Christmas Day Fun (Click on the Image to make it bigger)

Everyday Life: A trip to the grocery store and other thoughts

I realized today that most of my blogs are very simplistic. Not a lot of deep thinking here. I'm just writing about everyday life. This is where I am right now. I am over culture shock, but there is still a certain amount of adjusting that it takes, I believe, to live in a foreign country. Most of the adjusting isn't due to drastic changes in life, but the little differences. I think that sometimes my blogs aren't very exciting on the surface because the day to day stuff in my life just isn't that exciting(blog worthy). My days include: riding the public transportation to and from the Raatz, where I teach the girls, teaching the girls (excitement depends on the day!), eating, cooking, reading, language lessons, church on Sunday, and the occasional trip to the grocery store. I try to go to the grocery store only when it is completely necessary. Just going to the grocery store takes a lot of my energy.

I thought I would fill you in on what an experience at the grocery store is like for me. I try to catch a ride to the grocery store when I know others are going, but this is not always the case.If I am going to the store on foot then I like to go to the grocery store on Saturdays. I have a nice, quiet walk through a park on the way to the magazin(store). This store is more modern and has a lot of things to offer the customers. Just about every time I am there the store is pretty crowded. Thank goodness the baskets are a lot smaller than the ones back home. There would be no where to walk. I usually have a very basic list consisting of the essentials: milk, butter, bread, eggs, cheese, and some kind of meat.

Being in the store is overwhelming for me. 1)There are people everywhere 2)I am the foreigner that stands out 3)I am bombarded with voices speaking Romanian, Russian, and who knows what else....most of which I cannot understand and 4) I am trying to figure out exactly what I am buying(the writing on the package could be in Romanian, Russian, English, Arabic, Dutch, or something else.) I have found certain brands that I really like of certain products, so that makes those purchases easier anyways.
The most exciting part(s) of the experience: 1) sometimes there are songs in English over the speakers. Imagine my excitement at hearing Elvis! 2)I usually get to witness one heated conversation in Russian between two frustrated customers waiting not-so patiently in the forever long line.
Record time from my apartment to the store and back: One hour!

Today was no exception to my usual grocery store experience. Like many of you back home probably experienced on Dec. 23/24, that is what I experienced today. You see, most Moldovans don't celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25th like we do. Christmas is officially Jan. 7th. (they go by their old calendar). New Years is a huge deal though. It was evident today by the fact that there were no available carts. There was an increase in customers and the volume of items in their carts. As I scanned the carts around me, I noticed lots of alcohol, cakes, sausages etc. They are getting ready to celebrate big. In fact, New Year's is so big that most places will be closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day! (Nothing was closed on Dec. 25th. It was just a regular, work day here.)

The most stressful part of the grocery store for me is paying. I always hope that I am able to get by with the Romanian I know when asked any questions. It always works out fine, but I don't always know exactly what the cashier has said. The stress is amplified by the fact that I am trying to bag my own groceries, pay, and keep hold of my purse at the same time. Interesting.

So, I am not a frustrated shopper, just an overwhelmed shopper who still needs time to fully adjust to the shopping experience.

I am not bored though with my non-exciting(on the surface)day-to-day life. I take time to find things to laugh about, to ponder life, to try to figure out what other people are saying around me, and I like to analyze situations and guess what people are thinking.

I don't want my time here to fly by without taking time to soak all the differences in culture in. Five months have already come and gone. I still have 5 plus months left. I want to find ways to enjoy the walking, the riding in the public transportation, the fact that I can't understand everything being said, but that I have learned so much, the fact that God has blessed my time here so richly, the fact that God has called me here, and certainly the fact that God cares about and is present in the everyday events of my life.

Dentist Visit #2

So, I went for another dentist visit on Friday. I had another wisdom tooth pulled. Two in one week. How fun. Once again, it was a quick procedure with no pain. Even now, thirty something hours after...I am pain free! Only a little soreness.

I was more ready for the initial shot( to numb the gum) this time. I still cringed and had a death grip on the chair, but I was a BIG GIRL. The dentist and assistant are very efficient and got right to business. As soon as I sat in the chair they were ready with the shot. They were speaking to one another in Romanian and I was preparing myself for the shot. They started laughing. I was thinking to myself, "You (the dentist) have a needle in your hand getting ready to stick it in my gum. I think this should be a really serious moment. Could we stop the laughing please?!?" Then, the dentist says, "nu opriț(no stop), OPEN." He was laughing because he had tried to say,"OPEN" in English, but instead said something completely different in Romanian. Once my gum was numb, it took less than a minute to get the tooth out. The dentist is a very kind man and he says to me when he sees me, "Relax, don't be afraid." Now, I have reason to believe him. He has gained my trust. Both of these wisdom tooth extractions have gone smoothly and I have suffered no pain. I am thankful that I was able to have these minor issues taken care of. I originally went to see the dentist because my teeth/head have been hurting for awhile. I thought I had a couple of cavities. Little did I know.....Anyways, I hope that these recent procedures have alleviated the cause of the pain in my ear/head. Please pray that once the soreness goes away, I will have no other headaches etc. Enjoy the pics.

First BIG Snow!!!

So, it snowed really big here last night. I took a few pictures for you to enjoy. I actually walked for about an hour in it today. It is really strange to be around all this snow. I don't feel very used to it being from TN and then MO for college. This is a lot of SNOW in my opinion. It is beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy it from inside, but I trotted through it today just for fun and to go to this expo where they were selling all kinds of arts and crafts from different countries. I bought a fun t-shirt that has the words" Where is Moldova?" on the front and a map on the back. I thought it would be fun to wear back home because everyone asks, "Where is Moldova?" At the USA booth, I bought some canned tomato soup. I think I will be making tomato soup with grilled cheese pretty soon! So good... Also, at the expo there was a SANTA and he would walk around to the different booths and wish them a Merry Christmas! (Crăciun Fericit! )He is a rather interesting looking Santa, so I thought I would take a picture to show as well. Enjoy!

Tator Tot Casserole

I did my mother proud(I made my mother proud!)!! I attempted to make her version of tator tot casserole last week. I had to tweak the recipe a little as it is hard to find some items here. I actually made homemade cream of mushroom soup since we don't have the canned soups here. I was so excited that I figured out how to make homemade soup! I cut up the mushrooms and everything. I was so excited to find something very similar to tator tots here! Up until recently I hadn't seen any tator tots here, but the week before last I saw them here. They're actually called Croquettes and they tasted more like mashed potatoes than tator tots, but they give the same look. I took it as I sign that I was suppose to make tator tot casserole. Anyway, it turned out great. My roommate and I were pretty excited about it. Here's a couple of yummy pictures. This experience moved my confidence level with my cooking skills up to an eight out of ten. Yay for cooking.

Dentist Visit

On Friday, I went to the dentist to have one of my wisdom teeth extracted. I went for the initial consultation on Wednesday. I thought I had a couple of cavities that were the reasons for the tooth pain I've had lately. One of the dental assistants spoke English, but I had a translator along as well. Apparently my wisdom tooth was growing in wrong, needed to come out, and was causing pain in the neighboring teeth. So, at the visit on Wednesday the dentist wanted to pull my tooth out. You can imagine that I was a little reluctant. I needed some time to process this. So, I scheduled the appointment for Friday. Nancy went with me on Friday to help with translating, but the dentist also knew some English. The worst/best part of it was the shot they give to numb the gum. Just a quick ouch and that's all. I am thankful for the shot because I didn't feel anything, but pressure of course! It was a real quick procedure. The dentist and assistants were very professional and the facilities and equipment were very similar to what I'm used to in America. Just in case you were wondering, it cost about 35 dollars. I am happy to report that I've experienced no pain, just some soreness. I am resting and eating lots of soup. Guess what? The dentist wants me to come back and have another wisdom tooth pulled next week. I have another wisdom tooth that needs to come out. Hopefully, I can get a picture up here if me in the chair at the dentist office.That would be fun.

Thanksgiving in Moldova

So, I had a nice Thanksgiving here complete with two celebrations, turkey, and all the traditional fixings. By the time the second celebration came around, I could hardly move I was full, so I didn't each much at the second shinding. The food was so delectable-I especially enjoyed the green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls, turkey, and stuffing. I basically got to hang out with most all of the Americans I know here. It was a good day. It felt so much like Thanksgiving usually feels that I didn't miss home all that much. The turkey was Moldovan and had lost its life the previous day-skinny thing! I thought I would share a couple of pictures. Enjoy.

Harvest!

Harvest Time! In the churches here they celebrate the fruit of harvests and crops. They decorate the church with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Then, there is a HUGE meal... Lots of interesting foods. I wish I had some pics of the foods that were part of the celebration. I'm not sure what everything was that I tasted, but it was all edible and some of it was even tasty. Some of the churches give away the food to residents of the community. The best way to describe all of this is to say that it's kind of like our Thanksgiving celebration. Yay!

The Apartment (Part 2)

washing machine...

and dryer!!

OurKitchen....

The Apartment (part 1)

Living Room. Sitting area for company. This is our tv and book shelf.

Fold-out couch...

Maybe I will post pics of different rooms in the apt. each week. Maybe that would be fun.

Cooking in Moldova

So, if you know me well at all, you know that I am not a cook. I have never had to cook for myself. I had my mother's wonderful cooking through high school, the school cafeteria(which I actually enjoyed)in college, and then the wonderful kitchen of Nancy here in Moldova. So, now that I am in an apartment, I am learning to cook. We do not have a microwave, so I am really learning to cook! So, last week I made chicken pot pie. It turned out pretty good. I think I shocked myself and my roommate. So, due to this exciting new development of learning to cook, I took a few pictures. Hope you enjoy....we sure did, well the taste that is. (oh, I made some 'K's' out of the dough for my roommate, Kelly). This cooking experience was especially interesting because at the time we did not have any measuring cups. It was all guess work, but everything turned out just fine. I won't even tell you how long it took me to prepare this dinner, but let's just say that I hope my cooking gets faster. Overall, this cooking experience was probably a 7 out of 10. It was definitely a confidence booster.

An Update: New Haircut

So, I have some access to the internet in the apartment now. I am very behind in my updates. I am going to try and update at least once a week-maybe more until I get caught up. So, my hair was getting longer and harder to deal with. So here's my new haircut/style. Hope you enjoy the before and after pictures. Have you ever gone to get a haircut in another country? Think about this for a second....think about the words you use for a haircut... words like: highlights, layers, shoulder-length, trim,(esp. girls) etc. To say the least it was a very interesting event for my roommate and I. Thankfully, the hairstylist did know some English words like: color, highlights, cut etc. My roommate also helped a lot since she knows more of the language than I do. We were pleased with the results of our first "haircut experience" in another country. It was fun!

Living Permits on the Way...

We just heard word that we will indeed receive the living permits. Just in Time! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. Thank you for your prayers.

Living Permits

Just an update to let you know that we still do not have living permits. In order to stay in Moldova we need our living permits! Please pray with the Raatz family and myself that we would receive our living permits. We would like to continue ministry here in the country the Lord has called us to. Thank you for your prayers!

The Latest on Life Here in Moldova

Hello friends and family! I have now been here for 10 weeks! October is just flying by. An update on our living permit situation: We are still in the process of receiving our second document. I'm not sure of the reasoning, but they have decided not to grant us the necessary document. Please pray that the Lord will grant us favor and that the paperwork would be signed, stamped, and processed in a timely fashion.
More news: I will be moving into an apartment this week. Please pray that this transition is a smooth one. I am excited and nervous at the same time. This will be my first experience living in an apartment. I have found a roommate-another American girl working here in Moldova. This is a blessing. So, we will share the apartment and wait for the other missionary associates to come to Moldova.
I appreciate all your prayers and faithful support. Hopefully, I can update this blog soon with some pictures and some exciting stories. For now, I only have time for a quick update. Thanks!

A Quick Update

Ready for church. (This was about a month ago..) We had our first team here. We all had our hair "fixed".

2 months in Moldova…
Can you believe it has already been 2 months? Sometimes it seems like the time has just flown by. Other times, it seems like I’ve been here for ages.

As I reflect back upon my time here thus far, I can see the Lord’s hand and his blessings. For this, I am so thankful! I still have a smile on my face! This is a good thing.

I feel like a lot has happened since my last post. I went to harvest in a village here. The best way to describe this is to say that we had a meal similiar to our Thanksgiving meal. Here, the Moldovans take time to celebrate and thank the Lord for the harvest of crops. I have also spent more time with some American girls that I met here. This has been really encouraging and good for me. I have also gone to youth group a couple of times. Here, youth group is for teenagers and young adults until they married. Youth group is really great. The worship is more contemporary. There are also young Moldovans that have learned some English and are eager to practice speaking. I have met more Moldovan girls my age. I am excited to build relationships with them.

I think that some culture shock has set in, but I am just praying through it. This is the definition of culture shock that makes the most sense to me: the reaction experienced on exchanging a familiar culture for an unfamiliar one. It has been said that anything one struggles with in their home country only intensifies once they on the field in an unfamiliar place. I have found this to be true.

I will have new challenges and trials here. I will have many more opportunities to step out of my comfort zone. I will experience aspects of the culture here that can be frustrating at times(i.e. crowded mini buses). I might even have to change the way I think about things, but the Lord holds my hand through it all! For this, I am so thankful!

Thank you for your prayers and support!! I really do appreciate everyone's prayers, support, and encouragement.

A few more pics...

First Day of School(4 weeks ago!) First Trip to Mickey Dees. Not smiling??

A couple of pics from the center of the city, Chisinau

Statue of Stephen Cel Mare (Stephen the Great)

The arch of triumph...

A Lesson on Courage

Today was my first language lesson. I was so excited about beginning my study of the Romanian language. The excitement was overtaken by the intense fear that I felt about traveling in the city alone to get to my lesson. My outing would take about 3 hours to and from with the lesson included. I would spend about an hour on the minibus and then another 30 minutes or so walking (good exercise). I don’t even travel (on foot) in the city alone back home….with good reason! I kept hoping that something would come up so that I didn’t have to go to my lesson today. i.e. the lesson would be cancelled by my teacher, I would need to work on school stuff, etc. Nothing came up. I even asked the 11 yr. old to come along with me. She didn’t think it sounded like fun (what 11 yr. old would?) I even bribed her with a candy bar. It was to no avail.

Sensing my fear and resistance to this new step for me, Andy and Nancy prayed for me last night and again before I ventured out on my own today. Even though I know that God is with me and I believe in his covering and protection, I still tend to make myself sick with worry. This frustrates me so much. I want to completely trust God and surrender the situation to him. Instead, I give into the flesh and listen to Satan’s lies about everything bad that could happen. When I walk in fear instead of faith, I am paralyzed by the fear.

Today, holding back tears I left our protective gate of the house and my comfort zone to have a lesson in courage. Andy and Nancy both were so encouraging and reassured me of the confidence they had in me. This helped somewhat to build my level of confidence which was zilch. Andy also said, “John Wayne used to say courage is saddling up and riding in spite of the fear (paraphrased by yours truly).” The Bible also tells us that faith is the evidence of things not seen. I know all this, yet I still struggled today.

What it boils down to is that I had to step out and muster up what little courage I could in order to build confidence, grow, and experience God’s faithfulness. A verse that comes to mind is…When I am weak, He is strong!! Today I lacked much. I was extremely weak in faith, but in spite of my fearful self, the Lord blessed, guided, and protected me. Thanks be unto God.

Lesson: Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do. Lesson: The only way to grow is to step out of the comfort zone. Lesson: If I had not stepped out today, I could be in this same place of fear 1 month down the road. How this blog ends: I ended up doing just fine. No one spoke to or bothered me the whole trip. People here don’t smile, make eye contact, or talk to strangers often. It’s the Moldovan way. I was able to stop the bus driver both times where I needed to get off. I didn’t get hit by a fast moving car or even a slow one. None of my worries came to fruition. Not one of them. This builds confidence for the next trip and the next trip. Praise the Lord.

The Things We Take for Granted

Last Sunday at church there was a lady who stood to testify. She was crying and holding up her Bible. It was translated to me that she was praising the Lord for the Bible which she was finally able to get. She had wanted one for a long time. It was a very humbling moment for me as I realized how precious the Word was to her. I thought to myself, "Am I that thankful for the Bible I have? Do I simple take it for granted that I have always had immediate access to my Bible?" It was a convicting thought. One that I took to the Lord for sure. It really made me think about how blessed I am. I should treasure the Word more than I do. So, the next time you read the Word, which will hopefully be everyday, think about the precious words you have daily access to through His Word. Hopefully, your heart will be filled with gratefulness and thankfulness like mine has this week as I pondered this young woman's testimony.

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A side note: At the service I was delighted when the song "Days of Elijah" began to play. I love this song. Too bad I can't remember the words in English. It's really hard to recall the words you know when you hear them in another language at the same time. It was a wonderful and exciting moment. That's for sure!

God Bless.

Dear Friends, (This is from Sunday, but I am just now able to post it!)
Hello! I hope this finds everyone doing well and enjoying life. Sorry to hear about the hot weather most of you are enduring right now. I don’t believe it is quite as hot here, but it is rather warm. It’s probably in the 90’s. The temperature here is in Celsius, not Fahrenheit….and I forget what numbers must be added and then divided…..I think it’s 30 something degrees Celsius.
Anyway, today I attended my second Moldovan church service. It is very different, but good to be able to FREELY worship amongst other members of the Body of Christ. I was able to recognize a couple of the songs again today. Two of the praise and worship songs were: God is good…all the Time...and I Could Sing of Your Love Forever. Do you remember those? Well, I can usually recognize the tune of a couple of the songs, but I am never able to recall the words to the song. It’s frustrating, but I am learning to worship and praise God in spite of the language barrier between me and the fellow church members. After all, God can understand my English words (and that’s what matters)!! Today we had two sermons, as opposed to the 6 we had last Sunday. If there is more than one minister in the service, they all must share a word with the congregation. Today, Andy Raatz the missionary with whom I am working preached and a Russian minister also preached. Andy, of course, had a translator translate his words to the congregation, but I could understand his words perfectly. It was great to hear a sermon in English again. Hopefully, I will be learning some Romanian words soon. This will be helpful except when the speaker is Russian, of course. Many people here speak Russian as well. So far, I know 4 Romanian words: yes (da), no (nu), water (apa), and car (mas(sh)ina).

There are all kinds of differences I could write about…the food, the driving (scary!), the people, the market, etc. While, there are so many differences in the culture here, one thing for sure remains the same; the only hope for the people of Moldova is Jesus. Just like the only hope for America is Jesus! The people here may not smile often (except for the Christians) like a lot of Americans do. The people here may dress differently (Some of them show a lot more skin than I am used to seeing). The people speak different languages. The people eat some different foods than I am used to. The people here may not know how to drive or may drive crazy (ok, that’s the case many times in America, too!). With all the similarities and differences between Moldovan culture and American culture, one thing remains the same: God sent His Son Jesus for these wonderful Moldovan people and ALL PEOPLE. Praise God for His great Grace that reaches beyond the barriers that separate various cultures and countries. Praise God for His Saving Grace.

Will you pray with me for the people of Moldova, the people of America, the people around you that need to know God’s wonderful Son, Jesus and His Saving Grace?

Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and friendship. May God Richly Bless You and Your Family.

2 weeks in Moldova: Adjusting to Life in Moldova

Hello friends and family. Well, I've survived(and enjoyed!) my first two weeks here. Last Wednesday, to mark my first week here(the excuse we used instead of saying "to get out of the kitchen!")we did what any hungry Americans would do when in search of good, American food, we went to McDonalds! I don't usually eat at McDonald's(in America) but once in awhile, but boy was it some tasty,comfort food!

I'm not really doing anything special to mark my second week here. Just checking my emails and preparing for school on Monday. I will start homeschool with the Raatz girls on Monday. Please pray that I would have peace and calm as I prepare for this school year. This is a new thing for me. I've never homeschooled children before. Don't get me wrong, I am way excited about all the learning we will do together. I'm just a bit nervous.

John Bueno, Assemblies of God World Missions Director and Omar Beiler, AG Area Director are in Moldova for a conference this week. I'll go to dinner with them and the Raatz on Friday night.
I am excited to meet them both and fellowship with them over some great food. :)

Tonight, I met an American woman a couple years older named Tanya who works here with another Christian missions organization. It was great to meet another girl my age. I think we will actually get to hang out and become friends. Yay.

One quick story:
So, today it rained pretty hard. When it rains really hard here some of the roads are completely filled with standing water that has no way to drain/run-off(The drainage system must not work properly). The roads here are really rough, with potholes and bumps etc. So, Nancy is driving along and I'm riding along and I realize that it feels like I'm on a water ride at Silver Dollar City. Really....if the car didn't have a roof shielding us from the pouring rain it would have been like a real ride! Just thought you might enjoy a story about the joys of living in Moldova. :)

Life is really good here. I believe I am adjusting well. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. God bless each one of you.

I still don't have immediate access/availabililty to the internet, so please me patient with me as I try to keep up with correspondence.

Enjoying life in Moldova,
Shauna :)

Arrival in Moldova!

I arrived in Moldova approx. 7pm on August 1st. It was a long trip over that included little sleep, going through security numerous times, walking all over airports, waiting in lines, and showing a boarding pass/passport over and over again. I felt extremely tired and pretty sick to my stomach most of the trip, but the Lord helped me to be a real trooper! The whole experience was really new and included a lot of firsts for me, since I've never been overseas. God is faithful! We made our trip with no major problems and we were able to claim all of our luggage. That is a miracle in and of itself.

My time here thus far has been really good. I've kept really busy and I'm very aware that I am really in Moldova. The food is good! I've had chicken, potatoes, corn, and lots of bread. Some of the more common foods during meal time are bread, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and deli meats. Not bad. I've also had a nice bed each night and a hot shower each day. Not bad at all! There's no air conditioning at home or church, but I am getting use to it. Today was church. It was good to be with the Body of Christ even though I didn't understand what was being said. It makes me think about Heaven and how all of God's people will worship together forever. It is a very different experience, but very good. Instead of just one sermon, there were six sermons today. Every minister that is a guest in the church must share a sermon. It's a cultural thing. There were several guest because the church was ordaining a deacon. There was also special music in between sermons. We also had communion. We had the bread like normal(like I'm used to), but we all drank out of the same cup. That was a little different! Also, a cell phone went off in church...even in Moldova! We had Moldovan pizza and coca-cola (hot and without ice) for lunch. Good. I've been drinking lots of water! Very good, cool, filtered water! There is also mineral(gas) water which isn't as good and it has quite a kick to it.
This will be all for now.. I am journaling all the details....
God bless you all,
Shauna

I'm off!

I'm leaving on a jet plane....don't know when I'll be back again....

Just a quick note to say...I HAVE NO DAYS LEFT in Memphis. I'm leaving tomorrow morning.

Thanks for your faithful prayers and support.

I plan to keep in touch with everyone.

God bless!

Shauna

Raatz Family

I am preparing to leave for Moldova. It is a somewhat busy and exciting time. I will be flying with the family on Tues. Please pray for safe travels and that things go smoothly for both me and the family. I am excited about this journey and I'm blessed that God has ordained this missionary associate position for this season of my life. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us and for the people of Moldova.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Check out these sweet pictures! ( I am thrilled that I figured out how to upload them!)

Miracle of Life

We have a new member of the family, Montanah Leann.

She arrived 07/23 and is beautiful.

Thank you Lord for the blessing she is.

God always PROVIDES!

Just an update to let you know that I will be flying to Moldova on July 31st! That's 7 days away!!! Praise the Lord for working all things out according to his plan.

The ticket has been purchased and I am going to be able to fly over with the missionary family. :)

(Liz,)Can you hear me shouting!! I am so excited. Thank you for your faithful prayers, friends.

There is still LOTS to be done and I've been pretty sick in body, so please pray for strength for me in this last week here.

Thanks and PRAISE THE LORD!!

God's will for my travel plans

Please pray that everything goes well with my travel plans. I am trying to leave in two weeks. I have received financial and visa clearances from Springfield, but I need to receive my travel clearance very soon. I will need to purchase the ticket this week. So, pray that everything works! If everything does work out then I will get to fly to Moldova with the Raatz family. Yay.

Thanks for the prayers,
Shauna

Colorado

Well, I am back from Colorado. It was AMAZING! I was able to visit with family and friends in Colorado Springs. It was great to spend time touring the sites and catching up with the family. My friend Annie went along with me on the plane ride and stayed with me in CO. It was wonderful to have this whole experience with her. It was a short but sweet trip with many blessings. I will share stories with anyone who wants to know them, but I don't really care to type them here. They are really better in person anyways. I just wanted everyone to know that I had a fun and safe trip. I'll be heading home on Saturday...tomorrow!So, pray for safe travels. I'm off to pack!

Maybe I'll see you soon!

A Very Blessed Birthday

I had such a good day on Wednesday. For my birthday, I went to Silver Dollar City. The best part: It was free(because someone bought me a pass)!! I rode all the rides! It was so scary and so thrilling for me(especially the Giant Swing!). It was good for me to once again face my fears! Also, I found out that I enjoy bluegrass. Rhonda Vincent was performing at SDC and we went to see her show. It was a good time!
In the evening I went to see one of Branson's new shows, SIX. The performers are six real brothers who sing and do all the sounds of instruments with only their mouths. There are no instruments. There is no band. IT was so entertaining and unlike anything I've ever seen. This super sweet couple sitting next to us really enjoyed the fact that we were enjoying the show so much. They bought my friend Emily and I both a CD!! How kind of them! It was really a neat day! Thank you,Lord for such a special day to have fun.

A Blessed Graduation Weekend

Well, I graduated! It was a great weekend!! I was able to see and spend time with wonderful friends and family. It was a very tiring, busy, and overwhelming time. The weekend was very full, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I have been extremely blessed to have wonderful mentors and friends help, love, and support me through life. It was a blessing to see all my friends this weekend. C of O has been such a huge blessing in my life. I am so thankful for God ordering my steps to C of O. Just for the record I used the words blessed/blessing/ wonderful 6 times in 8 sentences. It is so true though!
Thanks to all of you who traveled from Memphis to be here for such a special occasion. I would like to share a special story about this weekend. I had a huge surprise on Sun. morning(the day of graduation). Some friends of ours, the Vaughns traveled up 6 hours Sunday morning to see the graduation(and me :)) only to turn around and go straight back home following the ceremony. The surprise was that I didn't know they would be coming!! I was standing in line with my fellow graduates waiting for the ceremony to start, when I saw a familiar face. My first response was "What are you doing here?"(I was surprised) Anyway, it was a blessing for them to be at the graduation. It meant a lot to me that they made the effort to be there. The real story begins after they left the graduation though!
They were driving home and ran into some car trouble. Someone stopped and drove them into the next town to a police station. The police officer called a towing company. It was Sunday and Mother's Day, but someone was working!!(God's doing) The man said that he usually didn't work, but he was catching up on some paperwork. So, get this: the man asked where they were headed and they said, Memphis. The man said he would be driving to Memphis the next day! So, he gave them a rental car for FREE! And...He towed the car for FREE!! Praise the Lord. I love it when God chooses to increase our faith in such circumstances as the example in this story.

Just one example of God's faithfulness

Yesterday my friends at my home church signed up to make new monthly pledge commitments towards my missionary associate assignment in Moldova. The total of all the new commitments comes to $1020.00!! YAY! This brings my monthly pledge support from 32% to 79%. I am so blessed by the Lord's faithfulness to provide.

I am so thankful for each and every person who has given a one-time gift, those who have been supporting me for a while, and those who just joined the team!! Essentially, these people have caught the vision of what God is doing in Moldova.

You see, God is changing the hearts of men and women there who will then influence those around them. Once the Home of Hope is open in Moldova, women who have experienced abuse, despair, hardship etc. will receive hope and healing in Christ! Praise the Lord.

Thanks to all who are praying for my support raising, for the women who need hope and healing, and for change in the hearts of the people there. God Bless you each as you give faithfully as the Lord has laid on your heart to do.

Thank you!!

New Experiences: Roller Coasters and Fun?

I had the opportunity to go to Celebration City and Silver Dollar City last week. I rode roller coasters at both theme parks. What a thrill! Some of you may be in shock. I have never been a fan of roller coasters. They usually just SCARE me.
While at college, I also had the opportunity to go to Six Flags and Worlds of Fun. I usually just rode the roller coasters because someone else paid for me and all my friends were riding, NOT for my enjoyment. After getting on the rides, I did indeed SCREAM, but I usually laughed my head off as well. I also prayed a lot. I always made deals with God....Lord, if you just get me off this ride, alive I will go whenever and do whatever....! :)
This past week, I really did enjoy the roller coasters. I realized 2 things from these new experiences:
1)I have grown out of some of my fears. This is good news. In life, it is so easy to fear things, or at least it is really easy for me to fear things. I must channel my worry and fear into trust and faith in the Lord and His care.
2) Life is full of new experiences!! I am getting ready to leave for Moldova(in August) and while there I will have many new experiences. Some of these new experiences could cause fear to arise in my life, but I choose to trust the Lord and his faithfulness. I also choose to look forward to all of the new experiences I will have overseas!

Busy, Busy

I am so busy right now. I feel like I have so much I need to take care and so many people to see. It is crunch time. I will only be in Branson through May, so I am trying to make each day count. If you are reading this and we have not had some "hang out" time in awhile, please call. I would love to visit with everyone before I leave to go back home.

Lord,
Help me to rest in you during this busy season. I know that you will take care of everything. I give it all to you and trust that you will provide the time for me to accomplish what is necessary. May each day be a testimony of your faithfulness in my life. Thank you for peace that comes from living in your presence.
Amen

Hillsong United~Worship

So, tonight my friend Emily and I went to a free concert. Well, there were so many people there that the sanctuary filled up 30 minutes prior to the start of the concert. SO, they had an overflow room. We were happy to be there at the free concert and all, but we would have loved to at least sit in the balcony. Sitting in overflow wasn't at all the same, but we were there to worship not just to view a concert. We were there not to be part of the audience, but to participate in worship to a living God. It just really got me thinking about how worship shouldn't only happen in a powerful, loud,sanctuary and worship-band- experience. We, as Christians should be worshippers in all that we do~everyday. It shouldn't take a popular song or popular band to get us energized and excited about the God we serve. We can worship God as we work and play. We can worship God as we drive, do laundry,eat, & shop. We can worship God in all things. Anyways, it was a great time of worship.

New Blog

Dear friends and family,
I just began this blog today. I am going to use this to update everyone here about my progress in raising support for Moldova. Once I am in Moldova, I can use this for frequent updating. So, remember to check this often for all the latest info about all things Moldova.