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:)

To Africa and Back...

Yesterday marked the 50th birthday of one of the parents at BCA. I was invited to attend a party this afternoon in celebration of that event. As I prepared to leave today I was trying to figure out what to wear and what to bring as a gift. Although I had been told the party started at 3, I planned to arrive 15-20 minutes 'late' factoring in 'African/Romanian time'.

As I arrived at the hotel, it was clear my expectations were different from what was prepared, but I was blessed. The time was spent together worshiping God and acknowledging the good things he has done in the life of this family. Following a time of prayer for the family, there was a part of the 'program' entitled 'Celebrate Together'. Who knew they would clear away the chairs and we would all dance together. And it wasn't ok just to stand by the wall. They clearly wanted full participation. After we all sat down, someone remarked that I was a good African:)

It was amazing to feel God's presence and to worship with a different community of believers. Their faith and love are clearly evident. Wow! It gave me a new picture into the lives of some of my students and it was neat to see them interacting with their church family. God is so good!

Responsibility

One of my top five strengths is responsibility. I'd like to think that as a strength, it's a good thing, but sometimes it is really frustrating to be responsible. I start feeling guilty for not getting everything done immediately. I wish I could always have things done on time or even ahead of time, but I'm beginning to realize that it isn't always possible...and maybe even more than that, sometimes it's okay. I've been feeling stressed about something that I've been meaning to have done for two weeks, and yet as I express that to others, they aren't the least bit concerned that it still isn't finished. It's grace in action for me--to hear from others that I can let go and rest and then get started on things again.

Old Friend

When I first got back to Romania in August, I went to the grocery store. Not really that exciting except that I couldn't find a couple things that I was looking for. Sometimes, that's not all that unusual, but one of the things was a certain type of Gouda cheese that I have been fond of since I first came to Romania back in 2001 (I think). It's been around and in most grocery stores since that time. So, I was a bit surprised it was no longer at Mega Image. I then went to Gima since they also had carried it. I struck out again. I sort of gave up on ever seeing it again, and started trying to find another cheese I could stomach. Yesterday on the way home from church, I stopped in a different Mega Image (one I'd never entered) and decided to glance for the Gouda cheese there. I couldn't believe that one Mega Image would carry it while another didn't. Crazy! So, I'll be stopping there on the way home from church each week. It was great to be able to enjoy omelets and pizza this week without cringing at how the cheese overwhelmed the flavor of everything else:)

Church

This summer I had a number of conversations with people about the purpose of church.

I had been attending a church that was clearly geared toward young people and non Christians. Lyrics to songs were changed to avoid words that wouldn't be commonly used outside Christian circles. Chairs were set up with extra personal space to not leave visitors feeling trapped.

So, this led to a couple conversations with people in Romania and later in the US about what church is all about--serving Christians and building their faith, or reaching out to non-Christians. I hadn't really considered the question much before and found myself caught up in it.

Toward the end of the summer a friend of mine made a comment along the lines of "I think church isn't really about meeting the needs of Christians or non-Christians, but about God". That kind of caught me and convicted me. What was my perspective as I walked through the doors to church--Was I hoping for some new truth or challenge? Was I waiting to see a new face to greet? Was I even thinking about God or am I so wrapped up in everything else that's happening?

This fall as I prepare for church, I'm trying to let it be all about him--my thoughts, my worship, my time. I don't know that I do a very good job of leaving my preoccupations at the door, but it's something new to consider.

A New Year Has Begun

How neat to see everyone in one place:) We're excited about how God is providing students and teachers and looking forward to an amazing year! Next week I hope to have all my students and be able to take a class picture to share with you.

Hymn Trivia

This summer I spent a wonderful evening with some amazing women from a Bible study I attended before moving to Romania. We took this little 'quiz' and I've had it in my purse to share with someone...

Match the hymn with the occupation:
1. The dentist's hymn
2. The weatherman's hymn
3. The contractor's hymn
4. The tailor's hymn
5. The golfer's hymn
6. The politician's hymn
7. The optometrist's hymn
8. The IRS agent's hymn
9. The gossip's hymn
10. The electrician's hymn
11. The shopper's hymn

A. Holy, Holy, Holy
B. Sweet By and By
C. Standing on the Promises
D. Crown Him With Many Crowns
E. Send the Light
F. Open My Eyes That I Might See
G. The Church's One Foundation
H. There is a Green Hill Far Away
I. Pass It On
J. There Will Be Showers of Blessing
K. I Surrender All

Hope there's a smile in here somewhere for you:) Answers are in the comments.

Genius Quiz

We started our staff meeting last week with the genius quiz.

1. Do they have a fourth of July in England?

2. If a plane crashed on the border of the US and Canada, where should the survivors be buried?

3. How many members of each animal did Moses take on the ark?

4. Some months have 31 days, how many months have 28 days?

5. How far can a dog walk into the woods?

6. A camper leaves her camp, hikes 1 mile south, then 1 mile east where she sees a bear. Then she hikes 1 mile north to arrive at her camp. What color is the bear?

7. I have two US coins totaling 55 cents. One is not a nickel. What are the two coins?

8. What is the value of a coin dated 24 BC?

9. If a rooster lays an egg on the peak of a roof, will the egg roll to the left side or to the right side?

10. On which side of a chicken are the most feathers?

11. In baseball, how many outs are there in an inning?

12. Divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10. What is the answer?

13. If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have?

14. A farmer has 17 sheep standing in a field and all but 8 drop down and die, how many are left standing?

15. How many two cent stamps are in a dozen?



We had a wonderful time laughing and talking together. I'm sure that you have heard some of these since they've been floating around since I was in elementary school and probably well before that, but I thought this was a fun compilation:)

14-15 Genius
11-13 Above Normal
7-10 Normal
4-6 Need some help
1-3 Are you still there

(Answers can be found in the comments for this post.)