We've ARRIVED!

Well,  as you've probably already gathered, we all made it to Romania safely. All of our bags even decided to join us--praise Jesus!

The flights actually went on without incident (albeit long), and we arrived without being too out of our minds. I can't even tell you how exciting it was to run up to my people in the Istanbul airport and give them real hugs for the first time since our training--I have seriously missed these folks. 

Last night we enjoyed a short briefing and dinner prior to getting ready for bed. What we thought would be a "quick to bed" evening actually turned into quite the team building activity as we (mainly the guys) tried to get a team member out of a bathroom that she had precariously locked herself into. We blame the door, not the team member. Through much trial and error (and I have to add, calm and patient men), our dear team member was set free--a night sleeping in the tub was just not part of God's will for her (for which we are quite grateful!). 

After about four hours of sleep (more or less for some folks), we gathered downstairs this morning to meet Marc (CTL intern from Bakersfield) and head out for a city tour of Bucharest. Though the sun was a bit scorching when the bus was stopped, we did enjoy the nice breeze and beautiful sights of the city as we ventured around this morning. 

This afternoon held a bit of free time (read: DUTCH BLITZ!) before we met up with our six little darlings from the Home of Hope apartment. We got to say a brief hello to the girls before Kim, Brandon, and I went with Bogdan, Delia, and Simona to check out the apartment and evaluate some of the current needs. 

While the rest of the team played with, sang with, and loved on the girls, we headed to IKEA to purchase some items that will prayerfully and hopefully aid in the functioning of the apartment. I particularly enjoyed catching up with Delia while meandering through the behemoth of a store. 

Upon returning from IKEA, we enjoyed some amazing food and a bit of team time. Now, we are all ready to crash--and by all, I'm fairly certain that about ten out of the twelve of us are already long gone. 

PLEASE pray that we can all sleep well tonight (now!) and wake up in His strength. I'm SUPER excited to head to church in the morning--one of my favorite things to do in Romania. 

Thanks for all your prayers so far! Please continue to pray especially that we'll see God's hand in all we do and we'll listen and be obedient to His voice. 

Te iubesc si Isus te Iubeste!