#1: Self-explanatory. What a powerful motto (displayed at the CTL headquarters). Thanks for coming on this journey with us. Thank you for your prayers and support and we hope to partner with you in the future.

#2: For dessert, we had papanasi (pronounced pappa-nahsh) and crepes. Really great as well. Papanasi is essentially a sweet, crispy doughnut flavored with vanilla and a bit of rum...topped with cream and berries. A heavier dish, but certainly worth every bite! However, I'm fairly confident that we walked our dessert off as we raced through the city to get Amie her Bucharest Starbucks mug before the coffeehouse closed for the night (it was a very close call!)!

#3: Well, our last night in Bucharest was certainly a memorable one! The CTL staff sent Victor and Mandy to take us out for dinner at the fancy restaurant "La Mama." I have to admit, I had my doubts from the sound of the name, but this was a really high-class place (Victor even recognized one of the city's most famous DJs sitting at the neighboring table). Great atmosphere, great service, great bathrooms, and even better food. Many of us ordered different things, but my dish was three enormous meatballs with mashed potatoes...delicieux (and very filling)! I couldn't even finish it all because of all the bread, vegetable dip, and salad served before. A great ending to a great week. As shown in the picture, I wasn't the only one who left Bucharest stuffed!

More to come soon! I have not forgotten!

#4: There's a good photo of the gang!! In green are the 9 members of the McKinney team. Please do be praying for the CTL staff as they continue to minister to "the least of these" in Bucharest! Pray for encouragement, pray for strength, and pray for spiritual fruit!

#5: On our first day, Curt told us to be willing to "go all out" (taking risks in boldly making friendships, trying out the language, etc.) because the week would fly by! And was he ever right!! It seemed like we had just arrived in Bucharest when we realized that it was our last day in Romania! Thankfully, we had heeded Curt's advice and had developed some pretty deep friendships and bonds with the kids and CTL staff...making it really hard to say our good-byes! Here Amie, Victor, and Mariel pose for one last photo. Victor was a really neat guy to get to know over the course of the week. He actually grew up in an orphanage as a child and is now doing awesome: charming, knowledgeable (in Romanian culture, the French language, and, um...pick-up lines), and kind, Victor quickly became a favorite among the Americans...and continues to be a source of encouragement and hope to the CTL staff.

#6: Church night! This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip! We had the opportunity to visit a college ministry meeting in a local Bucharest church. As mentioned in the trip blog, it was an amazing thing to meet other college-age Christians that face the same struggles we do (e.g., balancing work and school and spiritual growth, being a bold witness in the university/academic arena, etc.). It was a meeting of fellowship, a meeting of encouragement, a meeting of unity under the banner of Christ. I definitely feel more connected to my Christian brothers and sisters overseas...the "global church" is less abstract and fuzzy; it is more of a concrete reality. We are still in contact today, praying for one another! Pictured (from left to right) is Curt, Ionut (I hope that I spelled that somewhat close...), Iulian (the Romanian college pastor; studied with Curt in seminary), and Doug.

#7: We typically had dinner (and usually lunch) at the ministry center. Mama Maria whipped this up one day: sarmale. This traditional Romanian dish is a cabbage roll stuffed with ground pork. It was served with polenta, a corn based side dish that typically complements the cabbage rolls. The saltiness of the sarmale mixes nicely with the soft texture of the polenta, creating a culinary experience like NO OTHER. We quickly found that Romanians are also very fond of bread (served with almost every dish) and sour cream (used to top soups/stews; to accent the flavor of the sarmale)! We have many fond memories of our meals in the CTL ministry center: laughing, talking, trying (in vain) to help Mama Maria with the dishes (she would NOT let the guests do the cleaning up), and, of course putting such great food in our bellies!

#8: While I'm on the happy subject of food...I would be remiss if I did not mention JOE!!! This Romanian wafer snack was our "staple" throughout the trip. We would eat it at meals, after meals, at evening meetings, in our sleep... We were constantly asking Gianni to buy more and were sorely tempted to take suitcases of them back to the States (along with the culinary master Mama Maria...we ate pretty well in Romania and weren't ready to let go). Sadly, this did not happen, although Amie has relieved our withdrawal symptoms by finding and ordering some online.

#9: Another way to pass the time was to eat (all that rock, paper, scissors can work up a major appetite). Our wonderful guide and translator Madalina had the GREAT idea to grab some pretzels while we waited for the tram.

#10: Before we got to Romania, we were told that we would spend just as much (if not more) time traveling to the orphanage sites as we did actually interacting with the kids. Curt stressed that we needed to be intentional in using this time to encourage the CTL staff, bond with each other, and grow in the Lord. Doug and I probably fall into the second category as we play a fierce game of rock, paper, scissors while waiting for the tram (like a train, but on a single rail that runs through the streets, going where cars go...often the aggressive drivers would (illegally) trail behind the tram to get ahead!). This picture also brings out the weather. Most of the time, it was bright, sunny, and cool (maybe 30-40 degrees). On one day it even got into the 60s!

#11: After the two teams returned from the hunt, we tallied up the points...it was actually a tie! Aside from a really neat cultural experience, the scavenger hunt allowed each of our teams to really gel and work together before we headed off to our first orphanage. To celebrate, we were treated to the most traditional Romanian cuisine...at McDonald's!! For the most part, standard McDonald's fare with a few different items (e.g., Doug's chicken wrap-type thing). Pictured (in black) is our awesome guide and foodie expert Victor. Typically, how we would order at McDonald's would be simply to tell our guides what we wanted and have them order for us (most menus in Romanian).

#12: There was one other way to earn points on the scavenger hunt: photography. We could get a point for a photo of a famous building, one for a certain landmark, and (the most interesting) taking a picture (the entire team) with one Romanian person. Our team (who, by the way, were the TRUE winners of the hunt) took our picture with a pickle seller. She actually gave us the pickle for free! We thought she seemed kind enough, and so we asked (if you could call our broken Romanian that) her to take a photo with her. It was really great! All of the traffic in that part of the market came to a standstill! Our lady was calling to her friends in nearby booths to come and watch!

#13: On the second day, it was time to visit the orphanages. On our schedule from CTL, we noticed a fairly ambiguous event planned for the morning: "scavenger hunt." What in the world was this? Despite our constant questions, Victor very mysteriously and silently escorted us to McDonald's. We found Nelu sitting alone at a table. We sat down and he explained. Just outside was a huge outdoor market. Hundreds of booth-keepers sold all manner of knick-knacks and paraphernalia. He had a small pile on the table: a chocolate bar, a camera battery, a dog biscuit, a bowl, a string of safety pins, a nail, a pickle, a bag of live maggots (used for fishing), etc. We were split into our two orphanage teams. We had 1 hour and 10 lei (about 3 dollars) to bring back as many of the items as we could. Each item was worth one point...and the nail was worth 3 points. The idea was to force our teams to interact with real, live Romanian people and to get down and dirty in the Romanian culture. So, with "fear and trembling," we ran out the door...

#14: Each morning, we would have morning devotions and then receive a briefing from CTL about the orphanages we would be visiting that day (usually one in the morning and one in the afternoon). Sometimes we would be split into two groups to cover more ground. At the orphanages, our teams would put on a five minute skit about a Bible story (my team did the story of the lost sheep; the others did the story of Jesus loving the little children), usually followed by a craft and a few games. Although we had our plans in place, we really had to remain flexible, relying on CTL to tell us about the type of kids at particular orphanages. They would tell us what they thought would be the most effective craft, game, or Bible story questions to ask so as to maximize our limited time there. Pictured is Bogdan and Meredith engaging in one such conversation.

#15: Yay! CTL Staff! As many of you know, the ministry group that coordinated all of our orphanage visits, handled all logistics, and kept our bellies full was Children to Love International, a 17 member staff of Romanians who regularly serve (at least once a week) a chain of orphanages in Bucharest. It was so encouraging to see an organization that functioned so well. Each person served using their gifts, contributing their part for the good of the whole be it music (e.g., Nelu (pictured with guitar) and Fibia provided our morning worship music), translation (everyone, really, but especially Madalina and Victor), purchasing food and supplies (e.g., Gianni (pictured behind Nelu) always purchased bottled water or anything else we needed from the store each day), or cooking that food (e.g., everyone's favorite: MAMA MARIA).

#16: Here is one more picture from our time on the mountaintop. Pictured are the members of our team who were too chicken to go sledding (although after I got snow in my gloves and down my pants, I am beginning to see the prudence of their decision). The plastic bags they are holding were the type we used for our "sleds."

#17: 5 anxiety-filled minutes later, we stepped off the gondola into a winter wonderland. Snow was everywhere, people were skiing down the mountain slope, and (for our dog lovers) there was even a real-live Saint Bernard! Breathtaking view: the sweeping forests, tree-laden mountains, and tiny houses down below. I even got to live out my dream of sliding down a snowy slope (I had always wanted to do this, but with the weather in Texas, had never really had the chance). We used plastic bags for our sleds, lifted our legs up, and hoped for the best! Great, great fun! Pictured is one of the slopes we used.

#18: Our Romanian guides told us that in order to get to our next stop, we would be travelling via gondola. While a certain member of the team (Meredith!) had images of Italian boats floating along the canals ("Where's the water?"), we soon discovered that this type of gondola involved packing at least 25 people into a small, standing-room-only cable car held by a flimsy-looking wire above. We got a great bird's eye view of the area, although some of us (Mariel!) were quickly confronted with our fear of heights!

#19: This photo was taken standing in the courtyard of Peleş Castle. Way off in the distance, we could just barely make out some buildings nestled on the top of the Carpathian Mountains. Our guides informed us that THIS was our next stop!

#20: Here's a better view of the castle in its natural surroundings. I really wasn't sure what to expect from Romania in terms of landscape and natural vistas. Definitely looks like something out of Snow White or Beauty and the Beast!

#21: Peleş Castle was the main attraction of the day! Heavily influenced by the German and French architecture, Peleş was a summer getaway for Romanian nobility. And what a summer house this would have been! The inside was filled with room after room of intricate wooden detailing, dazzling mirrors, and even a hidden passageway (in the library, one section of the bookcase was really a door covering a path leading up to the master bedroom). One of the kings had a particular fondness for weaponry, and we (the guys especially) had a blast oohing and ahhing over armor, swords, and shields. Doug and I especially loved the tiger-hunting knife used by an Indian maharaja!

#22: Here are pictures from our first major stop on our uphill journey at Sinaia: The Church of the Sinaia Monastery. A gorgeous building with intricate and ornate architecture, this church was simply breathtaking. To our surprise, a service was just starting inside! We got a quick glimpse of what a Romanian Orthodox service was like: very crowded, the priests in their robes, incense burning... A very eye-opening experience.

#23: Once we reached Sinaia (we dubbed it the "Mount Sinai" of Romania), we started walking uphill. While parts of the trek were on cobblestone streets (as pictured), other parts were up icy paths. As you might imagine, we immediately learned to rely (literally) on our teammates! The entire trip was indeed a great bonding experience for our 9-person team. Also, we really got to know our Romanian guides on a more personal level. On the train ride back to Bucharest we laughed and joked as we taught them some American "travel" games and learned some Romanian ones. Madalina even taught Doug a thing or two about the deceptively complex game of tic-tac-toe!

#24: For those of you who followed the blog during our time in Romania, you'll remember that our first day was one of sightseeing in the beautiful mountains of Sinaia. To get here, we had to take a two hour train ride. Below, our college pastor Curt looks out the window at the rustic vistas of the Romanian countryside.

Pictures!

Hi! I hope to update this from time to time with some pictures. I'm sure you've seen many pictures and heard many stories, but I do this with the hope of having a permanent electronic record. So, without further ado, let's begin the countdown!

#25: After a long flight via Amsterdam, we arrived in Romania! (Just a note: you can click on the image for a bigger view.) The language was not so much a barrier in places like the airport, but once we got into the city, we were really thankful for our Romanian tour guides! They helped us with everything from "walk faster" to "get on this bus" to "don't touch that dog!"

Day 7: Last Day

Well, today was our last full day in Romania. We have had an absolutely fantastic time... This morning, both our team and the Romanian staff commented on how blessed we were to experience such unity, teamwork, and camaraderie during our short time together. We will always remember and cherish our dear brothers and sisters in Christ. We are also very thankful for the abundance of spiritual fruit reaped during our time at the orphanages.

We had our last lunch at the ministry center, and Mama Maria ended a terrific week of culinary success with musaka. It is a tantalizing combination of scalloped potatoes, herbs, cheese, and ground beef...all piping hot out of the oven. Awesome.

New prayer requests: please pray for stamina and strength tomorrow as we fly back to Texas via Amsterdam and Detroit. It will truly be a marathon and we anticipate quite a bit of down-time in Michigan. May we be patient, gracious, and have a great time...for the last time as a team.

Thank YOU for your involvement in this whole process. It has been such a comfort knowing that the prayers of the saints are going before us as we prepared for each day. The success of this trip can be attributed to the hard work of the team, your faithful support, and (most importantly) the power and strength of our great God.

Pa (bye)!

Day 5-6: Encouragement

Hello everyone! I apologize for not blogging yesterday. A lot has been going on these last few days. Aside from playing "duck, duck, goose" in Romanian, eating platefuls of sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls; awesome!), and playing football (i.e., soccer) with (far better) 10-11 year olds, we have really been making an effort to encourage one another to help us work through our physical weariness and fatigue.

Yesterday we were encouraged with huge fruit at our afternoon orphanage. Our staff guide Florina told us that for the first time in over ten years, the kids asked the staff questions about Jesus (not the other way around)! After hearing our five-minute skit about Jesus saying "let the little children come to me," the kids were curious, allowing Florina to lead them in a great conversation about faith in Jesus (not just intellectual belief in God). Praise the Lord! Your prayers are yielding fruit.

Tonight we were encouraged by visiting a Romanian church's college small group. It was a terrific time of fellowship, eclairs, prayer, laughter, and...well, eclairs (they were really good). We realized that there are Christians across the globe that are facing the same challenges as we do: community outreach, alcohol, and balancing the responsibilities of school, work, and church.

Thank you for encouraging us with YOUR PRAYERS.

Day 4: A Greater Understanding

Today was a very different day for our team. Flexibility was in high demand as we were switched multiple times in our orphanage assignments, eventually splitting up into three separate groups throughout the course of the day. Through it all, however, I believe that the team WAS strengthened. One team member put it something like this: "The Lord knew who needed to be at each orphanage. This group would be better here, while that group would be more effective there." We've gained new understandings of each team member's strengths and unique gifts they bring to the table. Tomorrow we'll be able to put it all together with our first full-team orphanage visit. I'm really anticipating a big performance. Please pray, however, that we DO NOT RELY ON OUR STRENGTH, BUT SOLELY ON THE LORD'S. All depends on Him. Very little is actually accomplished by us.

Tonight was the worship night for Children to Love. We sang praises to our God in English and broken Romanian, and several members of the group shared their testimony. I pray that our testimonies would be an encouragement to the Romanian staff (that what they're doing matters), would open new doors for witnessing (several children were present at the worship night), and (most of all) that people would be saved. I hope you will pray these things as well.

Day 3: A Cultural Orientation

Today was a long, tiring, but definitely rewarding day. In the morning, our team went on a scavenger hunt in a busy marketplace. We were charged with finding and buying a variety of items (a nail, a chocolate bar, a bag of maggots, etc.) for under 10 Lei (about 3 U.S. dollars) at the marketplace in under 1 hour. It was a great time to experience the real Bucharest culture and to actually see/do what a typical Romanian would see/do on any given day.

After a brief lunch under "the golden arches," it was off to the orphanages. It was absolutely mind-boggling to see how excited these children were just to see us. They wanted to talk to us even though both parties knew a conversation wouldn't really be possible. Tonight we talked about trust and the idea of having faith that God can use seeds planted in a 5 minute skit to bring about significant change over time. We must trust that He will do it, even when we do not immediately see fruit or get to reap it in person (although this could certainly happen). Thank you for your prayers. They are certainly helping. Please pray for GOOD REST tonight and help in PROCESSING the concepts and truths God is revealing to us.

Days 1-2: Great Start; Greater Things To Come

Bună, and greetings from sunny Bucharest! We have indeed arrived safely in Romania after a smooth flight via Amsterdam (all 11 hours of it!). Today we had a wonderful day of sight-seeing, visiting castles in the heart of a snow-covered forest and taking a breathtaking gondola ride up the side of a mountain! We spent the day with two members of the Children to Love International staff, and we are already so grateful for their extraordinary friendliness, extensive Romanian knowledge, and awe-inspiring passion for the Lord. We are already feeling very comfortable with them and even more comfortable with our McKinney team. Great bonding!

A few things to pray about: first, please pray that we will take the time to soak in as much information from the Romanian staff as possible. Also, we start our first orphanage visits tomorrow (we start at 7:15 A.M.). Please pray that we are physically (i.e., enough sleep; jet lag adjustment) and spiritually prepared (i.e., being intentional about carving out time for prayer and Bible reading) in entering this very important mission. May we start the trip well!

Last order of business: if you have not been receiving e-mail updates from Erin Frazier (McKinney Students Student Ministries Administrative Assistant), please send Curt Sparkman (our College Pastor here on the trip) an e-mail at curt@mckinneystudents.com.

Thank the Lord for His answers to prayer! May God continue to bless your prayers.

Pre-Trip Thoughts

Hello!

If you're here, first of all, THANK YOU for your partnership in this Romania mission! I'm guessing you are a friend or family member of someone on the trip, so let me start off by saying that your support and prayers have ALREADY made such a difference...before we've even left the U.S. Thank you, thank you, and please keep it up!

The pre-trip process is flying by! Our college pastor Curt has gone over packing lists, warned about cultural faux pas, and prepared us for the red-tape and logistics of international travel. Right now, we are all trying to juggle the demands of school, our mission trip responsibilities, and our excitement about the trip which gets closer each day.

What an exciting time! Please pray for wisdom in balancing all of these tasks. May we be physically prepared to travel to Bucharest AND spiritually poised and alert for our week abroad.

I'll be sure and keep you all updated along the way!