The end of the beginning

  Well, we have officially finished language learning with our professor.  Yay!!  Now we are to use what we know, learn from our mistakes and learn MORE vocabulary for when we are teaching the kids.  It has been fun to be more available to be with the kids and to be able to have real conversations to this extent.
  On our last day of lessons, our professor took us on a tour of Piața Unirii, Piața Universitate and Piața Revoluței.  It was very cool to see the beautiful old structures in this area.  She even schmoozed her way into an old bank that is now used as a corporate building.  I had no idea that the insides of the banks and other old buildings were done so beautifully!!  They are like old churches, with paintings and amazing designs.  Here are a couple of things we got to see and hear about on our "tour".

This is the opera house where orchestras give concerts.

Cool front doors on an old church we visited.

Old gravestone that has been restored.

Old, huge, beautiful bank that is now used as a corporate building.

HUGE old library.

King Carol on his horse & his library.

They didn't want to destroy the old part that was still standing, so they just added a new part to the top.

  We traveled down to the Boy's Transition House again this week and Josh was able to review a bit with the boys and speak to them more about jobs and money.  He is excited to be able to continue this with them and grow his relationships with the boys.
  Josh also sent in a proposal about beginning a transition/mentoring program with the older kids that are wanting to come into our Transition Program.  He is wanting it to be like an introduction to the program, showing them what they will be learning and what is expected of them in order to get into the program and to help them succeed after the program.  It will be a great tool used to help the kids better transition, as they have little structure now.  It is like culture shock for them as our program has a strict structure.  This will really help our programs and kids be more successful.
  We were able to visit the mountains again this month and were so amazed by all the beauty within Romania!  We hope to travel Romania during our vacation to visit and experience more of this breathtaking country.  Here are only a few shots of what we saw.

The view of Peleș Castle and mountainside.

Us at Peleș Castle.

An old fortress on the entire mountain top!

Cool shot of old cross on top of the mountain overlooking the town.

Us at Bran Castle. A.K.A. Dracula's castle.

The tiny secret staircase at Bran Castle.

Us in the courtyard at Bran Castle.

Bran Castle.

The actual "city gate" restored in Brașov.

An older lady walking down one of the smallest roads in Europe.

The Black Church...it was burned but not destroyed. The cement blocks just turned a dark color.

Us in the center of Brașov's piață, a German influenced town.

PRAISES:
- We have been healthy!
- We completed language lessons!
- Our amazing language professor.  She has taught us SO much.
- Our growing relationships with our kids

Prayer Requests:
- Baby hospital is out of quarantine, but we are in the process of renewing our contract.
- Our culture fatigue...the littlest things seem like a big deal and we don't want this in the way of God's work here.
- The boys in our Transition Program, as they have begun working in their village
- Our teams that will be coming over the next several months