Wedding Stuff!

Matt and I have been doing well. We have gotten lots done in the month we've been engaged. We've booked the College Chapel and the reception place. I'm both excited and nervous about The Govenor's House as the reception venue (and no, it's not the Governor's mansion, and a governor has not lived there, the lady's grandfather was named Governor). It is beautiful and unique, but i'm also nervous about space. I know it will work out though. It's definitely a cool place because we can have people seated both inside and then also outside on the patio. this was definitely a selling point for me. also, the fact that the lady is incredible to work with! it really helps to have great people skills if you are in the wedding business, because there are some stressed out brides and mothers out there!

Matt and I registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond back in November. We didn't finish our registry, but wanted to go ahead and put some things up just in case people needed Christmas ideas. It was so much fun picking out stuff for our house. and as girly/50's housewife as it sounds, i enjoyed every bit of it, especially the china pattern picking. :-)

Amanda is awesome and has been designing Save the Date postcards and invitations. She's so talented and has a good eye for design stuff. I'm lucky to have talented and helpful friends. We've not moved forward on getting Save the Dates out yet though. I need to finish the guest list before I do anything else.

I recently got to spend time with my friend Heidi who now lives in Pennsylvania. It was nice to just actually be together instead of talking on the phone and cramming our lives into a 30 minute conversation. I love her dearly and am so glad she will be by my side when Matt and I get married.

Another major thing I've done already is buy a dress!! I really did not expect to get a dress so early, especially the day I went. I really just went to David's Bridal to get some color swatches for the bridesmaids dresses. But then Amanda and I started to just looking at the wedding dresses. So we convinced Mom to go with us after lunch to try some on. And we ended up buying one!!! It is a beautiful beautiful dress that I could not have even dreamed of. It's definitely got me excited. :-)

For right now, I've put wedding planning on hold due to the busyness of Christmas. I've ended up with a ton of hours. Trying to work my schedule around all of the parties, gift-buying, and family time, has been a difficult task. It sure beats being bored though! That being said, I've got to end my blog break and continue wrapping gifts/doing laundry.

Until next time, Merry Christmas!!!!!!!
Rebekah

Currently listening to: Pandora Holiday mix (if you have not discovered the glory of Pandora.com, you're really missing out. it's awesome, so go there. now!)

WOW!!!!

There have been many many updates in my life lately.
#1 Matt and I are engaged!!!!!!!!
#2 I'm planning a wedding!!!!!!!

ok, so not much else has changed except that I'm engaged and can officially plan a wedding and think about moving to Rome. :-) But still, it feels like things just got fast-forwarded, mainly because it seemed like life was in slow-motion.

I will update more about everything, but just wanted to say officially on my blog that I'm getting married, and it's awesome.
:-)

what i'm passionate about

my pastor just wrote a post about how the church can lead in this time of financial crisis and such. his last point really hit home with me because it's something i'm very passionate about, social justice. social issues are what i love to think about, analyze, discuss. it's about the only thing i can win on in a debate with matt. :-) for the first time ever, i left a comment on michael's blog about my thoughts on social justice.
why is it that even though i'm very passionate about something, i feel so insecure and inadequate in my thoughts and opinions? i've always felt that way, even in school, i never thought my ideas in class discussion had any merit. i'd like to improve my confidence in that area, yet i think that it will be a lifetime process. :-)
anyways, here's the link to Michael's blog. he always has good stuff to say.

big things a'happenin

1. my grandparents have "officially" moved up here from savannah. their suite/apartment addition onto our house has made great progress and is looking great. there is still stuff in their house in sav, but most of the essentials are here. :-) i've always lived away from my grandparents, yet have remained very close to them, so it is a very special treat to have them living with me and my parents.

2. i noticed yesterday how incredible fall really is. the sky was a bit overcast, which made all of the colors pop in contrast with the clouds. i love that i live in north georgia where fall is so beautiful.

3. my cousins are visiting right now. elise and rachel are probably the cutest kids ever. and boy, do they have personalities that just make you laugh. elise is very particular and conscientious (which reminds me so much of myself) and then there is rachel who treats everything as if it were a jungle gym (mostly people). on monday, we are going to partake in one of our Christmas traditions a little early...making gingerbread houses! it's so fun being with the girls.

4. no game today for my brother, but next week is the final home game against Huntingdon. they have only lost 1 game this season! (and really, that was due to some costly calls)

5. i'm getting excited about the holidays. i love love love the holidays! i love the gathering of people, i love parties, i love the decorations, i love giving presents, i love christmas music, i love the good food, i love that most people are in such a good mood. it's just awesome. i am a bit nervous about working at starbucks during this time, however. i've heard that it is constantly busy and the rush does not end. oh well, it will just make me a better barista.

6. travel season is finally over for matt, which means that i will be able to see him more. we are both glad that he is done with travel for a while.

7. i'm so glad that election season is over. the nation has made it's decision, and while, not everyone is happy, i'm just glad it is done with. it does upset me that Georgians have to endure a run-off for Senate. ugh. those were the worst campaign commercials ever and i'm mad we have to listen and watch more of them.

i think that is all for now. :-) this update makes my life seem like such a bore, haha. (most of my time lately has been spent on completing the Harry Potter books. i wanted to reread all of them and have finally finished the last one this week. so, don't worry, friends, i'm back to reality now!)

ok, i'm lame.

well, it's official that i'm really lame. i ended up not dressing up for halloween. so, no nerd or Rebekah of Sunnybrook Farm. sorry, dear friends. i don't really think that i could follow up the act of another barista who dressed in drag. people were coming back last night to catch another glimpse at Miss KiKi. this guy is a trip.
in other news, i voted. it's done. the ballot is cast and there is nothing i can do about it. i went through the whole ballot before i went back to the no. 1 item to make my decision. yesterday morning, i spent a couple of hours reading up on both candidates and their actual stances on issues (not just what they say they will do in their presidency). in the end, i feel like i made the best decision for what i believe and want to work for in life. i think. whatever happens, happens. and i know that the Lord has control ultimately. i'm so grateful for our democracy and freedoms. and i'm proud to say that i can vote as a female.
i'm going to see a friend get married today and i'm so looking forward to it. with anne's taste and attention to detail, it is bound to be a beautiful wedding.

that's all for now!
oh, and happy november!!!

currently listening to: death cab for cutie and the shins (thank you, pandora). :-)

i'm not very in to halloween...

ok, my family has never really done halloween. i think i've had about 5 outfits in my entire life. i distinctly remember two being an angel and then Mary (both of those costumes came from the very old stack of church Christmas pageant clothes).
several of the people at work are dressing up. since i'm working halloween night at starbucks, i think i'd disappoint some kiddos if i didn't have some kind of costume on.....so here are the options (my lack of creativity is definitely showing here):
1. Rebekah of Sunnybrook Farm (you know, overalls, straw hat, big smile and failure to see anything as negative)
or
2. a nerd (complete with Violet Vickerstaff braids and an i heart calculus pin)


what should i do???

prayer

this may be un-Christianlike, but i usually don't pass along prayer requests. i pray for the situation and will tell a friend or family member if they know the person, but other than that, i sometimes just see "prayer requests" as really just being another way to gossip. and let's be honest, alot of times, those forward emails about a sick child could be way out of date and are too far removed from the source to know what's actually going on. (maybe that is very pessimistic, but that is how i feel)

that being said, i uncharacteristically want to pass along a prayer need for a boy in Romania, Daniel. He is one of the Livada kids that i spent my summer with and as they are all very dear to my heart, i wanted to let more people know. Daniel has reverted back to some old habits of aggression due to some deep-seeded issues in his life. A staff member of Livada, Kelly, has written about it here. So please pray for Daniel and the others in his home.

Thanks. :-)

my red backyard

so i really need to take a picture of my backyard right now because it is bright red. they leveled out the yard and took down the tree the result being a field of Georgia red clay. it's pretty exciting though because it means work is being done and we are that much closer to having my grandparents move in with us.
however, because of the construction, we had an exposed cable wire that was cut by the bobcat, meaning that we have no cable tv and no internet. it was amazingly quiet at my house last night without dad turning on football!

i had a fantastic weekend with matt and his family. it was the perfect balance of friend time, family time and then time with just matt. we visited his grandparents and i was in awe of their beautiful farm. matt and i also made a trip to the zoo, which was a really fun and relaxing thing to do. After the zoo, matt and i went to Dillards and he got a $700 Hugo Boss suit for only $200!!!! what a deal. matt was pretty excited about that. :-)

well, i think that's all for now.

currently listening to: ella fitzgerald (at starbucks, enjoying an orange-mango banana vivanno)

rainy rain rain...

As much as rain pains my joints (gosh, i sound like i'm a senior citizen), i do love the way rainy days can be. people tend to dress down a little more, they don't stress as much about where they're going to or coming from. it's just more relaxed. at least, that's what i have observed. another thing about rain, is the smell. as strange as it sounds, i love the smell of wet asphault, right after it starts raining. yeah, weird, i know.

i'm headed to rome for the evening and then matt and i are going to visit his grandparents tomorrow! i have not met this grandmother and i'm very excited to do so. it should be a very pleasant weekend with his wonderful family. and some much needed quality time with matt is going to be great. we have "spontaneously planned" to go to the zoo this weekend as well! i do hope it dries up enough so that we can do that. :-)

this Sunday at Oak Leaf , we are continuing our whirlwind tour of some major religions (Mormonism, Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, and Christianity). This week is Judaism. I am sad to miss it, but so grateful we record our services and put them on podcasts. Technology can sometimes be so wonderful....and then sometimes not.

i went to an awesome, awesome concert last night at Eddie's Attic. Saw some fantastic musicians. i love seeing true talent, especially at a good cafe-like venue. check out these dudes: Joal Rush, Joel Hamilton, and Jay Clifford. Definitely worth it!

ok, i think that's about all. happy friday!!!

what is going on?

so i wish i understood the economy. maybe i should have paid more attention back in that one semester of economics in high school.

in other news. my uncle robbie, aunt christine and their girls are coming up for the weekend! elise and rachel are two of the most beautiful kids. they are really awesome and i'm very excited to see them. i wish i weren't working so much this weekend.

that's pretty much all that is going on with me at the moment. other than being obsessed with the elizabethtown soundtrack. it's brilliant. :-)

i wish....

....i were an artist. despite my efforts to be artistic, most of my works do not turn out like they should.

....i could play the guitar.

....money was never a problem (ok, i know God is in control, and on those terms, it is never an issue, but you know what i mean)

....my store manager would schedule me to work during the week more. weekends are already like a jigsaw puzzle.

....i understood myself and never went through doubts, struggles, and down times. but i guess that's what makes the "up times" even better.

....i had a new car. :-)

....to one day not have to be on the phone so much with the people i love.

....i knew more about how computers work and how to fix things. that goes for cars too.

....i could speak Romanian fluently. and Spanish. and French. and Swahili. and Chinese. and Russian. and Arabic. ok, so i guess i really wish for there to be no language barrier. dumb tower of babel.

....i could sew. making my own clothes, doing my own alterations would be awesome.

....i were always motivated to work out and eat healthy. it seems to come in spurts.

....there were not an ocean between here and Romania and it was as easy as a little drive to see my kids.

i think that's all for now. :-) in thinking about these few things that i wish could happen or were possible. it's interesting to note which ones are actually attainable and within reach. maybe we don't take enough credit and action on what we wish could happen. it's just that most of the time we want it now, without working for it, taking action, or putting much thought into the process.

i'm frustrated!

alright, i admit that i did not watch the entire presidential debate last night. i also admit that apart from social issues (aka welfare, abortion, and other social programs), i'm not that interested in the political issues at hand. it's hard for me to have an opinion on the economy or healthcare, the war on terrorism or "change in Washington," because honestly, i don't feel the effects of a change in the White House. it is hard for me to see beyond my local area and come up with answers for an entire nation's problems. nevertheless, i try to be politically involved and active. i try not to be the silent girl in the corner when a political discussion arises, because there are things that i care about on both national and global scales. also, because Matt (my politically-fired boyfriend) loves for me to talk politics with him, even though it ends up being a very short discussion. :-)
ok, so for the ten minutes i watched the debate last night, i think about five of those minutes were either McCain or Obama bashing the other guys "record" or "philosophy." you know what, i don't care how witty you are in regards to your opponent's methods or beliefs! it was so frustrating for them to ramble on and on about how the other guy's theory won't work. this left them with no time to actually speak on what they would do. and when they were talking about what they would do, they came off as being arrogant and snooty.
so maybe i am being unfair because i only watched a few minutes of this backstabbing, but i honestly couldn't take anymore. i've now resolved to only look at the candidates' websites to understand where they stand on the issues. let's just say that i'm glad that we are on the home stretch when it comes to election day. i'm ready to see something else on the news, because the world has continued to revolve despite the fact that one country is in the middle of a presidential election.

:-) whew, why can't i articulate things like this in person? it seems to only come out in writing. haha

OCTOBER!!!

ok, i think i say this over and over again this time of year, but i absolutely love fall. it is the most amazing season to me. it has fantastic smells, colors, and don't forget the incredible warmth of apple cider. mmmm....:-) i haven't been a hayride in a long time...it'd be fun to find a hayride somewhere! good things always happen in October. i was looking back in my journal this last week and noticed how this time a year ago was when my feelings really started to change about Matt. as hard as i tried to fight feelings for him, i could see glimmers of hope through the words i wrote. i can't believe where a year brought me. i'm always amazed at how far the Lord moves me and changes me. things happen like a flash. i don't even realize the changes he guides me through until i've passed them. i'm very grateful for that quality of the Lord's, His never-failing patience and faithfulness to continue a good work in me.

mountain day is this saturday. and i'm pretty stinkin' excited about it! it's so cheesy, but i love it. what i look forward to the most is just being with my dear friends, scratch that, my dear family. although, not everyone will be able to make it (tisk tisk!), it shall be a grand time. we've got quite the picnic spread in the works. :-)

starbucks is going really well. i haven't had my certification yet, but have worked real shifts and everyone says that i'm doing just fine. i feel pretty confident, just slow. but i know that i'll get into a rhythm and will get faster. i had an amazing breakthrough with this lady the other day. a non-coffee drinker, she wanted to get something. so i suggested that she just try a chai latte. she took my word for it and ordered it. two hours later, she drives back up, walks in and is searching the menu for the name of the drink. she found me and asked me what the name of it was again because she loved it so much! that's why i love working in a coffee shop. it was a great feeling.

well, i better get ready for bed, even though i've got caffeine in me. i was trying to make it through closing, so i had this espresso brownie that is loaded with caffeine. terrible, but awesome. :-)

peace!

ok, ok!

i (like tracy) have been yelled at for not updating my blog like i should. so here it is!

i feel like life has been pretty busy lately. with training at Starbucks, LaGrange football season starting, my grandparents being here and Matt's travel season taking flight....much of my time seems to be spent on the road, at the grocery store, on the phone, or at Starbucks!

Starbucks is going well. Just yesterday, i started learning how to make drinks. Steaming milk, remembering how many pumps and shots go into each drink, what the exceptions are, and the differences between each size can be a bit of a task for the brain. However, I think I'm going to be alright. I'm just going to remember to be patient with myself and to not get frustrated that I can't go as fast as the other baristas. (Ps. i think barista is a totally cool word, and I'm pretty stoked that I get to have such a cool title). What I'm most excited about with working at Starbucks is getting to know people, both the customers and my fellow "partners." I've already enjoyed talking with people already, getting to know their names and their favorite coffees. :-) I never realized how regular people really are at Starbucks, even in this small town area.

Grandma and Grandpa were here with us for several weeks. It was really great having them here. Grandma decided to teach me some of her classic recipes, which really cracked me up. They are both hysterical with their dog, Belle. She's an old old Shitzu that often acts more like a cat than a dog. She rarely lets you pet her and when she does allow you to, she shakes off your scent right away. By the end of my grandparents' time here, Belle ended up really liking me. She got used to me taking her outside and being able to play a bit with her. My Granddaddy absolutely loves that dog and it's the cutest thing ever. We had a scary few days while they here, when we had to take my grandpa to the hospital for pneumonia. After a couple days with breathing treatments and antibiotics, though, he perked up a ton and was back to himself. He's still on medication for it, but the scary part was over. We were mostly concerned for him because of his age. Though he may not seem like it, my grandpa will be 86 in October, so pneumonia being in his lungs was not a good thing.

I'm proud to say that my brother and the LaGrange Panthers won their first game a week and a half ago!! It was beautiful. Really. All of us were crying our eyes out...even some of the boys. :-) This past Saturday was the first home game and they were so very very close to winning. The bad calls really cost us the game. But Josh and his defensive team played an awesome game and I'm still a pretty proud sister.

Matt has started his travel season for the admissions department. He's enjoying it and for that I am grateful. I am ready to be able to see him more often, but this just seems to be the story of our lives lately. On the very bright side though, we are able to talk on the phone, in the same time zone, and either one of us can call the other (not just me being able to call him while i was in romania!). So...life is good. Also, what time we do get to spend together is quality. I'm very excited to be going to see Les Miserables with him this weekend. It is going to be great!

Well, i don't really think there is much more to update about. Hopefully, I'll start to settle into a routine with work and all, so there will be more time for blogging....but maybe not.
:-) Much love!

life lately. :-)

i apologize for the hiatus in updating. even though i've been hanging around the house, i've managed to be pretty busy. here are a few life updates:
--lagrange football starts today! my parents and i are headed to bham to see my brother play. let's go panthers!
--on tuesday, i had a surge of boldness and walked right in to Starbucks and asked for an application. well, ends up that the manager wanted to set up an interview with me that very day and then he called me yesterday to offer me the job! so i will soon be a starbucks partner! and no longer unemployed!
--i realized this week that i don't really ever want to do things regarding legal stuff. this week, i helped out my uncle who is a lawyer, and none of it appealed to me. so check that off the list.
--my grandparents have been here the last several weeks. although i get tired of fox news being on all the time, i have enjoyed being with them. grandma has decided to teach me how to cook, she says she is "preparing me!" for what? i'm not sure, but i do love it.
--matt starts to travel this week with his job, which is both sad and exciting. sad because it means less chance to spend time with him. but exciting because it's his new job with Berry.

ok, i know there is so much more, but dad wants to be on the road in 20 minutes......and i'm not really ready yet. oops!


ps. because i've been watching fox news alot lately with my gparents, i've gotten really interested in the election. yet i still have no idea who to vote for. i'm really torn on this one.

Home Sweet Home...

After about 26 hours of traveling, I arrived home on Monday afternoon. It was glorious to see Matt, my family and my friends. I really missed all of them while I was in Romania.

Readjusting to the States has been more difficult than I thought it would be. You get used to living in another culture, not being able to communicate, having to work to get things done....but here, everything is at your fingertips. Everything is fast and easy. This doesn't really make sense, but it does in my head. More importantly though, I can't get the kids out of my head, not that I really want to either. I really do think and pray for them often, as I tell stories about them to my friends and parents. Yesterday, I accidentally lost alot of my pictures which is so sad. It's almost like I want people to see their faces as I tell them about the special kids I spent my summer with. I'm trying not to be too upset about it since others took pictures that I can get, but still, there were some special ones.

So what is next???? Yeah, I wish I knew! haha, just kidding. For now, I am going to be living with my parents and looking for a job around home. Lately I've been thinking about the YMCA or the new Boys and Girls Club that opened here. I'm still thinking and praying right now, but will get to work on the job search next week or so. If any of you know of opportunities around here, please let me know. Something I'm also thinking of is getting a Starbucks (:-)) kind of job and then volunteering in community things. These are all just ideas, of course.

Now that I am home, I am so excited to be back home to my church. There have been so many changes this summer since I've been gone and I'm excited to come back to them. I really enjoyed getting updates via tracy and the pastor, michael's blog over the ocean.

Well, I can't really think of too much to update about right now. Yesterday, I spent some time looking over my journal from my trip and picking out some of the key things the Lord taught me. Once I finish doing that, I will post several of them on here. I will continue this blog as it is still a journey back in the States....always an adventure!

much love,
bekah

is it over already??!

well, this has to be a super quick blog. camp is over and it's really hard to believe. although, my body can definitely tell it has had seven weeks of camp. eventually, i will blog about my last week of camp and the crazy things that happened. let's just say that our camp director ended up going to the hospital. but the Lord worked and it was great. (don't worry, Brian is better now, it was just a little food poisoning....)
we now just need to tear down camp and clean up. after that, we are busy making last visits and goodbyes before we leave.
i'm very excited to come home and to see what the Lord has in store for the next phase of my life. please continue to pray that I have faith to follow even though i may not know the entire plan. :-)
love you all and look forward to seeing many of you when i get home!

We Are Family.....

So some of our family left yesterday to go back to the States. The Briley family (minus Brian) and the 8-week interns got on a maxi taxi to Bucharesti last night. It was really sad to say goodbye to them. We have been living and serving together all summer and had somewhat become a family. I'm thankful for each of them as the Lord used them for a specific purpose in my life and the kids' lives this summer.


I am now here with just Brian, Brian, Andrea and Sarah. It was very strange to wake up this morning and have such an empty house. Our last week of camp is this week, so we have tons of volunteers to help us and a man from the States that has been doing some things in Hungary and is able to come to camp for most of the week.

Today we went to Sincrai to have the intro program for the older Sincrai kids and Sarmas boys. Several weeks ago, we had half of the kids from Sincrai at camp, many of them were younger. I got to see most of my kids today and it was so wonderful. Little Eva just blesses my heart so much. And so do the older kids from my team, Sergiu, Tunde, and Ionela; even Ciripel (who can be all over the place) came to me and hugged me. I do hope to visit them again before I leave Romania.

I already emailed Frisbee about this, but I just wanted to declare that this morning we had a little time listening to some classic Steven Curtis Chapman and Amy Grant songs. "Lucky One" brings such good memories from both my childhood and Berry. And i have a question...why in the world did Steven Curtis Chapman have songs about the "King of the Jungle" and "Dancing with the Dinosaurs???" For real.


Alright, well I am going to go now. Love you all and am looking forward to seeing people in about two weeks!

Camp with the Reghin kids :-)

While there have been harder weeks for me emotionally and physically, this past week with the Reghin kids stretched me more than ever. My faith, my strength, and my heart was so pushed by the Lord in what He taught me. Here are several highlights:

--most of the kids on my team (“Echipa Brazilia”) this week were severe special needs. Two of my girls took a lot of attention, everything from helping brush their teeth to cutting up their food. While this was draining, I loved being able to take care of Simona and Maria. They both touched my heart so much this week.

--a little about Simona…this girl is probably shorter than 5 feet and cannot speak. I met her on Tuesday since she does not live at Reghin. I fell in love with her immediately. She was at my side the entire week, holding my hand. If I wasn’t holding her hand, she would just grunt at me and grab it. All week, I wondered what was going on inside of her, if she could understand anything that was going on. When she began to pull me down to hug her, I could tell that she could tell that I loved her. On Thursday, the psychology side of me came out and I decided to get out paper and markers for her to draw. At first, she drew squiggles in rows over the entire page. It was so orderly and exact, true signs of Autism or Ausburgers. When I saw this I wondered if that was all her brain saw; if her brain was only static. I flipped over the paper and wrote Simona’s name. I was amazed to see that she could somewhat copy the letters. It was very rough as if she has never learned to read or write, but it was something. What amazed me even more though, was that she began to draw a person after this. It looked like one of the blob person figures that a 4 year old would draw, but I was shocked to see her draw this. Every line and mark was so deliberate. It was so encouraging to see this, because it meant that there is more inside of her than what you would think. On Thursday night, as I prayed over each kid on my team, the Lord brought to my heart to pray for healing for Simona. All week, she would only nod or grunt when she wanted my attention. My heart broke when I thought about what would happen to her one day. I was full of questions for the Lord of who would take care of her and how she would function without being able to communicate. But then I had to remember that the Lord has her, He will take care of her and that I need to trust in His plan for each of these kids’ lives. That night when we were praying, the Lord moved in several of our hearts to pray healing over Simona. Brian spoke to everyone when we gathered back together about following the Lord’s prodding to do something that may be uncomfortable. My heart broke when I realized he was speaking about Simona, that we were going to pray for her to speak. She didn’t speak that night except making some different sounds to me when I put her to bed. But then on Friday morning, when Brian asked who would pray for our breakfast, Simona’s hand shot up so fast. She ran to the front and while we couldn’t hear her praying, I knew she was. I am convinced that one day I will hear Simona’s story from her own mouth, whether that may be on earth or in Heaven, it is in the Lord’s plan. Experiencing life with Simona this week completely pushed my faith in the Lord to take care of each of these sweet kids. And I have full confidence that even though I doubt in the hope they have to have a good life, the Lord knows and has a plan for each of them. One thing that I ask of all of you is that you pray along with us that God heal Simona’s voice, that she be able to speak one day. One of our prayers this summer has been that the deaf would hear and the mute speak. Please pray alongside us in that, so that we can praise the Lord for what only He can do. I fully believe that God is the ultimate healer and I look forward to hearing reports of how He has worked.

--we had a couple of discipline issues this week with the kids. It’s so hard because you want to have so much mercy for them, you want to believe everything they say, but sometimes you just can’t. You have to set rules and stick to what you say. We had an issue with plates being stolen. Brian gave them several chances to return the plates without getting in trouble, but told them that if they weren’t all returned, we were not going to the Weekend. It ended up that we had to decide to not take the kids to the Weekend. It broke our hearts to have to punish the entire group for just a few kids’ bad choices, but no one returned the plates, so we had to stick to our word.
--this week I realized that I only had this week and next week of camp left, that I just need to pour all of myself out. I don’t want to leave Romania with regrets that I didn’t love on the kids enough, that I didn’t give my all to serving the Lord here. God gave me so much strength this summer to get through homesickness, to handle some intense weeks of camp, to learn so much about how I lead and serve in a group setting, and so much more than I could even imagine. It has been a great summer, but the great part about that realization is that I have one more week of camp left and I can give it all I have and more because the Lord is my strength.

--i could go on for hours about this week. there are so many small and big breakthroughs that i saw with the kids, the staff, and volunteers. it really was a great week.

Well, I have only two more weeks from Monday until I get home. I am so excited to go home, to be with my family and friends, to just soak in all that I have learned here in Romania. Something that all of you could also be praying about for me is a job for me when I get home. I have no idea what the Lord wants for me. Please pray that He guide me to the perfect job and the perfect location, and that He continue to give me a peace about His plan. I love all of you very much and look forward to being able to speak to many of you about even more of what the Lord has done here. Thank you for praying, for reading, and for supporting me here.

can't believe i'm entering my 6th week of camp!

alright, so week 5 of Tabara Vetca was with the Livada Orphan Care kids (or as we say, LOC kids). it was such a different week as there were less kids, they knew a good bit of english and we did not have our volunteers for the week. also what made it different is that it was Brian and Sarah's first week leading camp. the talks were different while remaining on the same topic. while i miss Paul and Fiona and it was sad to say goodbye to them, sometimes the Lord uses a change in leadership to change perspective. this new perspective was needed as the interns have been doing the same thing for five weeks now. it was good to change it up a bit and refresh the soul.

i did not have a team again this week, so that i could be a stations leader and also help Sarah with some of the details things. i love building relationships with people and i would call myself a people-person, but there is something about having a task and seeing your work completed that i really enjoy. i think this is the "beaver" side of me coming out (or some of you may know it as the "C" personality).

LOC kids are divided up into the three group homes, Casa Ana, Casa Nadia, and Casa Rebeca. they love coming to camp, which makes it easy to handle behavior issues and to build relationships. since they have been so exposed to the gospel and to good care, it is so much easier for these kids to receive love. i was able to spend alot of time with two brothers, Geza and Bela. They are such a joy to be around. Both of them are very loving, but polar opposites. Geza has the best English i've heard out of all the kids. it's funny because he will speak to Romanians in English, even to the kids who don't know as much English. Geza is an extremely talented and intelligent boy. I really enjoyed playing cards with him or just sitting and chatting. (Jeremy, Geza asked about you and called you his friend. He did so well this week at camp, you would have been proud of how he got involved with everything). Geza's brother Bela was all over me this week. He loves to hug and kiss on you all the time. His English is fairly good as well, so it made part of our time together a little bit easier. Bela was a bundle of energy and loved for me to play basketball, futbol (soccer) and any kind of game with him. by the end of the week, Bela called me mom. many of the kids like to call us mom, dad, brother, sister, etc. i just find this so interesting that these kids long to identify with us as their family. and we are so quick to love on them as if they were. that's one of the things i love about camp, is being the mom, the sister, the friend that these kids need. (Jenn, Bela asked about you tons this past week and kept asking when you would be coming back to see him. He really missed you this week. i will put up pictures soon, as i have so many of him!). Geza and Bela were just two of the handful of kids that i got to build a relationship with this week. They were all such a joy and blessing.

We are now starting our 6th week of camp and I can't believe that we have this week and then our last week of camp. This week is with the kids (who are all mostly teenagers) from the Reghin Orphanage. Most of the kids have some kind of special needs issue, yet they are all so loving. It was a good first day, despite some confusion with who was actually coming to camp. Be praying for us this week as this tends to be one of the harder weeks of the summer. Many of the interns are very tired and in need of some encouragement and rest. We had a sweet time together last night praying over eachother and sharing about what the Lord was teaching us. Also, the Lord provided some great laughs as we had our Christmas in July yesterday. We did the gift swap game with all kinds of funny and some quite useful gifts. I was excited to get an actual elephant figurine (as the gifts were to be "white elephant"). Andrea got clever with her gift there. :-) Some of the hot items were a four pack of Hell energy drink and sunflower seeds, a nice picture of our three boys with their "staches" and a Berry College shirt! Everyone jokes with me that all i have is Berry clothes. This is mostly because they see me in tshirts all week at camp (which of course are Berry because of the jillions i have), i wear my Berry flip flops at camp, i wear my Berry sweatpants at night and my Berry shorts during the day. So, for the wrapping of my gift, i thought i'd give one of my tshirts away. it was great fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it. This party was out of control with Christmas music, Chinese food (fa-ra-ra-ra), and a paper Christmas tree! We really enjoyed our crazy time together. (And girls, i would have you know that i even had a mini dance party to "walking around the christmas tree" and some other great christmas tunes. haha!!)

Please be praying for us this week as i know so many of you are. We need energy and excitement for the week, but more importantly love. One of our prayers as interns is that we be sensitive to the Spirit in what we are being led to do. Please pray with us in that.
Also, i need for all of you to pray for my body. Last week was really rough pain-wise for me as it was very rainy. Please pray that the pain in my joints would cease.

I thank all of you for your love and prayers. Three weeks from today, I will be returning home, so we are in the home-stretch now!

Week 4—Sincrai Group Homes

To follow my really hard week of camp last week, I had an excellent time this week. The Lord knew that I really needed some encouragement. Again, I was on Team SUA with some wonderful kids. Each member of the team blessed me whether they were a camper, volunteer, or Irish team member.
This week was the first time that I seriously desired to bring a child home with me. If international adoptions were open in RO, I would want to bring these four children home with me. Eva, the youngest of the four, was on my team. She was absolutely precious. Eva turned 7 on Friday and my heart swelled in celebration for her life. When you would hold Eva, she would hold on to your face and the sweetest smile would come across her face. In Romanian, she would ask me if I loved her and when I told her yes, she would just respond with a “si yo” (“and I, you”). It was fantastic. On Friday, at The Weekend, I noticed that she has a surgical scar on her leg and that one leg was longer than the other. My heart broke in compassion for this girl that is so small, yet there is some story there with what she has been through. And that is how it is with each kid that I meet. They each have scars, whether it is physical, emotional, spiritual or mental. Each kid we work with has a story, and each has a purpose. That’s what keeps me going when I’m exhausted at camp, thinking about how the Lord has a purpose for each kid there. The Lord has purpose in me being there, in teams being there, and volunteers being there. I love that. I love that God has a reason and a plan for everything in His hands. It’s so comforting to think about.
As I've been reading through Psalms, today I came to Psalm 121, the "Berry Psalm." It both made me smile and tear up a bit for that wonderful place. Take a minute to read it, because it's words are great. I love that I am now in the section of Psalms that are the "psalms of ascents." They are all looking up towards the Lord.
Tonight, a huge group of us have rented out the bowling alley to have an official going away party for Paul and Fiona. It was sad to think that this was their last week at camp. They both have incredible hearts for the Lord and have such an energy and excitement with the kids. They will be sorely missed. The next three weeks of camp will be led by Brian (the intern director) and Sarah (an intern whose had alot of experience with Livada). I'm looking forward to the fresh perspective they will be bringing to camp. Please be praying for both of them as they get comfortable with leading camp.
On a side note, I just wanted to say that all of the interns have decided to have Christmas in July! We are going to do a white elephant party and watch a Christmas movie next sunday before our 8 week interns leave us. What's funny about this is that we've already watched Home Alone 2 about a million times already and we'll probably watch it again. :-) the humor of the interns really makes me laugh.
Well, I think that is all for now. Thank you all for praying for me in these weeks. It means so much for me to receive comments and emails of encouragement. The Lord uses every bit of it to refresh and revive me.
Much love to all of you!!

To My Very Best Friend

I just want to say a big Happy Birthday!!! to my boyfriend and best friend, Matthew Ira. He is turning 22 today and I could not be a more proud girlfriend. Matt has been with me through the thick and thin for four years now and the past 7 months have been such an adventure as our friendship moved to a relationship. Matt is probably one of the most loyal people i've ever met and the way he selflessly loves and serves others is amazing.
It kills me that I am not with him on his birthday, but I am there in spirit. For any of you who know Matt, make his day awesome. :-)

Here are some pictures from throughout the years. Enjoy!!

too much to write!!!

I'm finding it hard to think of everything to blog about. So much happens in a week at camp and on the weekends that i can't keep up! Also, it's hard because internet access is a bit sporadic. oh well!

Here are some things i'm learning:

--identity: this past week at camp, we had teenagers who sometimes appeared as if they didn't want to be there and sometimes "joked" with us Americans. i was never able to understand their jokes and most times, the translators would not translate because it would be dirty. though at times this was frustrating, i began to really think about where my identity lies. i truly is in Christ. no matter what insult someone throws at me or what lie satan tries to whisper in my area, i can turn my head as if it is another language, because only the Lord determines who i am and that is truly amazing. this is totally cool because becoming confident in my identity in Christ was one of my initial prayers this summer before camps started. i love seeing the Lord work through both conflicts and triumphs.

--a long time ago, i met with a guy named Jim Doggett. For those of you who don't know who he is, he serves with a campus ministry i was involved with at Berry and helps students with figuring out how they are gifted and where they could best serve. it's almost like meeting with a career counselor, but with a spiritual twist to it. i spoke with him about missions last summer and how i feared that i would not be going for the right reasons, that i would just be running from heartache. what the Lord spoke through Jim was that i needed to go overseas because there were lessons i had to learn that i couldn't learn while staying at home. He told me that i would learn lessons to become a better wife and mother one day. at that time, that seemed like words for the very far future, so it did not strike me at the time. however, the Lord brought Jim's words back to mind last week and showed me how that really is coming to fruition. i am amazed at how i really am learning about parenting through working with these kids at camp. i am learning that you must have discipline with love in order to show kids how to have boundaries in their lives. boundaries and rules in life help kids to have order and enables them to separate right from wrong. also, through LeeAnn Briley (the intern director's wife), i am learning so much in how to serve and respect your husband. As i've gotten closer with my mom through the years, it's been so cool to soak in these things and learn from her, LeeAnn and the other wives and mothers i am around. Brian and LeeAnn have no idea what they are doing when they get back from Romania, yet they are so faithful and obedient to the Lord's guiding.

--last week at camp, i had a girl on my team that ended up having a decaying tooth (well, i think that was the problem, some of it may have gotten lost in translation). i hate that she was in pain, yet it was such a wonderful opportunity to show love. it was so cool to be able to love on her by taking care of her and mothering her. those of you who went to school with me, all of those years of mothering and nursing you have paid off, because i could really show love to this girl by doing what i feel like i'm gifted at, which is mercy. please pray for Cristina as they try to get her to the dentist and figure out what is wrong. she was in tons of pain and barely slept at camp. i pray that she get the adequate attention for her teeth.

--in the Bible, i've been reading two things. 1) for months, i've been going through Psalms. i have always loved reading the heart crys of the psalmists as they are so honest with who they are and who they know God to be. and 2) i've been reading through several of Paul's letters. i have always loved reading paul's letters and enjoyed the truth that is in them. reading them here, it has been such an eye-opening experience, because here i am on a missionary journey myself, and when i write blogs and emails back home, it is as if i can dissect the truth through all that i am experiencing here. Paul reports about all God is doing and that is what i do hope you gain out of this blog, that you can be encouraged by the truth and all that He is doing here in Romania.

--seeing people transform has been great. interns, volunteers, and teams that come into town have all been touched by the Lord in some way since beginning this summer. no matter what background they may be spiritually or religiously, i can see their countenances change and soften as the Lord uses the kids and teenagers to touch our hearts. i love it. on saturday nights, we usually gather as interns with whatever team is here and share what we saw the Lord do in the past week. it's amazing to hear how different each person's experiences could be. last week was hard for me, yet it was another intern's favorite week so far. also, on sunday evenings, the interns have dinner together and meet to share what the Lord has been teaching them. i am always so encouraged to hear the Lord working. our times of prayer together has been such a blessing as we take specific people and issues before the Lord, completely trusting in His ability to work.

Thanks so much for reading about what the Lord is teaching me. This ended up to be a much longer post than i expected and i could probably ramble on more about all the things God is teaching me.
I love all of you and miss you tons! I always enjoy the comments you leave as i usually get them on friday after a week of camp. Have a wonderful week!!

Ps. on a major side note, i just heard that one of my team members for the week may have broken her wrist. please pray that it is not that serious and that the hospital visit go well. Her name is Joye and she has just arrived from Northern Ireland with a team.

A Cultural Experience :-)

I had the opportunity to go to a Romanian wedding yesterday. Andreea was going to a wedding at her church, so she invited some of us to go with her. Another friend of ours was actually in the wedding too, so it was kind of cool. There were some really neat things in the very long wedding. First, the church had an early service that was full of prayer. We probably stood three or four times to pray and everyone prays out loud at the same time, very cool. (This is a Pentecostal church here in RO, so it wasn’t the traditional Orthodox). After having church for an hour, everyone just stayed in their seats for the wedding to begin. The bride and groom sat on a bench on the stage, and now I understand why…because they would have been standing for two entire hours! A group of children sang a song to them, poems were recited, the mother of the groom sang a song to them, the wedding party sang a song to them, and about two or three “sermons” were given as well. It was so great and I wish that I could have understand it all for I’m sure it was beautiful. I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to go. After the wedding service, the wedding party and invited guests get into decorated cars and drive around town honking their horns. They drive to a restaurant and have a long meal together. I’ve decided that I really like the honking tradition. ☺

Also, I want to point out another cultural thing I have experienced lately: long meals. If you go to restaurant in Romania, expect to be there for two to three hours easily. If this were to happen in America, no tips would be given and people would storm the kitchen. In Romania, everyone just enjoys being around the table together, even if they don’t have their food after 45 minutes. Maybe Americans are in a hurry too much.

This week of camp will be with mostly teenagers, so please pray for open hearts and minds. Having teenagers also means later nights, so please pray for adequate rest. I have a pretty good team, for what I’ve seen so far. And I have awesome translators! It’s great that the volunteers and interns are starting to get more comfortable with eachother as we serve together. We head out to Vetca tomorrow, so please pray for our week at camp!


Currently listening to: All-American Rejects and Ben Folds

Pictures!!!!

Ok, probably one of my favorite pictures. This is Emilia. She is 6 years old and has the most beautiful long eyelashes i've ever seen. She was on my team this week. This picture is taken right before our Thursday night party. She is looking underneath the door of the tent to get a glimpse of the exciting things to come. Love it.
oops, sorry it is sideways. i forgot to flip it before uploading. this is a baby at the Ludus Baby Hospital. so cute. they love to play with us when we come.
Meet Cristina. She is the youngest of 7 kids living in the orphanage and group homes in Zau. She is 6 years old and was on my SUA team this past week at camp. This was taken after our first day together.

This is Letitia. She was a very loving teenage girl from the first week of camp. I really enjoyed hanging out with her.
One of my favorite volunteers, Andreea. We have learned alot from eachother with our different languages. Her sweet spirit has been an encouragement to me.

So there are a few pictures of my experience so far. For those of you with facebook, I will be uploading some albums sometime soon. Also, I want to figure out the whole picture flash thing on this blog, that would be cool.

Alright, well, now we are about to have our weekly cookout with the team. Have a great evening!!

Week 2 at Tabara Vetca: Zau Orphanage and Group Homes

Week 2 of camp was really great. The kids were quite different as most of the campers were girls and not as many were special needs as last week. I led team SUA this week (that’s USA, for you Americans ☺) and we actually won the silver medals for the week! I couldn’t believe it.
The Lord has really been teaching me about my leadership style through all of this. I’m not a wild and crazy person. I get excited about things and can have lots of energy at points, but I am usually not the kind of person that will start the high energy. I am learning to lead by serving and relationships. One girl on my team was such a leader and so it was great to sit back and allow her to lead on her peers. We had to step in at times, but I focused on the ones left out, which seems to be where I am attracted.
Some of us were talking last night at dinner and seemed to all agree that the kids give us energy. They enjoy being at camp so much and look forward to it all year. So all of that excitement helps us to keep going. There are 5 more weeks of camp left and I know the Lord will give me strength and energy through the kids.
Last night and this morning I was thinking about the week and thinking about how to minister effectively to orphans. This week I realized that so many of these kids do not understand the concept of rules and boundaries. They’ve rarely had healthy and loving discipline in their lives and it shows by how they play games or listen to directions. I think that many people think that the best thing to do with orphans is to give them whatever they want. I know that orphans do not have the opportunity to get so many things like we do in America, but there is also the need for them to learn how to earn something in their lives. The same is true for American kids that are handed everything in their lives, they don’t understand limits. This is so sad to me as I have been realizing this, because it makes ministry harder. Love has no limits, but there is discipline in love also and that is something that I need to grasp. The cool part about learning all of this is that these are great lessons for ministry and for parenthood. The Lord is teaching me so much about life here, more than just loving on orphans.
Thanks for reading my sermon-like post. This week at camp looked very similar activity-wise as last week, so I don’t feel the need to tell you all of that again. Please continue to pray for physical and emotional strength for myself, for the volunteers and team members that help us each week, and most importantly, that the Lord show his unending love to the kids that we are with at camp.
I love all of you and hope you had a great 4th of July!
(ps. several of us sang the national anthem in honor of our homeland’s birthday, haha. It’s weird to not see fireworks!)

The Beginning of Camp Vetca!

get ready for an extra long blog.....:-)

We have now finished our first week of camp. This week was definitely a week of learning as the interns and new volunteers were figuring out how the weeks are going to work. The kids we had this week were from Turnaveni, Sarmas, Campenita, and some other group homes. I didn’t really come to RO with expectations of what the kids would be like, but I guess I was surprised at how many of the kids have disabilities. So many of the children we had were Autistic or have Ausburgers and so many other mental and social disabilities. While the kids love camp and we love the kids, all of these special needs put together can make for a trying experience as we try to play games. Oh yeah, and the interns don’t speak their language…but the Lord was so good.
Camp surrounds the theme of the Olympics this summer, so each team is a specific country. The kids had such a great time with this theme and really got into cheering on their country. We even had a medal ceremony the last night of camp. Germania took the gold this week, with Romania close in 2nd.
I was assigned to be a station leader this week, so I did not lead a team, but was in charge of some games and crafts and helping out with the extra things that needed to be done. I really liked seeing how camp works as a whole, seeing what supplies we needed for each activity and supervising games will help in the next weeks as the number of our interns decrease and there will be more to take care of. However, it will be great to have an actual team with specific kids that I can focus on in other weeks of camp.
I’m starting to pick up some of the language by being around the kids. They are great teachers and love to laugh at the funny ways we pronounce their words. I can definitely understand more when I listen to people speak as opposed to speaking Romaneste. There are just several sounds in the language that I can’t quite grasp and it’s hard to remember words that aren’t repeated very much. But I am understanding phrases that we say over and over again to the kids, like “sit down” or “throw the ball” or “very good.”
So here is an overview of our days at Tabara (Camp) Vetca:
Monday: We visited the kids at their group homes and played with them at a field. They were organized in their teams and had their first competitions as a team.
Tuesday: The kids arrived in Vetca in the afternoon. We had been setting up before that, getting their beds ready and such. When the kids arrived, we checked them in and had some “athletic training exercises.” They played some games of Wiffleball and had dinner before one of the main Olympic events, the Battle for the Rings. After that, we had club time which they sing and listen to a lesson that Paul presents. Of course, it wouldn’t be camp without a camp fire, so the kids enjoyed s’mores after club time.
Wednesday: Our first full day at camp begins about 7am, mainly just because you can’t sleep any later than that. The leaders have a meeting at 8 to talk and pray before we set up breakfast. Some of the highlights for the kids on Wednesday were the slip and slide in the afternoon and the messy games in the evening. It was kind of good to have the slip and slide in the middle of the week to get them a little cleaner than they were, haha. Of course, the free time before and after most of the meals allows for a good chance to hang out with the kids, we throw the ball, paint nails and watch the boys play basketball. I got some great manicures from some of the boys actually. Some of them love to paint the girls’ nails and play with their hair, it’s so funny. I think these particular boys just needed some quality time to chill with some of the leaders. It was great fun.
Thursday: This day pretty much looks the same as Wednesday, except for the evening with the medal ceremony and party. We have this huge dance party (“discoteca”) with balloons that they pop within 2 minutes. The kids love to dance to the techno songs and then American songs like the Macarena and Cotton Eye Joe. It so much fun to be crazy with them (and you girls know how I love a good dance party ☺). As I mentioned earlier, we have a medal ceremony for the teams. It was great to see how them so excited for each team. Thursday night is also special because we get a chance to pray over the kids and give them gift bags with things they need. One of the really cool things about this was the opportunity I had to share with one of the volunteer girls. Since this blog is already so long, I will make this a short story, but she says that she does not believe God exists, yet she found herself loving the kids. When we prayed, she did as well and was moved to tears because of how she loved the kids. Afterwards, another intern and I talked with her as she opened up about her beliefs (or rather, lack of belief). Anyways, it was so cool to talk with her and pray over her. I told her that there was a reason she was helping at camp this summer and that the love she has for the kids was from God. I really pray that she see the truth from all of this and believe. Please be praying for her, that the Lord continue moving her heart and that she comes back to volunteer at camp.
Friday: This day is pretty quick at camp as we are getting cleaned up to leave for The Weekend. We have breakfast and get the kids packed up. We then take them to a water park called The Weekend. Some people played this place up to be really gross, but it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It’s not super nice, but there is lots to do there and the kids really enjoy the pools and the water slides. We were in the water for maybe ten minutes when a huge storm came rolling in, so we had to quickly run and grab all of our stuff and get the kids warm. We were all soaking wet and had to sort through the piles of clothes to get the kids dressed. They were upset, but kept good attitudes. We said our goodbyes from the parking lot. Some of the kids cried and some were joking around, but it was evident that they really enjoyed their week at camp.

I’m so sorry for such a long post, but getting a good overview of camp will help you know how to pray. Please pray for the volunteers, the kids for next week, for the energy of the staff, and for the few interns that will be leaving next week. Also pray that we have good weather at camp next week. It was pretty hot this week, but we survived by getting in the shade or next to fans during our down times. Thank you so much for praying for me, the team, and the orphans here in Romania. Knowing that you are all going to the Lord on my behalf helps get me through the week. I could not do this without the Lord’s strength and grace. Have a blessed week!!

Ps. this is a major side note, but I feel like it has to be told. This weekend is a huge festival called Mures Days in TM. There are tons of concerts, street vendors and carnival rides in the town. Sarah and I were walking back from dinner last night and heard the very familiar tune of Sweet Home Alabama!! We were so shocked to hear Romanians singing this song and the crowd knowing all the words to it! This was such a surreal moment for me here in Romania that I will never forget. How funny is that?!

A few links for you :-)

Some of you may be interested to see some other things about Livada:
1. this is the livada blog. kelly does a great job updating with pictures and all.
2. this is a video of the before and after pictures of some of the children in Livada's care. i can't remember if i have put this up yet. here it is anyways.
3. here is a list of the other interns' blogs.

hope you enjoy!

ps. please pray that the Lord heal my sore throat. i'm not feeling all that well and am trying to rest up for energy at camp. thank you. much love to all of you.

The First Week....Getting Acclimated :-)

Hello everyone,
Well. I have been here for a week now and I love it! We have already been able to do so much, as the staff has been showing around the interns. Getting to know the city has been fun and intriguing.
Here are a few things we have done so far:
Ludus Baby Hospital—ok, this was a heart-breaker kind of place. The babies and toddlers are hardly played with outside of the time Livada goes to the hospital. I will tell the full stories about the children later, but let me just tell you that you could not dream of how awful these two year olds' lives have been already. I am amazed at how much the sense of touch can communicate love in an individual's life. There was a blind child in the hospital that has some other medical issues as well. She pretty much lies in the crib every day of her short life. But a smile lit her face up when I touched her even though she had no idea who I was. I really had to hold back tears as I prayed over her small body. Another child there was a joy to play with and loved to be held and tickled. I really enjoyed visiting this place and look forward to taking teams there over the summer.
Zau Girl’s Orphanage—this is a state-run institution that is in complete shambles. If you think of Annie the musical, this is what this place is like to me. While the girls make do with what they have, their conditions are still pretty crappy. What an amazing feeling it was to not even be up the hill to the orphanage and the children are running to your car, getting in with you and so elated that you are there. You feel like a rock star, no joke. I got out of the car and had tons of children hugging and kissing me, asking me what my name is (Cum te cheama?). One of the little girls, Miella, clung on to me the entire time we were there and would not share me or the ball we were playing with. Haha, she even got in a fight with another kid because she wanted to play with us. This is the culture in the state homes though, they fend for the themselves and have to fight for what is theirs. Two of the staff members said that they will bring new clothes to the younger kids, but when they come back they are still wearing their old (and small) clothes because the new things have been stolen by the other orphans. There is not much supervision in these homes, therefore there are many cases of abuse that are orphan to orphan. Very sad situation there.
Livada Group Homes—on Sunday, we visited three of the group homes that have children within Livada’s care. These were fun and we just hung out with the kids and got to know them. It is amazing the difference of these kids and the joy they have compared to the kids at the state orphanage. While not all of Livada’s children have committed their lives to the Lord and many have deep issues, they are living in a Christ-filled environment. If you look on the Livada website, you will see pictures of these kids and just notice how much light is in their eyes. The Lord really does shine through the people that know him here.
Work Week at Camp Vetca!—on Monday, we started working at camp. We have set up tents, cleaned, and gotten the place ready for camp next week. The team worked so incredibly hard for three days and only a few of us had to go today to tie up some loose ends. The rain held off until we were finished putting up tents, which is such an answer to prayer. One of the Romanian men that helps us, Imre, is such a hard worker and we don’t even pay him to do all of this stuff for us. He is out at camp before we get there and after we leave, making sure everything is perfect. Please pray that the Lord bless him and draw Imre to know Him.

A few things to pray for:
--Week 1 of camp! (Actually, what they say here is that every week is week 1, because we need to carry the same excitement of the first week even up til the last week!)—pray that the Lord give the interns, staff, volunteers and American team energy and strength. Pray for the children’s hearts to be open to love and the Lord’s sweet call for them as His children.
--My energy especially. This has been a physically tough week for my joints. I’m not a very strong person, but have done some hard work this week. Pray that the Lord grant me freedom from joint pain next week so that I can play with the kids with energy.
--that the Lord work through us to minister to the Romanian volunteers. there are volunteers from the local universities that will be translating for us at camp. many of these volunteers do not know the Lord and so this is a great way to love speak to them about the Lord as they are speaking for us to the children!



Ok, well that should be all for now. Thank you so much for reading and praying. It means so much for all of you to keep up with how the Lord is working here is Romania. I’m so excited and grateful that the Lord has brought me here for the summer. Until next time, La Revedere!


Currently listening to: the Euro Techno beat to American songs....i'm at a Romanian coffee shop :-)

Salut!

I am now writing you from the beautiful country of Romania! After only 22 hours of travel, we arrived last night (Thursday) around 8:00. (Apparently, in previous years, it has taken them 30+ hours to get here, so I am very thankful.) There is a 6 or 7 hour time difference between here and Georgia. I can’t really figure out which it is. Our first flight left at 2:30 from Greenville. This was a short flight to DC. We arrived there and I had the perfect amount of time to make quick phone calls, grab a sandwich (which was awesome) to go and board the plane. From DC, we flew to Munich, Germany, which was about seven and a half hours. Those small seats get very uncomfortable very quick! The movie Vantage Point was on, so I watched that and then flipped around some other movies. Vantage Point was so intense! I had wanted to see it when it came out, but never found the time to do so. Pretty good movie, even though you see the same thing blow up about seven times. Anyway, after only sleeping on the plane to Munich for about an hour or so, we had a short layover in Munich. From Munich to Bucharesti was a small trip, but I slept the entire time. Really, I’ve never felt more dead. After that flight, we got our luggage, got our passports stamped, and loaded the bus. Our bus ride was another 7 hours! I was surprised that the bus was air-conditioned and much roomier than a plane seat, however still not a bed. We all were excited to see the countryside, which is so beautiful. We were also excited to see a McDonalds in Brasov, where we ate a lunch/dinner. Ordering was an adventure, and you have to pay for ketchup! But the food was just as good and just as greasy. ☺ Four hours later, we arrived in Targu Mures, the city of flowers. The architecture here is beautiful and I have already taken tons of pictures, especially for Dad.

A few of my first observations of Romania:
1) the rolling hills and fields sort of remind me of California (Hollister area, of course);
2) the cities are kind of dirty, but not too bad, it’s just that things are old;
3) people love to just sit around and watch the cars and people;
4) in Targu Mures, lots of people are carrying around flowers they have bought from the market.
5) gas was 4.44, but I guess that might be in lei. Which means our gas is much more expensive right now.
6) some exchange places charge a commission. How is it that people say they want to buy and sell money? Some of the interns were charged a 16% commission today, and lost about 16 dollars.

The intern house is so much nicer than I expected it to be. Of course, after living in conditions like the Panama Palms for ten weeks, my expectations were somewhat low. It’s very roomy, with a nice kitchen and living room area. It ends up that I am sharing a room with just one girl! Some people might move around, but for now, it’s nice to have some personal space. I think I’ve acclimated already, which is nice.

Something that I’m already loving about my team is how often we pray for things. We spent a good amount of time praying during orientation in SC and then again this morning during a team meeting. Also, we’ve prayed quickly for things such as a wreck that we saw that had many injuries. The prayers of the interns and the Brileys are so real and I am encouraged by their hearts already. The team is getting along very well. There is lots of laughter when the group is together. So, I’m enjoying just getting to know everyone.
Today we spent some time going over details of how to call for a taxi and then we took a walking tour from our house to the downtown area (centro). I’m so excited to get to the know the city even more. I feel very safe here and look forward to going out for coffee with some of the girls and the volunteers that serve as translators.
Tonight, we are having dinner at Kelly’s house, who is a staff member for Livada. Tomorrow, we are going to visit a baby hospital and maybe one of the group homes. Sunday, we will be visiting one of the state-run orphanages, so we can grasp what the children are coming from. It is going to be an emotional weekend, I can already tell.

Things to pray for:
--unity for the team
--that the rain would hold off next week so that we can get the tents set up
--good health as we get accustomed to the food in the next few days
--that the Lord would continue the work he is already doing in my heart
--that the Lord would prepare the hearts of the orphans, that they would be open to love


Thank you so much for reading. I don’t expect all posts to be this long, but I had some free time this afternoon. Much love to all of you.


Currently listening to: Five for Fighting (Thanks, Amanda sue) ☺

time to go!

well, the time has come where i really have to say my goodbyes. said bye to leanna and tracy on friday, matt's family this weekend, frisbee yesterday, and my parents and matt tonight.
the bags are packed and i guess that i'm ready to go. not really sure if the suitcase is under 50 lbs. oops!
i have had such a wonderful few days. on friday, tracy, leanna, and frisbee came over to help me pack and stuff. it was great just hanging out with them. i must commend them on their packing abilities! also, frisbee and leanna helped me get ready for a hot date with matthew on friday night. matt and i went to the blue ridge grill! it was awesome. the restaurant is set up like an old home or lodge, but modernized a bit. matt and i got to sit in this semi-circle booth, so we kind of same-side sat....sorry, everyone. :-) matt got steak and i got the salmon, of course. it all tasted so good. matt was particularly excited about his sweet tea that he could sweeten with a sugar water concoction they give you. another interesting thing about this restaurant was the giant picture of a hare above the fireplace. i think if i thought about that thing before going to sleep, it would give me nightmares! after dinner (and a creme brulee dessert, yummy!), we drove to carrollton to visit with matt's family. hanging out with them all day saturday was so wonderful. we were busy getting the farm and house ready for family to come over that night. they had a big family get-together to celebrate the latest birthdays and graduations, which they included me in on too. they are such a wonderful family and so similar to mine that i feel very comfortable.
yesterday, matt and i came back to canton to be with my family. josh couldn't come home, since he had to work, but it's ok. going to miss my brother...
frisbee hung out with us yesterday as we all just sat around, had a steak dinner, and i finished packing. it just doesn't feel real that i am leaving. and it won't, i guess, until i'm on that plane, landing in RO.
my heart is so sad to say goodbye to my parents and matt today. they are all so excited for me and have provided so much strength for me in the last few years. you know, i've never described myself as a brave or courageous person. in fact, i've always thought of myself in the exact opposite terms, but my parents, matt, frisbee, trace, and so many others, have encouraged me so much lately by telling me how brave i am in doing this. i have dreamed about going overseas, really helping people, for so long, and now that is actually happening. here goes my journey......

not really sure when i will first be able to update when i arrive in RO, but will notify all of you as soon as i can. i love each of you dearly and thank you for the support that i could not live without. :-)

apparently it's time to post...:-)

i was so nicely told that i should write on my blog again. haha. so, here it is. (when i am in RO, i will be able to update weekly, but probably not any more than that.)

anyone who reads this should go look at this video. These children are absolutely beautiful and my heart is growing anxious to meet them. Brian, the intern director, called me today to confirm plans for next week. Another small piece of making this all so real.

lately, i've been getting things ready and saying my goodbyes to some very dear people. On Sunday, i hung out with a few people in Rome. Matt organized a dinner at Provinos (i love those rolls) and dessert at his apartment. It was such a chill, stress-free, drama-free time that i really needed with some of my best friends. Trace and Frisbee gave me this awesome photo album full of pictures from the last few years. I will cherish that so much, especially when I am in RO. I was especially glad that Jer, Caitlin and Joe could be there that day, as I will not have the chance to see them any this week before i leave. Jer and Caitlin are getting married at the end of this month and then moving to New York. I'm so excited for them and jealous of their courage. Saying bye to people is hard when you are not sure when you will see them again. I've always had a fear for the unknown. However, the Lord is slowly making me grow accustomed to it.

I've got a big date with Matt on Friday that I'm very excited about. It's kind of joint 6 month anniversary/going away date. The only clues I have are that Matt is wearing his khaki pants and the restaurant has valet parking. :-) of course, almost every restaurant aside from the Varsity has valet parking in the ATL. haha. We will then be spending some time with his family, celebrating birthdays and graduations. Matt's family is so welcoming and I love to spend time with them. Getting to know a person's family is such a great insight into a person.

ok, that's all for now. i will have a good update before my departure next week. can't believe it is so close. one week and i will be getting on a plane!

11 days to go....

well, one week from monday, i will be on my way to South Carolina for a short orientation before leaving for Romania. The team of interns will fly out together on that wednesday.

it is so close, but feels so far away right now. for two summers, i participated in beach project, which was ten weeks, but going to RO for ten weeks seems like a lifetime. all i can think about are the things i am missing--weddings, birthdays, etc.--what i need to focus on are the irreplaceable things i will get to do and see on this trip. i cannot wait to meet and love on those children.

i pulled out the suitcase and my new sleeping bag today. it is amazing that they can fit an entire sleeping bag in one of those small cylinder bags. i knew that it was going to be interesting whenever i was having a hard time even getting it out of the case! don't worry, though, i somehow just smushed it all in....not really sure how i did that. with the sleeping bag set in my suitcase, it does not leave much room for clothes and toiletries and the other things i think i'll need over ten weeks. and did i mention i have to pack in one 50 lb. suitcase and one carry on bag?! yeah....i'm glad it is summer and not winter clothes!

cleaned out some boxes of clothes that have been in my side-attic, and i am donating three garbage bags to goodwill!! i'm pretty impressed with myself about this, because i tend to just keep clothes for years without even taking the tags off. these clothes were from years of not knowing how to shop. but i definitely have grown in that area, so no more fashion blunders and wasted money!! all day today as i was throwing shirts and sweaters that no longer fit into a huge pile for goodwill, i kept thinking about how much i want to take these clothes to RO with me. i just want to give them to people that need them. i guess goodwill is essentially doing that for people here, though.

i haven't been up to too much since my last post. i've visited matt in Rome and enjoyed some great quality time with him. i've watched tv, gone to a wedding, hung out with Frisbee and Trace, and just enjoyed lots and lots of free time. yet still i find myself writing to do lists. i always will, i guess. :-)

i apologize for my absence in updating, but i haven't quite felt up to it. these two weeks, my heart and mind have become increasingly nervous about leaving for RO. as i mentioned earlier, i've been focused on what i'll be missing. i am praying (and beginning to get) a new attitude and mindset. this is going to be an incredible experience and i am shocked that i somehow had the courage to sign on. i'm not a risk-taker. especially when i am alone. but i'm doing something different and exploring who i am in Christ. that's the beauty of this trip for me--seeing the confidence the Lord is building in me as his servant. i guess you really do become a different person when you rely on Christ. He surpasses what we are capable of alone and completely surprises us.

with that i will leave you with the scripture my team is memorizing and meditating on for the summer:
Philippians 2:5-11
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Thanks for reading this ultra-long post. :-)



Currently listening to: Gavin DeGraw, Goo Goo Dolls, Jack Johnson, Guster, Matt Nathanson, and Kathleen Edwards (all from the Jason Mraz radio station on Pandora) :-)

whew!

well, alot has changed since my last post. i became a college graduate! :-) i don't think it has fully hit me yet, but little things hit me. like the fact that i can't just wake up, walk across the hall with coffee and watch regis and kelly with frisbee. the fact that i can't walk next door to hang out with matt is sad too.
i'm going to visit matt today. should be fun grocery shopping, cooking, and just chillin' together.

ok, so here are some Romania updates:
--i am completely done with support-raising, yet money is still coming in. i've put some away for expenses leading up to my trip. for example, i need a sleeping bag that can fit in my suitcase. :-)
--on sunday, i am sharing my testimony and information about my trip at one of my friend's church. i'm excited about this, because i get to share about how wonderfully the Lord has provided and not feel like i am standing up there asking for money. because i'm not!
--facebook is an incredible thing....i've become friends with several of the summer interns i'll be living and serving with. it's so cool that we can already communicate before we travel overseas together. i've come to find out that several of the interns going have already served with Livada before this summer. this both makes me nervous and puts me at ease at the same time. is it silly that i just hope that i fit in?
--to be honest, i am getting more and more nervous each day about leaving. i'm feeling anxious that i will not have enough love and patience to give to these children. but what the Lord keeps showing me is that He will do these things through me. this is a great revelation for me, because i've felt so inadequate, fearing that i will come up short. the truth is, i will if i rely on just myself. but the Lord's love does not run dry, but is continually sweet and fulfilling. that is how i will survive.
--also, another thing i've been getting nervous about is ridiculous. i'm nervous that i will be uncomfortable there. that i won't be able to shower as much as i want or sleep as comfortably as i want. the truth is, i just need to become ok with the fact that this summer is not about me being comfortable. it's actually kind of embarrassing to admit this silly and very materialistic fear i have here on the wide web, but i want to document and show all of you the entire journey my mind and heart are going through now, before this trip begins.
--i got the bulletin/newsletter thing from my childhood church in the mail yesterday. they printed a message to the church about my trip. this was cool to see how this church that i haven't attended since i was in 5th grade still loves and cares for me. so hello to my Glennville family!



i think that is all for now. i'm going to spend a little time preparing for what i will say on sunday. much love to all of you. :-)
bek


currently listening to: pandora radio (love it!), which is playing death cab for cutie (i've been a little obsessive lately)

no more stress...right?

well, i am done with school. not officially yet, we've still got to do the whole diploma, tassel, pomp and circumstance thing, but as of yesterday about 5:30, I was done with Berry schoolwork.
i'm pretty pumped about this, but it has not fully hit me yet. maybe when i start packing up things, it will hit me like a freight train.

money keeps rolling in for support. from people i would never even expect. i just want to thank all of you readers....aka trace, frisbee, mom and dad (not really sure who else reads this).....thanks to each of you for praying and helping me trust the Lord to bring the money. i've heard people say that raising support was such a blessing for them and I never believed them until now. of course, I think this is something you have to experience yourself to really appreciate it. that's how it was for me, at least.

well, i'm going to go do nothing because i can. :-)



currently listening to: the ocean sounds my dishwasher makes.

this is crazy

it is amazing to me how people rally around those that serve. my parents have been going to a small church for the past year or so. i'm good friends with a couple that is on staff at this church. the pastor emailed me when he heard about my trip and asked for me to speak one Sunday before i leave. he wants me to speak about my testimony, my calling to go on this trip, and my needs for the summer. They will take a love offering up for me and pray over me right there! I think this is incredible. All of my life, I've been on the praying side, just wishing i could be on the going side....and now i am. while this is only for ten weeks, i know this will not be my last trip.
What's so cool is that I have maybe been to this church five times when I am at home from school. And here they are wanting to do all they can for me. this support is so overwhelming that all i can do is thank the Lord for continually showing me this is the right thing to do. i love it.

things are wrapping up here at school. well, at least, trying to. it's hard to be excited to graduate and excited to go to Romania when i have so many papers to write. when i say so many papers, i mean like 7. yeah. i'm up to my eyeballs in papers. it's hard to enjoy my last days when all i do is write. so pray that i can be speedy in my writing so that i can really soak in this last week and a half. wow. hard to believe i am graduating college.




currently listening to: silence....kinda nice.