Happy St. Patrick's Day!

They tell me it's time to post again on my blog. And I see it's true - I didn't post anything last week but I have an excuse. I was busy writing and sending my newsletter last week. So - if you are not on the e-mail or mailing list for my newsletter - and you want to be - please do send me an e-mail (Barbtherev@yahoo.ca) and let me know. I will be glad to add you and send you the March 2007 edition.

But now please don't think that there has been nothing happening in my life. Obviously life goes on, even when the blog doesn't. You will be happy to know that my car is now faithfully chugging along and taking me where I need to go, carefully doing all she can to avoid being stopped by the friendly neighbourhood politei (police).

Some of the things that have happened recently include Cherise's departure from OM Moldova. Cherise was with us for six months and now has returned to Texas, with a few adventures on the way... (What happens when you get on the wrong train in London and consequently can't get to the airport in time to catch your flight, Cherise?) Here's a picture of me and Cherise in front of the girl's house on the day she left.

And just after Cherise left, the Challenge into Missions participants began to arrive. We have already had a week with the leadership group and just this past Thursday all the rest arrived - a total of more than 20 young adults to be with us for training over the next 10 weeks. One of the events we did with the leaders was to have a cross-cultural simulation experience in the form of a Moroccan meal!

Today is St. Patrick's Day (you may have noticed the green text) - a day to honour one of the great missionaries. It was also Matthew and David Skirton's birthday - and Jeanine Dommerholt's too! Happy birthday, to each one of you. I'll only tell you, though, that David is one year old - and he is a cutie - all boy, as you can tell by his handling of the birthday gift his folks gave him! In training we did a psychological inventory that determined whether we were drivers, harmonizers, motivators, or detailers. Doesn't it look like David may grow up to be a driver?!!

Bad News, Good News (vignette of a week in the life of a car owner)

Background Music:

Remember the Sesame Street song, “Who are the People in your Neighbourhood?”

Cast of characters:

Guys that helped push car
Team-mates that helped (Silas, Corinne, Mike, Lilian, Matthew)
Taxi driver with booster cables
Next-door neighbour, Boris
Woman neighbour mad about garbage
Insurance agent who helped move car
Man neighbour also mad about garbage
Police inspector
Mechanic
Landlady
Police officers

Friday: Bad news… the car got stuck in the snow
Good news… some young fellows walking by helped to push it

Bad news… where I parked it was in a spot where it might get sideswiped by someone else having trouble in the snow
Good news…Silas, one of my team-mates, gave me a lift home and helped me to push the car to a place more out of the way

Saturday:
Bad news… when I tried to start the car the next morning, nothing happened
Good news…. I have learned all the routes for public transport to and from my new place of residence

Monday:
Stupid news… after taking me grocery shopping and going out to supper together, it was late and dark so I told Corinne not to bother trying to help me get my car started

Tuesday:
Bad news… the place where the car was parked (broken down!) now was in the way of the garbage truck when it came. The police were called and an inspector came looking for me at my apartment. I wasn’t home so he left his name and number with my neighbour.
Good news… last week I had prayed for opportunities to meet my neighbours. When I got home from prayer evening on Tuesday I met my neighbour Boris, who came to tell me to call the police inspector. Later I had the opportunity to meet several other irate neighbours who went out of their way to let me know how bad it was to leave my car in the way of the garbage truck. I had the opportunity to apologize profusely.

Wednesday:
Good news… early on Wednesday morning, my team-mate Mike came to help me get my car moved out of the way. A taxi driver with booster cables got me started and Mike followed me through the snowy streets to the OM base, arriving in time to lead the Bible study that I was responsible for that morning.

Bad news … when I tried to drive the car to the mechanic’s shop, after Matthew gave me a boost to get it started, it broke down at an intersection
Good news… a brother from a local church saw me there and helped push the car out of the way. Then Lilian came to help get it started, without success. Then Andrei the mechanic arrived and towed it away to be repaired.
Stupid news…I had neglected to check the fluid levels in my engine – there was no water

Left- my team-mate, Lilian; Right - Andrei, the mechanic

Bad news… Lilian had tried unsuccessfully to call the police inspector on my behalf; when I got home, the police called me and told me to come to the Police station in the morning.

Thursday:
Good news… I eventually found my way to the police station ( a whole story in itself) and was able to understand the officer fairly well and paid my fine and had everything cleared up

Stupid news... The inspector told me that when he went to investigate the complaint about my car, there was a door unlocked

Good news... nothing had been taken. The policeman took all my legal car documents that I had left in the car and gave them to me when I came to the police station, and also locked the door. My tape player was not stolen.

More good news… Later in the day, Andrei arrived with my car all fixed and ready to go.

Bad news… On the way home, I got pulled over by the police for going through a red light (in reality the light was green but there was a green right turn arrow that I didn’t know about and you can’t turn right unless the arrow is green, but there’s no red arrow to indicate that – you’re just supposed to know)… so I got another ticket!
Good news… When I think back over the course of this week and of all the people who helped me in my misfortune – I counted at least twelve – I can only thank the Lord Jesus that I am not alone. He has put me in a place where I always have someone I can phone for help. Praise His name!

More good news... I found the secure parking lot near my building where I can safely leave my car, as there is a security guard.

You may wonder if, in the midst of all this, I ever do any work or ministry. In fact, although my time at work has been limited this week, I did lead a Bible study and spend some meaningful time with individuals and started preparation for our ‘Challenge into Missions’ training program that begins next week and answered a lot of e-mails and did some planning for the future programs that will be conducted in our new building. We have had a conference going on at our base this week, too, so it has been good to have some time to meet people from away.. thank you for your prayers in and through all things!

Pastor Par Excellence

When I was at Missionary Training School I was very impressed by the fact that our trainer’s pastor came to visit him, and to support his work by teaching at our course, and giving us some words of encouragement. I thought how wonderful it was that he had a supportive church and a pastor that thought enough of his missionary to take time to come encourage him in this way, so far from home. I never really thought that any pastor would come and visit me. How low my expectations were!

This past weekend I had the privilege of being visited and encouraged by my lifelong pastor and friend, Win Clark. Win and his wife Nancy were visiting their daughter Amy in Frankfurt and decided that being so close, one of them should come and visit me. So for about 36 hours I was so blessed. Win arrived on Saturday evening, with a suitcase full of gifts and supplies and clothes for distribution to those in need, as well as a suitcase full of books and music to bless my soul!

We were able to talk and talk that evening. On Sunday Win and I went to the town of Cojusna with my team-mate Lilian, where Win preached in the church there. Afterwards, Win had the privilege of learning about Moldovan mud (glod) when we went to the home of one of the sisters in the church for a genuine Moldovan meal. We enjoyed the fellowship of the pastor and his wife, my teammates Mike & Myra, and Lilian.

The night before I had had a flood in my bathroom and so later in the afternoon, Win went above and beyond the call of pastoral care as he repaired a faucet under my sink. In the evening we had a lovely meal and more sharing time together in a real Moldovan restaurant, where once again Win continued to listen to me, encourage me, and affirm me in my calling to be here in Moldova. What a blessing this dear pastor and friend has been to me! And of course, because our families are similar ages, and we care about each other’s children, we prayed together for them – as well as for other concerns. Win and Nancy have also become grandparents within the last couple years so it was pretty neat to be able to share together from this new vantage point in life.

Truly the bar has been raised in the standard of pastoral care. Visiting a missionary on the mission field, encouraging me personally, encouraging the national church through the ministry of preaching, making house calls and house repairs and bringing material aid to the country – yes, this is a pastor par excellence! I would love to hear from some of my readers about the ways that your pastor has been a blessing to you. Maybe in so doing we can encourage these dear pastors to carry on with patience and perseverance in the ministry God has given them.

Residency!

Last Friday, Claudia and I went to the Department of Immigration and received our long-awaited residency permits! Praise the Lord! I am now a legal resident in the country of Moldova and can stay here and travel in and out freely for the next year before I have to have my permit renewed. Thank you so much for all your prayers.

At the same time, though, the joy was somewhat muted by the sobering reality that all our team-mates with American passports must leave the country for 3 months before they will be able to continue with the application process. So currently, our 7 americans are preparing for a 3-month mission outreach in Moldovan speaking villages in Ukraine, near the border of Moldova. then they will be able to return and apply for the permit. There are a lot of gaps in ministry to be filled in their absence so you can imagine how our team is scrambling to care for all the responsibilities our American friends have had. Please pray for them and for all of us in these challenging months.

Getting settled again

Last Friday I moved into my new apartment. As you can see, I am secure inside the apartment, with a door like Fort Knox between me and anyone that might want to get at me. Everyone on our team has been sick and so I could hardly expect to escape the flu that was going around. It gave me a good chance to settle into my apartment last weekend as I spent the whole time resting and drinking lots of fluids and eating soup that I made in my new kitchen (oh I love my new kitchen…). The view from the kitchen isn’t much to get excited about.
As you can see, here I am in the midst of a jungle of soviet-style apartment buildings, with some kind of school or kindergarten right across the street from me. The view from the other side can be seen from the balcony of my bedroom, and it includes the Chisinau ‘zoo’. They say that sometimes you can hear the lions roar in the morning. I haven’t heard them yet and not sure if I will. The zoo here is pretty lame and if it were in Canada there’s no doubt the animal rights’ activists would be up in arms, but hey, it’s all we’ve got. And at least the bears and lions and tigers are being cared for more than all the stray dogs that wander around Moldova (It would break your heart if you’re a dog-lover).

As I publish this blog it is now over a week since I have been in my apartment and my internet still isn't connected. They came today but my landlady didn't tell me that they would come first thing in the morning and silly me, I went to work, thinking they were coming in the afternoon. So now I have to wait ANOTHER day for my internet and it's so hard not to have access to Skype and chat to keep in touch with my family in the evenings! All I can do is briefly check e-mails at work and occasionally take a bit more time to post a blog!
This week we advanced a bit on our residency application process. One day – as can only happen in Moldova – the group of four of us who are proceeding together had a call from the lawyer to meet him outside a certain government office. We expected to go in with him to sign some documents but instead waited outside on the street until he came back and, there on the street corner, had us sign our work permits so that he could prepare them for the next step of the process.
That was it – a quick trip downtown, standing around outside, sign a paper, then back to the office. The next day we had to go to the lawyer’s office to finalize all of our documents, with more photocopies of documents we had already submitted. Then the next morning Claudia and I were at the government department where we had to submit the final batch of official documents so that we could receive our residency permits. That went fairly smoothly, with the official who was taking the necessary photo even making suggestions and giving opportunity for the photo to be a nice one! Included with the documents we had to leave our passport so were issued a temporary document. This coming Friday afternoon we go back, and if all goes well, Lord willing, we will receive our permit. If, however, for some strange reason, our application for residency at this point is denied, that will be it. I will have to leave the country. Hopefully, though, that will not be the case. Postscript: As I edit this post again, trying to get the pictures to display, it is with the news that although things are looking good for me and Claudia and the Dutch family, our American friends are not faring so well. It looks like 7 of our team-mates will have to leave the country for the next three months. Please pray for them!

Beautiful Feet

Whatever may be your opinion of Moldovan foot fashion, the Bible says that the feet of those who bring good news are beautiful.

" How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news..."

(Isaiah 52:7)

This week the feet of my friend Vlad have taken on a whole new beauty. After a farewell last Friday from the OM team, and a commissioning service at his church on Sunday, scads of us went to the airport on Wednesday to see him off. My sympathy was totally with his mom, saying goodbye to her son for 2 years, knowing that he is going to preach the gospel and serve the Lord in a country that is anything but hospitable towards Christians. But at the same time I was really excited and of course his departure brought back all kinds of memories of what it was like for me to leave my home to go to a far and distant land where I didn't know the language or the customs or the culture or anything about the people. Now 1 1/2 years later I am still surviving and excited that I have had a small part to play in preparing Vlad for his ministry in an east Asian country. Here is a photo of me with Vlad and his parents. God bless them all! Please pray for Vlad as he learns a new language and adusts to his new surroundings. I did get an e-mail from him today letting me know that he arrived safely. I am glad. Thanks be to God.

Feasting on Friendship & Rejoicing with Family

I was so excited on Saturday - I finally received the Christmas parcel from my sister! Hurrah! and the customs dude at the post office even let me bring it home without it being opened and examined minutely, which would be the normal procedure for incoming international parcels.

< My sister Beverly (thanks, Bev!)

Earlier in the week I received practically all my Christmas cards in one big pile. I came home and put my feet up and feasted on the friendships with which I have been blessed. Somehow receiving Christmas cards AFTER the time you had expected them is like a whole other gift! I paid closer attention to the thoughtful words and the beautiful verses. I listened more carefully to the family news in Christmas newsletters from friends I only hear from once a year. I savoured every line and treasured the promise of prayer offered by so many. Once again I was reminded how blessed I am. Thank you, dear friends, each of you who have cared enough about me to spend the extra money on postage to send a card to Moldova. Don't worry that it didn't arrive before Christmas. (God bless Moldova Post.) After all, Christmas lasts for well over a month when you are on an international team - starting with December 6 for the Dutch and finishing with "old" Christmas for the Moldovans on Jan. 7 and then even further with "old" New Year on Jan. 14!!

And I wish you all a most blessed 2007.

But wait!

While I'm telling you about my wonderful sister, I also need to share the news about her daughter, my wonderful niece - Jenni. This weekend a very intelligent man made a very wise decision when he brought this chocolate truffle cake to my chocoholic niece (ok, so it runs in the family - never mind). Even if it hadn't been chocolate, I am sure that the answer Jenni would have given would be the same as she has been quite smitten with this knight in shining armour for quite a while.

So - congratulations to Jenni and Chris on their upcoming wedding in July 2007. Already for you and your family the year has brought joy and blessings. May you know many more!!

A pinch of unreality - or is this possible?

I remember when I first moved to Toronto from Nova Scotia. You have to understand that Nova Scotia is a small province in a big country and the people there are friendly, hospitable, relaxed and unsophisticated. For many in my province, moving to the metropolis of Toronto is almost a form of betrayal of all that is simple and pure and good. Everyone knows that the big city is full of dangers and evil, greed and corruption, and worst of all, arrogance. Living in Toronto was the last thing I ever wanted, or expected to do. (Note: After 8 years of life and ministry there, I look forward eagerly to returning to this city I grew to love.) And yet like any perceived danger and unknown situation there was also a sense of adventure and excitement in coming to this most multicultural of all cities in the world. I remember for the first few months, every time I drove down the Don Valley Parkway and saw the CN Tower like a beacon in the distance, I had to pinch myself. Could it be true that I, a simple Nova Scotian, was living in the city of Toronto?!?

In some ways coming to Moldova was a return to the simplicity I left behind in Nova Scotia, Canada. Life is more relaxed here than in Toronto, with the option of occasional sidetrips to beautiful places like Budapest, or Prague, or Vienna. But there are aspects of life here that, like Toronto, take me well outside my comfort zone. And so occasionally I find myself pinching myself. This evening I was sitting in a restaurant with a newly engaged couple having the introductory session of our marriage preparation sessions. Marriage preparation, something familiar, something I have done before and enjoy doing. I didn’t really expect that I would have the opportunity in Moldova as the chances of exercising a pastoral role in many aspects are limited for a woman. But in this case, the guy is American and the girl is Romanian and they will be married in Romania by a pastor from one of their churches. So they have asked me to provide premarital counselling. I am happy to – so what’s the deal about pinching myself? I’ve never taken a couple through marriage preparation before in the Romanian language. This, to me, seems like an incredible thing. But it’s really true. Praise God!

A Family for Christmas

The first Christmas was an event that not only brought to us the One who was to become our Saviour, but it also honoured the human family. God entrusted His only Son into the care of adoptive parents and made Jesus to become part of an earthly family. In heaven I suppose Jesus had God and all the angels to spend his time with and to share in family events together. But on earth, his family, initially, consisted of a young woman engaged to be married to a man who wasn’t sure what to do. They became Jesus’ family when He was away from home.

This Christmas, again, I have been away from my home and family.I wish I could have been with them - I've decided that is the very hardest thing about being a missionary. I was all too aware that although I held a baby at Christmas time, it wasn't my grandbaby, and although I mothered some young adults, the deepest places of my heart still long for my own young adults. And talking on the phone to my mom and my siblings just isn't the same as being there among all the Christmas trappings and jokes and familiar smells and sounds. But nevertheless, God did give me a family with whom to share Christmas in Moldova. It might have been lonely except for the fact that I had another ‘family’ here over the holidays.

Our team gets a good Christmas break and lots of time to relax and be refreshed before the new year begins. So I invited anyone who wanted, to come and stay at the house I have been house-sitting while the American missionaries who live here were home in the USA for Christmas. (Don’t worry, they told me I could! Thanks, Tanya & Kevin!) What a blessings this house has been! And what a great thing it was to have Katy, Alex, Emily, Esther, and sometimes Renia, Lilian, Victor, Stephanie and Cherise to be my adopted ‘children’. They are all fellow OM-ers and Katy, Alex, and Emily are members of the OM Romania team that has come to stay with us for a few months. They were great!

Some people came to stay overnight and some came just for a meal. So as not to be bored or lonely over Christmas I just kept inviting people to my house. On Christmas eve and again on New Year’s eve I had gatherings and I had two dinner parties the week after Christmas. For each event I was not alone in preparation and setting up and it was so fun to have my ‘kids’ to work with me. As you can see, (this is for you, Inga!) there was lots of food. Notice that the vegetable platter is empty – everyone likes fresh veggies (and we don’t get them often here in winter).

On Christmas morning everyone helped peel potatoes so we could make mashed potatoes to take to dinner at Matthew and Helen’s place.




On new year’s eve we had several groups of children come to our door, as is the custom, to sing carols and recite poetry. The first group was four boys, 12-14 years old, who recited poetry while ringing little bells the whole time and every once in a while joining together in a unison “hey-ho”. I learned from making a mistake last year, that when the children come to recite poetry they expect to receive some food and/or money. The fact that some of the children came back a second time made me think that maybe we were being overly generous with the money!



Later in the evening, around midnight, we went outside to see the fireworks. People all over Chisinau were setting off their roman candles and whistlers for everyone else’s amusement. I’m sure we watched fireworks for at least half an hour – big ones in the center of the city but lots of smaller ones above us and around us in the neighbourhood. On New Year’s Day, starting late in the morning, we sat around the table for hours working on some of the salsa, cake and fruit salad that hadn’t been eaten the night before as we talked and shared and prayed together. Not a bad way to begin 2007.
Thanks to Skype technology I did talk to my own children over the holidays, and I did miss them dreadfully, but all in all, it wasn’t so bad. And it’s not over yet! This Sunday is the Moldovan ‘old’ Christmas (set according to the Orthodox calendar) and I have been invited to join another family for their Christmas celebration. More about that later…but for now – Happy New Year!

Bucket Brigade

I guess it's time I filled you in on what's been going on around here. These past two weeks there's been a lot of focus on the new ministry centre that we are building.

Last week when our students were here, part of the practical service component of their course involved helping with the construction of the new building. In fact, everyone on our team was scheduled to help out at least once in the course of last week and again this week. Part of missionary life is being ready to help out at any number of types of things. Last week it was the bucket brigade.
You see, they were pouring the concrete floor of the third floor of the mission centre. We have no elevator. So how to get the buckets of cement up the stairs? Bucket brigade, of coure! So while our esteemed field leader, Matthew, helped to fill the buckets with the cement, the rest of the team passed the buckets up the two flights of stairs. The work became easier in the afternoon when it was 'only' sand that was being passed up. But what a great thing it was to watch the young people working so hard and so willingly together, seeing this as part of their service for the Lord. (My job was taking pictures, by the way.)
The group of students from our missions course consists mostly of Moldovans but our new foreign recruits were also participating. In this photo you can see the guy from Denmark passing the bucket to the girl from the USA, who passes it to the guy from Germany. And Stephanie, the American girl, kept the people near her entertained by reciting stories such as Dr. Seuss' 'Green Eggs and Ham'.
Of course one of the important duties is for someone to come over with tea for the break time. As well as taking pictures and being a gopher, my job was to drive the people with the tea and treats over to the construction site from the OM base. In this photo you can see the ministry centre in the background, through the fog that surrounded us last week....


I am excited to know that before too long I will be able to occupy my new office (pictured here as it is now), and we will be able to conduct our training courses in a larger space with more suitable and adequate accomodation space for the students. At the end of the week (Friday night) enough had been done that we were able to hold the farewell party for Rafael in the new building. This is the room where we had the party, and as soon as I have a picture of the room as it looked last night, I will post that too.
You may be interested also to see the picture of the hole that was dug (much of it by manual labour) for the septic tank. We go deep here in Moldova!

On the Home Front

I know that a lot of my readers pray for me and also for my family. So I thought I’d share a few pics to give you a bit of an update. And thank you so much for your prayers.
First of all I should mention that my mother, at 87, is still going strong although her health has been more fragile this fall. She has had several hospital stays and eventually we all, including Mom, concluded that the time has come for her to move to a retirement home. Without having to wait very long at all, Mom was offered a room in a place where all her meals will be provided, nursing care is available, and the possibility exists that her husband Bob (who has Alzheimers and is in another care home) may eventually be able to stay in the same facility so she can visit him more easily. We are very thankful. So last week my sister Beverly and brother Brian drove to Hamilton from Fredericton to help Mom with her move. While she got settled into her new digs Bev and Brian got her house all sorted, emptied and cleaned with the help of other family members as well – no small task. Once that was all done, before Mom even had a week to get used to her new place, she went with them back to Fredericton for the Christmas season.
Here's Mom last Christmas in Fredericton with Bev and Brian and Brian's wife Debbie on the left.

I can hardly believe it is already December. But the pictures Marah sent me from Vancouver helped to convince me of the truth of the matter. Snow is unusual for Vancouver – but they have it! Here’s Marah and her husband Daniel and my little snowbunny Alejandro in their backyard.







My oldest son also lives in Vancouver. As you can see, he loves his new role as Uncle Josh. When he’s not busy being an uncle, he works as a behaviour interventionist with autistic children. Always did love kids, that one!






Ben continues to pursue his musical career in Toronto and although he hasn’t hit the top 10 charts yet, he had a ‘gig’ recently that he was excited about. Ben writes and sings his own songs, and I have been impressed by the ones he has shared with me. For employment, Ben works as a support worker at a homeless shelter, which is giving him a new perspective on the world.

I will have to say that one of the hardest things about being a missionary is missing out on the highs and lows of your own family life. I have been blessed to be able to go home not once but twice this year but consequently there won’t be any visits again until next fall when I have furlough. Marah is being faithful about sending photos of Ali but it’s not the same as holding him, or seeing his first smile, or watching him learn to crawl (well, no, not yet - but it won't be long!). Every time I see a small child here first I smile and then I wipe away a tear. So if you are a grandparent with your grandbabies nearby, know how blessed you are with every hug and every kiss. Give them lots!

Celebrating my 50th a world away

I am the youngest of four children in my family and I have watched each of my siblings go through the celebration of the big 5-0. Therefore, the reality is that for me I know it is probably a far safer thing to be on the other side of the world. After all, here I was treated very well by my team members, who surprised me with a celebration - complete with cake and gifts and flowers - at the end of our day of prayer and fasting. And at the beginning of the day they all gathered around and prayed for me, a very humbling experience - and I am so grateful to God for this place and for this team. I feel very loved today... in spite of the fact that they gave me some lovely headcoverings to wear! Here is a pic of a 'bunika' (grandmother) in Moldova!!


This morning we had opportunity to share testimonies and I have to tell you that as I look back at 50 years, I couldn't help but jump right to my feet to proclaim the faithfulness of God. He has seen me through sorrow and loss and struggles as a single parent and challenges of studying and working and moving a family and raising teenagers... he has been there in my loneliest moments and in my darkest valleys... he has provided for me - ABUNDANTLY - and has opened the doors of opportunity before me. He has surrounded me not only with His love, but with so many people who care about me and support me in very practical ways. He has blessed me with a wonderful family in both directions - my birth family and my children and son-in-law and GRANDson!!! He has given me His rich Word, that enriches my life and gives me direction, encouragement, and hope. He has given me a roof over my head and a job that challenges and fulfills me.
Yesterday I officially became department head so I have more responsibility than ever ... and carrying that out in a second language is a definite challenge. But this evening, as a group of my friends joined me in my tiny apartment, I gave thanks once more for the blessing of being here as a missionary and as part of an international team.
By the way, I will soon be moving. My rent was raised and so I will be house-sitting ( in a lovely large house!!) for the month of December, and then looking for an apartment probably with a friend in Jan-Feb.
Yes, this was a wonderful birthday... and more wonderful for all the blessings to which He has opened my eyes. Praise the Lord!!

Saturday afternoon

It should have been a simple thing. Take the rutiera #184 to Posta Vecchi, pick up my car from the mechanic, and then go home again. Simple, straightforward - just like we expect most of life to be.
Getting on the rutiera was not a problem - it wasn't even crowded so I had a seat for the whole ride! There were a couple moms with little children got on consecutively and I was cheered once again by the Moldovan willingness to help moms with kids. Children are almost always given a place to sit on the mini-bus, even if it is in a stranger's lap while the mother remains standing. And so when one mom got on the bus with her delightful 3or 4 year old, a woman closer to the front than I automatically picked up the child - who was totally accepting - and held her in her lap.
Anyway, as we got closer to where I knew I would have to get off, suddenly there was a big delay at an intersection, so the driver turned on to a different street. As we drove past the intersection I realized that he was avoiding a funeral procession. You may remember that in Moldova funeral processions are generally on foot following the coffin being carried or driven by someone. At every corner the procession stops for some Scripture or prayers or (if it's Baptist!) even preaching. Not something you want to be behind if you're in a hurry. So the driver avoided the whole thing but I wasn't sure he would end up wehre I was wanting to go. But - fortunately he did and I wasn't lost somewhere in a strange part of the city.
So, I get my car - the fuel pump has been replaced but the electric problem (that I didn't have before!) will be dealt with next week. Hmmm... I drive away, hoping I can remember the best route home but when I get to the traffic circle, I panic and take the easy way out by going right, rather than trying to get into the flow of traffic and go the other direction. fortunately this also brings me to a place where I can find my way home, so I'm ok. My cell phone rings while I am figuring out my location and I make arrangements to take two of our new recruits to church with me in the morning. Then I come to an intersection where I need to turn left. There are traffic lights but it is on the brow of a hill and I cannot tell whether I am at a regular intersection or T intersection. There are two cars in front of me also turning left and I pull into the intersection behind them just as I realize it is a regular intersection and the light is about to change. I'm too far ahead to go back so I risk just tagging after them for the left turn. And then AHA! - this is why the police hang out just beyond intersections!! I get flagged over. Third time since I bought the car. I know I shouldn't have run that intersection and he tells me so. I explain all my rationalization - first time in this intersection, didn't know it wasn't a T, different than in Canada - he looks at all my documents and says he will write me a 'proces verbal' (ticket). He asks for another document - hasn't started writing anything yet, and I explain again that this is the first time I was ever at this intersection. He asks what I'm doing in Moldova and I tell him I work with the churches here and I am a volunteer. He asks me if I understand what a proces verbal is - I look uncertain and he seems to be asking me if he should write it. I tell him I don't want him to and then he gets interrupted by some other guy. I start to put away my documents and by the time he finishes with the other guy, he just comes back and waves me on. Whew! I have learned that Moldovan police really don't seem to like writing tickets and they are not used to women arguing with them over whether they deserve one. So maybe I just throw them so off-kilter they figure they should steer clear of this one! Who knows?
So, I head home, remembering that I have to stop at the post office and then will have to stop to fill my gas tank as the indicator isn't working and if tank is full I will have no worries. Come to a major intersection near my home and I am 3 cars back waiting to turn left when an accident occurs - CRASH! - right in front of the line-up. Nobody appears to be seriously hurt although the cars are pretty bashed up. I'm actually surprised there aren't way more accidents than I have seen since I've been here. Anyway, the line of traffic behind is impatient and the guy in front of me starts around the accident scene (meanwhile cars going the other direcion have driven right through the area!) and I follow suit. Just as I drive away, the police arrive. People in Moldova prefer not to have the police involved when there is an accident as they will take the driver's license away automatically. If police not involved, often driver at fault will just pay some money to the other guy to settle things. also insurance really doesn't cover much of anything in these cases.
I stop for gas, and head home, also remembering to bring the stuff I had bought and left in the car previously, and to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home. It was only going to be a short stint, but what an adventure it was!
Sometimes we think life, or even a day of our life, will be easy and straightforward. But there are always other things to deal with than what we expect: future plans, boundaries that need to be observed, people's unexpected behaviour, obstacles in the path. In Moldova, people do a lot of 'making it up as you go along' and so planning ahead doesn't even always work. For every moment you have to realize that this is the moment I have. This is where God has placed me right now and in this situation I am in His care and am shining His light in the world around me. This week in particular there have been a lot of stresses, but this is normal life. We walk through each day, knowing whose we are, and praising God that His strength is clearly seen in our weakness. He will get us where we're going in His time and according to His plan, not ours.