Last Day in Moldova

My students and I at my goodbye lunch on Saturday. Aren't they cute?

I have no days left in Moldova! It seems like just yesterday that I was typing that from my home in Memphis about leaving for Moldova. Now I am packing and saying my last goodbyes. Wow. Does time fly or what??

I leave on an early morning flight tomorrow for Bucharest. (I forgot to mention in an earlier post that I opted(or was persuaded by my colleagues) to take a flight out of Chisinau, instead of the train ride. The flight is only a little over an hour, so it should be easy.

God has been so faithful to bless my time here in Moldova in unexpected ways. I am so blessed to have been afforded this opportunity to live and work in another country. My life no doubt has been changed forever. How will I ever forget all the faces, sights, sounds, and smells?? I won't. I will carry this time in Moldova with me for life. I will always have fond memories of the Moldovan friends I made, the culture experiences I tried to embrace, and the students that made it all worthwhile.

I won't miss: the crowded mini-buses, the heat (no air conditioning), or the men wearing speedos as they sunbath at the park.

However, I will miss: all of my friends, students, and co-workers, all the great food, the cheap icecream and candy, my times in worship with the Moldovan body of Christ, the walking, the easy and cheap public transportation system, and so much more!!

Thank you for reading this blog and supporting me during my time in Moldova.

What's next when I return to Memphis?
I am not sure. I am praying and looking into several opportunities. At this time I am not worried about, but rather I trust God's plans.

Will I continue this blog? I hope so. I think I will turn this into a 'Life After Moldova blog'. Still thinking that through.

God bless,
Shauna

p.s. Next time I blog, I will be stateside. Woo Hoo!

Last Day of School

We finished our school work on the first Friday of June. We didn't have our official last day of school until the following Friday though. On this last day, we exchanged gifts and I gave the girls certificates and notes. My Dutch friend, Alida came over with her students(also missionary kids)to teach my students and I about Holland. We learned many interesting things including information about: the royal family, the money, the national anthem, and so much more. It was so much fun! The girls wanted to play a soccer game: Holland vs. U.S. It worked out great because there are 3 American girls and 3 Dutch girls. They had fun,but Holland won!
Here are some pictures from our fun day:

Dina showing us what the Euro from Holland looks like.
Team Dutch singing their anthem
Team U.S. singing the anthem. I am smiling because we did a really rough job hitting the notes and remembering all the words.

Noa guarding the goal
Me with Natalie after I gave the certificates
Elissa and I
Lauren and I
Alida, Noa, Dina, and Jada singing the national anthem. I think.
Jada is singing

Sorry it took me a long time to post these pictures.

Happy Birthday, Heather!!

Action photo: This is Sara, my roommate, Heather, birthday girl and MK, and I. The Raatz girls, my students are in front. Nancy was wiping chocolate off of Elissa's mouth and we were all watching!! The cake was yummy!
The real photo!
Happy 16th Birthday, Heather!!

Trip to Iasi,Romania (Part 1)

Monday through Wednesday, our team took a retreat/team-building trip into Romania. It was my first time leaving Moldova since last August. I was super excited to visit Romania. It was my very first time to see Romania. It felt like a different world compared to Moldova, but in many ways the countries are still very similiar. There were 12 of us traveling in three vehicles. Everyone got through all borders just fine. It was my very first experience crossing borders of different countries, too. Here are some pictures from my trip.

In Iasi, our first stop was a mall. The mall had a small food court so we ate at KFC! How exciting to have American fast food other than McDonalds.

I don't recall ever eating a lot of KFC in America, but boy was it TASTY. I had a chicken sandwich with fries.
We stayed at a hotel called "Little Texas". It was a wonderful place that was decorated with all things Texas/cowboys/Western style. The owner is an American from Texas. He opened the hotel and restaurant as business as missions.
Front of restaurant. The restaurant served MEXICAN food, of course. Oh, it was so tasty. They also served the most amazing complimentary breakfast ever. I definately took advantage of the restaurant and enjoyed all the delicious food.
The part of the hotel my roommate Sara and I stayed in.
Natalie and Lauren climbing a tree.
My new roommate Sara and I.
Elissa, Natalie,Lauren, and I
Heather, Heidi, and I.(My eyes are closed, though). They are a lot in pictures. What do you do?

What School Can Do To A Kid...

Look at HOW FrAzZlEd she is!

So cute!!

Teacher's Pet

She had just taken her hair out of braids...thus the WILD HAIR!!! How fun!

Better Late Than Never

Today I blog with not just good news, but GREAT news!! Today, I have another reason to praise the Lord! TODAY... are you ready?

drum
roll
please....
Nancy and I received our LIVING PERMITS. *8 months in Moldova and we finally have them* woo HOOO!!!

The Lord is always worthy of praise, glory, and honor, but today we CELEBRATE the fact that He is in control and that He brings all things to pass in His timing. The WAITING is over. This long process is over. I am not writing with news that we will receive the documents tomorrow or next week. I have the documents in HAND. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Thank you for your faithful prayers concerning this matter. A huge weight has been lifted and it feels really good! God is faithful.

GIRLS NIGHT!!

Tonight Heidi and Heather(missionaries here) and Elissa, Natalie, and Lauren(MKs and my students) came over to my apartment to watch movies and eat lots of junk food. We watched Game Plan and Nancy Drew. These movies were both really cute and fun. We ate grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, chips, popcorn, cookies, and drank soda! It was a lot of fun hanging out with the girls. I thought I would post some pics. Enjoy.


Heidi and I

Elissa, Heather, Lauren, and Natalie




Ok, It's late and I can't decide if the Girls should be with an apostrophe s or not. Please forgive.

Sweet Hugs and Emotions

Last night Nancy and the girls arrived home to Moldova. I mentioned in a previous post to pray for Nancy after she received news that her mother had gone to be with Jesus. Well, Nancy returned to the states and Andy and the girls joined her in the states a few days later. Andy returned to Moldova a week and a half ago. Last night the girls returned! It was so good to see Nancy and the girls. The girls are so full of life and energy and we exchanged some very sweet hugs. Today after our first day back to the books(since Feb. 19), I even received more hugs! Very sweet. I'm glad that everyone is back in the country and we can continue on with our normal schedule. I think the girls are very much ready to be back in the swing of things as well. Everyone is tired from the emotions over the last three weeks, but glad to be home. Thanks for praying for the Raatz family.

The airport is a very emotional place for me. For one thing I am always so nervous in airports and definately not relaxed. On the other hand, I am so touched by watching all the families reunite after someone has been out of the country for a long time. It never fails. Each time I have been to the airport to pick someone up or drop someone off, I am moved to tears. It's those bitter-sweet kind of tears.

Please Pray

Nancy, the missionary wife with whom I work just found out some very sad news about her mom today. She was previously scheduled to fly out in the morning to spend two weeks with her family.Now this news. I am staying the night with the girls as Andy is taking Nancy to the airport in the morning. Please pray for Nancy and the whole family this week. The kids are having a pretty hard time with all of this.

Here is a link to her prayer blog for more specifics from Nancy's own words.

http://raatzmoldova.blogspot.com/

Thanks,
Shauna

I Have a Friend Named Bob

I have a friend named Bob

who likes to disappear. But when I want him back -He's right behind my ear!!

My students like to do this little hand trick. I think it's fun, so I thought I would take some pics of them. The words of the hand trick are listed with the pictures. Bob is the top of a thing of chapstick.

Fixin' to learn me some English, ya'll!

This blog was prompted by this comment from one of my students this week: "Hey, you can learn Romanian and English while you're here (in Moldova)!" This comment was said in good fun and was followed by laughs from all, but it got me thinking.

From the time I first walked through the 'Gates of Opportunity' at my college, I've heard this question over and over again, "Where are you from?" This question undoubtedly was asked in reference to my southern drawl. My reply was always, "TN." The next comment was always something in reference to my accent or "I thought so." Now, I know I have an accent and I'm sure it was pretty strong when I first left TN for MO. In those early days of college I tried to deny it by asking, "What accent?" In all reality though, I heard all sorts of accents on my college campus.

Even now as I am working and living with other Americans from northern states, I can hear their accents as well. My student mentioned above would say that she does not have an accent, but that I just "talk wrong."

So, during school yesterday we decided to have a little fun and we made a list of just some of the word endings that I say differently or with a southern accent/drawl. Here are the word endings and a couple of examples. See if you can identify!

Word endings:
ail as in mail I say mail like this: Did you get the male(or mill)?
ill as in hill I say hill like this: We climbed up the heal.
eel as in peel I say peel like this: I am going to pill these potatoes.
ull as in full I say full like this: This bag is too fool.
eal as in heal I say heal like this: The Lord has hilled us!

As a teacher, these were very important realizations for me and a good reminder to make sure that I use correct pronunciations and enunciate my words. I don't want to leave any endings off my words like we tend to do at home. For example, I hope you enjoyed this blog. I am fixin' to go to bed....

Christmas in Moldova (No, this isn't late...Christmas is Jan. 7th here)!!

The Raatz' Christmas Tree. Quite the difference from mine and Kelly's! It was really pretty. For Christmas, my roommate and I spent the night with the Raatz family. We had a wonderful time the next morning opening our stockings from Santa :) and watching the girls open all their presents. It truly was a wonderful time and it definitely felt like Christmas.

My Christmas gits, stocking stuffers, and cards. Thanks for the Christmas cards, friends! Some of my gifts included: headbands(which I will need to wear to church here), gloves, movies, a wonderful necklace, notebook, and a wrap. My parents sent a special surprise package. I didn't know anything about it until Christmas morning. I almost cried. It was really special. Thanks Mom and Dad! Thanks also to the Raatz who made my Christmas extra special. God Bless!

me and my roommate kelly by our "charlie-brown-christmas-tree"

I'm sporting the polka dot pjs!!

Scroll down to previous posts for more Christmas Day fun!!

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

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.