Traveling

So Brasov turned out to be a pretty awesome place to visit. I got a chance to spend some time with a bunch of great people from all over the globe. When I first arrived in the city, I hadn't been in the hostel for ten minutes before I was invited to go out with a group of people from Argentina and Germany. These guys had been traveling all over, and had just recently came from Istanbul, Turkey; which is where I am headed on Monday. They all admitted that so far, Istanbul had been their favorite spot - and that it had the best food. Which right now is key for me, because Moldova has been hurting in that aspect. The next day, I got a chance to go out and explore the city, go up into the mountains, see the famous "Bran Castle", and eat some awesome food all before getting back onto the bus for another ten hour ride to Chisinau. For twenty hours of travel time, I'd say it was a pretty short trip; but it was definitely a great experience that was well worth it. I have found that most of the international bus rides here are actually really cheap; equal to or less than what I would pay for a night here in Moldova. So as soon as I returned here to Chisinau that next day, I taught another English lesson here in the offices, then hopped on another overnight bus to Kiev, Ukraine.

Kiev is a bit more modern than Brasov, but it is still home to some of the world's most amazing cathedrals that have been around for centuries. I was able to spend two days in this city, exploring, eating more good food (which really almost tasted like the best food I have ever eaten, after being in Moldova all this time), and hanging out with more awesome people from all over.  The guy in the bunk next to me was actually from Denver, Colorado. Small world. My first night there in Kiev, I went out to eat with a group of people from the Hostel, including the other Colorado guy. This guy, throughout the night, made sure to give me as much grief as possible about me not "representing" Colorado because I wasn't "doing as the Ukrainians do" by downing as much vodka as possible. Last I saw of him, he was passed out in the hallway of the hostel at 3:00am, with an upcoming flight to Chicago at 5:30am, haha. He was a nice guy though. Again for twenty hours of travel time the trip was pretty short, but I definitely enjoyed myself, and I am thankful for the experience.

Only two more English classes here before I head off to Turkey! Today is one of them actually, and we are throwing a party for a couple different birthdays, and my leaving; so it should be fun! Stay posted!


Here are some pictures from my travels:

A church in Brașov, built in the early 1300's.

 Part of Downtown, Brașov

Brașov

In front of Dracula's Castle.

Bran Castle (Dracula's)

Castle Courtyard.

View of Brașov from the mountains.

Part of downtown, Kiev.

Old Russian Orthodox Church.

Pretty awesome experience! 

Love And Be Loved

Cahul Round 2

This past week in Cahul was amazing. I spent the majority of my time working with the people from New Hope Moldova. A handful of the orphans here are sponsored by people outside of Moldova. Typically, donations from sponsors contribute toward certain needs of the child, or even gifts on a birthday or Christmas. This past week, I had the opportunity to take two different kids to the market to buy some new clothes, using money from American sponsors. I had a blast. I especially enjoyed hanging out with one of the two kids because he had been one of the kids in my group from a camp this past summer. His name is Dima. It was amazing to be able to spend some time with him, and his buddy Andrei, another kid from our group this past summer. Last Thursday I also had the chance to help out with a youth group that NewHope runs for the local teenagers. As usual, I was asked to give the speech or message on the spot. I've definitely been getting some good training and experience with last minute public speaking.

Although I still have my English lesson in Chisinau on Wednesday, I have most the week to myself. I've thought about trying to explore a bit since I've been out here, but haven't yet had the chance. Kiev, Ukraine and Bucurest, Romania were two possible options, but both are far and expensive. A couple days ago, I remembered that I had researched a bit about Romania, and seen that the famous Dracula's Castle (Bran Castle) is located in a beautiful city in the mountains called, Brasov. Earlier today around 11am, I found out that there was a bus today at 12pm heading toward Brasov. Like a Moldovan, I made a last minute change of plans, and am now on the bus. The castle was built in the early 1300's and has plenty of awesome history to go along with it. If you google, "Brasov, Romania" you can find some pretty cool pictures. I'll try to take a bunch myself. It should be a pretty cool adventure. I don't know where I'll stay or how I'll get to the castle, but I know not to trust any taxi drivers. I'll be sure to let you guys know how it all goes. 

This trip does not have to do with Twilight - for real.

Love And Be Loved.

Permeate

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

                                                                                                               - Jesus

                                                                                                             Mark 10:43-45

Bălți

At this point it has been almost two weeks since my last post, but the time has been flying. To start, I am no longer living or teaching in Orhei. Towards the end of last week I moved out of the house I'd been staying at, and stuffed all my belongings into a closet here in the New Hope offices in Chisinau. I've been doing a lot of traveling with the crew here at NewHope, so basically I've been staying at a different place every few days. Although I am back in the town of Cahul now, I spent the majority of last week in a city called, Balti.  As an anti-trafficking organization, one of the main focuses remains heavily on the orphans. So many of the innocent girls that have fallen victim to the underground business have done so simply because they were uneducated on the subject. Also, as sad as it is, many of the girls willingly sell themselves into the business out of desperation. Because of this, NewHope (and a handful of other similar orgs. in the country) spends a great deal of time and energy in providing both an education on the issue, and hope. So for a few days or so I had the opportunity to tag along with the crew from the northern region, and visit a couple orphanages on the outskirts of Balti. Basically, we put on an assembly for the kids that includes a few games, a short movie/cartoon with a positive message, and spoken message usually about, or relating to potential. I have actually been asked to be the speaker at all the orphanages I've been to so far, which has been a pretty awesome experience! One orphanage I visited last week was in an old Moldovan village. A real old Moldovan village. I definitely felt like I went back in time a few hundred years. People were riding carriages pulled by horses, donkeys, and cows. I saw old women walking down the street carrying huge buckets of water that they had just filled up from the local well. I'm pretty sure any of these old Moldovan women could kick my ass. It's freezing outside, they just walked however far to the well, filled up two huge buckets with water, they got no gloves, they gotta' walk however far back, while carrying the water, and they seem like it's not even a big deal - or like things could be worse. Haha anyways, it was an awesome experience to be able to spend some time in a village like that.

In Moldova, Balti is known as "The Russian City." The majority of the population speaks Russian, many of them not knowing any Romanian at all. Signs, advertisements, it's almost all in Russian, which has been pretty interesting. I've been having fun trying to learn the language, which is much more difficult than Romanian; but would also be much more useful in the future. For the four nights I was there I stayed with a young couple, Anatol and Mihaiella, who through Anatol are related to my buddy Alex, who also works for NewHope. Anatol's father has a boatload of bee's on his property, so during the summer he collects a whole lot of honey. So on my last morning, the couple gave me as a gift, probably 10 pounds worth of honey. It looks nothing like honey you'd find in a store in America, I've been told thats because it's fresh and natural.... So banking on that, I've been eating a whole lot of it. I've also had people tell me that what appears to me as two year old milk, is fresh and natural....

I'm back in Cahul for the week. I'll be visiting a handful of orphanages and public schools over the next several days, so I'm pretty excited to see how it all goes. Since I am no longer living in one set place, it has been, and will be harder to access my computer easily. I'll do my best to keep you guys updated on what's happening! This trip doesn't just have to be for me! Please let me know if you want any information on how to get involved with what's going on; either here in Moldova or elsewhere! I'm glad to help.



Love And Be Loved

We've been putting these posters up all over different cities. They provide information for people who are interested in working abroad; since that is basically the number one way people become involved in human trafficking.

That's my man Joseph, pretending to be spiderman on top of the closet. He was one of the two children I lived with for two months in Orhei.

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