http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Romania en-us Thu, 15 May 2008 13:01:42 BST Thu, 15 May 2008 13:01:42 BST Hello EveryoneWe made it to Rome Not overnight of course considering that it took us 22 hours just to get to Venice. We left Romania on Friday May 9 Bethanyrsquos birthday. We had birthday cake with Peter Hailey and the team and then had a cake at Vasili and Anarsquos place a wonderfully hospital couple. They live in a typical Romanian apartment building very interesting Not exactly http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-275908.html Daytrip to Sinaia Romania Peles Castle Mountain Hiking.....Y aqui vamos de nuevo pa'la calle...una vez que se empieza no se puede parar es como heroina este deseo incontrolable de comerme el mundo de ver y absorber todas las cosas tan impresionantes que solo se viven y se sienten viajando.....Este va a ser mi ultimo blog en Rumania ya que este Domingo continuo mi journey....aparte necesi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transylvania/blog-275106.html Cumpleanos Feliz 27 Visita al Parque Herastrau Bucharest....Un cumpleanos mas...que se va a hacer hehehe....bueno decidi pasarlo a mi mejor estilo CAMINANDO ....y asi que camine camine y camine....empeze por la manana visitando dos museos bastante interesantes uno se llama Peasant's museum Museo de campesinos Rumanos con muchos trajes tipicos puestos en maniquis mostrando las diferentes t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Bucharest/blog-275074.html Hello EveryoneThis is our last day here we've not had internet connection since Monday to blog thus you haven't heard from us. We've had a great couple last days. On Tuesday I went with the nurse to various homes to visit elderly people in the little outlying town of Lunca. It was amazing to get inside their homes and listen to their stories. through a translator. The houses were very very p http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-274397.html Well it was quite the Sunday In the morning we lost the keys for one of the vehicles and some of us got to Centre of Hope were we met in the morning rather late transporting twentyfive people has taxed the mission's organization to the max as it is Then when we all arrived safe and sound in mind and all of us had left for church in Lunca Peter and Hailey's vehicle broke down. Regrettabl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-273116.html The last week we had a small holiday so I had some time to pend it with my family and friends. Friday I was with some good friends at Valea Draganului a very nice place in Muntii Apuseni the West Mountains. There was a nice dam and very nice places but the weather wasn't really great. anyway I will ell you about that some other time. The next day Saturday I was with my sis my mom and her husb http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transylvania/blog-272858.html Hey everyone Just a quick little note from Joni to say I'm having an awesome time...can't believe we're headed out of Romania tomorrow What a wonderful experience...and so saddening Just to see the sights and smells and to feel the poverty is an incredible experience. Houses that are falling apart. Families of seven living in a one room house. Walls made of straw and manure with some sort of pl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Bucharest/blog-272849.html PsyTrance Party Mar Negro RumaniaFinalmente conoci el Mar Negro en Rumania y que mejor forma que con una fiestica Psychedelic......Salimos en una minivan el Jueves por la manana camino a este pueblo que se llama Vadu ubicado en Constanta mas o menos a 5 horas de Bucharest. Mi compita Cocosh en la foto que trabaja conmigo por las noches en el Hostel me invito y me presento a toda su band http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Constanta/blog-272557.html Celebracion de Pascua ....Y nos fuimos de picnic a la casa de Raluca una chica Rumana que trabaja en el mismo projecto que Maria Eugenia una amiga Argentina....Raluca y su grupo de amigos me invitaron a pasar con ellos un dia a las afueras de Bucharest para celebrar Pascua. Tambien la noche anterior fuimos juntos a una iglesia a la medianoche para ver una de las tradiciones Rumanas la mayoria d http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Bucharest/blog-272551.html Today we visited Sighisoara home of Dracula a Romanian folk hero. NOT the Disney Dracula The castle dates back to the middle ages although the settlement is probably older. Dracula pushed back the Turks who continually invaded Romania. We went there via train a forty minute ride. Today was Peter's birthday although we celebrated last night already with Peter Hailey Gerrit Jane Ed and I w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transylvania/Sighisoara/blog-272453.html We spoke to the women's group this morning. I spoke on Galatians 69 Do not grow weary..... and on the first chapter of James which again speaks of perseverance and how God loves the widows and orphans. These women all have taken orphans into their homes. Jane spoke about being refined as silver from Malachi. God allows us to go through trials so we can reflect His character. We couldn't talk wi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-272201.html Hello EveryoneI just noticed that I haven't blogged since Monday Wow Time is going so fast So much has happened since then. On Tuesday afternoon we planned a ladies' tea with the ladies from the tiny village of Lunca where we are working. They had never done anything like that in the village so the ladies from the team here wanted to make it very special for them. Jane and I went shopping wit http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-271925.html Good EveningAnother work day done The whole crew left around 730 am including Shauna and Mikayla. They are all such eager beavers and are working like crazy with the rest of them moving bricks getting tiles off of the roof cleaning up wood painting gasline pipes and helping with children's ministry.I got to go to the village Lodroman with two Romanian women and two kids with very limi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-271922.html Hi everyone My message today is twofold... to tell you about what's been going on and to ask you to pray some more What a great day today Els and I did groceries and cooking for the whole crew again. We had such an experience in the grocery store Several gypsy men and women came barreling down the very narrow isle and started pressing their carts against us for us to move We weren't sure http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-271631.html OK I have a confession to make. I took candy from a stranger. An old European male stranger. I figured it was safe because he was eating it too but in hindsight I should probably be more careful. He may have laced it with some deadly poisonous yet completely undetectable poison that he has spent years building up an immunity to like Wesley's cunning plot to overthrow Vizzini. This guy http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transylvania/Brasov/blog-271526.html Buna seara Good eveningWe had such an interesting full day Els Melissa and I with Maria and Olympia two Romanian ladies went shopping for the ladies event. What an experience A lot of actionary some Dutch some Romanian and then throw some English in the mix... and we got it all figured The long and the short of it is we were able to spread a very attractive table of goodies for the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-271285.html Hello EveryoneEaster Monday more planning and meetings this morning to get ready for the projects starting tomorrow. This afternoon we went with Peter on a tour of how his journey to Romania started back in 1990 one year after the fall of Ceauscecu. He described the horrible conditions in the staterun orphanages with kids lying in their own excrement two in a crib eyes glazed over as they n http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-270958.html Hi againI would really appreciate your prayers for tomorrow... approx. 530 am to 730 am Tuesday Alberta time we are doing a womenrsquos outreach in Lunca. We plan to have cake coffee tea and snacks and a small gift for all the ladies that come. After that we will be having a time of worship a testimony by Melissa and then Irsquoll be speaking to the women. I thought Irsquod introd http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-270939.html Last day in Brasov before heading to Turkey It started off like any other in the hospital and I worked with Beth Mary Sarah and Steffi. My favorite baby was on the 4th floor again so I spent as much time with him as I could since he would probably be gone by the time I got home. After my shift I said goodbye to everyone and that I would see them in a week before heading to the office to em http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transylvania/Brasov/blog-270800.html Ok I'm so far behind with this blog that I'm not even going to try to catch up . . . sorry Anyway Dani and I went to Codlea today to meet with the head of an after school day care center for children. Dani had suggested that maybe I could work here a few afternoons a week since prior to Coleen and Erin coming I had seemed so bored after finishing the day at the hospital. We took the b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transylvania/Brasov/blog-270799.html After working in the hospital all morning I went back to the office to check my mail and then wait for Kayleigh. She sent me a text later to see if I was coming home and if we could go shopping before her big leaving dinner. Apparently there had been a misunderstanding. I went home and we went out to look for something nice she could wear. When we didnrsquot see anything we came back in ti http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/blog-270794.html Buna Yes that's the greeting in RomanianWe're here on site now and eager to start our week...brushing up on a few Romanian phrases Worshipped with a very small group in the village Lunca today where we'll also be working this week. Terribly run down tragically poor....it's impossible to imagine conditions like this unless you see it with your own eyes. On our way home from church our leade http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-270595.html Some of you have asked about our return date we are unable to reasonably change our tickets. Meaning we have two tickets on Aeroplan which are absolutely not changeable before May 21. Thus Julian and I will need to buy two new tickets for our return with Air Transat which means that we need to transfer from Heathrow to Gatwick and spend a night in London to catch the next day flight. New ticke http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-270591.html Our first day in Romania. Easter Sunday. This morning we got together in the Centre of Hope the main mission station here in Medias. We had lunch there with the team and then headed out to church in two tiny villages in the country in Lunca and Lodroman. In Lunca a single lady had been praying for a church for years and now there was one established. She greeted the team with lilac flowers olie http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-270566.html We made it to Romania It took us 28 hours to get here although we took a slight detour to Bavaria in southern Germany to visit Neuschwanstein the legendary castle of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang built by Ludwig II King of Bavaria. It was an amazing building inside and out although we could not take pictures of the inside. The whole thing cost 3.7 million marks which was back in 1860 The m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-270280.html Wednesday April 23Groetjes from the BezooyensWersquore in Germany right now and I actually miss the Dutch language all around me It was so incredibly fun... I just yattered and yacked away in Dutch to whoever would listen. It was even more fun when a man told Els that she had really lost her Dutchher being a trueblooded Dutch girl and then the next day Gerrit and I were in a cell phone http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Oradea/blog-270275.html Night oneWe spent the first night in Belgium which was so cold the tents froze at night. I spent the night shivering and wondering where the nearest airport was to get the first flight homeNight TwoNight two was spent at our first proper stop in Cologne. We had two nights there and had time to look at the spectacular Dom Cathedral and went for dinner at a traditional German restaurant which s http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Transylvania/Sighisoara/blog-269904.html BUCHARESTBucharest es una mezcla interesante de edificios grises y aspecto comunista palacios estilo frances iglesias medievales parques grandiosos para caminar Herastrau Cismigiu y por supuesto edificios super modernos que no pueden faltar especialmente ahora que Rumania experimenta los placeres del Consumismo. Algo extrano es que en los parques es prohibido sentarse en el cesped por que http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Romania/Bucharest/blog-269344.html