Welcome to my Party!

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Hi! Welcome to my blog. I am Karen and I'm so glad you have come to my blog party. It's going to be an exciting week. Last year's Blog Party happened to occur during an exciting yet sorrowful time in our lives. We were packing to leave Romania, a country that became home to us and friends that we love with all of our hearts. After more than 10 years in the ministry and 7 years on Romanian soil, God called us back to the states. Now we find ourselves in Virginia, watching in awe as God unfolds His plan for us. My husband John and I will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary next month. We have three children:

Gabriel - days away from 17, happily employed at Chick-fil-A and recently promoted to trainer. He was an avid lego collector/builder but now they mostly sit dusty on his shelf or dormant in boxes. He has dreams of bigger, more expensive toys these days.


Hannah - 15 and hoping to soon be employed at Chick-fil-A. One of her immediate goals is to learn more about digital photography. Here is her photo blog.

Holly - weeks away from 10 and a wanna be teen. She is a girly girl and loves anything pink and sparkly. One minute she's playing with baby dolls and Barbies, the next she's trying hard to grow up.

There's lot's of prizes being given away at the Ultimate Blog Party. I am donating a beautiful hand painted porcelain Easter Egg (#33) painted by my mom. I posted a picture of it in the entry below. Check it out- it's gorgeous!

The top 3 prizes that I would like to win are:

59 — $25 Cash Provided by: Lori
60 — $25 Gift Certificate Provided by: Judy
67 — Blog Makeover Provided by: Shauna

Other great prizes include:

117, 55, 140, 129, 39, 82, 49, 70, 102, 24 & 21

Pull up a chair and make yourself at home. We'll have some fun and games and hopefully make some new friends! Introduce yourself and tell me something about your family.

An Anniversary

There are many anniversaries celebrated, or at least remembered, in life. It may be something magnificent like they day you got married or something as trivial as when you began your blog. Today is a bittersweet anniversary for our family. It was one year ago today that we left our friends, our lives and even a large part of our hearts in Romania.

Show and Tell Friday

John and Gabe brought this plaque back from Romania. It says: "Cat despre mine, eu si Casa mea, vom sluji Domnului."

Oh, you wanted the English translation? "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." I love it!

For more Show and Tell Friday, go to Mary's blog!

My Story

March 14th will be the one year anniversary of our departure from Romania. I am sure that many events during our years there will never be erased from my mind while I am still on this earth. Some are a dim memory already. It is time to write them all down. I wrote the following over a year ago while we were still in on the field.

It was about a month ago when John told me that he felt like the Lord might be telling us that it’s time to leave Romania. After ten years of being in the ministry, I am not sure how I feel about that. Part of me would be relieved of the burden of ministering in a foreign, post communist country. We have spent years trying to learn the language and culture in order to communicate the gospel. We have given up conveniences taken for granted in America in exchange for third world medical facilities. We have left family and familiarity for loneliness and frustrations. We gave all that we knew how to give, not for the sake of pride, not because we were special but because God asked us to. Another part of me would be excited about whatever adventure the Lord might be planning. Where will we go next? What ministry does God want us to be involved in? What miraculous things will I be praising Him for in the coming year? There is a part of me that would be terrified. We are comfortable where we are now. I do not know if I could ever be fluent in the language but I don’t have a problem carrying on a conversation. I wish that I could say that I have the gift of tongues. However, God decided that gift was only for a certain time period. I do however seem to have the gift of accents. I have done a lot of traveling over my lifetime and it does not take very long to pick up the local accent, totally unbeknownst to me. I have sat with a group of women in Romania on several different occasions and talked with them for a while. They were amazed to discover that I was not Romanian and insisted that I had no accent. Missionary life is far from easy but what is known is more acceptable than what is alien. Saying “Yes!” to God and packing up when He hasn’t told us where to go is more than frightening. After the relief, the excitement and the fears, there is the rest of my heart – the biggest part that will be crushed to leave the friends that we have made over the years. Belongings can be sold or put in boxes and shipped across an ocean, but how do I pack up my heart? Or how can I survive if I leave it behind?

God has been whispering to my heart that it is time to write my story. The words that I have to put on paper will never rival Corrie Ten Boom’s. They will not be considered newsworthy like the sinking of the Titanic and appear in every newspaper and I am sure no one will ask to make a movie about my life. My hope is, however, that perhaps through my journey a soul will be inspired. Maybe the lessons that I have learned will encourage another to step out on faith and live a life blessed by God.

Wacky Weather and Busy Days

Are you having some wacky weather where you live or is it traditional wintertime? It was 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 celsius) yesterday. Today we are supposed to get more of the same plus a thunderstorm.

We've had a busy week so far. Monday morning I thought I set my alarm for 5:45. I woke up at 8 AM when the phone rang. It was a call to sub. Thankfully for a half a day beginning at 11:15. After a very easy sub job, the girls and I went grocery shopping. Then I took Hannah to drama.

Tuesday's schedule was full as well. Holly and I made sarmale for Girl Scouts. It was her turn to make an international food and she had her heart set on the traditional Romanian dish. Well, I've only made it twice and that was a long time ago. I never made it in Romania. Romanians made it for us when we went to their homes and when they came to ours, they expected American cuisine. I knew that a half recipe would be more than enough for a group of girls who would probably turn their noses up at the sight of stuffed cabbages, so I only bought one head of cabbage. We started cooking before I took a shower because my clothes were in the dryer. Half way through wrapping the meat mixture with the cabbage leaves, I realized that the inside of the head of cabbage wasn't going to cooperate with us. The leaves were too thick and tough. There's probably a trick to it but time was not on our side. I'm sure that the wrapping of sarmale is a skill that must be learned as a young Romanian girl and Holly and I were not going to accomplish it in the hour's time that we had. So I ran out to the store for another head. No make up and a bad case of bed head. Dear Holly, please know how much I love you when I leave the house without hair and makeup being done. We finally finished the sarmale, I got my shower and we took off for girl scouts. Everyone tried Holly's treat. Several just ate the meat inside. That's what my kids used to do. We stayed at Girl Scouts a while longer because the weather was so nice and the girls wanted to play outside. Then it was time to head home, put the leftover food in the fridge and go out to eat with a friend.

It's nearly 70 degrees now and I am going to have to open some windows or turn on the AC. I am planning on getting some cleaning accomplished. It's amazing how busy schedules get in the way of housework. We are supposed to go walking with some other homeschoolers this afternoon and in our free time, we'll make some SWAPS.
I also made a quiz yesterday, just for fun. Go ahead and take it and let me know how you did! Thanks and have a great day!!

Goals for the next 2 weeks

John and Gabriel left this morning on a mission trip. They are going to spend 12 days in the beloved country of Romania ministering to those we won to Christ and reaching out to friends yet unsaved. Part of me longs to be there with them, seeing friends once again. The rest of me is glad to avoid the long trip and inevitable jet lag. The girls and I will miss the men being gone, (Gabriel is hardly a boy anymore.) but we have some plans and goals to accomplish during this time. Here are a few of mine:

• Organize paper work
• Learn to French braid
• READ!
• Blog more often
• Watch LOST
  
• Begin writing my book

What's happening at your house?

Show and Tell Friday - My Favorite Glass

Coca-Cola would have a promotion from time to time in Romania for free glasses. Three bottle caps would earn a free glass. We went to dinner at a friends house this past winter and they had the entire set of the newest glasses. There were five or six different sayings. I loved the one pictured on the left because of the saying. I just had to have at least one and the whole set if possible. So I started collecting the caps. One day, a little boy in the neighborhood trying to earn some money had a small sack full of the yellow caps needed for the glasses. How he knew that I wanted them, I have no clue. But he was selling the sack of caps for 50,000 lei ( less than the cost of two bottles of coke). We took him up on his offer since it was enough for my set of 6. The next time that John went to the store, he took the caps to exchange them for our glasses. The sales woman told him that she was sorry, they only had one type left - the one I wanted! So I now have a set of six Coca-cola glasses that say, "Eu gatesc, voi spalati vasele." It means, "I cook, you wash the dishes." I love it!

Visit Mary's blog for more show and tell!

Disappointment and Surprise

We were hoping our container would arrive here in Alabama on Saturday. John had men lined up to help unload. Then on Friday we found out that it won’t be here until Tuesday. I am not sure what we’ll do about help in the middle of the week when just about everyone is working. Most everything will go into the storage building that we have rented. We will pull a few things out like my computer (no more sharing the laptop!!) and the kids’ bicycles. I am anxious to know if my refrigerator is completely molded inside after seven weeks of storage. I am not going to think about what might be broken. OK, I am thinking about it but I am trying to remind myself that it is just stuff.

This morning at church, we had a pleasant surprise. After the congregation sang a few songs, there was a time to shake hands and greet others around us. John exchanged pleasantries with a woman in the seat in front of him. She complimented him on his singing and he said something in return. Then she told him that she didn’t speak English very well. “Oh, where are you from?” he asked. “Romania,” she replied. Well, then John rattled off a couple of sentences in Romanian and the lady’s jaw hit the floor! She and her husband are just visiting their children that live here in the States. We were able to talk with them more after church and we have plans to get together with them this weekend.

The End of the Story

It is our last day in Romania and many emotions are racing through my heart. Over the last decade we have had both miserable and joyous days. Life has been hard, trying, heartbreaking, pleasant, happy and triumphant. We have now come to the end of our story here in this country. It is like the ending of a good book when the last page is read. There are so many memories to share, to learn from and treasure in my heart. My life is forever changed.

Tomorrow morning we will fly back to our own country. I am asking once again for your prayers. Prayers for our safety, prayers that our luggage is not overweight and that all will go well on our trip. We are waiting with anticipation to find out what the Lord has planned for us next. I hope you will be here as He guides us through the next saga of our lives.

Karen & The Busy Emotional Very Long Day

Thursday morning began after a sleepless night. Neither John nor I slept well. I know this because I woke up several times during the night and each time John was already awake. We were staying at our friends’ apartment and I suppose emotional stress in addition to a room that was much warmer than we are accustomed to was the cause of our lack of sleep. John went to our house before daylight to finish some last minute things. I went over around 8 AM.

Hannah and Holly spent the night at another missionary’s house. We picked them up at 10 AM and went to visit our friends Zineti and Adara. It was a brief hour and a half with awesome coffee and dessert. We said our good byes and we are hopeful to see each other again. Adara has a dream of going to Harvard. I think she someday she will.

By noon we went back to the apartment where we were staying and picked up Gabe. He wanted to spend time with his friend Catalin who goes to school at 12:30. We then headed to Viorica’s – our post office customs official (retired) who has become great friends with us. Thursday was Mother’s Day in Romania and we brought her a gift. She also had gifts for the girls and I, some beautiful jewelry. Later, we went to Viorica’s parent’s apartment and chatted for a few moments. Another exchange of gifts and goodbyes.

At 2 PM we met our friends Dana and her daughter Luiza for lunch at Pizza Hut. Unfortunately, Dana’s husband Ovidiu is still out to sea so we did not get to see him. We had a good meal, a good time talking, John sold her a mobile phone. Another goodbye. Another “If you’re ever in America, we have a place for you to stay, where ever we might be."

Then we went back to the house to load everything in the van and turn the keys over to the landlord. Afterwards we had a few moments to relax back at the apartment with Monica and Ion and family. Two more couples came to say goodbye. We had dinner and got things ready to leave. John took a two hour nap. Then we had the hardest part of the entire day, saying goodbye to Ion, Monica and family. Gifts and belongings packed, prayers said, tears shed; we were on our way to Bucharest by midnight. The long day was not over yet. We had to drop off luggage and other belongings and then head on to Brasov. We arrived here at 6 AM, tired and ready for a physical and emotional break.

Moving Day

Our morning was off to an early start. The container was outside our gate promptly at 8 AM. Friends were here to help but we had to wait on the customs agent. He finally arrived and John had to go with him, somewhere, to take care of paper work. The rest of us stood around and waited.

I did not look at my watch when John returned. I think it was somewhere near 10 AM. Everyone quickly began carrying boxes and furniture outside. We worked without a lunch break until sometime around 3:30. I did send the girls to the store for some drinks and chips. Healthy, I know.

Thanks to John’s expert packing skills, everything fit. Praise the Lord! The sun did not shine all day, but neither did it rain. Praise the Lord! The customs agent did not give us any hassle what so ever. If you have ever lived in a foreign country, you know that this is a true miracle. Praise the Lord!

I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

Psalm 7:17

Our Final Thirteen Days

It’s quite a coincidence that our last 13 days in the country of Romania happens to land on a Thursday. Here are some things about our final days here.

1. I emptied out and cleaned out our refrigerator. It is sitting in the kitchen with the doors open to dry out. We are taking it back to the states via container and we don’t want it to mold during the month long transit.
2. Fortunately during the winter, our back hall doubles as a refrigerator.
3. Every time I walk into the kitchen, I think – “Who in the world left the doors open?” Silly me. . .
4. We sold our washer and dryer. My first two months in Romania, the summer of 1997, I washed clothes in a bathtub. I can do it again for a few days.
5. We sold our microwave. People lived without those before, right?
6. I am not done packing yet. Will this ever end???
7. I was planning on taking the girls out to eat today. It’s a holiday and will probably be crowded. We’ll have to get there early.
8. We will load a container on Monday, March 5^th. Pray everything fits!
9. We are already living out of suitcases in our own home and eating with disposable dishes. I still have some dishes here that I’m not packing but we sold our dishwasher and I hate to wash dishes by hand.
10. We might sleep here after the container is loaded. We’ll have some beds and sheets that we are leaving with friends.
11. Our other option is to move the beds to the friends’ house and stay there. It will be a warmer idea and a great chance to spend some time with them. It will also be a much more crowded option. They only have a two room (not two bedroom) apartment.
12. We will go to Brasov on the 8^th or 9^th after saying our final goodbyes here. We lived in Brasov for close to two years (1997-1999) and still have great friends there.
13. We will fly out of Bucharest on the 14^th – changing our lives forever. I feel like my last few posts have been rather melancholy. Leaving is hard but we are excited about what God has planned for us and our hearts are filled with His peace that passes all understanding.

Stepping Out on Faith

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

Doing what God has called one to do is seldom easy. God’s plan does not fit neatly inside a one-size fits all box. His way of doing things simply is not the way we would choose to do them. We came to Constanta, Romania in 2002. We are fully convinced that it was God’s plan for our life at the time. We came eagerly with the peace of God in our hearts to serve Him. We had no clue how long we would be here. When people asked us, our answer was always, “As long as the Lord wants us here.”

Now we are just as convinced that He is asking us to leave Romania. There are several instruments or situations that God has used to reveal to us and confirm His direction for us to leave. No one point of confirmation carried enough weight for us to leave Romania, but when they are added together in the right timing, they have revealed God’s plan for us to make this move. Also, we believe that circumstances, good or bad, are not the deciding factor, because if we moved on circumstances alone, we might never do anything with the Lord to begin with. Circumstances do not stop the Lord, but we do believe He teaches and gives understanding and confirmation through them.

This decision did not come about without a lot of prayer, fasting, searching the scriptures and counseling. I know there will be many questions but bottom line, how do we explain the peace of God that both John and I have in our hearts? Are we discouraged? We have had our share of discouraging moments over the years, but no, we are not leaving because of discouragement. Romania has become home to us. We are all comfortable and content here. Leaving the friends that we have made will tear our hearts out and we are left with the blessing that several of these friends are now brothers and sisters in Christ and we will have eternity together. Do we know what we are doing next? Not yet, but God does and we trust Him to show us the next step.

Stepping out on faith can be heart racing and mind boggling. The enemy always intrudes with fear, doubt, criticism, confusion and discouragement. We earnestly request your prayers during this difficult transition.