The Fire and its hidden blessings

Last Saturday I was almost finished cooking what I thought was going to be a terrific salmon dinner when I heard a loud "POP" and smelled smoke. I ran in the direction of our fuse box which is directly above our front door and only exit to find shooting flames of fire. I immediately called Eric who was about 5 minutes away with the kids in the park. I will admit after that I did panic. The fire was burning the floor. I knew I should get the fire extinguisher but at the moment couldn't remember precisely where it was. (It was on top of the refrigerator-just out of my sight). Flames were starting to scorch the floor and ceiling and I was afraid if I waited too long I wouldn't be able to get out. So I made a quick decision-it was to run out the front door!(without my shoes) I knocked on all my neighbors doors in my hallway, screaming "Ajuta-ma!" (Help me). But it seemed no one was home. I went downstairs and did the same thing. Then Eric came home and I guided the kids to the next floor and finally found our building president who came to help. (Fire burning 8 minutes now) Eric kind of put out the fire a few times but since it was an electrical fire, we needed to get the electricity turned off. The main electrical box is outside in the hallway on our floor but is locked and the administrator who was not answering his door has the key. (Fire now burning 12minutes) Meanwhile, Eric has called the emergency/fire number but they seemed to be a little slow. Eric and our neighbor use some needle nose pliers to get the electrical box open and turn off the electricity which allows Eric to put out all fires. Meanwhile, the fire department is on their way up our stairs ready with the hose. Eric stopped them from dousing our apartment with water.

Results: Fuse box is one burned piece of plastic, floor in hallway is burned and destroyed, ceiling and walls are black, and soot and ash has covered everything else in the apartment. Eric has 2nd degree burns on his hand when burning plastic fell on him as he tried to put out the fire. Electricity needs to be rewired in the entire house along with new fuse box. We now have to live somewhere else for a few weeks while the apartment is being repaired, cleaned, and repainted.

But...here are all the hidden blessings:
1)My kids were not in the apartment at the time.
2)Eric's injuries were minimal.
3)Someone was home and was able to put out the fire.
4)The fire department did not use the hose and therefore we do not have to deal with water damage.
5) For me, one of my worst fears was realized and I survived. I have always feared a real emergency here in Romania, wondering if I could handle it. (which is really silly since God is always on my side) But more specifically would I freeze and not be able to speak Romanian. Nope. I ran outside, knew what to say. Talked to my neighbor upstairs, got him to come and help. Talked to firemen afterwards for their report-all in Romanian. THANK GOD!!!

God is good...all the time!

IKEA: My favorite place in Bucharest

I really can't believe I'm admitting to Ikea being my favorite place in all of Bucharest but once you hear my reasons I am sure you will also concur. Reason #1: Refillable Drinks. As far as I know this is the only place in Bucharest you can have free refillable drinks. I am perpetually thirsty here in Bucharest when we go out to eat because really who wants to pay 3 dollars for each bottle of water or coke you consume with your meal. Well at Ikea I can pay 1 dollar and drink as much as I want. Reason #2: They serve an American Breakfast with BACON-something difficult to find here. Plus, my breakfast only costs $1.75. Reason #3: Kid Friendly. The kids play in the fun play area while Eric relax over a leisurely meal. The kids play on the fun slide and run all over and jump on the beds and the furniture. In fact, Hannah will always try to sleep in all the little beds. They even have a changing area and breastfeeding area as well as give out free diapers! Reason #4: Product Selection. They have interesting items that are difficult to find elsewhere in Bucharest. For example-ziplock bags (although every pricy) and popsicle makers. Reason #5-It reminds me of America. (Even though it is a Swedish company)I have to admit that I like things that remind me of "home". I also often hear English spoken there which is comforting to me as well. There are so many other reasons I love IKEA as well but those are my TOP 5 for sure!!

V is for Volcano

During our little preschool time this year, we often did activities associated with different letters and by far I think the Volacano experiment was Samuel and Hannah's favorite. I remember this experiment from my childhood, but I had to build the volcano with dough etc so I wasn't too excited to try this with the kids. But I found this easy way of building the volcano with only a paper plate, a paper cup and foil-5 minutes tops to build. That's my kind of project. So the kids poured in the baking soda and the red food coloring and then the vinegar. They LOVED it. I think they had about 5 or 6 volcanic eruptions-basically until we ran out of the two bottles of vinegar we bought.

Palm Trees in Bucharest?

So our little sector in Bucharest seems to be in a frenzy with beautification-which I fully support. But I just thought it was so funny to drive around the corner from our apartment and see newly planted palm trees. Somehow it just doesn't fit with the environment. And what about winter and the snow? Does anyone know if there are palm trees that survive the snow?

Revolving Door

I've only lived overseas as a missionary for 3 years so this topic of people coming and going and constantly saying goodbye to people is pretty new to me. But this year it hit me pretty hard. Two families that are in our Sunday night Small group left in June. For me, these people represented my family here in Bucharest. They were our best friends, our kid's friends, and our support system. I hate goodbyes, closure etc-even in small things. Take for instance a phone coversation-I dread the end because I don't know what the appropriate thing to say is except "goodbye". So I find it somewhat humorous that I've been put in this life where I will be constantly saying "goodbye" etc. I also wonder about the effect this will have on my children as they navigate their lives as missionary kids.
I will miss my friends greatly and to be honest, its difficult to imagine being here in Bucharest without them. But I do know that God will provide new friends and I think for now I just have to remember all the wonderful times and grieve the times that will never be.

Prejmer, Romania

For part of our Spring Break, Eric and I decided to try to be more adventurous and travel to and stay at places in Romania that we'd never been before. So we ended up in Prejmer, Romania, a very small town outside of Brasov in Transylvania. We stayed at a little pension for $21 a night. There were a little Romanian grandma and grandpa who owned the place and were very accommodating. The town itself was very charming but looked like it was a place out of the 1930's.

The town is famous for its fortified church which we toured with the kids. We were the only ones there, but the history was fascinating! The fortress was built in 1427 to with stand the attacks of the Ottomans. The walls are 14 meters high and 5 meters thick. Access to the massive fortress was through a 5 meter thick long tunnel. The church was built in a shape of a Latin cross in a Gothic style.

We love learning more and more about Romania and its history!!

Simple Joys

Its so funny how something as simple as canned soup could make me laugh and smile so much. About a month ago, a friend and I were shopping in a very small grocery store in the mountains outside of Bucharest and all of a sudden spotted these cans of soup. To help you understand, canned soup is not available here in Romania and second, to find Campbell's seemed like a little taste of home. I giggled about this for at least a week after and then had to tell everyone I knew that I found soup and then of course immediately made two recipes using it!!!! Although this may seem silly, I am thankful for the place God has me in, both literally and metaphorically, that makes me appreciate such simple joys.

Winter Break

About a month ago during BCA's school break we took a fun trip to the mountains outside of Bucharest. We stayed in Bran (where "Dracula's castle" is). We had the opportunity to go with some friends of ours so we had 5 kids under 5 between our two families. We had a great time-it snowed the entire 4 days we were there and the kids loved sledding and playing in the snow. It was truly a winter wonderland. We did discover though, that we definately have "city" tires on our car as we got stuck and were not able to drive all the way up to the place we were staying. We will buy chains for next year!!!!

Yum Yum Donuts

Behind our apartment in the park there has been a fair type thing since Christmas and it seems to just keep hanging on. Samuel and Hannah love it. Their favorite thing is to go get Romanian donuts: gogosi or as Hannah calls them "go gos". They are like little American donut holes served hot with your choice of topping: chocolate, white chocolate, raspberry, strawberry, and orange (which I think is weird!) We usually get white chocolate. Then they give you these cute little very sharp not so kid friendly forks to eat with. A fun family not so healthy treat! You can find these in little stands all over Bucharest.

Sensory Tubs

One of the regular activities I've been doing with the munchkins is having them play in what I can their "sensory tub". It's actually Hannah's old baby bathtub. I put a different material in the bathtub every week and let them have at it. They can pour and sift and measure. It keeps them quite occupied. So far they have played with different types of noodles, rice, cornmeal and beans. My favorite was when we put coins in the rice and looked for them with magnets. They seemed to really like that. I love hands on activities!!!

Macbeth Performances

I think one of my favorite things to teach is anything by Shakespeare. I love the fact that students are up on their feet performing, trying to figure out meaning and having fun all the while. My 11th/12th grade class read and performed Macbeth. This was my first time actually teaching this particular play but I ended up absolutely loving it. What's not to love-ambition, murder and the supernatural. The pictures above are from the student's final performances. They did a great job. There was everything from a rap to Macbeth being set during the roaring 20's. Let me just say that I so enjoy my job!!!

Manufactured Snow

In the park behind our apartment, the mayor's office and the local "home depot" sponsored a sledding/ski hill. They bulldozed a giant portion of the hill and then when it got cold enough, they brought in giant snow blowing machines. Samuel and Hannah had a great time sledding and Eric made fun snowballs with this great snowball maker that my sister and brother-in-law sent us. It helped make our Christmas break more fun and the best part was that it was all free!

Family at Christmas and Missing them

This was our third Christmas in Bucharest, but our first without any family visiting. Although we consoled ourselves with the idea that not having family would make for a beautiful, quiet Christmas for us, we did feel lonely when Christmas day came around. We had the wonderful opportunity of chatting for long periods on Skype with both our families and had the grandparents watch the kids open the presents on the webcam-but if we are being honest-that's not really enough. And for me, this is a grieving process. I grieve that I am not there to take cute pictures with my sisters all in matching pajamas. I grieve that my children cannot hug their grandparents and sit on their laps.

But Christmas is just an event-what I really grieve is having the relationships you have when you live 10 minutes from your parents and you drop by for dinner (like we use to!) or just shopping with my mom or hanging out with my brother and sister. But in reality,(the reality I want to focus on) when I look at what my Savior has done for me and the little sacrifice he has called me to-living in Bucharest-who Jesus is comforts me beyond what I need and want.

Christmas Time in Bucharest

This year it seemed that city officials tried very hard to decorate and get into the Christmas Spirit. I remember our first Christmas here-2006. It was weird to walk around the city because there were no outside indications that Christmas was being celebrated. Now just two years later, we have lights all over the city, little Christmas markets, and trees for sale everywhere. Eric and I really enjoyed the festive spirit around outside and we took walks several nights with the kids to look at the lights and see performances around the city parks.