Bittersweet

Greetings,

Cheryl's Hospice colleagues: Daria, Lidia, and Marianella

We are in the midst of packing up and I desired a break.  Never thought I would think of writing in this blog as a break.  Nonetheless, Cheryl and I are both in a mixed state of emotions, excited to return home, but very saddened to leave a community and people we have grown to love.

Surprise Party

My colleagues Ileana and Monika

As we suspected, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, from farewell celebrations to graduation ceremonies.  This past Monday, Cheryl was given a wonderful send off from her colleagues at Hospice.  We shared devotions and a meal together.  The staff is still amazed at Cheryl's faithfulness every Tuesday and Thursday and how she never "grumbled" at being given the less glamorous tasks.  We have been told that our consistency and faithfulness were what people most appreciated and admired.

On Tuesday we were told that we needed to meet some first-time visitors from America in the conference room and to make them feel welcome and comfortable.  Well, it was all a ruse from our friends and colleagues in the Management department so they could throw us a going away party.  Given my natural tendency to be clueless about my surroundings, it was no trouble keeping this a surprise.  We will share with you the thoughtful card and the creative present upon our return.

Simona - in charge of all our logistics

On every Wednesday, the entire Emanuel academic community gathers in the chapel for a 90 minute worship/gathering time.  At the end of chapel, Cheryl and I were surprised once again.  We were asked to come to the front and share some brief thoughts.  After stumbling over our words and emotions, all my students and Cheryl's book study girls came up front and gathered around us.  We were then prayed over and blessed by the entire community.  As usual, Cheryl was able to remain composed while I was in tears.

Some of Cheryl's girls - Mirjam, Anne, Ana

Saturday and Sunday was a time to celebrate the graduates.  Saturday was the formal ceremony at the University and Sunday was a formal ceremony at the church.  Both were filled with the proper balance of joy for what had been accomplished and wonder at what lies ahead.  The days and evenings during and prior to these events were filled with fellowship and meals at local restaurants or at the home of friends.

Colleagues Silvia and Ioan

Upon further reflection, I am sure that we will have some additional thoughts upon our time here in Romania.  But, for now our initial thought is the realization of how lucky we are to have this opportunity.  The thought of a year-long sabbatical (for me) and a year-long leave of absence (for Cheryl) is quite remarkable to our friends here in Romania.  It took them a long time to realize how two people who were not retired were able to stay for an entire academic year.  We will be forever grateful and hope and trust that the opportunity was used in a wise and glorifying manner.

School of Management graduates and faculty

The second most frequently asked question of us prior to our leaving for Romania was "What will you be doing there?"  By the way, the most frequent question was "Why Romania?"  Well, our answer to both was that we were not quite sure.  The best we could answer was that we had a sense that God had something for us in this part of the world, both in terms of what He wanted to teach us and in how we could serve in this community.  But, we believed that even though we did not know the precise answer to the "why" or "what" questions before we left, we believed we were asked to come in faith and that those two questions would be answered in due time.

After eight months, it seems that who we were and how we went about our daily routine was much more important than what we did.  Our work certainly mattered, and we do believe that it was helpful in many ways, but it seems that the long term impact of our time here will be remembered through our willingness to serve in a calm and consistent manner over several months.  Perhaps our greatest compliment was when folks began thinking of us as "one of the gang."

We so look forward to sharing more with you upon our return and also catching up on what is new in each of your lives.  Thank you for your prayers in this venture.  Lord willing, we will be able to return to our friends in Romania in the very near future.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom

Emanuel University graduates and "others"

Goodbye to our front yard

Nearby Excursions

Greetings,

I will try to make this short and sweet.  I say this to myself at the beginning of every post, and then I go wild.  Although I have learned much while here, discipline does not seem to be one of them.

Bill and his rental Fiat

My brother Bill spent 2-3 weeks traveling Central Europe in April and made Romania one of his "must see" destinations.  Luckily we were here to show him a good time.  It was nice to have him with us for two days and we spent one of the days traveling to Bear Cave.  The cave is located about 100 kilometers to the southeast of Oradea in the Apuseni Mountains.  This equates to about 2 hours drive one way.  Luckily, the scenery is beautiful.  The cave itself is spectacular and is known for its stalagmite and stalactite formations.  I will leave it up to you to look up what these mean.

The Apuseni Mountains

Inside Bear Cave

Soon after Bill left for the Alps, it was time to celebrate May Day in Romania.  This is a national holiday and is much like our Labor Day.  It is also celebrated much like our summer holidays--outdoor barbecues spent with friends and family.  We were invited to join the picnic hosted by a village church in which our friends (Elijah and Raelene) attend and in which he is the pastor.  We were joined by five Child Life volunteers from Texas and two women involved in special education.  Food was meat, some different meat, a bit more meat, then topped off with lots of desserts.  I could get used to this.

Everyone loves a picnic

The master chef 

This past weekend, I was able to teach a Master's class to students that live and work in Cluj (2nd largest city in Romania and the unofficial capital of Transylvania).  Our friends and colleagues Ioan, his wife Silvia, and Silvia's sister Ina suggested that we all go together and visit Ioan's hometown of Alba Iulia on Thursday and Friday morning, then visit Cluj on Saturday.  Most of this was to be done while I was teaching.  I did get a great historical tour of the citidel at Alba Iulia and some pearls about that city's involvement during Roman times.  In addition, Alba Iulia was the city in which the unification of Romania was signed in 1918.

View from our picnic site

We also spent Saturday afternoon touring the Turda salt mine.  Romania has several natural wonders and the country is just beginning to make these sights accessible to the public and marketing them to the rest of the world.  At the bottom of this mine was a playground with all sorts of games to be played (bowling, mini-golf, ping pong, rowboats, ferris wheel).  It felt like an underground city straight out of the set of Star Wars.

Roughly three weeks of adventure remaining.  We had some visa issues that allowed us to experience the Romanian department of the interior up close and personal.  The law regarding the length of stay for foreigners in Romania either changed or suddenly got enforced, we are not sure which one is the real story.  The upshot of the whole thing is that once we leave Romania, we won't be able to re-enter for several months.  So, for the next three weeks, we will stay in country.  For those of you Red Wings fans out there, it is a bit like what Bob Probert experienced during his playing days.

Inside the Salt Mine

Inside the citadel walls

Silvia and Ioan (with Cluj in the background)

A medieval couple trying to raise the gate

We are doing great and trying to end well.  We pray for many of you during the evening as life without television can be a lot more productive and a lot more saintly.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom

Switzerland

Greetings,

We have noticed that the time between postings has increased the longer we have been in Romania.  Many possible explanations for this, but mostly because we have been out and about.  This post will primarily be a travelogue of Switzerland.  Emanuel University was on break, so we spent ten days in this breathtaking country visiting Cheryl's relatives and celebrating the Easter holiday.  He is risen indeed!

Downtown Basel

We flew into Basel and were picked up by Susi and Silvano Cipolat.  Susi is the cousin of Cheryl's Mom who lived with Cheryl's family for one year in 1968.  They have been close ever since.  We had a light lunch in an outdoor cafe and then spent the rest of the day walking the streets of Basel.  We then drove to the Cipolat home in Marin, a town just outside of Neuchatel.

The next two days were a buzz of activity and lots of great food and drink.  We toured the city of Neuchatel, wandered through the grounds of the castle and church, walked the waterfront,

Celebrating Palm Sunday with Susi and Silvano 

In the marketplace in Neuchatel

Patti, Koko, and family

The rooftops of Murten viewed from the wall

toured the walled city of Murten, had a delightful chat with Susi's sister Brigit and her husband Pieter (sorry, but the spelling may not be correct), attended a worship service on Palm Sunday that was spoken in Italian, and visited with Cheryl's cousin Patti, her husband Koko, and their children.  Koko is from Bulgaria and they spent several years as missionaries in Sophia.  So, it was nice to swap Eastern European stories and experiences.  Since Neuchatel is in the western part of Switzerland, the predominant language is French.  Fortunately for us, all our relatives accommodated our lack of French by speaking impeccable English.  Even though I have a passable knowledge of Spanish, and a rudimentary knowledge of Romanian, one of my true regrets in life is not mastering at least two additional languages.  Knowing the language of another culture simply opens up a deeper understanding of the world that is not otherwise possible.

At lunch with Philippe and Nicole

Our view out the restaurant window

On Monday, we hopped on the train for the next leg of our journey.  Prior to arrival in Zermatt, we disembarked one hour into our trip in order to visit Philippe and Nicole Bovet in Lausanne.  Philippe is another cousin of Cheryl and although our time was brief, we had a wonderful afternoon engaging in interesting conversations over a great lunch of filet de perche at a cozy location by the lake.  We have a lot in common with the Bovets, which seems to stem from our similar "empty nester not ready for retirement" stage of life.  It was a joy to catch up with Philippe and Nicole as they played host to Cheryl, Nancy, Corrie and Erin for several days back in 1999 when our family was in Europe for one month.  Our girls still talk about their time at the Bovet chalet in the mountains overlooking Lake Geneva, their visit to Chateau de Chillon, and listening to the cowbells at night as they drifted off to sleep.  We hope we can reciprocate their hospitality when they come visit the States.

The scenery out our train during the trip to Zermatt is worth the price of the ticket.  Once you arrive in the valley town of Visp, it is a slow climb up to the "mile high" village of Zermatt.  We were met at the station by Felix.  He is the husband of Edith, a long time family friend who also stayed with Cheryl's family for several months during her younger years.

The Matterhorn from the town of Zermatt

On a hike with Edith and Felix

Edith has been living in Zermatt for over forty years, and most of these years have been as a professional tour guide.  So, you can imagine our new found knowledge of this place after spending three days in their care.  We were blessed with ideal weather and had clear views of the Matterhorn every day of our visit.  We were told this is quite rare and we felt that perhaps Cheryl and I had finally overcome our tendency of bringing wet and cloudy weather wherever we visit.  Zermatt is a place for skiing and hiking, and since we did not have our ski gear or clothing, we opted for the latter.  We spent one day traveling to the top of the Rothorn and then to the Gonergrat.  Spectacular views at over 10,000 feet.  We spent another day hiking to Zumsee while passing through several hamlets on the way.  Farmers would move to the hamlets higher up the mountains with their animals in the summer in order to graze in the green meadows.  The winter elements would force them back into town and thus establish the seasonal routines in these mountain areas.  All of the hiking made for large appetites.  Dinners consisted of local favorites cheese fondue or sausage.  And, even though Zermatt is just minutes from the Italian border, German is the language of the people.  We were often confused during our time in Switzerland.

The Kapellbrucke (Chapel Bridge) in Lucerne

On Thursday, we hopped on the train for the next leg of our journey.  Prior to arrival in St. Gallen, we disembarked in Lucerne for about three hours in order to eat some lunch, enjoy the views of the lake and surrounding mountains, and walk the city.  It is difficult for us to choose our favorite Swiss town.  The refrain "We could live here" seems to come out of our mouth after each visit.  Cheryl had visited this city three years ago during the London May term ( I remained in London) with Susi, Silvano, Edith, and Felix.  She knew I would love the feel of the place and she was "spot on."

The Gallusplatz in St. Gallen

Isa picked us up at the train station in St. Gallen.  Isa is also a cousin of Cheryl and is the daughter of Susi and Silvano and the sister of Patti and Terez.  We spent three days with her and her husband Markus.  What a treat.  We had last seen Isa in 1999, and she had also spent a day with us in Holland in 1997.  We had never met Markus.  We were able to both relax and enjoy some new experiences.  In spite of a snowstorm on Friday, we were able to visit the canton of Appenzell and sample the famous Appenzeller cheese.  We also toured the city of St. Gallen, drove around the sites on the shore of the Bodensee (Lake Constance), stopped to see their sailboat, walked a park up above the town, pretended to be customers in their store, and mostly enjoyed the fellowship that can happen when two or more are gathered in His name.  Perhaps the highlight was being able to worship in their church on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  The services were in German, but we were able to have an English translator from Nashville.  We were also able to enjoy an afternoon tea with Markus' parents.  Fortunately, or unfortunately for them, we left enough things undone that we will have to plan a return visit.

Isa in her store

Out and about with Markus and Isa

 We returned to Susi and Silvano's on Sunday to enjoy yet another wonderful meal.  Sharing this meal with Terez made it an extra special treat.  We then flew out of Basel on Monday.  Cheryl and I usually bumble our way through Europe, but because of the gracious hospitality of our friends and relatives, this adventure was a lot smoother and stress free.  Our home in Romania patiently awaited our arrival and we quickly adjusted to life in a bit wilder, but no less beautiful country.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom

Vienna

Greetings,

Corrie and I on the Karntner Strabe

Cheryl and I returned to Romania after a one week stay in Vienna.  It was a wonderful experience for us, highlighted by the fact that we got to spend this time with Corrie.  We missed not having Ross and Clive, and we often thought of how much Erin would have enjoyed these memories. But, we were delighted at the opportunity to experience a city, one which Corrie studied in for six weeks back in 2004.

Cheryl and Corrie sitting at Corrie's favorite cafe

Vienna is a five-hour car drive from Oradea.  It is a nine-hour bus ride, and it is a twelve-hour train ride.  We took the train!  Corrie's cross Atlantic flight from Vienna to Chicago took less time than our train trip.  Our friends in Oradea tell us that even though the two countries (Austria and Romania) are only separated by about 250 miles, it feels as though they are worlds apart.

As I have mentioned before, Oradea is located in the region of Transylvania, which makes up about 40% of Romania.  In 1867, at the time of the Compromise that combined the Kingdom of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary (to form the Austro-Hungarian Empire), Transylvania was part of the Hungarian Kingdom.  Thus, when you are in central Oradea, the look and feel of the center city is very much like that of Vienna.  Most of the prominent buildings in the center of town were built around 1900, and thus have a heavy dose of Austrian influence.  In fact, at that time, Oradea was the ninth largest city in the Kingdom of Hungary.  But, the fate of the two countries diverged at the end of World War I.

Downtown Oradea

City Hall in Vienna

As part of the Treaty at Versailles, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dismantled and Transylvania became part of Romania.  After World War II, Austria ended up on the western side of the "Wall" and Romania resided on the eastern side.  Austria was able to preserve and rebuild its fine heritage.  Unfortunately, under Soviet domination, much of the Austrian influence in Romania was destroyed or left to crumble.  History matters!!  One of the wonderful benefits of this experience has been an enhanced appreciation for history in general, and an enhanced understanding of Eastern European history in particular.

Corrie and Cheryl in front Schonbrunn Palace

A few of the highlights to our week included a self-guided walking tour of the city, visiting the Spanish Riding School with the Lippizan horses, tours of the Palace at Hofburg and the Palace at Schonbrunn, lunches in indoor and outdoor cafes, Saturday evening Mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral, wandering through the Shakespeare Book Store, evening meals with good food and good conversation, and a day trip to the quaint town of Melk.

View from the Abbey

The Abbey at Melk (half of it)

Melk is about 70 miles west of Vienna.  It is known for its large abbey that sits high above the town.  We had a delightful tour led by a recent graduate of the school that is lodged in the Abbey.  Our hope was to rent some bikes and ride part of the way back to Vienna, but alas, we were one week too early.

Inside the Abbey

Recent news that has caught the attention of the people here in Romania is the Russian presence in the Crimea.  Romanians have had a history of aggression from the west (Germany, Austria, Hungary), from the south (Ottomans), and from the east (Soviet Russia).  Their concern is that history may be repeating itself.  The word I would use to describe their feelings about the situation is worrisome.  Cheryl and I are tentatively planning a trip to Moldova at the end of April.  This is much closer to trouble spots, so our sense of prudence may override our sense of adventure.

Pace, Cheryl & Tom

What we are all looking at in the previous picture

Retreat

Greetings,

The Carpathia resort

As we have written before, Cheryl and I have been embraced by the Christian community here in Oradea.  We were given further evidence of this when we were invited to attend a two-day retreat for young married couples.  Although Cheryl and I did not fit the description, we were full participants and welcomed by all.

Stream running through the valley

The retreat was held at a small resort about 80 kilometers from Oradea.  As you can see from the pictures, it was situated in a narrow valley within a smaller range of the Carpathian mountains.  The weather was ideal and it was a time of refreshment and of making new friends.  English was spoken by most of the participants so we were able to enjoy the fellowship of these brothers and sisters in Christ.

The retreat was organized by Emanuel Tundrea.  Emanuel is a colleague of mine at the university and his wife Nadia is one of my students in the first year Master's class.  We have had the privilege of having dinner at the Tundrea's home on a couple of occasions and have enjoyed their natural hospitality and the energy of their three young boys.

View from up the hill behind the resort

Emanuel, Nadia, Judy, Tom

The theme of the retreat was on discipleship and disciple making.  Many in the group are young pastors, so this was a particularly timely message for them.  The primary speaker at the retreat was Tom Streeter.  Tom leads a church fellowship in Zionsville, Indiana and he and his wife Judy are inspirational examples of Christ's mandate to "go into the world and make disciples of all nations, beginning in Jerusalem . . ."  Tom and Judy make frequent trips to South Haven, so the plan is to meet at Sherman's Ice Cream store and continue conversations over large amounts of butter pecan ice cream.  We found out that we have a lot in common with the Streeters and we really enjoyed having them in Oradea for the week.  Both Tom and Judy are avid readers and on their recommendation, I have added a half dozen new books to my "To Read" list.  Ordering English books in Romania can be quite expensive, so I am looking forward to our return and opening boxes with Barnes & Noble written on the package.

The whole group

This raises another observation that Cheryl and I have experienced while on this sojourn.  Although not new, we certainly realize to a greater extent how much sweeter things are when one is allowed to wait for them.  The anticipation and the waiting can bring as much joy as the actual event or possessing the actual object.  It will certainly make our reunion with each of you all the sweeter when we return in June.

Cheryl and I travel to Vienna on Sunday.  Corrie will meet us there and we anticipate a wonderful week in a city that we have never visited and one in which she studied in for six weeks.  We will tell of what we experienced in our next entry.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom

Our neighbors

Cool guy on a cool bridge

Return

 Greetings,

Winter exercise

Cheryl and I have been back in Romania for a little over one week and we thought it was time to fire up the blog once again.  We had mixed blessings when we left Romania in December, and it was with mixed blessings that we left Michigan in February.  One of the things we will not miss is one of the most severe winters in Michigan history.  We landed in Grand Rapids on December 22 and it began to snow the next day.  Two months and over 140 inches of snow later, we departed for the "tropical" climate of Oradea.  Unfortunately, the pictures don't give you a true sense of how much snow is actually on the ground.  On the positive side, the constant snowfall rallied all the neighbors to many impromptu gatherings to the streets and sidewalks with snow blowers in tow and shovels in hand.

As you can imagine, our transition back to Romania was much easier and much less stressful than the first time.  We arrived to find our residence just as we had left it.  After a few hours of unpacking and of restocking the "pantry" and the refrigerator, we felt as if we had never left.  People welcomed us back with open arms and we are ready for the next stage of our sojourn.  Please continue to pray for us in terms of providing wisdom and discernment.  We want to make sure that our service is truly helpful in both the short and long term, and that it is ultimately done for God's glory.  Our Western "do" culture often feels the need to do something, even if it is not the needed thing or the right timing.  We have felt drawn into this temptation on several occasions.  In any case, we are looking forward to the lessons that we will learn from the people here and from our travels over the next three months. (more on this in future blogs)

Our backyard in Oradea

Our backyard in Holland

Prior to leaving Romania, Cheryl and I were fortunate to spend three days in Budapest, Hungary.  Budapest is a three hour drive from Oradea and it is the closest airport for our international travel.  So, we decided to explore something more of this city than simply its airport.

Hot Baths within the city

Hungarian Parliament Building

Other than some difficulty obtaining Hungarian money (HON) from ATM machines and that I spent three hours looking for my misplaced passport, things went off without a hitch.  Budapest is a lovely city with the two ancient cities of Buda (west of the river) and Pest (east of the river) bisected by the Danube river.  The locals have a saying that everyone is dying to live in Buda, but that Pest has all the life.  The Hapsburg Empire used to think that civilization ended once you crossed the Danube.  Therefore, Buda was the last outpost before embarking on the unknown, with all of the older palaces and most of the older finer homes.  In case you are wondering, our hotel was in Pest.

We spent the first night seeing the Nutcracker Suite at the Hungarian Opera House.  The next two days were spent visiting one of the biggest synagogues in Europe, roaming the huge indoor market, taking in an historical walking tour (many of the pictures are from the walking tour), eating at two very nice restaurants, and generally enjoying the festivities that accompany the week before Christmas.  One of the many blessings this sabbatical has afforded us is a chance to visit places that simply were not on our radar screen.

Skating is a popular activity

One final comment.  March 1st is a traditional Romanian holiday that is quite unique to this country.  It usually falls within a week of another not so unique holiday in Romania--Mother's Day.  Google "March First holiday in Romania" and you will see why Cheryl has been receiving some extra attention during this past week.

Pace,

Cheryl & Tom

Beautiful bridge spanning the Danube

Posing in Buda