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