Snow, Ice & MORE SNOW!

  Lots and lots of snow and ice.  That is what this winter has brought us recently.  The beginning of our winter was pretty mild...until now.  It has been so pretty but a pain as we live further out from the city and have to try to make our way in for language lessons.  Thankfully, we have stayed warm, with food, water and electricity (for those who have worried)...and we only had to miss one language lesson as the first foot of snow came all too quickly.  You know, although we grew up in the mid-west with snow, it has been awhile since we have had THIS much with these temperatures!  It is bad when you are excited for the weather to be in the 30's!  : )  Josh was sick, so I shoveled...it did not STOP during this entire day.  I had to go back over what I had already done because it was snowing so heavily!  Here are a few pictures from our home and in the city...look for the hidden cars buried under all the snow!! 

The snow pile was up to my waist when I finished!

View from our bedroom window. 

Mila in the dog house, before I started shoveling.

Mila NOT in the house, after I finished shoveling!

The hidden cars!!

The tramvai, nasty roads and more hidden vehicles.

Josh & I on our way to language lessons, in front of a snow covered car!

Us with Marian in the snow.

  Here, they use sand instead of salt on the roads and sidewalks which makes it IMPOSSIBLE to walk through the city, especially with 2 inches of ice underneath!  It has been crazy but makes for a good laugh when we almost fall or almost push someone else down.  Also, it is so cute to see the city kids coming from school all bundled up or on a sled that their parent or grandparent are pulling behind them. 
  After lots of shoveling in just over a week, we finally were able to get back to our kids!  The babies unfortunately are still under "quarantine" at the hospital, as we have heard chicken pox are being passed around.  We were told that about half of the babies have been put into foster care homes over these last couple of weeks.  This is good news, except that we may not see them again.  It is good if this is true so they can receive more attention, care and love that they need to develop into healthy little boys and girls.  We are hoping to be able to go back soon to love on those babies that are still there!
  With our language learning...we are more than half way done!!  The countdown has begun!  We have learned so much and have begun to really use it more and understand better what others are saying.  This has been a great feeling to know that our minds have been stretched and it is just another way that we have seen God use us here in Romania!  We are getting really excited to be finished with lessons so we can spend more time with the kids and use what we have learned on a more regular basis and get into our ministry areas.  Josh translated his first lesson for teens about dreaming.  It was awesome when he presented it to the teens at the end of the year party, but now it is SO much better because he does not need a translator.  I also translated my first children's book to use at Gredinita.  It has been so cool to use what we have learned and put it into our ministry.  We are looking forward to doing more of this.  : )
  We hope you all had a good Valentine's day!  We celebrated here with several married couples from church with food, games, a book exchange and a marriage conference video.  It was awesome to hang out with them and get to know them better.
PRAISES:
- God has kept us all safe on the roads and has blessed us with warm homes, clothes on our backs and food in the fridge
- For the break through with the language
- For awesome friends and family who love on us and support us from far away
- For building relationships here with staff members and married couples in the area
Prayer Requests:
- Continued health for Josh and all staff...and that I may continue to stay healthy when others are not
-  For those that do not have homes or money for food during these harsh winter days and nights
- For our kids, that they are safe (wherever they are...foster homes, orphanages, or hospitals) and feel God's love from those around them