I know...it's been 2 weeks...

So Orientation is almost over. In one week, I will have been commissioned and I will be getting ready to fly back to Dallas the next day. What a whirlwind this has been. It feels like I got here yesterday, yet I've learned so much. I'm reminded more and more every day that I need to make Him a priority. I'm reminded of it even more when I don't.

Every time I'm put in a new situation, I learn more and more about myself. This time I have been reminded of how God has blessed me to make friends easily. I did not have a hard time making friends when I went to college, nor did I have a hard time in the last 2 months making friends. I know He is faithful, but I still am afraid of what my friend situation will look like once I get to Romania, simply because I won't be taking classes (except language, praise the Lord!).

I guess I'm just afraid of the unknown. In my flesh, I am afraid. I know God is already there, though, and that is good for my spirit. It is not the unknown to Him, and therefore I try not to worry. But my flesh worries. I need to live in the Spirit and not worry. So pray that I will build relationships once I get there with other people my age. There is no one in my city that works for the same organization that I do that is my age. Pray that I would have opportunities to even meet others.

One of my biggest desires (besides learning the language) is to also build relationships with nationals. I don't desire to surround myself only with other GCCs (Great Commission Christians) from the United States. I know that other GCCs will be important for my spiritual growth, especially where Christian fellowship comes in, but I guess my MK instinct is to want to blend with the culture and become part of it.

I know this post is everywhere, but it's been several hours since I started writing...I went for coffee and a wal-mart run in between, so I've had some time to think and come back with a different perspective maybe.

Oh quick request before I go....this nasty 24 hour stomach bug has been going around this place like crazy. I don't normally get stuff that goes around, thank-you to my iron stomach that was developed while living in the middle of no where. Anyway, I don't want to start now. It seems to have a 1 week incubation period after being exposed, 6-8 hours of continuous "getting sick" at least hourly, and then major fatigue...followed by being perfectly back to normal 24 hours after it's showed up. Pray that I don't get it, because I dont'want to be sick on the plane, visiting friends, or meeting my niece for crying out loud.

Thanks friends...I love you all.

I'm an Aunt Now!

Praise the Lord! My niece was born yesterday afternoon!!! Her name is Sahara Xiomara (Sahara pronounced with the second "a" sound like "ah") and she was 6lb 8.9oz and I'm told perfect in every way. I sill have not gotten any pictures, but I'm thankful for this precious life and already love her so much!

My Big Fat Greek Sunday

So one of the things that our supervisors recommend that we do is to attend a worship service close to what the traditional religion we will be faced with once we get to the field (does this make any sense at all?). So, considering that the predominant religion in Romania is Orthodoxy, and there is a Greek Orthodox church in downtown Richmond, my small group and I went to a Greek Orthodox service today. Really only 3 of us in the group will be dealing with Orthodox, but some others wanted to go just for the experience...or to see what the difference is between Orthodox and Roman Catholic.

So we walked into the sanctuary and the first thing that I noticed was that the place smelled like Incense. I mean, if a hippie runs out of incense, they just need to hit up the local Orthodox church and be set for life. Anyway, we got there right at 10:00 which is what time the service was said to begin. There were only like 10 or 15 people in the whole sanctuary when we first got there.

The priest at the front had on a beautiful robe and was swishing the incense through the air. I saw some people walk up to the front of the sanctuary where they had icons (pictures of saints) with red candles. The people with the candle would walk up to the icon of choice, place the candle at the foot of the picture, and then kiss the picture of the saint at the feet. It was really sad because this showed me that they think a painting will answer their prayers.

The next thing I observed was that the liturgy was read out of a little book. The little book had liturgy in Greek on one side and in English on the other side. Sometimes the liturgy was read in Greek and then in English, and others it was read in only one or the other. Half of what was read/recited from the liturgy was spoken, and half was sung. I didn't realize that there was a choir in the balcony until the service was almost over.

Halfway through the service, they took communion. So people would go up to the front to receive communion and come back to their seats with huge chunks of bread. It was like....a mid-service snack, really. Some people came back to their seats with multiple pieces of bread to pass out to their children. Oh and they drank the wine (I'm sure it wasn't Baptist grape juice). Funny, I know.

One of the last things I noticed was what was going on in the little room behind all the pews. There was a glass wall with a door for people to come through once they had done their business in the foyer. They would walk up to the little podium with an icon on it, cross themselves, and then kiss the icon. I just kept wondering to myself how many lips have touched that piece of wood and how many diseases get passed around in that church.

Another thing I noticed in the service was that just about all the people in there had big Greek noses. A true sign that they were truly Greek. Oh and by the end of the service (which by the time it was over it was 12:00noon, meaning the service was 2 hours long), the place was packed out. I mean Standing Room Only.

Soon before the end of the service, a man with his two kids showed up in the pew in front of me. The kids were so misbehaved I felt really bad for the dad. And then I realized that the dad was calling his son "Nikko." Yes, the boy's name was Nikko. That was the highlight of my day.

Please Pray...

Friends, Please pray for my brother, his co-workers, and students as they deal with the loss of my brother's cooperating teacher in Irving.

My brother teaches 2nd grade, and tomorrow will have to help 30 2nd graders that he and this other teacher team-taught deal with the unfortunate loss of their teacher.

She and her husband, who have been married just over a month, were killed in a car wreck overnight in Dallas.

Here is the link to the Dallas Morning News article

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/090208dnmetcrash.32a228ca.html

Here is the link to the NBC 5 report

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/17358829/detail.html?rss=dfw&psp=news

Thanks so much!