The Measly Fifth Cup

So this is me... blogging... after months and months of NOT blogging. You should all be like, REALLY proud of me, because I'm absolutely rubbish at remembering to blog.

So, since my last post, pretty much a lifetime of things has happened to me.

I "finished" lecture phase, and went to Romania as part of the beginning of outreach phase. That was definitely the best outreach I have ever been on. My team was one-of-a-kind, the Romanian people were so caring and generous, the gypsy children were so fun and sweet and accepting, the food was sensational, and my heart was stolen by the beautiful culture and country. I will return to you, Romania.

I have learned so much, grown so much, seen so much, lived so much in these last months. And it's not even the end yet! Woo hoo!! I'm heading off to South Africa on the 8th of September. I'll be there for two months. Can I express to you how excited I am for that? No. Not really. But if you can imagine a squirrel on speed, that is pretty close. =p

Here is a picture of me and a beautiful little girl! =D

I'm assuming most of you have seen my facebook, and that is the profile picture, but I love it enough to post it here as well!

So, what did we do in Romania?
Here is a list, in no particular order.
We -
- played with gypsies
- rode sketchy trains
- stepped out of our comfort zones
- got lice
  - not me, though, thank you, Jesus!
- gave testimonies
- painted faces
- danced when we weren't supposed to... haha.
- met some "traveling men" who were really quite interesting
- preached
- did the "Funky Chicken" song about a million and three times
- hung out with little kids who were amazing
- did devotions
- sang Shakira's Wakka Wakka song all.the.time
- did spiritual warfare
- went to a gypsy slum
- encouraged each other
- coordinated worship for churches and the base we stayed at
- blessed the base
- did work duties which involved cleaning and cooking and yard work and building a wall
- did dramas
- ate white bread. Every meal.
- ate other Romanian food, which I loved
- cooked about 32839028389 potatoes. Every meal.
- got to know people on the base and people on our team
- went to Sighisoara, which is where Vlad the Impaler is from
- went to Sibiu, which is a cute city
- went to youth groups
- used squatty potties
- did NOT mind the gap
  - we had to walk over railroad tracks to get to the platform we needed
- went to a boys' orphanage and played football for HOURS
  - that was the best day of my life!
- went to kids' camps
- ate sunflower seeds by the billions
- went to socials
- affirmed each other
- went to a village called Dumbraveni and did church services there as well as put on a kids' program in the village
- had a talent night
- did tons of church work
- got lost in translation
- went shopping
- played volleyball with a soccer ball. Oww.

- got bitten by thousands of bugs
- took cold showers. Brrr!
- fell in love with scores of children
- ate MORE white bread
- ate MORE potatoes
- went into the city center of Medias where we stayed
- went to the Mall in Sibiu... which was not what we actually wanted to do. Oh well!
- ate incredible ice cream
- listened to dogs barking all night long
- made lifelong friends
- had a Love Feast for the gypsies
- did Ceilidh dancing in the street
- spoke Spanish! In Romania! Best thing.
- prayed for loads of people.
- loved
- hoped
- lived

Pretty much, Romania was wonderful beyond explanation. I hope everyone on the planet gets to go there some day!

So, I'm going to blog tomorrow as well. You should be shocked. Very shocked. But I have had an interesting weekend, to say the least, and I'd like to tell you a little about it. So come back for seconds.

Or really, sixths. =]