Count Your Blessings

     Christmas has been amazing with the family.  As I was reflecting on the way back , I felt so blessed that I have been able to work at the home in Moldova.  I have learned so many things about myself and the Lord.  It is amazing how He writes our stories.
     I spent Christmas in Ney York with my family.  We ended up getting snowed in for several days which gave me lots of time to talk to my grandparents.  It was so good just to be here and to be with them. I return to Moldova on Tuesday, and I am so excited to see the women, my team, and all my friends again.  Have an amazing New Year.

A Fun Recital

     Tonight we had the Christmas recital for the school kids who share our apartment.  Donna (the teacher and our close friend) asked us to sing in the recital. I get really nervous singing in front of people, but here, I have never had the option not to sing in front of people:)  It has been really good for me (We are also part of the worship team at the international church).  We ended up singing "Down to the River to Pray" and "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" acapella.  I had to have some major self control to keep from shedding tears during "Sweet Little Jesus Boy", it is such a great song. "Down to the River to Pray" was a song that all of us sung one night when we were washing dishes at Donna's and thats how it became part of the Christmas recital.   The kids did vocal and instrumental solos as well as a dance routine.  They were super cute and very excited.  My life would not be the same here without there little faces and high energy.  The whole recital was a success and a blessing to see.  After the recital, we walked outside into a winter wonderland.  It was a great night!

I will praise the LORD according to His righteousness,
         And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.-Psalm 7:17

Nancy

     Today is Nancy’s birthday and most of you don't really know who she is.  You ever meet those people who change your life by how they live theirs.  Nancy is one of those people as are several other people I have met here.  Nancy is the president of the home I am working at.  She is officially my boss, but also a great friend and mentor.  If you just met Nancy, you would think wow what a cool, strong women who is not afraid to trust God.  She is all those things but she is also a kind, caring, compassionate woman who spends every day of her life pouring into others lives. Two weeks ago, I got to sit next to her in a staff meeting and watched as she cried over one of the woman.  She is beautiful!  I was thinking the other day that the Lord knew what He was doing when He chose Nancy.  He must have known He would be able to love through her, create through her, and cry through her.  She reflects our Lord!  How very blessed am I to serve with someone who walks in obedience to Christ!!!  I am so glad you were born Nancy.

Night with the Girls

     Tonight we spent the night at the home.  When we arrived, everyone was in a bit of a frenzy because tomorrow we celebrate Nancy's (the president) birthday.  I was pretty excited to be able to be a part of the chaos.  Our night was amazing.  It has been a while since I was able to really spend time talking to several of the women and I was concerned about that.  I always pray on the way and last night was the same.  I ended up having some of the best conversations with several of the woman that I have had since being here.   When we got there the director gave me the keys to the craft cabinets and said later help the girls make cards.  Most of the girls wanted to make cards for Nancy to show their appreciation for her love and great care.  You would think card making would be a great activity to do with the ladies, but I was thinking I don't speak Russian, no not me, don't ask me :)  Yeah had some super insecure moments, and then I got really excited.  We had so much fun.  Most of the women in the home made cards, and we had a table full of craft stuff.  The cards were beautiful and they were proud of their creations.  I am always amazed at how creative this bunch is.  By the end of the card session, there were stamps on people rather then the paper, periods of random singing, and a lot of laughter.  I think Nancy is going to lover her surprise birthday party tomorrow.

By the way, we have heat!!!!!

Chatting with Artists

     Today was full of fun events.  In the morning, we headed over to the Pentecostal Union for the dress rehearsal for Christmas in Egypt.  Jessie and I are part of the set crew for the children's Christmas play at the International Church.  It was complete chaos at points, but the play is delightful.  During one song, we were singing a Christmas carol, and I definitely had tears in the eyes.  I am so grateful that Christ was born!!  After three hours of kids, costumes, and singing, we headed over to one of our favorite places to eat, Robert's Coffee.  It is one of the restaurants in Chisinau where you can get amazing salad, which I often crave here.  It was nice to have quality time with Jessie as well.  Our goal for after Robert's was to visit the art market and do some serious Christmas shopping.

     The art market is one of those places where you could simply walk through and buy stuff with minimal interruptions, or you can look at stuff and get to know the sellers and the artist.  Even though we were focused, we went with the ladder.  One of the artist named Victor (he is in his 60's) is a musician.  As soon as we came to his stand, he remembered us and we each received a kiss on the cheek :) He then told us about how he was doing and gave us two apples and free hats and scarves.  Yeah, he thought the scarf would look nice on me so I had to keep it (really sweet). He also played all his instruments for us! Another stand owner asked if I spoke Spanish and when I said, yes, a little, he started telling us all about the art he was selling and how he learned Spanish.  Evidently he had lived in Cuba for several years.  I never got why he lived there but maybe next time.  Near the end of the market, we stopped by one of my favorite artist's stands whose son was selling his art.  One of the pictures was interesting and I asked what it meant.  In Russian he explained it to us.  I caught some of it and Jessie was able to tell me more, but the story behind the picture is still missing pieces.  We ended the conversation with him telling me that his father is doing well, and he was thankful that we asked.  Everyday the artists are outside selling their goods, whether it is sunny or snowing.  I admire this because it was freezing today.  I was so grateful to be able to get to know the people we met today.  I am praying that I will be able to continue to get to know those who run and work in the art market.

     We ended our day at Jack's (a team member's son) 4th birthday party at a Pizza place with 20 kids and lots of pizza. He had a blast.  By the end of today, I was feeling extremely blessed.

Town Hall Meeting

     A couple of nights ago we went to the US ambassadors home for a town hall meeting.  I had taught earlier that day and wasn't really wanting to go to the meeting.  But I ended up there, and it was awesome.  The American ambassador spoke about his time in Moldova, and his hopes for the country. We were also given safety precautions from the security officer and a general idea of the country's crime. The meeting was held in a beautiful house and about 30 people attended from the US government and other ngos.  At the end, we were served delicious food and were able to mingle with the other people.  I ended up speaking with two women working with behavioral kids at a local orphanage who want me to come and teach on health issues. I would love to do this!
     One of the topics the safety and security officer talked about was the low rates of crime in Moldova.  Praise the Lord, I have experienced the kindness of the people here and for the most part believe the crime rates to be low against random strangers.  However I was a little leery of the statement, due to the seemingly high levels of corruption in Moldova, lack of infrastructure, and widely known inconsistency of the police department. I will not expound on all these points, but I tend to think that the under reporting of crime is happening particularly in issues of familial crime such as domestic violence.  I would have liked to have known where they get these statistics.
      Sorry,  I will get off my soap box :)  The town hall meeting was excellent, and I am so glad I went.

Isa. 40:11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Cooking Moldovan Style

Today was a great day!!!

     Started the day at the Freedom Home cooking lunch with the cook and some of the women.  What a blessing!  I am learning how to cook Moldovan traditional food in order to be able to teach applicable lessons on nutrition in the Spring. The goal is teach the women healthy eating habits and also ways to cook the food they like so much in a healthy manner.   I am also grateful to have this time to spend with the ladies and get to know Maria the cook better.  Even though she speaks no English and I speak very little Russian, she was able to teach me how to make beef cutlets. Yeah, never made a cutlet before, but they are pretty tasty. She also taught me all the Russian words for the ingredients. So in addition to food lessons, I also had a Russian lesson. God is good! Maria is very kind and already has a good relationship with many of the woman even though she has only been there a short time.  She is truly an answer to prayer.
      Tonight we had some friends over to our apartment to eat dinner and watch a movie.  Elena, Elena, Elyssa, Jessie, and I had a lot of fun spending time together. It was nice to be able to have friends over to our house and bless them. Sweet fellowship!!!

Sashka Continued

Yesterday we had our first real snow, and it was beautiful!

We were able to see the snow falling while we walked to the Freedom Home to spend the night.    Last night I was able to use my nursing skills.  I gave shots, did an assessment and taught about upper respiratory infections.  It was wonderful !  This week I also began teaching the staff, and I think it went really well.  Everyone participated and I believe people were learning.  I feel very blessed to teach these woman.
Today we had a pretty relaxed day.  In the morning, we hung out at the home.  This afternoon I had Russian  and my teacher spent the majority of the time teaching me medical vocabulary in Russian.  I don't think I have laughed that hard in a while.  You can only imagine :)  I now know how to do a mini assessment in Russian.

    Our kitten Sasha is doing very well.  She has successfully been de flead thanks to Jessie's and Curtis's (a friend working in the Ukraine orphanages) help.  She is loved by all the school children who are in our apartment during the daytime.  Every morning they pray for her to get completely healthy, and ask me how she is doing.  She is gaining weight and recently started playing.  I am extremely grateful to have her, and appreciate all the people who are showing her love.

Day 1, before bath time.   

falling in love

I'm clean.  This was after her second set of baths.  We successfully de-flead her after four hours of surgery :)

Today, sitting on Uncle Don's lap

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalms 4:8