Family Fun

This past weekend we went to Texas for my cousin's wedding. It also just so happened to be my first Father's Day. So, one of Wifey's friends, and one of my former youth, who is now a professional photographer, came over to take pics of the family. I sure wish we knew how to have fun at our house....

Levi is now 4.5 mos old...Wifey and I are not. ;-)

A video of our new son...Levi David

Since facebook shut down my video, I figured I'd put it here for the world to see. He's a good lookin' kid!

In The Beginning...

For those of you who have not heard the news, Wifey and I are expecting our first biological disciple! Apparently, my wife has enough wisdom and gentleness to cover enough of my ignorance, in order for the Lord to deem us 'blessable' with a child. We're pretty excited! (That might be an understatement!!!)

I find my head spinning as I try to think through everything that needs to be thought about before D-Day (Delivery-Day), i.e. getting the 'nursery' ready, putting the baby on our ins., making sure he/she has clothing so he/she doesn't run around naked for the first 6 years of his/her life, making sure I know how to work a car seat, making sure my wife knows how to change a diaper (ha...just couldn't pass it up! Love ya, Wifey!). Actually, I'm hoping to practice blindfolded so when I have to do it at 2:30am I'm more prepared. Even how to hold a squirming baby is still an 'X' factor for me. I'm sure like every parent, I just want to make sure I don't do something incredibly wrong (though I'm sure I'll have many blunders at first and will learn from my mistakes). Even with the infinite amount of other things I'm trying to think through that I don't have the time or space to write about, we're still extremely excited.

Right now, according to babycenter.com, our child is the size of a 3" shrimp. And as of this week he/she has fingerprints. HOW COOL!!! Thank all of you so much for praying for my wife and I (expecially you "Bunco Babes")! Being away from family is tough, but when God provides another 300 member family to fill in, it makes things much easier!

By the way, our Due Date is February 14th, which just so happens to be my b-day. Thank You for the gift, Father!

Drumming for Jesus

Taylor and I had a drumming stand off...I'm not really sure who won, but I think all that had to listen pretty much lost!

To Wifey

I just want you to know how much I love you and miss you!

Of all my experiences, both at home and around the world, you are my greatest blessing from the Lord. I have found that a wife is to be an encourager, looking into the heart of her husband to cheer him on and uplifting him, ignoring all the faults and praising all his successes. She is to be his biggest prayer supporter when the road ahead is difficult for him and his greatest earthly joy amist all of his celebrations. She is to be his best friend, sharing in laughter so much he cries, as well as joining in the passions of his heart. A wife treats her husband with the utmost respect because of the man he is trying to be, and it can be seen by the proudness of him in her eyes. I know all of these things to be true because you live them every day. You are a blessing to my life and I thank my King daily for loving me enough to give me a wife like no other! Thank you for being the woman you are, and the wife I've always wanted!

Father, who am I that you care for me this much??? Glory be to Your Everlasting Name!!!

Romanian Food w/the Missionaries

Yesterday was a great food day for us. After church we went out for a shuaorma (sh-warm-uh) which has to be one of the tastiest foods I've had in Romania. It's kinda like a pita bread burrito filled with wonderful chicken meat and seasoned french fries; I had mine with some shredded cabbage and some 'spicy ranch' dressing. Other options are tomatos, peppers, ketchup, dog, mayo...I'm just kidding about the dog...or am I??? But it really was quite exquisit! Yum!



Here is Justin, the missionary, devouring his shuaorma. But I'm confident that more ended up on the ground than in his mouth. He will soon have half of the dogs in Romania following behind his every step if he keeps this up!



However, Marty, the missionary, lets nothing go to waste! Even with this gigantic chocolate shake (which was more like a chocolate milk), it was good until the last drop! Go Marty Go!!!

Even the horses got in on the action. True, they're not missionaries, but who am I to discrimitate? Eat up little fellas, you deserve it!

Doing that thing we do...

As I'm sure you already know, our mornings are spent prayer walking and our evenings are filled with evangelism. Well, as is usual with everything else in life, we're running out of time to finish all the work our team is needing to accomplish. On top of that, the weather is getting hotter and our bodies are getting tired faster. But is that going to stop us? NOT A CHANCE! We're here, not for our glory, not for our neat stories, not for our comfort (though the beds are quite nice), and not for vacation. We're here to work, to glorify our King, to share the gospel with souls who's time is really running out! So we will endure, despite the heat and the exhaustion, until our committed task is done. For all of you at home reading these blogs, please be in prayer for our team, for our new friends Justin and Marty, for the Youth at Holy Trinity who have been awesome in helping out every night - even giving up their Bible study time to join us tonight on the streets (I am extremely proud of these young people!!!), for the Romanian leaders like Bogdon & Mihai, for Randy & Teresa, and for Troy & his family. Please pray that our strength will be in the Lord. Please pray that our hearts will continue to hurt for these lost people. And pray for the members of our team to be thinking about how they can make evangelism a real part of life once we get back home. Thank you to all of you who are lifting us up daily!!!

Here is the team gathering together before going out to do evangelism. We meet every night at Holy Trinity around 6:30 and usually end here around 9:00.

Here is Justin sharing the gospel with a bunch of kids who just showed us why American adults should never play 'football' with Romanian kids...EVER!!! We got whooped!

One of the young kids following along, reading the Scriptures from a Romanian Bible. They were absolutely sharp!

Here is our soccer group. I'm not sure why the American's are the only one's really smiling. We were the one's who lost horribly and got schooled on the playground by people three times younger than we are. (Maybe even 6 times younger than some members of our team...not to mention any names!)

But don't let the Romanians fool you. Not all of them take serious pictures. Here is Ioana (Titi, the Youth Pastor's daughter) and Diana (my homegirl and friend of Ioana). These are two of the coolest young ladies I know and are absolute goofballs! Pray for me!!!

Drinking Buddy

Today is a new day in my life. You get two Youth Pastors together and it's only a matter of time before things start to go down hill. Today, Titi, the Romanian Youth Pastor, invited me to go do some visitation with him. They've had some elderly church members that have not been able to make it to church due to illness, and therefore have missed the Lord's Supper. So, we visited three different homes to sit and administer the Lord's Supper with these brothers and sisters in Christ. As we were driving, Titi told me that it would be good for us to take the Lord's Supper at every home with these church members so that they will feel a part of the fellowship. I agreed. He then told me that in America we used the grape juice, but it was their custom to use the wine. I told Titi that I've never had alcohol before. He almost crashed when I told him that! He said that he would only fill my cup with a little and he will make sure I get the least amount. So sure enough, as we went from home to home, both of us sharing from the Word, we both partook of the Lord's Supper.

This was a wierd experience for me. All my life I've had such a bold stand against any type of alcohol so as not to destroy my witness; and now, in a different culture, it was almost as if NOT partaking would have been a bad thing. It was awkward and definitely a taste I do not prefer.

Turn About is Fair Play

The glorious and Almighty Lord presented an opportunity that I just couldn't pass up. As Lanny has shamlessly posted pictures of me sleeping, the Lord humbled him to the point of being caught up in his own vices! And not only did we catch this picture, but I am proud to say that it was taken during church! But to his defense, after 3 preachers, 1 wedding, and a hodge-podge of youth choir specials, he was required to rest his top lids on top of his bottom lids for a short moment in time. So to all out there reading this, check out this picture which vindicates my actions!!!

"I was checking my eyelids for holes!" -Lanny Wake

THE WEDDING CRASHERS!!!!

I'm sure the others have already blogged about it, but thought I'd jump in on it too, seeing as how it was so awkward! We were asked to join the youth in singing for church Sunday night, since things went so well on Saturday night. We agreed, not quite knowing what we were getting ourselves involved in. Andrew of course played the keyboard, Tayor played the guitar, while Whitney and I carried the vocals.

So we showed up to church to find it all decorated for this wedding. We went inside and spoke with Titi (the youth pastor - who is actually a really cool guy...as are most youth pastors!!! ;-) who told us, Da, we will be singing for the wedding. For those of you who are not married, never plan to get married in Romania. Apparently you have to sit up on stage for the entire service, through 3+ sermons, lots of songs (including one's sung in English), and the vows...all totaling about 3 hours.

So this is how the songs went: the first song was all Romanian; the second song started with the first verse in Romanian followed by the chorus in Romanian, however, during the chorus in Romanian, we started the first verse again in English. So it was a nice hodge-podge of sounds and languages. When Whitney and I started singing in English over the Romanian chorus, the bride looked at the groom with a mixed look of wonder, disgust, awkwardness, and dispair. But we just kept on singing. The third song started the first verse in Romanain only, the second verse in English only, and the thrid verse as 'all skate.' Let's just say it will be a wedding they'll never forget...no matter how bad they may want to!

Andrew playing the keys in Romanian...lol...(I think that's a funny musical joke). And sitting next to him is Diana, who seems to be a little miffed that Andrew took her keyboard. LOL!!!!

Whit and Tay with the youth choir. The girl in pink infront of Whit is Dora and has an amazing voice. The girl in white behind Whit is Ioana, who is Titi's daughter.

This is a picture of their minister of music. I couldn't stop laughing thinking that his little bald man will be Steve one day! LOL...love ya buddy!

I think I held the title as the oldest member of the youth praise team. Yet Ioana, who is almost 15 takes the award for being the tallest of the team. Some things just aren't meant to be won.

And finally, here is Marcel and Anna, the couple who's wedding we destroyed. May the Lord bless them....by erasing the American wedding factor from their minds!

This is a praise and worship song the youth group sang that was so cool sounding. I have no idea what they're saying, but it is powerful and beautiful. By the end of our time of worship on Saturday night, we just about had the chorus down. I don't know that I've ever tried to sing something so passionately without actually knowing what on earth I was singing. But again, the song was great! Dora (the girl in pink in front) sings it really well!

Sunday Morning Church

These are pictures from church on Sunday morning down in the valley (i.e. the mission church that Troy began, not Holy Trinity Baptist Church - which is the bigger church we've visited in the past.)

Outside in the courtyard was where all the children met. They had approx. 30 children out there and they were going through VBS material & playing games. Some of our team was out there helping.





Inside, after singing in Romanin, Troy preached in English while Bogdon translated for all the Romanians. We then split into groups to discuss the prodigal son. One group took the story from the perspective of the Father, one group the perspective of the older son, and our group took the prospective from the younger son. We came back together to report our findings, then had the Lord's supper. Though church was 2 hours long, it was pretty good.

Here is our team in our Sunday best.

Here I am with Andrew and a youth that Whitney so lovingly renamed "Bob." He received this nickname because none of us could pronounce his name. And now, we've got the other Romanian youth calling him Bob. Poor fella. But he is a young man with a servant's heart. He fixed the coffee for church on Sunday. Maybe we should rename him "Kelly." ;-)

Here is Roland and I at lunch after church...as good Baptist should. To be an American eating Chinese in Romania is something to think about. If only our waitress were Mexican!

Casa de Romania

Usually on a mission trip, you end up sleeping in some run down old hole in the wall. Well, this vacati.....um....mission trip, the Lord has blessed us with some wonderful accomodations. So after working hard, we can sleep in comfort (i.e. air conditioner). And all God's children said...AMEN!

As you walk into the training center, you head up the stairs to a landing where you find this glass entry way. Through the glass you can see the door to the area where we're staying. If you were to go through the door and to the right, there is another compex for people to stay in as well.

Once through our front door, to the right you'll find this kitchen area. We've got a small fridge, a sink (where Lanny does the dishes...of course!), table & chairs, and of course a coffee maker. Amen!!!

Here is a view of our hallway looking into the kitchen. I think we've got enough footware for an entire village. You can also see from this picture the floormat that leads into the girls' room (on the right). The guys room is right behind me.

After walking through our door you'll find this! Andrew passed out for an afternoon siesta! (I must pick on him...and Lanny later...because they've got plenty of pictures of me sleeping. May the Lord bless their hearts!!!

And of course the bathroom of all bathrooms. Have you ever seen the movie 'The Fly'? Our shower feels a little like that. It's a cool space capsule type set up, standard with overhead lighting, a fan, and of course the built in radio which picks up all Romanian music all day long!!!

So when you think of missions and how difficult it is to "rough it" in another country, don't be fooled too much. However, the afternoon sweedish massages and the exfoliation treatments aren't quite as good as the one's you'd get in the states, but who am I to complain. So next time we've got a missionary in our church looking for help, feel free to follow in the words of Isaiah, "Here I am Lord, SEND ME!!!!!!" (note: massages and exfoliation may not be accurate)

Diving in at a moments notice...

As our day continued on, we were invited to join the youth group for their weekly Bible Study! Their Youth Pastor TT is a great guy who I have really enjoyed speaking with. He seems to be doing well with these Romanian teens. And being a teen "worker" myself, I really enjoyed joining them tonight. It started off with some praise team practice which was proceeded by a meeting with TT. He 'encouraged' both Lanny and I to give a message tonight, as well as have our youth lead in some worship. Last minute is our kind of timing! And wouldn't you know it, we just so happen to have a few youth that are good at leading worship and playing instruments. It was fun to hear the same tunes to songs and to have all the youth singing in different languages!

TT (the Youth Pastor) and his youth praise team practicing for the night.

Ummmm....(so many phrases to input)...how about...a puppet doing Lanny ministry! That's a safe phrase!

Andrew playing that instrument thingy he plays. He did awesome...as usual! ;-)

Taylor played guitar while her and Whitney joined Andrew in singing.

Lanny was asked to give a short message during Bible study. (His was short because mine went long...leave it to a pastor to be long winded a coach to get to the point!)

And to round out the day, we were asked to come back to join the youth group in singing tomorrow night in church. Holy Trinity's youth will be singing in Romanian, while our youth accompany in English. The words may sound different to our ears, but hearts in worship sound the same to our King! Also, a few of their youth volunteered to go out with us this week as translators (because they are really good at their English). Teens joining teens across the globe as one family to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, my job doesn't get any cooler than to see that!

So, for all of you that are praying, let me say a huge THANK YOU all for all your prayers! And this is just day one of this awesome adventure with Christ. Glory to my King!

Day 2: Pizza for breakfast & rush hour traffic!

We've had a pretty good day so far. We had a nice relaxing morning, not getting out of the training center until about 10:00am. And of course, by then, we were all hungry for some authentic Romanian food...so we went out for pizza!

Lanny of course had no hesitation about diving into 'breakfast'!

The team and little Meihi at the "breakfast" shop.

We then got a tour of Rany & Teresa's home, a tour of the small church, met up with Bogdon, went shopping, did some more shopping, and finally came back to the training center for lunch (around 4:00pm). Oh, and we did take a small trip to Praktiker, the Home Depot of Romania...I drooled a little.

This is the map in the small church. Each pink arrow represents a Bible study that is currently taking place in a home. The blue arrows represent homes where people have been baptized. And the yellow arrow (which you really can't see) shows where the church is. In a place where the general midset is orthodoxy, to see this many Bible studies taking place is a true witness to the power of our King!

That rush hour traffic consisted of various vehicles all over the road, multitudes of people "sprinting" across the street, and these horse drawn carriages not quite exceeding the speed limit.

Lunch was actually pretty awesome! We had some great sandwiches, yummy chips, the drink of our choice, and to finish it off....(dum dum dum dum dum ~ dessert theme music) CHOCOLATE!!!!

For all those that are praying, I just want to say a special thank you! Today I think we've had such an amazing prep day to get settled, have some fun, and get our feet under us! Tonight, we've been invited to go speak at the youth meeting at the church and to share what we're here for and how the students can help. Please continue to pray for our work here and that we stay hydrated and aware of our own physical fatigue. As a young & vibrant team, Troy has asked us to prayer walk every zone in Galati! A large task, but one that we are pumped to step up to! So again, thank you for all your prayer! Keep it up, we'll need it!

And to my Wifey: Know I love you, and am thinking about you! I hope you're having fun in Texas! I miss you and can't wait to see you! Talk to you later, baby! Love, Hubby!

WE MADE IT!!!

For all you worried mama's, wives, or other family members, I just wanted to let you know we made it! We are finally in Galati. The flights over weren't bad at all. Although, I think for the most part, we're all kinda tired and ready for a good nights sleep! And I think I can speak for the rest of the team when I say we are pumped about getting out and about tomorrow (or actually, today)

Here's the team, hanging out in the airport...oh how we love airports!!!

On my last plane ride, these were the exciting chicks I got to sit by. There's nothing like needing to use the bathroom and being stuck against the window with these two babes trapping you in! But in all actuality, they were really nice and had a really cool accent. And if you look close enough, the woman on the aisle still has the gum I gave her in her mouth. (I do believe the median age on this flight was probably around 75 years old...can anyone say party plane?!?!?!)

When we landed in Bucharest, the first order of buisness was to celebrate the 4th of July in true American style. We joined other missionaries for a good ole fashion cookout, including burgers, "miche," beans, cole slaw, potato salad, and some yummy brownies with ice cream! Mission trips are so difficult!

Bro. Jay, I figured I could fill out a PO later, so I just decided to go ahead and charge this necessity to the youth budget! All for the glory of Jesus!!! It was a must have!

Go unto all nations...

This morning we boarded the church van for Romania. It's a little weird, this is probably the first trip I've ever been on where I feel completely ready to go. I wasn't rushing around at the last minute trying frantically to get things done. We met at the church, hung out for a bit, leisurely climbed into the van...and now we're sitting...waiting...in Chicago International Airport! I think this is called the 'go' part of the Great Commission. Soon we'll be doing the 'disciple' part...and I think we're all really looking forward to that part. However, I do believe there have been a few members of our team doing some airport evangelism! Go Team!

The Fella's in the van on the way to the airport.

Me and the Ladies cruising in the church van of power!

Lanny being Lanny...I'm sorry Lila!!!

Last year while in Chicago, we stopped at Starbucks. So, Pastor Jay, for the sake of team sanity and in honor of you, we decided to stop again!

And here was the poor lady dragging her bag through the airport, maybe not quite aware that her wheels didn't make it through security. But either way, it was fun to watch!

No honey, your truck is fine...

These were my words yesterday morning as Wifey pulled out of the driveway headed to work. And by 10:30 last night, in St. Joe, we were on the side of the highway installing a new alternator.

And when I say we, I mean I was holding the flashlight, Wifey was being bitten by mosquitos, and the husband of one of Sheri's co-workers was installing the alternator. So to recap: a new battery, two new tires, a new muffler, and a new alternator. Anybody looking to buy a '98 Ford Ranger? I know one going up for sale!!!

Grilled Cheese & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tonight after youth Bible study, somehow we ended up with a few stray teens at our home looking for grilled cheese sandwiches. Normally, we'd just turn the hose on them and laugh at them as they stood soaking in the driveway, but since they came bearing gifts such as chocolate chip cookie dough, bread, chips, drinks, etc, we decided to let them in. We tried to get them to get all of our other groceries, but after they declined we figured we'd take what we could get. We had a blast! Thanks for coming over ya'll! (Whit, Trav, And...nope, it was worth a shot...Andrew)

Wifey & Stunt Wifey in the kitchen
The kitchen crew...some were cookers...some were eaters...I was with group two
Whit's ginormous cookies of goodness
Travis in the fetal position. I think he may have had one too many cookies

So for anybody who would like to just drop by sometime, if you're bringing the food, our door is always open!!! And all God's people said....pass another cookie!