Momentous events

So in the last few weeks our team has been busy preparing for the opening of our missions centre. We had several work days when our whole team rolled up our sleeves and pulled out the drills and paint cans and screwdrivers and mops to get everything ready for the Big Day. We watched as the long dreamed-of sports area miraculously became a reality with the laying of lovely terra cotta bricks where once was the construction site which was our front yard. In the space of 3 or 4 days the outside area of the building was transformed and we were amazed and delighted. The day before the opening some of the team members were putting together this tent frame and covering up the unsightly construction scraps with the colourful parachute.

International guests arrived to participate in the opening ceremonies and to celebrate with us the completion of the building and the possibilities for ministry and blessing that are made possible with the use of this facility. The photo on the steps includes guests from Germany, Switzerland, and England as well as our team leader, Matthew on the right at the top and me and Corinne at the foot of the stairs. On the day of the opening, pastors arrived from all over Moldova to join with us and to hear about our various ministries. We had information booths set up throughout the building and international food tables set up on each level. Downstairs was European food, on the main level was Asian food, upstairs was South American food, and outside in the courtyard was North American food (barbecued shish-kebabas and chocolate chip cookies). I helped to man the booth that represented our Moldovans who have been sent into other countries as missionaries. We had put up a world map with photos of our missionaries and strings directed to the countries of service. I had prepared a little trivia quiz with questions such as 'What is the second largest country in the world?' and 'In which countries are Moldovans currently serving with OM?' Not too many took the quiz but it provided some interest. Mostly people just chatted with the different pastors that came along and gave information about programs that OM offers to assist the local churches in sharing the gospel and the love of Christ in their communities. It was a good day and the food didn't run out and the sun shone brightly all day. In fact, on Sunday afternoon we had a team social just to get together with our international guests and relax and enjoy the sports area and have a meal together - which consisted of all the leftovers from Saturday, supplemented by pizza.

Meanwhile, in other news, while my daughter Marah and her husband Dan and my grandson Alejandro were visiting Dan's mother in England, Alejandro began in earnest to enjoy the world of upright living. :-) He started to walk! Wow! Can you believe that it was almost a year ago that he came into our lives? Ali will be 1 year old on October 10.

Bravo, Alejandro!!!

Random Glimpses

It's harvest season, and the main crop harvested in Moldova is grapes! The other evening on the way home from work we were behind this truck and, as you can see, it is full to the brim with... grapes! We have a grapevine in the garden of the OM base and on the way to and from the office, you can just hide under the grape arbor and have your fill - or grab a bunch of grapes and take with you. :-)

One morning when I parked my car in the upper parking area (actually an empty lot) there was a horrendous, loud, continual bleating sound. Not far from where I was, there was a goat, fastened on a rope and standing on a pile of sound. Crying. Bleating. All day long. His mournful cry echoed in the empty lot surrounded by half-constructed building. Poor thing. Other days there is a cow fastened by the path to the Mission Centre. Or sometimes there is a horse tied up near the driveway. You never know what the animal accompaniment for the day might be. But if you're wondering whether Corinne is at the office or the Mission Centre, just take a look to see if her dog Silas is anywhere nearby. Where Silas is, Corinne is - and vice versa. Corinne had a few of us over to her place for supper last Saturday. She and her dog and her cat Jonah entertained us in fine style.

Every property is generally surrounded by a fence. It's the first thing you build when you're starting a new construction. Our new building is fairly high so I can get some good perspective on what's beneath. Here's a picture of our side and the neighbour's side of the fence. Actually, it's a picture of their outhouse. We demolished the pathetic outhouse we had because we now have indoor plumbing - and electricity too so you don't have to light a candle to see in the bathroom anymore. On the right side of the fence, you can see the beginning of the terra cotta basketball court we are installing.

I wanted my roommate Viorica to teach me how to make Moldovan food. One of the basic foods is mamaliga. She showed me how the other night. Basically, mamaliga is cornmeal and water. They serve it with meat sauce or eggs, brinza (sheep cheese), sour cream, and garlic mixed in oil. Here's the evening meal in my apartment, with the mamaliga in the middle of the table. Lilia is on the left and Viorica on the right.

Team Retreat

This past week was our team retreat and we did have a great time. We had originally planned to go to Romania, as we have done in the past. The problem is that Romania is now part of the European Union. Why is that a problem? Well, it makes it easier for many of us to travel in and out of, but for Moldovans it means that they now need a visa to enter Romania. That is a problem. There are waiting lists for weeks to get an appointment to stand in line to apply for a visa. The Moldovans on our team were not able to get visas in time for our retreat - so we changed venues.

We went to a Christian camp facility just an hour away from Chisinau and it was really quite wonderful. Well, not the Ritz but decent, clean rooms and beds with mattresses, indoor toilets, a lovely outdoor chapel, camp food prepared for us by the camp cook, trails through the woods, staff to help us, sports fields and equipment for playing soccer, volleyball, basketball, tether ball and to have team-building activities. We had a good Bible study leader, a man who has been with OM for over 30 years and who started out as one of the people preparing vehicles that they used for smuggling Bibles into the Soviet Union. He led a very meaningful study on the book of Hosea and God's covenant love for us - and he had plenty of great stories to illustrate his teaching. The only slight discontent was over the quality of the food, which was good but was definitely Moldovan camp food. The first morning, for example, we had spaghetti soup - sort of like rice pudding (with milk, sugar, butter) but with spaghetti instead of rice...hmmm... Next time we will know to order the highest end menu rather than the middle one - and we'll bring our own desserts (there were none - imagine!!). Actually, it's not very often that we have dessert in Moldova, which doesn't hurt me any.

The last evening of the retreat we had a variety show that was quite hilarious. I think everyone that did a drama was making fun of someone else on the team - all in good sport - and it really was funny. Monday we are back to 'normal' life as we begin our fall schedule. I am starting a mission training program with a woman who senses God calling her to serve him in Angola. What a blessing to be part of equipping others for service throughout the world!

On September 22 we will have the Grand Opening of our new World Mission Training Centre so lots of plans and preparations are being put in place for that big event. The Centre looks great and is already being well used. In October we will have a new group of students arriving for a 10-week mission training program here in Moldova. The weather has cooled down to a respectable fall temperature and I am glad to be getting out the socks and sweaters after the high temperatures we endured in August. In whatever preparations and new beginnings you are having this fall, I wish you God's blessing.

Team OM Moldova 2007

E-mail problems

Hello friends. It seems that I have been having some trouble sending and receiving e-mail. If you have tried to send me e-mail recently and have had no response, please try using my gmail address: Barbtherev@gmail.com or even posting a comment here on my blog. That might be the best idea. I would like to get a sense of how widespread this problem is. The other best way to get hold of me is on Yahoo messenger or on Skype. You can also find me on Facebook. In fact, I am all over the place. :-) Hope to hear from you soon!!

HOT

This week Moldova has been hot. So hot. In the high 30's most of the time. I dare not complain as I am one of the very few people I know who has air conditioning at home. God has been very gracious to me. But I have also been reminded of how easy I usually have it because this week my car has been out of commission. We finally determined that I simply had a lemon battery and today I bought a new one and am trusting all will be well now. But all week I have had to travel like most Moldovans travel - by public transport: bus, rutiera, and 'pe jos' (on foot). By 8 in the morning the temperature was already so high that I was sweating buckets by the time my roommates and I walked the 3 blocks to the bus stop. Then you get on a bus, or a mini-bus if you miss your bus, and either way you are jammed like sardines in a vehicle with little or no air circulation. Personal space is non-existent.

On the way to the bus stop I observe the many people who make their living as vendors of whatever they have to sell: fruits & vegetables, sunflower seeds, watermelons, various sundries from cigarettes (which can be bought individually) to pens to chocolate bars, phone cards, newspapers. From early in the morning they set up their little spot wherever - hopefully in the shade - and hope by the end of the day they won't have quite so much to pack in their bag to carry home on the rutiera or bus. Some people have space in small stores or warehouses where they can leave their wares at night but others just load up a bag or bucket, or truck if they are lucky, each morning and transport it into the city. In the supermarkets and grocery stores you can't find much in the way of fruits and vegetables because people just don't buy them there. It's much cheaper and fresher to buy them in the 'piata' (market).

Today my car is working again. It was such a blessing to be able to drive to the grocery store and carry home my supplies in my car, rather than walking through the horrendous heat to the nearby market and buy only what I could carry back to my apartment. I think the Lord knows that I need to be reminded from time to time that I really do have it easy compared to the majority of people here in Moldova. Not only that, he blessed me with friends and team-mates to help me when I do have car problems. My 'adopted' son Lilian came to my rescue in all the dealings with my car and its battery this week. Next week Lilian leaves for England for four months to take a training course there. I will miss him a lot.

But in spite of the heat and the car problems, I realize that I am very blessed. And so I give humble thanks to the Lord for all He has done for me. May I have opportunity to share the blessings I have received. As the apostle Paul said, "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion..." (2 Corinthians 9:11)

Causes for Rejoicing

Well, first of all, we are excited that our Brazilian friends have returned from furlough, but I don't have any photos of them recently.

Secondly, we were delighted recently at the return of our dear team member Butje, who went home to Indonesia on vacation, taking his fiancee and came back with his wife. They eloped! Well, actually, their parents probably knew ahead of time so maybe

it wasn't eloping in the strict sense. Anyway, I had a nice visit with them when I had them over for supper while everyone else was still away on outreach. They shared their wedding photos with me so I am posting one of theirs and a photo of them at my place that evening. So this is the second cross-cultural marriage on our team this year. First American Silas married Romanian Mihaela and now Indonesian Butje has married Moldovan Liuba. I had hoped to match Liuba up with my son, but Butje was just too fast! :-) Anyway, congratulations, dear friends!

Third cause for rejoicing is that my dear friend Jurek finally came for a visit, even though it was way too brief.

Mission Moldova

For the last two weeks there have been about 80 foreigners working with us doing short-term outreaches throughout the villages of Moldova. Some of them built a playground and invited the local children to come to a day camp to learn about Jesus. Some of them served the missionaries living in the tiny village of Paicu by improving their living conditions. Often our summer missionaries complain about not being able to have a shower while they are in the villages (no running water, you understand). This group took the matter into their own hands and built a shower for the girls who are serving there year-round! Some of the summer missionaries went to hospitals for children and presented a program, while others visited the elderly in a community and offered assistance with practical needs. Other young people ran a sports ministry, playing soccer with local youth and then sharing about the One who can help us to be victorious in all areas of life. The stories and presentations we heard and saw yesterday were a rich feast of the blessing of God in a country that needs the hope and help of the Gospel. It was exciting to hear the young people speak of the inspirational people they had met in their outreaches - pastors dedicated to the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church, church members of a tiny church doing everything within their power, while calling on God's, to transform their community into a place of hope and blessing. Sometimes you wonder what a 2-week mission can accomplish but when you hear these stories and see the faces of children who are being touched with the love of Christ, and when you understand that the lives of these young people who have come are probably changed forever because of these two weeks, it is a cause for rejoicing.

Visitor from Home

Shortly after I returned to Moldova, my good friend Kathy arrived for a visit. I had just recovered from jet lag when she arrived and subsequently did the same. When in Canada, Kathy and her husband Vern had let me and Marah and Alejandro stay in their house and take care of their van while they were on vacation. They have blessed me in many ways this summer.
So Kathy and I had some interesting times and she got to discover some of the adventure that is life in Moldova. Monday morning she found out about what happens when your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and there is no CAA to call. Another day she had opportunity to visit one of our day centre projects. On Thursday she and I both had an eye-opening experience when we visited a home for handicapped adults in the north of Moldova, far from any prying eyes. What an assortment of people, challenges and illnesses, and various qualities of facilities within the institution. To our Canadian eyes it was like something out of a 50's movie - do such places really still exist in our modern world? Yes, they do. Unfortunately we have no photos right now as Kathy forgot her camera at the home of a woman we visited and my camera had an unplanned baptism in cola that day, leaving it reluctant to function at all. Other aspects of Kathy's experience included driving in Moldova, celebrating birthdays, shopping in Moldova, meeting the team Barb works with, eating out in Moldova, waiting for Barb to finish her meetings, and only a very slight minimal amount of sight-seeing in Moldova. Whatever else it was, it was a wonderful encouragement for me to have Kathy visit and learn about my life here and some of the needs of this country. Thanks for coming, my friend. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

World Missions Training Centre

Before my vacation... .... and when I returned!

Thankfully, many things are nearing completion in our training centre. Before I left our prayer for water service had been answered and just this week our electricity has finally been connected. We have been praying for these things for months and months and I know some of you have been as well. Thanks for your prayers. Keep praying for the gas hook-up - it seems nigh impossible but I pray my office and our conference rooms will be heated come November and December. It's wonderful to have this lovely facility ready to use as we have almost 100 foreigners joining us this week for our summer outreach campaign. After two days of orientation in our new building, 9 different teams will be sent out to various parts of Moldova to work in conjunction with the churches in the villages there. Please pray for all the projects that will be undertaken, the children's camps that will be conducted, and the lives that will be affected. We know that God is at work here and we are watching expectantly to see what the Holy Spirit will do in these weeks.

Whoosh! There it went!

Three weeks - gone. But oh how precious they were, mostly because of the time I had with my family: Marah and Alejandro, Josh, Ben, Mom and then at my niece's wedding weekend I got to see many other relatives and even snuck in a sister-to-sister breakfast on the morning of the wedding day with my one and only sweet sister, Beverly (also known as MOB - Mother of the Bride - that weekend. ) She was a beautiful bride (and yes this is the one with the proposal on the chocolate cake - see blog of earlier this year). And yes, the wedding cake was chocolate, of course.

I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to have dear friends take care of every aspect of my visit - luxury accomodations with the Hetheringtons and then a whole house to ourselves at the Kays. I had transportation my whole time in Toronto to tout Marah and the baby around to all the many, many places we went. Inga's car was red like mine (and stick-shift) so I could easily find it in a parking lot, and Kathy's van was plenty big enough to transport my whole crew easily. We visited more people than I had intended but fewer than I would have liked. Marah's best friend had a baby the day I arrived so it was fun to visit her in the hospital and later to see Marah together with several friends who are in this new and wonderful stage of life: parenting. And me - I'm a grandparent. Grandma. That's me. Able to make up silly songs at the drop of a hat and willing to babysit whenever the opportunity arises. Eager to buy whatever Ali needs or wants and can't wait to read him the new books and see him play with the new toys. Ali is a wonderful little boy - well, not so little, quite a hefty guy - with a sweet personality. Everyone fell in love with him. Really! it wasn't just me. Ask Heather or Karen or Jane or better yet, ask his uncle Ben. Uncle Josh has had the advantage of living close enough to visit regularly and is familiar and fun to be with for Ali J. But Ben had to make the most of his opportunity to endear himself to his sweet nephew. This appeared to be a great pleasure to him and it was so fun watching all my babies delight in this baby of Marah's. He is blessed and a blessing. Dan, I'm just so sorry you weren't able to come with Marah but thank you for letting us enjoy her and Alejandro so much for these weeks.

One of the joys of my time in Canada was the several opportunities I had to go swimming. In my cousin's pool, in the MacDonalds' pool and at Mary Lake visiting the Johnsons, we thoroughly enjoyed getting wet and taking the baby in the water too. Another of my pleasures was going to movie theatres, a favourite pastime that I really miss in Moldova. I stocked up on DVD's and have decided I'm going to save up my banutsii (Moldovan coins) to buy a DVD player for our apartment. What else do missionaries do when they go home on vacation? Well, aside from doctor and dentist appointments and visiting friends and family, that is. I ate all the foods I had craved for over the last 9 months - KFC, Tim Horton's, Circle Thai, Swiss Chalet, Second Cup, Red Lobster, Jack Astor's, salad, Greek food, fast food, home-made food, rich food, lots of unnecessary food but best of all, food in company with people I love. It was rich in many ways.

It was a privilege to visit my home church and participate in a worship service, as well as lead an evening Bible study - and what a joy to see so many loving and friendly faces of people who support and pray for me. Thank you so much for making it even more clear how loved and blessed I am! I was especially moved to see the mission display board in the Sunday School featuring some of our work here in Moldova (Day Centres for children) as the mission project and regular updates of my newsletters posted.

At the tail end of my time I spent a few days with all my Canadian Baptist missionary friends at a staff retreat. That was a bit more relaxing than the rest of my time and I'm afraid I was a bit of a recluse but sometimes we just need... ok, I, just need to be alone. At the end of that I topped off my stay with a day and a half visiting my mother, who at 88 is always keen to do something or go somewhere. We enjoyed a lovely harbourfront tour on an old-fashioned trolley bus on a beautiful day.

So now here I am back in Moldova - and it is HOT HOT HOT! Getting off the plane was like walking into a sauna with temps in the high 30's and even in the 40's this past week. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to go down into the 20's but I am ever so grateful for the fact that we have been blessed with air-conditioning in my apartment. Otherwise, I would be non-functional. As it is, the heat and the jet lag make a challenging combination and up to now I have been feeling less than productive. At the same time, most of the people I know do not have air-conditioning and some don't even have a fan and it has been very difficult for them to sleep. Worse than that, though, is that Moldova is desperately in need of rain. Already crops are less productive than needed and people are worrying about lack of food this coming winter. Will you please pray for Moldova, and specifically for rain?

Happy Canada Day!

What better place is there to be on July 1st than Canada? I am in the right place at the right time with the right people. Friday I arrived back in my homeland with much rejoicing to see all my children and my beautiful grandson, Alejandro. Can you tell from this picture how happy I am? It didn’t take too long for Ali J to become accustomed to me. In fact, by Saturday evening his mom (my daughter Marah) was able to go out for an evening with her brothers and her friends while me and Ali J got better acquainted at our temporary ‘home’ (friends we are staying with, the Hetheringtons). Alejandro was as good as gold and when Marah arrived home he was sound asleep and it wasn’t long before I was too! This grandmothering thing takes energy!

On Saturday it was a blessing as well to introduce Alejandro to his great-grandmother for the first time. My mom was delighted to show him off to all her friends in the retirement home where she is living. We had a nice visit with her but not much luck getting a good photo with all 4 of us looking at the camera at the same time.
In church this morning we sang our national anthem ‘O Canada!’ and after 2 years of living in a former Soviet bloc country, it was with more appreciation than ever that I gave tearful thanks for my country.

Out my window...

You never know what you will see when you look out the window. Last week my heart was in my throat when I looked out my 5th floor apartment window at this view higher up on the next building over:

Then one day I was at the office and looked out my window, where the scaffolding is for the guys working on the outside of the building. This was the view:

Or I can look out the back window and focus on the as-yet-unfinished back court of our building... or focus on the beautiful view beyond our messy yard. We all see different things through our particular viewpoint and from our specific vantage point. It's important to take the time to get the full picture, or to recognize that there are different views, or to realize that the current view will most likely change as things move toward completion and/or fufillment. Thinking of these things I begin to understand the issue of what we see and what God sees and I know that it is a good thing to seek the full picture - and to trust God in all things.

Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy?

Last weekend I showed my roommates how to make cherry pie. Then we ate it. Then Viorica wanted to make one herself, so she did - and did a marvelous job! As we were working on pies, of course I taught her the song "Oh where have you been, Billy Boy?... Can she make a cherry pie, Billy boy?" Now every time I mention pie, Viorica starts mumbling musically ...'cherry pie, cherry pie...' - it is so funny!

Cherry Season

Cherry season... the beginning of the harvest season, with fresh cherries abundant everywhere. Tomorrow I will teach my new Moldovan roommate how to bake pie - cherry pie, of course! In Moldova they do not have pie but they have something along the same line called 'placinta'. Next week I will ask Viorica to teach me how to make that! Outside our OM office building are several cherry trees. It is common practice as team members come and go morning and evening to stop off at the trees and help themselves to the luscious cherries. Good missionaries that we are, we even give thanks for those cherries that have been blessed with an extra portion of meat...(worms are protein, right?).

Not only are cherries growing, but the coming grape harvest is already in evidence in the beautiful and abundant grape arbors of Moldova.

We are excited that our new building is nearing completion and we finally have our water connected! We continue to pray for electricity and gas to soon be connected. It's good to have water connected, too, as the weather has been so hot - in the 30's! and a water supply is important. Our cook is enjoying the new facilities even though they are still somewhat makeshift.

But mostly, these days, my mind is wandering to Canada. Soon my body will follow and I will be able to hold in my arms my darling, gorgeous grandson, Ali J. I will also be able to hug and talk and laugh with all three of my children. And visit my mother, my church, and many friends as well - how blessed I am!

More photos from Paicu

Although I was only a bit more than 24 hours in Paicu, it was a very special time, with very special people. Here's just some of the moments...