Grocery Shopping

Today we went grocery shopping. We went to the Bizarr first, then two different stores. Something as simple as shopping to us, is difficult here. The Bizarr had tiny booths all over a large area. You look around and try and find the best price. There is fruit and vegetables, meats, cheeses, hardward, kitchen supplies, etc. You just have to look around. Not everyone sells things for the same price. One lady was sitting selling domestic chicken eggs. Stephanie bought 20 eggs from her. The lady had one cracked open so you could see the inside. You don't buy things here in dozens, but 10's. The stores were much different than we are used to. There were things we had on the list that we couldn't buy because they were not available. The Metro is like a Sams Club. One of the ladies there watched me like a hawk and followed me because I looked out of place. Eric was watching her too to see if she would talk to me or bother me. She didn't. I stuck close to Eric and Stephanie, but I did look around. It was an interesting experience.

BTW, the house that was purchased for the church for $2,000.00 dollars was purchased about 9-10 years ago. Now it would cost $30,000.00 dollars. There is no bathroom at the church, just an outhouse. When things settle down I may get some pictures down loaded.

The camp where we are staying is just beautiful. It is green and lush. Not like the brown Arizona dessert. We are liking it here. Skip is busy working on the bathrooms in the administration building. They all need different types of work performed. Walls and tile, etc. I made more cookies today for the 29 Americans that will come in a couple of weeks. Cooking food here is more difficult. EVERYTHING is made from scratch. Some ingredients are not available, so you improvise. Building is the same way. If Skip doesn't have a tool he needs, he makes it or improvises. Getting things done takes so much more time. I am not complaining. I am explaining. That is the way life is here. It is different for us, but we are flexible, no problem. Skip is great at improvising. It is one of his greatest strengths. So, we are busy doing various things to serve the Lord here. Having 29 Americans to feed for 10 days is a huge job. I am helping Stephanie prepare for that task. Measurements, groceries, desserts, etc. I am enjoying myself. Stephanie and I get along well and work well together. It is fun. The Lord is blessing us and we are enjoying serving the Lord.

TTFN,
Sheryl

Church

Today we went to church in the local village. It is one of the churchs that Eric started. They meet in a house purchased for $2,000.00. The attendance was lower today due to a holiday. Eric preached in English and Keith, another missionary, translated into Romanian. Keith and his wife Marla have 5 children. The children were excited to speak to someone in English. So, while there was singing for a 1/2 hour I took their 3 youngest children, ages 8, 6, and 4 out for an impromtu Sunday School lesson in English. We all had fun. We sang in English too. They were sweet kids and it was a blessing to be with them. Then we joined the adults for the preaching. It was nice. We had a good service. One of their boys picked a flower and gave it to me after church. I think I want to bring him home. :-)
This afternoon Edward, the camp director is going to give Skip and I on a tour. We are looking forward to that. Edward and his wife have a 4 year old daughter and are expecting another child in just over a month. They are sweet servants of the Lord.
TTFN,
Sheryl

Hi from Moldova

Hi,
Everything is going well. My asthma is doing fine, Praise the Lord. Skip is busy working on some bathrooms in the administration building. The camp we are at is green, beautiful and peaceful. It looks somewhat like Washington State. Although the trees are not as big. There are rolling green hillls. The weather is in the 60's in the daytime and 30's at night. We have been very comfortable. It is on 25 acres with 10 buildings. The buildings are sub-standard by American standards. They are just over 20 years old but look like they are 50 years old to Skip. Yesterday Skip went shopping in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. They went for toilets, sinks and sheetrock. Skip said it was quite an experience. There isn't one store to go to. They had to go to many different stores to get what they needed. He said the whole city was like a 29 mile Home Depot. It was challenging telling a Romanian/Russian speaking translator what he needed with nails, and supplies, etc. They had lunch at McDonalds in Chisinau. Skip liked the frys better here and in Frankfurt than in the United States. It took 2/3 of a day just to pick up supplies.

Meanwhile I took pictures of the camp, made another applesauce cake and assisted Stephanie with other small jobs. Today we planted some plants, checked out supplies and cooking ware etc. It is a big job to have 28 American's coming in three weeks. They have to be housed and fed. Skip is working on the bathrooms where they will be housed. Stephanie and I are working on the food and tea for while they are here. The American group comes in the day before we leave. They will be here to do more construction on the buildings in prepartion for the Bible school to start in September. There is so much that needs to be done. The Americans will be staying in the administration building. The bathrooms have to be finished, Skip is working on those. New windows will be put in next week. Also, radiators, for heat are being installed. Indoor/Outdoor carpet will be laid down too. Then Stephanie and I will do caulking and stuff and painting needs to be done. It will be very nice when it is complete.

Tomorrow we are going to the local village church. It will be all in Romanian. So, Skip and I will not be able to understand it.

Tuesday we are going to the bazaar to do some shopping.
So, there is an update from Moldova.
Love,
Sheryl

Arrived in Moldova

Hi,
We arrived safely in Moldova after nearly 24 hours of travel. That is, 24 hours from the time we left our house. Everything went very well. There were no glitches in our travel. It was an adventure, especially in Frankfurt. We didn't know where we were supposed to go in the airport, but we figured it out. Then, we met a sweet Moldovan Christian woman in Frankfurt. We traveled with her to Moldova. God provides. Good thing she knew some English. Then she got someone to translate for us. It was a blessing. She said she knew that I was a Christian because my face reflected what was in my heart. Praise be to God! She thanked us for coming to serve the Lord in her country. We could tell people were praying due to the peace we experienced. BTW-We are about 9 hours ahead of Phoenix and CAtime.
Skip is out working and I am going to help Stephanie prepare food to freeze for a group of Americans that are coming in a few weeks.
Thank you for your love and prayers.
TTFN,
Love,
Skip & Sheryl

The day has dawned, Moldova here we come!

Today is the day we leave for Moldova. We are ready, excited and willing to serve. Your will be done Lord. Use us for Your honor and glory. Help us be available to witness while traveling. Protect us, keep us healthy, and keep our loved ones safe in our absence. We serve an awesome God! We love you Lord and thank you for this opportunity. For us, it is an opportunity of a life time. After we are done serving, bring us safely back to our family. In Jesus name, amen.

Moldova

Well, we had a wonderful day of worship, teaching and fellowship on Sunday. Our pastor called us up to the front for both services and prayed for our missions trip. That was special! We had so many people hug us and tell us they would be praying for us. That was also very special! Then the prayer team gathered around me and prayed for us. God has provided what we need financially for our trip and while we are gone. We are trusting that He will provide when we come back too. I will go 3-4 weeks without a paycheck when I come back. With Skip's business you never know what work will be there. Trusting, trusting, trusting! He promises to provide our needs! Phil 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
After church we met K.C. and Dustin for lunch. It was nice to catch up to her before our trip. Then we went home and packed and packed and packed. At 5:00pm we went to a picnic, for Sunday school workers. We enjoyed more fellowship, food, hugs and offers of prayer. We got to tell people, in more detail, what we are going to be doing. In case you are wondering. We are going to a camp in Moldova to help prepare the facilities for Bible School, which will be starting in August. They are in the process of laying gas lines to run heat to the dormitories. Skip may be working on that or any number of other projects. I will most likely be helping Stephanie clean, plant or whatever else she needs.
Just in case you are interested, this is the fulfillment of a 30 year dream for Skip and I. We were in the same Sunday School class for two years, but didn't pay much attention to one another. We went on a 3 day short term missions trip to Counselor, New Mexico. WE NOTICED ONE ANOTHER, and a little over a year later we were married. We have always wanted to do short term missions trips. Skip is so talented in so many ways. He can fix anything. He can create beautiful things out of nothing. He can be an asset to missionaries. God can use him and Skip is willing. Now, we have the opportunity. We hope that this is the first of more missions trips to come.
Tomorrow we leave for Moldova. Lord use us as You see fit. We are your vessels. As we travel help us to be available to witness for You. Use us for Your Honor and Glory. Take us safely, and bring us back to our family in the U.S. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Doctor said I can go to Moldova!

I saw the dr. this afternoon. As I expected, he said I could go, as long as I am still improving. I am stocked up on medications and will be carrying two different antibiotics with me, just in case. I think we have all the bases covered. Now, if you all will pray that I can continue to get healthy and STAY healthy, that would be appreciated.

Jennifer is feeling pretty awful. She had an infected, impacted wisdom tooth pulled yesterday. Her face is very swollen on the one side. Poor thing. At least it got taken care of before we leave for Moldova. She is on pain medication and antibiotics. Thank the Lord her insurance is very good.

I can hardly believe that we have just 4 days until we leave for Moldova. My to do list is long and filled with a variety of activities this weekend. Each day I get more done and feel good and then think how much more needs to be done. I should be staying home with my nose to the grindstone, but there are things that need to be done outside the home too, including shopping for food for Jenn, picking up a couple of other items, etc. Plus laundry and packing. We began the packing list two weeks ago, so that helps. The next few days will be busy, but exciting too. This morning I did quite a bit before I went to work. My mind is on our trip. I got to work and had forgotten my water and my protein bar. Then I was on the playground for 15 minutes and realized I forgot to clock in. Oh dear! I think I am ready to take this trip. I remembered the important things for the kids though. Today we set off our volcano that we have worked on all week. So, I remembered the baking soda and vinegar. Those were the important items of the day. My loving husband brought my water and protein bar. The office manager signed me in manually. I was kind of a wreck when I started out, but the Lord covered my bases for me. I saw the dr. after work and went to Walmart, plus did a ton of paperwork at home and set up all the bills to be paid while we are gone. Quite a productive day. I think I shall shower and go to bed. Tomorrow is another full day. Goodnight!

One week until Moldova

Well, one more week and we will be in the air over the ocean headed for Moldova. It is hard to believe it is almost here. Only 4 more work days until we leave. Only a ton to do before we leave. Every evening we are planning, figuring, talking, preparing, etc. We are researching the dollar exchange for the Euro, the dollar exchange for the Lei. The Lei is the Moldovan currency. We have never traveled out of the country. It is interesting and a bit intimidating. So much to do. Day by day we will get it done. What a trip this will be. We are excited.

I see the doctor Friday regarding the asthma/bronchitis. I am assuming he will let me go. We need the Lord's wisdom to know which medicines and doses to get to keep the issues under control. I am doing what I know how and trusting the Lord for the rest.

We have received unexpected money from unexpected sources this past week. Wow, was that a surprise and a blessing.

I am hoping to update the blog while in Moldova. If that doesn't work I will be emailing Bryan Thiele and he will give updates.

Thanks for the love, support and prayers. Moldova-here we come!

16 Days until we leave for Moldova

Wow, Moldova is coming up fast. When I look back over the past 16 months I am amazed that it is almost here. We are amazed. Today, Skip and I sat down and started preparing the list of things we need to take. We need to check on the laundry facilities to figure out how much to take. Don't want to go over that 50lb. limit. I still cannot believe we are actually going. It will be soon. I also made a list of things that need to get done before we go. I am not feeling stressed about preparing. The stress I feel is over the financial issues. Making sure there is money available to pay the bills while we are gone. Setting up the bills on line to be paid while we are gone, etc. When we started praying about going to Moldova, 16 months ago, we had a nice sum in savings. Being gone 3.5 weeks was no big deal at that point. But, with the economy, Skip's business being slow, etc. the nice sum is a small sum. The Lord knows that too. From the world's point of view, for us to go may look foolish. But from God's point of view it is not foolish. God has provided the money for us to go and serve Him. We will go and serve Him in a foreign country and He will provide what we need to pay our bills at home. Satan has challenged us and attacked us. We will be obedient, and go, and trust the Lord for the outcome. It is very possible that when we get back Skip will need to get a part time job in addition to doing the business. Things are just too slow. We are trusting the Lord for that too. This past Monday we each got shots to prepare for Moldova. Skip got 3 and I got 4. We figure it is wise to protect ourselves from diseases that are preventable. So, not long from now we will be leaving the country for the first time in our lives. We are looking forward to serving the Lord and to the adventure.