Cahul

 While volunteering at a camp out here last summer, I was put charge of a group about 10 different high school kids, all from a village called, Cahul. This past weekend, through the help of a friend I had made at the camp, I had the opportunity to visit the southern city, and see some more of the country. I ended up staying at a local pastors house, with his family. With their three wild boys, another American from Saint Louis, and myself, the place was packed out with testosterone. I felt bad for the mother, Nadia. Will, the guy from Saint Louis, was the family's first "guest - negro" as they called him. There aren't too many black people in Eastern Europe, so the locals haven't really had a chance to realize that certain terms aren't necessarily appropriate - haha. They actually refer to Will as, "negronegro", which is supposed to mean double black; since he is naturally pretty dark. Doubly black, or doubly offensive, haha I'm not really sure where the nickname lands. Will has been traveling all throughout Europe, preaching and helping out in various churches around the continent, so he's used to it by now. I feel like I did see him express a sense of relief when he met me, I must say. Anyways, I got in Saturday night, ate some more potatoes, and passed out. 

Sunday morning, I went to church with the family and watched Will give a sermon, which was awesome. After the service, I met an American missionary family from North Carolina. They had been in the country for three months, and were getting ready to head home. They invited me over for some lunch, which I was told would include cookies (chips ahoy) and coke - I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Although ff they had told me they had Sriracha, I would have sprinted to their house. Sunday night, I went with my host family to the birthday party of a local British missionary, who had lived in Cahul for a few years now, teaching English. The room was filled with people who spoke English. It was definitely nice to be able to use my own language freely again, as opposed to the caveman dialect of English that I seem to have adopted since arriving to Moldova. 

Monday morning - finally got to go to the local schools to see my boys from camp! I went to the first school to see my man chicu. Oddly enough, it was his birthday, and I had some peanut m&m's for him! We were stoked to see each other, so I think it made for a good birthday present. My guide (a woman named Nataly whom I also knew from the camp) then took me to the next school, where the rest of my buddies should have been. Unfortunately, we were told that Andrei, Dima, and Artom had decided to skip class to go to an internet cafe. I was a little sad that I didn't get a chance to see them, but at the same time I couldn't blame them. That school is known as one of the worst in the country, which was pretty apparent. Overall I had a great weekend, and a great experience outside of my normal routine. Aesthetically, Cahul is not too different from many of the other Moldovan towns. They did however have a pretty interesting Orthodox Church sitting in the middle of the city. Similar to the one shown in the background of this blog, these old traditional churches are scattered across the country, all of them painted in cool, vibrant colors. Although it's a cool sight from the outside, the inside as I found out, is creepy. As you walk in, you are welcomed by an erie, smoke filled sanctuary, with the sound of some weird, dark, deep, also creepy, hymn/chant, sung by none other than the old dude in the corner wearing a long black robe, and a strange tall black hat. I felt like I was about to be sacrificed to Satan, much less be in a place where people worship Jesus Christ. There was a sign that said no photos, and I hadn't even planned to take photos anyway, because I never think to take photos; but just because I didn't like that place, I took some photos. 

There is a chance that I might be moving to another city here in the next week or so, so I will keep you guys posted on what's happening! 

Love And Be Loved.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Eu încă mai încearcă să crească o barbă.

So far,  our new projects at the NewHope offices in Chisinau have been incredibly successful. When I hopped on the bus yesterday to head towards the capital for my second lesson, I had no idea how the day would turn out. Wednesday was my first time teaching there; so round two on Saturday would have proven whether or not the kids had actually enjoyed themselves. Thankfully, all of the same faces made their way into the room, bringing along several new friends. I didn't count, but we might have had upwards of twenty teenagers in the room; which is awesome! The students and I had each other rolling with laughter the entire time. I have been so blessed to be able to hang out and work these kids! - Since the Chisinau gang has a pretty solid grasp on the English basics, I've been having to develop some legitimate lessons; which has been both challenging and fun. It's gettin' pretty serious over here man! I've got projectors, movies, powerpoints, music, candy - being a teacher is wild! It has certainly been a great experience.

My buddy Mihai, an employee of NewHope, just recently started a youth group in that same room that I teach in. He's asked for my help during the past couple sessions, which I am thankful of; because this group is awesome. These guys here at NewHope definitely know how to run a club for the youth. We've had christian rappers, incredible musicians, and an array of quality skits and games. The kids love it. I see many of the same faces from my English class too, which is great because I now have more of an opportunity to develop a relationship with some of these kids. Mihai's youth group, is also a great opportunity for these kids to get a positive change in scenery from much of the darkness that they are exposed here in Moldova. It's amazing to be a part of all that is going on here. Now, every Tuesday for about an hour and a half, these kids can have fun together, laugh hysterically together, know that they are loved and cared for by the many different staff members at NewHope, and hopefully know about the greater love that God, the head honcho behind all of this, has to offer. 

I'm out! Stay posted.

Love and be Loved.

1 Corinthians 13:2

Russian what?

So far I'm still enjoying the Moldovan life. The weather has done a good job of keeping the temperature sub-zero; but I've made my peace with that. There are more important things at hand than how cold it is; is what I tell myself. The kids have been a blast to work with. All of them are smart, but I have been blown away by just how smart a few of them really are. At this point I can almost have a full conversation with a couple of them, which is awesome. Although, a lot of the time it's hard to get anywhere because all the kids want to see and hear about my tattoos. I'll be up at the front, writing something on the board, when all of a sudden I'm swarmed by a bunch of kids ripping back my sleeves, pulling my shirt in all kinds of directions to catch a glimpse of a tattoo. I found out about tattoos here when I first came to Moldova this past summer.  Apparently, the "art form" is seen a little differently in this culture. Everyone assumes you've been to prison. For something really, really bad. So the first time the kids saw mine popping out of my sleeve, I had some explaining to do. When they found out that I hadn't been to prison, and that I was not dangerous, I was mobbed by the whole class; so that they could all come and get a better look. So, I still get mobbed at least once during every period. In the adult class, the students seem to have found a way to restrain themselves from doing the same thing. The adult class is going really well. Those guys really have a desire to learn the language, so they are doing awesome. I'll have them get up and practice with each other in front of everyone, and they are able to have a legitimate conversation in English for probably 5+ minutes; it's amazing.

I started teaching in Chisinau, the capital city, yesterday. There is a large storage room in the NewHope offices, that my buddy Mihai and I have been working on clearing out for the past couple weeks. The place was packed, floor to ceiling, with all kinds of stuff. Mostly different donations from all over the world, that would soon be delivered to different orphanages all over the country. We finally finished that task last Saturday. Since I've been out in Orhei, the guys back at the office cleaned up the room, hung cool posters up everywhere, brought in 30 chairs, put up a whiteboard, and installed new fluorescent lights. The place looks incredible. I hopped on a bus to Chisinau yesterday morning and had my first lesson there in that room yesterday with about twenty local kids. This group is actually made up of teenagers from different public schools in the area, not orphanages. They're not as wild and reckless as the orphans, but they are still a lot of fun to be with. Classes with them will also be a lot different, considering that many of them already have a basic foundation of English. It looks like I'll have to develop some serious lessons too - It's easier when they don't know anything, because you can teach them anything and it's considered progress, you know? Haha. Also, with their basics of English, and my basics of Romanian, we are able to mix the languages and converse back and forth without any problems, which definitely makes a difference. 

So Friday evening, after my lesson with the adults, the class was heading to a local gym to play volleyball and they invited me. I'm glad I said yes, we had a blast. Everybody was terrible. At the end of the game, the guys asked me if I wanted to go with them to a Russian Bath house the following night. Not going to lie, I had my own thoughts about the idea; thoughts strong enough for me to say, "No thanks, see ya Monday!" Haha. After a few minutes of them convincing me it was nothing like the Greek Bath house I had heard about in school, or any bath house I've ever heard about, I said OK.   - Last night I went to a Russian Bath house with a bunch of dudes.  -  Turns out, it was actually really cool; and swimsuits are worn. We went as a group of eight and had the place to ourselves. The "house" consisted of an area for hanging out and eating, a sauna, a deep tub of ice cold water, some showers, and a billiards room upstairs. After that sauna, I don't know if my body will ever be the same. The place was an inferno. The guys said, "Moldavian man no problem sauna. USA afraid of Moldavian sauna." I don't know where they got that statistic, all I know is I had to stay in the sauna haha. You couldn't even open your eyes it was so hot. I don't know what that means. I've never experienced that before. The whole time we were inside, I had the feeling that there was no way that kind of heat could be beneficial for the human body. So, in an effort to counteract the damage, and maybe even to preserve the life of my future children, I was the only one to jump into and stay in the ice water tub. The guys said they were too afraid to get into the cold water - "USA man no problem cold water", I said. Over all, it was a good time! I'd go back for sure. 

Stay posted for what's next!

Love And Be Loved

Frozen

Right now its 0 Degrees, and with the windchill its -13 degrees. The sun is out. This aint no Durango, CO -13 either (Chase). Moldova is blessed to have the cold air from both the North Pole, and the Baltic Seas, blanket the country for a few weeks during every winter. It's all part of the adventure right! I remember when I first got here, Oleg mentioned the idea of heading to Istanbul first, since it's warm there right now; and I could do the second half of my trip here in Moldova when it would also be warmer. I told him no thanks, and that I actually love the winter. Actually, I love winter in Colorado. The Colorado cold isn't that bad for a few reasons: it's extremely dry, I have Sriracha, and I'm usually snowboarding. Oleg has spent plenty of time in the states, so I'm pretty sure he muttered, "your stupid" under his breath when I said I love the winter. Whatever. I'm still having a blast, and this way I get to experience all of Moldova.

The classes with the kids have been awesome. The five or six kids in the class who have been trying to learn English, have actually learned a lot! I can almost have a full conversation in English with a couple of them. For the rest of the kids, English isn't even on the radar. This class begins after their school day has already finished, so after I've taught for an hour we'll usually hang out and joke around with each other for a while. That part, is what the rest of the kids come for. Communication is pretty limited so we all spend the majority of the time scanning through the Romanian-English dictionary, finding the words we're looking for. Some of them, after recognizing an English swear word, maybe from a movie or song, will sneak over to the blackboard and take up the whole space to write the word for all to see. You can't even spell the word "it" but you can spell the F word, in past, present, and future tense, perfectly. Haha, but really they are awesome kids. I have begun to develop relationships with most of them too, which is great. As soon as I walk into the orphanage I usually have a group of kids shout my name and run up to me. The coolest part is that I know all of their names now, and I can shout their names when I see them playing soccer outside, when they should be in my class, vandalizing my chalk board or something.

In terms of actually learning English, the adults have been way more productive. I really can have a full conversation with most of them. They are an awesome group of people. Pretty much every one of them is hilarious too; which makes for a good class period.

So now, the plan for my time here has changed again. At the end of February, I will be moving to the capital city, Chisinau. I'll be taking a bus to Orhei a couple times a week to continue teaching, but I'll be living and teaching in Chisinau as well. Also, each week I will spend a couple days traveling to a different part of the country. I'll get a chance to help out with NewHopeMoldova's anti human-trafficking campaign by visiting and speaking in orphanages, public schools, and churches. I will do that unil the beginning of April, where I will then head to Istanbul, Turkey.



You guys, the people of Eastern Europe need help. Big time. A couple days ago, I was rocked when I read the testimony of a local girl who had just recently started a relationship with Jesus. She was living in Moldova, when she was offered the opportunity to go and work in a large market somewhere in Moscow. She agreed and was thrown into a van that had no plans to go to Moscow. Her destination, her new place of residence, was an abandoned hospital, filled with about 200 other innocent girls. Some of the girls there were used for prostitution, and some of the girls there were used for child bearing; with the intent to sell the child's organs on an underground market. this particular girl had been brought in for child bearing. After some time, she was kicked out of the hospital and eventually made her way back to Moldova. She ended up coming across some of the people here from NewHopeMoldova, where through  their love and care, was able to hear about Jesus - and the awesome love and care that he has to offer. As Americans, we are blessed with the access of great resources and opportunities. If anybody has any interest in lending a hand to these people, there are a million ways to do so. You can always sponsor a child, contribute toward a summer camp, fund the campaign against human-trafficking, or pray. Let me know if you want to get involved! Or also, maybe you want to come here?? Let me know and I can help you get in contact with the right people.

- Matthew 11:28


Love and Be Loved