Romania!

Car Wash

2008-09-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

There's no better way to beat the heat (and get a car clean!) then to give kids water guns and get them to help clean a car!! We managed to convince them that this was the best idea ever to clean Sarah's car with water guns. They were actually helpful for the most part until their sponges started to fall in the dirt and they started to spread mud on the pretty white car....oops! All around it was good fun though and they enjoyed themselves and got to cool off from the summer heat!

Gymnastics

2008-08-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of the summer Olympics, we taught Beca some tumbling skills!

Road Trip Part 2

2008-08-10T03:55:00.000-07:00

After our night in Sibiu we traveled West toward Timisoara. My brother had come out in June and stayed at the Precepts ministry center, and we decided to go back out there and stay for a couple of days just to relax and get out of Brasov. It was a beautiful drive across the country and we got to see many parts of Romania that I had never seen before.

Along the way, we stopped at a vineyard... It was such a beautiful place and had some delicious wine!Mary, Beca, and I decided to pose with some traditional Romanians...don't we fit right in??

At the center, we spent a lot of time just hanging out and taking walks around. It was a good time to get away and get refreshed to go back to work at the hospital!

There were some tennis courts there and Beca learned how to play! She was quite the talented little player!

One day we took a trip into the bigger town of Lugoj that was nearby. We had a picnic in the park in the center of town. I don't think too many people do this...we got a few strange looks from people and had one guy come and just stare for a while. Oh well! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our picnic!

Lugoj had a beautiful canal that ran right through the middle of it.

It was a fantastic trip and a fun getaway for all of us!

Road Trip!

2008-08-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

In August, Steffi went to Germany with Roxi and Costel, so Mary, Sarah and I decided to go on a little road trip across Romania with Beca. We started in Sibiu, a town about 2 and a half hours away from Brasov. It's a very cute little town that actually reminded me a lot of Brasov with a huge center that Beca just loved! There were fountains that squirted up out of the ground that she had a blast playing in! She ended up a bit wet, but it was well worth it to see how much fun she had. Mary maybe got a littl wet as well playing in the water...

We walked around and saw some of the other sights in town. Lots of old, historic buildings and churches. It was nice to shop and relax and enjoy just being outside and seeing a town outside of Brasov.

We found a car along the way that seemed just the right size for Beca!

Mary and Beca in front of the church in the center of town.

We spent one night in Sibiu before continuing our journey on further to the west in Romania...

Oh What A Beautiful Baby!

2008-07-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

Now, I know not everyone will appreciate the beauty of this little girl, but she has stolen my heart. She is a gorgeous little thing with wild hair and huge eyes! Her name is Solidad (not actually sure if I'm spelling that right) and she's just over a year old. Such a doll!

Look how good she is with other babies!
So pretty all dressed up!

A Day With Some Cuties

2008-07-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

I had a random morning alone with Costel and Beca and we decided to have a little outing to get some ice cream and go to the park. These 2 little ones are so adorible! I love spending time with them.

2008-07-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

In July, a team of girls from Denmark and Australia came to Brasov for a photo project. They went to Budila, a village right outside of Brasov, and took pictures of the families there. It was a really neat project for us to watch, as many of the babies in the hospital come from that village. It was also a fun week for us since all 7 of the girls stayed with us in our house!

4th of July

2008-07-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July, we of course felt the need to have a celebration in Romania! Although there weren't so many Americans in attendance, it was a good time. Countries represented: England, Australia, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Romania, and America - not bad!

Our patriotic blanket on display (we had to borrow it from our English friend!)
Part of the group who was there. It was a beautiful day for a barbeque!
The ring toss game was a hit with the kids...
but even more intense for the adults!! Coreen was the winner - look at her form!
Andreea, Beca, and Roxi enjoying their dinner

Roxi Turns 5

2008-06-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Roxi celebrated her 5th birthday on June 30th! She had a great day celebrating.

We all went to a creek near Brasov and the kids were able to swim and play in the water all day. It was a great chance for the kids to run around and the adults to relax and enjoy the day in the sun!

Trip Home

2008-06-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

In June I took a trip home for a couple weeks to visit my family. My parents took me to Mexico for a few days of relaxing on the beach, which was wonderful!

I got to spend some good quality time with my parents and brothers while I was there as well.

April update

2008-05-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hello! Sorry for the delay in updates. Here is April in a nutshell:

We took a trail ride to Bucharest to try to get a visa for Roxi to be able to go to America. All went well and she was approved that day! It was very exciting as this was the last thing needed for her to be able to go to California (they are there now!) We all went and took all the kids along - it was a good day all around.

We had a team come in town from Canada for 2 weeks. There were 6 people all together and they spent time in the hospital and painting in the Infectious Disease hospital. They were a really fun group and it was so refreshing to have some new faces around!

We had them all up to our house for a barbeque to welcome them into town. There was great food and a good time of fellowship for everyone.

We spent a lot of time with them throughout the week just hanging out outside of the hospital.
Steffi, Jan and I in the hospital with the babies. Lots of cute little ones in these days!
Mary stayed in town through the end of May, so she was here to celebrate her golden 28th birthday! We had a great time with a day full of celebrations
We went to Bella Muzica that night (one of our favorite restaurants) to celebrate. Here is a picture of everyone living in our house during the month of April:

me, Steffi, Mary, Beth Wyatt, and Sarah

I will try to get better about the posting! Hopefully coming soon will be some pictures from May where Mary and I are watching Beca and Costel and having all kinds of fun with them.

A Little Dance

2008-03-30T11:47:00.001-07:00

So, I can't quite figure out how to post a video and be able to type in the same entry - anyone able to give me any tips?

I will try to update more with pictures and things soon, but in the mean time here is a video of Costel doing a little dance to his favorite song...Ice Ice Baby. He's mastered the moon walk! All the kids love to dance and it's a favorite activity in the house. Enjoy!

A Little Dance

2008-03-30T11:45:00.001-07:00

A Week of Chaos

2008-02-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

This week was slightly crazy as Sarah and Steffi were in Germany getting dental work done, and I had all 3 kids! They were adorible and really well behaved though, so that made the kid part easy. Everything else about life was a bit chaotic - hear are a few of our adventures this week:

1. We lost all water in the house for a day and a half
2. When we got water back, we still had no hot water for 2 days (it came back today - yea!)
3. Our gate wouldn't open and I had to figure out how to climb the wall and break in (made me realize how safe we are - it's a tough place to break into!)
4. Had a flat tire on the car and didn't know how to change it.
5. Ant infestation!

Many other adventures occured in this week, but those were some of the hightlights. There were for sure moments when life felt completley overwhelming and I wasn't sure I would make it through, but God brought me through each day. And with these smiling faces around all the time, it made everything bearable!

Update

2008-02-12T05:09:00.003-08:00

Terribly sorry for the lack of blogging lately! There have been a lot of things going on and I plan to update on everything soon I promise. Here's a couple things to keep you kind of entertained until I have more time to post more news:

We got a puppy! A guy we know was giving them away, so we ended up with a new little puppy that we named Isaac. He's so cuddly and the kids are already loving him!

Roxi and Isaac
Costel and Isaac
Me and Isaac
I'm also learning to play the guitar. Steffi is teaching me each day. I'm really not good, but it's kind of fun to have a new hobby!
That's all for now. I will post more soon!

Snow!!

2007-11-30T07:36:00.001-08:00

I think we have had more snow so far this winter than we had in total last year! It's so pretty to look at, but makes living on the very top of a hill a lot more complicated. The pretty view does make it all worthwhile though!
Roxi in her snowsuit:
Costel:
Beca:
Steffi and the kids made a snowman!

Lots of Wood

2007-11-30T07:30:00.001-08:00

In order to try to save some money on heat in our new house, we ordered lots and lots of wood! We were shocked how much there was when it got delivered. This is only half of what we had originally ordered (we told them we only needed the half!) It will be quite the process to get it all cut and chopped and all that stuff, but luckily Sarah thinks that kind of thing is fun! We bought a chain saw to make the cutting easier as well. Unfortunately it's not the driest wood, so it's not all burning great, but next year we will have quite the supply once it's dried out!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-28T07:19:00.000-08:00

We decided that since we have a nice big house and 2 Americans living in it, that we should host Thanksgiving this year! We invited some friends over and everyone contributed to the delicious food. It was a fun day with friends and laughter all around.

We managed to find a whole turkey here, which is more complicated than you might think! It took a few stores to finally find one, but we were successful. Sarah and I had to google instructions for how to cook a turkey, but it turned out great! The timing was perfect and the turkey was delicious. It's a lot of pressure to be responsible for the main part of the whole meal!
Our table all set up and ready to go!

Jo came up with some creative crafts to entertain the little ones. They carved "pumpkins" made out of oranges. They turned out really cute! While it wasn't the same as having Thanksgiving at home with my family, it was still fun to be with so many friends to celebrate the day!

New House

2007-11-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

Upon returning to Romania, I moved into a new house! God answered so many prayers in providing this place for us to move into. I now live with Sarah and Steffi and the kids. It's so much fun and nice to have so much space to spread out into! My new address is:
Str. Curcanilor 72
500133 Brasov
Romania

Our new house:

The dining room with a beautiful view to the outside:
The living room:
The kitchen:
My room:
This place is really one of the most beautiful houses I have ever seen. We live way up high on top of a hill, but the work to get up here is worth it once you see the view! There are 4 floors so we never feel crowded with 6 of us living here.

Sorry!

2007-11-25T06:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in updating my blog!! I know it's been forever. I will post some pictures about all that has been going on very soon. I had a wonderful time in America and got to spend some quality time with my family for a few weeks. After Dave's wedding, we spent some time relaxing in Texas and flying up to Maryland to visit some relatives. It was all really fun and just nice to see my family again! Then I spent 2 weeks with Sarah at her family's house in Virginia before we headed back to Romania together. More to come very soon...

A New Member of the Family

2007-10-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my brother Dave and Dinah got married! It was a beautiful ceremony and we had a great time the whole weekend. Here's a picture of the happy couple during their reception.

My family:
A lot of extended family was able to come in town for the wedding as well. It was so much fun to get to see aunts and uncles and cousins and get caught up with all of them!

Getting Older

2007-09-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my 28th birthday in Romania and had a wonderful day! My entire day was filled with activities and spending time with my friends here. Sarah and Steffi organized a lot of fun things and truly made me feel special on my birthday.

I started out the morning in the hospital as usual. My current favorite baby, Ionela, fell asleep in my arms for almost 30 minutes - a record for her! We had a great time just cuddling in the playroom and ignoring the chaos of the other babies in there!

After the hospital, Sarah came to pick up Steffi and I and we headed out to lunch. We met up with some other people and enjoyed our favorite Italian food (no pics from that).

Later in the day, they had a party for me downstairs. It was so much fun! There was a cake (box cake from America - what a fun treat!) with sparklers for candles.

Costel, Beca, and Roxi all made me cards that they had colored. Roxi even learned how to write my name!

Sarah and Steffi bought me a bike which will be so useful once we move into our new house. We had discussed the possibility of my looking for one once we moved to make the trip to the hospital shorter, but I never imagined they would buy one for me. I love it and can't wait to get to test it out!

Later in the evening, a group of us went out bowling. It was a lot of fun (even though I completely lost!)

Sarah, Nicola, and me

Me and Steffi
I had a wonderful birthday and could not have asked for a better day. I love the friends that I have here and it was so much fun to get to celebrate with them all day long. I'm excited to get to come back to Texas in a week and a half and get to celebrate all over again with my family!

A New House

2007-09-12T04:41:00.000-07:00

I know I've moved around a lot since I've come to Romania, but hopefully this will be the last time for a while. I mentioned in my last newsletter that we were trying to rent a house, and God worked everything together perfectly for us to be able to rent this gorgeous place! It's so big and has a ton of space outside for the kids to play. I will be moving in with Sarah and Steffi and the kids at the beginning of November. The rent is a great deal for how much space we are getting and the area the house is in. It will be less expensive for all of us to live there than it would be for us to stay in the 2 apartments we currently live in. The only down side is that you have to climb a HUGE hill to get to the house, but once you make it up there it is definitely worth it.
There are 2 terraces outside like this one. They are one of the main things that sold us on this place. Inside the house is nice and spacious, but the outside it what makes it all worth it.

This is the veiw we get anytime we look outside. You can't ask for anything prettier! We literally look right down on the center of Brasov. God was so good to bring this along!

Costel's Family

2007-09-12T04:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we decided to take Costel's siblings out for lunch. They love to see Costel and how he is doing, and it's nice for them to get out of their village from time to time. This is a picture of 4 of his siblings and a cousin that came out with us on Friday. He has 2 other brothers who did not join us. One is younger than Costel and the other is 6 but was in the hospital. These kids are so sweet and they had a ball being able to walk around the town and see what Brasov was like!
We started the day with lunch at McDonald's. The kids were so excited to have hamburgers and french fries! It was sad to see them each save half of their food so they would have it for later. It was definitely a reality check for what kind of conditions these kids live in at home.

Then we went and sat by the fountain in the center and all the kids had ice cream. It was a beautiful sunny day and we all enjoyed being out!

It was hard to see the drastically different life that Costel now lives compared to his family. We are working on trying to get sponsors for his famliy so we can help them out more at home. If you are interested in helping, please let me know!

Nicola

2007-09-12T04:21:00.000-07:00

This is my current roommate, Nicola. She is from Scotland and is so much fun! She has been here since the beginning of August and will stay for 3 months. We're trying to convince her to stay longer, but so far have been unsuccessful. It's been great to have someone in the apartment and have a friend around!

Playing Mom Again

2007-09-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

I got to spend 10 days taking care of three of the cutest little kids I have ever seen! Sarah and Steffi went to Denmark to visit a friend and I was on kid duty. It was hard at first to learn to manage all 3 at the same time and take them everywhere with me, but they were great and we had a blast together. There was never a dull moment!

This is me with Roxi and Beca. We had a whole night where we just took pictures of ourselves over and over again. Roxi was such a ham and would make funny faces and laugh at herself forever until we took another one.

Costel and Beca love the teeter totter at the park. The two of them sit on one side and Roxi gets on the other and they think it's so much fun!

Roxi really liked to attempt the monkey bars for about 5 seconds before she would start to panic about falling to the ground. She did manage to move one hand one time!
3 little climbers getting out their energy!

We took a walk to the center where the kids got to participate in one of their favorite activities - chasing the birds. They are hilarious to watch just running in circles after the poor birds.

Beca and Costel love to get right by the water at the fountain. They both left completely soaked this day, but they had a good time!

All 3 dressed up and ready to go to church.

Sad News

2007-08-24T00:59:00.001-07:00

Last week the Lord took two of my family members home to be with Him. My Aunt Margaret passed away August 13 after fighting a tough battle with cancer. She was always the life of the party and there was never a dull moment when she was around!

Three days later my grandmother passed away as well. I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with her while I was home this summer, and am so grateful the Lord provided that time for us. She was sweet and funny and would always say the most random things that would have us laughing forever.

They were both treasured parts of our family and will be greatly missed. It's always hard to get news like this so far from home, but thankfully God has provided me with an amazing support system here in Romania so I never felt alone. I'm thankful I'll be coming home in a little over a month and will be able to spend some time with my family!

I made it!

2007-08-05T02:20:00.000-07:00

I made it safely back to Romania with no problems! I managed to sleep a ton on the plane, so the jet lag hasn't been too bad. Tomorrow I get to go back into the hospital and see all the babies again and I am so excited! I will try to be better about updating this thing as I go.

Fun Times in Texas

2007-08-02T20:48:00.001-07:00

I apologize for the lack of blogging for the past couple months, but things have been busy in Texas! I've been so lucky to be able to spend 7 weeks visiting with friends and family in Kingwood and Dallas. Here is a brief re-cap of the trip home:

I started the visit getting to participate in Vacation Bible school at KUMC. They had a different missions emphasis each day, and one day they focused on the babies in Romania. During their missions time, the kids made fleece tie together blankets for the babies. It was amazing to watch all these kids in Texas making something that will affect the lives of children half way around the world. I can't wait to get them all to Romania and pass them out!
I had some quality family time at the beach in Maryland. I grew up my whole life visiting Ocean City, and we all love to go back! We had some great weather and lots of fun relaxing and reading on the beach everyday.

My brother's fiancee Dinah joined us for the trip, which was great! I was happy to get to spend some time getting to know her better before their wedding. This is my family eating one night on the bay. We found lots of great restaurants on the bay to eat dinner and watch some amazing sunsets!

After the beach, I headed to Dallas. Mary and I put together a brownie taste test that we tried out on our small group friends! We made 6 different types of boxed brownies and had them taste each one and put them in the order of best to worst. The test came complete with lemon sorbet so they could "cleanse the pallat" between tastes! In case you're curious, the winner was Betty Crocker! They claim to be America's favorite on the box, and they aren't lying. The only one that was unanimous was last place, and that was the fat free box! Lesson learned - fat free brownies are just not worth the trouble!!

All the girls holding up a sample bite. They were such good sports to play along!

Kelly and Nate came to hang out for a night as well. It was great getting to catch up with them and just to relax with friends!

So, that was basically some of the highlights of the trip home. I did a few more things, but don't have pictures from all of them! Tomorrow afternoon I get on a plane to fly back to Romania. I'm excited to get back and see everyone there and get back to the babies in the hospital!

Back in Texas

2007-06-22T18:35:00.001-07:00

I arrived safely back in Texas last Sunday. It was really fun to fly in and surprise my Dad for Father's Day (he thought I wasn't coming in until Wednesday). Bill came in town as well, so I was able to spend time with my whole family for a couple of days. I'm excited to have 7 weeks to hang out with family and friends and raise support to go back in August.

My mom and I decided to go on a shopping trip to San Marcos this week. We also intended to go tubing, but the weather did not cooperate at all! I got a lot of good bargains on things to take back with me, including some great gifts for people. Now my only problem is going to be trying to figure out how in the world to get it all back...

It's strange the things that are surprising me here! I was running the other morning and everyone I passed on the greenbelt would smile and say hello!! While I'm sure that is not surprising to any of you, that just doesn't happen in Romania. One of the many things that is different on the other side of the world. I think there will be a lot of things that come up that I am not used to anymore.

That's all I have to share for now about life back in the US. It's great to be home!

Everyone's Back

2007-06-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

Steffi, Sarah, Roxi, and Costel made it safely back from Germany! They had a fantastic trip and Costel's surgery went great! Thank you so much for praying for that little boy. He'll be in his cast for about 4 more weeks and then he'll be back in his splint. He walks everywhere and seems to have no pain. Beca was very happy to see everyone return home. All 3 kids just ran in circles around the house for about 30 minutes straight! It's great to have them all back safely in Brasov.

2007-05-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Sibylle, Emily, Hannah and I took the cable car up to the top of Mt. Tampa. It provides a beautiful view of the city of Brasov! We had a lot of fun hanging out at the top of the mountain for a while. It was a beautiful day out and we had a great time.

This was the closest we could do getting Beca to look at the camera! She is a stubborn little thing and was not in the mood to have her picture taken.

Lily Has a Home!

2007-05-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Lily is the first baby I fell in love with in Romania. I met her almost 2 years ago at Tutova hospital on my first trip to Romania. I have been lucky enough to get to go back to visit her 2 times this year. Last week we heard that Lily was finally placed in a foster family. It's exciting for her to be out of the hospital and in a family!

Hiking Poiana

2007-05-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hannah, Bridget, Lorraine, Beca and I decided to take the bus up to the top of Poiana and hike down. It was a beautiful day and the walk down was really fun.

Me, Hannah, and Bridget stopping for a break on the walk down!

Thankfully a lot of the walk was in the trees! It was a little hot out and being in the sun the whole time would have been exhausting.

Playing Mom

2007-05-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is little Beca, my temporary daughter for 3 weeks. Sarah and Steffi have headed to Germany for Costel's surgery on his leg and were able to take Roxi along as well. Beca had to stay behind, but thankfully is still under their care! I am watching her and getting to play mom while they are away. She is the cutest little thing and we are having a great time!

New Apartment and New Address

2007-04-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

I've moved into a new place! It is very exciting and I'm so happy to be there. It's actually the volunteer apartment for Hope for the Nations. They wanted someone to stay there to be with the volunteers while they are in Romania so they don't feel overwhelmed or alone. The place is beautiful and it's so nice to have a kitchen and a living room and access to the internet all the time! It was a little sad to leave my host family, but I'm really happy to be where I am. TAPA is going to be giving me the money they normally pay the host family to help with the costs of living here. It's right above where Sarah and Steffi live as well, which is also fun. This is where I'll be living when I come back in August, so hopefully this will be the last address change I have to make! Here's the address:
Beth Bray
Str. Dealul de Jos 18A
500080 Brasov
Romania
Here are some pictures of the kitchen and the living room.

This is the bedroom. It can accommodate up to 4 volunteers at a time. I sleep in here as well, but will move if there are ever 4 volunteers here at the same time.

Stick Bread

2007-04-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I got to experience my first ever stick bread barbeque! It was such a delicious and fascinating concept that I had to share. It's very simply and an interesting alternative to just toasting marshmallows over a camp fire. We made bread dough and wrapped it around the end of a stick. Then you just hold the dough over the fire and it cooks! When it's brown on the outside, it's ready to eat and you can literally just pull the whole thing off the end. It was tasty on it's own, or with jam inside. I recommend it to everyone!

Greece

2007-03-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

After my parents came and hung out in Romania for a while, we took a short trip to Greece. I needed to leave the country for my visa, so Greece seemed like a fun choice! We stayed mainly in Athens, but one day we took a 3 island cruise to see something different. One of the islands we went to allowed no cars, so everyone had a donkey to get things around! I think if I went back to Greece, I would want to stay on an island like this - it was beautiful!

Another day we took a ride along the coast. It was nice to get out of Athens and see the water. It wasn't the prettiest day, but luckily the rain let up enough for us to walk around a little bit.

Of course a big part of Greece is all of the ruins that are everywhere. I didn't really know what much of the stuff was we were looking at, but it was impressive how old it was! My mom was an expert with the guide book and she would always tell us what we were seeing and how long ago it was built. It was a good trip overall and just fun to get to spend more time with my parents.

Mom and Dad Come to Romania!

2007-03-31T06:04:00.000-07:00

My parents were able to come and visit me in Romania! It was a great trip and I really enjoyed showing them what my life is like here. They got to come with me to the hospital one morning and see all the little babies that were in. They even got to experience the part of the day where we change all the diapers! Not sure that was their favorite part, but it was nice to have the extra hands. One afternoon we went on a walk with some friends of mine here. Roxi (the little girl holding my mom's hand) really liked her a lot and they got very bonded!

Tutova

2007-02-12T03:28:00.000-08:00

Bridget and I had the chance to take a weekend trip to Tutova, which was where I went the first time I came to Romania (it was also where Bridget went on her first trip here). That was a year and a half ago, so I was very excited to get back there and see if any of the same kids were still around. The hospital still looks much the same as it did back then, there are just a lot of new faces. Luckily there were still some familiar little faces there as well. It was so much fun to get to see about 7 of the kids I had in my group last time still there! They are all so big now and running around the place and talking non-stop; it was quite the change from last time when they were barely crawling around. My favorite baby from last time, Lily, was still there (in the picture on the left)! It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back again and visit.

2007-01-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to travel to Budila, a nearby gypsy village where a lot of the kids at the hospital come from. It was very interesting to see where these kids live and the places they go home to when they leave the hospital.

Bowling

2007-01-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

We went bowling a few weeks ago here in Romania. It was pretty much the same as bowling in America, except for the fact that the pins would fall over on their own almost everytime they reset! It was very entertaining and we're not actually sure who won since so many people got extra points from the pins going down on their own.

This is Sarah and Steffi. They manage the hospital project and I spend almost all of my time outside of the hospital at their house.

This is Bridget and Susan - they both work at the hospital. I work with Susan every morning.

This is me looking a little frustrated after yet another gutter ball being thrown down the lane! Bowling has never been my strong point. And this is Michi, and girl from Germany who works at a group home in a nearby area.

Ice Skating

2007-01-16T22:37:00.000-08:00

We went to an ice skating rink here in town the other night. It was strange to be ice skating outside in the cold instead of inside the Galleria (my only previous experience with ice skating). The whole night was an adventure starting with us not knowing how to say ice rink in Romanian and proceeding to get lost with our cab. We got to see some new parts of town before we finally managed to communicate enough to get to the right place! We had a good time once we made it there though. I managed to only fall once, but it made me really cold!

New Address

2007-01-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

The TAPA office has moved to a new location, which means my address has changed. Here's the new one:

Beth Bray
c/0 Teaching and Projects Abroad
Horea 54
Brasov 500045
Romania

So Much Snow!!

2007-01-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

I got to enjoy the warm weather in Texas for a couple of weeks and even got a couple days of warmth here in Romania before the snow hit full force. This accumulation happened in one night! We went to bed with just tiny flakes falling and woke up to everything completely covered in white. It's beautiful to walk around and see snow everywhere, but a little dangerous as well. All the paths that are cleared are basically paths of ice. Luckily I've managed to only fall once so far and I'm hoping that will be the only time! Unfortunatly it was in the center of the town square, so a lot of people got to witness my clumsiness!

Hospital

2007-01-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

I was thinking and realized that I haven't really ever described a day at the hospital on here, so I thought I'd do that in case you're interested. We get there around 9 and go and help feed the babies their bottles. They're all a little tired at this point in the day and very cuddly, so it's great fun! After their bottles, they have to go back in their beds to wait for the doctor to check them. We travel around the rooms and hold them and play with them while they wait to get checked out. Once they are cleared by the doctors, we can take them into the play room. If they are sick, we can't take them out of bed, but we try to get as many healthy ones as we can into the play room. We have walkers and toys and all kinds of fun things for them to play with in there, so it's a lot of fun! Around 10:30 or 11 they have to get their medication, so it's back to the beds. Once they have their medicine we can bring them back again until around noon when it's time for lunch. We help give them their bottles for lunch and then put them back in bed. Then it's off to change all the babies on the 4th floor and the 3rd floor of the hospital. It's a long process, but fun to get to give every baby individual attention and say goodbye before leaving for the day. It's a lot of fun and every day ends up being different from the one before, so it doesn't ever get too repetitive!

Costel's Birthday

2007-01-02T03:08:00.000-08:00

January 1st was Costel's 2nd birthday. Costel is a Romanian baby who lives with Sarah and Steffi right now. We all got together for a party to celebrate all this little guy has gone through in the past year. He just had a big surgery on his leg in Germany in November and will hopefully be walking without his cast on Monday! It's very exciting and he's definitely ready to be up and running around with the other kids. The party was filled with good food and fun games. Twister was a big hit with the little kids and the big kids at the party!

Costel loved all the attention and all of his presents. He's the little guy in the middle of the picture getting ready to blow out the candle on his cake. It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun!

New Year's Eve

2007-01-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

I made it back safe and sound to Brasov on New Year's Eve. The flights were good and the trip out from Bucharest was smooth the whole way! I had a friend fly in on the 30th and she said it took them forever to get to Brasov because of all the people heading there for New Year's. I guess we missed most of the traffic by the time we headed up, because there weren't too many people still on the road at that point. I got to Brasov around 5:45 and unpacked a little before heading to Sarah and Steffi's to play some games. Around 9:30 we headed up to Mark and Coreen's (the heads of Hope for the Nations) to hang out some more before the fireworks. They live up on a hill that overlooks the center so we were able to see fireworks all around us! It was a pretty good show and I'm glad I came back to Romania to celebrate. It was also just good to reconnect with everyone here and start to get settled back in to Romanian life!

Family Time

2006-12-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

I got to spend a lot of time with my family while I was home! Bill and Dave were both out at the house for a few days around Christmas. It was great to have everyone there and get to spend time together.

I got my mom a new computer game that got the whole family addicted! We spent hours playing and competing against each other. Dave completely dominated and holds the all time high score, but I plan to practice in Romania and beat him. If you like word games, it's Hoyle puzzle and board games (we love Word Yaht - it's a combination of Boggle and Yahtzee).
My Uncle Mark from Dallas came in town on Christmas eve and my grandmother came over Christmas day to hang out.

Back in Texas!

2006-12-21T21:28:00.000-08:00

I got to take a short break from the cold and headed back to Texas for 2 weeks. It was a great break and I had the opportunity to hang out with lots of friends and to see my family. I started the time in Dallas, where I got to go to my small group Christmas party! It was a lot of fun to see those girls again and get caught up on life.

Nathan, Kelly, Travis, Ryan, Mary and I all stayed at Mary's apartment for a few days and had so much fun! I didn't realize how much I missed my friends from back home until I got to spend time with them again. It was great to just relax and hang out.
I had Travis in our secret santa gift exchange. Nate gave me a fantastic scarf to keep me warm in Romania and some delicious peppermint hot chocolate to take back with me (other flavors too, but the peppermint is my favorite!)

We had a fondu dinner one night at the apartment. It was very entertaining to watch the boys fight over every piece of meat that fell off in the pot! It's amazing what a loose piece of meat will do to some hungry boys.

New Schedule

2006-12-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm working in the hospital my schedule has changed up a bit. I'm so thankful that everything has worked out to allow me the opportunity to work there; it has been amazing! I work in the Brasov hospital on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9-1 and Saturday afternoons from 3-5. Thursday mornings I go to the hospital in Sacele, which is a town right outside of Brasov. It is a smaller hospital with much fewer babies. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons I teach English at an after school program in Sacele for 30 minutes and then help out with the rest of the program for 2 hours. I'm still hoping to make it out to Chip every once in a while on my free evenings. I've worked there for 2 months and have gotten really attached to the kids and want to continue to spend time with them as well.

Secret Sister

2006-12-13T19:45:00.000-08:00

Heather organized a secret sister gift exchange for all the girls at church. This picture was taken when we all got together to exchange gifts and reveal who had who! It was a fun night with lots of laughs and amusing guesses at who gave which gifts.

2006-12-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

The whole town is decorated for Christmas. It looks amazing and these pictures definitely don't do it justice! There is a huge tree set up right in the center of the square and lots of other smaller trees set up all around. All of them have lights and it really gives the town a Christmas feel. I love walking home at night and passing all the lights and decorations!

Christmas Party

2006-12-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

The Crossley's (family who hosted the Thanksgiving dinner for everyone) threw another great party for Christmas. I'm amazed by their hospitality and by how much amazing food Mrs. Crossley can make! The house was packed with lots of people from all around Brasov and it was a lot of fun to hang out and talk.

Roxi and I (I think she had too much sugar!)

My pastor's wife Heather with her son Jonah and twin daughters Faith and Lauren and their friend Mihaela
Bridget, Coreen, and Susan

2006-11-28T08:52:00.000-08:00

This was Vivien and Rachel's last night in town. It was sad to have Vivien leave since I've spent a ton of time with her here! We had a good time though and it was fun to have everyone out. This picture has Pauline (Holland), Adam (England), me, Carla (South Africa), Vivien (China), Kevin (Scotland), Rachel (England), Jimmy (England), Betsy (England), and Reolof (Holland). I love that I've had the chace to get to know people from so many different parts of the world since I've been here!

Sighisoara

2006-11-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I went with Pauline, Celine (new volunteer from England), Vivien, and Jimmy to Sighisoara. We took the train about 2 hours away to go sight seeing. There wasn't too much to see, but it was fun to get out of Brasov for the day and see something a little different.

Western Bar

2006-11-24T06:18:00.000-08:00

We went to this little Western Bar that we found on a side street just to see what it was like. It turned out to be one of the most hospitable places we've visited in Brasov! It was really cute inside and the owner brought us all cowboy hats and a toy gun to play with. There was also lots of good old country music playing the entire night. We had a great time playing cards and hanging out for hours!

Vivien and me ........................................Jimmy and Carla

Betsy, Kevin, and Pauline

Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T06:05:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving in Romania was wonderful! An American missionary couple who live in a nearby village invited everyone to their house for a huge feast. They made so much amazing food; all the traditional things were there like turkey, mashed potatoes, bread, stuffing, and tons of pies. There were over 40 people there including all the kids that were around. It was a great day of relaxing and hanging out with friends!

This picture has the Crossley's (the wonderful people who put on this whole event) on the right and my pastor Keala and his wife Heather on the left.

This was just one of the rooms in the house where people were enjoying the delicious meal!
The little ones got restless in the house, so we decided to go on a walk. This is Steffi, Sarah (with Costel) and me on our walk through the village.
Bridget, Rebeca and Steffi

Sunday School

2006-11-19T05:34:00.000-08:00

I started teaching Sunday school at my church over here a few weeks ago for the kids who are 3 years old and younger. They are all Romanian kids in placement with people who go to the church I attend. There are 4 three year olds (Andreea, Alin, Roxi, and Alex) and 2 almost two year olds (Costel and Rebeca). They are a lot of fun! I think I'll be doing it every 3 weeks right now. The current plan is to try to get them to perform a live nativity for the church the week before Christmas! I'm not sure how well it will turn out, but they will look really cute trying to do it!

Teaching English

2006-11-18T05:16:00.000-08:00

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon I go and teach English to a group of Romanian kids. We do very basic things like colors and animals. They learned head, shoulders, knees, and toes and that seems to be all they ever want to do! They're pretty cute when they sing it since they don't really know what the words are and they just say something that sounds similar. We're working on it though!

Hiking

2006-11-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I went hiking up Tampa (the mountain that has the Brasov sign on the top). It was a beautiful hike up and I had a lot of fun. The views of the city from the top were well worth the walk! The journey down was a little more trecherous becuase it was kind of steep and the whole path was covered with wet leaves. Luckily I made it one piece and didn't fall!

New Hairstyle

2006-11-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

On Friday I got to babysit for some friends of mine while they went househunting. They have 4 Romanian kids living with them, and I spent the majority of my time with the 3 year old twins, Andreea and Alin. They had a great time giving me a new haristyle!

Slow Week

2006-11-09T03:05:00.000-08:00

This week has been a little slow because one of the kids at the orphanage where I work is sick. I'm not sure what he has, but he ended up in the hospital and they are worried about him being contagious, so no volunteers are allowed in to work this week. I had to get tested as well to see if I had caught whatever he has. Hopefully my test will be clean, as well as the other kids, so I will be able to return to work next week!

Roommate!

2006-11-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

I'm no longer living alone in my little room at my house! A week ago today, Betsy arrived from England. She is 18 and is doing the care program as well and will be here for 6 months. She is very sweet and we seem to get along really well.

Harvest Party in Romania

2006-11-06T00:14:00.000-08:00

Harvest Party was a tradition we started back in college and would have every October right before Halloween. Mary continued the tradition in Dallas this year, and I was so excited to see that there were people in Romania who have the same idea! Some of the people I have met through church got together to have a Pumpkin Party. It was a little odd with the blizzard conditions going on outside, but it was still fun! There was pumpkin carving, crafts with leaves, and a game that allowed all the children to get lots of candy. It was a crazy house because there were only about 10 adults and least twice as many kids! Everyone had a great time.

SNOW!

2006-11-06T00:03:00.000-08:00

Well, winter officially arrived in Brasov last week! On Thursday night I was leaving work and there were little white snowflakes falling from the sky. The snow continued non-stop until Sunday afternoon! It was REALLY cold and made me miss the Texas heat. It does make things look really pretty though. This first picture is of the outside of the orphanage where I work. There are 11 beautiful children living inside that I wish I could show you pictures of. They are all precious and a complete handful at the same time.

These are just a couple of pictures of the town square looking really pretty with the snow covering the buildings. I love walking around here and seeing everything covered in white (even if it is freezing!)

The Circus

2006-10-30T22:45:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night, we went to the circus. It was a different sort of experience in Romania! All of the talking was in Romanian, so I think we missed a lot of the jokes. It was still mildly entertaining and a good way to pass the time. We couldn't really figure out why the guy balancing the pot on his head was such a great act - he was on forever! The biggest animal they had was the alligator that they did have lay on a girl. The tent was too small to have a trapeze or anything, but they had a couple of people do things on swings and ropes hanging from the ceiling. We had fun and were glad we can say we went to the Romanian circus!

Hanging Out Again

2006-10-28T22:45:00.000-07:00

On Monday, two of the volunteers left to go back to Holland. I'm sad because I spent pretty much all day everyday with Henriet in the care program. On Saturday night we went out to hang out one last time. I thought I'd put these pictures on here, because they show a few more volunteers as well. This picture is of Marion (one of the girls from Holland who was leaving), Kevin (Scotland), Monseiur (not a volunteer - apparently he's a futbol player for a team in Romania. He's from Africa originally and hangs out with us every night), and Vivien (China)

This picture is of Henriet (from Holland, the other girl who left), Carla (South Africa), Rachel (England), and Marion (Germany)

Getting Lost

2006-10-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who knows me well, but I managed to get completely lost for the first time this weekend. On the way home from the zoo, Vivien and I stopped off at a store to buy some toys for the kids at the orphanage. We found a really fun store that reminded me exactly of a Super Wal-Mart back home. Anyway, a girl had told me what bus to take back and promised it would take us to the center (where we live). So, we took the bus and it took us way out of the way to a place we had never been before. We decided to get off the bus and try to figure out where we were on our own. It might not have been the smartest move seeing as we had no map and we both lack any directional sense. We started walking and just sort of guessed at directions and tried to find our way home. After about 20 minutes of walking we saw the greatest thing - the Brasov sign on the mountain. I mock the sign a lot because it looks just like the Hollywood sign you always see on the hill in movies, but after this adventure I will never mock it again! I am forever grateful to whoever put it up there to help poor souls like myself be able to find the town from far far away. We finally had a direction to head and did manage to make it back in one piece. Plus, we got to see a whole other side of Brasov that we hadn't seen before!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

2006-10-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I made a trip to the Brasov zoo with Marion, Vivien, Rachel, Henriet, and Emma (she wouldn't get in the picture). We had a lot of fun walking around and looking at all the animals there. They had some strange things in cages, like chickens and pigeons, but for the most part there were normal animals.

One of the strangest things we noticed was how close you could get to the animals, at least to the dangerous ones. You could literally reach out and pet the bears and the lions if you wanted to. We saw one guy get up close and personal with a bear - it was a little scary! None of us were brave enough to pet the angry animals, so we stayed clear. It was a really fun and cheap way to spend the afternoon.

Placement

2006-10-27T05:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I finally have a fairly permanent place where I'll be working from now on. Unfortunately I can't show any pictures of the cute kids because we aren't allowed to take them. I'm working in a state run group home for mentally disabled children in the town of Sacele (right outside of Brasov). There are 10 children who range in age from 2-6 years old. They are absolutely adorable and I really like working with them. It's nice to feel useful there as well. The kids definitely need love and attention and the workers need the extra help. Most of the workers I've met are pretty nice and seem to like the fact that we are there to help out. The kids seem to like music a lot and bubbles. I'm heading to a big store here in town this weekend to try to find some other stuff they might like to play with.

There are 2 shifts per day and I'm working the morning shift from 9-1 every day and the evening shift from 4:30-7 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In between the shifts on Tuesday and Thursday I am helping out at an after school program in the town. The program is run by a lady who tries especially to help gypsy children in the area. I think I'm going to be teaching English to a group of kids on those days. I'm pretty excited about it because it's fun to help the kids there and teaching them English will help me learn to speak Romanian a little better. The only downside is the fact that Sacele is a little over an hour away by bus and we have to change buses on the way. The bus schedule basically doesn't exist, so you never know how long you'll have to wait! It's okay for now, but when the snow starts coming it won't be quite as much fun.

Anyway, that's the latest on what I'm doing. I'm trying to work something out for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons and have a couple different things I'm looking at doing. I'll let you know when I get all that finalized.

Rasnov

2006-10-27T04:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to Rasnov, which is a town right outside of Brasov. There is an old fortress there that we went to go walk around. We had no idea where we were going when we got off the bus and proceeded to get lost in the town. We walked forever before we finally found a way to the fortress! It was a fun adventure walking around the town. This was the view of the fortress as we were walking up to it.
Me, Henriet, and Marion taking a break from touring the fortress. These are the 2 girls I spend everyday with for the care program. Henriet is leaving on Monday, and I'm so sad!
This is right inside the entrance to the fortress. Lots of cute little houses and things set up to walk around a tour. Vivien, Henriet, Marion, and Marion are the girls I went with.

Hanging out

2006-10-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

Every night some of the volunteers meet at the town fountain to go out and do random things. This is from Tuesday night. We went to Deane's which is a karaoki bar. There was a big soccer game on TV Tuesday though, so that's what everyone was watching. This picture is of me, Vivien from China, and Marion from Holland.

This is a picture of Reolof from Holland, Suzanna from Romania, and Henriet from Holland (Marion's sister).

Hiking

2006-10-19T00:45:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon I went on a hike with some of the girls I have met here outside of Tapa. We took a bus to Poiana Brasov which is a mountain right by the town and hiked down a trail that took us back to the city. It was really pretty and we had a good time. This is a picture of some of the girls I went with. They live with Sarah (the missionary I had been talking with from the states before I headed over here). Steffi (from Germany) is holding Roxi and Kirsten (from Australia) is carrying Rebeca on her back. Roxi and Rebeca are kids Steffi has taken from the hospital where they work and are now living with them.

Church

2006-10-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

I went to a little church here in Brasov last weekend that is pastored by a missionary from Hawaii. It was really tiny (only 12 people this week!), which is a huge change from The Village in Dallas, but I really enjoyed it. I met a lot of neat people and was glad to get connected outside of Tapa. I also attended a Bible study last night with some girls from the church. I'm amazed at how the Lord is providing exactly what I need when I need it here.

I love heat!

2006-10-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

I know this is random, but this is my heater in my room. While it may seem a little strange that this would make the blog, you have to understand how rare that is here. From talking with other volunteers, I am realizing how blessed I am with my host family. Having a heater in my room is basically unheard of with everyone else! It's quite cold here and I don't know what I would do without it. Also, just the fact that I have a room that is somewhat private and access to a microwave and refrigerator is amazing. God definitely took care of my placement and gave me a wonderful family to live with!

Romanian Food

2006-10-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Lots of people asked before I left what the food was like in Romania, so I figured I would put some pictures on here for you to get the idea. So far the food at my place has been pretty good. The bottom picture was the only night I didn't really enjoy - it was a mix of mushrooms and tomoatos, neither one of which I am a big fan. I don't know what a lot of it is, and I don't bother asking. I figured I have more of a chance of trying it if I don't know what I'm eating! Most every meal comes with rice, some form of potatoes, some type of meat and a soup. They serve huge portions, so I always feel bad not finishing everything.

Orphanage

2006-10-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

I got to go to an orphanage yesterday for the first time! It was a very nice one (privately owned I believe). The kids lived in little houses set along the property with about 10-12 of them living in a house. They have a huge recreation field and area inside where they can play games or do crafts or other things. The kids range in age from about 6-17. We just walked around and played with them all afternoon. It was fun playing with the little ones, and made me more anxious for everything to get settled so I can go work with all younger kids.

I'm learning very quickly that my organization isn't the fastest at getting things together and that you don't always get to do what they tell you you'll be doing. I'm still completely trusting that this is where God called me and this is who He called me to go through on this journey. Please pray for patience for me and that things will get worked out quickly! Even in this nice place where we are going right now, there is still a huge need evident in these kids.

Home Away From Home

2006-10-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

My living situation is somewhat different than I was expecting, but it's very nice. I'm in a great location right near the center of town and just a 5 minute walk from the main Tapa office (access to the internet, staff, etc.) Many volunteers have to take a bus just to reach the town, so I am very lucky with my spot! I live in a room on the 2nd level of the house owned by my family. I'm not sure I've met everyone who lives there yet, because there seem to be a lot of them! I don't really see the family too often. They bring up dinner at night and that's pretty much the most I see of them. The mom, Roddica, is very nice and talks to me every night, but it's all in Romanian so there's not much of a conversation. We've gotten pretty good at using hand signals and me trying to guess the words she's looking for. Her daughter, Ramona, speaks very good English, so she's the one I look for if I need something. I'm sad I don't get to interact with them more, but hopefully over the next 9 months that will improve and I will see them more and more! I think once my Romanian improves a little I'll be better off.

This is the room where I sleep - mine is the bed in the corner. I had a roommate for the first 2 days I was here, but she left early because she missed being home (this picture was taken in the middle of her packing process so our room is not so neat). So, now I am alone in here, but I think they're going to put someone else in soon. It will be nice to have a roommate I think because it might get a bit lonely by myself!

This is the table in the room where I eat dinner. My family is very nice and asked me what I like to eat. Romanian food is a little different, but so far I've been able to eat everything they've served (big accomplishment for those of you who know how picky I am!!)

I tried to upload a picture of the bathtub as well, but it didn't work. The funny thing about it is that they have to come light a fire under the water tank in order for me to have hot water! They do this for me every night, so it works out well. It's just funny to have to wait for someone else to be able to take a bath (no shower - all baths!)

Address

2006-10-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hello! Things are going well here and I think today I actually get to go to an orphanage. There have been all kinds of delays with information I didn't have when I got here (medical stuff and background checks). It's all getting worked out though and I've had a lot of time to relax and get to know my way around the city. I plan on posting some pictures and more details soon (hopefully by the end of this week) so check back in!

If you want to send letters or anything, here's the address in Romania:
Beth Bray
c/o Projects Abroad
Castelului 86
Brasov 500014
Romania

I also have a cell phone now, so if you want that information let me know.

That's all for now!

Romanian doctors

2006-10-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately for me I missed the section on the web site saying I had to get a physical before coming here. That means that when I arrived here, I got the joy of experiencing a Romanian doctor's office and hospital! Needless to say, it's a little different than going to the doctor in the US. It's a little hard to communicate with doctor's who only speak Romanian and they're trying to tell you to do things. It made me realize how much I don't want to get sick while I'm here!!

I'm here!

2006-10-09T03:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I arrived safe and sound in Brasov! I'm not going to say much more here right now, because in all honesty I don't know much. I'm hoping to get on here in the next couple of days and be able to post some pictures and give some details of what is going on. Right now it's just lots of confusion and no real direction. That should change in the next few days and I should be able to report more. THANK YOU for all the prayers - they are needed and appreciated!

So Much Stuff!

2006-10-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

I found this picture I had taken before leaving of all the stuff I traveled with on the airplane. It looks like sooooo much, but when you consider it's for 9 months and in the middle of winter, it makes it a little better! When I got here, it was quite a challenge getting everything to fit in the car that came to pick me up.

Going to Romania

2006-10-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Here's my attempt at keeping in touch with everyone while I'm in Romania! I'm hoping to be able to update this on a fairly frequent basis, but can't make any promises until I get there and see what the Internet situation will be like. For those of you who don't know what I'm doing, here's what I know:

I'm leaving this Saturday, October 7, to travel to Brasov, Romania for the next 9 months. I'm going to be working in 2 different orphanages while I am there; one will be for disabled children and the other is a group home for children ages 2-4. While I am there I will be living with a Romanian family (very excited!) I don't really know too many more details at this point, other than the fact that this is where the Lord is calling me right now. I can't wait to get there and get started (and learn more about what I'll actually be doing!) Hopefully I'll be able to update pretty soon after I arrive and give some more details.