Online Journal - February 2006 Archive

 

 

February 22, 2006  - Madyson’s Memoirs

We have been in this strange place for a month and 12 days. I will take you on a trip in my eyes from Day 1. Let’s start with the plane ride. I was very confused on “Day 1” of my very long trip. Daddy stuck me into the car with this yucky crate next to me and took a LONG ride. They stopped at a restaurant and I became very concerned because they left me in the car alone. Finally they came out and took me for a short walk and then stuffed me back into the car.
After a long time we got to a big place (they called it an "airport") with lots of smells and loud noises. They then stuffed me into this large box (they call it a crate) and put me on this moving thing. It was scary! When we got inside there was a TON of people. I was scared but very excited! My family was trying to calm me down but it wasn’t working. They left me with these strange people a little while after that and I didn’t see my family for a long time! Sometime after that people came and picked me up and put me on this HUGE “thing”! It was loud and moved. The “thing” started moving and after that I slept and slept and waited on my family to return.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When I wake up I am being taken off of the big “thing” and am on my way to somewhere. I realize that we are in another of the big buildings (that "airport" thing) with lots of people and smells and noises. I finally see my family and could about mess my self because I am so excited! They are also very happy to see me. Then they opened my crates door and allow me to come out (with my leash on)! I was so excited!

When we get out of the building these people meet us and are happy to see us. My nose was going CRAZY! I was hearing MANY different noises and MANY different smells! It was so strange! And I could hardly wait to go potty in the grass (I didn't mess once in my crate during the whole trip!). These people (they called them Jerry and Jan) took us back to their house and we stayed there for the night. When we got to their house I suddenly wanted to go home. I had had enough and I wanted my couch and my home. But my family was not leaving.

The next morning we got up and we had another long car ride somewhere else I didn’t know. When we got wherever we were going (Romania) we entered yet another building that my family was calling “home”, but I knew this wasn’t home. At least not yet. After all, this place didn't even have a backdoor or yard where I could play and go potty.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next few weeks were the same. One thing different was that when I had to go out they had to get ready and walk me out of the apartment so we could go to the park. I really like getting four or five walks everyday. However,  I do not like meeting other dogs in the park! They always try to attack me or bark non-stop! It is very annoying! I have gotten used to the apartment and am comfortable. They can leave me alone now and I am fine. I have gotten to play in the snow a few times. The main thing I miss is my big back yard. ~Madyson~ (with a little help from Lydia)

 

February 20, 2006 (Monday) – Day 40 in Romania. It has been a busy two weeks…many experiences…good and unforgettable as well. We were blessed to purchase a nice vehicle to serve the ministry and our family. It is an Opel Zafira. The experience at the dealership was even less stressful than we have experienced in the States! We are very thankful for this blessing. It is saving us much time and effort in getting to and from the grocery store, which is almost a daily occurrence, and to and from language study. Filling up the gas tank hit us hard…over $50 to fill the tank. That comes to about $3.71 per gallon for diesel. I have had my first lessons driving a stick shift, which I have never done before. Scott isn’t quite ready to let me drive on the busy city streets yet. :-)

A day or so after purchasing the car, we had to take it to be inspected by the local government before it can be registered. This was one of those unforgettable experiences and I will never again complain about the Ohio BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles). Basically, people wait for hours and hours in long lines to have their vehicle inspected and to process the paperwork. We watched everything from BMWs, semi-trucks, and taxis to a farm tractor and grain wagon go through inspection. The dealership provided someone to help us through the process for which we are very thankful, and thus we waited ONLY 3 hours; without their help we could have waited literally a full day or two. We could not have done it without help.

We saw the renovations on our home this past week. It is a small, one bedroom home so they are building two small bedrooms and a bath in the attic for our kids. They were making good progress and we hope they will be finished in time for us to move in next week. The house comes with some furniture but we will have to purchase beds for the kids and some other things in time.

Language study has begun for which we are very thankful. Our teacher, Alina, speaks English and knows some German and Hungarian. Currently she is trying to learn some Spanish as well. Two other Americans have joined us, Dusty who is working with Oaza for the next several months and Mike who is one of the house parents at the Oaza Treasure House. The language portion of Scott's and my brains are certainly being stretched. All four of us feel like new born babies as we practice the sounds of the language. We can count to 100 and probably more with time to think it through. We have a list of nouns we know quite well from daily life. Putting a sentence together, though, is still out of our grasp. We try to use what we do know every day in conversations with community and church people. Our favorite bank teller who likes to practice her English with us also enjoys it when we try out our limited Romanian with her! She is very kind to us! Pray for Madaline.

Scott continues to enjoy a men’s group from the church that meets on Wednesday mornings. He also is enjoying the community interaction with business people at the Wednesday evening CBMC meetings. We have been asked to lead the church's Thursday evening Bible study which is helping us connect even more with the people of the church. We are very thankful for this opportunity. We are trying to visit some of the Oaza homes on Sundays to spend time with the children and to be an encouragment to the house parents. This past Sunday we had the pleasure of celebrating one of the boy’s birthday cake with him.

We also experienced a wonderful blessing as Gerry McNamara, pastor of the Gyor, Hungary Free Methodist Church, came to visit this past weekend. Saturday he spent time going over emergency first aid care (Gerry is a registered nurse in Ireland) after which we took a day trip to a city south of Arad called Timisoara.

Timisoara is often credited as the starting place of the 1989 Romanian revolution. We walked through the city center in the very places where people died for their freedom. We visited a Catholic church and a Serbian Orthodox church in the community. The seats along the walls of the Orthodox church caught my attention as each seat had a name plate. This pricked my Free Methodist roots and I wonder what is the purpose and meaning for the names.

Please pray for the completion of our new house (and the owners who are doing the work) and the sale of our house in the States. We have had several showings of our house in Hilliard but no offers as of yet. Please also pray for our minds and mouths (lips and tongues too!) to quickly grasp this new language. Stephen and Lydia are doing well in school but the new format is taking some adjustment for all of us. Remember them as well. Thank you so much for your prayers…we can’t do this without ALL of you! –Paula

 

February 6, 2006 – Some little things have happened in the last week that have proven to be major encouragements to us (it’s always the little things). On Sunday, some of the children who attend Emmanuel Christian Center sang for worship. It was great to hear them sing! They really enjoyed the opportunity and we really enjoyed the ministry! Monday we had lunch with another missionary family (non-FM) who has been ministering here 4 years. The conversation and learning time was valuable. In my conversation with the wife, I mentioned how just the day before Lydia said how much she would love to have just a taste of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (although I always made my own in the States). Out of the kindness of her heart, she found a box of mac and cheese someone had sent them and fixed the box for us. During the same lunch, we received word that we would be getting the internet service in the apartment that we have needed for the kids schooling. I wish you could have seen Lydia’s face! Together we felt a flood of God’s provision of our needs and even some of our temporal desires.

On Tuesday, we signed a lease for a small but comfortable home in a neighborhood still very close to downtown Arad (not far from where we are currently). We are thankful for this provision and are looking forward to settling in on March 1st. Internet came to our apartment on Tuesday so we were able to really get going on school. Okay…maybe the kids didn’t think that part was too great!

Internet also means we can communicate with the States more effectively which will be a blessing to more than us. A missionary family working with the Oaza homes has not spoken with anyone from home since they arrived six months ago. They will be coming over this week to spend time on our internet connection, communicating with family and friends who they miss dearly. We are glad to be able to be a blessing to someone else. Scott continues to attend a men’s group on Wednesday mornings and accompany Pastor Nelu to a CBMC (Connecting Business Men to Christ) (business women attend as well) meeting on Wednesday evenings. Scott is having wonderful connections with several people through this group and we cannot wait to see how God will fit all things together. I attended Thursday night Bible study this week alone (as Scott had a return migraine…first one in 5 months, praise the Lord). We hope this will be a great place to connect with the young people of the church. We have very much enjoyed spending time this week with several people in the church just getting to know them. They have found out that we like chocolate and brought it to us in various desserts. We are finding that some things are becoming more familiar (riding the tram, exchanging cash, groceries, banking, etc.) but some things are still very much a challenge (conversation). We are so happy that tomorrow (Tuesday) we will have our first “official” language class so we can begin to equip ourselves with the language. Please pray especially for this area. We greatly desire to be able to communicate in Romanian. Also pray that our attitudes and actions will exude Christ, even if people cannot understand what we say or vice-versa. Thank you for praying!  Paula

 

February 5, 2006 - Cultural Lessons from a Simple Orange Baggie.

We had one of our new friends from church over for lunch today after worship. We talked the afternoon away about many different and stimulating topics, but one of the more mundane caught my attention because it gave me new insight into this culture called Romania. Our friend was curious about our dog because house dogs the size of ours' are relatively uncommon here. He asked how often we have to take her out during the day, and that subject lead naturally to taking care of her "number 2." We mentioned that we purchased some small baggies to pick up and dispose of it, and Cristi asked, "Why do you do that?" We shared two reasons: 1) we have been told that it is the law to pick up after one's dog, and 2) we know that people are watching us as "Americans" and we want to be "above reproach" in the life that people see us live as guests in their country. We went on to comment that, by the looks of the park where we walk our dog, we must be the only ones who pick up after our dog. Our friend told us we are probably correct. Paula then mentioned that one morning last week she noticed a lot of trash had been scattered in the park over night, so she picked it up and put it in one of the many available trash cans.

Our friend then gave us our cultural lesson for the day. He told us how, during the days of Communist control, the government would establish certain days as neighborhood clean-up days. Every person was required to go to their local streets and parks to clean up any trash and debris; choosing to not participate was not an option. So now, according to Cristi, many Romanians have an aversion to keeping their neighborhoods and city clean because they associate it with their former Communist oppression. Even so, our friend thanked us for providing an example for his people as we do a simple thing like picking up after our dog.

When it comes to cultural differences, there is always more than what appears on the surface. One of our primary tasks during this first year is to learn and understand the culture. This requires us to ask questions rather than condemn, to seek understanding rather than pronouncing judgment based on our own cultural values. Pray for us as we learn!  Scott