Friday, June 24, 2005

Goodbye's, new sites, and covert operations...

Hello all! We left Falesti yesterday about 1:30 pm. We were all very sad and so were the kids, It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But I have so many wonderful memories...I go to bed at night with those children's faces and voices in my mind. The last thing my Mihai said to me was, "I'll pray for you." I told him I loved him, Jesus loves him, and I would pray for him, too. What a gift God gave me yesterday! We traveled 3 hours to Chisinau, where we checked into the lovely national hotel. =) We had dinner at the Irish pub with another team from Texas, which was fun. I forgot I was in Molodova. There were several orphan graduates there who gave their testimonies and thanked us for the work we were doing. It was such an encouragement to us - it can be overwhelming at all the things there are to do. It was nice to get a glimpse of some success stories. This morning we left the hotel about 5 am to take Team 1 to the airport. They headed off to Amsterdam. Shawn, Jen, Christina, and I headed back to the hotel to get some more sleep. We ran errands, ate pizza for lunch, walked around a park, and then headed to the CERI office for some email and laundry. Granny, I finally got to hang my clothes to dry. =) Then we headed to the Internat II camp, where the Texas team has been working. Jen got to see all of her little kids. What a different setting from Falesti. We're headed back there for the day tomorrow. So then came the covert operation. Shawn, Jen, Christina, Dorel, and I headed to Trosini (sp?) to "kidnap" Mihai. Not really, we asked permission. This is how things are in Moldova...we just head to this town to drive around searching for him. We were about to give up when Jen spotted his jacket. Success! I was so happy to get to meet Mihai. He's even cuter in person...and such a sweetie. We went to dinner with some Dorel, Olga, Sergei, and Constance and some of Shawn's "boys". We went to a place called New York...then we went bowling. Oh yes, my favorite! It was a lot of fun...a nice break. Tomorrow we're headed to the camp for morning worship. We'll probably do some more laundry and who knows what else? It's a moment by moment world out here. Meanwhile, Mihai is with us for the weekend. We're headed to church and then to a monastery on Sundaym so stay tuned for that. We look forward to Team 2...we'll be praying for safe travel. Love to all!

In Him,
Emily

2 comments:

  1. Em, It isn't the same without you here, but I know you are having an incredible experience over there (either you are... or you aren't :o) ) I'm excited to follow phase 2 of your trip and see the different ways in which God is working in this country. Praise Him for those "success" stories you got to hear- I know that was an encouragement!

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  2. Hi, Emily, and the rest of the team!

    Just wanted to let you know I'm checking the blog frequently. You're all in my thoughts and prayers.

    Glad to hear you're facing the oddities and inconveniences of the work with patience and a sense of humor...that habit might even come in handy when you get back to the U.S.! Not that you'd ever need it with such a perfect roommate as A.B....right?

    I know that it may seem like there is so much more to do than what you can offer that it can be overwhelming. In the missions work I've done I've had to remember that anything I could do or offer was ultimately temporary except for what Christ chose to use. And you never know what that will be, so just give what you can, do what you can, and trust him to use it in the way he sees fit.

    Grace and Peace,
    Mark Kelly Hall

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