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Tamyra Crossley's
Romanian Report
May 2003
At my last report I mentioned the frustrations we were going
through to get our visas approved. PRIASE THE LORD we now have
them and will have at least a few months reprieve before we have to start
the whole process over again! Each month I keep thinking I can’t possibly
get any busier, WRONG! Between moving, cleaning the old
house, the new house, cooking, laundry and the constant running for the bureaucrats
there just isn’t enough hours in the day. Just laundry alone is (almost)
a full-time job. The washers here hold about 1/3 as much as a
US washer
and take twice as long to go through the cycle. Using a dryer is really
not an option (far too costly) so everything has to be hung out, which sounds
simple enough. Unfortunately this time of year brings sudden rains and I am
sure I have entertained more than one villager with my mad dash out of the
house, yelling at any available kids for help to snatch up the partially dry
clothes. Brian surprised me one day by hanging laundry lines in an old
shed, I can now sit back and smile when the rain comes, knowing my clothes
will continue to dry! We are still a bit unorganized and as I begin
the sorting process I have to ask, was it really necessary to move (a bubble
gum wrapper, pieces of broken toys and the pile of lone socks!). Oh
well, I guess I should just be thankful that moving day is over and we are
here. We were able to at least get the two rooms (we are using
for bedrooms) painted and ready to move into. Brian and Marian built
some temporary shelves in our room to house everyone’s clothes and also built
me some shelves in the pantry (so I at least had a place to put food, and
kitchen supplies. We don’t have "hot" water but if you turn it on real
low you can get "lukewarm" (I am thankful ice cold isn’t the only option).
There is still much work to do on the place and everyday, everything
is covered in a layer of dust from the days work.
The children love the village and on any afternoon you will
see a gathering at our gate. I have been brought sweet gifts of wild
strawberries strung on a vine and flowers from the neighbor children.
One young lady in the village started calling me mom and now even the older
women are calling me mom. In Romania
the word for mom is mama and one Romanian said they probably think that Mom
is my name, (after all that is all they have ever heard me called).
It is a bit strange being called Mom by ladies that are old enough to be my
Mom, but it always brings a smile to my face and I don’t think at this point
it’s going to change. A neighbor has asked for our grass (to feed her
animals) which I was more than happy to give and was trying to figure out
how to get cut, in exchange for a 2 liter jug of cow’s milk every other day
(until her cow has it’s baby). Sounds good to me. Even with all
that needs to be done, we love the place and the village. It feels so
good to know you have a home!
We started meeting at 2:00
pm on Sunday afternoon and held the services outside last week.
I was shocked that only after two weeks we had 26 people at church (of course
11 of them are ours) but there was a good group of kids and some young people.
We decided to hold the services in the afternoon with the hopes that some
of those who live further away will be able to come and some of the village
kids that go to church elsewhere in the morning would come to our church in
the afternoon. It seems to be working well and we had a great time.
I was surprised when I heard later that day that the neighbor lady watched
the entire services through her fence and wants to come next week. You
just never know who’s watching!
I would appreciate your prayers in several areas. One,
we still have a lot of work to do on the house and will need the funds to
complete it. We are also in the process of trying to get the foundation
approved (and both Brian and I are pulling our hair out). We have also
had some real adjustments with one child in particular and she is rebelling
on a daily basis. Pray that the Lord would go before us, prepare the
way and grant us wisdom and a peace that passes understanding. Those of you
who do pray for us on a regular basis, thank you so much. I don’t know
that we could endure without it.
Love you all,
Tamyra
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