Hanging out in Beius

Like many things I have experienced this trip, my time in Romania has been completely different than I could have expected and yet exceeded my expectations greatly. This is a kind of down time at the mission, recovery from the last two weeks of a team being in town and doing lots of painting and going out to gypsy villages. So I haven't really been doing much other than hanging out. And I'm discovering that that's OK - that my position here is just to be here - to see how everything works, how the group interacts, how they love on and put up with each other, and what everyday life is like for this group of giving individuals. Yesterday I spent the morning and afternoon playing with the "munchkins" as Ana calls them, and in the evening watched a movie with the younger members of the staff (Ana and Peter's adult/teen children and the college guys), then postponed the movie to watch God's own incredible handiwork instead. It started to pour outside as lightning completely took over the sky - I have never seen anything like it. You could only see the bolt every once in a while, but every couple of seconds the flash would span across and illuminate the night sky - it blew our socks off, and we watched for almost an hour. The thunder didn't start until an hour later - but it was like the rumble of a giant when it did. Then we went into the clinic (the four story portion of the complex, where I and the guys sleep) and played sardines - which of course scared me since I do so well searching for people in the dark. :)

Today we pretty much just relaxed. Peter wanted to take us to a thermal water pool in Oradea, but since it was still raining we decided not to go. Instead we have developed (by drawing straws) a plan for everyone to take turns making the meals (which is fun for us and gives the cooks a break). This creates a lot of teasing and creative work, as it is impossible to find the ingredients for many normal homemade dishes we cook in the states at the stores and market stalls in Beius. Ana went first and made an amazing frittata for breakfast - who on earth thought we should let the MOM go first?! She set quite the high standard. Then Jackson made a sort of philly cheesesteak, but with chicken and slices of a huge loaf of bread, for lunch - also amazing. I attempted to make a stir-fry with plum sauce, or at least a sweet and sour sauce, for dinner. It turned out OK - I'm definitely in last place so far - but I'm satisfied because I had no idea how to make such a sauce without soy sauce or ginger or brown sugar - I used plum jam, mustard, vinegar, flour, and pineapple juice, and it worked pretty well, just without much of a kick. The good news is I came in 49 (about $27) under budget. :0)

Anyway, it continues to be an awesome trip and I am so blessed and happy to finally be in Romania. I am finding out that I don't think I could actually work in an orphanage long term - at least not with kids under the age of 11. But as the guys (Lou and Jackson) said today, maybe that's not my calling. I feel like I'm being selfish when I get tired of playing with the girls, because I want to give of myself but find that my well is just not deep enough to draw from sometimes. But there are so many other ways to help out here - cooking, weeding, building, raising money, adopting, caring for one child as a foster parent, encouraging, and the list goes on. I still want to be a part of this - I just know that whatever I had chosen for myself is probably not completely in tune with what God has chosen for me.
So that may or may not make sense, but it's OK because I'm still learning it myself. I know I can trust God and that I want to be open to whatever He does have in store - I want to be found ready and waiting for Him when the knock comes at my door.


P.S. my knee has barely hurt since entering Romania - praise God! 'cause it really really hurt before. :)