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