Christmas 08

It is wonderful to be in Prague with my family:) Jason and Megan traveled here this year as well and we are all staying together in my parents' apartment.
Martin and Alice joined us for Christmas. We had a wonderful (mostly traditional) meal!
We've enjoyed walking around Prague together--revisiting favorite places and discovering some new ones as well.

Cute Niece!!

For Christmas, we gave my parents one of those digital picture frames and my sister sent along a CD of pictures. There were many I hadn't seen and I really think my niece is the cutest thing, so I'm sharing:) Hope they bring a smile to your face too!

Jenni's Visit

It was wonderful to have Jenni visit me on this side of the ocean:)
She spent a day with me at BCA and then we spent the rest of her time here doing other things.

We joined the Mather family and some BCA students for Thanksgiving.


The following morning we went to buy tickets, and were faced with a packed train station (more details in a previous post...)

We finally made it to Brasov, one of my favorite cities in Romania and enjoyed some time walking around this historic city and eating dinner at Bella Musica before ending up at our 'hotel' for the night.
Then on our way back to Bucharest, we stopped in Sinaia. It was a beautiful, snowy day! We tromped through the snow to Peles and then toured Pelesior. We were very thankful to get on a warm train headed to Bucharest.


We braved the crowds for the Unirii Day parade, but soon decided to leave since we couldn't really see anything. We passed an additional 1,000+ people headed toward the parade.




Lots of fun memories to hold on to and some pictures too:)

Christmas Concert

This is just part of the Christmas concert I attended last weekend.

Tagged-take 2

Here are the rules: Go to 'My Pictures' folder, open the 5th folder and the 5th picture. Post it and tag 5 others.

It was fun to pull up this picture again and be reminded of the fun memories of this summer ('07). It's hard to to believe how much Seth changed in just a year:)

And to think what he'll look like this coming summer when I get to see him again:)

I tag Jennifer at Everlaughter Life, Laura at winter adventures, and Whitney at Whit and the Brit. (I'm not following rules and only tagging 3 people...)

I don't know where I got the idea, but somehow growing up, I had this idea that life would get easier. High school and college seemed so complicated, I guess I figured that somewhere along the way things would become more straightforward.

Although I've only 'walked' this earth for 29 years, I have seen things move the opposite direction. Decisions are harder and nothing seems 'easy'.

Even as I say that though, looking back on the hard times and seeing how God has used them in my life doesn't mean I would change any of it. I am thankful for the lessons God has taught me and the challenges he has walked through with me. I'm thankful for the way he doesn't allow me to stay where I am, but continues to encourage me to grow and in the midst of the hard times, he is working to bring me to be more like his son.

As I face challenges down the road, I can only be confident that I don't walk alone, and that God is working in it for good. I often have to resort to plan B, C, or Q... Isn't it neat to think that this is God's plan A. There isn't something coming that is going to surprise him...he's prepared and ready to stand with us, to fight with us and for us, to bring about good! Wow!!

On a side note: This idea somehow came up during a book discussion with my 6th graders. I shared my insight that they shouldn't think that life would become easier. They looked at me like they clearly knew that and my thought was strange...praise God they are wiser than I was in this way:)

Isaiah 6

This morning, there was a visiting pastor at our church. I'm always a little bit nervous about listening to a new pastor since I don't know how easy he will be to understand... Today went well:)

The text for the sermon was Isaiah 6:1-9. He talked about how God desires us to have the face of Jesus Christ...just like new parents want to see their traits reflected in their child. There are a couple ways that God does this.
-God wants us to have a correct image of him--"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. the whole earth is full of His glory." God is holy and pure and that needs to be proclaimed on earth as it is in heaven.
-God wants us to have a correct image of ourselves--When we see God's holiness, we can't help but cry out "Woe is me...because I am a man (woman) of unclean lips". We see our own sin. We can often get caught in a trap of explaining away our sins while being critical of others. We might claim to have high standards ourselves while seeing pride in others.
-God wants to purify and cleanse us and bring healing--he wants to do this through his ways and not some program or path we choose.

This pastor pointed out that only after Isaiah's lips were cleansed did he hear God's voice. In vs. 1, Isaiah saw the Lord, and in verse 8 Isaiah heard the Lord. We need to have clean hearts, hands, and lips to hear God's voice. Only when we are spending time in God's word will we be able to hear and recognize that voice.

May God grant us eyes to see clearly, ears to hear, and hearts to be obedient.

snow

Can I just say how much I love snow...

On our trip this weekend, we stopped in Sinaia where it was snowing and the ground was covered in snow. Although it made walking a little bit harder and our shoes and socks wet, I still love it.

I love the beauty of snow--the way anything looks prettier with snow. I think I could stare out the window and watch it snow for hours on end, especially if I was in the mountains.

I love the sound of snow--when you walk on it and it creaks. There just isn't another sound like it.

I also like that it doesn't last forever... like so many other things in life, it needs to be enjoyed as it comes, because it will soon be gone.

A.R.E.

No, it doesn't stand for a form of 'to be', nor is a conjugation of the verb 'to have' in Romanian. Quite simply, it is an acronym for Authentic Romanian Experience.

My friend Jenni is visiting this week and I wanted to have her travel outside of Bucharest to see the beauty of Romania and to have some 'authentic' experiences. Never did I have this in mind...

It all started Friday morning. I always plan to arrive 20 min or so before my train to buy my tickets and have never had a problem with this method, but walking in the doors that morning, I knew there would be trouble. The waiting area (with 14 windows open selling tickets was PACKED!!). I hadn't taken into account the holiday weekend, but this felt completely different.

I had Jenni stand in line while I went to meet the person helping me submit my visa documents to stage one. When I returned 10 minutes later, she hadn't moved...

This is when I started getting the feeling we weren't going to make our 9:42 train. It was taking 10-15 minutes/ticketing process which I just didn't understand. There were news cameras all over doing interviews. I still wasn't figuring out what was taking so long. As I got close and could actually witness the transactions, I saw there was no money being exchanged... strange and there was a lot more data entry going on than normal for ticket purchases.

Just as I was nearing the front of the line, they closed window 7 and opened window 8, so the whole line reconfigured and shifted--with much pushing because it wasn't really a line to begin with, but more of a pushing mass. So, I finally made it to the window, bought, my ticket, and then shoved my way back out of the mass. As I was walking away, I heard the teller ask if there was anyone else in line who wanted to pay with money. All this, three hours after we started standing in line. No, we didn't make the 9:42 train, but instead left one the 13:00 train (which left 20 minutes late).

After buying tickets in Brasov, and thinking back to things I had seen in Bucharest, I think I finally put the pieces together. Not only was it a holiday weekend (Unirii Day on Monday), but is also an election weekend (elections are always held on Sundays). So, CFR (the train company) was 'offering' free tickets for students (under the age of 25) to return home to vote. Thus the extra data entry--name, address, reason for free ticket, etc... Had I known all this at 9:30, I might have been able to go to the front of the line and we might have caught the 9:42 train.

But, Jenni certainly got an ARE out of the deal.

The rest of our time away was nice, although also 'laced' with more authentic experiences...late trains, closed castles, and humorous tour incidents.

Amazed

Just a couple things to share with you about why the greatest kids are at BCA...

This year, we (elementary teachers) decided to do a Fall Program instead of tackling a Christmas program. We decided to let each grade level pick what they wanted to do and give freedom in hopes of variety. My kids split into two groups. One group decided to sing "Love in Any Language" and learn sign language for the chorus. (During a how-to speech earlier in the year one student had demonstrated that.) The other group decided to do a skit.

As I sat with the group working on the skit, I tried to encourage their creativity while at the same time trying to steer them toward a workable option that wasn't about pilgrims and Indians. They came up with the neatest skit! It is a bit hard to describe, but the 'message' is that we all need to work together.

We performed the program during secondary chapel today and it was wonderful to see each child participate--singing songs (some in Romanian), reciting Bible verses, reading poems, etc. Wow!!

The second thing made my day today! One of our 4th graders was asking her dad (the 4th grade teacher) what she could do during our staff meeting. I was passing by and jumped in with a list of ideas (something else my mom is good at): read a book, draw a picture, do homework, or write me a letter. She ran off and we had our meeting.

After we finished, I was talking to our maintenance man in the courtyard, she ran up to me and handed me a decorated card. I'm going to share the contents because they made me smile and laugh at the end of a long day (long three days really). I hope it's a smile for you too.

Front cover: You'r a Great Teacher Mss Westrum!

Inside: Dear Mss. Westrum,
You are a great teaher. Even though you are not my teacher. You are kind, gental, caring and you allways have a smile on you'r face! I think you are one of the BEST teachers ever!!!

M-Master in teaching
S-Star smile
S-stray A students

W-Westrum is your last name
E-Encuraging
S-Sharful
T-Takes time doing things
R-Respectful
U-Unhappy sometimes
M-Master in loving her students!!


Wow!! What an encouragement to me:) I can't wait until tomorrow!

Visa fun...

My three year long-term visa expired on November 14 and due to some complications, I hadn't been able to turn in my paperwork to renew it before the expiration. So, I needed to leave Romania before it expired and then re-enter the country after the expiration (on a 90 day tourist visa). I decided to go to Budapest and visit friends who used to live here in Bucharest.

As I went through passport control to depart Romania, the following conversation occurred:
Guard: When did you last enter Romania? (Checking to see if it was more than 90 days ago)
Me: August 2 (handing over my visa (permis de sedere))
Guard: It expires today.
Me: That's why I'm leaving.
Woman in the booth with him: You can come back after 3 months.
Me: speechless, smiling, taking passport, walking away...

I spent part of the flight to Budapest thinking through different scenarios about what might happen when I attempted to return to Bucharest just two days later. What possibilities might there be if I was told I needed to leave for 3 months?

The best idea I came up with was that my parents and I could do an apartment swap. I could go to Prague and teach my mom's class and they could come and live in Bucharest and my mom could teach my class. With that idea in my mind (which I haven't told my parents yet), I decided that it was all in God's hands--whether I was to stay or leave--and I didn't need to worry about it (one hope of the weekend was rest).

My plane landed in Romania on Sunday evening and I headed toward the passport control to enter Romania. Here is the conversation that ensued:
Guard: Where are you coming from?
Me: Budapest
Guard: Do you have a visa?
Me: No, I had one, but it expired before I could renew it so I had to leave. I'm going to work right now to start the process of renewing it.
Guard: Ok. (stamping my passport and returning it to me)

Yeah, God! It certainly could have ended up differently:)

Like my mom...

There are so many things I admire about my mother. One of the things I remember growing up is how she was always able to fix everything--the dishwasher, washing machine, toaster oven, microwave... Nothing ever died a 'quick death' around our house. She was able to sustain it's functionality well beyond what it might otherwise have been. And that's a good thing in case you were wondering.

This weekend, I decided to tackle my washing machine. It is only two years old (which is hard to believe), but I have been frustrated that it wasn't cleaning well anymore. So, I finally figured out how to remove the drawer where you put the softener, Calgon, detergent, bleach, etc. It was certainly gross enough to cause problems on its own. Then I figured out how to remove the 'trap' where all the junk collects. It seems strange that with all front-loading washers I've ever used, in order to remove this piece, you always end up with water pouring out onto the floor. In the trap I found 10 bani (not even worth picking up on the street) and some little stuff. But I think that most exciting thing was getting both of these pieces back in the right places and that the washer still functions correctly. Even more exciting is that my clothes are smelling cleaner again:)

The Tide

I love reading aloud to my class and rereading books that have touched me. This past week I started reading Rules by Cynthia Lord and came across a great image. The narrator is talking about the difference between high and low tide and how she can tell which it is just by driving by--the different smells and colors.

I've been trying to get a handle on how things are going this fall for me and this seems to be the best image that I can come across--it's like the tide. Things don't ever seem to be stable for long. One week, day, or even hour, things can seem to be settled and it feels like low tide--I can stand up and walk around and spend time combing the beach for shells left when the tide went out.

That can all change in an instant with a phone call, parent stopping by, checking my email, or walking into the office. Suddenly it is high tide and I am struggling to keep treading water and not get swept out to sea. I don't want to give the impression that it's all bad though. Learning to tread water is a great skill (figuratively as well as in 'real life'--I was a lifeguard/swim instructor) and then to be able to move toward higher ground in the midst of high tide--figuring out which things need to become necessities and which things can be swept away.

It has been good for me to find glimpses of the bigger picture. At parent teacher conferences, one of the families took time to close our conference in prayer. Wow! It was an encouragement to be reminded of God's faithfulness and to hear their prayers for me and the school. Friday night I was able to step back and be reminded of the joys of being around the kids at BCA. StuCu stayed after school to set up for a cafe night and we ordered pizza and enjoyed playing games before the event got started. I love looking around at the room at the students and thinking about the amazing ways that God is working in their lives. This morning as I proctored the ACT test, I was thrilled to be able to pray for those students from BCA sitting in that room--that God would direct their paths, lead them to himself, grow them into men/women of God, etc. How amazing to have this privilege. And all this in the midst of high tide and a hard week. God is so good!!!

(I don't know a ton about tides, etc so if my analogy is a bit off for those of you who do, I'm sorry...)

love

At our small group meeting last weekend, the question came up, does God love everyone the same...

I try to give my students time to free write each day and sometimes I plan it so I can write with them instead of spending that time teaching one group or the other. So, this week, I took some time to ponder.

I've heard it said that although a parent might love each of their children, that love might be different toward each child. The needs of the child and the relationship that has been formed 'changes' the love. I can't speak from personal experience...

Each of us have different needs and a different relationship with our heavenly father. Our needs are different as are our personalities, hopes, and dreams.

I was thinking how this might connect with love languages as well. Since God is the one who formed us and knows us more deeply than we can even understand ourselves, it's neat to think that he would love us in the ways that mean the most to us individually. At any moment, he knows our greatest joys and the deepest hurts-those things that no one else can see.

I'm not trying to question God's love for any one person for I believe that God does love each of us, but I picture that looking different in each of our lives as we walk in relationship with him. Maybe as we get closer, we can better see how God loves us, our eyes being opened to new ways that he is at work or has been at work--like a deepening friendship when you learn to see and understand the other person better and the ways that they love you.

Thoughts?

By Your Side

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

(Chorus 2x)

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

--Tenth Avenue North

What a great reminder of God's promise never to leave us or forsake us. How often we fight the hands that hold us...

Broken Pots

During my devotions this week, I was directed to this verse:

Psalm 31:12b-I have become like broken pottery.

The question suggested taking time to imagine God putting my life back together.

I was struck by a number of thoughts as I considered this idea.

Certainly all of us have felt at times like our lives have fallen apart. Sometimes we can feel God graciously putting the pieces back together and at other times it seems He gently allows us to stay in that state of brokenness for longer than is comfortable.

I wondered if when God puts our lives back together if the pieces go back into the same places. Or, does he take the pieces and create something completely different with them. Perhaps the way we have been designing our lives doesn’t fit with his original intention. So, he takes the broken pieces and creates something new.

I also wondered whether the ‘fixed pot’ would look like it had at one time been broken or if it would look like it was brand new. Would Jesus in his love, leave the seams and unevenness as a reminder of our brokenness or would he join the pieces together in his perfect way. Would all the pieces be re-used, or would some pieces be left out? Would there be things he would purposefully remove from our lives? Would there be holes where pieces were missing, or would the pot be ‘holeless’?

What would Jesus use to mend broken pots? Would he pick Elmer’s glue because it dries clear? Would he opt for super glue because it dries quickly? Would he choose colored ‘grout’ to create a design with the pieces?

I often choose to wear rubber gloves when working with sticky messes. So, that caused me to wonder, would Jesus wear gloves, or would he risk getting his hands dirty in the process of mending our lives.

So, I know our pots aren’t literal, but it was sure neat for me to consider these things…to wonder about what kind of pot God is making me to be…

Details

For those of you who have been wanting more details about last weekend's retreat...here they are. God had given me a vision for a student council retreat some time ago, but I hadn't ever been able to figure out the details of when, where, how, and the financing. This year, instead of taking two students to Budapest for the ACSI Leadership Conference, we took the money for that trip and applied it toward taking a trip as an entire group.

One of the families within our school community owns a camp about 2.5 hours away from Bucuresti. When the train schedule fell apart, God provided a van and driver that worked better for our schedule and was cheaper--isn't God great!!

We arrived and the students jumped right in to playing in the gym--a treat they thoroughly enjoy since we don't have one for our school right now. We gathered for a lunch and then the fun began. We asked everyone to draw their expectations for the weekend which we shared and then posted on the walls. I shared about the goals I had (which overlapped with some of theirs).

As I have learned about different self-knowledge tools these past three or so years, I have been amazed at the difference it makes in how I interact with other people on various teams. I wanted to share this knowledge with this group of students as well as helping them to better understand themselves.

After our brief intro, we headed up the hill for a teambuilding activity. Although it was windy and a bit cold, it was great to spend time outside overlooking the beauty of God's creation. Our time on the top of the hill end with rolling down the hill.That evening following dinner we talked about the DISC profile and did an activity in groups then discussed the differences in how the groups functioned. Our evening ended with a campfire and free time (marco polo and red rover in the dark in the gym...).


The following day we talked about MBTI which seemed to bring the 'ah has' for the students. It was great to hear them discussing and interacting, trying to understand different ways of thinking and functioning.

We ended our time with a business meeting. It was a joy to hear some students that hadn't contributed at all in previous meetings sharing their ideas. It seemed that they were choosing to listen to others and encourage their input.

The van ride back to Bucuresti was much quieter than the one heading out of the city :)

It is my prayer that they will continue to apply the ideas they have heard, that they will look at their own weaknesses, and that they will continue to grow together as a team.

True Confessions

I'm a control freak. I think I've known it for some time now, but I'm finally coming to grips with the fact. Although it may sometimes be easier to just do it myself, I need to learn to let go of some things and help others to learn how to do them. It's okay if things don't turn out exactly the way I might have done them. God has blessed each of us with different gifts that he wants us to use to encourage one another and I need to allow those people around me to use their gifts.

My Class:)

I finally got a picture taken of my class:) Here they are.
(From Back Row Forward) Corina, Moriah, Lexi, Precious; Dowan, Young Jun, Angie, Hannah; Jim, McKenna, Sarah, Andre

Fun!!

It all started with a Venn diagram. I know that's not really a 'real-life' way of discussing a book, but it is something we pull out in a classroom. I asked my 6th graders to compare the main character(s) from Julie of the Wolves. For those of you who have read the book, you know there is only one, but she has two names: Julie and Miyax. Each name is from a different time in her life. We started out adhering to the Venn diagram, and then it happened. One of the kids asked a question and we went down a rabbit trail about the character's life and how it compares to their lives as third culture kids...how they sometimes have different personalities based on which country they are living in. We talked a lot about which was better. They were asking questions of me which I directed back to them. I sat 'up front' amazed to be a part of such an amazing discussion. I served mostly as a moderator because they all had so many things to say. They were listening to each other, adding new ideas, and referencing specific parts of the book. What a joy as a teacher!!

StuCo Retreat

It was a joy to spend part of this long weekend with the Student Council up at Camp Eli. We had a great time of learning about ourselves and learning to work better as a team.

It seems I often get asked whether I like living in Romania. One of my responses is that once you get out of Bucharest, the country is amazing. It was wonderful to spend some time outside of Bucharest and enjoy God's creation.
Here is the camp:) We slept in the big blue building at the bottom of the hill (it was heated). There is also an indoor gym that the students really enjoyed!
Here is most of our group. Two students were unable to attend this weekend.

Tagged

I have been tagged by my dear friend Mandy.
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. List 6 random facts about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
5. Let each person know they've been tagged by commenting on their blog
6. Let the tagger know the entry is posted on your blog

Six 'new' random facts about me:
1. I love grapefruit. I've gotten back into eating them again recently! I love peeling them (like an orange), taking each section and removing the fruit and not eating the 'skin' pieces. I know that's probably where a lot of the nutrients are, but I just don't like it. When I was growing up, I used to put the 'fruit' in the freezer for a bit and then eat it. Great!!
2. Music makes the world go around. Even now as I type, the silence is deafening. When I'm tired I find it a bit harder to concentrate with extraneous noise. I like to have music on in the background as I work.
3. I love to travel, but I almost despise flying. I used to love it! That was back in the day when you could almost count on having at least two seats to yourself. I remember the days of being able to sleep on 4 or 5 for hours. Those were the days of traveling in bliss:)
4. I love teaching. So maybe this isn't a new bit of information, but I am really enjoying being back in the elementary classroom this fall. It's a challenge and I think teaching secondary classes is easier, but I wouldn't trade my class for anything. Two favorite parts are our morning meetings and read-aloud time. (We're reading Flush by Carl Hiaasen)
5. My toenails are always painted. I can't stand the sight of them without nailpolish and it makes me smile:)
6. I love playing games. That's probably one of the things I miss most about not being around my family because we are always playing games. I'll have to wait until Christmas in Prague to get my fill I guess:)

I'm going to break the chain and not tag six people since I don't know that many more people who haven't already done this:) Feel free if you haven't to post six random facts:)