Whats my name?

Yesterday, I decided to push back some funny stories to blog about my Dad. Well here goes some funny stories from Sunday.

After church, we drove to Cluj, which is about a two hour drive, to see Becky's mom. The ride was pretty uneventful except for some gorgeous views and some crazy Romanian drivers. Once we saw Becky's mom, Ade wanted to go to the mall in Cluj to go shop. So off to the mall we go. None of us really knew where the mall was, but we had signs to follow that got us there easily.

Once inside, Randy and I had to use the little boys room and the signs to the restrooms were not so easy to follow.

We searched and searched for the signs to the restroom and finally found one that had an arrow pointing ahead (there was a hall leading across to some more places to shop), so straight it was. The next sign pointed left. Left it was. Next up was another sign telling us to turn left. we keep walking and come to another sign, just across the hall from the first one, that told us to go straight. So we walked around the block to get to the restrooms when we could have just cut across the hall.

On our way back from Cluj, we had a Romanian GPS. That should pretty much tell you everything you need to know. We got lost up on top of a mountain in Cluj trying to find our way back to Oradea. The GPS took us in a giant circle which was quite hilarious.

And finally, this story comes from the beginning of the day. The churches here almost always ask us if we have something to say to the congregation, so since I have already been here for a summer, I knew this. Randy and I had prepared our talks earlier Saturday and were ready to speak if they asked us to.

In church here, they have a time where members of the congregation can get up and sign or speak about whatever they have been learning. Well, we were supposed to end this time up. So, after a while, Randy gives me the nudge to get up and go speak.

I was nervous. (quite possibility an understatement)

I got up there, said pace (pache. it means peace. thats how members of the church greet each other) , and started into my talk.

There is one thing I forgot to do, and it is a pretty important part.

I forgot to introduce myself

I never told the congregation who I was or what I was doing in their church. In the states, that might not be such a big deal, but when some guy gets up and starts speaking English in a Romanian church, people want to know why he is there.

After I finished, I settled back into my seat and Randy walked up and introduced me for me. It was at that point that I realized what I had done and I just buried my head in my hands and laughed.

I forgot my name.

Father's Day

I have many funny stories to tell from today here in Romania, but they are going to have to wait. Today is a much more important day back in the States that I have missed for the last two years now.

Father's Day.

I could go on and on and on about how great of a Dad I have. Many of you know my dad in person and know that he is one the hardest working people around. My dad will do anything for anybody at seemingly anytime and I do not know how he does it.

He works night and day to provide for our family. He is tired almost all the time. But he does it because he loves his family more than anything in the world, including himself. My dad loves the Lord with all of his heart and has instilled within each one of us (Tim and Noelle) that same desire to have a growing relationship with our Heavenly Father.

As I think back to all the times I have had with my dad, I think about the times we have played catch in the yard or the times we have done the paper route together. I think about what an incredible example he has been for me.

Dad,
Thank you.  Thank you for all the times you have loved me when it wasn't easy. Thank you for teaching me that God is my Father. Thank you for all the late night paper route times. Thank you for you. I miss you, Dad. I love you.

Journey's in Romania

I have been troubled by the thought of going on yet another mission trip for the last few weeks. Every time I would talk to someone, I would talk about the mission trip I was going on. For whatever reason, unknown to me, the word trip bothered me.

As I have thought about it, I could not figure out why the word trip bothered me. Until I had a conversation with a friend from the states on facebook just yesterday.. err Thursday. I jokingly greeted this person by saying whats up slacker, because with the time change it was late morning when they woke up. This person replied, "slacker? who's the one on facebook while on a mission's trip?"

I responded with, "this is also where I am living for the next two months." After that, the conversation quickly turned into catching up and such. But that part of the conversation has been eating away at me for the last day or so.

I keep going back to the word trip. I have come to realize that I am not on a trip right now. I am living here. I am not on a vacation here. I am living here. Whether it's for two months or five days. I am living here.

I have come to see why the word trip bothers me. And it's because the word trip implies that I am doing something different that what my daily routine calls for. And in this case, that something different is serving the Lord with everything I have.

As Christians we are supposed to live out our faith. If I am living out my faith, should there be any difference, other than location, in my daily routine while on a mission "trip"?

Serving the Lord is our mission. Serving the Lord is what we live for no matter the location - Romania, Kenya, India, Japan, America. I no longer am on a mission trip, instead I simply see myself as on a journey living in Romania

My question to you is are you living out your faith on a day to day basis, or do you go on mission "trips" to serve God? And maybe, just maybe it's because we go on mission "trips" that we often revert to life as normal with in two weeks.

P.S. This is part of the reason I love Romania. This is what I go to sleep to every night.

Lion's pit.

I am reading a book together with Randy called In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day. The first chapter is about a passage of scripture in 2 Samuel 23:20-21. A man named Benaiah chased after a Lion.

How strange is that? If I were to see a lion face to face in the wild, I honestly would probably wet myself and run in terror. This man Benaiah however, had a desire to chase after the lion and seize it. Benaiah was not afraid. He knew that His God was watching over him.

I think too many times we, myself included, have the opportunity to see God move in a mighty way, but because we are afraid of what it requires we miss out. This book is going to be good I do believe. There is a question on the back that reads, "What if the life you really want, and the future God wants for you, is hiding right now in your biggest problem, your worst failure, your greatest fear?"

That was very uncomfortable to think about. So, I ask you all to think about it with me. What are your thoughts on that? Are you willing to chase a lion?

An update on camps and such, today went incredibly smooth. We were able to get all the reservations made until the first week of August so that was very nice. Now, we start getting all of the supplies for camp ready. Randy and I are leading games in the first so we need to come up with all of the games. We are also having to pack for Ukriane because a day and a half after this first camp ends, we fly to Ukraine for 8 days.

Randy, the whole Romanian team, and myself are very thankful for your daily prayers.

Traveling gets to me.

Anyone who has ever traveled a great distance knows that it messes with everything. It messes with your physical body and mental body. I have two instances to share with you all.

To start off, let me give a little background to this story. Some of you may know that one of my nicknames over here is Zippy. There were, on several occasions throughout last summer, that I forgot to zip up my pants. The first was in the first camp. One of the older women there had Randy inform me.

And then there was the time in the last camp playing Blitz (a card game) at 3am with the translators that I stood up to go get some food, and Anca screamed, "Kevin, your pants are unzipped!" So, laughing, I zipped them up. What a way to leave, right? Right!

Well then, what better way to come back! As I was flying from Chicago to London, I was sitting next to two old grumpy German people who did not know much English. I was on the isle seat, thank goodness. After the cabin went dark and people started to go to sleep, I closed my eyes and went to sleep as well. After about 45 minutes, I was awakened by the sudden urge to use the restroom, so quietly, I rose and went to the restroom, did my business and headed back to sleep. As we were landing in London, I took my blanket off, only to see that my fly was COMPLETELY open. Awesome.


Flying always backs me up for a couple of days and so this evening was the first time I have taken a poop since like the day before I left. Well, I found out very quickly that the plungers here are VERY short. The tube of toothpaste is there to show you just how small this plunger is.

Well I tried and tried and tried to get that toilet flushed and it did not work. So I went and brushed my teeth and all that other stuff, and finally about about a 15 minute struggle with the toilet and plunger, I got it to flush. 

Sorry for the absurdity and no real content of this post. I felt I should share it anyway though. We have many many things to get ready for including a team that is coming next week. So if you could all join in praying with us here for the camp and all the preparations like Hotel reservations, transportation reservations, and food reservations, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

SUMMER!!

So, as many of you know, I left on Monday morning for Romania. It is 10pm on Tuesday night and I am here.

After a very long trip, some bumpy plane rides, and picking up where I left off, I am ready to hit the ground running sleeping. Ill post something tomorrow when I am not quite as tired.

Romania!

I am a little under two weeks away from leaving for the summer. For those who do not know, I will be leaving for Oradea, Romania on June 14th. Randy Bullock is a missionary there and I will be staying with him all summer working along side him. Our main focus this summer is five children's camps that teams from across the world will be helping lead.

A team from Ocala, Florida will be coming in the later part of June to help lead the first of our five camps. Last year, the team from Florida did a phenomenal job; teaching the students about faith, hope, and love. Sixteen children made decisions last summer and this team will be working with the same group of children to allow for further discipleship.

Following the Florida team, Randy, Ade, Chris Lovell (from Ocala, Florida), and I will be going to Odessa, Ukraine to continue to showing people there how to use clowning as a ministry tool. We will be going into a camp leading a 40 minute program, along with staying a few days in an orphanage. The trip last year was different, but a new and exciting opportunity to minister to the children of Odessa.

Two teams from my home church will be coming to help in the next two camps. The first team will be starting afresh in a new village out towards the central part of the country called Rau de Mori. I personally got to work with these children last summer when we took a handbell group to Rau de Mori and I am very excited to see how God is going to work in these children's lives.

The second team from Rich Fork will be leading a music camp in a village just outside of Oradea. This is the first time a camp like this has been tried. The goal is to put together a show including songs and skits. The songs will be in English and the skits will be in Romanian. This is going to be a fun camp and I know that He has everything under control.

And finally, a team from Bristol, England will be coming to lead a hospice camp. Last year, this camp was easily my favo(u)rite and I eagerly look forward to working with these hurting children once again. We will also have two more people coming for this camp. Annie-Grace Shaffer and Amy Ergle (both from Ocala, FL) will be coming on August 10th and staying for the camp and leaving with me on August 22nd.

The summer will be a busy one but I look forward to seeing how God will use all of the teams, and myself to bring glory to His name. Acts 1:8 says, "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will by My witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the remotest part of the earth."

As my departure date draws closer, I ask that you pray with me that the hearts and minds of the Romanians will be opened to His message. But more importantly, pray that His will is completed in the lives of those we encounter. If His will is completed, and not one life was changed, praise Him. If His will is completed, and 90% of the people we encounter pray to follow Jesus, praise Him even more.

I will be doing my absolute best to keep everyone updated through my blog during the summer. There will be weeks where I will not have internet, so please check back regularly to find out how you can be involved with the people and children of Romania!