Post Birthday

June 28 2017. We are now 2 days post Deb's birthday. She kept it mostly secret, I had hinted to a couple of sister missionaries about it, they put it in their planner and forgot about it. but we had a good day overall anyway. The weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth was kept to a minimum. She did what she wished, doing service by giving toys, books and games to a lady in a village who helps a lot of poor kids with care. What she loves doing most.We had a weekend in Brasov, a beautiful city in Romania, one of our favorites for sure. We left here on a Friday night at 9 pm on a minibus we rented, 18 youth and youong adults and Deb and I. We travelled all night and arrived at Brasov at 6 am. We were the majority, only about 10-12 showed up from Romania. We had to find breakfast, then they had dance instruction from Victor, who travelled from Hungary, then they checked into a hostel, Casa Sforii, then hiked around, then back to the Church for supper [pizza of course] then dance again. I might say that by 930 pm all were tired and temperments got a little raw. Add some strong Eastern European opinions and it was a bit testy for a while. All was solved with some kind words. We went to Church in Brasov, then had a lunch and back on a bus at 230 pm, for a nice long drive. The Young Adults were loud, singing and talking lots. The driver, foolishly, had his bad music on loud, so then stopped and made some very uncalled for comments. That put a damper on things for a while. I had thoughts to express , but restrained myself. They were actually all very good, just loud. He was an interesting man, crossed himself at every church, but displayed no Christian behavior at all. We had to browbeat him to get him to let off someone a stop early. He was dealt with by his company, let us say. So we are in a heat wave, 35+ every day, last Friday we had an outdour activity planned and got a terrible thunderstorm, heavy rain, trees down, etc. So we ended up with Bingo which can be much more competitive than one would think. So what are my thoughts regarding people here? I have observed many young people here with immense challenges. Most have dysfunctional families, either dead parents [ an amazing number have dead parents], divorces, parents living abroad, poverty, etc. Still with this they seek truth and try to embrace it. Many struggle because of the heavy burdens they must bear, like trying to find enough money to buy food, or to deal with parent abuse and alcoholism, and much more. We admire and love them a lot, despite all the glitches that come into their lives. I have often wondered why them, why not me? I was blessed to live in a good country with good parents. That is a dream for most here. It is a challenge to live here, to struggle to live and to still try to follow the Savior. The lady whose picture will be shown, Tatiana, is as good a Christian as I have met. So one of the joys of a mission is meeting so many good people who have touched our lives. We marvel at their goodness. Nina, Mariana, Diana, Alina, Chiril, Alex, Mihai, Adriana, Adrian,Corina, Sasha, Olga, Roma, Anatoli, Nikita, Dima, and the list goes on. We love them all . Might I also mention the Covalis, the Stepanencos, the Cebans, the Bezedes. We will miss them terribly.

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Us in Brașov

The toilet in a nice new restaurant, elegant, no?

Tatiana s children

Deb and Tatiana

Apple orchards for intense apple growing

Next 3 pictures are all dance practice

Biserica Neagra is in the backround

It is close to a smile.

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We would travel back to see Brașov again, it is a beautiful city

The dance, only about 30

The young lady in the middle, Daniela Pascan, organized it. OUr kids are in the back, Nina, Mariana, and Marina.
We are now under 2 weeks left, it is scary. We want to get as much done as we can.