Fairest Lord Jesus! Ruler of all nature!
O Thou of God and man the Son.
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown!

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing!

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer,
Than all the angels heaven can boast!
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This has long been one of my favorites.

The above picture is extremely humorous…however, many who have not lived in Romania, or who are not familiar with Romanian culture, won’t quite see why.  Perhaps I can explain it…perhaps not.

Many, many Romanians have left Romania since January 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria were allowed to participate in the EU.  While many are working and working hard in Western European nations now, there is much theft and begging.  In fact, just this week, authorities in France evacuated many Gypsy camps.  Italy has perhaps been the most vigilant, bulldozing camps of Romanians who are squatting on land and working illegally.  It’s true that much of the illegal activity is being carried out by Gypsies.  Well, they also tend to be talented musicians (the accordion is a common instrument), and often make money by playing in popular tourist areas in Western Europe.

This sign above is posted in Denmark (I believe) but in the Romanian language…except for the word ‘play’, which is strange  ’Cante’ would be the Romanian word for playing an instrument.  I don’t know why there is one English word on the sign.  Translated, the sign says, “It’s forbidden to ‘play’ without a license.  Begging also forbidden.”

First, massage the lamb with a simple mixture of salt, ground pepper, and oregano.  Cut slits in the meat and put garlic cloves inside.  Let it sit overnight like this in the fridge.

I could almost eat it raw!

Next, put the lamb in the clay pot from Greece that your Greek friend left as a gift when they moved.  Put a bit of olive oil in the bottom first, and then fill in the sides with chopped potatoes, red peppers, red onion and any other veggie you want.  I almost forgot…I wrapped the lamb in bacon!!!

BACON…it’s what’s for dinner!

Place your pot in an oven preheated to 250 Celsius, and cook for 30-45 minutes.  Then reduce heat to about 160 Celsius and cook for another 90 minutes….if you want it done (not bloody) but pretty tender still.

Finished product.  Seriously, the meat was falling off the bones.  It took me tongs and 2 large forks to get it out in one piece.

So good, especially with the homemade flatbread, and ginger iced tea!

This has nothing to do with the lamb meal…but these are delicious too.  They are our homemade sweet and spicy pickles.  And they have some kick to ‘em.

“Never stoke the fire that isn’t troubling you.”

“Focul ce nu te supara, nicicum sa-l zgandari.”

Hey, this one is actually Biblical. Proverbs warns us against sticking our nose in other people’s business. Not that there is NEVER a time when it’s appropriate, because sometimes it’s the right thing to do. But, this proverb from Romania fits very well with the general culture here, especially if you can imagine yourself back 20+ years ago, under the communist regime, never knowing who might cause you trouble. Back then, making noise and sticking out was not a good idea. Blending in was the safe route. And blending in often meant sticking to yourself.

“When the water dries up, one learns the value of the well.”

“Cand seaca apa se cunoaste pretul fantanii.”

This proverb is especially timely for us this week.  Our water comes from a spring in the forest.  The spring is collected using a pipe in the ground, that channels the water into some tanks.  The tanks have an exit pipe that allow the water to flow down the hill and split off into smaller and smaller channels, eventually reaching each house.  We also have a well (which we share with our neighbors) as a back-up source.  The well is not very deep, and so in a hot season can provide water for 2-3 days if we conserve it…(no clothes washing, quick showers, no watering the garden, etc).

This week, our water was turned off at the valve that leads to our section of the neighborhood (for reasons I don’t have the patience to explain now).  Plus, because it has been so hot, the well sucked up dry real quick…so in the end, we were without water for about 2 days.   Not bad considering that last October it was almost 6 days without the spring or the well…and our first summer here we had 4 days no water, 3 days with, 3 days without, 2 days with, 2 days without…and so on and so on.

I cannot remember the water turning off ONCE in my 30 years of living in the U.S.   Not once…it may have happened for scheduled maintenance or something, but I don’t recall it.

Day two. No water. Toilets full. One child throwing up. About 99 degrees F outside. Nice!

Jesus calls us over the tumult
of our life’s wild, restless sea,
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, “Christian, follow Me.”

Jesus calls us from the worship
of the vain world’s golden store,
From each idol that would keep us,
Saying, “Christian, love Me more.”

In our joys and in our sorrows,
days of toil and hours of ease,
Still He calls, in cares and pleasures,
“Christian, love Me more than these.”

Jesus calls us: by Thy mercies,
Saviour, may we hear Thy call,
Give our hearts to Thy obedience,
Serve and love Thee best of all.

Romania just increased it’s sales tax….VAT (value added tax) actually, but the result to consumers is basically the same.   The old tax was 19%.  Yes, nineteen percent…already darn high…especially for those of us from the US!   So, what would you imagine they increased it to?  19.25%?  maybe 20% at a max, right?   Nope.

24%     …a 5% increase, overnight!    That puts Romania in the top 6 around the world for highest sales tax (VAT).  In their company is Denmark (25%), Sweden (25%), Norway (25%), Iceland (25.5%), and Hungary (25%).   I don’t want to be mean, but there is a huge difference between all those other nations and Romania.  Those countries have infrastructure and government services (not to mention accountability) that FAR exceeds that of Romania’s by almost untold amounts.

What’s even more disturbing is that this policy change comes as a result of pressure from the IMF (International Mafia Federation).  So, this is essentially what is happening…  The IMF is telling Romania “fix your problem [budget deficit] or we will not give you any more money.”  Romania wants more from the IMF because they have grown dependent on them.  So Romania says, “tell us what we need to do”.  So, the IMF tells Romania HOW they have to fix the problem….raise your taxes on the average person.  In other words, the IMF is now dictating fiscal policy for a sovereign nation because they hold the purse strings.   So Romania adjusts the tax, which hurts the general public – middle to low income families, so that the IMF can give more money to Romania that will eventuallyend up in the hands of those that are already rich and prosperous…including many of the government officials and their personal projects….i.e. – their own houses and businesses.

Here we have government and multi-lateral ”de-development” agencies at their finest.  The final result will be that a) Romania’s general public suffers MORE, b) Romania does not learn how to actually reform itself into a sustainable society, and c) they become more and more dependent and indebted to the IMF and other like agencies….which those agencies feel is just fine.

For 4 days now, 24hrs a day, there have been cars, different cars, parked in the exact same place, in the exact same position on his driveway with young men sitting inside of them all day long.  Occasionally, they get out of the car to stretch or talk on the cell phone.  And when they do, it’s clear that they guys have spent alot of time at the gym….recently.  It is clear they are watching his property for some reason.  The house cleaners, the gardeners, the repair men have not been seen in almost a week.

Why are the security guys there?  Is my neighbor a Don in the mafia?  Is he part of the heroin ring that runs through Romania on it’s way to W. Europe?  Is he paranoid?  Is there going to be a shoot out or a drive-by on our street?

“The biggest trees may fall in a gale, but the weeds remain.”

“La vijelii copacii cei mari jos cad, iar buruienile pe loc raman.”

To understand this proverb you have to put yourself in the shoes of a people have have survived many, many horrible regimes and come out alive…not thriving, but alive.  You also have to put yourself in the shoes of a people who have no foundational trust in their leaders for centuries…and have seen many “big trees” fall.

“You used an entire cow’s hide to make a sheath for your knife.”

The general idea is that you started with lots of material but when you were done, you had wasted 95% of it just to get a simple job done.  I have personal experience with this one.  Dr. David and I were trying to hang a monitor (a heave one) on the wall in one of the exam rooms.  We measured, drilled, and hung, only to discover that the patient (a would be pregnant lady watching her own ultrasound) would not be able to see the display because of the angle.  So we rehung…and ran into another problem, the monitor would have impeded the doctor from being in the position he/she needed to be in.  So we hung it a third time.  When we were done, we had left 6 very large holes in the concrete/brick wall about 1-2 inches in diameter.  It looked like gunfire had hit the wall.  We laughed, and Dr. David taught me the saying above.

“In time, raindrops will bore holes in rocks, and even a poor rope cuts marble.”

“Picatura ploii piatra gaureste, si funia de tei, cu vreme, marmurile despica.”

I don’t want to comment too much on how these proverbs play into the culture here, but this one is especially interesting because Romanians have the tendency to be fatalistic and deterministic…with a touch of not being driven by time.  So, the idea I take from this proverb is that efficiency is not king…as it is in many western cultures.  The work will get done sooner or later…no need to push too hard.  What’s the rush?