didn’t have this much fun!!!!

 

Returned to the Precept Ministries for supper and plan out tomorrow’s VBS.  Will do more family visits and deliver food/shoes/clothes in the morning.  Can’t wait…………..

A Trip to Serbia

We began the day, yesterday, trying to find our way out of Timisoara.  The streets here, like most other large Romanian cities, are not marked well L  This makes it very difficult to figure out where you are, where you’re going, or where you’ve been.  We did, however, luck into a route sign that directed trucks towards Belgrade.  So, off on another adventure………..

The drive to the Serbian border only took about 30 minutes.  Once at the border, we went through the Romanian checkpoint, then the Serbian.  Both times we had our passports stamped.  Unfortunately for me, the officer was holding my passport in his hand when he stamped it, so you can’t tell that it has a Serbian name on it – bummer.  Oh well, there’s always the stamp leaving the country.  We made it through the checkpoint with no problems and headed into a new country, culture, currency, and language.

The country was pretty unimpressive.  Reminded us somewhat of south Texas…flat, with a lot of agriculture.  The first town we drove through greeted us with the landfill.  Unfortunately, they don’t do a very good job with containing the trash, and stuff was all over the place.

We stopped at a MOL service station to top off the car…..cost for gas = 153.9 dinar per litre!!  How many times has your gas total equaled 3920.00?  Thank goodness we only needed 25 litres.   As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed this guy putting air into the tires of his contraption.  Talk about ingenuity.

Our drive into the city of Belgrade took us over the Danube River.  We were so excited and I was all set to take a picture of the sign………………no sign, nothing.  What a disappointment.  There was nothing that identified the river.  Once on the bridge, I couldn’t take a good picture due to the fence.  Oh well, at least I can say I drove over the Danube River.

 

Belgrade.  Known as Beograd to the Serbians, it is Belgrade to other languages..  But you can also find it spelled Belgrad.  Wonder what counts on a spelling test?

  Our first task was to find the Kalemegdan Castle, then parking.  Thank goodness it is a tourist sight, that meant signs directing you to the right location.  Now that we found it, where do we park?  We found a small area off the main street that looked like a parking area.  We drove in to find it one way and the same way out.  We parked the car and then began looking for a place to purchase a parking ticket.  Dennis went to a local business, but no one spoke any English.  Back to the sign to see if it could provide any help.  Dennis met a man who explained that you call a number and register your license plate and the amount of time you want to park.  Somehow, you are charged 35 dinar per hour (guess it’s put on your cell phone bill).  Anyway, the man helped Dennis to dial the number and enter the information, but the call wouldn’t go through.  After trying a couple of times, the man called from his cell and put the charges on his phone.  We offered to pay him, but he wouldn’t accept.  Instead, he said, “Welcome to Serbia!”  That was a very nice way to start.

Across from the parking area is where we started our exploration on foot.  Located on a hill, Kalegmedon Castle (actually a fortress) overlooks the Sava and Danube rivers.  Most of the fortress has a park setting within the walls; there is also a Military Museum, and lots of military equipment.  There was also a lower fortress. 

 As we walked and looked, we realized that our 2 hours was almost up.  As much as we’d have liked to stayed and looked more, we had to head back to the car.  On our way back, though, we did stop by a couple of vendor carts and look for souvenirs.

Now it was time to find our way out of Belgrade and head back towards Timisoara.  We decided that we’d go back a different way and see what else the country had to offer.  The route we chose was quite lonely.  We only passed through about 5 small towns before we hit the border.  We did, however, stop in Zitiste, where we ate a very late lunch (3p).  While walking into the restaurant, I noticed a statue across the street…….Rocky Balboa.  Go figure!  Dennis and I were trying to figure out what Rocky had to do with Serbia.  I’m still not sure.  Guess we’ll have to google it.

Made it back to the border with no problems.  Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get a return stamp from Serbia on my passport.  Guess I’ll just have to show the pictures.  Another adventure taken; more yet to come.

David's First Bath

Scripture teaches that the older women should teach the younger; I never thought of myself as an “older woman” until last Saturday.  We were over at the group home to capture our “grandson” David’s first bath.  Paul and Lumi got the tub ready and we checked the temp of the water – too hot.  Told them that what was warm to the touch for us would be good for the baby’s tender skin.  Finally got it to the right temp and started to strip the little man.  When it was time for the bath, I tried to hand him off to Lumi and she kept telling me to go ahead.  It was then that I realized she was unsure of what to do.  So, with her by my side, I explained what to do.  David enjoyed the water and was totally relaxed.  It was also a first for the girls, as most of them have no experience with babies.  It was truly a family affair.

The disappointing moment was when I placed David into the warm water and there was no “spraying”.  I figured he would do what every other baby does when exposed to warm water – pee.  Not this guy.  Either he just emptied his bladder, or he has extreme bladder control.

What an awesome experience and fun time.  Not sure David will think so when he gets to be 14 or 15 and can see what I posted on the internet :)

Momma, Lumi, watching

Big sister, Ruth, watching and learning

A Week in Review

This has been a very busy and interesting week.  It actually began last week with a visit from Dacian.  Paul and Lumi wanted to take the baby and go visit their families' but in order to do that, someone would have to stay with the girls.  Of course we would.  We have no problems staying with the girls, but sleeping on the couch is something we never look forward to.  Anyway, we came over here (the group home) Monday morning to begin our week long parenting.

Our days began with trying to get 7 girls up and going.  Tuesday proved a challenge, but only for a little while.  On the 3rd visit to one room, I informed the girls that my next visit would include water.  Guess that didn't make much of an impression, or they didn't believe me.  Either way, my next visit included pouring cold water on two of the girls.  Guess that changed their minds about my word, 'cause the rest of the week they were up and going :)

One night was a squabble as to which one of the girls would wash dishes, and who was to sweep and mop.  That was settled as I made each wash half of the dishes and then share the duties of sweeping and mopping.  The next 2 nights was settled between the two with no need to intervene - hooray for small victories!

Today is Saturday and the girls are up and doing their chores.  Each is assigned a specific task and the only arguing that happens occurs when they are all ready to use the brooms or mops at the same time.  Even then, they figure out a "schedule" of who goes first, then who's next.

This week we continued our study of sheep in the 1st year classes by making paper plate sheep.  It's so much fun to watch the kids do a craft project.  The teachers are usually so worried about whether the kids color inside the lines, use the right color, or place objects in the correct place.  I keep telling them that they are learning, and if things are not "perfect", that's ok - it is their project!  Anyway, look at these wonderful kids and their sheep.

Andra

Denis

Vasi

Notice that two of them have their sheep going in circles (some of the feet are going the opposite direction).  I love it!  It's theirs and they are proud of them!

In the 3rd year class, a few of the boys were a little rowdy and the teacher was frustrated.  She didn't know how to "punish" them, so I told her about "the thinking tree".  Thanks to Wayne Short, it was a new way to give our boys (he and Debi have 2 boys who are the same age as Rick and Jon, and we were all in Boy Scouts together) a chance to think about what they had done wrong.  Anyway, the boys had to stand about 2' from a tree, lean over and put their heads on it, then put their hands behind their back.  I also told the teacher that I would use the same technique with Cameron, only he would have to stand to the wall.  She liked the idea and so the "thinking wall" was implemented.

The boys thought it was funny at first, but after a few minutes, they realized that it was tiring standing there.  Unfortunately for the one in the middle, his distance to the wall was a little farther.  I think the biggest problem with the rowdiness is that everyone is ready for spring.

Yesterday was our monthly meeting with the ladies.  Attendance was quite small in comparison to the previous months, but everyone had a great time.  Gabi read a story of love between 2 people who met via correspondence.  The ladies really enjoyed to story.  The craft for this month was making felt brooches.  The ladies always enjoy making something, and this was just for them.

The quilting project is now underway and our first one should be ready on Tuesday.  I got a sneak peak at it yesterday, and it's beautiful!  I'm so excited for Keri Claggett as she will receive the first one.  I will be posting pics later so be sure and check back.  You, too, can own a piece of Romania with one of these one-of-a-kind quilts.  I will be posting the information on how you can order yours.

Until next time....................

A Morning with Clowns

Yesterday the children at Point of Hope were treated to a “theatrical” show of clowns.  The 3 man team entertained the kids with skits, songs, magic tricks and pure silliness.  A few children were frightened at first, but were a part of the dancing before the show ended; one clown even got Doamna Rita, the custodian, up and dancing, all to the delight of the children and staff.  In all, it was a great time of fun!  Thank you to the gentlemen who volunteered their time for our children.

I’m attaching some pictures and a short video.  Hope you enjoy as much as the kids did.