Community Dinner

We decided prior to coming to Romania that on our last day we wanted to have a dinner where people could wash their hands before eating and get some good food. Cole decided that the easiest would be to grill mici (meech)--which are a mixture of ground beek, pork, and sometimes lamb--kind of like a sausage without the skin on it. It was lots of fun and everyone was well fed. We gave out about 400 mici, plus bread, and just about everyone washed their hands!

Getting Supplies Romanian Style

We were without the van that we thought we would use for the greater portion of the week, so we traveled like sarmale (i.e. like sardines). We actually successfully loaded the remaining lumber that we needed in Pilu's Pasat with 6 adults inside as well! We laughed so hard we could barely contain ourselves to get the lumber in the car.

Final Touches

We were so pleased to return to some of the outhouses we installed to find that they had really taken ownership of the outouses--adding locks, hooks so it closes properly, and putting plastic around the base. We so joyful that God had answered our prayer that those that recieve the outhouses take initiative to dig their own hole and ownership once the outhouse is installed.


We also wanted to install the outhouses complete with a toilet seat for a few reasons: so the hole would be smaller, and so it would be easier to clean the seat. We were worried that we would not have money to buy them, but we were able to get all the seats for about $50. We were so pleased!


Trying out the stencil for the first time. . . Thanks Kim to (our in-house medical illustrator) it worked really well!












Stenciling the rest of the outhouse doors.


The final stencil image!

More Outhouse Installations

Surprise Outhouse for a Paralyzed Man

As we were installing an outhouse for one family in Soard, and at least 5 people mentioned another paralyzed man who really didn't have any type of outhouse. His wife had to bring him out to their existing outhouse which was basically a hole in the ground with a few 2x4's at the corners offering absolutely no privacy. People who were recieving outhouses and other neighbors alerted us to the situation asking us to give this family an outhouse. Cole and Jamie remarked that this showed a change in the hearts of the Romani people in Soard--before people would have been asking for an outhouse for themselves not for another.

The finished Product.


The family: the paralyzed man and his wife who takes care of him plus Cole, Jamie, and Mischa.

Estera's Outhouse

Estera is a widow who lives alone and is very involved in the Mana church plant in Soard.


The space where we had to fit the outhouse was rather tight. As we were installing it all the neighbors were commenting that the outhouse was so big, nice, and beautiful!


Cole had to climb onto the neighbor's fence in order to attach the roof. As you can see it was quite a tight fit.


As always our activities gathered quite the crowd.


Estera was so proud of and pleased with her outhouse!


Estera also had a few repairs around the house that needed to be done. Her front door had one of the 4 panels missing leaving her open to thieves all year round and cold air during the winter. Cole was able to repair it with one of the scraps of plywood.

Health Education Sessions

We taught two lessons each evening Monday through Thursday in Soard. Danielle taught about preventing dehydration and making oral rehydration solution; and preventing back and knee pain. Mischa taught about preventing contagious diseases through handwashing, getting enough sleep, etc. Jamie taught about preventing chronic diseases (high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes), do's and don'ts in pregnancy, women's health (contraception, STDs, and common women's health issues), the effects of alcohol and cigarettes. We prepared handouts for each topic and had them laminated--which was more than an easy task--and then gave the out during the week. The women were very appreciative of the topics we covered, asked really great questions, and were excited to learn. Estera nailed up one of the laminated handouts in her outhouse as a decoration!


Mischa teaching about first aid. Asia is translating for her.









The ladies practicing the Heimlic maneuver.













Cristina showing off the laminated handout for First Aid.



Rosa and Ana practicing bandaging a cut.





Jamie teaching regarding the effects of cigarettes on the body. Magda was helping with the lesson--very helpful for the occasional phrase that Jamie didn't know how to say!

Installing Outhouses

The SAW at work.

The saw was hand made by Pintea, the gent to the left. It was well used and well loved--the blade had been sharpened so many times that it was actually oval instead of round. The breaker was also not used to such electrical demands, so Andy waited next to the fuse box and would unplug the saw when he could hear that the saw was dying.


Our prefab preparations. We made all the pieces (walls, door, & seat) and them brought them separately to the home where we installed the outhouse.


Outhouse parade!
We had a list of 30-40 families/homes that needed a outhouses. We had to prioritize the list so that we provided outhouses to the most desperate, starting with widows, moving on to families with small children. Andy commented later that we were fulfilling James 1:27 (Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.) Such excitement accompanied each outhouse that paraded up this dirt road. Cole would lead the way and the rest of us would just follow along to the next home. It was great to see an outhouse puzzle so to speak fill the road. It was like a flag proclaiming God's provision for these people.


Here the team is installing the first outhouse for Rosa who is a widow and has had no outhouse. She commented when we were installing her outhouse that it was such a great blessing. She said that she never would have had the money to build one on her own. She also has heart problems and asthma and was very grateful that others in the village helped to dig the hole for the outhouse so we could install it. It was the first outhouse that we installed.


Estera (L) and Rosa (R): two of the widows in the Romani neighborhood in Soard that recieved outhouses.



The peanut gallery that gathered as the guys installed the outhouse.



Here the guys are adding the finishing touches to Outhouse #1 at Rosa's home.

An Open Heart

We are all overwhelmed by God's love, goodness, and mercy in Romania! Exodus 34: 5-7 says:

'Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. '

How great is our God! How great is His love for all - especially those considered non-worthy by society.

Although we are in Soard to build outhouses and conduct health education classes, our real purpose is to open our hearts fully to Jesus. God is showing us that Jesus can and will do anything with an open heart.

God is so faithful and greatly to be praised. Let's continue to open our hearts to the King. He is faithful and good, beyond all comprehension.

Stay tuned for more.

Where There Is a Need God Provides

Day after day God has been faithful to provide all that we need to do His
work here in Romania. We have had some struggles with materials for the
outhouses. Yesturday, we ran.
out of lumber. However, as I type this I am sitting in a lumber yard and we
are getting the materials to finish the job we started. The best part of
being on this trip is waiting for God to come through for us. He has shown
His faithfulness in so many ways. We have received discounts on things we
couldn't afford, and we have always had enough to eat to give us energy to
do His work. We have grown so much as a team. And, we have had some members
join us here. Trusting God for His provision has been a daily task. It has
transformed our view of God and how He truly is the one in control of all
things. We thank God He has brought us here to bring Him the glory He
deserves. More to come...

Day One

And what a day it was!

We started out our morning with a great breakfast, followed by some worship
and a short Bible study. I (Chris) shared from Psalm 105:4 - seeking the
presence of God continually. I read this verse Sunday morning before church
after having a vivid dream in which God spoke clearly to me the sentance,
"I want to spend more time with you.". It was great to hear an immediate
response from one of the members of Mana church, David, who joined us for
prayer and worship - he said he need such an encouragment for his busy day.

We also had a bit of a busy day. We arrived in Soard at around 11 after
some last-minute errands and went over to one mans house to pick up a table
saw. Now this was no ordinary table saw - it was a homemade, hand welded,
nearly 500 pound monstrosity of a machine. Wait til you see the pictures!
Thankfully he also helped operate it as it was a pretty intimidating.

After four solid hours of work we managed to strip down all the rough cut
2X10 and 2X14 to pseudo normal 2X4 size and to cut all of the backs and
sides out of the plywood sheets. Our last hour was spent assembling the
sides of two outhouses and preparing the final details for the inside.

Many things were not exactly according to our plans, but God worked it all
out for the best.

At the end of the day we had a wonderful debriefing and time of sharing.
Sadly, after this time we had to say goodbye to Courtney as she had a train
to catch in Bucharest, but we all went to the train station to see her off.

So now it is off to bed to rest up and prepare for day two of our work
week!

We Have Arrived!

Sigisoara, Romania

After two days of travel through England, Ireland, and Hungary we are here in Romania! We have passed through five airports (Boston, Manchester UK, Dublin, Budapest and Tirgu Mures) and not once were we stopped by customs, the police or gate agents, we have not lost any luggage and we have not had to pay any sort of over-weight fees for our luggage even though every one of our bags was over the weight for one of flights!

God has truly been with us every step of the way. Here are a few photos of our journey to this point.

Cole and Jamie sleeping in Manchester UK during our 4 hour layover. This is 6 hours after leaving Boston, about 7am local time.

Jamie, Mischa and Danielle in Dublin. We spent the night with Cole's brother Fanel and his wife Monica in Dublin on the way to Sigisoara.












Fanel and Monica put on a wonderful dinner for us after our flights from Boston to Dublin (via Manchester). Thankfully, they also had coffee!

After arriving in Romania we went straight to Cole's parents house where they fed us a wonderful lunch and we tasted the spicy Romanian peppers. Here, Cole's mother and father look on while Cole smells the pepper to see how spicy it is.









On Sunday morning we attended Mana Church in Sigisoara. Cole's brother Pilu is the pastor here. This man led worship and we sang all Romanian songs. Even though the langugage was foreign there was no need to interpret the worship - the love of God came through clearly in the songs we sang.



After the church service, we met some of Cole and Jamie's friends.
















So that is all for now - we'll post again soon!

Getting Ready