More pics from teen pizza party

                                                ping pong champs

                                                       Orthodox Church in Craiova

Pizza Party with the Youth

Last night was a blast, we had an extra treat to be able to join in on the church's youth pizza party.  There were about 30 youth ranging in age from 16-30. We had Romanian pizza with eggs and corn and no tomatoe sauce.  We had to add ketchup, spicy or mild on after if we wanted.  Actually it was really good.  Watch out Dominoes!!  It was fun meeting all the youth that are involved with the summer camp ministry with Blackhawk.  They all send a big ,"Buna Ziua" to all the youth back home, especially Nate since they have now met his mom. We spent today finishing preparations for leaving for our retreat tomorrow morning. We are so excited to minister and serve these women.  More to come!! We are all doing great and staying healthy. Love you all  and miss you!!!!

                                 Karen teaching finances with a Biblical perspective and translated by Rich

                                                             Karen excited to share

Financial Seminar

Last night was the first of two financial seminars. We had a full, diverse crowd of Romanians, who took a lot of notes and asked a lot of questions. Karen led the night with Rich translating. The average monthly income of a Romanian is between $300-$500 per month. Stand alone home ownership is not common. Most people live in small apartments that they own. An average apartment costs $60,000. They are all looking forward to the next seminar on Tuesday, when they will come back with worksheets completed and have a chance to ask questions.

Random photos from Romania

Arc of Triumph in Bucharest

                                             Norika host of Barb and Francine

                                                               Vali Emi Liefi and Lavi

                                                           Pat and Irina

                                                    Pastor Rich and the Romania women's team

meeting in the church with the Romania leaders

Rainy day in Craiova

Even though it has been a rainy day here it hasn't put a damper on our preparations.  We have split up and gone our separate ways to get things done.  Pat and Diane were able to visit the orphanage for disabled children.  It was an amazing experience.  They toured the facility, met the Dr. in charge, the staff and of course the children.  The children were all moderately to severely disabled but well taken care of. Diane was able to meet with two of the physical therapists and was pleasantly surprised when they asked her to help them with their therapy times with a few of the children to share therapy ideas and techniques.  They also want her to come back next week. Lief, Emily, Larry and some of the Romania leadership went up to the mountains to check out a potential summer camp for the Blackhawk youth mission trip. Barb and Francine's host took them on a tour of one of Europe's largest natural parks, and then came back to the church to pray and work on retreat materials.  Jacquie and Karen held down the fort at the church and prepared for the retreat.  Tonight as  I write Karen and Francine are presenting the first of two financial seminars.  A good sized, diverse group came.  We are all really enjoying staying in Romania homes and getting a real taste of the culture, language and life here. Will post more photos soon.  Take care, love you all!

Pictures!

Getting ready to pack in the sardines for our 8 hour flight!

At the Romania Airport with all of our luggage and part of the Romanian team.

Toni and Sorin came to Madison last year at this time and stayed at Diane's home. Now, Sorin and Toni are hosting Diane!

We Are Here!

After 24 hours of travel by plane, bus, taxi, and train we arrived in Craiova, Romania for dinner. We were greeted at the train station with flowers and banners along with lots of hugs :) After a most delicious meal of fresh chicken and potatoes (so, so good), we were off to our host families for a full night's rest. We are staying with Romanian families in groups of two. Many of them have sacrificed their own beds for us to sleep on.

Today we are continuing to get acclimated and beginning to plan for our financial training class tomorrow night and the woman's retreat this weekend.

We will try to post pictures later today!

The excitement is building!

Dear Family and Friends,

Over the past six months we have planned and prepared for something that was only a dream before that. Our small team of ten people has spent many hours, many hours, working to prepare for this venture. We realize that we can dream, make our plans, and set our course of action but only God knows what He wants accomplished, what is needed, and what lies ahead for us. Hopefully we have been sensitive to His leading so that we are bringing with us what is needed to accomplish His will. Personally, I know that I will be bringing a heart overflowing with love for the Romanian people. And, a heart eager to share this experience with some of the best teammates ever!! We have prayed and prepared... we are ready and eager to see His plan revealed. Thank you for your love and support. We truly feel that you are journeying along with us. We will try to be faithful in keeping this blog up to date. Please check in frequently. And, of course, we would enjoying hearing comments from you.

Pat

Packing Party

We have packed the bags, (almost all of them) and are excited to be on our way. We will try to post daily once we leave so keep your computers ready! Thank you all for your prayers and financial support, without you this trip would not be possible.  We love you all!

Team Preparations Underway!

The Romania Women's Retreat Team from Blackhawk Church is busy with preparations for their upcoming trip! The team leaves Saturday, March 26, 2011 for Craiova, Romania.

Be sure to check back often for updates from the team!