i have 3 unrelated thoughts .. but if i don't post them now, they probably won't get posted. sorry for the randomness :P
CULTURES .. i was talking with a friend the other day and she said something that was funny .. but i didn't understand much. she said it quickly and mumbled a little. she looked at me with exasperation and said, "you americans don't understand anything!" i looked at her with sad puppy eyes, and sighed. she relented, "okay. you're half romanian, so you understand some of the time." we looked at each other and laughed for at least a minute. sweet!
AUTUMN .. living in Romania, one of the signs of fall that i enjoy is a particular smell. because it is still very much an agricultural society, going to the neighborhood farmers' market is still part of the week (at least once!) for most families. and in the fall, there is lots of canning, pickling and freezing to prepare fruits and veggies for winter. one common vegetable is a red pepper. it is similar to a bell pepper, but can be a bit spicy. they are roasted, peeled, and then frozen or canned to be eaten later in the year. and the smell .. delectable!
KINDNESS .. this evening, on my way to church, i saw a little boy (5 or 6 years old) caught on a fence. it was 2 or 2.5 feet high, and he had climbed halfway over. most apartment blocks have plots of land outside that are fenced in, which are sometimes used for flowers or drying clothes. this little boy looked pretty stuck, and a young man who was walking by said 'can i help you?' and gently and easily picked him up. he held him up so they were about eye level, and then asked him which way he had been trying to go. the boy told him and was gently placed on the other side of the fence. what a treat .. to see one human acknowledge and value another with grace and simplicity.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
between..
i had a conversation today with another american. who hasn't spent very much time in romania. when he found out that i'd been here for 3 years, his eyebrows went up. a few minutes later, he asked me if i felt like a romanian now. i didn't know how to respond. maybe it's a difference of definition? although i speak romanian fairly well, and know how to get around this city, and don't hang out with many other foreigners .. that doesn't make me romanian. to be romanian means to be full of their beautiful culture -- language and history and family stories and wonderful food and so much more. because i've spent three years in romania -- i am now neither fully american nor fully romanian. somewhere in the middle. i am actually beginning to feel at home here in some ways .. but there are often reminders that i just don't belong. which is okay. it's a challenge to push in deeper.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
connections .. God style!
our God is rather crazy. in an amazing and astounding way. but for the end of this story to make sense, there are a couple important pieces that you need to know first.
two years ago, a friend connected me through email to another friend of hers who lives and works in romania. this person works with another missions organization that has a similar perspective on life and missions to the one i'm part of. although we communicated just a little bit through email, it didn't work out at that point for me to go and visit at that point. it's not too far .. about 4 hours by train. but things got busy, and i got focused on other things, and nothing ever happened.
things have been changing on my team, and i am stepping into a posture of learning what God is doing in my neighborhood, the city i live in, and even a wider perspective of what God is doing across the country. i haven't been particularly sure how to go about this, but have been praying and asking God to direct my path.
last week, i spent the week at camp with kids from our program. to arrive at this particular location, we took a train four hours south (generally). then we got on a bus for another two hours to arrive in a village. then we walked half an hour on a dirt road to arrive at the actual place we stayed. it was a marvelous location .. tucked away in the hills, with plenty of activities for the kids to do. from where we were, we couldn't see any other houses or buildings. just green trees and hills! there were houses nearby, but not visible. it was a bit tricky even to get cell phone reception. by the end of the week, everybody knew where their particular phone had a couple of bars, and spent time there once in a while to call parents or friends or send a text message.
anyway .. turns out, that the organization that i had made contact with long ago also comes to this same location with their kids during the summer. and it turns out .. someone from their organization had come to spend a few days on retreat. through a couple of conversations with different people, the connection was made that he works with them. so .. i got to make a new connection. and have the possibility of visiting come up again, with an invitation, even! at the end of a dirt road .. from a small village .. in the middle of romania. one could say that it was coincidence .. but i don't think so. only God has a sense of humor like this!
two years ago, a friend connected me through email to another friend of hers who lives and works in romania. this person works with another missions organization that has a similar perspective on life and missions to the one i'm part of. although we communicated just a little bit through email, it didn't work out at that point for me to go and visit at that point. it's not too far .. about 4 hours by train. but things got busy, and i got focused on other things, and nothing ever happened.
things have been changing on my team, and i am stepping into a posture of learning what God is doing in my neighborhood, the city i live in, and even a wider perspective of what God is doing across the country. i haven't been particularly sure how to go about this, but have been praying and asking God to direct my path.
last week, i spent the week at camp with kids from our program. to arrive at this particular location, we took a train four hours south (generally). then we got on a bus for another two hours to arrive in a village. then we walked half an hour on a dirt road to arrive at the actual place we stayed. it was a marvelous location .. tucked away in the hills, with plenty of activities for the kids to do. from where we were, we couldn't see any other houses or buildings. just green trees and hills! there were houses nearby, but not visible. it was a bit tricky even to get cell phone reception. by the end of the week, everybody knew where their particular phone had a couple of bars, and spent time there once in a while to call parents or friends or send a text message.
anyway .. turns out, that the organization that i had made contact with long ago also comes to this same location with their kids during the summer. and it turns out .. someone from their organization had come to spend a few days on retreat. through a couple of conversations with different people, the connection was made that he works with them. so .. i got to make a new connection. and have the possibility of visiting come up again, with an invitation, even! at the end of a dirt road .. from a small village .. in the middle of romania. one could say that it was coincidence .. but i don't think so. only God has a sense of humor like this!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
is seven too many?
i was looking at my stack of books this morning, and what i saw struck me as rather eclectic. books are wonderful. i read something in a book every day. it's not just something to do, but is .. part of the way i understand the world. part of how i learn about myself. part of what gives me joy. at the moment, i'm working on a number of books. all of them have such different flavors that when i sit down, i think about my mood, how much i can focus, how thoughtful i'm feeling, which ones need to get read soon .. all sorts of factors go into which one i actually read on a particular day. at any rate, here are the books that i'm currently reading ..
harry potter and the half-blood prince .. j.k. rowling
a short history of nearly everything .. bill bryson
interior castle .. teresa of avila
celebration of discipline .. richard foster
the dangerous act of worship .. mark labberton
well connected: releasing power, restoring hope through kingdom partnerships .. phill butler
power under: trauma and non-violent social change .. steven wineman
harry potter and the half-blood prince .. j.k. rowling
a short history of nearly everything .. bill bryson
interior castle .. teresa of avila
celebration of discipline .. richard foster
the dangerous act of worship .. mark labberton
well connected: releasing power, restoring hope through kingdom partnerships .. phill butler
power under: trauma and non-violent social change .. steven wineman
Friday, June 12, 2009
a graduation ceremony
yesterday i had the privilege of attending a friend's graduation from college. she studied at the horticulture college, in the landscaping school. i'd never been to this kind of ceremony in romania before, and i'm glad i was invited.
the funniest part was one of the speeches. one of the professors, for some rather unclear reason, decided to 'give a tour' of the world's flowers. it's something that could have been very interesting, but i tend to be of the opinion that often, interesting means concise. particularly at a graduation ceremony where it's rather warm. say important things .. just don't say them three times. not that this woman repeated herself, but instead of doing a few countries, she decided to cover a number of countries. her speech was somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, i think. talking about the various flowers for countries, where they come from, if they are specific to that region, what they symbolize. somewhat interesting, but a bit too long. so .. the funny part..
she started with america. and the first powerpoint said 'alabama'. i thought to myself 'if i were going to choose a state to represent america, i'm not sure it would be alabama. (okay. that sounds mean, but there are other states that are much more well known around the world. anyway..) the next slide said 'arkansas'. and i started to groan. was she planning to talk about all 50 states?! my disbelief and laughter was quite entertaining to my friends (good thing we were at the back of the balcony!). the professor did a pretty good job of pronouncing states, (harder than you think, since english isn't so much a language you can read letter by letter..) although a few made me chuckle. she started getting to the "m's" and a friend told me that when she got to 'utah' i'd need to wave my flag. we laughed and i mimed my prepared flag .. but the professor skipped right over utah! :( which .. of course .. means that my friends teased me about the fact that there aren't actually any flowers in utah. not true! but kinda funny.. the professor then proceeded to cover parts of canada, south america, africa, asia, and then europe, ending with romania. nice to have something to smile about, even though there was so much that was said i didn't quite understand. (fast talking and microphones make a foreign language just that much harder to grasp..)
the best part was when our friend actually got her diploma. there were four groups of students who graduated, and her group was the last group. because her last name is toward the end of the alphabet, she ended up being the last name to be called. throughout the giving out of diplomas, our group clapped and cheered, even though not many others were doing so. when her name was called .. we whooped and hollered and cheered. and she got a big grin on her face. big enough to be seen even from the back of the balcony! nice to encourage her and to celebrate her accomplishments. the long ceremony was worth it to see that grin on her face!
the funniest part was one of the speeches. one of the professors, for some rather unclear reason, decided to 'give a tour' of the world's flowers. it's something that could have been very interesting, but i tend to be of the opinion that often, interesting means concise. particularly at a graduation ceremony where it's rather warm. say important things .. just don't say them three times. not that this woman repeated herself, but instead of doing a few countries, she decided to cover a number of countries. her speech was somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, i think. talking about the various flowers for countries, where they come from, if they are specific to that region, what they symbolize. somewhat interesting, but a bit too long. so .. the funny part..
she started with america. and the first powerpoint said 'alabama'. i thought to myself 'if i were going to choose a state to represent america, i'm not sure it would be alabama. (okay. that sounds mean, but there are other states that are much more well known around the world. anyway..) the next slide said 'arkansas'. and i started to groan. was she planning to talk about all 50 states?! my disbelief and laughter was quite entertaining to my friends (good thing we were at the back of the balcony!). the professor did a pretty good job of pronouncing states, (harder than you think, since english isn't so much a language you can read letter by letter..) although a few made me chuckle. she started getting to the "m's" and a friend told me that when she got to 'utah' i'd need to wave my flag. we laughed and i mimed my prepared flag .. but the professor skipped right over utah! :( which .. of course .. means that my friends teased me about the fact that there aren't actually any flowers in utah. not true! but kinda funny.. the professor then proceeded to cover parts of canada, south america, africa, asia, and then europe, ending with romania. nice to have something to smile about, even though there was so much that was said i didn't quite understand. (fast talking and microphones make a foreign language just that much harder to grasp..)
the best part was when our friend actually got her diploma. there were four groups of students who graduated, and her group was the last group. because her last name is toward the end of the alphabet, she ended up being the last name to be called. throughout the giving out of diplomas, our group clapped and cheered, even though not many others were doing so. when her name was called .. we whooped and hollered and cheered. and she got a big grin on her face. big enough to be seen even from the back of the balcony! nice to encourage her and to celebrate her accomplishments. the long ceremony was worth it to see that grin on her face!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
a good evening
tonight was pretty wonderful. i got to be at church tonight. that's a good start. we have church in the evening instead of the mornings, and because i'm part of the worship team, that means that most sundays i'm at church from around 4.30 to 8.30 or 9. getting to be with, to worship with, to enjoy my Family. pretty marvelous.
for the last sunday each month this year, one of the people in our church shares part of their story. however they desire to do so. the pastor doesn't preach, and someone talks about who God is in their lives. this month our theme has been worship, so in addition to one of the guys sharing, 3 of us made some art. and we talked about it - how we had created it, what we see it in, that sort of thing. and we sang 3 good songs tonight. (the last one is a new song, and the last section of said song feels very jazzy. not necessarily the rhythm or speed, but the style. in that there is a very simply theme that gets repeated, motifed, transformed, played with, improvised around. and .. it's different every time we play it. sweet!)
after church is over, people stick around and talk, eat cookies, drink pop. tonight we pulled out the ping pong table and played doubles so that more people could play (including people who don't have lots of practice .. just playing because it's fun!). and 4 of us improvised a 'basketball court' so that we could play. hadn't done that in a while .. it was 2 guys vs. 2 girls, with both of the guys being around 6' and neither of the girls. but the other girl plays well, so it was somewhat evenly matched.
and to add to enjoyment of the evening, i got to play with the pastor's two older kids. the oldest is a boy who is about 7, and the middle child is a girl about 4. i got to pick her up, to spin her around, to swing her, to make her laugh, to imitate her movements, and to have her grab my hand and pull me to see a few things.
life is a gift. thanks, Abba!
for the last sunday each month this year, one of the people in our church shares part of their story. however they desire to do so. the pastor doesn't preach, and someone talks about who God is in their lives. this month our theme has been worship, so in addition to one of the guys sharing, 3 of us made some art. and we talked about it - how we had created it, what we see it in, that sort of thing. and we sang 3 good songs tonight. (the last one is a new song, and the last section of said song feels very jazzy. not necessarily the rhythm or speed, but the style. in that there is a very simply theme that gets repeated, motifed, transformed, played with, improvised around. and .. it's different every time we play it. sweet!)
after church is over, people stick around and talk, eat cookies, drink pop. tonight we pulled out the ping pong table and played doubles so that more people could play (including people who don't have lots of practice .. just playing because it's fun!). and 4 of us improvised a 'basketball court' so that we could play. hadn't done that in a while .. it was 2 guys vs. 2 girls, with both of the guys being around 6' and neither of the girls. but the other girl plays well, so it was somewhat evenly matched.
and to add to enjoyment of the evening, i got to play with the pastor's two older kids. the oldest is a boy who is about 7, and the middle child is a girl about 4. i got to pick her up, to spin her around, to swing her, to make her laugh, to imitate her movements, and to have her grab my hand and pull me to see a few things.
life is a gift. thanks, Abba!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
between..
5 cities.
4 flights.
3 layovers.
22 hours.
it actually didn't feel that long. my layovers were all less than 2 hours, and even though i had to rush to catch one plane it was quite possible. airports for some people are scary places or frustrating places .. for me they are often quite enjoyable. i heard about a third culture kid who said that he was most comfortable in airports. neither here nor there. leaving and arriving. between the goodbyes and the hellos.
my longest flight was not quite 8 hours, and i had a nice german man for a seatmate. we talked probably 2 hours (i slept more than 4, as well!) and turns out he travels quite a bit more than i do. but .. his whole extended family lives less than 50 miles apart. quite different from my family. he has deep roots and plans to always call the area where he lives just outside frankfurt home. of course, this led to him asking me 'where is your home?' .. and i gave him the answer i've given many times, but which feels more and more true. my parents still live in the same home that they lived in when i was born, so that is indeed one home. at the same time .. home is with people that i love. so when i'm with family or dear friends, regardless of where we are, i'm home. when i'm with innerchange, i'm home. when i'm at any of my 3 churches, i'm home. 'home' in varying degrees .. but still, i think this is true. (if anybody begs to differ, or has a question .. comment away!)
4 flights.
3 layovers.
22 hours.
it actually didn't feel that long. my layovers were all less than 2 hours, and even though i had to rush to catch one plane it was quite possible. airports for some people are scary places or frustrating places .. for me they are often quite enjoyable. i heard about a third culture kid who said that he was most comfortable in airports. neither here nor there. leaving and arriving. between the goodbyes and the hellos.
my longest flight was not quite 8 hours, and i had a nice german man for a seatmate. we talked probably 2 hours (i slept more than 4, as well!) and turns out he travels quite a bit more than i do. but .. his whole extended family lives less than 50 miles apart. quite different from my family. he has deep roots and plans to always call the area where he lives just outside frankfurt home. of course, this led to him asking me 'where is your home?' .. and i gave him the answer i've given many times, but which feels more and more true. my parents still live in the same home that they lived in when i was born, so that is indeed one home. at the same time .. home is with people that i love. so when i'm with family or dear friends, regardless of where we are, i'm home. when i'm with innerchange, i'm home. when i'm at any of my 3 churches, i'm home. 'home' in varying degrees .. but still, i think this is true. (if anybody begs to differ, or has a question .. comment away!)
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