What's Next?

Many knew that we thought we would be adopting and in the states for the holidays.  Then things changed with that as the birthmother changed her mind.  The big question was, "Do we still go on furlough?" or  "Do we wait until we hear about another birthmother picking us?"  

Well, we thought to wait it out.  However, this past week we bit the bullet and purchased tickets for our home assignment.  Yup, we are coming back to the states for a five, yes 5, month stay.  

Our options for home assignment were:

1) 4 years Romania with 1 year back in the states.  

2)  2 years Romania with 6 months back in the states.  

We felt option one was too long for both reasons for relationships on both sides of the ocean.

We have now been in Romania for 2 1/2 years - so we are over due to get back to visit friends, family and supporters!

This past week we received a few reports from close friends and family of some health concerns. At that point we were more assured that we need to spend some good quality time with those we love back home.

We plan to spend holiday time in both Minnesota and Nebraska, with News Years back in Arizona.  Then both of us need to take some continuing education courses for our therapy license and certificates.  

Adoption News:  We are so close to the top of the list at the adoption agency that every expecting mom that goes through this agency will read our profile and letter to choose from. Please join us as we continue to pray that during our time in the states our family will grow to include a beautiful, healthy baby.  

As exciting as it is to think about being in the states it is difficult to pack up when ministry and relationships here are going so well.  Please pray for us as we pack, organize, and visit with many before we leave here.  Oh yeah, all of this in ONE WEEK.  We will depart on Dec. 6th heading to Minneapolis first.

New Place to Call Home - Again.

I had heard it said that a missionary's life consists of getting used to moving.  Not always within the same city like us, but back and forth from the states and sometimes to different towns and cities.  We have had our share of mobility in our two and half years of living here.

However, we are so happy with this present move we made.  We left behind the apartment in the block building and are now in a large 3 bedroom apartment in a house.  The neighborhood is nice and quiet with a observatory across the street.  This makes parking our van so much easier!!!  I can not even explain the increase of cars we have seen here even in the last two years.  These Romanian cities were not designed to accommodate this and in the areas of block apartments it is the worst! 

Steve has been busy with distributing wheelchairs and equipment and other ministry things with moving furniture in between.  Hence, there has been no down time for us until this past weekend.  We celebrated my (Kristi's) birthday and our new place with having friends over.  

Adoption News - is that we have not heard anything new.  We are still in the waiting mode for a birthmother to pick us.  This has changed our travel plans and we will not be in the states for the holidays.  Unless, we get a call that requests us to come immediately to pick up a surprise Christmas gift.  Thanks for your continued prayer for us and our future family.

For the time being we expect to celebrate Thanksgiving with other missionaries and Americans here in Timisoara.  

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

So Let's Get to Work!

There are many reasons for ministering both alongside and to people with special needs and disabilities. All the arguments could fill volumes in anyone's library. However, two verses have been banging around in my head for the last six months. They come from the pen of the writer of Hebrews.

Hebrews 10:24-25 "...and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

We often see the verses in a different light than having relevance with special circumstances, needs, or disabilities. However, I feel convinced that it is extremely relevant to the life issues of all people who have special circumstances. Where are the vast majority of the people with special needs on Sunday morning and evening? Are they at church or in bible studies? No. They are home or elsewhere, cut off from the church body. Who is stimulating them to love and good deeds? Who can they encourage? How are they growing in love and in worship? I think the key is to help and encourage churches learn how to open their doors and incorporate those who have special circumstances, special needs, or disabilities.

Can anyone do this? Why not? God uses anyone with a mission, a heart, goals, and is obedient. So let's get to work!

Stephen Carnazzo

The Roller Coaster Ride of Adoption

Life is in constant change and motion.  We are in the midst of packing our belongings and moving to a different apartment.  This next one will be in a house.  Yeah!  It will have more room for a baby.

Also we are trying to get ready to fly to the states for adopting a baby in December.  BUT, halt on this one.  The birthmom who had chosen us to adopt her baby changed her mind and is now going to parent her baby.  It is a disappointment, but not a death or a miscarriage.  We will continue to pray for this young mother and this baby boy.  We still have a hope for a baby and our application and information is being shared with other expecting mothers thinking of adoption plans. 

The other positives is that she changed her mind in advance before we purchased plane tickets or flew to the states.  Those who follow our blog and are praying for our adoption we wanted you to know.  We appreciate your prayers.  Thank You!

Taking A Break

After a wonderful and blessed summer we found ourselves exhausted. In knowing we needed a vacation we discussed the many possible locations in driving distance from us. We chose Vienna, Austria which was only an 8 hour drive away.

It was a time of more relaxation than sightseeing. We were fortunate to be able to stay in the home of fellow GEM missionaries who live in a smaller community just outside of Wien (Vienna). While we enjoyed visiting this family we also had quiet time to read and take leisure walks through the town exploring and tasting the foods of Austria.

Two of the days we traveling by train and subway into the city and explored. It is a beautiful city and rich in history. Kristi loved seeing the locations where many famous composer preformed and lived. We even took in a orchestra concert at Musikverein (The Golden Hall) where every year they perform on New Years Day and it is aired worldwide. The music of this concert was of Strauss and Mozart. The website for the hall is at http://www.musikverein.at/

It was that time again for annual conference.  Every year we look forward to this time to reconnect with other GEM missionaries servicing throughout Europe.  Worship is with a great professional team from the states that serve in a week long mission to us missionaries.  This is a huge blessing to us.  Worshiping in our language is a moving and true worship experience.

It is encouraging to hear how God is moving in other countries and ministries.  We connected with those we had initially met when joining the GEM team to some new missionaries just coming to the field.

This year they had an evening of a talent show and also a night with the opening of the Olympics in Beijing.

Nick Vujicic In Timisoara

We did not get the chance to blog immediately following Nick's visit due to our annual GEM conference that took us to Hungary.  People have been asking and wondering.

It was a blessed whirlwind of a few days.  I thought a few of us were picking Nick and those on his team at the airport.  As we waited I did not see any cameras in the crowd, but as he rolled out in his wheelchair out popped video cameras in many directions.  Yup, it was big news in Timisoara. The newspapers had referred to him as a pastor living without limbs.  The first church service on Monday was packed with people standing along the side of the aisles.  That church can seat 2500. His message was powerful and the line afterward to greet and hug him took almost 2 hours.

The following day there was a press conference followed by a kind of townhall meeting with local professional regarding the state of living for those with disabilities here in Romania.  That evening he went to our church in Timisoara.  Yes, the one that had just built a ramp the two weeks prior to this visit.  God has great timing.  This church can only seat about 1200 people. Because of this it was overflowing into the front hall and 300 chairs in the basement with a live video stream there.  

We have been praying for a movement that the churches can reach out to this part of the community.  Please pray with us that maybe from these events the churches can provide special bible study and sunday school classes for as well as access to their general services.

Adoption Update

While we were preparing for the team from Highlands our lawyers office called our Romanian cell phone.  The phone call was to inform us that a birthmom was interested in talking to us. Within the next half hour we were on the phone talking to her for almost 2 hours.

The following day we heard again from the lawyers that she has chosen us as adoptive parents for her baby.  She is due to deliver a baby boy in early December.  We are in the middle of summer ministry and will be updating you more to our travel plans when the due date comes closer.

Thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for the baby and birthmom.

Successful Week

The ramp above was excellently constructed and a great example to the church body and also the whole community.

Highlands Church sent true servants to serve Betel church in Timisoara.  It was great to see their attitude of humility and partnership.  They came with a dual purpose to advance disability ministry in Timisoara, and to develop a true partnership with Betel.  It was great to see how the relationships developed between the churches.  God was truly with us.

Last week was FULL!  Full of things to do, people to meet, training - BUT most of all it was full of loving one another.  God worked out details of schedules and chance meeting of those He wanted to introduce to each other.  

He also allowed time to do a little sight seeing.  We traveled all of Thursday to see Hunedoara Castle, the fortress at Deva, and the Roman ruins at Sarmizegetusa.

The end of the day was at the home of Pastor Alex's parents in a village near Caransebes.  Here is a picture of Pastor Alex and his wife Nuti.  They are also the parents of Tania and Elias pictured in past posts in our blog.

Their hospitality they shared with us and the team this past week was a huge blessing.  Thanks Alex & Nuti.  

Thanks also to the whole team from Highlands - Matt, Mike, Joy, Doug, Missy, Katonna & Kelsey.  We appreciate all the work you did and your hearts you opened up to share to so many others.  We look forward to seeing you when we travel back to the states.  

Get the Current Update

Highlands Church in Scottsdale Arizona currently has a team here in Timisoara.  They have a blog that is being updated daily of their activity.  Check it out by clicking here.

God is working in some amazing ways.

Huge Evangelical Festival in Timisoara

Franklin Graham Festival of Hope was in Timisoara July 4th - 6th. This was during our travel to Suceava, but we heard great things from our friends who attended. There were over 1000 Romanians that participated by singing in a choir. The sun was shining with a little breeze to help cool it a little.

We received this information from Dwight Poggemiller.

Friday Attendance 19,283 # of Decisions 676

Sat. Children's Attendance 7,252 # of Decisions 1,476

Sat. Evening Attendance 22,662 # of Decisions 703

Sun. Evening Attendance 27,787 # of Decisions 1,067

Totals: Attendance 76,984 # of Decisions 3,922

Prior to this Festival on June 24 - 26h we were happy to take part in a wheelchair distribution connected with the Festival of Hope in Timisoara.

140 Wheelchairs were fitted, modified, and then given to those in need before the fesitval. Watch this short video below:
Click Here

Steve Carnazzo

Full Week - BLESSED!

This years Wheelchair Distribution for Joni & Friends in Romania was last week. There were three locations here in Romanian that had an American team and wheelchairs. We participated in the Suceava site, which is a community in the northeastern part of the country. The population is about 120,000 and is built on large rolling green hills. Beautiful countryside.

It was the first year that Joni & Friends Wheels For the World distributed chairs at this site. The church that hosted it was Filadelfia, and we found the Pastor, his family, and the church members some of the best people we have met. Suceava had a midwestern feel to it. The people were warm and friendly.

The week was a busy one as there were 91 chairs distributed and fit to those who came in need of a wheelchair. The church had some ramps and God had already placed a desire in this church family to reach out to those with disabilities.

Emil and his wife Simona were lovely people, and we enjoyed getting to know them throughout the week. We also had a barbecue dinner at Emil's parents home. Yum! There was so much good food.

Emil is a worship leader at Filadelfia, and is in a wheelchair due to a spinal injury. He and his wife Simona were at the church everyday and were great support to those who came for wheelchairs. Gordon, an American, and Emil shared the gospel and prayed with those who came.

Many close friendships were made and Steve and I look forward to the next time we travel to Suceava.

What a great place. - Kristi

Babysitting

Elias playing the lollipop drum.

Some of you might remember a blog we posted over a year ago about our language instructor who quit her job to take care of her newborn.  Well, this past week I had the chance to watch him while the rest of the family had work, vacation bible school, and appointments.  

Elias loves music, so we got along well.  I did discover that I need to increase my box of toys. Watching a toddler I had to pull lots of tricks out to keep him occupied and entertained for about 5 hours that day. Being an exploring little boy, he found the TV remote fun. Overall, the day was a joy and I'm looking forward to watching him again.

His sister, Tania, requested that I come back to their house to play and sing more sometime.

Kristi

Three T's in the Capital

Kristi (me, on the left) MT, Jenny (front center) a PT,

and Dawn (on the right) an OT

Jenny Lotter, Dawn Hoffman, and myself have been in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania for the past two weeks. Jenny is a Physical Therapist, Dawn an Occupational Therapist that specializes in SI, and I am a Music Therapist with SI training. We spent our time in a Rehab Center for Disabled Children. The first week consisted of 3 days observing of their PEC's program (Picture Exchange Communication), and then 3 days of training staff about Sensory Integration. The trainee group consisted of teaching assistants, psychologists, physical therapists, and a few staff from other facilities.

Group Picture of Center Staff who attended training.

The second week we stayed to work alongside the staff and put into practice the SI theory and techniques. It was amazing to see both the children respond positively, and the staff have many "ah ha" moments. Today was our last day there, and the staff expressed their gratitude and gave us an invitation to come back. Within the same building is an orphanage with many children that could benefit as well; however, we were not able to train the staff with these children, but continue to pray that the training that the PEC staff received will be communicated to them. Pray that this training will be multiplied in its effectiveness to touch more children that God Loves.

Tomorrow will be a day off and touring the city of Bucharest. I'm looking forward to going home on Saturday to Timisoara and seeing my husband!

Pricey

I have been reading and hearing about the prices of gas in the United States.  I knew that we have been paying over $5 per gallon over the past two years here.  However, I had never actually taken a receipt and converted the price to dollars, and litters to gallons until today.  Wow!  The last time we filled was May 17th and we paid $7.16 per gallon.

It doesn't seem to be slowing people down from driving.  We have noticed even in the past two years here that there are more and more cars on the streets and in parking lots.  This is making parking difficult.  It is also the reason one sees cars parked on sidewalks and blocking roadways and other cars in constantly.

After grocery shopping at Walmart in November, we were shocked at how much we got for the price; however, we purchased mostly canned and boxed foods that are not found in Romania. I imagine that prices on the staples are comparable. 

These are just a few of the prices listed in an advertisement flyer.   How do they compare?

$670   26" LCD HD Television

$3 Whole Chicken - per 1 Kilogram = 2.2 pounds

$5.43 Pork Roast - 1 Kilogram

$1 Flour - 1 Kilogram

$1.20 Sugar - 1 Kilogram

$1.3 Milk 1 Litter ($4.93 1 gallon)

$1.60 Eggs 10 (they don't sell in dozens here)

$3 head of cauliflower

$1.25 head of green lettuce.

Babies! Babies!

Emma and Baby Filip

Yesterday, I went to visit a former language instructor named Emma. She and her husband had a beautiful baby boy last January. It was the first time I saw their son, Filip Alexandru. He is a good little boy and SO adorable. It was nice to catch up with Emma, and also see what wonderful parents they are.

Last week, Steve and I visited another young family from our church who have a one year old son, Andrei. He has blond hair and clear blue eyes, and was a happy, ACTIVE little guy. We know a few other church members who have recently had children with one other couple currently expecting. It is a good place to be, when we as a couple are expecting without the pregnancy.

In our last newsletter, we announced our plans of adoption, but this is the first blog about it. We are in the waiting stage. We have completed all the steps of our home study, and are just waiting for the finalized social workers written report Then our lawyers, who are located in Indiana, will be showing our letter to expecting moms for them to make their decision of choosing us as the couple

they would like to raise their baby.

I don't have morning sickness, the cravings, and all the other pregnancy symptoms, but I think about this little one growing and wonder at what stage God has him or her. We are not just waiting on paperwork, but God's timing. Our future child could already be 5 plus months along in the pregnancy, or not yet conceived. So, in the mean time we wait while going forward with the daily blessing of opportunities God has given us to do in work where we are.

Kristi

(If you are an expecting mom surfing the web and considering placing your baby in an adoption plan, and would like to read our birthmom letter. Please contact our lawyers, who are in the state of Indiana. You can see their website and get their phone number by clicking here.)

Meeting of The Minds

The past few weeks have been filled with meetings. These have all required some travel. We began by traveling across Romania to Suceava. There we met with different Pastors and potential churches that could possibly host the Wheels For the World distribution of wheelchairs this coming summer. Sami Mitrofan was key in helping us with this process. All the meetings were helpful in deciding where to host the distribution, they all are great churches who are ready to serve the disabled community. Since only one spot could be chosen, we weighed careful how best to hold the distribution. In the end, we choose a site that was physically ready for 100 or so disabled visitors. They already have built ramps through out for they have a worship leader in a wheelchair, and recently they purchased a van from Germany to help transport anyone with a disability to church. We could not have done this without the help from Sami, a true friend of Joni and Friends ministries.

After returning to Timisoara we had two days to wash laundry and pack for our Romanian GEM team meeting.

This year the team traveled to the coast of Croatia at a Christian retreat center in the town of Crikvenia. This was a 9 hour drive from Timisoara. It was a time to plan and express team goals, as well as individual goals for reaching Romania with the Gospel. We feel extremely fortunate to be part of this great team.

As Steve drove our van back with other team members, I continued to travel down the coast with two single female missionaries, Dawn and Amy. We took three days to explore the beauty of Croatia. I highly recommend it as a travel destination! The city of Dubrovnik has a beautiful, intact fortress along the Adriatic Sea.  We also drove to and hiked in a National Park where we saw many waterfalls. You can see more pictures in our picture album.

I then traveled on with Amy to Italy where I volunteered to watch the GEM Italy teams children as they met for their team's strategic planning. This was held in Sorrento which is another coastal city. It is south of Napoli on the Almafi coast.

From our balcony you could see the lights of Pompei and Mount Vesuvius.

The kids were great and I was able to get to know the Italian team better.

As I return to Timisoara, I join Steve in a busy schedule of preparation for the summer to come. While I was off to Italy, he was working away at many existing and upcoming ministry events.

Tuesdays with a True Partner

What can I say about Iosif Blaj. He is a dedicated friend, an great repair man, but most of all a true ministry partner. Iosif and I are collaborating with Centrul Comunitar de Asistență Socială (The day center for the elderly). We go each Tuesday to work with the elderly in their homes, making repairs. In the same time, I look for ways to modify the homes to be more accessible and functional for them. If needed, I provide adaptive/medical from our friends at River of Life Ministries. It is a great way to fulfill James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father in this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

DEZINFECTED

Living in a different culture, life is always a little out of the ordinary. To be understood and to understand is a work in progress. It is one reason the life as a missionary is a full one. There is always something to learn or be taught. Always the next challenge to tackle. Just trying to use the bathroom calls for a little DEZcernment.

We had the privilege to attend a meeting with other Romanians who are working and ministering to people with disabilities. Joni and Friends has had contact with many of them through the years. This meeting brought them together to discuss how an alliance of everyones ideas could strengthen and empower each other to do ministry.

We met in Bucuresti, which was our first time in the capital city of Romania. It was a 9 hour train ride from Timisoara. We enjoyed our time there and have been asked to go back and present a workshop/training at a Rehab Center for children with disabilities.

My American Dishwasher

I had forgotten about dishwashers.  You can find them in the appliance stores here, but they are extremely overpriced in comparison with the States.  Also, taking into account that the kitchen space is much smaller it is rare to find one in a Romanian home.

Fortunately for me I have Steve!  While I cook he enjoys washing the dishes afterward.  Hey, check out cabinet above him.   It has a built in drying rack for the plates and glasses which is very  useful.