We are down at the Black Sea 1 kilometer form the Bulgarian blorder. There is a lot of Romania that we didn't see and since we have to pick up a friend at the Bucharest airport, we decided to combine it with a few days sight-seeing. We were told that this is a great time to go because room prices are cheap and the water is still warm.
The first day we went to the Danube delta and took a boat ride. It is supposed to be a beautiful bird sanctuary. We didn't see much because the boat we took was a transport boat that only went on the main traffic areas. He informed us of this after we paid. Oh well. We did stop at an interesting village on a small island. There were absolutely no vehicles or roads on this island. Instead it was a maze of paths with tall bamboo like fences around the houses. This plant whatever it is grows in abundance here. They tie it together to make their roofs, fences and in some cases the whole house. All their goods are shipped in and as we found out on our own boat a lot of fish was shipped out,
I was surprised how beautiful the Black Sea is. To be honest I expected the water to be kind of black. Instead it is a clear blue. The fist day there were about 1 foot waves but that night a storm increased their size. It was cool and even rained on and off but the kids swam anyway. In the evening a strong wind picked up making the waves ocean size. We all took a walk just to experience tha wildness of the shore.

Big fly in the ointment of our well laid plans. Yesterday something happened we didn't count on. Lehel's Mom apparently doesn't like a lady that has been coming to the Bible studies. She told Theresa, who is this ladies neighbor to tell her that she is not welcome to come anymore. To make matters worse, Theresa, wanting to spare her neighbors feelings, lied to her and told her that we all have stopped meeting until we find a new place. Now Fedi said they sat there at last night's Bible study feeling they are a part of this lie. Lehel is frustrated but it is not his house, it is his parents.
So we are back to thinking of buying a place here in Carta. To be honest it hurts financially. We are going back to America with a lot a debts and no job. This money would be a nice cushion of security. But there is a need here and I think we will be ok in America.
It does seem like it should not be necessary to buy a place as Leventa said. There are plenty of empty places around or the people that come should open up their houses. But we tried to rent a place,- there was such an uproar that the owner apologetically kicked us out. Lehel's bedroom has worked our O.K. but now we have this new problem with his Mom not wanting certain people to come. He Dad has also been criticized for letting us meet there. Also Lehel plans to be leaving sometime early next year to work in Sweden for a time. No one else coming owns a house as they are young, except for Theresa. She has already told us that she doesn't want us to meet at her house because of the problems she might have with her neighbors. If you ask me they are a bunch of wimps but I didn't grow up in this crazy village.
We went just now to look at the $11,000 house again. We plan to make an offer tonight. We won't put much money in it just enough to have one room that has heat to be used for the Bible studies.

Last night 2 couples and another man form the Csikzereda church joined our Bible study in Carta. Csilla and Jozsef have been coming regularly and also another couple. It has been a tremendous help. The atmosphere is really nice and we are thankful for their support. We plan to give gas money to them for the year to come. It is not a bribe, it is simply that they can't afford it.
We are also using donation money to have the teeth fixed on a young lady who comes to church. She is always very self-conscious of smiling or opening her mouth. Her husband said it has been a dream of hers but they couldn't afford it. She has already gone twice to the dentist.

Last night's Bible study was great. Leventa came and talked about the prophesies that pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. He concluded with the sobering message that even as these all came true so will all the prophesies about His judgment. There was a lot of questions afterward and then Csilla led us in a couple of songs. Afterward fedi talked to the care group about the pans we have finally settled on. We will leave the van with $1,000 of gas and maintenance money to Attila for church and Bible study use only. We will ask Csilla to arrange people from the Csikzereda church to come out weekly. There are 6 different men who could take turns. I hope they would be willing for the Lord's sake. We could give Csilla money for their gas.
We reserved our plane tickets today for October 16th.
Attila confirmed that yes Erika plans to be baptized as a Christian with time. With her though it is not the clear decision that we see with Attila. Attila says no matter what - his decision is clear. Erika is saying yes but if I wait maybe problems will smooth out.
Meanwhile right now the villages focus is on potato picking. The weather has been nice and hundreds of people are on the fields all day picking potatoes. Kinga's school class is spending the first two weeks of school picking potatoes instead of classes which I found rather shocking. In church and Bible studies in the evenings the people look tired.
We are going to give our couch to Csilla to use, the chain saw to Lehel, the wash machine to his Mom, and clothes, mitten, boots etc to the gypsies. The big items we asked to have back in the case that we return.

Fedi had a long talk with Erika yesterday with reassuring results. The best thing she said was that she considers herself on the road to being baptized as a Christian and her Mom know this too. She was under the impression that Fedi expected her and Attila to get married, baptized and to move into a house that doubles as a church in the next 5 weeks before we leave. I guess we had this thought as one of many options for the future but we never thought that it would happen in 5 weeks. We also never intended them to feel any pressure but were just trying to find a solution for their problems as an option for them to have. We also gave just as much thought to finding another missionary couple to come and vie here or also Fedi and I returning.
Anyway I do feel more peaceful now. It is clear that the kids and I have to return to take care of responsibilities we have in America. God will show us any other action we need to take at the right time. Even though we feel responsible for these people actually it is God's work. He started it and He has a plan even now.

The first couple we talked to can't replace us. Fedi and I are racking our brains about what to do. The second couple we just don't know that well. It still feels like we are abandoning the Carta people at a crucial time.
Attila is exhausted from the cow business. He also needs to go in and have a stomach surgery as soon as the cow season is over, about the end of October.
Erika returned form Hungary full of conflicts. She is discouraged from the constant uproar in her family over her interest in Christianity. She has tried to have both peace in her family and go to the Bible studies by sneaking to them. Now with Attila wanting to be baptized she is seeing her dream of a Catholic wedding slip away and she is not happy. At this point I don't think she is glad Attila wants to be a Christian. I pray for her daily though I feel frustrated that she only looks at the problems instead of all the benefits of Christianity. It also seem she cares more her Dad's opinion more than the man she plans to marry.
Lehel is asking a lot of good questions. He and Eboya come regular and seem very interested. Also Theresa the Christian lady comes every time. Lehel's Mom and his aunt also come regularly. Thersa brings a young lady with her occasionally. That's the main group along with Attila and Erika but there are visitors almost every time either from Carta or from Csikzereda.
Lehel's Mom has been a big help with the house hunting. We looked at one yesterday that has possibilities. It is only about $11,000 but would need about $5,000-$7,000 more work to make it livable. (I like indoor bathrooms)The yard though is charming.
If we can't find someone to replace us, we were hopeful that Attila and Erika would get married, live in the house, and hold the Bible studies there. That would solve their problem of no place to live and also give us a fixed point for a Christian witness in Carta. But Erika is not ready for this.
Fedi and I are so unsure of what to do. I wonder if I should go home, try to sell the rental house, tidy up the horse business- maybe sell out- and come back for another year after Christmas. The problem is that we care about these people. Will someone out there please tell us what to do!

Again it seems a lot is happening fast. We have decided that the kids and I will return to America in about 6 weeks. Fedi will come also if things are wrapped up here. Several things are happening to lead us this way. Dad is scheduled to have open heart surgery Nov. 3rd. We have a rental house that needs work and Irma and Sandor are hoping now that our house here is sold and the year we committed too is up we will return to take care of our own yard and rental stuff in America.
We have an empty= house to move into in America. It's junky but my standards are lower. I'm thrilled with a hot water heater and a heating system that we don't have to chop wood for.
Meanwhile we are looking daily for a house here. It will mean for us a financial loss but a spiritual gain. The Bible study group needs a place. They need to know that we really care. We are also trying hard to find a couple to live in the house and continue on holding the Bible studies. We have 2 families in mind. One we have approached already and we are waiting for their answer. It would also mean that we need to support them monthly, prob ally about $100-$150 a month.
Leventa has not worked out to take over. We have been disappointed. We thought he would commit to at least one evening a week as he at first enthusiastically agreed, Instead he only makes it about 1/2 of the time.

Well we got the brakes fixed yesterday with the parts Dad sent. That is a relief. We also went to see two houses for sale before the Bible study. They were both a disappointment to me. The problem is they are set up with barns and outbuildings that we don't need but lack what we do need. We want a small living area, a big room for the Bible studies near a bathroom, with central heating. In the better place that we looked at yesterday every room has it's own wood-burning stove for heating. I don't want to try to keep up five different fires in order to use the house. We will keep looking and keep praying. The God that helped us this far has a plan.

Yesterday was the closing for our house. The money should be here in a day or two. Fedi is still running around doing odds and ends to help them secure the house.
Joan and Tim left us. They seemed happy with the dental work they had done here. They were able to do some sight-seeing but it was limited because we were so busy moving and our van still has very bad brakes.
Bad brakes or not we still took several trips taking the Carta people to church on Sunday. A new man came that Attila had been witnessing too. Also the Bible study is going consistently well. The people coming are really interested.
Now the big news. Attila came yesterday and told Fedi that he wants to live a Christian life. He wants to be baptized. Wow!! For him this is a costly move. He told Fedi that his Dad has lied and cheated in the cow business that have together. Attila plans to use the money that he will get at the end of the season for taking care of the cows to make this right. He also told Fedi he knows he needs to marry Erika or stop seeing her. They don't have a place to live though if they get married. If we can help somehow we will.

We're moved! Attila came with his trailer for the big stuff. Joan and Tim were a big help with packing, and patching up things and babysitting while Fedi and I cleaned. It was a bit upsetting to find find that they hadn't moved anything out of the house we were moving into except one clothes cupboard. Every kitchen cupboard and drawers was full of their stuff. I boxed some up and squeezed our stuff in. Also there is no wash machine. Otherwise, though, as I am finding places for everything and getting organized I am very pleased. It has a big fenced in yard with nice grass. They left the beds for us which we need also.
Tuesday evening Fedi and I went up to clean. We were glad we did. There had been the biggest flash flood of the year. It had washed our little foot bridge out and since we weren't there to open up the underflow it had washed some of the side of the dam away. We are going up tonight to make repairs. We will leave the underflow open now.
Yesterday we went to see some tourist things with Joan and Tim. Fedi took them to a place that has a heavy, poisonous gas settled on the low part of a pit. People stand in it to help their arthritis, high blood pressure, and circulation. If you bend over and breath it you could die. It's a busy place with people standing there 30 minutes at a time. After that we took a walk up to a ski place. Lunch was at the park in Csilla's town. Then we went home to relax and prepare for the Bible study. Tim had it. I was Told it went really well.

In Brief. The moving was delayed bu a couple of days to Sept 2nd. Joan and Tim came on the train on Thursday. She got a lot of dental work done already but has more to do. We went on the weekend to the beautiful mountains on the way to the Nazarene church. We delivered the money from the Peoria A.C. church to help a lady there and spent the night at the church. The next day after church we headed home, stopped at the salt mine, and a souvenir place before making it home safely. We had terrible car problems the whole trip. At the end we limped home with barely any brakes and a battery that wasn't holding a charge. No one from Carta went to church because they had no transportation with us gone.

I'm getting behind because things have been busy. Just a few highlights for now.
Yesterday we found out that the people buying the house can come in about 8 days or at the end of October. Since the end of October is getting cold already to get the money to buy and remodel a cheap house in Carta we opted for the end of August. This means we have to vacate the house in 8 days, We spent about 20 hours wondering where we will be moving to until Fedi called me with the good news that he found a house we can rent. It's not easy here. You have to know people who know people. There is absolutely nothing for rent in the newspaper- only for sale.
So one we get all that settled we want to find a house in Carta to buy. I was hoping to stay around $15,000 but it may have to go to $20,000
Lehel sold his car so we went back and forth 4 times taking people to church and back. 6 came from Carta.
I am packing and doing normal house-hold chores.

Heuni's sister Abigail has been here since Monday. Now yesterday Arpi, Maria, and their daughter Anna came to spend a few days with us. This morning a man came to build a wood burning stove in our house. he will stay here too for a few days. The house is full. I like it.
Arpi and Maria went down to help with the Bible study Wednesday. They had a lot to share and it went well.

Hey guys, I think we sold our house!! We made an agreement with someone. There is no money down but they are flying in on the 31st to buy it. Their relatives came to see it today and loved it. I e-mailed them to see if we can rent it from them until we get something else. I hope that will work Ok. Anyway we got a good price. Love, Ruth

Yesterday was eventful. We had someone come to look at the house for their relatives from England. Just a few hours after they left we got a phone call that they want to buy the house. Fedi settled on $32,500. There is no money down yet but they are thrilled and we are taking it as a done deal. We have about $26,500 in the house not counting Fedi's labor so we are happy.
This house is a very hard one to sell. It is too far from the village for a Romanian to commute to work. Gas and maintenance of a vehicle is too expensive for them. The price of the house is also too expensive for 99% of the Romanians. So this left the international market. Way back in April on a whim I wrote an ad on a real-estate web-site on the internet. At this point we weren't sure of our plans so when Iii got to the end of the ad and saw it cost $79 to activate, I just let it be and forgot about it. At the end of June, the real-estate company e-mailed us that they will give us a free 2 months and they activated the ad for us. That is how the house sold. God has amazing ways.
Erika has had a better time of it. She seems happy and has not reported any more problems with her Dad. She did have a financial blow yesterday. Her calf ate some bad mushrooms and died. They stayed up all night trying to save it so she is very tired.
Sunday the four didn't come to church. Attila had to work but Lehel simply had a party to go to. Lehel's brother and girlfriend came though and the Christian lady I wrote about earlier. We aren't discouraged,

Fedi found out the last minute Friday that Leventa couldn't come to the Bible study. It ended out to be just Fedi, and three old ladies. Lehel came home about 9:30. Fedi did say it went really well. I was happy he got to spend some time with these new ladies. Right now there is just so much farm work. Attila is having trouble getting enough sleep. They( the 2 couples) come either to church or Bible studies at least 2 times a week so they have been faithful. Three times is maybe asking too much of them.
Fedi also continues to help Edda build his house.
We went Saturday to the dentist. I have needed some work done for a couple of years that I kept putting off. It went well. His waiting room and office were nice. His equipment was good. He spoke excellent English and explained everything he was going to do even letting me know that the numbing shot was from a single use needle. He did careful work. The numbing shot worked perfectly and the total cost to have a bridge done where I was missing a tooth was $200. Joan is coming to Romania to have some porcelain crowns put on. The cost here is $50.00 a crown. In the States it was $600 a crown. She figures it will pay for her to have an interesting vacation. I know we can't wait to see them. Anyone would be welcome to come and stay with us to do this if they have dental work to be done.
We have someone very interested to buy our house. We should know within 2 weeks if they will buy it. But we absolutely can't move Home yet. Not until we see that the people who are interested are getting the encouragement they need to move forward. Otherwise to me it would feel like having a baby and then abandoning it. We thought we had the problem solved with Leventa but now we are not sure if he is just too busy to commit to this. Another thought is to buy a house in Carta. There is one for sale that would cost about $15,000. We could have the Bible studies there and then see if there is someone from Budapest who would be interested in this as a mission field to take over and live in the house. I am not worried about persecution. The people against us only talk and there are quite a few people that have let us know they are friendly to us.
Fedi and I have decided there are 4 categories of people in Carta. Those who are coming to the Bible studies. those who are vocally against us, those who are so afraid of their neighbors opinions that they won't even wave to us since we tried to start Sunday services and those who are not necessarily interested in the Bible but want to have freedom of religion and so are for what we are doing.

Wednesday's Bible study was good. I took Steven with me and left the other kids at home. He promptly fell asleep. Again it was the four plus Lehel''s Mom and a new lady. She, her husband and son are Christians. She moved to Carta four years ago. She said she has been praying since she moved for a church to start in Carta because it is hard for them to make it into Csikzereda. They have also suffered for being Christians. Their neighbors threatened to smoke them out of their house. She said she has felt so much hate that she wasn't sure if it was God or Satan that gave them this house. Anyway, I think she and her family will come whenever they can.
Fedi talked about faith, hope and love and about how we should handle those who come against us. He gave one illustration that I thought made the point. He asked Attila to stand up, took his hand and swung it at Erika. Then he asked Erika, "Who are you going to be mad at, Attila or me? These people don't even realize that it is Satan that is working in them to be so hateful."
Fedi gets nervous before the Bible studies. He tries hard to prepare but he feels inadequate. I see God helping him though. Fedi keeps saying he wishes a real missionary would come and take over. I guess neither of us really expected results.
Tonight Leventa said he will come.

Lehel and his Aunt cooked a big pot of goulash for us again for Fridays picnic with the mission group. Last time we did this we were surprised with a group of 30 and barely had enough food. This time we ended up having way too much. I passed out about 4 gallons of left over goulash.

Later the group went down to Lehel's to have the Bible study. People have trouble making it up to our house. As it is, they work until dark so it has been starting at 9:00 pm and ending at 11:00 or 12:00. I let Rebekah go this time since there was a girl from Alaska there. She spent the night with us and was a joy to have. Rebekah especially liked her. Besides the mission group and us there were 7 people there. We now have three old ladies that are coming occasionally.

On Saturday, Rebekah went with Kristin to take a hike with the mission group. We did odds and ends in the city and then used the last of Annette's money that she had sent last fall, with the order to go out to eat, to do just that. We had Csilla, Jozsef and a neighbor couple along.

Sunday morning we went mushroom hunting. We came back with a big bucket full. There are big, edible mushrooms all over these hills. Some are as big as plates. As you can tell from the fact that I am writing this, we did pick the edible ones. The kids really got into finding them.

Lehel drove the four into church and we took his Aunt in. Oh yeah, Lehel wouldn't take any money for his car or gas to take people to church. It's worked out great for him to have this car at this time.

Now up to yesterday. Fedi and I got our courage up to go to the dentist. We both need quite a bit of work done and things are very, very cheap here. He will start the work on Saturday. Fedi then left to help Edda with his house and I did some e-mailing. We seem to have one person pretty interested in our house. We have been e-mailing back and forth. If we sell we won't leave this Bible study group until we have someone to replace us.

That's it for now. David, I didn't get your address on the first part I sent. Can you get it from your Mom. Kristin, This is part of a diary I have been sending since we got here. I will put you on the list to send it to since you now know some of these people. Ruth

Erika is having more family problems and is getting discouraged. She told Attila that no one will talk to her and her family is against her. Attila said he will not turn back from what he has learned about God because he has an inner peace.

Leventa brought a group of about 10 people from Hungary and America to Friday's Bible study. They all shared their testimonies. Fedi said it was nice, but the new family didn't show up again even after being especially invited. We are starting to think they just talk a lot. Lehel's Mom stayed for it though.

It seems that some of the momentum for a church is gone. We are doing what we can think to do, but the opposition took me, anyway, totally by surprise. People are just so scared of what their neighbors think. One comment Erika's Dad made was that he was born poor and worked all his life to be accepted by his neighbors and now Erika is ruining this.

Fedi and I are trying to not feel so much responsibility for results. I wish, though, people would understand the value of having peace with God.

On Friday we will have this mission group of 12 up first for a picnic and then they will go down to Carta again for the Bible study. It is such an awesome feeling to see people learn things from the Bible for the first time and to see their interest.

Oh yeah, Mom will be interested in this. A couple of days ago we ran into a nice lady from our English class. She has taken in 2 of the kids from the orphanage that closed down in Csikzereda. The kids looked happy and well.