Ahhh........Autumn

One of my favorite seasons.....the others are winter, spring and summer....although I love the coolness and lack of humidity and the really clear blue skies we've been having.
Terry's away on another gig and as usual, I try to get so much done while he's gone...a big of a competition with myself....I end up starting about 7 projects, and finishing about 3 of them. But something inside me just makes me work harder...tonight, as my niece Mandy says, "I've got nothing". Laid some self-sticking tile in the basement....at least the ones I could do without having to cut. Can't find my knife so I used a pair of special scissors...till my fingers got sore. But I must say it looks good. You don't have to use grout, you just abut each tile to the other. What is it about me that makes me want to improve every space I inhabit? Is it the God-given creativity? Is it just not being satisfied with the normal? Or is it that I just love adding color and shapes? Guess whatever it is, or maybe all of them combined, is what drives me to action.

Just realized I began this over a month ago....so many things compete for my precious time. Looking back over what I wrote, I also know we've come a long way in just a short while. Now the basement is totally finished, painted 3 different colors so you might think you're sitting in Starbucks! I love purple, so the 2 end walls are painted "pinot noir"....a beautiful rich dark purple that we also have in our master bath. The longer side walls are a lovely creamy butter color....same as our upstairs guest suite. (yes, tried to save a bit of money by using "leftover" paint) The little game room is the "acorn squash" copper color we have in our powder room. With the thick frize (sp?) carpet and the furniture, it looks as if it's been there forever. For the first time in years, Terry has a really great office space in one end of the large room, and he's got our upright piano, keyboard, 2 desks, the desktop computer, and tons of bookcase room for his music reference books, etc. I think that makes me the happiest...that my honey has probably the best space in the house for his "man cave".

Thanksgiving weekend is probably a nostalgic weekend for most Americans. It's my favorite holiday because I love the fact that God has created within us a need to be thankful and grateful. With each passing year, kids and grandkids grow older, and many of them become more distant, either geographically or emotionally. We (at least I do) remember years past with even larger tables and more loved ones surrounding us. This year we had Bobby and his wife Mary Lynn and their yorkie named Yogi (Sarasota), and Jimmy and his girlfriend Mira (NYC/London) for a whopping 6 days! Hayley and her husband Jason came for Thursday and spent one night with us.
I love this time of day...early morning in the autumn...bright sunlight through the almost bare trees, birds flocking around my many feeders, Meisha (mini schnauzer) curled up on a fur blanket beside me, and Max (grey tabby) trying to help me on the computer! (so of course everything takes twice as long because she wants to touch each key that I'm touching!) House is still quiet for now, but soon everyone will be up and wandering downstairs for coffee. With the fridge stuffed to the gills, it's hard to believe we ran out of eggs and orange juice, so Terry made a quick drive to pick those up for breakfast. Bobby and ML will be leaving "early" today and we'll take Mira to the airport for her flight back to London. It's Hayley's birthday, so Jimmy, Terry and I will stop by to bring her card and gift and maybe have pizza or something easy because we're all about "turkeyed out"!!! I really hate it when everyone leaves on the same day, so I'm secretly glad that Jimmy couldn't get a flight to NYC till tomorrow! He usually flies standby so of course the Sunday after Thanksgiving is pretty crowded. But it gives me one more day with my firstborn, which I will savor fiercely.

Terry's back and I hear some stirring upstairs...so guess it's time to start the coffee and breakfast. Thank you Lord for children who want to spend time with their mom and stepdad. These days there are many people and activities clamoring for everyone's time, so we are grateful that these kids chose to be with us.

St. Brice and Luxeuil

In Paris we joined Terry's band (the River City Jazz Band...well, we really didn't join them to play, just for the rest of the tour) and first went to a hostel in St. Brice, near Domont, France - a very quaint town. Arrived late in the night since we left Paris around 10pm, so all we did was go to sleep. In our room were Deb, Ter, me, and Jojo (Jordan). We want to adopt him! Next morning was a nice breakfast.....this is a great hostel with lots of rooms....our room had its own sink and shower but no toilet. (that seems to be quite normal, even in homes). We decided to walk into the village of Domont....several from the band wanted to go back to Paris, but after 4 days there, we wanted to be in a smaller town. It was further than we thought (isn't that always the case???) We enjoyed the little shops and found a grocery..."Leader-Price" where we bought some lunch, walked back to the hostel (it was a lot longer on the way home, but also uphill, just like the way there....and also must have been over 90 degrees.....that part is true). We had bought a nice sparkling rose, some meats and cheese, so along with the bread we had taken from breakfast, we had a great little picnic. Nice breeze, great company....eventually most of the ones who stayed in town came out to lie on the grass and just enjoy a little respite. Later on the afternoon we decided we needed a nap.....although Deb didn't have enough shopping so she had Christine (manager of the hostel) drive her to LeClerc.....having great sales. It began to thunder and rain but that didn't stop me from dozing off! Deb arrived just in time for dinner, a little wet, but with some cute things.......rain all through the night.....plus crazy guys from our tour who took off their shirts and stood out in the rain. Which was probably good since it was so hot during the day.....we all entered the evening with lots of sweat and fatigue!

A bus drive to Luxeuil during the day with stop in a wayside cafe...good food, then on the road again. We arrived in Luxeuil-Les-Bains (Luxeuil with the hot baths). We arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday and had some time just to stroll the little streets, get something to drink and then back to the beautiful church that would be the concert venue...attached to the Hotel de Ville (city hall). We were given 2 rooms (guys and gals) to unload all our suitcases and change for the evening...we saw a wedding party (I usually discover at least one wedding per international trip!).
The rotarians in the town put out a dinner spread that was amazing and delicious. It consisted of many cold meats, wonderful potato salad, a rice salad with veggies, and of course the best bread in the world. The second course is the cheese course with some local cheeses...one called Munster (Deb's town in Indiana) and was very "stinky"! (ok, I shouldn't have written those two things in the same sentence!) In the summer in France, most people only drink rose or white wines....we had a lovely rose and of course lots of water and coke. For dessert there were wonderful tarts...apple and cheese. During dinner we had a thunderstorm that cooled the air just a bit...every day the temps have been way over 80 degrees...many days without even a slight breeze, and no air conditioning in any of our homes or hostels, so needless to say, we appreciate every little puff of wind. The concert itself was attended by about 400 people and was amazing. The sound was a little different than the first concert because of the tall ceiling of the basilica - the sound got lost in the massive structure but was still great.
After the concert was a small champagne reception for the band and the local officials....the mayor gave a speech (EVERYONE here LOVES to give speeches!!!) and then our family took us home to a beautiful, large home very near to the church. (oh good, we won't be late for the bus!) Upstairs there were 5 bedrooms, each with its own sink, and one hall bath with shower as well. Downstairs was another full bath with shower, master suite, office, huge living/dining area, and kitchen. Bernard and Terese had done major renovations when they bought the home 18 years ago to open it up, and now there are floor to ceiling doors that open into an outdoor dining area. The home is very welcoming, airy and bright, and since no one in Europe has, or even needs, screens, they have brought the outside in (or the inside out....I'm not sure which!).

Before breakfast this morning we had a lovely little tour of their garden. Bernard and Terese knew the name of every single plant and tree....several specimens from other countries. They had done everything themselves...paths with stepping stones, several little "retreats" around the yard including a darling little corner "maison pour les enfants", complete with little table and chairs! It was under a huge tree and I can just imagine how much fun the grandchildren have playing in there. There were several places around the yard with table, chairs, lounge chairs, hammock, etc. My kinda yard!
After breakfast with our host family, the rotary club in Luxeuil treated us to a tour of the village including a climb up into a tower with a great 360 degree view of the surrounding area. After a delicious lunch @ a local restaurant, we got into a small touring bus to go to a cherry farm where we learned how they make an amazing cherry liqueur and also absinthe, which was made from the wormwood tree - actually originally had a little LSD in it - may be why it had been banned for quite a while!!! This was followed by a visit to an American War Memorial in Epinol France where 5000 US servicemen are buried - very beautiful and quite moving as it was July 4. At 4:30, they lower the flag, then broadcast a 21-gun salute, La Marseillese, (the French national anthem), the Star Spangled Banner and then taps. It was just amazing and thrilling to be there looking out over all the cross headstones in perfect formation on a most beautiful sunny day, hearing patriotic music from both countries - I must say it was quite emotional to reflect back to what actually had happened here in France. Our guide (who was from California) told us about the 45th division that was composed of mostly Native Americans, some Latinos and some drafted Japanese - whose first emblem actually was a swastica, which, we were told, in Native American symbolism stands for the 4 corners of the earth - however that was quickly changed after Hitler decided to use the same symbol. This particular division actually liberated Dachau. After the trip to the memorial we went to visit another distillery with tasting and tour, and in the evening attended a dinner at the local Cherry Festival in Fougerolles - very fun and good food. (also this year's "Miss Cherry Blossom" made an appearance....with her "court"!) They had made paella in huge flat pans, stirring it with large wooden paddles. A sangria made with some quite sour apples and oranges, lots of wine, coke, etc. Our "hostess" for the evening, Silvie, wanted everyone to "intermingle" and was upset when the Americans sat with the Americans, and the French sat with the French. So, she just took matters into her own hands, and told everyone where to sit! Terry and I were seated at a table with all French people, but as I am fairly fluent in French, this was not a problem for us. There was a program with some Hungarian dancers, a band, and then they called the Americans up to the stage and we got to sing our national anthem for them (accompanied by a CD they had procured). They kept us up on the stage to watch some "cowboy" line dancers...(I think EVERYONE in Europe thinks EVERYONE in the US line dances.....) it was a little long, but they had prepared a lot to entertain us. Then the band played again and the dancing began.
Who knew Debbie would be the most popular person asked to dance by every man there! (ok, I think there were a few that didn't ask her...) Bernard had come for the dinner, but Terese was too tired (probably from doing all our laundry which we gave her in the morning). We've been kept up very late every night.....the drinking actually makes everyone get louder....imagine that! So, we had hoped to maybe get in before midnight this evening. Not to be. As we got up and asked Patrick, the rotary president if we could leave, he said "you will enjoy dessert." (listening between the lines was, you WILL stay until I say you can go!) Bernard was tired, we were beat, and even Silvie wanted to go, but we sat down for dessert, some sort of creamy, cherry sweet delectable.
Finally on our way home, Terese called Bernard to find out where we were....guess she didn't expect us to be out that late either.
Didn't sleep well...probably because of all the sugar in the dessert that we "enjoyed"! Had to get up very early to load the bus for the LONG drive to Montreux, Switzerland....stopping along the way at a grocery store (more like Target, a little bit of everything), where people got snacks...Deb and I needed more camera batteries. Then another couple of hours to the border, where the Swiss yawned us through. No boarding the bus, no stamps on passports.....sorry Deb. Quite a bit of light rain during the trip, but when we arrived in Montreux, the sun was out again. The only rain we've had this whole trip has either been at night, or when we are sheltered, and the rest of the time it's been absolutely beautiful.....though HOT.

Paris

What Sunday lacked in just about every area, Monday gave back beaucoups! Left the airport on the Air France bus to travel the peripherique toward Porte Maillot....even at mid-morning, the traffic reminds me of Orlando, LA, Chicago, take your pick. When we arrived at Porte Maillot, we began the walk down Ave. de la Grande Armee toward Charlotte's apartment....past my favorite store, the Peugeot store...I always have to stop and drool at the new ones because if I could, I'd own one. Love that car.
At the corner we turned, went past the Patisserie, smelled all the wonderful breads, then a block to Rue de Bois de Bologne, turned left to #11...pushed the button (release for door) and went in. Spoke with the manager (in French, of course) and got Charlotte's apt. key as well as a package that I recognized was from her mother. Decided after all the walking/running we'd done yesterday that we'd take the lift up to the second etage...the 2 of us could barely fit with our wheeled carry-ons...there's no way to get furniture in the lift, so instead, it must be carried up the winding staircase! No A/C because most of the buildings are so old.
Charlotte's apt. is familiar because Terry and I stayed here last year for about 4 days for our 10th anniversary while Charlotte was traveling.
Having dropped everything on the bed and surrounding floor, we decided the first order of business was to eat something substantial...after the horrid meal (a first, I'll admit, for Air France) on the plane. Changed out of our jeans into something cooler and didn't want to go very far since it was already about 1:30, so we just walked to Le Touring Cafe, on the corner across from the Patisserie. Sat outside, ordered one salad and 2 chicken plates and some San Pellegrino.....ahh....one gets so parched from plane travel. Rested our weary bones and then went back to the apartment to get walking shoes.
Walked to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the 274 (yes, we counted) steps to the top where we had an incredible view of all of Paris...and of course the 10 streets coming out like spokes...remembered when Terry and I got married 11 years ago and he had to drive around the Arc...as Charlotte's mom Elke said "you just have to go! Do not wait because that will cause a crash. It's better to keep going fast!" Thought my new hubby was going to have a heart attack, but as you can tell, we're both still here. Great driving and very good advice. It's when one pauses at a right-of-way that one is most likely to cause an accident.
Took tons of pictures and I pointed out all the landmarks of the city.....walked down again and by this time it was almost 7pm so we just decided to come back home. At least we didn't waste away our first day with naps! (which, by the way, would have been the worst thing we could do.....Terry and I always try to stay up the entire first day no matter how tired we are, and it always evens itself out with a great sleep the first night.
Back at the apt., we showered and dressed for dinner...waited for Charlotte to come home and then when she did, we walked to Chez Clement, the wonderful restaurant we'd been to last year...there's only one entree, delicious meat with an incredible sauce and frites (fries)....a light greens salad, and then a choice of desserts. We had a demi of red wine with the meal, and then for dessert, ordered a meringue, ice cream, meringue, ice cream and whip cream covered with chocolate.......and profitrolles. Oh yeah. Now we're talkin' All the dieting I always do before an overseas trip? Wiped away with just the first meal (or better to say the first dessert). Strolled leisurely toward "home".....it's completely safe here even late at night (which it was...about 10:30), sat for just a few minutes and talked before Charlotte sent us to bed......and slept really wonderfully, even with the noise of the people in surrounding apartments. Rain in the night woke us up for a bit...closed the windows that were wide open....so we wouldn't get rained on (no screens...not necessary). I was up around 8, just as Charlotte left for work but "the queen" (don't tell her I said that!) slept in till 10. While I waited for her to wake up, I went to the Patisserie for pain chocolat, came back and made coffee, and I guess that's when I blogged about the airport mishaps.

I just re-read this and realized it's been a LONG time since I've been able to connect. We are now in Montreaux, Switzerland, and boy do I have a lot to write about! For now, adieu and I'll be adding more soon.............

Delta airlines???

Ok, just for future reference, will someone please offer to slap me the next time I want to fly Delta? This LONG saga has tales of delayed flights and [very] RUDE agents. We were at O'Hare with plenty of time for our flight. Not checking bags, because I've already recounted more long tales of lost luggage! After we checked in and got through security relatively hassle free, we should have KNOWN something was wrong....but about 30 minutes before our flight was supposed to board, we saw the board quietly change itself to a departure time that was an hour and a half later! No announcement, not even a "ding" like when they're about to make an boarding call. No explanation. So one or the other of us began to wait in a line to ask an agent......but Sunday must have been the day for every flight in the US to cancel or delay! Really. There was a group trying to get to Laguardia that literally stood (or should I say leaned full force) on the counter for 45 minutes. No exaggeration. There were only another 8-10 of us also wondering about OUR flights, but the gate agent did nothing to help anyone except for the party of 3 people monopolizing her time. Like...the rest of us were paying customers as well, and possibly we were missing potential re-booking because she couldn't just give us equal time. If anyone works for Delta (or knows someone)...I'm sorry for you...this rudeness was rampant all through the entire Delta concourse. Debbie and/or I tried to ask several other agents about our flight... everyone curtly said "you have to ask the agent at your gate!"...which, of course, we did NOT have!
I decided to call Delta and after several attempts got a woman who tried to re-book us. Gave us a flight to Cincy (same connection as our original) and then a connection through O'Hare! and then on to Paris. I'm just thinkin' here, why do I want to fly to Cincinnati, only to turn around to come back to O'Hare for a flight to Paris??? I speak the truth, I had to explain this to her 3 freekin' times. My sister is rolling on the floor beside me in hilarious laughter. I managed to make my "friend" on the phone see the ridiculous-ness of leaving O'Hare only to return several hours later and said "why can't we just stay here and THEN take the flight to Paris? Oh, now there's an idea. What she did not tell me was that we needed to go to the international terminal. She just said she had re-booked us on a Delta flight. Somehow I found one agent in the whole concourse who was nice enough to look up and treat me like a human being...she said, "oh, that's operated by Air France - you need to go to the other terminal!" Well, thanks for your help. Finally someone with solid info. We realized that now we just might have to hurry a bit...went outside security, found the escalator to the trains, which, as the agent standing there told us, come every 4 minutes. Except the one we needed. Seriously? After spending all that time trying to find someone to help us, now we're in danger of actually missing the flight??? Train arrives, we get on and ride FOREVER to the other terminal, where we sprint up the escalator to get in the security line. We now have 25 minutes till the flight. Get up to the security person, who says we have to get new boarding passes...all the ticket counters had been empty when we ran past them. We protested and another agent told us to bypass the line and come straight to him on our way back and he'd "whisk" us through.
Running back to the Air France counter, where there were now 2 agents, there was a lovely woman who listened to our explanation and immediately called the plane to hold it. Ah...of course...Air France is operated by courteous people!!! What a concept. Being that it's the "Paige girls" (as we are referred to) the boarding pass machine is out of paper. I do not kid about this. The agent is very nice, but has trouble loading the cards into the machine. Now, we know they're holding the plane and all, but still, how long will their patience hold out? She hands us the passes, asks if we have any serious emotional connection to our previous boarding passes (also a sense of humor? almost too much to handle in one day...) which we do not. We take off running again (needless to say, this is seriously aggravating my plantar fasciitis) and find the agent who told us to come to him for immediate help. You may not believe this, but when we got there, he said, "just let me check these children through, they're going to Poland" (yes, we have Polish ancestry...however in this particular situation, we failed to see how that was more important than our flight leaving in 8 minutes) We waited for a minute or two, but even as we stood there, more children got into the line! We lost count at about 30. Debbie, who isn't particularly known for her assertiveness, says to me, "we're not doin' this" and promptly cut across 2 lines to - yes - "jump" the line to be first. You go girl! Now we've got to take off shoes, take out computers and liquids...and...I wish I were joking, but just ahead of us there were 3 20-something gals who practically unpacked their entire suitcases and then had about 3 jackets each to remove...we considered crashing the metal detectors but then realized the consequences of that would truly make us miss our flight. I get through first, begin putting on my shoes, and hear my name "would the Jill Winch party please proceed immediately to your gate?" Oh, ok. We were thinking of getting coffee first! Like..... we had just made a career of running through airports!!! We get to the gate and onto the plane. Took our first real breath since we started this whole process...found our seats and they were the last 2 in the section, against the bulkhead. (as in, they will not lean back for sleeping?????) This is one of those, "am I here?" moments. Before sitting down, I asked the attendant if there were any other seats available that would lean back...she, of course, told me we had to get in the air first, but she'd check.
We were in the middle of the row so each of us had to step over someone. (would this story be any good without that little tidbit?) The asian lady on my side wasn't too happy and made it difficult for me to get into my seat. Which, as you may surmise, made it more difficult to get out again when the attendant came back a little later to tell us there were 2 other available seats.
We moved, thinking these people will never see us again anyway, which probably made all parties very happy. Looked at each other and said "we're on our way to Paris!"
Flight so uneventful we were a bit bored after our day's experiences...(NOT!) Good dinner, not a great selection of movies...less than desirable amount of sleep. I always think that the other people who seem to be sleeping must be pretending just to make me jealous!
Sometime during the night as I woke up to go get a drink of water, I saw some pink light and realized, if it's a Monday morning sunrise, we must be in Paris! (isn't there a song something like that?) Cabin lights were turned on and breakfast began to be served. Ok, maybe it was only something LIKE breakfast. I've had some great meals on Air France flights. This was not one of them. Not even in my imagination (which is quite fertile sometimes). Their coffee is traditionally terrible, and the sour yogurt and hard roll seemed more like prison rations than food. (cutbacks everywhere I guess).
Once on the ground, we walked...s l o w l y....toward the passport control. Thank the Lord we had not checked any bags because at this point, there's no telling where they might have been. For now, we had all the time in the world and didn't intend to hurry for at least the next couple of days. Had a long wait...who cares?...some fun conversation with a young single mechanical engineer whose company was sending him here for 3 months to work (he thought he could get the work done in one and then travel around the country for the next 2...smart guy...cute too...where is my niece Mandy when we need her?) Once Deb got her first ever passport stamp, we were officially in France! Bienvenue at Paris.

made it to Chicago

Well, after 4 days in steamy TN (stayed in Franklin with good friends the Madge clan....loved every minute of it, as usual), I am in Chicago. Saturday was the biggest launch of a new product that I've ever been involved with...morning at a health fair at the Galleria Mall...handing out the MAX N-fuze vitamin drink & talking to people about the new ATP energy drink! I, for one, am thrilled about N-fuze because now it's much easier to take on a flight....used to be packets of a gel drink, great tasting but difficult to have to add to that ever shrinking quart zip-loc bag one needs in one's carry-on. Well, especially if you're me, who has had the doubtful "luck" of having luggage lost for many days....several different times! One time in Romania my daughter and I were without our bags for 6 days. I know THEY say to put an extra change of clothing in your carry-on. Who has room for this? Fortunately we were staying in the apt. of a dear lady who would have loaned me some clothing, but she was much shorter than I....each evening we washed our outfit, hung it outside on a line, then put it on again in the morning. In case you're thinking we enjoyed this, you're dead wrong. When the bags finally came, what we were the most excited about was the big bag of M&Ms!
3 years ago on our way to Greece, Terry & I were delayed on a flight out from Philly....causing us to miss our flight in Rome...forcing us to spend the whole day wandering around Rome (an extra little side "excursion" we had because the rest of the tour went straight from Philly to Athens).....we, of course, "made lemonade" and enjoyed every minute of it! .....the next flight to Athens was 8 hours later and I'll spare y'all the ridiculous-ness of our asking about our luggage at every stop, and having agents tell us they "were sure" our luggage would be there too....I'm sure many of you have "been there, done that". We both had our instruments, so it was necessary to check our suitcases. Flight left Rome a couple hours late (for no apparent reason) and when we finally arrived in Athens, it was after midnight, and of course the airport was for all purposes, shut down. Tracked down someone to ask about the bags and after going through that stupid useless exercise of checking which picture your bag resembles (where DO they get those pictures anyway? No bags look like that!), he gave us a phone number to call....ah, how very reassuring. With nothing else to do, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Hotel Stanley (seriously?) and checked in. Asked the guy behind the desk if there was someplace we could get something cold to drink (as it must have been about 150 degrees, although it was 1am) and he directed us to a roof restaurant (8th floor). We stepped off the elevator, bleary-eyed, willed our feet to take us to a table, looked up and saw the most glorious view of the Parthenon all lit up! We each instinctively rubbed our eyes and looked again, thinking this could have been some sort of Disney-esque mural. Nope, there it was, making us forget the almost 36 hours it had been since we left home. Since we were on a tour with the Nashville Praise Symphony, we had coordinated clothing to wear at each concert....well, that is, everyone but me and Terry. Fortunately there were enough people close to each of our sizes that we were able to borrow some things to wear...every morning, afternoon and evening making an attempt to call the number the baggage agent had given us, with never an answer! (gee, what a surprise) 6 days we checked with the front desk personnel to see if anyone had delivered our bags. We were only there for 2 more days as it was....I was upset because I had made some great sale purchases of some of the shirt colors we had been required to buy, and though the monetary value of all the clothes wasn't very high, the deliberate attempt to be as thrifty as I could seemed wasted because all (it appeared) would be lost when we left for home 2 days later. Each day the temperature was over 100 degrees....and the A/C units in each room didn't seem to work very well. (rendering it impossible to wash out clothing and have it dry to any degree by next am) We ended up changing rooms for a couple of degrees' difference. On our return after playing in the Plaka the 6th night, we walked into our room and nearly stumbled over our 2 bags! I did tell everyone the next morning that for that day and the next (our last) I was going to change clothes 4 times a day just to let everyone know what I would have worn! So, unless I need to use my violin as one of my carry-on bags, I usually try never to check bags.....Terry and I have gone all over the world with just carry-ons.....but it's pretty impossible to do if you have to take an instrument.
But, as THEY say, I digress....Southwest had a nice new (or refurbished and painted) 737 last evening for the flight to Chicago, which arrived about 30 minutes late. Just as we were to touch down, the pilot quickly pulled back and accelerated...one of those queasy stomach feelings...for another go-around. I was not near a window so it was difficult to see, but later found out there was a plane on our intended runway! So where in the world were the Chicago traffic controllers??? (hmmm, could they have been out getting energy drinks full of chemicals and caffeine??? perish the thought! Come to me for some all-natural, good-for-you, world's first and only "on-demand" energy drink...MAX-ATP.....minor commercial for a great company) Happy to be on the ground, carrying all my belongings in 2 bags, (at only about a zillion pounds each!) I got picked up promptly by Ken and driven the 30 miles to my sister's house! Yay! Stayed up way too late but didn't feel tired, (fueled by the ATP I had at the Madge's in the afternoon) we caught up, checked in, discussed final additions or subtractions to our bags, and finally hit the sack around 2-ish, I think, although Deb's light was on much longer.
Who knew I'd wake up knowing I couldn't go back to sleep at 4:30? Since Jacob (my nephew) had to leave for work at 5:45, I thought I'd come out, hug him goodbye, make coffee and write. The cup is 3/4 full, sunlight is coming through the haze and the trees, and the birds are already serenading me. My sis and I are great animal lovers, so I love to watch all the "critters" she entices to her yard with bird feeders, dishes for the squirrels and rabbits, and birdbaths everywhere.
I sure do wish I had gotten more sleep.

oh yeah

For those of you who read my blogs from Romania, you probably remember the big deal I made about my potted plants, and how stressed Terry was to not let any of them die! Of course, he did a perfect job, and all the plants not only survived, but thrived beautifully....we've already eaten beans, lettuce and tomatoes, and of course lots of fresh basil, rosemary, parsley and cilantro!
Suddenly it dawned on me last week that with both of us gone.....I'll be in Nashville for the first part of Terry's international travel, and then after we both return to the states, I'm staying in Chicago for 4 days while he has another gig in Nashville.....so it's over 2 weeks that we're both gone from the mountain.
Problem solved!!! We have a lovely neighbor Deborah, who will be watching the house and watering the plants while we're gone. She enjoys working in her own garden so she joyfully agreed to help with ours! I appreciate her cheerful attitude and friendliness, because, to tell you the truth, the rest of the people in this mountain community haven't been the least bit outgoing. I'm a people person and I love to connect, not just communicate, so you'll always see me smiling and waving if I pass you in the car. Down at the mailbox when we get out of the car.....no one even looks us in the eye! No kidding. We always say hi, and sometimes someone will respond in kind, but still continue looking down or at the mail in their hands. I think both Ter and I have been taken aback a bit by this "closed" behavior because both of us love to be friendly....whatever.
I've been in Franklin since yesterday....drove Terry to the Nashville airport and then came back to Franklin to stay at our good friends Troy and Rhonda Madge's home. They're coming back from Salt Lake City tonight.....so I've been here with the kids. What fun I'm having! Today, after doing a few necessary errands, I came home to just Rachel and her friend Grayson....they wanted to put on a play for me about Tinkerbell and asked me to record it. It was hilarious! They each had to be at least 2 characters, and at one point, dear, sweet Star (the family's rescued husky) had to endure wearing the fairy wings because the girls needed 3 "people" in one of the scenes! I hope the camera didn't shake too much as I was laughing. Star is purely a lover, not an actress! But she walked around the "stage" (prompted by treats) to suit the girls' vision for the scene.
I do miss those days with my own kids. My favorite time of year was June thru August, and I was the one crying when school started up again. This family has truly "adopted" both me and Terry and always makes us feel SO welcome when we stay. I walked in with a couple bags, and after Taylor hugged me, she asked if I had any more bags in the car to be carried in! She is so full of the beauty of Christ and it's very evident in her actions.
I haven't heard from Terry yet, but I'm sure he's arrived in Paris. They were to be picked up by bus and taken to the UK, so I'm certain there aren't a lot of "internet" stops along the way. Unless someone has an air card.....
Each day it seems my sister has another question....it's so fun to be planning this trip together and I think I've said it before, but I will probably enjoy seeing everything through Debbie's eyes even more than my own experiences! She and I always do a LOT of giggling.....it's pretty contagious, and wherever we are, people usually end up laughing with us (or is that AT us? Oh well, as long as they're laughing.....)
But, it's time for me to crash. I'm always amazed that even with only the one hour difference, I'm very ready for bed around 8:30-9pm here in Tennessee....so, off to dreamland, one day closer to the trip.

traveling again?

Was it just a couple weeks ago that I was unpacking??? and now, packing once again??? Think I mentioned once that Terry's been invited to play with a band that he used to play with when we lived in Wisconsin.....they were invited to play in the Montreaux Jazz Festival....Switzerland, on July 6! All expenses paid! YES! He flies into Paris tomorrow and then there will be some touring and playing in the UK and France....so he wanted me to join him. (Well, of course!) Since we were married in the Loire Valley and spent our honeymoon there and in Paris, we both always jump at the chance to go back. We also have some of our dearest friends in France...Charlotte, our French daughter, lives 2 blocks off the Champs-Elysses.....and her parents, Jean and Elke, live in Cotignac, in the south of France. We've visited them many times, and will see Charlotte again this time. My sister Debbie will come with me and we'll arrive in Paris on June 28......staying about 2 days in Charlotte's apartment, and doing a little sightseeing on our own. Deb has never even been overseas and I'm so excited that her first trip will be to Paris! We'll join the band when they arrive in Paris sometime on the 30th and then go with them to the rest of their gigs....culminating in Switzerland at one of the 2 leading jazz festivals in the world! Excited???? Just a little......don't know how much internet access there will be since much of our time will be spent in homes with families, but we'll try to blog if/when possible. Pray for safety and good health, and of course fun!

keep short accounts

Today Terry and I were talking about the several times we've sold homes and moved. Why is it that we live in a house for 5, 10, 15, 20 years or more, and don't keep up with the little things? Dirty spots on the walls, paint chipped off of baseboards, stain needing re-doing on the deck...just make your own list. Then, when you're selling your home and getting it ready to show, suddenly you notice all these things that need to be done to "spiff" it up. Why didn't you do it before? I can say that until we look at the house, room, front door, through the eyes of a prospective buyer, we really kinda get used to seeing it that way and really don't see the flaws. Probably many of us are that way with our cars as well.....empty water (coke?) bottles, little scraps of paper, lone french fries......and that sand that gets on the carpets from continually getting in and out of the car. It could be that guys take a little better care of their cars.....I've met some fanatics, sure you have too. But there are those certain people who, every time we get into their cars, they say the same thing. "Oh, I've really got to clean this car!" And you know what? It never happens.....but I guess they just want us to know that THEY know it's in need of a good cleaning.
Maybe that's how it is with life (ya think?). I think that God wants constant fellowship with us for a very good reason. He told us to meet regularly with fellow believers.....He definitely wants us to read and memorize His word, and He wants us to keep short accounts with our family and friends. Meaning.....dust, paint, clean.....our lives regularly. If there's something wrong between two (or more) of us, we need to address it immediately and not let it go any longer. We need to "clear the air" with each other AND with the Lord often. He wants to hear from us every day. A.W. Tozer said, "No Christian, if he is right with God, should ever need to hide anything in his life." Of course, God sees it all anyway....we just think we're hiding something. But it's the same with us as we told our kids......if you're not doing anything wrong, why are you hiding?
The older I get, the more I realize that God made it that way for our protection. He is our Father and He wants us to come to Him with absolutely everything. When we are so close to Him and checking with Him about each aspect of our lives, we seem to find it easier to live the way He wants us to. Didn't we also tell our kids, "you become like the people you hang out with"? My goal is to become more like Jesus every day, so I need to "hang out" with Him all the time. My sister was telling me about a devotional she read that said our prayers need to be just like breathing, like our heartbeats......regular and constant. "Pray without ceasing," we're told.

thoughts

Out to lunch the other day with good friends (the kind you can just pick up with, no matter how long it's been since you've seen 'em) and were in a corner booth at Noshville's in Franklin. 3 couples, all roughly the same age (some more roughly than others!) having the most wonderful conversation about the Lord, some (a lot?) holy hilarity.....and a woman in the booth next to us kept looking around with a frown on her face! I'm thinkin' if you want quiet, stay home! The restaurant itself is noisy....that's kinda the way these places are. But at one point, she put her fingers in her ears!!! Seriously?? I find myself feeling more sorry for her than being angry. I always try to pick up on whether or not there's just been some tragedy to make a person act that way.....it didn't seem that way, because at one point, she and her husband leaned across the "aisle" between booths to converse with 2 people at another table.....and they laughed! So, I just can't figure out why it was okay for her to laugh, but not us! Oh well, some people can't stand others having more fun than themselves! We DID have fun, though.
The Nashville Praise Symphony played our last concert of the year.....at a church in Franklin, and we were helping raise money (and awareness) for a ministry called Caring Resources. 2 women, Farrar Moore, and Sheryl Cook, started this ministry and wrote a book, From Hurt to Hope, which they gave to each of us in the orchestra. Everyone has suffered loss and hurt, everyone comes to times in their lives when they need to forgive.....this ministry holds workshops to help people deal with what's happened in their lives, and then move forward in hope and freedom. Too many people just "stuff" the things that happen, and never deal with it properly.....there are people we all know who will just say "we're not having this conversation".....and that's that, according to them. That is not the way to deal with anything and only gives the issue room to fester in one's heart and life. A person may think they've "dealt with" an issue.....then years later, it comes back with a vengeance, kinda like my mom's cancer did 26 years after her initial operation and chemotherapy. Mom lived a long life and for just about a month less than 25 years, was cancer free....she had originally been given 6 months to 5 years.....and she's the kind of person who would say, "Don't you tell ME how much time I have left!" Told she'd never play the organ or piano again, she went to church 2 weeks after her radical mastectomy and played for the service.....leaving in the middle to go and throw up from her chemo.....then coming back to play the last hymn and postlude. So, was her cancer gone? I don't know, maybe from the initial site, but then who really knows what those nasty cells do when we're not looking? But my point is that with a hurt or injustice, we need to face it full on and bring it out into the open.....talk about it, in effect, cut it out of our heart, pray together about it (if there's another person involved).....and truly forgive. Every single person experiences loss......because loss is really just unfulfilled expectations. If someone in our life passes away, there's an unfulfilled expectation that they'll always be there for us. If our parents divorce, that's an unfulfilled expectation that they'll always be together.....just fill in the blanks for yourself. When we focus on the pain, hurt, loss, then, guess what? It's ALL ABOUT us! We as believers are to be focused on Jesus....who experienced the ultimate pain and loss (cut off from His Father) just for me and you. So, what are you focusing on today? What do I focus on? I do NOT want to be in "unforgiveness jail", because that's what it is......if we don't forgive whoever has hurt us, we can never grow as a Christian. One of the quotes in the book is "Without eternal perspective, I cannot forgive, and unless I forgive, I cannot have eternal perspective." And of course Jesus said in what we refer to as the Lord's Prayer....."forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us". In essence, God, please forgive me to the extent that I forgive others. Ouch! So, ya mean I've got to forgive the others before He'll forgive me? Go read it for yourself.....pick up any Bible and just start reading the New Testament. You'll find the right verses.....God will bring them out to you. Now, sometimes our pain is the result of someone else's wrong choices......happens all the time.....like Joseph in the Old Testament of the Bible.....his brothers made a really stupid decision to sell him to some Egyptian passers by. Then they told their dad Joe'd been killed by a wild animal. Talk about wrong choices! Well, God ultimately brought good out of it (amazing how He does that every time when we let Him), but Joe had lots of forgiving to do.
Sometimes our pain comes from a wrong choice we made ourselves......but hey, who can we blame for that one? We try to find anyone but ourselves.........I'm discovering that it always works better when I "own" the choices I've made. My parents used to say I was a very responsible kid.....every time something went wrong, I was responsible! But really, isn't it a part of maturity to take responsibility for the choices we have made? Some of us are "pleasers"....we just want to cause the least disturbance so we "go along" with someone else's idea or suggestion, not so much because we want it that way, but we want them to "like" us more, or something......I can say this because I'm a pleaser. But then when it doesn't turn out like I REALLY wanted it to, I look for someone else to blame......and ya know what? I need only to look in the mirror. I'm the one who ultimately made that particular choice, and I am the one responsible for how it turned out. No one else. Several years ago I played the lead part in a great Sondheim musical "Into the Woods", and one of my favorite songs was trying to point to blame to whomever I could...a recurring line was "so it's YOUR fault then!" No one wants to own responsibility....it's always someone else's fault that I feel this way.
Just some of the thoughts flowing through my mind this weekend.......

Welcome home

So, the suitcase is unpacked, the laundry washed and folded (hung?), and all the "extra stuff" that decorated the middle of our bedroom floor for 3 nights is also put away. What am I doing??? This is way too organized.....but, yes, the trip is now a memory, or should I say many wonderful memories. Now, the prayers intensify for our friends in Romania, especially those on the committee for human rights and dignity. One of the things I discovered while there and have forgotten to write about is that when a baby is stillborn in Romania, it does not receive either a birth or a death certificate! In fact, most times it is burned or given to a lab for scientific research! Heartbreaking for you and me.....gotta be absolutely the worst kind of hell for the parents to go through.
Saw a sign in the Timisoara airport as we began our flights back home, "inhumane treatment is not human rights". I have promised to pray diligently for the Committee for Human Rights and Dignity, and those of my friends who are part of it.....wish you would too. Think I've written this before, but it bears repeating...the Romanian people will need a LOT of support and encouragement from us and the other participating European countries to stand firm on these issues. Another thing y'all could pray for is that babies are not allowed to be given to orphanages (most of which are now run by Christians) until age 2. Many orphanages have babies dropped off on their doorsteps and are required by law to surrender them to the hospitals...where, of course they will be given inferior food and inferior care...they just lie there....no hugs or any kind of human interaction. We're hoping that this committee will be able to change this law.
What to write about? As I try to ease back into daily life here, it's sometimes more of a rude awakening and culture shock to be back in the States. I'm all about relationships, so I guess it's no surprise to me that I sometimes feel as if I "fit in" better in most other countries where people actually just sit and talk to other people, and care about them, not what they do. Who I am is NOT what I do! I'm not a gadget freak or anything like that.....yes, I just got a new Blackberry, mostly because my other cellphone's camera broke and my contract was up.....but just today, Terry and I were lamenting the fact that there are umpteen ways of communicating with people and still it's just about impossible to get some people to return a phone call! Or an email. John Maxwell wrote a whole book about it...seems like everyone is "into" communication, yet very few of us really connect with people. It's annoying to see people with their heads down, constantly texting or facebooking on their I-phones (or Blackberries) instead of conversing. I've actually had it happen to me! 2 people in a Starbucks booth (we were waiting for some more to join us) .....just me and one other person who decided it was okay to ignore the human and just interact with a gadget. I'm not sayin' it's rude, I'll leave that to someone older than me. I guess all these "modern vehicles" are an inevitable part of progress...just wishing and hoping that people do not forget/neglect that God created us to live in relationship with each other, not just to be facebook or twitter friends! Big difference....just sayin'.

Home again Home again!

Sunday morning Ter had to call us at 10:30 his time in order for us to wake up at 5:30am, to be ready for Beni to pick us up at 7:30. Mihaela asked us about 3 times what time we had wanted breakfast, because each morning we've asked for it about 9 and then we don't usually arrive till 9:30. so when we asked for it at 7am, she (very understandably) was finding it hard to believe. Each day our breakfasts have been delicious and very beautifully prepared and laid out.....this Sunday morning was no different. Beni arrived only about 15 minutes late, and we got on our way to the church at Anina....Alex was coming along for the ride and to be our "photographer". It is 250 km to Anina from Timisoara....a very bumpy, very winding road, and right after breakfast is probably not the best time to make that 2 1/2 hour trip, but fortunately, I think for both Lisa and me, we kept our eyes on the horizon (little trick to prevent carsickness and seasickness), and our minds on the Lord! Anina is higher in elevation, and there's one taller mountain to go over - this time it was quite foggy - reminded me of home! It had also begun to rain and the temperature had cooled off a lot. It's still a surprise to me when we walk into this church, because we enter at the side front door where the pastors are - there's definitely NO sneaking in. This time, 4 other pastors were there as well because they were ordaining a new minister, so we were really happy to be able to help celebrate this day with these lovely people. Both Lisa and I had been there before, as had both our hubbies, so we each brought greetings from Terry and Mark. Many of the people remembered Terry having played the trumpet there before and gave greetings back. I played several songs at different points throughout the service, and Lisa spoke briefly....each of the pastors gave a sermon, yes they did. Lisa and I have commented often throughout our trip about the children and teenagers in some of these 2 and 3-hour church services! They're used to that sort of thing.
This church served a really nice meal, and I enjoy being able to talk with some of the people during this time. When the time came for us to leave, we drove up to a hillside overlooking the town and some of the surrounding mountains. They are building the New Hope Church up there and the foundation is already in. All 5 of the pastors drove up there too, and we all got out to look at the beginning, take some pictures and pray together for this church. There are also many apartment buildings in this area that are still unfinished and unoccupied. Evidently Ceaucescu intended to move all the townspeople of Anina up here, out of the town center because his wife had some crazy notion that the rich soil of the town of Anina could be burned for fuel. There is also no school in this area, and another building right next to the foundation of the church could be finished for a wonderful school building.....a large first floor area would work for the administration and counseling offices. Anina is a really pretty town, just a little far away from Timisoara. But, as a point of interest, Anina is the home of Arnold Schwarzeneger's parents and grandparents! They moved to Austria, and when their son began to get famous, the town of Anina, Romania wanted some of his mementos for their museum. The Austrians refused, but later when Arnold became the "governator" and reinstated the death penalty in California, the Austrians just gave away his things to the people of Anina. Beni said that now Austria wants some of them back, but the mayor of Anina has said it "will cost many Euros!"
We took a different route back to Timisoara, getting back mid-afternoon or so......had plans to meet Eugenia and Kriss at Starbucks, and then talk over exactly what Beni has in mind for the buildings. When he was in the states, he spoke to about a dozen people in our home and one of the things he mentioned is that Carla and Alex really need a place to live other than their tiny apartment. We have some guys who are praying about traveling there to do this, and also build a ministry headquarters and a couple other buildings to house women at risk, teens, and a counseling center. Big plans, but God is still in control. If He wants it to happen, the biggest plans in the world will be accomplished.
Beni drew this up on a napkin (how many great companies and great buildings have begun on napkins?) By the time we looked at our watches, it was time to get to Eclesia Church, where the Dugulescu family attends. The 6:00 service began with lots of music, and there are some talented musicians in many of the churches we've been in. The plan was the same as usual - I'd play about 3-4 songs and Lisa would speak about 5 minutes. We also heard some of the kids (and a few adults) play some hymns on their mandolins. What a pretty sound! This is the church whose picnic we went to on Saturday, so we already knew most of the people. There is usually a lot of music in this church and they love to sing, so it was such a blessing. When I played, they hummed along with me, which always just gets to me! The Romanians love music, and when they hum along with me, it's rich in harmony and joy. Afterward, Adi (guess he was the "in charge" music guy) asked if he could upload my CD onto his computer and use it with the church.....of course I told him to take whatever he wanted, and then as I was putting the violin and music away, the Lord put the thought in my mind of just giving Adi the sheet music. He couldn't believe that I would do that, but he remembered Terry from last year, and was so grateful that I'd just give him all of Terry's written music for me. Everyone we've met is always so appreciative of any little thing we do.....and then it makes me want to do more!
I think that's one of the secrets that I've discovered through the years. When someone is grateful and expresses appreciation, it pours over onto the person who gave or did something. You can't be grateful without having some of it trickle down on the others you encounter. A grateful heart is such a beautiful thing.
After this church service which lasted from 6-8:30 or so, the same group of us (WorldTeach team, Dugulescu family) went to the square to walk around. This seems to be a favorite Sunday evening activity all over the world! The weather had cooled off, but it wasn't rainy, and there was a floral exhibition (free admission - what a concept!) in the Opera House, so we all went inside. Alex and Kriss are 2 of the most loving teenagers I've encountered, and they came out with a potted plant for Eugenia....."just because". It wasn't a special day, they just wanted to give her something! I remember just wanting to give my mom a little gift.....maybe not much, but just something to show her my love, and these kids seem to be the same. Then, since we hadn't eaten since about 1-ish at the church in Anina, we went to KFC (yeah, I know, not my fav, but Alex and Jaclyn like it, and also Marius Dugulescu's 2 boys). We took up a whole corner, and ate our dinners.....actually I was the "healthy one" according to Georgi. I just couldn't think of all that fried chicken, so had a salad, and for a fast-food salad, it was quite good.
I'm usually more careful about eating salads in other countries, but this one was fresh and crisp. I am so thankful to God that no matter where we ate on this trip, neither one of us got any little food "bugs". That can wreak havoc especially when you're away from home, and I've had my share of food poisoning (one really bad episode when I was pregnant with Karyn and had taken Jimmy to Hamburg and Berlin!).
Finally the day wound down and we had to say our goodbyes to at least some of the group........Ligia gave Lisa and me each one of her CDs from Arvid Petersen, a Norwegian worship leader who has become a great friend to the "Jesus the Hope of Romania" ministry and gives benefit concerts when he comes there. Went back to the Guest house to begin packing........ Kriss, Georgi, Carla, Beni and Eugenia each came by to spend a bit more time with us. When it was just Lisa and me, we half seriously contemplated just staying up all night.....we'd have to rise at 4:30. But after packing everything, each of our lights went out anyway, until the phone call from Terry at 4:30am (9:30pm for him). I didn't think I'd fall asleep, but my first conscious thought was......."why in the world is Terry calling on the fax machine?" 'cause their telephone ring sounds exactly like our fax at home. The phone stopped ringing but before I could think more about exactly what happened, it rang again, and this time I was ready! I jumped out of my bed and ran into the office area to answer. As I said, "Good morning" to Terry, he told me to have a safe trip and then he said "Good night" to me!
I know this might be longer than usual, but, oh well, you've stuck with me this far and I really appreciate it, and I'm sure there's still a lot more processing to be done in my heart and brain.......well, maybe you'll stick with me longer.
Beni, Georgi and Alex came to pick us up on time at 5am and it was just about a 20-minute drive to the airport, where everything went very smoothly. We did see Marius Dugulescu on his way back to Parliament.....he flies to Bucharest every Monday morning to work and then gets home later on in the week to spend the weekends with his family. On to Munich.... about an hour and a half flight...our luggage was checked through to the states, so all we had to do was be responible for our personal carry-on bags, but my violin just gets heavier and heavier! Really fun trying to walk through the very narrow aisles in the planes, inadvertently hitting people with one end or the other....kinda remind myself of the 3 stooges. Ok, no comments! As we had 4 hours to "kill" in Munich, we checked out all the shops, bought chocolate candy for each of "our boys" and then "just happened" to pass a spa shop. With all the bumpy, winding roads and all the kilometers we had been riding the last 10 days, Lisa and I each decided to get a 30-minute chair massage.......oh my goodness, I forgot how good that feels.....drifted off to sleep several times, it felt so good. She also got her nails done and I had a facial......just nice to have a little pampering sometimes. With just enough time to get to the gate, we walked to the area where everyone was gathering to hear the announcement, "ladies and gentlemen, with all the volcanic ash still in the air, the plane has been delayed for at least 2 hours...that could improve, but just stay in the area." We did meet several other couples who had been stranded for the last day - Lufthansa had voluntarily put them up in a nearby hotel and given them meal vouchers, though we did see many cots set up in places in the airport, possibly for people with very early morning flights. Maybe some of our US airlines could follow their example! We've been handed alcohol vouchers when we were going to be stranded for 8-10 hours......but no food, and very rarely a hotel. Lisa and I both called our husbands, Mark is usually up at 5:30 to work out before he leaves for the office, but I know that Terry can do some GOOD sleepin' when I'm not around to harass him early in the mornings, so I felt badly for waking him up. It actually took 3 separate calls for him to even hear the phone!!! He, as usual, was totally cheerful even though I woke him up, and was glad to be apprised of the situation. I did say I'll call back in an hour with an update, unless I'm on the plane, and, sure enough, with Lisa and I both praying for a quick resolution of this problem, we were called for boarding within the first hour. Fastening seat belts, we heard the announcement that this flight would take 10 1/2 hours.....so apparently we would take a more northern route from Munich to Charlotte. Sure enough, I got some great pictures of Iceland and Greenland (why is Iceland all green and Greenland all ice?)
Also watched 5 movies.....that oughta keep me for the next year! Sleep comes more easily when I'm watching TV or a movie, so although I got the gist of each story line, I did get in a few catnaps. And though I can miss meals at home without really thinking about it, for some reason, when I'm flying, I get absolutely ravenous! Lufthansa serves good food. I can skip their desserts, though....maybe it's just harder to do rich tasting airline desserts!
Although we arrived in Charlotte and got through immigration and customs well past the time for my next flight, USAir had protected me on the next flight out at 8:05. Called Terry, read for a while, then boarded the plane for the last leg of this long journey. Well, second-to-last, as we would still have over an hour's drive...I can usually keep going until all my responsibilities are discharged. But I was sure beginning to fade VERY quickly.....had a forehead slapping moment when I realized that I had packed the little makeup bag with the luggage key INSIDE the locked luggage! Was proud of myself for thinking that since it's a TSA approved lock, someone at the Atlanta airport should be able to help me unlock it!!! Wow, how brilliant that was for being up 24 hours straight! Terry and I have always wondered how such a large airport can be so inconvenient and have so many people who aren't very helpful.....like those of you who have traveled, we all have our "favorite" airports, or the ones that are just so efficient and well-planned out. I suppose because Atlanta's been so big for so long, and is so landlocked, that they can't do much to improve access, parking, add a cell phone lot, whatever. But it's not a "fun" airport to try to navigate. When I saw Terry's smiling face waiting for me, I knew I was HOME! I've lived a lot of places but for me, wherever Terry is, is my home, and we love being together so much.....we're always talking, always wanting to be together.....even at home, we usually end up in the same room just because. Believe me, I know how fortunate I am to have a husband who enjoys being with me and really listens when I talk. He also has never let me carry anything (goes under the category, "why I love traveling with my husband")
but I always feel so funny walking through airports carrying only my purse, while this wonderful man beside me has my violin, his trumpet bag, and both our carry-ons!!! I'm sure people think, "who does she think she is, the Queen?" What they don't know is that to my hubby, I am! He constantly treats me like a queen and I do tell him just about every day how much I appreciate that. Women all over tell me how rare it is to find a gentleman......I've been fortunate to live with 2 of them, my dad and Terry.....and the uncles and grampa in my family were also thoughtful, polite and mannerly. Anyway, I digress .....really???
Surprised ya, didn't I?
Ter walked all around the baggage area - in fact, both baggage areas, because everyone he spoke to - who was wearing a TSA uniform, sent him to another place, and several said someone would be able to CUT the lock off. Well, they're the ones who tell you to get TSA approved locks in case they need to get into your luggage! Communication, people!!!
He finally found just the right person to talk to who was able to open the lock (not cut it!) and we got on our way.....whew!
Hayley had told us just to stay overnight in Cumming instead of driving all the way home, so we took her up on it, making sure she knew we were getting in late so when we used our key to get in, she wouldn't be startled out of sleep and think it was intruders! .... great to live close enough to kids who actually want to see us often and invite us to "have sleepovers"!!! They are such good kids, and my Mother's Day card from them said, "love from your Georgia kids!" Meisha was in the car when I got in, and of course I took her into my lap and hugged her, telling her how much I had missed her.....she crawled back into the back seat, kinda like "yeah, right, you leave for 10 days and then think I'm gonna just be thrilled to see you?" She's like that. When we rescued her, we weren't sure just what had happened, but we do know she must have been horribly abused, so she finds it a little hard to re-connect - she withholds her love for a short time after we've been gone. By the time we got to Hayley's, though, Meisha crawled into the bed and kept nuzzling my neck for so long I thought I'd actually have to put her out of the room to get any sleep, but God graciously allowed me to drop off so quickly and sleep all the way through to 6:30 (WITHOUT my "better living through chemistry" help)......Meisha plastered against my body all night long! Got up and dressed so I could say hi to Hayley before she left for work, then Ter and I left for home, stopping by the Starbucks to celebrate. With all my writing about hanging out at Starbucks in Romania, you might think I was drinking all the time, but actually my usual order was water while we were over there. So this morning I REALLY savored that first sip .....and then to be greeted by Ron, our favorite person there......."Hi kids, haven't seen you in a while...." Well, it was just "over the top!" That's how ya want your employees to treat their customers....and that's also how Starbucks trains their employees as well, but the way Ron does it, you know he's just that kind of guy. Always reminds both Terry and me of our dads, who never knew any strangers, only friends they hadn't met yet. Ron greets all the clients with such friendliness, and will come over to chat as well, so you really feel welcomed at this particular store. I'm a people-watcher, if you hadn't guessed.....and love meeting new friends and learning about them and their families.
Before we knew it, we were winding our way back up the mountain, and the house looked so good I thought Terry had brought someone in to clean it. He's so helpful and conscientious.....he was quick to point out that all my plants survived......there was a lot of rain while I was gone, and that really made everything look so green and lush.......it's a beautiful view any way ya cut it.
Thank you so much most of all for your prayers....it's such a great feeling to know certain people who, when they say they'll pray for us, WILL do it - more than once. Terry and I always consider it such a privilege to be able to pray for people, and when we say we'll pray for you, we do, probably most days of our week. I've got a running list of people's names......every once in a while the list is not nearby and I usually pray "God bless what's his name?" like Julie Andrews in "Sound of Music". We feel the responsibility believers have to the other members of this big family, and we don't want to be the "breakdown" or the weakest link in the chain of prayers for other believers. I would never discount a single prayer because James 5:16 says the "prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (MSG) I know firsthand what it feels like to be supported by many people praying for me, and I'm so grateful...... I want to provide that kind of support for my friends who trust me to pray regularly for them and their situations. We've probably all memorized the verse that says "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess, 5:17) because it's so short, and it's one of many verses that exhort us to pray for each other often...Paul says in Eph. 1:15 and 16 that after he heard of the faith of the Christians and their love for each other he often gave thanks for them, mentioning them in his prayers. Are we living so that others hear about our faith and our love for each other? Do we "cease not" to mention fellow believers in our prayers? I am so convinced that the reason I've had so many healthy days and safe miles in my life is a direct result of the faithful [daily] prayers of my grandparents, parents, and those of my friends who are diligent to pray on a very regular basis for me.
I'll be adding to this blog as I process the last 10 days.....as I pray for God to show me what's next.....as He reveals more and more of Himself to me......and also as I figure out how to get the pictures on my new MacBook Pro!!!!! I love it, but I still need more lessons on how to best use it.....disappointed in the fact that I couldn't publish pictures with each blog, but I'll keep you posted....maybe you'll just get 'em on facebook, but just stay tuned! Thanks again for following.

Our "Schedule".....

One thing I absolutely LOVE about being in most of the 30-something foreign countries I've visited is that no one seems to be in a hurry. Oh yes, the Italians drive and talk faster than most everyone else I've encountered, but even so, every time I (and whomever else....) get picked up to go somewhere, there are still the little niceties....whether it's Beni or Carla, or some of my other friends in other places (Drew in Brazil, Elke and Jean in France), they always take several minutes to greet the person at whose place we are staying....whether or not they know them personally, there is time for conversation about the person and his or her family. In America, it's always "hurry up, we've got to be at ----- by 2 o'clock!" It used to bother me that whenever I was overseas somewhere, no one was EVER on time. (funny that Vio just came into the guest house to tell us that Beni called and said instead of noon, he'd pick us up at 1pm.....perfect "timing") Eventually, the realization came to me that the reason for the tardiness is that everyone other than most Americans I know is way more interested in having a relationship than in keeping a tight schedule. Of course I understand the need for schedules.....airlines (really?) trains, meetings, dr. appts., etc., but on the other hand, maybe we need to take a little lesson from the others instead of assuming that we're superior because we've got more spaces on our calendars (ahem...I mean i-phones) filled in. Over-scheduling is......maybe not the ultimate goal. Many people have said it - so I'm not sure the original source - but the quote is: "show me your calendar and I'll show you your priorities."
Whoa.....she's done quit preachin' and gone to meddlin'......
It seems that several of the days' conversations have all wound their way back to wisdom.......maybe God's trying to teach us all something.....Lisa and me from US, and Beni, Eugenia and Carla......well, we're listening. One of the days Alex (Carla's 17-year old son) was in on the "wisdom" conversation, and he interjected....."it's easy to be wise....just think of something stupid and then don't say it!" So, I guess that about wraps it up.
Alex accompanies Beni on many of his out of town trips to preach.....it's great one-on-one time for a kid who has been raised by a single mother, and Beni enjoys pouring his wisdom into the "son" that he has taken under his wing. Alex is a great photographer too, so any photos you might see on facebook just might be some taken by him. They were in a church one Sunday and the pastor of the church asked Beni to ask Alex if he might have a message (for the church). Alex pulled out his cell phone and began to scroll down...........true story.
Yesterday the church picnic was quite fun. It's so wonderful to see brothers and sisters who truly care for each other.....it was so evident in their play, their conversations, their hugs and smiles.....and I've heard many stories from people about how loving and caring someone else has been at a difficult time in their lives. Loved talking with Mary Dugulescu, widow of Peter.....and hearing how so many people in the church have continued to invite her over for dinner every Thursday night for the last 3 years since her husband died (on a Thursday night). Do I take that much time to care for someone else? I will remember that and try not to worry so much about my own inconvenience, but about the other person.
There was great grilled chicken, sausages that were rolled by hand just prior to placing on the grill, and wonderful potato wedges with the ever-present garlic sauce.....sour cream and LOTS of freshly grated garlic. Yummy, but POTENT. They began with a wonderful time of praise music, everyone young and old, singing their love for God......the pastor prayed and then a race to be first in line for the food! The teenaged boys were so polite and offered to have me go in front of them. Fortunately the rain held off but it stayed somewhat overcast so therefore it didn't get too hot. Surrounding the open area where most of the "action" was, were about 20 tiny wooden A-frame cottages, just large enough for 2 cots with walking space in between them. A miniature "porch" with 2 steps led out into the grassy area.....they had set up a sound system on one of these porches, and played many of our American contemporary Christian CDS, some Romanian CDS, and there were football (soccer?) games, kickball, badminton, volleyball.....one of the teenagers "called" the games from there. The pastor asked me to play several songs on the violin, so I set up right there by the sound system. My music was laid on the porch railing....had 2 clothespins just lying on the music to "secure" it from a light breeze, and someone held up the microphone for me to play into! At one point, a soccer ball came careening up and hit my ankle! What a funny place to play a violin, but I've always promised God that I'll do whatever He wants me to do, wherever......and this definitely fits into the "wherever" category.
Later on in the afternoon, people wandered back for more food......the pastor called for small groups to pray together, we had another short musical worship time and then the need for that "all-church" photo. Since my camera seemed to be the best quality (thanks, Mandy) they used it.......LOTS of laughter as everyone tried to pose, then squeeze together, babies crying and the pastor's daughter/amateur photographer pointing at someone to turn around, scooch down (there's no Romanian translation for that, by the way) or make a better smile! After a corporate prayer, we all cleaned up and began to pile into cars (or for most of the church members, the bus) for home. Good timing! I'm positive the mosquitoes GREW from the time we arrived till the time we left......they may even be bigger than the ones we designated as our national bird in Wisconsin! Just as we got into the car, a few raindrops began to fall.....off and on till we arrived at the guest house, where we literally got inside and the sky opened up.....thunder and lightning.......pouring rain most of the night, but it was nice and cool for sleeping. We really had fun at the church picnic....been a while since I've attended one of those!
Time to pack......in one way I can hardly believe our time here is over....yet in another way it feels as if we've been gone just about forever! I really miss my hubby!!!

just for "free"

PRAYER REQUEST: First of all, praise for the good night's sleep for both Lisa and me! Today we're going to a church picnic and I've been asked to "bring your violin"....there's a first for everything, and I believe this will be the very first time a violin will have been played at a picnic (at least for me!)

Nothing has happened yet, except I'm up and drinking my coffee.....reading the Bible reading and devotional for today. It looks to be less "wet" than yesterday.....several rain showers throughout our Friday. The whole 'structure' of this mission trip has been different than what I'm used to experiencing, and I know this is God just telling me to wait on Him, relax in Him.....in essence, "Free Fall" into His arms. Not to confuse this with plain ole' chilling. I'm realizing there is a gap between the last 2 sentences. Maybe wisdom would be to know and live the difference.
Many of us know how to relax (some of us perhaps TOO much!). Many others of us feel that "relaxing" is a waste of time. I lived a life for 24 years where both the circumstances and the people I lived with were not conducive to enjoying some "down" time. There were 18 children to raise.....along with the prevailing notion that in our family, one should always be striving to improve oneself either mentally or physically and therefore, just reading a novel, listening to music, or even daydreaming were stupid activities. We had to keep our 18 kids busy and fill up every second of their day.....if they're too tired to get into trouble that's good, of course, but it can also produce adults who don't even know how to take some time off. Even God rested after creating the whole world! He created our minds and bodies to need regular times of rest and relaxation. Having been raised in a family where the relationships were far more important than the careers, where music was not only enjoyed, but used as a ministry tool (my mom was the church organist for 38 years, my sister played flute and I violin...and we all sang together), and dad used to love planning our summer vacations.....after returning home, he taught us to savor the memories.....I am much more prone to want to enjoy every moment, whether or not it is a scheduled, life-improving activity!
But I believe that "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10) is way different than crashed out on the sofa in front of the TV for hours at a time. To me, it almost implies a deliberate and even active, focus on who God is....choosing to crawl up into His lap and lean back close to His heart. Many of us DO daily devotions.....read the passage, give a little nod to our Lord....."hey, good morning, nice to see you again, gotta go network!" and check that off our to-do list. We show up at church, drop a check in the offering, and pat ourselves on the back because "enough" people saw us at church....maybe even on their TVs because we "just happened" to be sitting in the area where the cameras pan the congregation. We pride ourselves on knowing the worship songs, maybe raising our hands at the proper places (usually the chorus, right?) and even underline some verses in our Bibles.
Don't get me wrong, I love to underline favorite verses, so I can go back and meditate on them again......but what I want more than than a Bible that's marked up, is to have a life that has the definite mark of my Lord in whatever I do. I am extremely blessed to have hopped off a folding chair as a 5-year old girl at a tent meeting....to "go forward" and ask Jesus to come into my heart. George Sweeting will always be special to me, because it was he, as a young traveling evangelist/chalk artist, who drew a picture of Jesus walking on the water and gave the invitation that was earmarked for me.
Yet, I know that I had nothing to do with it. God placed that desire in my heart in the first place, and all I can do is continually thank Him for drawing me to Him so early in my life. Parents and grandparents who were very committed, quite fundamental believers, gave me a wonderful foundation and heritage, and though I had Eph. 6:1 read to me more often than I want to admit, I will always be grateful that they cared enough about me to drill obedience and respect into my life.
Maybe it's a sign of getting old that it seems American teens and twenty-somethings today are becoming much less caring of their parents. Or maybe it's just a sign that that's exactly what's happening! After all, family is where you live....parents were given an assignment by God, and one can't just discard a parent if they say something one doesn't want to hear. When I think of how much I love my own children, yep, all 18 of 'em, (20 if you count my two wonderful step-daughters) it's just a teeny fraction compared to how much my Father loves me!
I've been trying to read a Proverb a day.....and I'm hoping to keep this up for the rest of my life. (interesting how there are 31 of them....) and I think, "ok, now I'm old enough".... but I continue to need more wisdom. I love Chris Tiegreen's devotionals (Walk thru the Bible, Atlanta, GA)....and to quote from May 4, "wisdom isn't flashy, rarely impresses, and never demands. Folly is brash, showy, and frequently pushy."
Which one am I? Do I expend energy trying to impress everyone? Do I need designer everything and the latest gadget to show how important I am? Is more of my time spent on my outward appearance than on my inner attitude and character? Do I continue to honor my parents' training and heritage, though they're Home now? Every time I go through the Bible.....Proverbs especially, I'm amazed at how many verses equate wisdom with honoring one's parent. Apparently God really places a high value on obeying that commandment of honoring our parents, and I still reflect on what a rich life my parents passed on to me. No, we didn't have a lot of money....I remember a day when I was outside the kitchen window playing, and I heard my dad say to my mom we only had $500 in the bank, and the company where he was working was closing down, laying off all employees. My recollection is that no matter what, we were in God's hands and so even my earliest memories were of total dependence on Him. We always had a roof over our heads, food to eat, and family to love, and that was enough. New clothes came, usually at Christmas. New shoes, at Easter. Otherwise, my mom sewed all my sister's and my dresses. I never felt poor, and though my sister and cousins and I were the first generation to go to college, my parents and grandparents were wiser than most other people I knew.......the older I got, the smarter they got! (how DOES that happen?) All I knew was that God said if I wanted things to "go well with me", and "live long" that I needed to obey and honor them, and that was a very wise thing to do. This seems to be a generation when many children think they have the RIGHT to "cut parents off" from their lives, and it scares me that they don't understand there will be consequences.....maybe not right away, but ultimately we all have to stand before God and answer His questions. Not that we are to be legalistic and Pharisaical, but I've always been taught that a sign of my love for my parents and for God is my wanting to obey His commandments. Is this wisdom? I hope so.....I can tend to ramble (ya think?), but maybe the older I get, the more okay with that I am. I know I want to be blessed, and there's a verse that tells us, "yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and do it..." Ok, I want the blessing....guess that means I need to not only read, underline, carry the biggest Bible I own to church, but actually prove my love for God by obeying His word.....maybe that is a good start on growing in wisdom.....Prov. 1:7 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Lord give me more wisdom......(and just maybe, a little nice weather for the church picnic today! :-)

Time to Party!!!

PRAYER REQUEST: Good sleep for both of us.....the last couple of nights, I've slept fairly well, but now Lisa is not, so restful sleep and continued good health. Also, if you would pray for us to truly be a blessing to those we encounter. The Eclesia church is in great need of some encouragement, and we'll be at their church picnic tomorrow (Saturday).

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who come alive." I know that I come alive when I'm on a mission trip. God has put it in my heart to love meeting new people, finding out about their culture and life, and their needs. Today was another chillin' day....though I was up early, I just had some coffee and my devotions while Lisa got some extra sleep which she needed. Breakfast was again a huge buffet and as usual, very tasty! Mihaela also washed some of our clothes for us.....she is such a delightful person and is quick to serve wherever she can. Mid-morning someone rang the gate bell, and Miha brought someone into the guest house.....it was Felix! I was so hoping to see him because when we were here in June, we met Felix and the other 4 of his brass quintet...in fact, they wanted Terry to play with them when we visited their church.....got to chatting, and the next thing we know, there's an email from Felix asking Terry to arrange some music for a CD the quintet is going to record! They were so grateful when both Terry and his copyist told them there would be no charge, and they've begun practicing.....when Ter asked them what style they wanted, they told him just to do different styles.....and they absolutely love what he's done. (well after all, he's MY favorite arranger!) Felix presented me with a gift for Terry for all his work, but of course, I cannot tell you what it is because I'm keeping it a surprise so Terry can see it first!
Shortly after Felix left, Beni walked in....he's back from Ploiesti and would take us to the Law School where he, Eugenia and Carla all study. Terry and I had been there in June, but we didn't get to see all the classrooms because of exams, so this time I got to see that part of it as well. Beni is so proud that WorldTeach has several of their published books being sold in the bookstore at the Law School! We usually stop in the snack shop before we leave, and the owner Cyrus showed Beni something new! Dr. Pepper! Beni was so excited and bought 4 of them because his family all love Dr. Pepper. Cyrus is the very first and only distributor of Dr. Pepper in all of Timisoara....he's very proud of that. During the next 5 phone calls Beni received, we picked up the words "Dr. Pepper" in every one of those conversations!
From the Law School we went to see the ministry "Jesus, Hope of Romania" and Onesimus House, run by Ligia Dugulescu, another place that I had seen in June with Terry. However, each time a person visits and hears the story, more of it sticks....at least in my case, so I was very happy to take the tour again, seeing some of the same boys Ter and I had met previously. Peter Dugulescu, Ligia's father, was the very 1st evangelical in the Romanian Parliament, and is thought of as the Romanian Billy Graham. During communism, abortion was illegal, and the women couldn't afford to keep their babies, so they took them to orphanages, because - think I mentioned this before - Ceaucescu was paying families a monthly stipend to keep their children in the orphanages....his plan was to indoctrinate the children and train them to become his army. So Peter Dugulescu started several different works that his family continues to administrate after his death. 3 of his children, Ligia, Marius and Eunice all live here in Timisoara.....his 4th daughter Christina lives in No. Carolina. We spent about an hour in Ligia's office where she reiterated much of her father's story for us, and read us some of his poems....translated, of course. Even in English it is such beautiful poetry. Marius - Ligia's younger brother, is the member of Parliament who ran the entire Committee Launch on Tuesday, and Eunice was the one who was in charge of inviting me and the speakers. Just an aside, 3 days later, Marius is still being attacked by the press (surprise, surprise!!!) and I'm sure you'll never guess which issue is the most explosive.....could it be unborn children? Yup, one lady in the press is just beating THIS particular dead horse over and over again, but there are many people emailing and asking her to write about some of the other issues.....she, however, refuses to give them "equal time" in her column.....one man said if she wouldn't publish his email, he'd plaster her pictures all over every porn site he could find! "In this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33) ...... can't say we didn't expect this. But I'm always encouraged by the fact, that, in the end, WE WIN!
Also at Onesimus House there is a shop that Ligia runs to make money for the ministry......yes, we did shop till we
dropped..... several lei for a couple of items each!
It seems that every morning we eat a big breakfast and then starve until 3pm when we finally stop to eat something.....today was not an exception.....after Onesimus house we drove over to our favorite hangout......Iulius Mall, went to the Food Court, and had some gulash. That has to be one of my favorites.....of course it's a Hungarian dish, but many places, especially in this western part of Romania, serve it and it's delicious! That "saved the day" for us.....at least me! (I learned early on to bring a little snack bag of sunflower seeds or almonds. Then, lo and behold, we went back down to Starbucks. I'm not kidding....I really think Alex is a part owner of the place......one thought Lisa and I had is that rather than sitting in one's tiny apartment for hours, it may be more pleasant to hang out at Starbucks! This is the newest and most recent store to open, and Alex was the first person to apply for a job, but he's only 17......he has the manual practically memorized and knows everyone on the staff. He only has to wait till December till he turns 18, and then I'm sure he'll be working there. Today Ioana gave us a tasting of their newest coffee....Sumatra Siborong-Borong..... instructing us on the proper way to first cup your hand over the coffee and breathe deeply......"what do you smell?" Then of course the slurping sip....and finally she gave us each some rocky road cake and had us take a sip, take a bite, take a sip........ well, you can figure out the rest! She was so cute....you could tell she loved doing this, and she has been friends with Alex for a long time.....last night we dropped her off after work. She's a newlywed and hopes to move to Canada with her husband. Anyway, we (whenever I say "we" I'm usually talking about Beni, Eugenia, Carla, Lisa and me......most often Alex, and sometimes Christiana, but today she was tired after tennis so just stopped by to say hi and then go home) stayed for quite a while.....just talking.....till time to PARTY!
The pastor of one of the local churches was giving a birthday party for his friends and we were invited.....the Dugulescu sisters were there, as well as Theresa.....and this time I met Ligia's mother Mary.....ended up sitting next to her at dinner and we had a great conversation. She speaks excellent English and after her husband Peter Dugulescu died, the 2 sisters and their families moved in with her. What a lucky mom! For dinner we had french fries and 4 kinds of meat.....well, chicken breast and chicken wings, pork, and sausage meatballs.....great grillin'....... 2, count 'em 2 kinds of cake, and yes, I had one of each!!!!!...and then the music began! At first it was Shania Twain, Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing), Abba, people dancing......then some typical Romanian music - some of them formed a "conga line" and began to dance the hora........(yes, the same as in Greece). Suddenly Ligia's younger daughter Jaclyn ran over and grabbed Lisa and me by the hand.....I think we laughed more than we danced, but we had a ball. Ligia's adopted daughter Georgi, who is 21 now, broke out of the line and turned on the video in her cell phone! She then told Lisa, Theresa and me that we'd each have to pay her $1000 or she'd put us on youtube! Of course she'd donate all the money to her mom's ministry, but still!
In America we call that blackmail! But she WOULD be the cutest blackmailer ever. Yesterday and today, both Lisa and I were feeling a bit of disappointment that we haven't been visiting more ministries.....we've been mostly having "down time". Yet, tonight, at the pastor's birthday party, both of us came to the separate conclusion that what God wants us to do in these last few days is connect with people, not just communicate. Many Americans seem to be of the mindset that if it's not big, impressive, or shiny that it really isn't worth doing. Tonight chatting with different people at the party, it was a good feeling thinking that I could bless them just by listening. Even Christians are too busy networking and trying to impress everyone with their latest book, CD, or corporate project......while people, many of them friends or family, are hurting inside, lonely, and just want to feel loved and cared about. Someone once told me that to be a great conversationalist, keep the other person talking about themselves instead of talking about yourself. May I ever remember that it's far more important to care about people than to puff myself up telling them about my latest achievement. Don't think Jesus went around saying, "hi, I'm Jesus and I'm a carpenter, what do you do?" ........ just sayin'......
Darkness set in, the air got cooler, trash was put in bags, tables folded up and stored, music off, and people beginning to leave. On our way home, Beni received a call, then hung up and told us that the church we were to go to on Sunday night had called apologetically saying that 2 different people had invited 2 different pastors to preach, so in effect, Beni was "un-invited". I don't believe there are any coincidences with God, and just today Ligia had practically begged us to come to Eclesia....her church, because they are in great need of encouragement. So, guess where we'll be Sunday night??? God knew before we did! A GOOD day was had by all.....at least, by me for sure. I'm still writing notes about what I want to do when I come back with my teams, but I'm trusting that God is going to give me the wisdom to plan just the right balance of ministry - "go-go-go" periods with time simply to connect with people's hearts. I do so love the Romanian people.
Time to call Terry.......good night my friends and family, and as always, thank you for your prayers. they have made a real difference in my life and in the lives of my new (and old) Romanian friends.

Movie night

PRAYER REQUEST: My plantar fasciitis is really bothering me....all the walking yesterday exacerbated the condition and even after a good night's rest wearing "the boot" there's still quite a bit of pain.....I don't want to drag the others down with my slowness!
Also, we'll probably visit an orphanage today......I'm still asking God for His wisdom as to the people and places we're visiting and how best to serve them in the future.

About midday yesterday Eugenia walked into the guest house and asked if we were ready to go.....sure, we're always ready. We walked out and down the block, and then she said we'd have to walk about 500 metres. So, with my heel spur/plantar fasciitis, I'm thinkin' I should have prepared for this possibility and worn my Skechers! Drat! I'm just not a mind reader.....wish I was, but I'm just a mother with eyes in the back of her head.....at least that's what my kids used to think :-)
Well, it must have been more like a mile or so that we trekked....and let's all remember that.... as bad as the streets are??? Well, the sidewalks are probably worse than that. It's one thing to hike a mile on even terrain, but I've hiked in the mountains on paths that were smoother than some of these "sidewalks" (and of course I'm using that term very loosely). We finally made it to a main road where we caught a taxi to Carla's apartment for lunch. Her 17-year old son Alex was already home from school, and also her mom Geta was there as well. They had made a Moldovan soup recipe.....with veggies and a very tasty broth.....very good! For the main course, we had polenta with sausages.....you top it with grated sheep's cheese.....with all the good food, it's really difficult to stop at just one helping! Lisa asked Alex to style her hair (he is a licensed stylist) and while Geta and Carla cleaned up, Eugenia and I just relaxed in the living/dining area. Eugenia was pretty spent after her exam in the morning.....she was disappointed in her grade because she missed one question! She can have the opportunity to take it again, and since she has had the Romanian equivalent of straight A's, she wants the chance to make 100% on this exam. Oh that I had been so conscientious when I was a student! (or maybe my kids???)
Lisa came back out to oohs and aahs, and Eugenia then asked Alex if he could just cut her bangs. He's terrified of cutting because he's only just gotten his stylist license.....but he did a great job. Another thing Alex loves to do is make pizza and also crepes. I'm glad he didn't make pizza for dessert, but the crepes were filled with Nutella, apricot jam, or strawberry jam, and topped with cherry ice cream! I'm afraid I'll just have to be rolled off the plane when I finally return home! I, of course, have every good intention of not eating too much when I'm here, and then when it is brought out and placed in front of me, it looks so great, smells so wonderful, and tastes so amazing, that all my will-power flies right out the window! Oh well, I'll eat, drink, and be merry, for when I get home, I'll diet!
It's hard for me to sit still......don't get me wrong, when it's time to chill, I'm at the head of the line and I can relax to the MAX! But when I'm on a mission trip, thousands of miles away from home, I'm always ready for anything.....I don't want to miss a thing or place or person that God has for me to meet, so when there doesn't seem to be a plan, it's a little frustrating to me. Don't tell anyone, I'm just admitting this to you....it's one of my [many] shortcomings. If there's one more orphanage to visit, or church, or ministry, I want to be there! Guess this is what it means to really be passionate about something.....so thank you Lord that you've given me this passion......all this to say that yesterday morning and afternoon was more difficult for me than if we'd been on the go since 6am! I'm just like that.....Terry always tells people that I wake up in the morning saying, "...so anyway..."
Sitting around yesterday actually made me tired, so when Carla got a phone call and said, "we're going to the movie tonight," I thought, "oh great, I can sleep!" We were going to meet up with the Dugulescu family....Ligia and her 2 adopted daughters, her sister Eunice with her husband Christian, one of Ligia's boys from Onesimus House, and Theresa, Ligia's friend (and my new friend) from Salt Lake City, who is head of the European commission on human rights and dignity.....she also spoke to the Romanian Parliament. Met everyone at Starbucks.....sat around and talked till the movie time, and then I found out we were going to see Clash of the Titans. I was not that excited, but this was at least a plan, so I got my ticket and picked up my 3-D glasses. Actually, I got into the film.....thoroughly enjoyed the music (well, duh) so when it was all over, I realized I was glad we'd gone to see it! I love Perseus' line.....he says it once at the beginning and once at the end, and I've said something similar to Terry for many years now, "I've got everything I need right here!"
Movie over, glasses handed back in, we headed back downstairs to Starbucks.....well, down the escalators from the top floor until we stepped on one that wasn't working. Thought we were gonna be stuck at the top of that one all night! (ok, Terry, just laugh this once and I'll never say that again!) The "garage" door was halfway down at S'bucks, but in we walked anyway. I'm sure that Alex is part owner of this one :-) because we just walked in, sat down, several people got more drinks.....and sat and talked while chairs were being put up around us, floor being mopped, the "garage" door was lowered all the way.....till quite a bit past closing time!
Alex has every Starbucks mug available, so I was really excited that the one I brought him was one that is not available here.
We literally closed the place down and all parted to go to our respective "homes". A different day, but a good one, for sure.