Here we are finally one day away from our Disney Cruise to Cozumel Mexico. We have been keeping busy...after travel from Iowa to see family we stopped in Nashville at the Opryland Hotel. The Opryland Hotel is such an usual place. There are huge plant filled atriums. One with a boat ride through the "swamp"! The girls did their school work on the balcony overlooking the atrium.While in Tennessee we enjoyed visiting with some dear friends Carmen, Jann, Linda, Scott, Valerie and Rachel. We're gonna miss them all! We are back to Florida now. This week we celebrated j's birthday at [View Full Entry]

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I just wanted to leave everyone with some quick closing thoughts about our trip. I heard so many comments about how this was a "life changing" and "heart changing" trip. I can even say that for me also. But we now risk the danger of forgetting. This trip can only change our lives and hearts if we let it. It would be so easy to walk back into our lives and pick things up just where we left off. Back to work, back to school. We had a brief glimpse of what God can do through us if we are willing [View Full Entry]

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I think 3 a.m. can be classified as an ungodly hour in any country that you may be in. That is just the time that I had to get up this morning in order to be at the airport by 4:30! My senses are a little dull this morning, so don't expect anything brilliant. We actually were able to add another person to our trip at the last minute, so we now have a grand total of 18 people departing for Romania today. (Welcome aboard Megan!) I failed to mention that I was so excited that my internal alarm clock woke [View Full Entry]

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Ok, so I finally came up with a little different title. I feel like I have been talking about this trip for a year. Wait a second . . . I have! This trip has been over a year in the making. I can't believe that it is now only a week away. We leave for Romania in 7 days!! I find myself trying not to think about it as much as possible. When I do think about it, I find it consumes my every thought. I have already found it hard to fall asleep at night because I am so [View Full Entry]

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My journal titles are becoming very redundant. We leave 2 weeks from today. I talked to someone yesterday that has already started packing! I haven’t yet, but I will probably start soon so that I can make sure to get everything in my 1 allowed suitcase! Our "What's in the box?" campaign has been very successful. I continue to be amazed by the generosity of the people in our church. Their kindness has not gone unseen and will be greatly rewarded. Maybe I should have started my journals closer to our departure date because I have already run out of things [View Full Entry]

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Wow, is the only reaction that I have. I can't believe we are this close. It just reminds me of how much work we still have to do. For those who haven't read my previous journals. 17 people from my local church will be leaving for Romania 2 days after Christmas for a "humanitarian" missions trip to Romania. We will be giving away coats, boots, food and other necessities to the Gypsy people of Romania. Yesterday we kicked off our "What's in the box?" campaign. We asked the people of our church to purchase a ornament sized box for $10. This [View Full Entry]

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1 month left until we leave for Romania. Anticipation seems to be mounting. I think that I am more nervous than anything. Just how cold will it be? Will I be able to learn enough Romanian to communicate? Will the people be receptive to us? I have about a million questions racing through my mind. Not to mention all of the things that I still need to take care of before I leave. Christmas shopping, my birthday party, the Christmas party, paying my bills while I am gone, registering for school. It's enough to keep anyone crazy busy. With all that [View Full Entry]

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. . . and counting . . . We are all beyond excited. The plane tickets are purchased and plans are in motion. Time is flying by. I can't believe it is Thanksgiving already. We still have a lot of money to raise. We plan to purchase coats, boots, food and anything else we can give away. It is cheaper in Romania, but certainly not free. We just want to be a blessing to our Romanian brothers and sisters. [View Full Entry]

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. . . from today, 15 friends will depart for a missions trip to Romania. We are so exited about the work we will be doing there. All of us are in the process if getting warmer clothing for the trip. Snow boots are hard to find in Florida! [View Full Entry]

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We spent a week in Orlando at Universal Studios and Disney Land which Evana has dreamed about since she was a kid and was forceably taken to Haiwaii instead of Disney We rode the rollercoasters, played a mock version of who wants to be a millionaire (I DO), petted the sting rays, screamed, peed our pants and laughed. We went upside down, sideways and occasionally insideout. We survived all you can eat chinese, all you can eat seafood buffet and Americans. On one rollecoaster they send two coasters out at the same time and they come so close to each other [View Full Entry]

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