About (some of) those with whom I work

Kirsty, my Irish friend who busks, draws, and teaches children

Recently some of the team members of Outstretched Hands took a trip to northern Romania for the wedding of Eci and Roxana Biro. This was a very nice time for me personally because I got to travel through the mountains and see some old cities where you can see more of the history of this country.

Typically when I write I tell you about the people we reach out to as a team, so I thought today I would write more about some of those with whom I work here in Romania, or have worked with in the past.

This picture on the left is of me with my friend Kirsty. She came just for the wedding, but I know her from my last two trips to Romania. She is not only a good friend that I keep in touch with, but also very multi-talented. I would say that many of her interests line up with my own, so it's helpful having someone with whom I can talk about art, someone with whom to brainstorm about teaching the kindergartners in Chiselet, etc. Not to mention she's just loads of fun. She is leaving today, so who knows when I'll see her next, but I was happy to spend a few days with her.

Ghiuler and Mirela

Here is a photo of Ghiuler and Mirela. Ghiuler is from the neighborhood of Caramidari and her testimony is a rather fantastic one. When the O.H. team first began to know her she wouldn't smile, she wouldn't talk or open up, she wouldn't let you hug her, etc. She was sent to beg on the streets, her family would beat her, etc. After the passing of years she is an entirely different person. She knows Christ now, she lives in Chiselet and hosts me each week for two days in her room and makes sure I have food and am comfortable. She's a very good hostess, and she's very sweet. She still hasn't learned to read much, but she is a transformed young lady.

Mirela is a lady who studied in Bucharest for a degree (I can't remember for what off-hand), but God brought her back to her own village of Chiselet. There she takes part in leading worship in the church, she leads a girls' meeting each week with teenage girls from the village, and she pours her heart out through the week serving the kids who come to the church for homework. She coaches with homework, gives them showers and clean clothing when they come covered in dirt, etc. She is a joy to be around. Be praying for her because she has chronic pain that makes it harder to work or to get through the day. There is a possibility that this could be fixed with a surgery, but we still don't know that for certain.

This is Chrystal, my roommate. She is from California and is a nurse. She is very involved here and is working to begin a medical cabinet here in town along with some other nurses and a doctor who are on the O.H. team. She is a really cool person to know and I feel that I'm learning a lot from her. She's also really fun to travel with because she is an adventurer and explores new places. So when the Common Joe would want to go sit at a restaurant or shop at the mall, Chrystal is the one who walks down another road and discovers it on her own. She also knows how to separate from the crowd a little way and enjoy a scene in silence just looking around and listening. She also has a big heart for God, a big heart to serve people with her medical knowledge, and she urges me to be competitive when playing any kind of a game, which is not my norm.

In short, these are some of the many people with whom I interact regularly and it's a joy to be here with them.