Class, Medias and on the road again.

The last day of class was super fun as I divided the students in to groups of similar personalities. They realized that having people unlike us is a valuable commodity. We need those who are NOT like us in order to function as a complete "body". We laughed a lot as we saw the struggle to work with those who are strong and weak in the same areas weare. Balance and unity is essential to function as a whole and be most effective in our callings. I love it when a plan comes together!!!

After our final class, Troy, Paul, Stacey and I drove to Medias (about 2 hours southeast of Cluj). We had lunch at the YWAM base and toured the facilities. They are still finishing their facilities, but there are great views from the base like the one below. They also have a very innovative and Eco friendly heating system. It is designed to trap the cold from the winter underground for cooling the base in the summer. Likewise, the warm air from the summer is saved to help heat the building in the winter. From the outside, the facility looks like a work in progress, but inside it was quite cozy and nice.

The heating system.

We are hoping to have a basketball camp in Medias this summer. They have 2 gyms near the base. The town is significantly smaller than Cluj, but has a lot of Olde World feel. It boasts one of the last remaining citadels in Europe that still has people living within the walls. One of the Clock towers is leaning and is in the top 5 of towers in Europe that lean a little more each year, yet continue to be intact.

Medias is also where Paul grew up, so we visited the "block" where he grew up and where his father still resides. I was so excited to see inside a communist built apartment building. I don't really know why, I have just always been fascinated by the concept of growing up in a country that was communist. I remember watching the Olympics and the announcers talking about how some of the athletes grew up in one room apartments. It's a curiosity thing I guess. Anyway, we met Paul's delightful Dad (Antee) and made jokes with him. He is a sweet man. I felt so honored to get to meet Stacey's Father in law.

Troy was not feeling good all day and was such a trooper for going along and pushing through his illness. I felt so bad for him. When we got back to Cluj, we went to "Tonight Pizza" and had some of the best pizza I have ever had!! We slept for a few hours and flew from Cluj to Budapest this morning at 6 am. Now, we are waiting for our flight to Kiev where we will spend less than 48 hours. The journey is a blast!! :) Troy is feeling better and we will soon be on Flight #5 of 17! :)

Teaching and sweet friends

This has been a very full week!! Yesterday and today I taught in the Discipleship Training School at YWAM Cluj. The topic was Personalities and how they contribute to unity in the body of Christ. It has been fun. I really enjoy getting to know the students and hearing their stories. They dream big dreams for God and want to be used by Him to bless this world. It's amazing!!! I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach again.

This afternoon, Troy and I took a taxi to Iulius Mall to meet with some of our Crossover Camp kids. Ale', Pistru, and Sorin met us at the food court and we had a great time chatting with them. They are such delightful kids. As we were leaving we got to see Arpi for a minute. Such a joy!! They are excited for the camp this summer. I just never get tired of seeing how good God is to give me relationships with people all over the world. How did I get so blessed?

Here we are with the kids at the mall. Love them!!!

Romania (Food, Birthday and Friends)

Two of my very favorite things about traveling are: Experiencing new food, and PEOPLE!!!

When we arrived in Romania, I was greeted with a welcome basket full of Romanian goodies. One of the things that Paul made sure he included was a small bucket of "Crap". Apparently it is a vegetable spread for Crackers and the like. I laughed so hard at the name! Unfortunately, it contains onions, and I am allergic, so I could not eat it, but how hilarious is that?!!

My very favorite thing about Romania is a snack that is made in small stands on certain streets. It is a Hungarian treat called "Kurtos" (Pronounced Ker-tosh). OH MY GOODNESS....It is delicious! Stacey and I went to get some and they did not have enough of our favorite kind, so they made one right as we waited. They wrap dough around a wooden spindle. They put the spindle on a rotating gear that rolls the dough over hot coals to cook it. Then, the spread it with something to make it sticky and sprinkle sugar, cinnamon and crushed walnuts on it. We ate an entire roll on the way home between Stacey, Troy, Paul and I. It's even better warm peeps!! :) Here is a picture of the ladies in action making the Kurtos.

"Lost in Translation" is a term that becomes familiar after a few trips overseas. There are some expressions that simply don't translate well. There are some words that we use that are normal to us that are the absolute WORST cuss word you could ever say in another country. For example, if you say "my foot" in English you are clearly referring to the part of your body that keeps you balanced and able to get from point A to point B. In Romania, those words are highly offensive. In turn they have expressions that sound exactly like our most eye popping vulgar terms. Discussing the usages can be quite entertaining. Troy's reaction to the use of the Romanian equivalent to "I will" turned in to a half an hour of uncontrolled laughter around Paul's birthday dinner table.

Following Dinner for Paul's 33rd birthday, we joined many of his friends at a local bowling alley to celebrate his birthday. We bowled and shot pool and had lots and lots of Romanian cakes. Thanks for being born Paul!!! :)

At the birthday celebration we were joined by some of our dear campers from the Crossover Camps here in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. DeDe had a career ending injury last year and she brought us gifts that were especially significant to her career in Basketball. She gave Troy a bear that she had taken to every game she ever played. She gave us her first basketball jersey to give to another Crossover player who was significant to he

r in the camps, and she gave me a championship medal that she won in 2008 during one of her greatest seasons.

We also got to visit with Cristi and Sorin who are dear friends from the Crossover Camps. These guys are awesome!!!

Me with DeDe
Troy and I with Cristi Bulucz (Paul's younger brother)
Troy and Sorin

TRAVEL....

The adventure begins!! We left Denver on Saturday morning and flew to Newark, NJ. It was so warm in Denver that I forgot to bring my coat. The reality of COLD weather without a coat hit me when I stepped off the plane in NJ. (HAHA!!!! I am praying that the layers I brought will be enough!!) Troy had to go through security twice because he had water in his water bottle. (This is going to be a fun trip!! )

As we were boarding in Newark, I had to go to the bathroom so badly that I left Troy at the gate to "hold the plane" and sprinted to the bathroom before we boarded. Once on the plane, we had a whole row to ourselves. Thank you Lord!!! The flight was great!

Our connection in Munich was smooth and we took a bus out to our plane. As we were driving I realized that we were going to be on a small Propeller plane. I turned to Troy and said "We're gonna be on a prop plane." I wish I had a picture of his face. Below are some pictures of the propeller plane. Oh man!!! It was hilarious, but beautiful flying over the Alps!!!

When we got off the plane in Cluj, I was getting on the bus to go to the terminal and a plane agent chased me down to hand me my passport that fell out of my pocket.......GOODNESS!!!!!! Thank you Jesus for watching over us!!!

Please continue to pray for us!!! We are leaning on His Grace.

Itinerary

Hey everyone....

Well, t-minus....less than 48 hours before we leave on this around the world journey. Troy arrived in Denver this morning and we are busy with preparations.

Here is our schedule:

Saturday, January 29

Denver to Newark Depart 10:20am Arrive 4:10pm

Newark to Munich Depart 5:30pm Arrive 7:40am Sunday, January 30

Sunday, January 30

Munich to Cluj Depart 9:25am Arrive 12:20pm

SAturday, February 5

Cluj to Budapest Depart 6:10am Arrive 6:10am (I know...weird right? It's an hour flight and they are one hour behind Cluj.)

Budapest to Kiev, Ukraine Depart 12:50pm Arrive 3:25pm

Monday, February 7

Kiev to London Depart 2:10pm Arrive 3:45pm

London to Johannesburg Depart 8:05pm Arrive 9:00am (Tuesday, February 8)

Tuesday, February 8

Johannesburg to Lilongwe Depart 10:00am Arrive 12:25pm

Sunday, February 13

Lilongwe to Johannesburg Depart 1:15pm Arrive 3:45pm

Johannesburg to Hong Kong Depart 5:05pm Arrive 12:15pm (Monday, February 14)

Monday, February 14

Hong Kong to Xian Depart 2:35pm Arrive 5:05pm

Saturday, February 19

Xian to Guangzhou Depart 5:20pm Arrive 7:45pm (Overnight stay in Guangzhou)

Sunday, February 20

Guangzhou to Manila Depart 8:45am Arrive 10:55am

Tuesday, February 22

Manila to Honolulu Depart 7:50pm Arrive 11:45am

We will fly to Hilo from Honolulu for three days to see Robyn and recruit at University of Hawaii Hilo. February 22-25 then back to Honolulu for 4 days 25-28 with Shane.

Monday, February 28

Honolulu to Phoenix Depart 11:50pm Arrive 8:43am (Tuesday, March 1)

Thursday, March 3

Phoenix to Denver Depart 10:20am Arrive 12:05pm

PLEASE pray for us!!! I am asking God for safety, protection, and for our luggage to be with us at every stop. Please agree with me!!! :) :) :)

Beautiful

I normally just write about events that are happening on this blog, and keep personal musings to myself. However, I have been in a season of self-examination and contemplation lately, and I thought it might be cool to "blog it".

As a woman, there is no greater desire than to be affirmed in our beauty. We want to feel loved and secure and much of that centers around how we see ourselves, and how we perceive that others see us. Wrong or right, we need affirmation of our beauty. In a perfect world, we would be satisfied with God's approval and that would be all that we needed. Truly, that is the aim of most Christian women I know...to be confident that we are accepted in the Beloved, and therefore, if men don't notice us, we are ok with it.

Having said that, I don't know a single woman who is able to accomplish that goal of being completely secure in Christ and not caring what men think about our appearance. It matters so much, that we can, quite literally, have a ruined day from a snide comment or off-hand remark.

Should we let the opinions of men influence us so greatly? Probably not. Yet, so often we struggle and struggle and struggle to put our beauty in God's hands and trust Him with it. It's so hard to live on earth and not compare ourselves to others. It is so hard to be alone with no physical representations of love. Is God enough? Yes. He is. Does it always "feel" like He is? No. It does not.

From the time I was 13, my beauty has been assaulted on numerous occasions with crushing blows. For MANY years, the words spoken to me by careless boys defined my perception of myself as "ugly", "unattractive" and "undesirable". God has relentlessly pursued me during this time to affirm that HE had a plan and HE loved me as I was. He continued to put dreams in my heart that only HE could fulfill and STILL challenges me to believe them.

In the past 5 years, I have been more confident than I ever have been. God's identity for me started to take root and I began to move beyond the things that men had said about me. I made changes for the better and fell in love with my creator. I got to the place where He became my "Everything". I was content. I was blessed and enjoyed being spoiled by my Heavenly Father. The dream of an earthly companion did not go away, but it did not seem so desperately important.

In the past month, the enemy has started a fresh assault. He has attacked the person that God created me to be and has begun new lies. "You are too independent now, no man will be brave enough to pursue you." "You are too picky." "You are a coward for not wanting to meet a man who does not have the same desires for ministry." etc. etc. Somehow, assaults on my character also make me feel ugly! It's amazing how the enemy pushes buttons.

God is faithful. I have maintained that statement for so many years, it just rolls off my tongue and I don't even think about what I am saying! But, it's true. I believe that what He says is true. If HE says I am accepted. I am.

Mercy Me recently released a song called "Beautiful". Some of the words are so poignant to me at this time. "Praying that you have the heart to fight. Cuz you are more than what is hurting you tonight. For all the lies you've held inside so long...they are nothing in the shadow of the Cross. ......You're the one HE loves...enough to die. You're beautiful. You are made for so much more than all of this. You are treasured, you are sacred, you are HIS."

My prayer is that you who read this will truly search your hearts and ask God to come and heal the broken places that have come as the result of careless words. I don't think that any of us realize how deadly we can be when we speak. I am convicted to watch my tongue and to try to speak life....and only life. It is a challenge, but may I never be one who robs another of the dream God has for them because of what they believe based on my words and actions.

Hmm...that felt good to say! Lord, have your way. :)

Happy New Year 2011!!!!

New Year's is my favorite Holiday. I love the freshness of a new year with no mistakes in it. I know that we are to live rightly everyday, but I love the thought of a new start. A new year with nothing written in it yet. This year, I started celebrating early by attending a birthday party for my friend Lorrie. She has been on bed rest for over a year with a severe health issue. A few of us gathered to celebrate her life and hang out. Happy Birthday Lorrie!! You are a special lady and I admire your strength.

One of the things that I love about my job is getting to entertain alumni from Crossover. I love when they come to Denver so that I can show them around. Amber Satterfield came to visit for a week around New Year's, and we had a great time with her brother. We went to Red Rocks Amphitheater on the coldest day of the winter thus far. The views from there are breath-taking (Or maybe that was the 9 million stairs to get to the top!?) :)

We brought in the new year by attending a "Mafia" party at the home of Alex and Alisa Wood.

Many people dressed up as Mafia and there was even a victim in costume! It was super fun to ring in the new year with fun, laughter and friends.

We also spent a lot of time with Crossover friends playing games, shopping, sledding, playing Basketball, and bowling.

I had a new adventure a couple of days after new years. I know it is not a big deal to some people, but I had my first ever Oyster. Zo was a trooper and took one with me. It was a "true bonding experience!" haha!!

Happy New Year to all! May God's richest blessings follow us and show us more of His love in 2011.