The bunk beds are done and they are beautiful. It’s a double on the bottom and a single on the top. Total cost, nails and the varnish. We do need 1 more double mattress though. It’s just in time as we are supposed to get some guests from Bucharest this weekend. They have important jobs in the government and I am glad I can put the kids on the couch and give them the bedroom. Fedi and Csilla know them from growing up and say they are very nice down to earth people. Mom and Dad met them too.

Sunday the young kids asked if they could come to our house for New Years Eve. There is a party at the Baptist camp but it costs a huge $20 per kid. The people here just don’t have that kind of money. I don’t know what they were thinking of. Anyway we are going to make it a “Judy” style. Everyone brings a covered dish and dessert and we’ll supply the meat and drink. I think one of our pigs will meet his fate.

Fedi found someone who said he can fix the car. It should be done tonight, maybe get inspected again tomorrow and legal by Friday. It will be nice not to have to pray every time we pass a police inspection point.

We all went logging yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day up in the mountains. Down below the village and whole valley have been covered in a thick fog for 4 days. Our plan was to drive the car up as far as we could and then the kids and I would drive back after an hour to do school. The horse wagon came and left. We all got in the car and found out the battery was dead. Fedi started off to walk with his chainsaw and ax and the kids and I after a moment decided to go too. We had about a 4-kilometer hike up hill as fast as we could to catch the horse wagon. We caught up at the end.

The next 4 hours or so we watched or helped them cut and pile logs for the horse to pull out of the woods down to the tractor. Oh yeah, Attila came with his tractor and trailer to haul the wood down. The horse is tall and strong and very willing. We videotaped the horse pulling and trees falling. It was and exciting time.

After lunch the kids and I walked back down. When we were almost there we ran into and old man and woman with a skinny horse. Their wagon with wood was stuck in the creek. The man kept beating the horse but she didn’t even react. The kids and I got behind the wagon and were able to help push the wagon out. Later when Attila brought the first load of wood he said he saw the horse collapsed. He helped them get the horse up and pulled the wagon up to the road with his tractor. They had told me the horse was just 7 years old.

Most of the horses I’ve seen are in good shape. Some of them are really beautiful. Whenever I see a skinny horse though, it is nearly always an older person driving the wagon. I think they just don’t have the energy to get enough food for their horses.

Way after dark the men finally came back. I knew I was expected to give them a meal so as soon as I had gotten home I started on the goulash (meat, potato, & onion stew), made some bread and apple crisp. Those at home who know my cooking skills would be surprised what changes can come from enough time and having no packaged food. It’s just basic ingredients here. No spaghetti sauce or cake mix. My shopping list for Fedi is usually flour, sugar, meat, fruits, and vegetables, and butter. Csilla has given me some recipes with cabbage, as that is big here.

Anyway, back to my original thought for the paragraph, having people over for supper is something I want to expand on. As Fedi always prays for the meal it is a natural opener for talks about God or if nothing else simply lets people know immediately where we stand.

Well I racked my brain how to make Thanksgiving special. When the day arrived we had to spend the day in town to have the car repaired. So I gave the kids a day off school, took them to a cheap restaurant for some chicken…total for the 6 of us $11.00. When we asked for ketchup for the fries, the waitress came and squirted some on the plate and then asked for extra money. Every squirt was extra. Then as a final splurge I called Mom and Dad for a short visit. That’s when Mom informed me Thanksgiving was the next week. Brother! Csilla had even found a duck we could buy and eat-Turkey is almost impossible to find. Well the duck has another week to live.
The village mission has gotten a little discouraging. Fedi went in yesterday evening and for the second week in a row there was no one to go with him. There is some follow up that needs to be done. Fedi said that Leventa and another guy were going to try and talk to some of the people on Saturday. I don’t think Fedi can go in again for this.

He has been working on the bunk beds at the rate of one day a week. He made the comment that you sure can stay busy when you try to do the right thing. Mean while the kids are sleeping on the couch as their room is about an inch deep in sawdust.

Fedi had a strange experience this evening. He stopped at our little town after the failed village mission to find the guy with the horse. Fedi has been told he should try to get more stocked up on firewood before it snows too much. The man with the horse wasn’t home but some people told Fedi if he waits at such and such a tavern that he always goes there when he gets down from the mountain. So Fedi sat down with a Pepsi to wait. A man who is in the Police criminal division came to talk to him. He said that there was a picture of Fedi poaching with the cow rancher. He wasn’t being threatening; in fact he told Fedi that he certainly wouldn’t do anything about it. Fedi kept explaining that it was impossible since he hasn’t been hunting at all with anyone and the Police kept telling him not to worry he wouldn’t tell on him. Not that Fedi wouldn’t love to go hunting. He saw two elk today. As a sort of rubbing the salt in the wound a group of hunters come up our way every Sunday. Fedi gets to watch them drive past our house.

I’m going to skip the Children’s program this Saturday. It is going strong and has great support from the church. Last week 5 newcomers came. Heidi has been passing out personal invitations at the schools and putting her heart and soul into it. We go mostly to morally support her work. Fedi and I had the lesson last week, but honestly, she does a much better job. I don’t think it will hurt the program if we are not there and there are a bunch of little reasons I want to stay home. Laundry, make up school, the long drive to get there in a car that is not even legal right now. (We still need to get the parts to have it repaired to pass the inspection, but that is a whole other story.)

Speaking of which, we have been trying for six weeks to get the parts for our car. They finally got here from Hungary via acquaintances of friends, So & So knew So & So who was going to the Hungarian border and could take the money and meet some other So & So who could bring the parts that far. Americans-appreciate U.P.S. and appreciate the computer systems and communication abilities you have. When we got them they were all the wrong parts. Now we have to figure out how to return them and get the money back. Another mechanic says he can get the parts for us from a different source. So we are driving as little as possible and praying whenever we pass a police inspection point. We were pulled over once but that was when we were still legal on our temporary registration.

Fedi had a good talk yesterday with the captain of the prison. They are a little leery because they had to throw the Jehovah Witnesses out. He actually didn’t seem to care about any material things we could provide but was open to set up a schedule of Bible studies or meetings. It has to clear with some others as well though. Fedi had the thought of visiting their families with Christmas packages and tracts. Hopefully things won’t move too slow, so Christmas will pass before we can arrange this.

Well we are doing good. The creek is low again though. If it does rain we always say “what a beautiful, rainy day”. If it is sunny it’s “oh brother it is sunny again”. I will appreciate having electricity the rest of my life.

Heuni stayed with us Thursday, Friday, & Saturday again. He helped Fedi install a car alarm if the shed door is open and a few other electrical jobs. He is a nice kid. He would like to come again just for fun. We gave him Fedi’s digital camera for his work.

Tuesday of this week, Fedi finally is getting a chance to go talk to the captain of the prison to see if they will let him come in regularly with the old man. Maybe they will let him have Bible studies. We just found out Dad is sending a whopping $2000 for the prison work. WOW! I know some of the needs there could be blankets, soap, shampoo. Literature is supplied from some other church. Probably the prisoner’s families have needs also.

Fedi is giving the old man $30 per month and Leventa $70 per month for the next 10 months. I think he divided it up that way because Leventa has 5 kids. It sounds so measly to American ears but it is a big amount here. This is from the donation money.

Financially, I feel we are doing good. We had to get our jeep repaired in order to get it registered. The parts for that cost about $250 but Sandor told us that someone wants to buy an old trailer frame we have for $250.

Sunday, Fedi was on to have the service. He had forgotten all about it. He was so nervous and opened the Bible to Jesus’ red letters in Acts 18:9 “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent”. Well I think the service went well but as it was in Hungarian I didn’t understand a word.

Later when we stopped at the cow rancher’s for milk, Fedi told them about this. The cow rancher said maybe he would start to read the Bible too.

Well the 3rd kids club on Saturday was very nice. Two of Reka’s friends came. The games, Bible story, and singing were all great. They would like me to have the story next week. Here I sit with all the instructions and story in Hungarian, hoping I can nail Fedi down to translate it all.

The Friday evening village mission has suffered a set back. For some reason the young group leader thought that they shouldn’t be doing it. That leaves just Fedi and Leventa to follow up. I think they are going to plug away at it.

Fedi worked all day on Monday on the kid’s bunk beds. They are pretty massive looking things all out of pine trees. If he would stay home more I bet he could get one done in about 3 more days. The kids are sleeping on the couch until he gets finished.

Last Sunday morning we all (Fedi too) took a great hike. We saw 7 or 8 (no kidding) piles of bear droppings. It is unmistakable. I think Fedi is going to try to sell the gun he has in America and try to buy one here. He talked to an official of the hunting club here who at first told Fedi it was not possible for a foreigner. After he found out Fedi was from his hometown then he said it might be possible. Otherwise the kids and I have made plans of what to do in case we run into a bear on a hike. If there are no climbable trees, we will stand in a circle with sticks. I don’t think running is an option. We trip a lot. Anyway the view was worth the worry. Rebekah said it’s like being on top of the world.

This has been an uneventful week for me. Monday, Fedi went to town to buy nails and other supplies to make the bunk beds with. He has enough wood to make them from the logging he did. Tuesday he made a pig trough from a big log, a door for the pigpen and started on the bunk beds. Wednesday, Fedi had to go back to town for the final closing for our house and several errands. He got home about 7:00 p.m. but said he had to leave again. Attila, the cow rancher’s son needed help unloading food for the cows. It was an all night job that if it wasn’t done then, the food would have been stolen. His father, the cow rancher, is at the doctor; he was attacked by his bull. It’s not sure if he has to go to the hospital or not. Also the bull damaged another car. He will have to be more controlled. Fedi and I drove through the town as the cows were returning home last week. As we passed the bull he turned and put his head on our car. There was no damage but he didn’t really try.

Yesterday evening the girls and I made our own monopoly game out of cardboard and paper. It worked surprisingly well considering that it has probably been 25 years since I played and we made it from my memory.

Well, we were just visited by some neighbors, who live about 4 kilometers down the mountain. They were interested in the waterpower. It was 2 old ladies, one drunk, one not….one older man, possibly drunk….one younger couple with their 2 kids, not drunk.
Anyway, I got a lot of hugs and kisses. Rebekah and Anni talked quite a bit afterwards about the lady with the moustache. When they left our house they wrapped rags around their bare feet and slid them into their boots. The cultural differences are huge between the village people and us. What’s funny to me is that the village people don’t consider themselves to be poor. The raggedy, smelly old man we picked up several times already has 5 cows and at least 3 pigs. The people are always giving us apples, pears, potatoes, preserves, etc. They actually do better than the city people. In the city they have normal plumbing, nicer clothes, etc but they sometimes have no food. In smaller villages there is plenty of food. They all have cows, chickens, pigs, apple trees and a simpler life style. They also are used to their life and it’s fine with them. The atmosphere in the city is different. The people see in the stores all the time things they want and can’t afford. Most of the girls and young women wear those jeans with the faded stripes down the front. They are more discontented and more complaining about how poor they are. It’s harder for them to make ends meet because of the high price of food. I know Leventa’s wife told Csilla several times when they literally had no money for food. Csilla is tight right now and asked us to bring her some potatoes. But the city people insist on cell phones and cable TV and fashionable clothes.

There is one thing that seems worse in the villages and that’s alcohol. I haven’t seen many drunk people in Csilla’s city but in the villages it’s bad.

Yesterday was Nov. 1st-The day of the Dead. It sounds bad but I found it to be a very nice thing. Pretty much everyone visits the cemeteries and lights lots of candles by their relative’s graves. Then they stand there quietly and remember them. At nightfall the cemeteries were glowing with thousands of candles. Police are there to direct traffic at the bigger cemeteries. It’s very respectful. As Fedi said, you don’t dare miss it or you would be considered a terrible person. We visited his father’s grave and his grandma’s and grandpa’s graves. Everyone wore black but me, Fedi forgot to tell me to.

Well I have the house to myself. Fedi and the kids went to the 2nd kids club. I hope some people besides the church people come. I stayed home mostly because someone might be showing up to talk about the home schooling but also to catch up with some cleaning.

Thursday Fedi and I went to the nearby town market. They sell a lot of baby pigs there. Since I have a lot of table scraps and cooking scraps, we decided spur of the minute to get one. The problem was we parked a ways away from where we bought the pig. He screamed so loud as we carried him through the market that I was embarrassed. Fedi built a nice shelter for him in just a few hours.

Friday we packed up our schoolbooks and Halloween outfits and went in town for the day. I got the kids started with school at Csillas and then Fedi and I walked to the Center. He had to go to the police to give them the papers for our extended stay. Fedi was so thankful that one guy was friendly to us there that he bought him a nice present. Call it a bribe or whatever but Fedi had to go there 3 or 4 times. People are there waiting in line for hours but they let Fedi come right in. All the potential problems with the paperwork for our extended stay were smoothed over.

We also went to a barbershop. Fedi got his haircut for $1 and even about a 45 minute trim and curl and blow dry of my hair only cost $4.

In the evening after Fedi came home from the village evangelism, we dressed the kids and took them to 4 apartments of friends for trick or treating. No one here celebrates Halloween of course, so we gave out candy instead of getting some. I also bought for our kids 1 chocolate bar, 1 piece of gum, and 2 little packets of gummi bears each. Still it was fun for my kids and fun for the people we visited. It was fun to make the costumes from what we had on hand. Steven had an old big towel with two eye holes cut out. He could hardly see where he was going so we had to keep steering him in the right direction. When he got some candy to eat and stretched one eye hole down to his mouth, he made us all laugh. Anni had the sheepskin tied to her back. Rebekah was a great clown and Ryan an Indian.

I am proud of my kids. They haven’t whined about things they are missing out on. I usually have them do the dishes. Rebekah washes, Steven rinses, Ryan and Anni switch off drying and putting away. In church they are probably better behaved than most. Contrary to the stories I heard about how well behaved the Romanian children are, the ones I know are not different from kids in the U.S. Cable TV cost only about $4 a month so most of them have plenty of entertainment. Ninety percent of the families in Romania have colored TVs. This is Leventa’s statistic, not mine.

Oh yeah, another hiking adventure last week. Fedi was gone so I took the kids on a hike. We ended up in a meadow down the valley some. I could see a sheep herd coming so I changed our route to avoid them. It’s not the sheep or the shepherds I was worried about but the dogs. Every sheep herd has 5-10 big dogs with it. They don’t herd the sheep but are there solely for protection. Well we waited behind a bush until they went over a hill, then I took the kids back the straightest way home feeling quite safe. We got to the valley before the one where our house was and without seeing them through the trees and bushes we ran right back into the same sheep herd. The lead sheep were only about 20 feet away. The dogs didn’t spot us yet so I had the kids quickly go to a big bush and sit down in a group. Rebekah covered Gino with my jacket and kept a tight hold on her. As the dogs started to show up at first they just sat and looked at us. I had a big walking stick with me. Then the biggest dog spied us and ran growling and barking at us. Two of the other ones joined him. Don’t ask me where the shepherds were. I raised my stick and yelled a bit. About 15 feet from us they stopped and that was that. After a while the sheep kept moving on and they just turned around and went off with the sheep. Anyway the whole thing scared me and I forgot to watch for my telephone. It slid out of my pocket somewhere. When Fedi came home we backed tracked and he kept calling my phone with his. We found it and I was very thankful.

I found out that my fears because of the recent break-ins our not founded. The ranger told Fedi people here never break-in a cabin that is occupied. It’s never been done ever to their knowledge. They said I probably did see a flashlight by the creek because it is the trout’s mating season and people come at night and spear them. I wonder what they thought when I yelled out the window? J Oh well.