On the Road again....

Morning at Rastoke

Tuesday morning was the time to say goodbye to Rastoke, Croatia and return to Budapest.  Our European tour was coming to a quick end.  Into the van we go and off to the land of HUNGARY.

The drive was uneventful, thank the good Lord, and we were making fabulous time on the autobahn.  A little town called Varaždin began calling our name as a good side trip.  It was only a couple of "clicks" off the highway and promised a beautiful view of an ancient castle.

We had NO map, NO GPS, and NO smart phones to help us find said castle.  We were going purely on sight, signs, and our gut instincts.  Only a couple of wrong turns and a full parking lot detoured us from finding the place.  We parked the short bus in a metered parking spot, figured out HOW to put money in the Croatian speaking meter box (thank the Lord for a LITTLE English!) and were off to find "Old Town"  otherwise known as the castle of Varazdan.  After just a short walk, there was the castle steeple in view.  Complete with a draw bridge, moat and large ancient wall.  It was truly a beautiful site to behold.



The castle at Varaždin



Dustin LOVED walking around Old Town.  The signs were in English as well as Croatian and one other language I didn't recognize, so we had a mini-history lesson while we were there.  The building was began in the 1200's, but not finished until the 1300's.  WOW, to put this into perspective, this was during the times of COLUMBUS....yes, the explorer Columbus.  Truly an awe-struck moment when we thought about that!!  Just inside the gate was a large, deep well, a covered cement coffin and a large trough of some kind.  The boys, Kelsie and I enjoyed meandering around the grounds and learning as much about the people that built the castle and other buildings on the property as possible.  We did not go inside the castle, the admission fee was a little much for the five of us, and we truly enjoyed taking in the outside sites just as much as seeing the empty inside of the building.  It was a wonderful stop for all 5 of us and something we will not soon forget doing together as a family.  Oh....if you're wondering about where Randy was....He was photographing the place, of course.  I'm sure he will upload some pictures for everyone to see!

The only other thing worth really mentioning that happened on Tuesday was the border check point leaving Croatia and entering Hungary.  The line was not that long, but we waited for over 30 minutes while the guards checked ALL passports, and then checked inside every vehicle.  I wouldn't really call it SEARCHING the vehicles, but they were definitely peeking around to make sure you weren't smuggling anyone or anything in to the country.  It was a little unnerving, but it could have been worse.  At least they weren't carrying LARGE guns, right??  Just small ones.  :)

We arrived in Budapest about 3:45, met up with a young man (Zoli) from Melba Tours to return the van.  He was so kind to us and drove us all the way across town to our hotel, the Marmara.  I was so thankful for this, and Randy was doubly thankful that he didn't have to drive in that traffic and strange  city with no map or even directions.  Since we didn't have any internet access the night before, we weren't even able to print or look-up directions to our hotel or anything else.    The Lord had worked out EVERY detail for us and we were blessed beyond measure.  If you ever visit Budapest, please give Melba Tours your business.  Wonderful christian people and great to work with you!!!

Hotel check-in went great.  2 rooms, of course, since a family of 5 is not the "norm" in Europe.  The kids were happy to have a little freedom from the parents, and we were thrilled to let them.  Interesting note about checking in to foreign hotels, you have to show your passport for EVERY person in the room.  I thought that was odd, but we did both hotels we stayed in, so it must be that way in most countries.

After getting settled we met up with Ivonne and went for a walk on the streets of Budapest and had a nice dinner with her.  Ed was visiting with the staff and administration at Word of Life.  He also arranged for us to get a van and driver/interpreter for our sightseeing day on Wednesday,  another answer to prayer.  God is good, all the time!!!

Kim

Notes from Randy:

I got up a little early and had a great time photographing the nearby waterfalls.  Actually, the sun gave me problems and I regretted sleeping in too long.    I thought we were in a valley that would stay shaded for a few hours - wrong.  Nevertheless it was a good time.

I could've spent all day in Varaždin.  It was a great place to photograph and experience.  The clouds rolled away and game me some super blue skies above the castle just before we left.  Getting there was a little tricky but we managed.  It was really a fun adventure, along with the one-way streets and lack of parking.

I must echo Kim's thoughts and give Zoli with Melba Tours a huge thanks for meeting us on the south end of Budapest and giving us a lift to the Marmara.

Supper was really good.  We stopped at another cafe on a busy street and had some local food.  All of the plates were delicious.  The boys both got a fried meat of some sort and loved it.

Time to plan for tomorrow -  a one day whirlwind tour of Budapest.

Randy

European Vacation

After all of the craziness and busyness we experienced over our weekend, we decided to take a much needed VACATION break on Monday.  Off to the wonderful National Park in Croatia called Plitvice.  The park is approximately 3-4 hours from Kim's house in Nova Gradiska and is FULL of waterfalls.  We discussed Sunday what time we thought would be a good time to leave on Monday morning.  The Edge team was going there as well for their debrief trip, and their planned departure was around 8AM.  Randy and I discussed things, talked with Kim H. a little more about her thoughts, and well, we left a little after 6AM Monday morning....just to be sure we had PLENTY of time for my waterfall, photography-loving husband to absorb as much as he could of the beautiful park.

yep, the original color
(no digital processing)

Plitvice National Park is rated as one of the top if not THE top waterfall spots in the WORLD.  Once we arrived, it was clear why it received this honor.  My goodness, it was simply breathtaking in so many ways.  The waterfalls pouring into the 16 lakes in every direction, the crystal clear water, and the indescribable color of the water.  It was and is truly one of Gods most creative creations!!!

Back to the drive to the park.  August 1 was the date, and it was indeed bright and early on this Monday morning.  However, August 1 is a particularly interesting day in Europe.  Apparently, unlike the United States, most Europeans begin "Holiday" on August 1.  EVERYONE it seemed in Central and Eastern Europe was heading to the Croatian coast for their holiday.  Traffic was ATROCIOUS!!!  Apparently not only was traffic very heavy, but there had been a wreck on the autobahn as well.  We were stuck in traffic for at least an hour.  This did not do anything good for my husband's jitters or anxiousness to arrive at the destination.  But, it was the path God chose for us this day, and we endured the traffic and when we could, made a slight detour on back roads.

We arrived safe and sound at Plitvice lakes National Park at 10:30.  The weather was damp and cool, but very comfortable.  It was around 60 degrees upon arrival.  Thankfully, it didn't ever get stifling hot because we ended up walking between 5 and 6 miles by the end of the day.  What a day it was.  We spent 7 hours at the park and probably could have spent longer, but just had to call it a day.  The edge team arrived about 1 PM, and finished BEFORE us.  They had to wait on Kim to finish walking around with us before they could leave and drive to the coast.  It was a little funny that they left and arrived so much later than we had, but still finished before us.  Great, great day!

The most difficult part of the day was saying good bye to my dear friend Kim Hecht.  It was hard to tell her goodbye, but we had a wonderful time together.  Let me also just say if you do not regularly hold up our missionaries in prayer, you SHOULD.  They have a very difficult job to do and I really don't know how they survive apart from the prayers of the faithful!  Pray and uphold your missionary friends!  They need your support!

Our tour guide

After saying goodbye, Randy, the kids and I left Plitvice for a town about 30 minutes away from the national park.  We stayed in the little town of Rastoke.  This place is also known as "Little Plitvice".  Waterfalls are everywhere here as well.  Beautiful little place with a rustic hotel where we spent the night.  We ate dinner at the restaurant under the hotel and retired for the night.  Unfortunately the internet wouldn't work the entire time we were there, so the stress level went up a bit for Randy.  Tuesday was the drive BACK to Budapest and meeting the man to return our van.

A wonderful day of vacation for the whole Gardner clan, but NOT much rest for any of us.

Kim

A few more photos from Randy:



































And then Rastoke that night:

CROATIA!!! Day 3

Sunday morning.  The Lord's Day.  Time to worship with our Croatian brothers and sisters in Christ.

Of course it doesn't matter what time zone, country, or continent you're on.  The kids are going to be slow getting ready.  I related to someone the other day that moving the family (at least the Gardner variety) in the morning, no day in particular, is like moving a camel.  Sometimes it goes and all is well with the world.  And then there are the other times.  There are times when the camel decides it doesn't want to move.  You can yell at it, kick it, beat it with a stick and it still won't move.  In fact it might decide to make loud, obnoxious noises at you.  And then it might decide to spit on you.  In fact the camel will move when it darn well decides to move.

And then all is well with the world once again.

So we made it to church on time this particular morning.

the church was packed Sunday

Just before leaving for church we finally decided what song to sing.  It was an FFH song with a soundtrack.  It's a good song, easy to sing, great harmony.  No problem.

The service was great.  It was kind of structured between a Romanian service and a Heritage service.  There were a couple of testimonies, one from Fiona (an Edge girl as they were called, all from the UK.  Kelsie can handle that one) and one from a Croatian guy (probably 18-22 in age) that were interspersed with singing and corporate prayer (many people pray) and then the sermon.  This particular morning the sermon was done by Sergei, an intern who is studying to be a pastor.

Becky, Miro, and Kim lead worship

Did I mention our soundtrack failed?  It started and Kelsie was singing right along.  Then it started skipping just a little.  Kelsie would have to adjust slightly to stay with it.  Finally on the chorus when we were all singing it stuck in one place so we ended up turning it off and finishing without it.  Tim said later that it was better acapella anyway.

One thing that I think works very well for this new church is a time of refreshment and fellowship.  Somewhere before the sermon started they break for muffins and juice or water.  It began when the weather was really hot and they've kept it up since then.  It was a good time.

After the service we had lunch at a local restaurant and then back to Kim's for a little rest before the evening concert.  Yes, we only had about an hour because we had to leave for Slavonski Brod at 4 pm.  Somewhere in there we had to start getting ready to leave Monday morning for Plitvice Lakes National Park because we knew it would be close to 10 pm before we got back to Kim's flat.

So maybe you can begin to see why the blog is so out of date.

Outside the retirement center

Sunday evening we were singing at a retirement center at 6:30 pm.  It was nothing like I expected.  The place was extremely nice. I was thinking nursing home but this was really nothing like that. The people were anywhere from 50 upwards and very responsive to our singing.  Kim H. said that many of them were there because they had chosen to move out and let their kids have their homes.

Our concert hall for the evening

And the sound.  The sound was quite good.  It was a narrow, tall room with natural reverb that was sweet.  Some local guys in a band were kind enough to leave their mics, soundboard, and speakers set up for us already so all we had to do was add the keyboard, one more mic, and monitors.  We had to rig things a bit because their board didn't have enough inputs but it was just enough to work.  Their microphones were very good.  I didn't catch the brand.  It wasn't a common one but they were very responsive and had a good tone.

Our interpreter interprets

We had a new intepreter in Slavonski Brod, Lena.  Bless her heart.  We really worked her.  All of our songs had been translated into Croatian and passed out Saturday night at the concert.  Unfortunately the copies didn't make it to Brod.  We only had one copy so Lena had to summarize the song lyrics before each small set.

So honestly I don't know if we reached anyone with our message.  That is in God's hands.  It always was.  I think we at least encouraged and blessed the teams of missionaries in the two cities.  Charlie, the team leader in Nova Gradiska, said that we brought a level of legitimacy to the baptish church there and I can see how that might be the case.  The people seem friendly enough but it also feels like a closed society where new ideas and especially new religions are viewed with much skepticism.

Lim, Andy, Daniel, and Soffet  from the village

Andy and his wife Lim picked up Daniel's soccer balls after the concert.  They are starting an outreach to a local Roma village starting in a couple of weeks and were thrilled to have the balls and pump to use.  Pictured with them is a representative from the village that plays the piano and attends the SB church.

Most of our sound equipment had been borrowed from from the church in Brod so we unloaded it at the church then drove back to NG.  By the back roads it takes close to an hour so it was about 10 pm when we got back as expected.

Did we have supper?  Beats me.  Maybe Kim will remember.

Signing off,

Randy

CROATIA!!! Day 2

Saturday morning brought the best news for the two older kids!  We get to SLEEP IN !!!  They were so excited about the opportunity to not have to be anywhere at a certain time and sleep a little bit.  So, we let them sleep for ALMOST as long as they wanted.  However, as long as they wanted would probably have been all day.  :)

Buying lace at the market

After a lazy morning, Kim H. and I (and Daniel)  got ready, had breakfast and went on our way shopping.  I wanted to get a few souvenirs from Nova Gradiska before we left, so she took me to her favorite gift gallery.  INDEED , I found a few souvenirs.  We walked along the korzo and went to the local market.  Everyone seems to buy their vegetables at the market from different vendors.  It reminds me of a flea market in a way, but everything is fresh, local and reasonable.  It was also an open air market.  I found a lady who Kim has befriended that speaks very good English and makes beautiful lace and fabric work.  I purchased a couple of pieces from her and was VERY pleased with what I found.  :)  Kim and I met up with Randy, Kelsie and Dustin in the korzo, as well as teammate Tim for drinks at a nice little coffe shop.  We enjoyed the chit-chat and time of getting to know Kim's family here.  They are indeed a family and they support one another and encourage one another in their walk with Christ.  That was an encouragement to me to see.  It's nice to fellowship with believers of like faith!

I stopped by the bakery on the walk home and purchased some crescent dogs for lunch.  Believe it or NOT, Dustin was ready for lunch!!!  Kim and I made a salad, had a great time chatting together in the kitchen while we cut vegetables for our salad.  Yummy, fresh veggies from her garden.

The concert time was approaching and nerves were a little on edge.  Randy was speaking and making a gospel presentation during the concert, so he was especially concerned and dare I say a little nervous.  WE left the house at a little before 5 with our van stuffed to the gills with concert equipment.  The big stage was bare and we had to provide the sound equipment, microphones, piano, etc., so we needed a couple of hours to set-up before the big show.  Showtime was at 8!

The set-up went well, only one major problem.  The kids hadn't eaten since lunch and they were starving.  So, I sent money with Aunt Kim and she took them to get some food.  They returned with bread, meat and cheese to make sandwiches for us all.  Yum!  A quick bite and it was time to get the show ON THE STAGE!!!

A small crowd had began to gather as we were setting up.  As we began to sing, play and share, more and more people started hanging around.  This was an outdoor stage, platform in the middle of the korzo, so you could hear us before you could see us.  It was a wonderful experience.  People clapped, twirled, danced, sang, but Praise the Lord, no hecklers!  I was relieved about that.  Believe it or not there was plenty of opportunity for that, but the Lord kept them as well as the rain away from us.  We got through all the concert, complete with translations and a few MINOR mistakes and felt wonderful about the time we shared.  I think the crowd was a blessing, the team was a definite blessing to us, and the Lord truly blessed our voices despite the allergy issues we were all experiencing.

Praise the Lord for the clearness of the gospel presentation, the clarity of the translations and the beauty of the weather.  Several crowd members stayed around to chat with us for a long time afterwards.  One young man asked me if we were famous in America.  He said, do you have statues of you in America ?  You famous back home?  I humbly answered that we were indeed NOT celebrities in America but were indeed servants of Christ and wanted to share the gospel with the world.  We felt like stars here with all of the cameras and big stage, but alas, we are just humble servants of the ONE who gave the gifts to us!

We packed up, loaded the van and got home around 11.  By the time we shared ice cream around the table and thoughts from the evening, it was REALLY, REALLY late.  But, despite the weariness of our bodies, the lateness of the hour, it was all COMPLETELY worth the sacrifice.  What a privilege and pleasure of being short-term missionaries to the town of Nova Gradiska.

Kim

Thoughts from Randy:


My original intention was to do some photography around the korzo in the morning light.  Instead I elected to rest and prepare for the evening.  I was able to get some quiet time by myself on Kim's small porch for prayer and more thinking about what I would say when presenting the gospel during the concert.  It was a really good time and I felt great afterwards.  The Lord moved my heart to feel good about all of our preparations.  I was still a little nervous as the concert time approached later in the day but it wasn't much. 


I still took a little time while the girls were shopping to do some photography around the korzo and park.  The light just wasn't as good.  No big deal. 


I enjoyed talking with Tim at the cafe.  He's a super guy (ignoring his preference for the ACC) and is staying real positive even though his wife must stay in the U.S. until their baby arrives this Fall.


The concert went well I think.  We had a few sound issues but overall it was good.  I was very concerned about not having monitors for an outdoor concert, especially with most of our songs being played on a keyboard.  If you can't hear the piano you've got real problems.  Thankfully a local music store guy came through with some powered speakers.  We had to daisy-chain them from the mains but it worked ok since they had a separate volume control.


The gospel presentation was very similar to something done by Mike Richards during VBS (thanks Mike).  At the time of VBS I was really searching for the right way to organize our songs and to present the gospel.  When Mike presented the gospel the last night of VBS using the black, red, and white shirts I knew that was it.  I organized our songs roughly based on that progression with a few extra songs here and there.  Here is our song set along with the gospel presentations:

1.  Born to Praise the Lord
2.  Doxology
Introductions
3.  Grave Clothes
The story behind It Is Well
4.  It Is Well
BLACK - sin, added my testimony at the end
5.  Sinner Saved By Grace
6.  Out of His Great Love
RED - blood/cross, atonement
7.  The Precious Blood
8.  Power of The Cross (O To See the Dawn)
9.  Trust & Obey
WHITE - forgiveness
10.  In Christ Alone
Closing comments
11.  O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

Reviewing the program with Miro

I think it went a little over an hour, maybe 70 minutes, with no breaks other than my speaking and the translation.


Speaking of which, my translator was Miro, the pastor of the new church in Nova Gradiska.  He did a fantastic job and appreciate all of his help this past weekend.


It was a really long, exhausting day as Kim said but well worth it.


Randy


p.s. Our first Croatian fan has posted a couple of videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MaranathaWorld

CROATIA!!! Day 1

After a nice restful evening, Friday morning greeted us with a wonderfully warm, soft,skin  pampering shower.  Oh what a wonderful feeling of softer water pressure, constant temperature and I felt extremely spoiled after my shower.  Thank the Lord for wonderful, warm water and friends willing to share the simple pleasures of life!  :)

Kim H. walked next door to the bakery and picked up some yummy, delightful pastires for our breakfast.  We had chocolate and apricot "donuts".  They hit the spot and we were ready to head out for the morning.

One of the newest project Kim and her team are working on here in Croatia is of particular interest to us and our family.  They are working on a new outreach to the Roma people who live in a village outside of Slavonski Brod. Their recent survey provided them with enough information to begin their outreach.  They discovered there are approximately 450 children living within the village, a ripe field just waiting for harvest.  Randy and I really wanted to see this village and see if there was an opportunity to perhaps share some of Daniel's soccer balls with them.  We drove to Slavonski Brod, following Kim, and enjoyed the drive between the two cities.

This area is indeed a picturesque community and countryside.  It was a beautiful drive for us despite the AGAIN rain.  When we arrived in Brod, we were met with lots of traffic and road construction, two of Randy's favorite things to encounter while driving in a foreign country!  :)  We were following Kim and suddenly she pulled up onto the sidewalk and parked.  I thought this was where she was parking the car she had exchanged with her teammate Andy, but, instead her words were the following.  "The 12:00 bell just chimed, I'm assuming we need to feed a 6'3" stomach."  She was right, of course, Dustin was ready for lunch!!!  So, we grabbed some "kabobs" from a local kiosk and headed on towards the Roma village.

The village was much nicer and bigger than I had expected, a little more upscale than some we had seen in Romania last week.  Lots of kids were around, despite the dreary conditions, and lots of stares from the inhabitants of the homes.  A big white, fancy van goes exploring around your village, people take notice.  The people appeared friendly and indeed, the kids had two soccer fields.  Due to the rain and muddy conditions, we opted to not get OUT and kick a ball around.  We left the village and headed back into town to the "I Club".

Inside the internet cafe in SB

The I Club was started by a teammate of Kim's named Andy and his wife Lim.  Andy is spearheading the new ministry with the Roma's so we wanted to talk with him about Daniel and the potential of the soccer ball ministry.  This was a fun time for the boys because the I club is actually an internet cafe with Wii, Playstation, Nintendo and Ping Pong.  We chatted with Andy and Lim, played a little, rested a little, and then headed back to NG.  Andy was indeed interested in the soccer ball outreach, and Daniel will be leaving the other 12 balls with him to distribute to the Roma children as he deems appropriate.

Friday had been a busy day with lots of running around and meeting people.  We ended the day by dropping Daniel off at the place where Kim's team had been hosting baseball camp.  They were playing soccer since the rain had cancelled their final baseball game.  Daniel played soccer and we came back to Kim's to practice a bit for our upcoming concert, well, actually her church.  The church was hosting a party at 7 for all of the children that had participated in the baseball camp the previous week.  Pizza, drinks and entertainment brought lots of local Croatian kids to the church.  It was fun to interact with them, meet the girls that have been working with the team this summer, and fellowship with new friends at the church.  The entire team was there at the social, so we did indeed get to meet everyone.  A great time and a great day.

Time to practice again!!!  We came back to Kim's, turned all the sound down really low on the piano and bass and closed the doors up tight!!!  It was well after 9 by this time, but felt it necessary to practice again with Kim accompanying us on 3 songs.  Practice went very well, and at around 11:30, we decided to call it a night.

Blessed day, blessed night, and new friends!!!  It was a great day!!!

Kim

Transitions

Thursday was a day of transitions, a day of saying goodbye to new friends, and hello to a new country, currency, and experience.

We had a wonderful fellowship time with the students on Wednesday evening with the chapel service as well as following the service.  Even though the service lasted until 10PM, we all stayed around to fellowship, take pictures, exchange e-mail addresses and just enjoy being together.  I can't tell you how strong the bond between us came in such a short time.  The bonds of Christ are indeed the strongest, and I felt like I was leaving new-found family.  What a wonderful time we all had.

So, on to Thursday morning.  Doru came to have breakfast with us and say goodbye.  The goodbyes were hard.  I definitely feel that Ivonne and I impacted some of the girls.  We were able to share our life with them and they with us.  Goodbye for now, until we meet again dear Romanian family!  We loved our time with you and can't wait until the day God returns us to you or when we are able to share eternity in heaven together.  What an amazing thought, that we will all be able to understand each other, regardless of language.  Isn't that a remarkable thought???  God truly blows my mind sometimes and I'm so blessed to be HIS!!!

We left Emmanuel University around 9:30 after Kelsie finally finished goodbyes, and Daniel also.  I think Daniel really hated saying goodbye.  He's asked a couple of times since we left if we could just please go back and spend about 4 more days there.  How wonderful for him to feel so accepted, loved and the experience he was able to have.

The drive to Budapest is not very exciting, other than the driving!!  Hugging center lines, driving fast, passing on curves, you get the picture.  The scenery is rather boring and mundane, so not much to report there.  Once we arrived in Budapest, we met a young man from Melba tours to get our rental van.  Ok, I think it's a mini-bus, but it is indeed a very nice, roomy van for our family and we were blessed to be able to find such a bargain and large vehicle in Europe.  Oh, and did I mention it's a standard, so yours truly can't drive after all?  I suppose I could in a pinch, but I've never driven a standard for any length of time.  Too bad for me, but worse for Randy.  He quickly adjusted to a stick shift and I think he mistakenly took it for his Mach I a couple of times, but said by the end of the night, he and the van were ONE.

We decided to take a bathroom break and grab a burger at BURGER KING in Budapest before heading out on our next adventure.  Yes, it was Burger King, but the menu was in HUNGARIAN which surprised Kelsie for some reason, and the cashiers didn't speak much English.  Adventure #1 in Budapest....ordering in a Hungarian restaurant and speaking NO HUNGARIAN.  A nice, well, nice is a stretch, but a man decided to help us out with our order.  He spoke very good English and we were able to get our hamburgers with cheese only and Dustin some chicken nuggets.  Thank you kind sir for the help.  He was not friendly, but the fact that he was willing to help foreigners makes him "nice" in my mind.  Thank you LORD for sending someone just in our moment of need.

The drive from the meeting spot through Budapest was....well....scary, frightening, exhilarating, and relieving when we were through the city.  Once we crossed the Danube, we were both breathing a little easier.  We didn't have a great map, and the streets were named differently than our google directions (OF COURSE!).  We only made a couple of wrong turns and missed an exit, but all in all, we were safe and out of Budapest in 20 minutes or so.  Randy instantly relaxed and we were well on our way at this point.

Hungary was not very pretty, the terrain around Budapest is flat.  They raise corn by the truckloads and all you can see for miles is corn.  However, the closer we came to the Croatian border, the prettier the scenery.  The rolling hills appeared, we could see mountain foothills in the distance and every village we came upon was so picturesque.  Just a lovely drive through Southwest Hungary and on to Croatia.  We crossed the Hungarian border with no problems, Randy thought we were finished and a police man came out quickly and said STOP, PASSPORT CONTROL!!!  Oh boy, we're in trouble.  I could hear one of Doru's stories coming up only this time, I was the main character.  We were just entering Croatia and had to have our passports checked and stamped AGAIN, just 2 feet (meters) from where we just stopped at the Hungarian border.  Oh well, the police man was nice, took our passports, stamped them as entering Croatia and we were again on our way.  Off to the AUTOBAHN!!!  What fun it would have been for Randy if he would have been driving anything else.  The van topped out at 125 kph, so he wasn't really able to experience the true European driving experience.

The Autobahn was a partial toll road, so our next tense moment came when it was time to pay the toll.  Unfortunately, we had NO Croatian money yet as we hadn't seen a place to exchange.  The toll booth credit card machine was broken in the lane we chose, so the man angrily told Randy to back up FAST and go to another line.  WOW!!!  Reverse quickly, choose another line and this machine worked.  PRAISE the Lord.  I  was afraid we were going to have to put the kids out on the side of the highway to beg for KUNA.

On the road again.....off to Nova Gradiska!  The rest of the journey was fairly quiet and non-descriptive.  Randy and I enjoyed the scenery and the church steeples that projected high above the quaint villages.  The scenery here in Croatia reminds me of the many movies I've watched set in European villages.  Sweet, serene, terra-cotta colored roofs with window boxes full of beautiful flowers.  Just very nice and enjoyable scenery.

The only other thing of note was when we were all busting to find a bathroom.  We finally found a stop with a gas station, restaurant and roadside park.  We quickly parked, and walked to the "water closet".  However, this water closet had a GUARD!!!  An older lady wouldn't let us go in unless we paid her first.  OH NO!!!  Here we go again, no KUNA still and this woman was demanding money for us to relieve our full bladders.  NOT a position I particularly enjoy!  Again, God provided a stranger to help us.  She handed me the 30 cent coins needed for 1 person to go into the bathroom.  I chose for Kelsie to go, she was in the worst state at this point.  Boys, well....you know they don't HAVE TO have a toilet.  :)  Randy offered her Forints (Hungarian currency coins), but she refused and finally, probably just to get rid of us, motioned ALL of us to go to the closets.  PRAISE the Lord again for HIS mercy.  He is faithful, even in the little things.

We finally arrived in Nova Gradiska around 7 PM.  We met Kim at the Center park and she led us to the police station and ATM.  Apparently since we are FOREIGN to this city (and we're Christians), we had to register with the police in order to hold our outdoor concert in the city.  Americans....you truly have NO IDEA how blessed you are to live in a free country.  We waited around for around 40 minutes to get the right policeman, and jump through the proper hoops and receive our registration papers.  Now we're legal and allowed to sing in this great town!  Another praise!!!

Off to meet Kim's team who is conducting a baseball camp this week with some of the children of the city!  Nice people, worn out, finished for the day, but great guys.  We look forward to serving with them this weekend.

Kim took us to a delightful restaurant for dinner to feed our very hungry tummies, and then we settled into our new quarters.  How kind of Kim to let all 5 of us squeeze into her apartment with one bathroom.  So gracious and we slept like babies!!!

Kim

Comments from Randy:

Daniel & Doru with 8 balls

Before leaving Doru explained that they would be doing some outreach in the mountains over the next couple of weeks and, knowing that Daniel had brought soccer balls for the children of Romania, asked if they could use some for their outreach work.  Daniel obviously agreed and was happy to do it.  Doru said they would send an email later and hopefully pictures as well about how the balls were used.

Daniel donates a ball to the students

Daniel also donated a soccer ball to the university for the students to use.  The one they were using was in terrible condition.  The guys were very excited about it.


Thoughts on Budapest driving - Not bad.  Most major U.S. cities have traffic that is worse, Knoxville for instance.  We weren't in central Budapest but we were able to see the downtown area and Castle Hill as we crossed the Danube River.


Driving the main highways through Hungary and Croatia was nice.  Get this - people actually stay in the right lane except to pass.  There's a thought.

The main exit for Nova Gradiska was closed so we had to use a small side road for the last 30 km or so.  This was a very pleasant drive through the countryside and small villages.  Every small village/town has either a small catholic or orthodox church, sometimes in excellent condition but often neglected and in need of repair.  They have a form of religion but don't know God.


Randy

Romania Day 7 - Bittersweet

I don't have long for a post.  It's 11:23 pm and we leave for Croatia in the morning.  However, I wanted to capture a few thoughts - from tonight primarily.

Today was about working, yes, but also about tying up loose ends, thanking everyone, and saying goodbye.

Tonight we shared a chapel service with the students.  It was in the small chapel.  No sound system, just a broken piano.  It appears to be used as a classroom part of the time.

Services are all different and one is blessed in different ways at each service, but this one in particular moved me.  The opening Bible verse was from II Timothy 2:1-10.  The students sang together, mostly without any music, sometimes with a guitar.  There were a few small groups that got up and led worship.  A couple of the men spoke.  Bravo, I say.  Bravo.

And then Ed spoke.

All I can say is that you had to be there.  One of his primary verses was II Timothy 2:2.  The interpreter was very good.  The room fell still.  I looked around and the students were intently listening.  I could feel it in my heart.  This was the right message at the right time - a divine appointment.  I kid you not I almost wept, a grown man from Tennessee.

Seeds were planted while we were here that I am certain God will cultivate and mature long after we are gone.

Finally, let me say that our mission team was perfect for the job.  I'm sure that all male teams are appropriate at times but I can also say with certainty that our impact on these kids was multiplied because of Kelsie and Ivonne and Kim.

God bless and see you in Croatia

Randy

Romania Day 6 - Caulking for Christ

Tuesday morning brought more rain and cool weather.  We've really been blessed with unseasonably cool weather the past week.

On another floor were 41 more doors to clean up for painting.  Turns out that 7 of the doors hadn't been scraped and sanded as well so there you go.  Kelsie and I (and Daniel off/on) worked with Emma in the morning and mostly on our own after lunch.  The rest of the group started caulking door frames after Ed went with Cornaluch to get the right materials.

Last night I found out that another American guest was kindly told to change jobs.

Cornaluch to Kim - "You done.  No more.  You hold bucket for me."

After

Before

The day was  productive with all the door frames getting done on the ground floor.  Kelsie and I were able to finish all but three doors that needed to be scraped, sanded, and cleaned.  We just finished those this morning.

Daniel's friend Marcin

Daniel has become good friends with a student called "Marcin".  Marcin has been grabbing Daniel to work with him and they've played quite a bit of ping pong in the basement as well as volleyball.

Marcin asked that I come with Daniel to play ping pong last night around 9 pm.  He was hoping to play doubles but another guy didn't show up.  We ended up rotating and had a good time, especially since I won every game (Marcin not happy but a good sport).

So Kim comes down to the basement around 9:30 and starts talking sweet and hanging on me between points.  It seems that her and Ivonne would like some pastries from the bakery we found on Monday.  Game over.  The funny part was watching Marcin as Kim tried to "butter me up".  Let's just say PDA in Romania is not common.

La revedere

Randy

Random Thoughts on Romania from Daniel

I have asked Daniel to tell some of his thoughts and experiences during our stay in Romania.  These are his words:

It's different!  The people, stores, the houses,the food,the drinks,their clothes,and their way of living. The work here is hard. Their food is much sweeter. There drinks have more sugar. I have not seen alot but things here are very different.

I like the people here because they are like me.  The guys here at the University have helped me move stuff when I couldn't carry it.  They play a lot of games.  They're very active.  They are rough, probably because they're good at soccer.  They have more skills.  I played a game with them and my team won!

Marcen  is teaching me how to speak Romanian and I am teaching him to speak English.  It's working out!  I've learned da (yes), multzemesc (thank you) bene (good)   cheh my facha (how are you?) imi pare rau (I'm sorry) va rog  (please)  Cu placere (You're welcome)  Salut, chow  (hello/goodbye)  nu (no)

apah (water)  paheene (bread) for starters.

I went shopping at the mall.  The mall is different.

I really have loved a dessert the cooks have made two different times now.  It's called a gra-goot?  Something like a donut.

Last night, we went to the Brutarie patiserie.  They have lots of sweets.  I had a whipped cream cake that was mostly whipped cream.  The place was very small.  It was delicious!

That's all I can get out of him for now.  More thoughts later.

Romania Day 5 - Alfred Hitchcock presents "Doors"

Breakfast of champions

Since we had a 5-liter container of fruit salad and a full tray of appetizers from Sunday night, the Oradea team elected to catch a little more sleep and skip the cafeteria breakfast on Monday.  Still good stuff the next day although Ed and I noticed that the sausage ball taste tends to linger for several hours.

In the morning Kim and Ivonne started washing doors in preparation for caulking and painting while the rest of us were scraping and sanding door frames - pretty much the same thing as the door work but we weren't bent over all the time, and since it was more or less solitary work I pulled my Sansa Clip+ out and listened to music.  Always a good time with music in my ear.

Lunch on Monday

Lunch was fried potatoes, some mystery meat that was battered and fried,  and a vegetable soup.  The mystery meat was a hot topic at the table with speculation abounding, particularly from Ed.  It escalated to the point where Ivonne approached the cooks and found out that the meat was pork - mystery solved.  I mean, I don't have any reason not to trust the cooks, right?

In the afternoon Ivonne, Kim, and Kelsie traveled with a couple of ladies to a hospital and hospice, or at least they were supposed to do that.  I'll let Kim elaborate.

Back at the ranch - the men worked.

Doors.


































Ed, the boys, and I were also blessed to have an afternoon break with the college students.  Lemonade.  Very nice.  One can tell that everyone gets along well.

Afternoon break with the students

After supper some of us went back out and walked to the local mall and also grabbed some pastries on the way back.  I'll leave that for Kim also.

Lunch break is over.

I hear a door calling my name ....

Randy

Randy covered most of the days activities in a nutshell.  However, I do have a few things to add to his comments.


Kelsie, Ivonne and I were invited to go visit one of the hospice houses that Emanuel Baptist Church owns and operates.  Unfortunately, we arrived too late and weren't able to do that part of our afternoon visit.  However, we did go with our new friends Dairia and Tabita, two sisters here at the University.  They spoke very good English and were extremely entertaining.  Dairia actually spent 3 months last summer in Texas at a hospital there to do some training.  Her English was very, very good - the best we've encountered here besides the other American group we ran into at the mall.  :)


Dairia asked us if it would be ok if we took the tram to the hospital where she volunteered.  We all three agreed and thought that it would be a really good way to encounter the true "spirit" of Oradea.  Well, let me just tell you, we encountered something, but I'm not sure it was a spirit.  It stunk in the tram; it was lined with one horizontal row of metal seats and it was DIRTY.  Biggest thing we took from the tram ride of 45 minutes was the SMELL.  Oh my goodness they stink like body odor and the brakes squeak badly at every stop.  Anyway, it was an adventure.  We also discovered that there is NO dress code.....a beggar came up to us wearing only a shirt and pants ( not matching of course)  and no shoes.  His poor feet looked like he had set them in wet concrete, it was really pitiful.


We exited the tram about a 7-10 minute walk away from the hospital and proceeded towards the children's hospital.  Another adventure awaited us there.  The hospital has a gate that is guarded all the time, not by an armed guard, but a security-type guard.  He needed to know how many of us there were and what we were doing there.  Dairia explained we were with her, what she was doing and we were allowed to go in with her.  Once inside the lobby of the hospital, another "security guard" greeted us.  Dairia did all of the talking in Romanian and looked like they were arguing over something, but she won the 'argument' and came back to our group.  Basically, the man was attempting to scam us by making us purchase sanitary slip-ons for our shoes.  What most visitors don't realize is that if they are necessary, the nurses on the hospital floor give them to you to wear.  No need to buy them, EVER.  What a crafty one he was!!!


The elevator ride was, well, another adventure to say the least.  The elevators in Romania are more like phone booths than elevators.  We needed to get to the 8th floor, so we really wanted to ride the elevator, not climb the stairs.  Long story short, we split into two groups and finally all 5 of us made it to floor 8.  Wow, what a difficult time just trying to get there!  :)


We were going to visit the children that were "acute" patients.  Just sick, not dying patients.  That was good with me, I wasn't sure I could handle visiting very sick cancer patients that were also kids.  It was a nice call for me and I was relieved.  Ivonne and I stayed with Dairia on the boys wing.  Each floor of the hospital is separated and have boys on one side, girls on the other.  Kelsie went with the girls side with Tabita.  I was blessed by 5 little boys ranging in age from 3-15 approximately.  Ivonne and I helped as best we could with 3 separate crafts for them to do.  The boys loved being able to have a time just for them and they enjoyed hearing us Americans talk and trying to communicate with us by hand signals and gestures.  It was a great time.  I love children and I love working with them.  Really felt good to do some "heart" work rather than physical work on this particular day.


I do have to say, however, the conditions of the hospital were very disturbing.  The 8th floor was brand new, we were told.  It is true, the paint was new and the cononstruction looked relatively fresh, but oh my!  I never saw hand sanitizer, alcohol, or anything that looked halfway sterile.  The dining room where we held our craft session had a floor that I stuck to every time I moved.  But, the worst thing I saw was the baby bottles.  They were very old fashioned bottles with a big nipple, full of milk and sitting out on a table.  Those bottles sat there the entire time we were at the hospital, at least an hour.  I kept thinking, why aren't those in the refrigerator???  Can I put them in a fridge?  But, apparently they sit out the entire time.  Just so different here than in the states.  The standard of healthcare is obviously lower than what I'm used to at home.  


I have to admit, I actually had difficulty sleeping last night thinking about what would happen if one of the kids or myself got sick while we were here.  I know I'm not supposed to worry and all of that stuff, but still, when you see things first hand, you can't help but think about those kind of things.  Praise God we are all well and healthy to this point.  :)


The guys were expecting us home by 5:30 and we realized we were still doing crafts with the kids at 5.  It was a 45 minute tram ride back, (PLEASE, NO MORE TRAM), and we had no way to contact our men.  So, Dairai said we COULD take a taxi, but she had no more money.  Ivonne said she would GLADLY pay the 16 lei to get us back on time and not have to ride the tram again.  That equates to around $5 US, so honestly, not a bad deal.  We got back at about 5:55 and went to supper with the guys.


After dinner, we met with Dairai and Tabita again and they walked with us to the mall.  I was wanting to find some Romanian made tablecloths like I had bought here 10 years ago, and she thought she knew of a place to take us.  So, we made the journey on foot to the mall about 10-15 minutes from the University.  No tablecloths, but Ivonne picked up a beautiful plate and the highlight was on the trip back.


Dustin has been craving a sweet, moist chocolate cake, so we asked Dairia if she knew of a place we could get something similar to American cake.  Yes, indeed, she knew of a place and would take us there.  Obviously, it was the best, least-expensive bakery in the area because it stayed BUSY the entire time we were there.  We brought home cake for Dustin, Kelsie and Daniel, and the adults all got a turnover-type fruit pastry that was absolutely DELICIOUS.  They had just come out of the oven and we bought one of each, a plum and apricot.  YUM!!!  My tummy is rumbling right now thinking about how good they were.  I could put away another one or two if I could get my man to walk over and get me one!  (He's snoozing on the couch at the moment, so I think I'm out of luck.  )  Great find, great buy, and happy tummy.


Well, it wasn't American chocolate cake, but it was about the sweetest think Dustin had since we left American airspace.  It was enjoyed by all!!!  A big huge thanks to the sisters for an awesome day!!!


That was about it for Monday.  Randy and Daniel did play volleyball with a group of students, that was interesting to watch!!!  They had fun and the Romanians allow using your feet for digs.  Hmmmm....


Until Tuesday....
Kim

The LORD'S Day in Romania, Part 2

So we got right at an hour between services to rest and blog and then we sped off (same driver) to Emanuel Baptist.  We met Doru there and he asked for two more songs, not together - separate.

We saw Lessa Wilson in the hallway.  I kid you not.  Her twin sister lives in Oradea.  Actually, she was our interpreter for the evening.  It's a small world (after all).

Speaking of which, I ran into another couple after the service that wanted to send their regards to Pastor Weems.  It seems that he stayed at their flat in Cluj, or trashed their flat in Cluj, or something like that.  So there you go.

The orchestra played a recessional after the service

We were blessed to enjoy more music from the men's choir, from a visiting orchestra, and a beautiful solo, not to mention more great congregational hymns of which we even knew one or two.

Doru went easy on Ed, asking for a few words of greeting and a brief summary of our trip so far.  Piece of cake for the colonel.

For our first song we elected to do a new one that we've learned for Croatia, Oh the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus.  It is a beautiful song that Kim plays on the piano and features Kelsie.  Did I mention that the church was probably 80% full?  Kim was nervous about using a different keyboard but she did great.

For our last song we decided to do It Is Well acapella style.  Since we had done it that morning at the village church we knew that people would recognize it.  When Doru motioned for us to go sing again I asked him to tell the congregation to feel free to sing with us.  He in turn asked us to sing the Doxology again.  Fair enough.  Indeed they did know the song and it was a real blessing to hear them sing with us.

Doru was the preacher last night and even though a little may have been lost in translation, the Word was boldly proclaimed as only Doru can do it.  Did I mention he's a master storyteller?  He brings that same dynamic speaking ability to the pulpit.

Outside Emanuel Baptist
after the service

After church, shaking hands, speaking really bad Romanian - you get the picture- time for another meal with Doru at Emanuel.  We are all thinking, "Please, not more food.  We can't eat another big meal like we had for lunch."  Seriously, there are four courses at every meal so you truly have to pace yourself (that's English pace).  Doru was kind enough to say that it wouldn't be a big meal, just a normal meal.  Good news.

Appetizers

To keep it short, I'll just say that we had plenty to eat.  The appetizer plate was very similar to the one at lunch and could have been a meal by itself.  We also had a very traditional Romanian dish called sarmale.  It is a sausage roll wrapped in cabbage.  For dessert, fruit and cake.  And the lemonade.  Have we mentioned the lemonade yet?  It is fabulous.

Sarmale

So that's about it for a normal Sunday in Oradea, Romania.  I'll add photos and maybe a video clip or two later.

Pace

Randy



My turn to add thoughts to our Lord's day experience yesterday evening.  The "short" afternoon was a nice respite from the activities of the day.  A time to recharge my batteries, blog, and catch-up on my facebook feed.  :)  


At 4:30 we were picked up and taken to Emanuel Baptist Church.  It was great to return to the church; it felt comfortable and welcoming.  I truly enjoyed the orchestra and the singing....the music is so good there.  I have mentioned the acoustics in the building, right???  Wow, it's simply a blessing to sit and listen regardless of the language.


We sang a total of 3 songs this time.  It went well and was a blessing just to participate and see the look on people's faces when they recognized "It is Well". People joined in with us on the chorus and it was just awesome.   Loved being a part of their service and the message was so good.  Doru preached from I Peter about the "fear of God".  It was refreshing and energizing to my soul and spirit.  I loved the day, it was long, yes, we ate a lot, yes, but oh my goodness, it was so good for all of us.


After service,  supper was again delightful.  We had an authentically "Romanian", dish, "Sarmale" - stuffed cabbage leaves with fresh made sausage.  Oh, and we had CAKE for dessert.  Cakes are a true work of art in Romania.  They go to extreme measures to make it LOOK better than it tastes.  Fancy icing, 4 or 5 layers of different colors.  It tasted very good, just not as sweet as American cakes.  Dustin said he would really like to just have a super sweet, chocolate cake, oh and it would have to be really moist, too.  :)


The boys did great.  They were even willing to try some new foods, regardless of the fact they didn't think they would like it at all.  It was a proud momma moment.


The Lord's day is truly about the Lord here, at least with the people we were with yesterday.


Kim

The LORD'S Day in Romania

What a day it has been thus far!!! I can't believe all that I've already done and many of you are just getting up at home. It's only 9 AM in Johnson City, but much has happened with the Oradea team today. WOW!!!

The village church at
Topa de Cris

Where to begin for Sunday??? We were to meet our driver and translator downstairs in the lobby at 8:30 this morning. Today is the Lord's Day and we were going to a church in a nearby village. When I say a village church in Romania it is the equivalent to a small city in Tennessee. I at first had in my mind that the village churches were outdoor, small, quaint tent-type towns. Not so.  The one we visited today, Topas de Crisis was more like the size of maybe Jonesborough, TN, but no real obvious shops or anything like that.

Back to the meeting with our driver....we met Cor-na-luge (No idea how to spell this one, so here's the way it sounds! :) His driving, well....I think it even scared Dustin and Daniel a bit. My oh my how in the world do they teach their children to drive here. We did find out over lunch that you have to be 18 at least before you can receive a drivers license in Romania. What a relief to this mom!!! Anyway, he drove very fast, over the center line almost ALL the time, passed cars on curves and tailgated anything in front of him. Ivonne and I decided it was better to just talk to each other, face-to-face and NOT watch the road. WE felt much better that way. On the way home, Ed held the grip on top of the car ceiling the WHOLE WAY back. That should give you some idea of the harrowing ride we had.   Fun.....the boys said.  Scary is what I say. But, we prayed before we left both times and I think I really understand why they insist on praying before they drive! :)

We arrived at the village church right at 9:20. The attendees that were already there were praying so we stayed outside until time for service to begin at 9:30. Cornaluge (maybe Cornalush) instructed us in this way: Ladies-sit to the right, Men- to the left. OK, excuse me....WHAT??? Yes, indeed, I heard him correctly. Tthe sanctuary was divided with men on one side and ladies on the other. First time EVER for me to sit opposite my husband during church. It felt so odd to me, but of course, it's their culture, their church, and we respect their customs. Definitely different for me to be away from my boys.

The service was wonderful. (Almost 3 hours). We had no translator for the service, but even without understanding what was being said or prayed, we understood their devotion and heart for God.

I simply have to close early.....we are being picked up in 15 minutes for another service tonight. Please pray for the boys.  They are tired and we have another 2 hour service to sit through tonight. Also pray for us as we sing this evening. We want to be a blessing in every and any language.

God's blessings to you.  Pace

Kim

Thoughts from Randy:


So the drive to the church was slightly exciting but I was honestly never afraid-for-my-life scared.  Cornalush was very aggressive and fast but he was also very good.  Now the last time Kim and I were in Romania our driver was just as aggressive at passing on curves but he wasn't the best driver.  Also, he had a van that blew smoke when he pressed the gas pedal down.  I honestly think that old van accelerated due to the force of the smoke coming out the tail pipe.  No, today was nothing like that.  We had a VW that could haul mail.


I was sitting in the front seat with Cornalush and our interpreter, Daniel.  A couple of things stood out about our conversation.


First, I was quizzing them about what is meant by a "village".  Seeing as how we were going to one of them there villages I wanted some idea of the size.  I already suspected that a village probably meant something different than it did to me.  Indeed, the difference between a village and a city is - drum roll, please - taxes.  Yes, Cornalush said that you pay taxes in a city and you don't in a village.  He probably means local taxes for infrastructure and government.  Villages do not have this.  In fact Cornalush said that a village could be as large as 20-25,000 people.  Our village this morning, Topa de Cris, was on the smaller side - around 1,000 people or so.


Second thing - Daniel, our student interpreter, is from Timisoara.  This was pointed out to me by Cornalush and stated in such a way that made it apparent that being from this city is and should be a source of pride.  Why is this?  Timisoara was where the 1989 revolution began, where the first martyrs for freedom were made.


I don't have much to add to Kim's comments on the morning service.  Ok, maybe just a few.  


Good singing - At both the village church and at Emanuel these people know how to praise God with their voices.  They are both good and fervent in their worship.  Several kids came up to sing or read during the service and that was a special blessing, just as it is when the kids read scripture at Heritage.


Ed gave a great sermon on Moses and David.  The thought I took away - Forget 40 days and 40 nights.  What would happen if the church spent one hour per day on their face before God?  You have to start somewhere.


Regardless of many people knowing some English, their favorite songs are the hymns, especially the Doxology which they obviously recognize.  I had a hard time finishing the song this morning when I looked up and saw a lady in the back crying.

A bunch of happy and stuffed people

Lunch was incredible and was hosted by Elijah's sister and brother-in-law who live in the village.  Their son is also named Daniel and has a wonderful voice.  It was another four course meal, starting with appetizers ( sausage balls, cheese, stuffed white peppers, salami like slim jims, a potato salad-like ball, and an eggplant spread), chicken soup, main course of mashed potatoes and a fantastic chopped up roast, and the finale (more like a coup de grâce) was tiramisu.


An explanation for Kim using the word pace to close her post.


Pace (pronounced paw-cha (like in chase)) is a traditional greeting that believers give one another in Romania.  It means peace.


It's after midnight so we'll blog about tonight's events at Emanuel sometime tomorrow.


Randy out.