Cold Weather Camping

Andrew got in his second camp out (Feb. 6-9) with the Boy Scouts! The weather was quite warm in the day for a hike, but cold at night in the tent!!

Learning to start a fire

Hiking in the warm winter weather!

Making bread around the campfire

Then the next weekend we had a Cub Scout camp out with the boys at BCA. We had a blast sledding at Predeal and helping the boys cook!!
Andrew & Zach going downhill!!

Middle & High School Banquets Feb. 2009

Andrew and Hannah attended their first middle school banquet on Feb. 6. They had a great time and got to eat Mexican food. Needless to say Mom and Dad were quite jealous of the food!

Middle School Banquet

Hannah and her friend Emma

The High School Banquet was the next weekend and they ate Lebanese food!


Rebekah, Erika & Daniela

OSCER in Iasi and Suceava

Last week Mike traveled up to the north-east corner of Romania to visit the student groups in Iasi and Suceava. He was with Alex Ilie the OSCER national director. Overall it was an encouraging trip. The groups in both cities are growing. One of our goals in going was to help the group in Iasi to prepare for an outreach event we will have in April with a team from the UK led by Luke, a former teammate who now works with UCCF, IFES in the UK. While talking with the students they said that this fall they had felt God calling them to get out and do more in evangelism. They see this event as an answer to their prayer!! We were very encouraged to be with them and a prayer meeting with 25 students. The leaders apologized that there were so few students! They said they usually have 35 students!

Meeting with Students in Suceava!

Please pray for this event in April that God would give wisdom to Ionel, volunteer staff, and the students as they begin to plan and talk with a few churches about working together on this event. Thank You!!

Christmas Sights and Sounds

Just before Christmas break the elementary students at BCA made gingerbread houses. Kris organized this event for 25 students. All the children had a Great time!!






During December all the student groups across Romania had a special meeting to celebrate Christmas. Students invited their friends to the meetings and they sang carols and had a short presentation of the meaning of Christmas and how it is relevant to us today! Here are a few pictures from these meetings.

Students in Pitesti


Students from Bucharest

Students from Brasov

As we have lived in Romania we have become familiar with the Christmas customs here. One is going Christmas caroling on Christmas eve! Another one is that children come around singing Christmas carols at your door the weeks before Christmas and expect money or candy. Also there are folks who go around with a small band and someone dressed as a bear or a goat and play some kind of unique melody and wait for people to toss money to them out of their apartment blocks. Since we live on the ground floor we got these videos from a friend here in Bucharest! Enjoy!

Christmas 2008

In Romania there is not just one day of Christmas, but two!! The 25th and the 26th are both holidays. We had two celebrations this year.

A Redskin hat and an Eagles Shirt! We are ready for at least one team to move on in the playoffs!!

On the 25th we had a more traditional Romanian Christmas with a woman from our small group from church. She made sarmale (cabbage roles) and Mămăligă (made from corn meal and a bit like grits). We ate and enjoyed time together!
Then on the 26th we had a more American dinner with Turkey and all the trimmings! We had another American family and a Romanian family over. They came in and sang a traditional Romanian carol (see video below) to us and we enjoyed a HUGE meal and games into the evening.

News in Romania

Well the new Romanian government has been formed between two old political rivals. Here is what the Eight O'Clock Online Edition had to say about this:

The Democrat-Liberals (PD-L) and the Social-Democrats (PSD) struck a deal for a joint governance, signing the protocol of collaboration called “Partnership for Romania.” The PSD leader Mircea Geoana estimated it ‘a historical moment’, when political forces apparently irreconcilable join after 20 years their efforts. “We have grown up. It was a complex process of negotiation, the formula found by PD-L was the only one able to assure the stability of Romania,” Geoana said. The Social-Democrat leader stressed that his party and the future Government will assure the protection of the minorities’ rights, referring to the discontent of UDMR (party of ethnic Hungarians) that it was not co-opted to governance.

In his turn, the PD-L leader Emil Boc declared: “We start with one objective: an efficient and stable governance in hard times. We have coalesced in this document both right and left wing measures.” Boc and Geoana announced that they will back different candidates at the presidential elections from 2009. “We are partners, but also political and electoral competitors,” Boc said.

This protocol will be valid until 2012.

Thanksgiving 2008

We were able to return to Rucar, where we had English Camp this past summer, to celebrate Thanksgiving in Romania with 4 other American families last weekend. We had good food, cold temperatures outside, snow and a good time together!

Over the years we have read the Lincoln proclamation of 1863 setting aside a day of Thanksgiving. Part of the proclamation reads, "I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

We do give thanks to our great God for His overflowing love and grace to us! Thanks to you too who stand beside us as we minister to staff and students in Romania!!

Here are a few photos of how 5 families celebrated Thanksgiving in Romania!

Lots of time for games and coffee, tea or hot chocolate!!

Rebekah celebrated her 14th birthday as well on Sunday! Hard to believe how the time flies!!