Well I decided since I was starting to look so healthy I better start a diet. I don’t see much low calorie stuff around though. Lettuce is not available and I haven’t had a salad since I got here. They do have pickles, sour cabbage etc. The bread is my downfall.
We are getting a heavy snow this morning. Fedi left early. He called me about 5 minutes ago to say our 1988 rust bucket of a jeep just pulled a BMW out of the ditch.
Yesterday was fairly warm. Because it was Sunday we saw probably 4 horse drawn sleighs full of people enjoying a ride. The streets stay snow-packed for months in the villages and the common way of getting around for people with kids is to pull them on wooden sleds. We stopped at the school one day when the mothers were picking up the Kindergarten kids. There were about 10-12 sleds lined up.
Well the guy with the horse (Attila) and his wife said they would come to church in 2 weeks. He is grateful for Fedi giving him work to buy hay for his horse. His price was right – that was about the standard, its just people normally don’t hire it done – they do it partially themselves. We would have also except Attila needed the money. He said since we are helping him this way some of his relatives will chip in to help him with the labor so he can get it done in one day and not two. He also said several of his friends and relatives want to meet us and get to know us. Yeah, I know their motives will be suspect since they see us helping someone but still there are starting to be many, many open doors. It is almost as if there was a break- through and people have decided to trust us.
Attila (the cow rancher’s son) and Erika came to church Sunday. It is really more of a discussion group on Sunday morning. The main service is in the evening. They both liked it and want to come back. Fedi asked Attilla if he had any questions and he wanted to know where Mary fits in and why we don’t pray to her. The church gave him all the right answers – from the Bible. Attilla said he would love to come to the main church service but it will be necessary for them to first find an employee for the milking.
Same day. The heavy snow is continuing. We have at least 6 new inches on top of the old 5. The kids are all outside. The question is if Fedi will be able to make it home tonight if it keeps up this heavy. I’m not worried about us getting snowed in. We have plenty of food, firewood, propane, and gas for the generator. It may be fun for a couple of days. There is one thing I’ve been attempting and I am determined to do before I leave Romania. That is to roll a snowball down a hill and watch it get bigger and bigger. My early attempts have taught me that the hill has to be pretty steep. Another day of trying showed me that the snow has to be pretty wet. Maybe the third time will work.
Oh yeah – I missed the kids program since we went to Fedi’s Grandma’s village but Heidi said 40 kids came. The gym they have rented might get too small. She is doing a wonderful job and several of the parents and young kids from the church are helping. I don’t know what I can do to help as the language is a problem. But we usually show up – play with the kids, help with the games and do a little English with songs or Bible verses.
If Fedi didn’t know the language, I don’t know how much good we would be doing here. He has really done a great job, (Praise to God), of making friends, witnessing and helping people, but not letting them take advantage of him. He has also been reading to the kids out of the Bible every night after they are in bed. They love it. If he gets too busy and leaves us alone too much, I let him know.
Speaking of busy, this week is looking that way. Fedi left early this morning to go help distribute more presents at other schools, he also had to go to the police since I accidentally washed his extended stay permit and his passport in the wash machine. He had a few more errands also, but I forget what they are.
There is one thing funny to me here. It’s the lack of interest in the weather forecast. No one seems to ever know when a snow is coming. Or they might hear something on the TV or radio but they never talk about it or even seem to be interested. I think it is because not very many people depend on cars for transportation to work. There are no school busses that I have ever seen. Everyone walks. People here always seem to enjoy the snow. Fedi and I are always taken by surprise because the radio reception is so bad we don’t listen to it and no one has ever called us to let us know the forecast.
Fedi and I are tossing around the idea of renting something in Certa as a logical next step. He is getting a lot of people interested in coming to church. Transportation is a problem to Csilla’s city where the church is. We can squeeze probably only 2 more people in our jeep. (More in an emergency but it is illegal.) I know they could hitch hike but right at the first, when they are just checking things out, we want to make the way as smooth as possible. It’s possible they wouldn’t come if they are expected to hitchhike, find the church, and arrive alone with only strangers there if we haven’t arrived yet. Please any readers, pray that we will have definite guidance. Fedi has looked at some buildings. He also has the idea of renting a gym more for the teenagers and young adults to have a place to meet and play sports. The problems are that the buildings he has looked at need work and also I am having trouble seeing where this will help people come to the Lord. We need more information on the cost and more prayer before we do anything.
Monday, January 19, 2004
Sunday, January 18, 2004
Yesterday we went to Fedi’s grandma’s village. It was his cousin’s name day. Every day in the Catholic calender has several names listed. People name their kids from this list. Then, not only do you celebrate your birthday, but also your name day is celebrated.
We cooked potatoes and meat on a metal disk outside on the fire. It was delicious. The girls made funnel cakes. This is dough wrapped on a smooth wooden cone shaped thing, dipped in sugar and turned over hot coals. There was also the usual beer and wine. This didn’t bother us any until it came to the horse sleigh ride. We piled about 10 of us on their sleigh and they hitched their two horses up. The driver had too much to drink though and kept going too fast. Fedi had him slow down after he almost dumped us.
They took us up to the whiskey factory. There was this contraption that looked just like the stills in the old bootleg days in America. It was interesting, but alcohol is a huge problem in this village. Not only did several of Fedi’s relatives get drunk, but we saw quite a few men staggering around on the street.
Fedi’s Aunt’s Mother-in-law, who is eighty was there. She is a sharp lady and very sweet. She gave me the customary 2 kisses on each cheek and exclaimed how good I looked since I gained some weight. She said 12 years ago when she saw me last I was thinner and didn’t look near as good. Fedi was cringing and I was laughing up a storm. The older people here really, sincerely think that chunky people look healthier.
We cooked potatoes and meat on a metal disk outside on the fire. It was delicious. The girls made funnel cakes. This is dough wrapped on a smooth wooden cone shaped thing, dipped in sugar and turned over hot coals. There was also the usual beer and wine. This didn’t bother us any until it came to the horse sleigh ride. We piled about 10 of us on their sleigh and they hitched their two horses up. The driver had too much to drink though and kept going too fast. Fedi had him slow down after he almost dumped us.
They took us up to the whiskey factory. There was this contraption that looked just like the stills in the old bootleg days in America. It was interesting, but alcohol is a huge problem in this village. Not only did several of Fedi’s relatives get drunk, but we saw quite a few men staggering around on the street.
Fedi’s Aunt’s Mother-in-law, who is eighty was there. She is a sharp lady and very sweet. She gave me the customary 2 kisses on each cheek and exclaimed how good I looked since I gained some weight. She said 12 years ago when she saw me last I was thinner and didn’t look near as good. Fedi was cringing and I was laughing up a storm. The older people here really, sincerely think that chunky people look healthier.
Friday, January 16, 2004
Well we are winding down the school week. Yesterday the kids and I skied down to Certa about 8 kilometers or 5 miles. The road was a slippery gentle slope and mostly we just slid down in the most relaxed way. Fedi followed with the car and pulled the kids with ropes on the one area that was uphill. The kids really enjoyed it. In the mean time it started snowing and overnight we got another 6 inches.
The guy with the horse stopped by after new Years. He said he couldn’t afford to feed his horse and might have to sell him. So tomorrow Fedi is paying him $140 to bring in 2 loads of firewood. He will go and buy the hay directly with this money because Attila (the guy with the horse) goes to the Taverns and can’t be trusted with the money. We could have gotten the firewood much cheaper, but this man has two small kids and is a hard worker.
We also, boy do I feel funny writing about this, hired a girl to help with the housework and cooking 2 days a week. I know I’ve let the schoolwork slip trying to wash the dishes by hand and cooking from scratch. I also have to keep the fire going. Anyway I’ve told Fedi a lot of times if he could help about ½ a day it would do the trick, but it’s just too weird to have him trying to do housework. And he has stayed busy. Boy does it go against the culture too. Now, in winter, a lot of the men are out of work. You see them all the time talking on the street or hanging around at the tavern. At the same time I see the women washing clothes in the stream going by their house in the village. I’m sorry, but the longer I am here the more I respect the women and the less I respect the men.
Anyway, this girl is Attila, the cow rancher’s son’s girl friend. They are both planning to come to church on Sunday. I hope we can also be a light to Erika as she helps me out. It will cost us about $60.00 per month. Half of me regrets it already, but the other half really enjoyed being able to concentrate on the kid’s school and do a good job on it.
Oh yeah, on Tuesday afternoon we went to the English class in Certa. They gave us the floor. Many of the kids were Anni and Rebekah’s age. After class they surround the girls. It will be nice if they can make some friends.
The guy with the horse stopped by after new Years. He said he couldn’t afford to feed his horse and might have to sell him. So tomorrow Fedi is paying him $140 to bring in 2 loads of firewood. He will go and buy the hay directly with this money because Attila (the guy with the horse) goes to the Taverns and can’t be trusted with the money. We could have gotten the firewood much cheaper, but this man has two small kids and is a hard worker.
We also, boy do I feel funny writing about this, hired a girl to help with the housework and cooking 2 days a week. I know I’ve let the schoolwork slip trying to wash the dishes by hand and cooking from scratch. I also have to keep the fire going. Anyway I’ve told Fedi a lot of times if he could help about ½ a day it would do the trick, but it’s just too weird to have him trying to do housework. And he has stayed busy. Boy does it go against the culture too. Now, in winter, a lot of the men are out of work. You see them all the time talking on the street or hanging around at the tavern. At the same time I see the women washing clothes in the stream going by their house in the village. I’m sorry, but the longer I am here the more I respect the women and the less I respect the men.
Anyway, this girl is Attila, the cow rancher’s son’s girl friend. They are both planning to come to church on Sunday. I hope we can also be a light to Erika as she helps me out. It will cost us about $60.00 per month. Half of me regrets it already, but the other half really enjoyed being able to concentrate on the kid’s school and do a good job on it.
Oh yeah, on Tuesday afternoon we went to the English class in Certa. They gave us the floor. Many of the kids were Anni and Rebekah’s age. After class they surround the girls. It will be nice if they can make some friends.
Sunday, January 11, 2004
Well we finished our 1st school week back pretty good. On Thursday we got done with school fast and drove about 15 miles to a ski slope. It was just one rope tow with a T bar but it was a good level for the kids. It was a big success. They loved it and the total cost for the 6 of us for the afternoon was $3.00.
On Friday, we again did a fast school, really just a ½ day. Then we met Fedi down in Certa (Jozsef picked us up) and helped pass out the Christmas packages to every school child there – about 400. There were shoeboxes full of nice things. It was really cool to be on this end of the charity that organizations send to Romania and see the kids enjoy the presents. It was heart warming to think of the generosity of the people who made up the presents. Most of these came from England. It also helped Fedi and I get a better reputation and get better known in Certa. We told them probably 20 times it wasn’t from us but we got thanked over and over anyway. A teacher who teaches English asked if I would come and help her. So Tuesday the girls and I will spend one hour there.
Speaking of reputation, we keep hearing these ominous rumors from some of our friends that some people don’t like us being here. Yesterday evening, (It is Monday morning now 1/12,) Attilla (the cow rancher’s son) told Fedi that if anything should happen he could count on Lehel and him to help us. What?! What would happen? He told Fedi to just stay away from the taverns when the guys get drunk. Not hard – Fedi never goes by them. But the great news is Attila wants to come to church with us next week. He said his girlfriend Erika will come also. Lehel is coming steady. We are praying – praying – praying. Attilla & Lehel are both serious minded young men.
Saturday – We went into the kids program. 21 kids not from church came. They played games, then sang songs and heard a Bible message. This time only 3 were gypsies. It seems to be going well. Heidi is really putting her heart into it. I am not sure how I can be of help except moral support, but Fedi is helpful with organizing things.
In the afternoon we dropped the kids off at Csillas and went shopping. In the middle of the city there was a man drunk, sitting in the snow. Two policemen were trying to talk to him. Fedi looked closer; it was his uncle. So he helped him up. The policemen said the storeowners said he was sleeping in the snow. We had a time driving him home because he couldn’t give us good directions.
Csilla and family spent the night Saturday.
Sunday morning Fedi spent the whole morning trying to thaw out a frozen water pipe. He finally succeeded about noon. The rest of us did a little skiing here (walking up – sliding down) and then we went to church.
Donation money. Fedi gave Leventa and family $100.00 for January. $15 to a couple in church who had a sick baby. If you bribe the nurses they will let the mother stay in the hospital, otherwise not, and we will give the old man his $35.00.
Today Fedi is meeting with John (the old man) at the prison to turn in all the paper work to start a program of Bible studies. Hopefully it will be approved.
I want to write about Leventa and his family since a bulk of the donation money has gone to him. Leventa fits the role of who-ever wants to be a leader let him be a servant. He runs around helping whomever. His wife stays at home with their 5 kids. He has a meek personality and tends to let people take advantage of him. He used to be a teacher, is highly educated but education tends to get you nowhere in this country and he is not especially proud of it. His sermons are good and teaching is right on track but not delivered in a tremendously powerful way. The pastor before Leventa had a powerful, charismatic personality and the church missed that, I heard. My opinion though, is that it is better not to depend on a person. I think Leventa is right for this church.
On Friday, we again did a fast school, really just a ½ day. Then we met Fedi down in Certa (Jozsef picked us up) and helped pass out the Christmas packages to every school child there – about 400. There were shoeboxes full of nice things. It was really cool to be on this end of the charity that organizations send to Romania and see the kids enjoy the presents. It was heart warming to think of the generosity of the people who made up the presents. Most of these came from England. It also helped Fedi and I get a better reputation and get better known in Certa. We told them probably 20 times it wasn’t from us but we got thanked over and over anyway. A teacher who teaches English asked if I would come and help her. So Tuesday the girls and I will spend one hour there.
Speaking of reputation, we keep hearing these ominous rumors from some of our friends that some people don’t like us being here. Yesterday evening, (It is Monday morning now 1/12,) Attilla (the cow rancher’s son) told Fedi that if anything should happen he could count on Lehel and him to help us. What?! What would happen? He told Fedi to just stay away from the taverns when the guys get drunk. Not hard – Fedi never goes by them. But the great news is Attila wants to come to church with us next week. He said his girlfriend Erika will come also. Lehel is coming steady. We are praying – praying – praying. Attilla & Lehel are both serious minded young men.
Saturday – We went into the kids program. 21 kids not from church came. They played games, then sang songs and heard a Bible message. This time only 3 were gypsies. It seems to be going well. Heidi is really putting her heart into it. I am not sure how I can be of help except moral support, but Fedi is helpful with organizing things.
In the afternoon we dropped the kids off at Csillas and went shopping. In the middle of the city there was a man drunk, sitting in the snow. Two policemen were trying to talk to him. Fedi looked closer; it was his uncle. So he helped him up. The policemen said the storeowners said he was sleeping in the snow. We had a time driving him home because he couldn’t give us good directions.
Csilla and family spent the night Saturday.
Sunday morning Fedi spent the whole morning trying to thaw out a frozen water pipe. He finally succeeded about noon. The rest of us did a little skiing here (walking up – sliding down) and then we went to church.
Donation money. Fedi gave Leventa and family $100.00 for January. $15 to a couple in church who had a sick baby. If you bribe the nurses they will let the mother stay in the hospital, otherwise not, and we will give the old man his $35.00.
Today Fedi is meeting with John (the old man) at the prison to turn in all the paper work to start a program of Bible studies. Hopefully it will be approved.
I want to write about Leventa and his family since a bulk of the donation money has gone to him. Leventa fits the role of who-ever wants to be a leader let him be a servant. He runs around helping whomever. His wife stays at home with their 5 kids. He has a meek personality and tends to let people take advantage of him. He used to be a teacher, is highly educated but education tends to get you nowhere in this country and he is not especially proud of it. His sermons are good and teaching is right on track but not delivered in a tremendously powerful way. The pastor before Leventa had a powerful, charismatic personality and the church missed that, I heard. My opinion though, is that it is better not to depend on a person. I think Leventa is right for this church.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Well the dust has cleared. The company has all gone home and we are back to school. Csilla and family (4 people) and her neighbor and family (4 more people) stayed for Fri-Sat. & Sun., to ski. It was actually quite nice. We had so much food left over from New Years and we had paper plates, cups & silverware left. It made cooking and dishes a snap. The neighbor lady was the one who had arranged for us to borrow the skis from the school for practically free.
The scare with Ryan really shook us up. A couple of things I didn’t write about at first. About a week before this happened Fedi told me he had a dream that Ryan had died. I had a dream the same night also that Ryan had died. Normally I wouldn’t pay dreams any attention but I still watched Ryan pretty close that day. Before Ryan went to sleep that night (right before he woke up with croup) he said he wanted to have a prayer (New Years Eve). When he was done he said he felt much better. I know during the whole crisis the church people kept praying for us. There didn’t seem to be anything else we could do.
Well on a different subject, Lehel came to church again. There was a prayer time after when we divided up into groups. I asked him if there was anything he wanted us to pray about and he said that he would find his way to the Lord and that his girlfriend and he could stay together.
Fedi went to town yesterday for some errands and ended up staying at the hospital with a man who is a house guest of Leventa’s. He is a little strange and the Doctor concluded he was faking it. There is no “benefit of the doubt” here. She yelled at him to get up and walk across the room. Fedi was pretty mad because he made Fedi practically carry him up and after he couldn’t get away with it he walked just fine. Fedi got home about 10:00 p.m.
This morning Fedi needed to go in to take Lehel’s father too the hospital. He is not faking it. While in town Leventa’s funnel cake business had run out of propane so Fedi went to get more. Unfortunately he said it was not close by. I only mention these details because Fedi is busy since we arrived but it’s with a bunch of little things.
I love having kitchen cabinets. It’s great to have a place to store things and a counter top. It makes the cabin look charming.
The scare with Ryan really shook us up. A couple of things I didn’t write about at first. About a week before this happened Fedi told me he had a dream that Ryan had died. I had a dream the same night also that Ryan had died. Normally I wouldn’t pay dreams any attention but I still watched Ryan pretty close that day. Before Ryan went to sleep that night (right before he woke up with croup) he said he wanted to have a prayer (New Years Eve). When he was done he said he felt much better. I know during the whole crisis the church people kept praying for us. There didn’t seem to be anything else we could do.
Well on a different subject, Lehel came to church again. There was a prayer time after when we divided up into groups. I asked him if there was anything he wanted us to pray about and he said that he would find his way to the Lord and that his girlfriend and he could stay together.
Fedi went to town yesterday for some errands and ended up staying at the hospital with a man who is a house guest of Leventa’s. He is a little strange and the Doctor concluded he was faking it. There is no “benefit of the doubt” here. She yelled at him to get up and walk across the room. Fedi was pretty mad because he made Fedi practically carry him up and after he couldn’t get away with it he walked just fine. Fedi got home about 10:00 p.m.
This morning Fedi needed to go in to take Lehel’s father too the hospital. He is not faking it. While in town Leventa’s funnel cake business had run out of propane so Fedi went to get more. Unfortunately he said it was not close by. I only mention these details because Fedi is busy since we arrived but it’s with a bunch of little things.
I love having kitchen cabinets. It’s great to have a place to store things and a counter top. It makes the cabin look charming.
Saturday, January 03, 2004
Fedi and I are trying to recover from the biggest scare of my life. Two nights ago as we were praying in the New Year with about 40 guests, I was told to come upstairs quick, something was wrong with Ryan. He was in the bathroom throwing himself around and gasping for air. He couldn’t get enough to breathe. He had been having some chest congestion and a croup-like cough as had Annie and Steven. I had put him to bed upstairs. For about a full minute I didn’t know what to do except to try and hold him and calm him down. His eyes were wild though and he wouldn’t listen to me to hold still. Then I opened the bathroom window and held him up to the cold air. That gave him enough air to calm him. Beth (another one of my sisters) had told me before when her son Chad had an emergency with croup it would always get a little better when they would take him outside to go to the hospital. A doctor had told her the cool air would help temporarily but was not good in the long run. But temporarily was necessary.
We carried him to our room and had him lie there very still and just keep breathing. It still came hard and rasping. Others tried to call doctors but this is a stupid country with stupid ways. No one could get through, Romania doesn’t have enough phone lines and probably everyone was calling to wish everyone else a happy New Year. When we finally could get through the doctor’s babysitter answered and said they were at a party somewhere and it was impossible to reach them.
One person in our house said they had an inhaler at home. At the time we thought it would be better to go and get it rather to move him and go to the hospital. The people were telling Fedi under no circumstances should we go to the hospital. They would admit him, not let us be with him at all and the treatment would be very questionable.
It took Fedi about 1½ hours to come back with the inhaler. I watched every breath he took. I was so afraid he wouldn’t make it. There were about 6 people from the church in our room. They prayed for us. When Fedi came I hoped Ryan would be OK. The inhaler though, didn’t seem to help much. At one point Ryan said he had to go to the bathroom, jumped up to go, there was someone in it (we still had about 40 people there) so he started back to the room, then back to the bathroom and it was too much. Again he couldn’t breathe enough; again he went into a panic and threw himself around. I again grabbed him and lifted him up to the open window and tried to calm him down. It worked enough again to calm him so he could get enough air. I kept telling him that his only job was to relax and breathe, not to move. We would do everything for him. We changed him slowly as he had wet all over and put a pull-up on. I did everything slow because I wanted him to stay as relaxed as possible. The pull-up was a good idea because he had to go again. He wanted to get up but obeyed us when we told him to just go in the pull-up.
He had stared to run some fever so I gave him Motrin. As it was taking effect and his fever was breaking we decided to take him to the hospital. His breathing was unchanged still rasping and hard. He was dropping off to sleep on and off. I told Fedi to wait just a little more for his fever to drop. I was afraid just getting him dressed and down to the car would be too much for him. Plus it was almost morning and I was hopeful he would improve enough so we could move him better.
He was kind of funny too. I was watching every breath but I told Fedi I have to go to the bathroom. Ryan forced out the words “Mom, go to the bathroom, you always tell me to go, now I can get you back”. Another thing that was touching and funny. An older lady in our church kept telling Ryan how much God loved him and not to be afraid and that Jesus would help him. Ryan kept smiling and nodding and finally told me “Mom, it’s a little hard to keep smiling so long.”
We left about 6:30 to go to the hospital. It went smoother than I expected. Ryan stayed calm as we dressed him, carried him to the car and for the bumpy ride down the Mountain. We tried over and over to call a doctor, as we were afraid of the hospital. No luck. At the hospital though everything went smooth. The lady doctor first gave him a shot to help him immediately and let us use an empty room to rest him as the shot took effect. They treated us very well. After he recovered some we left to try and fill the 4 prescriptions she gave us. We went to 6 different pharmacies and couldn’t find one open. Ryan was starting to get worse again so back to the hospital we went. They let us again go to the empty room, gave Ryan some medicine and put a humidifier on. He stared to do better again. There was no paper work for all of this except they wrote down our names. The total cost including the tip that Fedi gave them that had them treating us very well was $25. I wish we had gone hours earlier, but I was afraid to move him.
At home he was still rasping, but better. I got scared once more when the loosened up phlegm almost clogged his airway again and he almost went in a panic again. All I can think of now is Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Lord.
Still Jan 3rd
I know I got a little behind over the holidays, so I want to hit some highlights of the last couple of weeks and catch up.
On Dec. 22nd Fedi and Leventa drove to a town about 5 hours away to pick up some Christian Literature. Fedi donated $100 from the donation money for this. He got home about 1:30 in the morning after having a run in with a telephone pole. It was raining on already ice-packed roads and impossibly slippery. The next morning he rushed to fix the leak in the radiator from the accident, as he had to get in to pass out the packages to the prisoners at 10:00 a.m. The rain had changed to snow and we had about 8 inches of beautiful, sparkly snow. The kids and I went with him since I had to do some Christmas shopping. Fedi was worried about the damaged fender. If the Police see damage on a car you have to have an accident report with you or you can get a ticket. They think you may have hit another car and not reported it.
Fedi made it only a little late. He passed out the packages, was able to give a Christian message and to talk with the guys later. He did say though in order to donate the packages to the prisoners he had to fill out a form, have it copied 3 times, have them notarized and pay about $12. Goofy law.
Christmas Eve dawned nicely. No place we had to go, beautiful snow and Christmas presents to unwrap. It was great. We hiked up in the untouched snow to a gill with some sleds and did some extreme sled riding. It was so steep it was tough to get up. The first few rides went like a big snowplow. Not too fast but throwing snow all over. After that though we went so fast on the packed down snow that we always rolled at the end.
Christmas day Rebekah woke up sick, so I stayed home. It gave me a chance to clean as we were expecting company the next day. Fedi took the other kids in for a Christmas dinner at Csilla’s and the church service. The kids put on a play and I was told my 3 younger kids sang Away in the Manger very nicely for the church. It was also kind of funny because some organization had donated packages of toys for the kids in the Romanian church. There were my kids lined up with the rest, getting their missionary packages for the poor.
The next day Csilla and family plus another family came to play in the snow and spend the day. Rebekah seemed better in the morning, so I left her with Anni and hiked up with them up to the meadow. They had brought skis. Ryan and Steven got to try them out and they both liked it. When we got back though Rebekah had gotten sicker. The poor kid was miserable. She had fever of almost 104 and different aches all over. I was worried enough that I called Spark and Rhonda’s and talked to my cousin Peter Bossart M.D. who was staying at their house. He said the muscle aches were from being dehydrated and I needed to push the liquids more. I did this and also dosed her up good with Motrin and Tylenol. She was better by the next day.
We spent the next few days getting ready for the New Year’s Eve party. Ten of the teenagers came a day early to help get ready. I also got Kitchen Cabinets finally on the same day. It looks so nice now to have somewhere to put things. Wednesday morning most of the people showed up. Fedi and I had to go in to get the food we bought from the donation money and a lady in church cooked up. It cost about $175. Anyway the day progressed nicely with the people having fun in the snow or all over the house. One guy brought his guitar and jammed it up with some great songs; we knew some of them in English. At about 11:00 we all (45) of us squished in our living room for a church service. Our neighbors came too. These were 3 young couples, most of who had never been to an evangelical service before. Leventa gave the service; we had some more singing, and then a time of prayer at about midnight. That’s when Ryan’s emergency happened. I don’t know what all happened after that but when we got back from the hospital the house was all cleaned up. Everyone was pretty much still there but they all started to make their way home as the day progressed. The last ones finally left in the evening. We kept Ryan close and concentrated on watching him. Fedi and I and Ryan slept down in the kitchen where we kept a pot of water going to put moisture in the air. We had a fairly good night. Every time I woke up to check on him it seemed his breathing was a little better, less noisy and stressed. Before we went to sleep I was still scared. Mostly because Fedi and I were so exhausted (we did not sleep at all the night before) that I was worried we wouldn’t notice if he had trouble.
Now I am up today. Csilla, Jozsef and the girls plus the same neighbor family that came after Christmas came for the day and to spend the night. We all went skiing down the road. (Csilla and I took turns staying with Ryan and the other 2 little kids). I forgot to write about something that has me excited. This lady that came with Csilla is a schoolteacher. She had arranged for us to borrow some left over skis that the school system had for almost nothing ($12) for 6 sets until April. Now our whole family is set. It was really fun. Fedi pulled us with ropes up the road (by now it is snow packed) and we skied down. The pace was perfect for beginners. Fast enough for a thrill but not at all too fast. Rebekah came in and said “That was so fun!”
We carried him to our room and had him lie there very still and just keep breathing. It still came hard and rasping. Others tried to call doctors but this is a stupid country with stupid ways. No one could get through, Romania doesn’t have enough phone lines and probably everyone was calling to wish everyone else a happy New Year. When we finally could get through the doctor’s babysitter answered and said they were at a party somewhere and it was impossible to reach them.
One person in our house said they had an inhaler at home. At the time we thought it would be better to go and get it rather to move him and go to the hospital. The people were telling Fedi under no circumstances should we go to the hospital. They would admit him, not let us be with him at all and the treatment would be very questionable.
It took Fedi about 1½ hours to come back with the inhaler. I watched every breath he took. I was so afraid he wouldn’t make it. There were about 6 people from the church in our room. They prayed for us. When Fedi came I hoped Ryan would be OK. The inhaler though, didn’t seem to help much. At one point Ryan said he had to go to the bathroom, jumped up to go, there was someone in it (we still had about 40 people there) so he started back to the room, then back to the bathroom and it was too much. Again he couldn’t breathe enough; again he went into a panic and threw himself around. I again grabbed him and lifted him up to the open window and tried to calm him down. It worked enough again to calm him so he could get enough air. I kept telling him that his only job was to relax and breathe, not to move. We would do everything for him. We changed him slowly as he had wet all over and put a pull-up on. I did everything slow because I wanted him to stay as relaxed as possible. The pull-up was a good idea because he had to go again. He wanted to get up but obeyed us when we told him to just go in the pull-up.
He had stared to run some fever so I gave him Motrin. As it was taking effect and his fever was breaking we decided to take him to the hospital. His breathing was unchanged still rasping and hard. He was dropping off to sleep on and off. I told Fedi to wait just a little more for his fever to drop. I was afraid just getting him dressed and down to the car would be too much for him. Plus it was almost morning and I was hopeful he would improve enough so we could move him better.
He was kind of funny too. I was watching every breath but I told Fedi I have to go to the bathroom. Ryan forced out the words “Mom, go to the bathroom, you always tell me to go, now I can get you back”. Another thing that was touching and funny. An older lady in our church kept telling Ryan how much God loved him and not to be afraid and that Jesus would help him. Ryan kept smiling and nodding and finally told me “Mom, it’s a little hard to keep smiling so long.”
We left about 6:30 to go to the hospital. It went smoother than I expected. Ryan stayed calm as we dressed him, carried him to the car and for the bumpy ride down the Mountain. We tried over and over to call a doctor, as we were afraid of the hospital. No luck. At the hospital though everything went smooth. The lady doctor first gave him a shot to help him immediately and let us use an empty room to rest him as the shot took effect. They treated us very well. After he recovered some we left to try and fill the 4 prescriptions she gave us. We went to 6 different pharmacies and couldn’t find one open. Ryan was starting to get worse again so back to the hospital we went. They let us again go to the empty room, gave Ryan some medicine and put a humidifier on. He stared to do better again. There was no paper work for all of this except they wrote down our names. The total cost including the tip that Fedi gave them that had them treating us very well was $25. I wish we had gone hours earlier, but I was afraid to move him.
At home he was still rasping, but better. I got scared once more when the loosened up phlegm almost clogged his airway again and he almost went in a panic again. All I can think of now is Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Lord.
Still Jan 3rd
I know I got a little behind over the holidays, so I want to hit some highlights of the last couple of weeks and catch up.
On Dec. 22nd Fedi and Leventa drove to a town about 5 hours away to pick up some Christian Literature. Fedi donated $100 from the donation money for this. He got home about 1:30 in the morning after having a run in with a telephone pole. It was raining on already ice-packed roads and impossibly slippery. The next morning he rushed to fix the leak in the radiator from the accident, as he had to get in to pass out the packages to the prisoners at 10:00 a.m. The rain had changed to snow and we had about 8 inches of beautiful, sparkly snow. The kids and I went with him since I had to do some Christmas shopping. Fedi was worried about the damaged fender. If the Police see damage on a car you have to have an accident report with you or you can get a ticket. They think you may have hit another car and not reported it.
Fedi made it only a little late. He passed out the packages, was able to give a Christian message and to talk with the guys later. He did say though in order to donate the packages to the prisoners he had to fill out a form, have it copied 3 times, have them notarized and pay about $12. Goofy law.
Christmas Eve dawned nicely. No place we had to go, beautiful snow and Christmas presents to unwrap. It was great. We hiked up in the untouched snow to a gill with some sleds and did some extreme sled riding. It was so steep it was tough to get up. The first few rides went like a big snowplow. Not too fast but throwing snow all over. After that though we went so fast on the packed down snow that we always rolled at the end.
Christmas day Rebekah woke up sick, so I stayed home. It gave me a chance to clean as we were expecting company the next day. Fedi took the other kids in for a Christmas dinner at Csilla’s and the church service. The kids put on a play and I was told my 3 younger kids sang Away in the Manger very nicely for the church. It was also kind of funny because some organization had donated packages of toys for the kids in the Romanian church. There were my kids lined up with the rest, getting their missionary packages for the poor.
The next day Csilla and family plus another family came to play in the snow and spend the day. Rebekah seemed better in the morning, so I left her with Anni and hiked up with them up to the meadow. They had brought skis. Ryan and Steven got to try them out and they both liked it. When we got back though Rebekah had gotten sicker. The poor kid was miserable. She had fever of almost 104 and different aches all over. I was worried enough that I called Spark and Rhonda’s and talked to my cousin Peter Bossart M.D. who was staying at their house. He said the muscle aches were from being dehydrated and I needed to push the liquids more. I did this and also dosed her up good with Motrin and Tylenol. She was better by the next day.
We spent the next few days getting ready for the New Year’s Eve party. Ten of the teenagers came a day early to help get ready. I also got Kitchen Cabinets finally on the same day. It looks so nice now to have somewhere to put things. Wednesday morning most of the people showed up. Fedi and I had to go in to get the food we bought from the donation money and a lady in church cooked up. It cost about $175. Anyway the day progressed nicely with the people having fun in the snow or all over the house. One guy brought his guitar and jammed it up with some great songs; we knew some of them in English. At about 11:00 we all (45) of us squished in our living room for a church service. Our neighbors came too. These were 3 young couples, most of who had never been to an evangelical service before. Leventa gave the service; we had some more singing, and then a time of prayer at about midnight. That’s when Ryan’s emergency happened. I don’t know what all happened after that but when we got back from the hospital the house was all cleaned up. Everyone was pretty much still there but they all started to make their way home as the day progressed. The last ones finally left in the evening. We kept Ryan close and concentrated on watching him. Fedi and I and Ryan slept down in the kitchen where we kept a pot of water going to put moisture in the air. We had a fairly good night. Every time I woke up to check on him it seemed his breathing was a little better, less noisy and stressed. Before we went to sleep I was still scared. Mostly because Fedi and I were so exhausted (we did not sleep at all the night before) that I was worried we wouldn’t notice if he had trouble.
Now I am up today. Csilla, Jozsef and the girls plus the same neighbor family that came after Christmas came for the day and to spend the night. We all went skiing down the road. (Csilla and I took turns staying with Ryan and the other 2 little kids). I forgot to write about something that has me excited. This lady that came with Csilla is a schoolteacher. She had arranged for us to borrow some left over skis that the school system had for almost nothing ($12) for 6 sets until April. Now our whole family is set. It was really fun. Fedi pulled us with ropes up the road (by now it is snow packed) and we skied down. The pace was perfect for beginners. Fast enough for a thrill but not at all too fast. Rebekah came in and said “That was so fun!”
Monday, December 22, 2003
Monday. Lehel came to church yesterday. He seems very open. The service was perfect, evangelical and clear. On the way home he told Fedi he knows there is an emptiness inside him and he wants to come back. Praise the Lord.
There is something happening in Certa. Fedi asked the church to pray for this village, which they promptly did. The Friday meeting with the young kids there went bad as we expected. For some reason the leader is bent out of shape over Fedi being there. They actually called for a vote of hands for whoever would go against anything Fedi tried to do in Certa everyway possible. Lehel reported all this to us. He said there were 24 young kids there. No one raised their hand to go against Fedi or for the next poll who was for him. I think they can’t understand, like us, why this aggressive overreaction? It’s possible they feel their leadership is threatened. It may have a backlash though because Lehel said that another guy wants to come to church just to prove he is open-minded.
The Catholic priest in Certa is being very helpful to us by being a first class jerk! Fedi was told he owns 5 cars and is having a minivan custom made for him. “You devour widows houses and for a pretense make long prayers.” Attlila the cow rancher’s son said he beat a little girl black and blue because she didn’t do well in the religion class. Still, Fedi hears constantly “I was born Catholic and I will die Catholic”.
There is something happening in Certa. Fedi asked the church to pray for this village, which they promptly did. The Friday meeting with the young kids there went bad as we expected. For some reason the leader is bent out of shape over Fedi being there. They actually called for a vote of hands for whoever would go against anything Fedi tried to do in Certa everyway possible. Lehel reported all this to us. He said there were 24 young kids there. No one raised their hand to go against Fedi or for the next poll who was for him. I think they can’t understand, like us, why this aggressive overreaction? It’s possible they feel their leadership is threatened. It may have a backlash though because Lehel said that another guy wants to come to church just to prove he is open-minded.
The Catholic priest in Certa is being very helpful to us by being a first class jerk! Fedi was told he owns 5 cars and is having a minivan custom made for him. “You devour widows houses and for a pretense make long prayers.” Attlila the cow rancher’s son said he beat a little girl black and blue because she didn’t do well in the religion class. Still, Fedi hears constantly “I was born Catholic and I will die Catholic”.
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Yesterday we took our first fun trip since coming here 4 months ago. We drove 2 hours to get to the Salt Mines, going off information that they are always open; only to find that there was only one bus going in at 8:00 a.m. We got there at 9:00 a.m. Some guys told Fedi to just hitchhike at the entrance and there was a chance one of the miner trucks would pick us up. It worked like a charm. The kids all got their salt blocks that they intend to give to their friends in America.
Fedi has been discouraged. He had given the cow rancher’s son his personal Hungarian Bible since they had had some good talks. Now this week he was at their house and the subject of the Bible came up. Attila’s Mom said “Oh that Bible, I used it to start a fire.” Major let down!
There is one guy-Lehel, 25 years old, who has been 100% for Fedi trying to organize the young kids in Certa. He said he wants to come to church. Some of the other guys have been almost aggressive to Fedi. One of them said to Lehel “Are you on his side or ours?” (This was the president)
The Christmas packages for the school children are held up at the Hungarian border. They will most likely get here after Christmas.
Oh yeah, on the way home from the salt mines, we came to a car broken down with 4 people we know. They were on their way to visit someone in the hospital about 20 miles away. It was on our way. We squished the 4 of them in making 10 in our little jeep. Then Fedi dropped them off, took us home, turned around and drove back to the hospital, picked them up, took them back to their car to tow it to their place. Then all the way home again, maybe 150 miles round trip on bumpy roads. He stayed in his hometown for a while so Heuni could fix the cord on the laptop computer. He got home at 1:30 a.m.
My refrigerator has a defect. The magpies have discovered the food on the windowsills. They ate their way through at least 1 kg. of sausage, plus bacon and cheese.
I am at last getting some kitchen cupboards. We had a guy from a different church give us an estimate. To custom make the cupboards with the counter top is $180. Thank you Judy (my oldest sister) for the money you donated for this, plus the money you sent from the horse business. Next will be the clothes cupboards, maybe in January. I think this will be cheaper.
Our car is having more trouble. It is slipping out of gear. At least, except for parts, it is cheap to have a car fixed here.
Fedi has been discouraged. He had given the cow rancher’s son his personal Hungarian Bible since they had had some good talks. Now this week he was at their house and the subject of the Bible came up. Attila’s Mom said “Oh that Bible, I used it to start a fire.” Major let down!
There is one guy-Lehel, 25 years old, who has been 100% for Fedi trying to organize the young kids in Certa. He said he wants to come to church. Some of the other guys have been almost aggressive to Fedi. One of them said to Lehel “Are you on his side or ours?” (This was the president)
The Christmas packages for the school children are held up at the Hungarian border. They will most likely get here after Christmas.
Oh yeah, on the way home from the salt mines, we came to a car broken down with 4 people we know. They were on their way to visit someone in the hospital about 20 miles away. It was on our way. We squished the 4 of them in making 10 in our little jeep. Then Fedi dropped them off, took us home, turned around and drove back to the hospital, picked them up, took them back to their car to tow it to their place. Then all the way home again, maybe 150 miles round trip on bumpy roads. He stayed in his hometown for a while so Heuni could fix the cord on the laptop computer. He got home at 1:30 a.m.
My refrigerator has a defect. The magpies have discovered the food on the windowsills. They ate their way through at least 1 kg. of sausage, plus bacon and cheese.
I am at last getting some kitchen cupboards. We had a guy from a different church give us an estimate. To custom make the cupboards with the counter top is $180. Thank you Judy (my oldest sister) for the money you donated for this, plus the money you sent from the horse business. Next will be the clothes cupboards, maybe in January. I think this will be cheaper.
Our car is having more trouble. It is slipping out of gear. At least, except for parts, it is cheap to have a car fixed here.
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Wednesday - last week we took a trip to Metro for Christmas presents, food supplies, and things for the prisoners. The captain of the prison told Fedi that of the 800 prisoners there are 200 that have no one on the outside to give them any basic supplies. So we bought disposable razors, soap, laundry soap, toothbrushes, & toothpaste to make up 200 packages. Fedi got word a couple of days ago that the prison officials will let them hand these out personally on Dec. 23rd along with Christian literature in the appropriate language (either Hungarian or Romanian). So Dad’s money should be well spent so far.
We are having trouble keeping our personal money separate from the donation money. Things get intermixed so much. Now we lost the receipt from the Metro, so I don’t know exactly how to separate that. I know besides the prison stuff we paid to fill Leventa’s car up with gas as we needed it to haul stuff and we paid for John’s personal food supply that he bought at Metro too. John is the old man who has had a prison ministry 2xs a month for years. He came with us. He is a good man and has faithfully served the Lord for years but he keeps asking Fedi to buy him a car. He doesn’t even have enough income to pay for the gas. Oh well.
I would like to change our policy in regards to future donations (if any). We will try to keep our life-style lean and mean and try to help wherever we see a need, as much as we can, but the money donated might actually go to car repairs or stuff for the kids. In defense of this, we have allowed our selves almost no luxuries and Fedi has worked hard to spread the gospel. In fact, he has been so busy helping everyone else out that I asked him to stay home more.
Anyway, Heuni watched the kids for us. He and Thomas (a man from church with a family who asked Fedi for work) stayed home and insulated the pipes for the waterpower. Heuni cleaned and cooked apple crisp for us when we got home at 11:00 p.m. We paid Thomas $30 for the 2 days, plus fed him. They were fun to have, but they both got a bad stomach flu the last day they were here. A couple of days later I got it too. Without going into details…. it was bad!
School is wrapping up for the boys. Ryan recently finished his 2nd grade Math book. I let him burn it in our furnace. Anni got hopeful and said “Mom if we run out of firewood and the house is really cold will you burn mine too?” Problem is she is only ½ way through.
Fedi had another meeting with the president of the young group in Certa. They have been talking a lot about Fedi maybe renting the gym and organizing activities. Fedi told them if he can’t have a Christian message then he won’t spend any money there. The president didn’t like that. He told Fedi that he shouldn’t tell them they couldn’t smoke or drink in the building. Well anyway he is going to meet with some people Friday to decide what they want. There are some of the young people that seem to really want Fedi to do something but for some reason they operate as a group. Well Friday will tell.
We hiked up yesterday to get the Christmas tree. We had plenty to choose from. We hauled a 20-footer home. We decorated it with aluminum foil balls stuffed with paper towel after we saw the price of Christmas decorations-much more than the States. It turned out beautiful.
We are having trouble keeping our personal money separate from the donation money. Things get intermixed so much. Now we lost the receipt from the Metro, so I don’t know exactly how to separate that. I know besides the prison stuff we paid to fill Leventa’s car up with gas as we needed it to haul stuff and we paid for John’s personal food supply that he bought at Metro too. John is the old man who has had a prison ministry 2xs a month for years. He came with us. He is a good man and has faithfully served the Lord for years but he keeps asking Fedi to buy him a car. He doesn’t even have enough income to pay for the gas. Oh well.
I would like to change our policy in regards to future donations (if any). We will try to keep our life-style lean and mean and try to help wherever we see a need, as much as we can, but the money donated might actually go to car repairs or stuff for the kids. In defense of this, we have allowed our selves almost no luxuries and Fedi has worked hard to spread the gospel. In fact, he has been so busy helping everyone else out that I asked him to stay home more.
Anyway, Heuni watched the kids for us. He and Thomas (a man from church with a family who asked Fedi for work) stayed home and insulated the pipes for the waterpower. Heuni cleaned and cooked apple crisp for us when we got home at 11:00 p.m. We paid Thomas $30 for the 2 days, plus fed him. They were fun to have, but they both got a bad stomach flu the last day they were here. A couple of days later I got it too. Without going into details…. it was bad!
School is wrapping up for the boys. Ryan recently finished his 2nd grade Math book. I let him burn it in our furnace. Anni got hopeful and said “Mom if we run out of firewood and the house is really cold will you burn mine too?” Problem is she is only ½ way through.
Fedi had another meeting with the president of the young group in Certa. They have been talking a lot about Fedi maybe renting the gym and organizing activities. Fedi told them if he can’t have a Christian message then he won’t spend any money there. The president didn’t like that. He told Fedi that he shouldn’t tell them they couldn’t smoke or drink in the building. Well anyway he is going to meet with some people Friday to decide what they want. There are some of the young people that seem to really want Fedi to do something but for some reason they operate as a group. Well Friday will tell.
We hiked up yesterday to get the Christmas tree. We had plenty to choose from. We hauled a 20-footer home. We decorated it with aluminum foil balls stuffed with paper towel after we saw the price of Christmas decorations-much more than the States. It turned out beautiful.
Monday, December 08, 2003
It’s cold. The milk was frozen solid out on the window ledge. I am keeping the fire going strong. We have about 1 inch of snow so the kids are all out sliding down the hill on plastic.
Fedi went in for the last thing on the list to get our car legal again. What a relief that will be. Now we can take a trip down to Metro (like Sam’s club) to get basic food supplies, Christmas presents, and supplies for people in the prisons.
The kids program was nice yesterday. I counted 11 outsider kids (not from church) 7 were gypsies and 4 Romanians. They played games and then sang songs and had a Bible message. Fedi dressed as St. Nicholas and handed out candy at the end.
The village evangelism also has picked up a bit. Some Fridays it’s on, some off.
What is really another possible development is something in the little town by us. Fedi was telling the cow ranchers family about the Christian center in Peoria. They told him that there is a Gym in Certa (pronounced Kurtza) that is not being used for anything. They must have talked to some people because yesterday Fedi was called twice by a young guy who apparently has organized the young kids (teenagers-early 20’s) that someone might be wanting to start a Christian club and they like the idea. This man is not a Christian but his Aunt is and goes to our church. I guess it all depends on what price the Mayor will put on renting out the gym. We told this guy not to let him know who was interested because if they know it’s Americans the price doubles.
Fedi got home a couple of hours ago a picture of total frustration. No the car did not get legally registered yet. He went to get the final and last thing taken care of (he thought) and was told that “oh yea, sorry but you do need one more stamp and to get that you have to type out 3 more forms and to get photocopies of each”. AAAARGH! He rushed around getting all that done until 2:00 p.m., ran back again only to be told that they closed at 1:00. Through all this he is (like everyone) treated rudely. Anyway, as he told me all this and knowing what we have already gone through it hit my funny bone. It was hard to stop laughing. It has been a 2-month process so far. America - I Love You, with your fast license and registration service, and $15 easy drivers licenses.
I read today a little about David Livingston, missionary to Africa. It inspired and humbled me. It shows my faith for what it is…very tiny and weak. But there are some things I can choose to trust God for now. It’s not a worried, hopeful, don’t think about the problems, kind of trust. It’s staying fully aware of the problems and still praising and thanking God because he is so great, kind of trust.
Someone named Thomas is coming up for the rest of the week. He is out of work, has a wife and a baby. He asked Fedi if there is anything we have for him to do. I think Heuni is coming too, so they can both stay on the couch. It folds out to a queen size bed. We may pay Thomas out of the donation money.
As the cold hits and construction slows down more and more men are out of work. It’s tough, really tough on the families here.
We aren’t getting anything out of the waterpower today with the cold. So we run the gas generator and go off batteries.
Fedi went in for the last thing on the list to get our car legal again. What a relief that will be. Now we can take a trip down to Metro (like Sam’s club) to get basic food supplies, Christmas presents, and supplies for people in the prisons.
The kids program was nice yesterday. I counted 11 outsider kids (not from church) 7 were gypsies and 4 Romanians. They played games and then sang songs and had a Bible message. Fedi dressed as St. Nicholas and handed out candy at the end.
The village evangelism also has picked up a bit. Some Fridays it’s on, some off.
What is really another possible development is something in the little town by us. Fedi was telling the cow ranchers family about the Christian center in Peoria. They told him that there is a Gym in Certa (pronounced Kurtza) that is not being used for anything. They must have talked to some people because yesterday Fedi was called twice by a young guy who apparently has organized the young kids (teenagers-early 20’s) that someone might be wanting to start a Christian club and they like the idea. This man is not a Christian but his Aunt is and goes to our church. I guess it all depends on what price the Mayor will put on renting out the gym. We told this guy not to let him know who was interested because if they know it’s Americans the price doubles.
Fedi got home a couple of hours ago a picture of total frustration. No the car did not get legally registered yet. He went to get the final and last thing taken care of (he thought) and was told that “oh yea, sorry but you do need one more stamp and to get that you have to type out 3 more forms and to get photocopies of each”. AAAARGH! He rushed around getting all that done until 2:00 p.m., ran back again only to be told that they closed at 1:00. Through all this he is (like everyone) treated rudely. Anyway, as he told me all this and knowing what we have already gone through it hit my funny bone. It was hard to stop laughing. It has been a 2-month process so far. America - I Love You, with your fast license and registration service, and $15 easy drivers licenses.
I read today a little about David Livingston, missionary to Africa. It inspired and humbled me. It shows my faith for what it is…very tiny and weak. But there are some things I can choose to trust God for now. It’s not a worried, hopeful, don’t think about the problems, kind of trust. It’s staying fully aware of the problems and still praising and thanking God because he is so great, kind of trust.
Someone named Thomas is coming up for the rest of the week. He is out of work, has a wife and a baby. He asked Fedi if there is anything we have for him to do. I think Heuni is coming too, so they can both stay on the couch. It folds out to a queen size bed. We may pay Thomas out of the donation money.
As the cold hits and construction slows down more and more men are out of work. It’s tough, really tough on the families here.
We aren’t getting anything out of the waterpower today with the cold. So we run the gas generator and go off batteries.
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
The guests from Bucharest did not come which was a big relief to me. It seems that if I do the school, well the house gets dirty, if I clean the house, well then the school is done sloppy. Fedi has more to do than we thought possible in America. There are a lot of open doors for ministry plus the house needs a lot of work. So the extra help I had hoped to get from Fedi not going to work has not materialized. In America I had a dishwasher, dryer, microwave and convenience foods. The school was done more thoroughly. Still the kids are learning other skills. Rebekah and Annie are helping with cooking and dishes. Ryan went in the basement and made a manger out of wood entirely himself. He sawed and nailed and measured. I was really impressed. He goes around quoting Fedi on “Yep, this pine wood burns fast.”
Heuni has been here again since last Thursday. He fiddles and fiddles with the water generator. It looks like he is able to get a charge from even low water. If so that is great! Fedi won’t have to keep shutting off the pipe to let the pond fill up every other hour.
Csilla and Jozsef and the girls stayed over Saturday and Sunday. And yesterday Leventa and his whole family came for the afternoon and evening. I am very, very glad for the couch.
Saturday we went to the kids program. It went well. There were about 8 little gypsy kids as well as 4 other little girls (anywhere from 5 – 14 yrs.)
There is something interesting happening here. About the same time Fedi and I came to this little church another missionary couple from Hungary came. They are fairly newly married. Now another missionary couple has come, also from Hungary. That makes 4 families counting Leventa in full-time ministry with a little church of about 25 or so. All of them, except Leventa, arriving in the last 4 months - strange.
Speaking of Gypsy’s, this is a whole other fascinating culture within Romania. They are visible all over but they have a completely different way of life. The women and children have very colorful clothes. Their skin is dark. They are dirty and they beg. Some of them have houses but some of them actually have the covered wagons. I saw one wagon with a grain bag sticking out for the horse so he can eat as he walks. Fedi usually gives them something but the problem is they always ask for more. He gave one lady a salami and she, instead of saying “thank you”, said “well, you can’t expect me to eat this without bread!” They are known for selling good brooms made from sticks. We picked up a few. People like them and they sell easy. There is much more to write about them. The men like big moustaches and big hats. They are known to be dangerous with knives. They are very musical.
Heuni has been here again since last Thursday. He fiddles and fiddles with the water generator. It looks like he is able to get a charge from even low water. If so that is great! Fedi won’t have to keep shutting off the pipe to let the pond fill up every other hour.
Csilla and Jozsef and the girls stayed over Saturday and Sunday. And yesterday Leventa and his whole family came for the afternoon and evening. I am very, very glad for the couch.
Saturday we went to the kids program. It went well. There were about 8 little gypsy kids as well as 4 other little girls (anywhere from 5 – 14 yrs.)
There is something interesting happening here. About the same time Fedi and I came to this little church another missionary couple from Hungary came. They are fairly newly married. Now another missionary couple has come, also from Hungary. That makes 4 families counting Leventa in full-time ministry with a little church of about 25 or so. All of them, except Leventa, arriving in the last 4 months - strange.
Speaking of Gypsy’s, this is a whole other fascinating culture within Romania. They are visible all over but they have a completely different way of life. The women and children have very colorful clothes. Their skin is dark. They are dirty and they beg. Some of them have houses but some of them actually have the covered wagons. I saw one wagon with a grain bag sticking out for the horse so he can eat as he walks. Fedi usually gives them something but the problem is they always ask for more. He gave one lady a salami and she, instead of saying “thank you”, said “well, you can’t expect me to eat this without bread!” They are known for selling good brooms made from sticks. We picked up a few. People like them and they sell easy. There is much more to write about them. The men like big moustaches and big hats. They are known to be dangerous with knives. They are very musical.
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
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.
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.
Monday, November 24, 2003
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.
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.
Saturday, November 22, 2003
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
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.
Thursday, November 13, 2003
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
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.
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.
Thursday, November 06, 2003
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.
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.
Sunday, November 02, 2003
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.
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.
Saturday, November 01, 2003
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.
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.
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