The Norm

Most days in Bircii go on like normal.

Many of those days I walk our road,

whispering a prayer as I walk past the Ministry Land.

In the winter months, I'm thankful for these attachable cleats,

  but today I'm not so thankful that I didn't realize a guy was behind me when I stopped to take pictures of my boot. 

Crazy American.

My milk is waiting for me, 

and somebody else's drink is waiting for him. 

I head back home, and imagine the torrents of water that will wash down this gully when spring arrives.

In the house I start the supper preparation, pasteurizing the milk, then bottling it. 

The sausage has made it's journey from Heather and Pavel's pig, and via their butchering, packing  and curing,  is now cooking slowly in our home. 

Today I'm wishing many of you could join us for the norm.

Thankfully, He already has.

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" Ps. 139:7

Special Visits, Special Gifts

I'm really not much of a gift person.

In fact, I remember, oh too clearly, getting a dozen roses from an once upon a time suitor. "It's a nice thought, but really, they are going to die." I told my Mom.

(That comment may have been more about the suitor than the flowers.  Getting flowers from my current suitor, my husband, brings a response I don't usually share with my Mom.)

But, I digress.

Gifts just aren't my love language.

So, when my friend mentioned she was going to bring me an early birthday gift, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was definitely looking forward to her visit, however. She's young and fun, speaks English, and helps me understand Romania. 

Plus, it seems like there's this easy-chair in my heart that was made for her.

Wanting my friend to have a Romanian welcome, I put out my favorite mugs on a new-to-me serving tray (another wonderful story of another
God-sent gift), then fill a bowl with these crispy, snap lightly in your teeth and drift satisfyingly around your mouth, luscious vanilla cream rolled wafer cookies, and dig through the cabinets to find two napkins,

carried all the way from the States.

I hear my name from the gate and there she is!  We're not sure if we should do an American hug or a Romanian kiss on the cheeks, so we  fumble through both.  Into the house we clamor and then she begins.

"I wanted to get this to you before I leave for school. My mom made it."

Her Mom?  Her Mom?  Her Mom left for heaven a few short years ago, and I know

my friend's heart  still aches for her smile. 

I never expected. I never dreamed.

Each time I look at this brightly woven red and blue

God will remind me

of love.

The love of a Mom towards her family,

 a friend towards her friend,

and a God that is weaving me, with love, into this foreign land.

Maybe my love language is gifts?

                        It was meant to go here, yes??

Time to Travel

Of the 21 days it took us to get from the U.S. through Romania to Egypt on to Uganda and then back to Romania we spent 7 days traveling. 7 days and nights cramped in an airplane seat trying to sleep, or in an airport counting the minutes to our next flight, or in the backseat of a car trying not to think about how close that car just came to hitting us. We thought that if we spent a third of our time on a mode of transportation then transportation deserved a blog of it's own. So here you are, an airport by airport account of our journey from Uganda to Romania.

Entebbe, Uganda 3:30 P.M.
Starting the trip out right with a strong cup of coffee.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 8:00 P.M
Still looking good thanks to the fact that the coffee is still working.

Cairo, Egypt 1:10 A.M.
A quick shot amid the confusion of trying to make a 1 and a half hour connection in a disorganized airport.

Frankfurt, Germany 8:00 A.M.
After another cup of coffee we all feel like we MIGHT be able to make it through the next 7 hours.

Bucharest, Romania 3:00 P.M
Looking pretty bad after not getting any sleep for the last 24 plus hours and having contracted an eye infection on the last flight, but happy to be in Romania again.

~Anna