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