Big News-I'm Staying in Romania

Yep, as you read in my title, instead of coming home to California come November 22nd, I have been given the great opportunity to stay here in Nicoresti, Romania serving at Tanner Romania Mission. I am very excited and honored to be able to stay working here at Casa Elisabeta longer, and have been given an open ended invitation. I have no definite idea yet as to when I will be returning to California, but know as of now that I will definitely be staying here in Nicoresti for Christmas and this holiday season...While I miss all of you-my friends and family back at home so much, I just feel that this is the right place for me to be right now. The plan for now is to leave for Ethiopia tomorrow for a week, then return back here to my basement that I have come to love and know as home (for now).


Life at Tanner has been...well typical, not much new to report...but to keep from sounding boring our 'typical' weeks have included choir, music games, workshop everyday, bingo nights, impromptu dance parties, leaves raking, tickle fights, Romanian/English lessons, and lots and lots of laughter. One special activity we did have this week was "Cooking at Rachel" where we (myself and the two other volunteers) brought most of the girls from Casa Elisabeta over to the boys house, Casa Rachel, for some peanut butter cookie making. It was loads of fun and all of the residents very much enjoyed it! Each of the residents took turns adding different ingredients or stirring, and of course all enjoyed helping to eat our delicious masterpieces...

Florentin adding the vegetable oil:

Marianna guarding the dough so the others would stop trying to steal bites...

Adina and Maricica caught stealing some peanut butter for themselves...

Costel stirring hard with the help of Patrica:

Oh! And we had our very first snow here! It has just tiny tiny flakes, and now of it stuck, but very exciting (and cold) nonetheless. I have been warned that I should expect feet of snow come December...(and suprisingly I still want to stay...) Finding warm clothes has become number one on my list of things to do...

Thats all the news I have for now. Tomorrow I leave for Ethiopia for just over a week. I will be meeting up with a team from Rocky Peak Church in California to help run an eye glasses distribution ministry (In Focus). We will be testing for distance and reading glasses as well as incorporating AIDS/HIV education and evangelism. Very much looking forward to returning to Ethiopia, meeting up with Teki again, and of course, reuniting with Katie on what was originally planned to be the last leg of our journey abroad...She is also extending her trip as she will be spending one week in the Middle East to visit/encourage her friend working there as an undercover missionary helping to teach English in a school there, before returning back to Southern California. Until later...Pace voua.

1 Cor 3:7-9