A Day at the Farm - A Romanian Culture Lesson

This past weekend we were invited to spend the day in the Romanian countryside.  Oti Bunaciu, our friend and pastor, organized a fun time  for a group of us at his maternal grandparents' old home place.  It is in the hills of Romania and very rustic.  His cousins did an old-fashioned grill with sausages, kabobs, fried potatoes, green peppers, and onions.  Oh my, the food was plentiful and so, so good!  The water was out of a nearby well and the hillside was dotted with bee hives.  Apple and pear trees were abundant along with blackberry bushes.  Ralph and I were able to experience a bit of Romanian culture outside of the big city.  Oti's cousins were generous with their hospitality and we all had a great time.

Countdown Begins...

The Ruth School begins for the new year on September 12.  The teachers report August 29th.  Please begin to pray now...

"Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow..."

Breakfast with the Adkins & Childresses

I'm not sure what the words in the title mean - I never have been a fan of Shakespeare.  However, I can say from personal experience there is not much sweet about parting - it is a great sorrow.

Each time we have had to say good bye traveling to and from Europe it is hard.  One would think it would get easier since we've done it so many times.  Not so.  Leaving our grown children, aging parents, and good friends seems to get more difficult.  From the very beginning of our ministry among the Roma we have said, "We are strong in our calling but weak in our homesickness."  I can say after 17 years of life in Hungary and Romania that that is still true.

Last lunch with our children

**Pictured here saying good bye to friends - Glen and Clista Adkins with Ethel and Jim Childress at the local greasy spoon for breakfast.  Below - one last lunch at Chipotle with our children - all three! Josh and married couple, Amy & Tyler.

Home Again...

Ours is on the 6th floor.

"Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy, Jig"  When our kids were little we nearly always said this as we pulled into the driveway after a long trip.  I found myself thinking it as we rode the elevator to the 6th floor of our building in Bucharest.  It was good to be back after an adventurous summer in the USA.  I had two surgeries (all is good now), our son graduated from law enforcement training, our daughter married and moved into their first home, Ralph did some follow-up medical checks, we spoke in several churches, attended the CBF GA in Florida, and those were just the highlights!

Now we are excited about the Ruth School starting around September 15th with a new principal, GSS sessions in October and November, planning the 20th anniversary of Project Ruth for 2012, craft projects for the women of the school and church, English Club, volunteer teams coming to help this fall and spring - just to name a few things!

We are so grateful for your prayer support.  God is doing great things in Romania.

Baking Bread

The sweet aroma of bread baking is like no other.  In the village of Pocsaj on Beke (Peace) Street one can smell that mouth-watering aroma regularly.  The Roma church located at the end of this dirt street had built an oven for its members to use.  Even though bread is cheap in eastern Europe it can be baked at an even cheaper price.  This saves the Roma of the church a little bit of money.  It also fosters fellowship among the members and can be used as an outreach to others in the village.  Jesus said, "I am the bread of life..."