Thanksgiving!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. This year we had many things to be thankful for at Project Ruth and the Ruth School. During Thanksgiving week, there was a Gypsy Smith School session for 20+ Roma church leaders. Anna & I made and decorate cupcakes on Thanksgiving Day to give to the men to share a cross-cultural moment with them. We expressed how this year we are so thankful for the leadership they provide and the witness for Jesus that they are each day in their villages.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Also, Anna, Tammy and I were especially thankful for the end of many loads of laundry. Laundry is not one of my favorite things at all, just ask my mother or college roommate :). Yet, in mid-November we noticed that all of the linens that Project Ruth owned were in the dirty laundry mountain so we had to get washing.... Not only did things have to be washed, they had to be dried and ironed. Fortunately, Project Ruth has a clothes dryer which makes this process easier but it could only be run in the evenings when the school was closed because of electric limitations. Yes, we did cause the school to lose power but only once :)

Luminita, Anna, Atena and I
 the cooks and dishwashers :)

"Thanksgiving is all about food." This was my short answer when trying to explain one of the best days in American culture. In order to stay true to this, Anna & I ordered a pizza for dinner and I made mac-n-cheese while on the phone with my mother to make sure I got it just right. Now, we would have had a real Thanksgiving dinner but we were washing dishes for GSS and the kids all day (7:30, 11, 12, 1, 5). 

Party girls :)

On Saturday, Tammy, Anna and I organized an American Thanksgiving dinner for our co-workers and close friends (about 35 people). We cooked frantically all morning. Around ten, I had just put the sweet potato casserole in the oven and the power went out for over an hour. This put a bit of a kink in the cooking schedule but everything worked out. It was a wonderful afternoon of food, fellowship and crafts for the kids.

Library decorated for the
 American Thanksgiving Party!



Side note - I just finished decorating my apartment for Christmas! 23.5 days until Susan Shifflett arrives :) :) :)

Burlington Baptist Youth visits Project Ruth

The British Team

This past week we had a wonderful team of youth visiting from Burlington Baptist Church in Ipswich, England. There were seventeen total volunteers that were full of energy, activities and love to share with the students of the Ruth School. The 1st-4th graders were actually on vacation last week but over forty of them came each morning at ten for a Bible lesson, craft, games and fun songs. Through-out the school day, the team was involved in teaching music, PE, and art classes for the 5-8 graders.

In the afternoons, Anna and I were able to take them to hang out at the mall and in the park. It was great to hang out with youth and I love seeing all of them bond together. Them interacting made me miss GBC youth quite a bit.

Alex was the first one to club every morning!
And is still in need of a sponsor

My day to day activities are varied depending on what needs to be done. I have been helping get the child sponsorship information updated. We have over thirty students that are still in need of sponsors so if anyone is interested in sponsoring a student for $30 per month please let me know.




Random information about life here now...

Chips & Salsa :)

--- it gets dark around 5pm every night.
--- the grocery store has recently gotten baked Lay's potato chips which has made my week.
--- the students are getting use to the rountine of chapel and sing their little hearts out every week.
--- Anna and I discovered a Mexican restaurant in downtown Bucharest that is WONDERFUL :) :) :)
--- the leaves are beautiful in the parks here. I don't see many trees in my neighborhood so visits to parks are a treat. 

The leaves are changing