Serving Romania

Jon’s sister got married last week.  They are now Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Sara Thresher.  The wedding was a blast.  Here are a few nice shots…mostly of us at the wedding.  A family friend, Brian Colvin, took some of these photos.  His website is www.briancolvin.net  Becca, or her sister Kristin (our part-time, un-paid nanny), took the rest. 

“I now pronounce you husband and wife!”

Sara and the 3 flower girls, our two, plus one of Brandons nieces, Riley.

  
Cindy with the girls getting manacures a few days before the wedding…and the finished products.

   
This is what we look like all dressed up. Becca looks rather wonderful, even at 9 months pregnant.

   
Flower girls…they did their job well.

Jon walking his mom down the aisle.

Bride and father of the bride.

Here are a few photos of some of our down-time activities since we’ve been back.  We’ve spent a large part of our time traveling, meeting, and visiting with people.  With the baby’s due date less than 2 weeks away, we are currently camping out at Becca’s parents house.  Then, we will be traveling again just before returning to Romania.  Of course, the kids have had a blast being back home for a while, hanging out with cousins and grandparents.  Here are a few shots we captured…

The Hallsted girls, Becca, Cindy, Adriana, Sara, and Caitrin at Sara’s bridal shower.  Sara got married last weekend.  I’ll post some nice shots of that in coming days.

A friend of Becca’s parents let us use the private beach access at their beautiful house on a private lake one day….and threw their 2 boats in for good measure.  What a blessing.  Here is a picture we took of Becca’s whole side of the family, and all the nephews/cousins/grandchildren, depending on your perspective.  There were 18 of us total.  The baby in Becca’s belly will make 19 and the baby in Rachel’s belly will make 20.

All the cousins, minus one (plus two neighborhood friends who was too small to be in the photo.  Noah had a birthday party with (yes you guessed it) a superhero theme.  Superman and super woman seems to be a popular choice.  Adriana and Caitrin are hiding out in the back.  To those that think our girls are wimpy, just remember, true power is not alwasy apparent to the naked eye.  Becca made the girls costumes, including Ella’s who is in front.

Adriana giving the pinata a wack.  She did her best for being a superwoman and all.  We need to work on the swing technique a bit.

Jon, taking out some cross-cultural frustration by finishing off the superman pinata with a child’s foam baseball bat.  This is much cheaper than professional therapy, and slightly more effective.

Adriana, playing Nintendo for the first time in her life, with cousin Noah.

Adriana and Caitrin with the oldest living family member, and the newest.  Their great-great aunt is 94 and is probably in the last month of her life.  Mila is the newest cousin born to Aaron and Eun.

Adriana with “Auntie”.  She has shown some tremendous “care-taker” skills.  She seems to be extra sensitive to those in pain.

Caitrin at the beach…loving everything about it….except the beach part.

Jon and the girls.  Our girls are soooo brave that they actually get in the water all the way up to their ankles!

Nana (Cindy) with the girls at the beach.  Besides family, the beach is the single most missed aspect of California while we lead a nearly land-locked existence in Romania….well, we miss avocados too; and mexican food; and ok, that’s enough.

LESSON 3 - REGULAR GARBAGE PICK-UP IS A HOLY THING TO BE CHERISHED.

If you happen to be one of the few in our world blessed with the deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes, you can probably pick something up from the above photo that the person of average intelligence will most certainly miss - we don’t have garbage service.

It’s not that we can’t arrange for it…it’s just that, well, this is actually easier.  We live near some government approved picnic spots where locals tend to produce large amounts of waste.  The government provides large trash bins for people in the summer (and a few get left out during the winter too).  We usually drive our trash there when we are going in that direction (2-3 times/week).

One particular week our car was out of commission and we could not drive our trash to the bins.  The trash started to pile up and the stench started creeping into the house.  Flies and maggots started making homes in the garage area.  So, I borrowed a moped from a friend, and drove all 16 bags down, 2 at a time, to the nearest bin.

If we were to get garbage service, it would be quite a process involving lots of paperwork…some of it probably related to my California driving record, the birthplace of my grandfather, my shoe size, and my SAT scores.  On a serious note, I would have to provide proof of tax payments for all of our living expenses in Romania.  Plus….our place does not have a building number (at least not officially that is.  There is a sign on the place that says “21-B” but in the city records our place is “Fara Numar” - “without a number”).  We only get mail because the mail man knows we are foreigners.  Not having a house number is sure to complicate the paperwork process in ways that you cannot imagine.

There’s one last downside to getting the official garbage service here.  One of our neighbors have it, and every Thursday they place their garbage at the side of the road that runs near our place.  The truck is supposed to come sometime before noon.  They usually put their garbage out by 8:00 a.m., as they leave for work.  But, by about 8:04, the local stray dogs have ripped open every bag and spread the contents in the road, and sewer ditch that runs along side of it.  You can imagine the mess.  For whatever reason, the neighbor doesn’t clean it up….but I would feel obligated to.

“Why use bags and not garbage bins?”, you inquire.  Our other neighbor (who is a lifesaver and frequently helps us out) told us that they would get stolen the first time we put them out at the road.  The only way to make it work would be to secure them somehow with a lock and chain.  But then, if you secure them, the garbage guys cannot pick them up and dump them into the back of the truck….unless you use a really long chain.

Therefore, the short drive to the garbage bins is Ok with us, but it has made us appreciate the sanctity of professional garbage pick-up.

LESSON 2 - WE HAVE AN ENEMY.

Since moving to Romania just over 2 years ago, we have discovered that we struggle with different things or at least in different ways than we did back home in the States.

We struggle in a deeper way with discouragement, frustration, and often times, loneliness.  These are things that we never sensed in any real conscience manner before.  They came on occasion, and generally were relieved with the next family get-together or the anticipation of a weekend BBQ (as silly and simple as that may sound).  Let me expound a bit on just one of them…frustration.

I don’t care what anyone says - the fact remains that America is an extremely efficient society.  Despite what you may feel while waiting for your tax return, how frustrated you might feel while at the DMV, or how tied in a knot you might be when the person in front of you in the “Quick-Check” line at the supermarket has about 111 items over the quick-check limit, the frustrations that we are asked to endure in the U.S. are often miniscule in comparison to those that many on our planet face on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis.  Many on our planet are so accustomed to things that would frustrate many Westerns, that they don’t even view them as frustrating….they are simply normal.

So, when you transfer from America to a non-western nation, with a heart, mind, and plan to “do something, do it right, and do it quickly”, you are soon met with numerous folks (most of them well-meaning) who simply do not share your enthusiasm.  They are more like God than we are in this one sense: they operate outside of time!  This generally causes an increase in a certain little emotion, we’ll call it “acute frustration”.  Some of you know exactly what I am referring to.

There is currently no wonder-pill for this ailment, although I am sure the pharmaceutical companies are working on it.  They will soon label frustration a disease and develop a handy solution for it.  They will call it something like “Frust-ease” or “Sereniloft” or something like that and put lots of commercials on TV about it.  Then we can all run off and ask our doctors if fill in the blank is right for us.  Of course, some of the side effects will be narcolepsy and anxiety attacks.  Kind of got off track there, didn’t I?  Anyway…

Add to the mix an ever diminishing (as we become more proficient), yet ever present language barrier, toss in a few general cultural differences as well, and you have the perfect recipe for a screwed up schedule and a screwed up attitude.  This potent combination, for me (Jon), can be a deadly mix.  When someone or something messes with my schedule…well, I get ticked, and my attitude goes south.  When my attitude goes south, it makes it more difficult for me to handle the ever changing schedule.  As you can see, the snowball effect - the downward spiral, the law of diminishing returns, whatever you want to call it - quickly takes over.  My schedule is thwarted, my plans thrown amuck, my productivity dive-bombs, and my attitude becomes apparent to all within sniffing range.

I wish I could end this post with a large “BUT”….  “But, we are holy now”,  “But, we have been perfected by these circumstances.”   Nope, can’t truthfully say that.  We can say that we are now aware, more than ever before, that we have an enemy and he is active.  We know that he works in small ways to create and increase frustration and distraction.  And, as G.I. Joe, my childhood hero, used to say - “Now you know, and knowing is half of the battle!”   Thanks Joe.

LESSION 1 - MY PLANS ARE BETTER THAN GOD’s….BUT THEY JUST DON’T WORK.

This one might require some explaining in order to avoid confusion on the part of the reader.  Maybe I should even provide some scripture for context.

There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. - Proverbs 14:
Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts. - Proverbs 21:2
The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. - Proverbs 16:9

The point is this: my plans make a lot of sense, look really good, sound really good, and would work perfectly….if I was in control.  The thing that I am having to learn, coincidently, is that I am not, in control that is.  God is.  And that is why only His plans (or the ones he works through us) actually work.  Does that make sense?

So, are my plans actually better than God’s?  They sure seem that way, but only from my limited and earthly “I-wanna-be-in-control” perspective.  If I could see what He sees, I am most certain that I would see things very differently.  So, what is the practical conclusion?  Do I stop planning?  No.  That’s too simple of an answer.  I must plan.  And I must plan as well as I possibly can.  I must pray and plan at the same time.  I must allow others with experience to scrutinize my plans.  And then, I must remember what Steven Curtis Chapman captured in his song by a name I cannot remember, “God is God, and I am not.”

My plans might look nice; nice like a new car that has yet to receive an engine.  God’s plans, on the other hand, often appear to scattered and inefficient, but they always work, and they always work wonderfully.

We made it!

Cluj, Romania to Budapest, Hungary (by car)……..Budapest to Munich, Germany………Munich to San Francisco.

Total travel time including lots of waiting….49 hours.  Overall, the trip went well.  Here’s a few snapshots.

You can click on each photo to view it larger and with written details.

I am reposting two interesting images from VIVID, an online news source in Romania.  These are scenes from Romania in the late 80’s, just before the Revolution in 1989.

Let me make only a few observations.

  ::  There are virtually no cars.  Now they are everywhere.

  ::  Public transportation was available, but not sufficient for the masses.

  ::  There was very little garbage on Romanian streets back then.  I wish I could say the same now.

Because I like to get glimpses into Romania’s past, especially life under Ceaucescu, I will continue to post images that I find.  If you have any to contribute, please let me know.

Things are funniest when they are partially or mostly true.  Dilbert has a way of pulling out (mostly partial) truths from the world of work.  Saw this one today while checking my mail and thought that I would take the 25 seconds to post it.

One week later…

We know that gas prices are rising the States.  We’ve heard that California is feeling it the worst, with prices pushing over $4.00 a gallon.  Well, life is a matter of perspective, and we’d like to encourage you by giving you some. 

We currently pay approx. $7.50 per gallon in Romania.  Yes, when you account for the amount of liters/gallon and the exchange rate, that’s the final price.  Shocking!?  Yes.  But, it proves that gas is very inelastic.  They continue raising the prices, and we continue to use our cars.

Motor oil is expensive here too.  The car we use in Romania is a Volkswagen Diesel.  It get pretty good gas mileage (about 30 miles/gallon).  But oil changes are killer.  It’s difficult to change the oil on these cars, so you have to take it to a mechanic.  It would take me at least 1 full day to do it myself and it would not be a pretty site.  But the cost of the oil is what gets you.  The diesel motor oil I have to use in our car costs about $20-25 per quart.  The car takes 4 quarts.  I used to change my oil in the states for $20 including filter and oil…here, an oil change with the oil, filter, diesel filter and labor, runs almost $220!   Fhew…good thing we only have to do it every 15,000 km or every 9,000-10,000 miles (about twice a year).

Romania remains #2 in the world for the number of abortions performed per capita.

This fact is even more difficult to accept when one points out (as Life International President, Kurt Dillinger, did to me this week) that Romania actually holds the #1 spot in the world if we consider only democratic nations.