Village Outreach (Love Moldova B)

Time sure seems to be going a lot faster here in Moldova. The last outreach I was on one of two village outreach teams. We mostly did children's programs, 5-6 hours every day. It was a lot of fun. My team consisted of Vitalie (LMT Paiku), Sora Paulina (LMT Paiku), Al (England/Germany/Chisinau), Ester (LMT Rezina, from Austria/ England), a family of 4 from Holland (Ellie, Gert, Jary, Noa), and Jellina (also from Holland). Note to self: try and find hagelslag when I get to LA. The two villages that we went to were Lucesti and Zirnesti. The first village was rather difficult because they mostly spoke Russian. At this point I was thinking "where are Ruslan and Zhenya?" because translation would have to go from Russian to Romanian and then into English. However, it was amazing to see the relationships that we were able to build with the kids, despite the language barrier. Us girls were able to enjoy a life of luxury in the second village with normal showers and toilets at the host home. Our team woked really well together, and I am glad that I had an opportunity to get to know everyone on my team. However, at the moment, I am really tired and am looking forward to having an empty room tonight :D

Construction Team (Love Moldova A)

Well, I guess it would be good to update all my prayer and financial supporters now that I have some time in Chisinau :D However, I feel that it will be hard for me to summarize the last two weeks. So much has happened! The first day was mostly spent with introductions and general information sessions. There was a total of seven people on my team Ruslan and Jenea (from Russia), Chris (from Georgia), Tamara, Rita, Gheorgie (Moldovans), and myself! Then, off to Crocmaz! Crocmaz is a village on the east side of Moldova. It was very beautiful. While there, we did children's programs and helped with some practical work. Everything was going quite well and then (dun dun dun) almost everyone got sick, including myself. 5 out of seven had some sort of stomach problem. I was out for almost an entire day, but God is good and we all recovered rather quickly. I can't help but feel that we were bombarded by so many bad things. Around the same time we all got sick the weather got very bad and there was a lot of rain. This is not such a bad thing, but it meant that out plans to actually do construction in Caplan were ruined for several reasons. So we spent an extra day in Crocmaz while we waited to hear from some people in Chisinau with word on what to do. As it turns out, we ended up going to Paiku!! Tamara was super excited about this. So was I, for many reasons. Many people on the Local Ministry Team (LMT) in Paiku want to learn English. Plus, they are starting some Community Development projects...hmmmm....sound familiar? While there, Tamara was saying that she really wants some foreigners to join the team...Oye...talk about a perfect place for me to be after graduation. However, I realize that this will require LOTS of prayer. Please pray for me in this area. I do not know if I am just telling myself that it is a good place for me or if it is actually God directing me. Luckily, one whole year till graduation. While in Paiku we did more children's programs. This is kind of ironic because most people joined the construction team so that they could try something other than kids programs. God definitely has a sense of humor. I'm sad to have said goodbye to the friends that I've made these last couple weeks, but am excited to see what god will do in the future! Tamara wants me to return to Paiku in between LM B and LM C. Hopefully, it will happen!

Our entire team. From left to right: Rita, me, Ruslan, Jenea, Chris, Gheorgie (Leader), Tamara (translator)

The sunset in Paiku. LOVE IT!

Typically, Moldovans don't smile in pictures. So, we took a "Moldovan" picture

Moldovan toilets...what can I say? Nothing other than go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmhyY4Vw17E Thanks Al!

The sisters in the church in Crocmaz gave us some boots when it started raining. 

The other side of the river is Ukraine! (In Crocmaz)

This time the other side of the river is Romania! We went fishing here while in Paiku. Also, if Emily Carlson is reading this I prayed for you and your team while we were here. Love you girl!

FISHY! WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING?

The Last Week in Chisinau

This week has been incredible. There are no other words. i was very thankful that I got invited to the BBQ for Victor's birthday. It was awesome to see the simple happiness of it all. It was a good reminder to me that the things that are truly important are the PEOPLE that you surround yourself with. At the end of the day, this is what is really important. And of coarse, it is always so much fun to play football (aka soccer). Even though I am not a good athlete it was still a great time! Oh, and of coarse, the food was good. We had sausage, pork, and salad. Only the understanding of salad here is different than that of in America. here, salad basically means any assortment of veggies that have been put in the same bowl. Maybe some cheese or mayonnaise. Yes, mayonnaise, if anyone has seen Pulp Fiction, think of the scene where Jules and Vincent talk about eating fries with mayonnaise. Same idea here. Only, they put mayonnaise on everything, not just fries ;)

On Monday all of the OM Moldova staff, including the staff from Rezina and Paiku, went on another BBQ. This time however, it was an event called Run for the World. It was a way of raising support for the children's outreaches in Africa. Since I had late notice and no supporters I ended up "taking pictures of others running for the world" other people "cooked for OM." It was great fun and I got to meet more OM people. Every time I meet a new person with OM my instinct is to say "they are so nice." Always true.

Tuesday was a day of prayer and fasting. No food for 24 hours. I thought I would get super hungry, but it wasn't that bad. It started at 6 on Monday night and went till 6 on Tuesday night. Afterwards, Ashley, Sharron, Marcel, and Ester went to Andy's Pizza. Note to self: mayonnaise and corn on pizza is not that bad.

Thursday, after my lessons, I walked into the room and Ashley was going stir crazy and wanted to get out of the room. Why not? It's Moldova? Why sit on your bum and do nothing? So, we went into town even though we basically know how to get to number one. We had a Rutierra map and a phone. We figured we could figure it out. And, we did. Mostly. Some lady came up to us when we had called Lily to figure out which way McDonald's was. Well, we didn't really want to go there, but we didn't know where else we could get food. However, this lady told us about a nice Bistro down the street. It was pretty cheap and delicious. Ordering really was a challenge to my intensely limited Romanian, but we got food. This is what counts. That and getting on and off the rutierra.

Yesterday, Ashley and I went to the market and got some food and legit Moldovan bags. After shopping, we decided we should learn how to count. So, now we do. BWUAHAHAHA. More short termers from America showed up from Atlanta, Georgia. They will be going to a village today.
I am a little sad that I will no longer be working with the same people, but I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me during the outreaches. For Love Moldova A, I will be on a construction team. People arrive on Sunday and the intro day is Monday. From now on, my updates will probably be in between outreaches.

Hope you all are having a blessed summer!

Baby food? Nope, just juice...

La cruce...they are all over the place

the big red r=thing is the rutierra. AKA bus, pul=blic transport. whatever you wannna call it.

the restraunt we ended up eating at

Pavel and Al running for the world.

I guess it's okay for the Moldovans to play cards?

this is the view outside my window

From left to right Claudia, Olea, Viorica, Danu, and Pavel (front). At Viktor's birthday

at every .5 killometers we all stopped to pray.

Practical Work Day :D

I guess yesterday needs it's own post all together. It was a "practical work day" for the OM staff. It was a lot of fun actually! I love seeing all of the staff together in one place and watching everyone interact. I am so blessed to be provided with yet another example of true community. Since Sora Maria is on vacation (holiday) this week there haven't been any community meals together in the mission center and I truely miss it! However, seeing everyone work together to paint the missions center was incredible! Although my room (one of the places that was painted) still smells like paint. It was definately a good time to connect with every one.

I am looking forward to this next week. This weekend I am going to a picnic tomorrow as well as attending church on sunday. Then, on Monday, another picnic!!! Tuesday, however, will be very different since it will be a day of prayer and fasting (monday at 6 till tues. at 6) I am actually looking forward to it. Please keep me in your prayers.

thank you everyone!

Zoo, hair dresser, and doors...

Wow, it has been a while since I updated everyone! I am so sorry, but it feels like yesterday I was sitting down to write up an update. Well, since I last wrote I have moved locations from the 51/4 office and apartment buildings to the Missions Center. Brooke, the girl who came for sports ministry ended up going home. Please keep her and her family in your prayers! Brooke was only here for less than a week. However, this week Ashley moved in, which is part of the reason why I moved to the mission center. She is here in Moldova to do hair! She just graduated cosmetology school and wanted to bless the OM staff and Moldavian people by giving free hair cuts. Yes, I got one :) Her and I got along very well and was sad to see her leave this morning. She is going to a village, Razina, to serve the people there till next Monday.

As for teaching, it was a crazy week last week and definitely caused me to be very very flexible. My students can be very forgetful that they have lessons haha. Or they just forget to tell me that they cannot make it. However, I am fairly flexible and it does not bother me. 

This last weekend The Jones family invited Ashley and I to the zoo. I went, I mean how often do you have a chance to go to the zoo in Moldova? It was definitely interesting. Lets just say there was a house cat on display. in the same cage as birds...Interesting...I was also able to babysit the Jones kids on Thursday, I don't know where they get all there energy! Can i have some? Well on the way to their house we took the rutiera (bus). When we got on Ashley closed the door, but the driver didn't take her money right away and gave her a strange look. When she sat down I heard Sharon tell her "He's mad because you didn't slam the door." I don't know why that made sense to me, but when we got off i made sure i slammed it. He was not very happy. I really need to get my hearing checked! Yeah, Sharon actually said "he's mad because you slammed the door" OOPS! well, on the way back to the missions center, we got the same exact driver. ugh...talk about unlucky. At least I now know how to say "i'm sorry" in case it ever happens again (him being the driver, not me slamming the door). 

Anyways God has been teaching me so much this summer and I wish I could share more, but I still need to process it and I honestly don't know what else to say. Thank you for your continued prayer and support :)

If you want to check out my pictures so far, here is the link. It should be visible to everyone, for now, so feel free to check it out. 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150178930480870.311642.553950869

TESOL and Other Ponderings

So, as many of you already know (hopefully), I am starting out with teaching English for the first six weeks. I am doing this to fulfill my Practicum in order to earn my TESOL certificate by the time graduation rolls around. :D This is my first time teaching...ever. The first lesson I gave was nerve wracking, but I survived and have adjusted quite well. There are obvious areas of improvement, but overall, for a beginner, I believe I am doing well. My students seem to enjoy it and I thoroughly enjoy teaching. However, I am still unsure if I would want to do this full-time or not. Perhaps part-time teacher and part time...something else? haha I am trusting that God will put the pieces together over time.

Aside from teaching, I am getting to know a lot of the full time staff here fairly well. I am taking any opportunity I can to learn about life as a missionary from people on the field. It is a great opportunity for me, as well as my time at Simpson!

My old roommate, Becky, moved out and is now living with one of her friends. I now have a new roommate, Brooke, who is also a short-termer, doing sports ministry. However, Brooke is going through some hard times and is very homesick (to the point where she is already wanting to go home). Please keep her and her family in your prayers even though I do not feel it is my place to share the details.

One last update:
my placement for the outreaches during the last six weeks have been finalized! Fist I will be on a construction team helping to build a playground. Then, I will be on a trekking team that walks from village to village to help at various churches. Lastly, I will be on the river team, which sounds like a Moldovan version of Conquest. We, as a team, build a raft and float down the river for over a week. no showers. legit camping. I can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a blessed day and week! 
Thank you very much!
Mulţumesc foarte mult! 

My first week

Again, I would like to thank you all for your prayer and support during my time overseas. I can't believe that, starting tomorrow, it will have already been a week since I landed in the airport here. Since arriving I have already gone to a Moldovan wedding, I will post pictures on facebook as soon as i am able. The wedding was nice and a new experience for me. The drive there was about 2 hours long and I had some kids from an American missionary family constantly talking to me and wanting to sit on my lap. The church was very small and crowded. I do not know how many people were there, but I would guess a couple hundred, crammed into a room that was smaller than a living room. Yet, they probably would put more people in if they needed. I did not understand any of the preaching since it was all in Romanian, but I was able to understand most of it. The pastor talked for about an hour and then they blessed the couple. The pastor prayed as well as the mothers of the bride and groom. During the reception there was tons of food. I ate till I couldn't eat any more and then...MORE FOOD! haha. I tried as many things as I could even if I didn't know what it was. Good thing I don't have any allergies. The only thing I didn't like was chicken in a jello like substance. I'll try and find a picture or ask someone what it is called, but I don't think I will be cooking it anytime soon.

Other than that, so far I have been getting to know the people I am working with and getting adjusted to Moldova. Many of the people who work in the OM offices are native Moldovans, many of whom I am teaching English. However, other than the couple that I mentioned above I believe I am the only person from the states. Many are from other parts of Europe, Britain, Holland, Austria, Germany, etc. As such, I am getting a very interesting blend of cultures all at once.

Yesterday there was a nice thunderstorm followed by a power outage (naturally right when I started my lesson plans). The guys that live downstairs, Pavel and Andrei, came up and joined my roommates, Bekcy and Albina, and me and we watched Remember the Titans. Today, I was supposed to teach at 9 am, but the 2 students that were supposed to come didn't show, so it's been moved to 2. My supervisor seems to be very apologetic about it, but it doesn't bother me at all.

I'm finally here!

Yesterday I landed in Moldova around noon Moldova time and was quickly introduced to so many people here at the OM base that I still cannot remember all of their names. I was here for little less than three hours before I was invited to a wedding tomorrow. Everyone here seems very hospitable and welcoming. Naturally, being ten hours ahead I am undergoing jet lag, but it isn't as bad as I was expecting. I went into the city today with my roommate, Becky. Cisinau is a beautiful city and more like LA than I was expecting. Minus the fact that most people speak Romanian and proxemics tends to be a lot closer than I am used to, it is not much different. Claudia, my supervisor, has been very helpful so far in helping me adjust and prep for teaching. I am lucky to be working with her. I cannot wait to see what the rest of my time here will be like :D

A couple cultural differences that I have learned:

1. there is a "superstition" that if you keep a window open in a moving vehicle the wind will make you sick. Since there is no AC on the buses it makes it very warm during the summer.
2. Whistling indoors is said to summon evil spirits.

Thank you everyone for your continued prayer and support!
I guess that there is nothing left to say but "buna ziua" (good day)!

And if our God is for us then who could ever stop us?

If you are familiar with Chris Tomlin maybe you have heard the song off of his new CD called "Our God." Well, lately this song has been totally surrounding me everywhere I go. Church. Chapel. My room. At first it just seemed like another worship song. However, the bridge to the song kept getting stuck in my head. It goes, "If out God is for us then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?" Now, I know some people have been a little skeptical about whether or not I should go because of the main issues of poverty and human trafficking. After spending lots of time researching and writing a paper for my class on these issues, I really can have no retort or logical reason. All I can say is that those issues are what make me passionate about the trip. Yes, it's not the safest thing I could do, but let's be honest, neither is growing up in LA county. I have trust in the organization I am going with. They are in over 100 countries and specialize in helping people like me make custom trips. It isn't unheard of for them to have people travel alone with them.



Anyways, so far things are going well, and money is flowing in quite nicely. However, any little bit still helps! As I continue to raise support I am becoming more and more convinced that this will be an amazing trip. Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Hope you all are having a blessed week!

https://usa.om.org/GiveOnline/

Welcome!

Hey everyone!
I wanted to get this started so that I can keep everyone updated on what is going on with planning my trip to Moldova. For those who don't know, in order to fulfill my practicum I am going to Moldova to teach english and join a construction team. I am very passionate about what I will be doing in the country and believe that God is going to do incredible things. Many of my support letters went out today, so be checking your mail! You can also give online at https://usa.om.org/GiveOnline and enter the following info:

OM Missionary’s Full Name: Christina Rose Hutchinson

Where They Work: Moldova

OM Missionary’s Code: 2277640

Thanks for all of your prayer and support!