Work Break... Day Trip

When the professor comes to visit they take the interns on a day trip. Dr. Nelson and Mario took us to a  salt mine first. After that we went to a painted monastery and then an egg museum. We rented a van to get around. We traveled about 3 hours outside of Iasi. 

Mina Cacica

We toured a salt mine! Look at all the salt. There was so much! Shadow would have loved it. There was also a ton of stairs. We went far down- 600 meters. It seemed far because of all the stairs! Katelyn counted 192 steps from the Orthodox chapel and up! Going down wasn't bad but going up was a work out. We didn't even count all the steps before the Orthodox chapel. I'm guessing I went down and climbed over 500 steps.

The Catholic chapel. This was the first place we saw.

The Orthodox chapel. On the way back up this is where Katelyn started counting.

Dr. Nelson and his son Josh.

Jesus Christ and Mary

This is at the bottom. The farthest we went down. A little pond with a crystal fountain in the middle. There was a place to play soccer and basketball. I guess on the workers break they had some fun!

Dance floor! I think they ate here too.

Water with crystals on the outside!

Beautiful view

Busy Day

The orphanage was a bit stressful. I knew Mario and Dr. Nelson were coming into my room at some point so I knew I had to keep the kids under control. It just so happened that they came in at the worst possible time. Denisa was going crazy and climbing everywhere. And Andrei wasn't being any better. I had put him in the crib because he wasn't being good and he was in the middle of climbing out when they walked into the room. I think Mario knew he was a trouble maker cause she said something about it. She also brought up when Denisa fell and hit her head. She was either leaning against me and I moved and she fell and hit her head or she slipped on my pants. The worker said she did but I don't really think so. Either way Mario told me that I need to be more careful. It's not like I'm not careful. I would say I'm more careful with the kids then the workers are. Anyways, Josh made animal balloons for the kids. They had a good time with those.

After the orphanage I had lunch with the Sora's and Andreea. This was the last time I saw Sora MacDonald before she left for another part of Romania. She has blessed my life is so many ways. She has inspired me and taught me valuable lessons about what matters most. She has befriended me and always showed me kindness. I am truly blessed for knowing her and I am so grateful so was a part of my life.

Sarahy, Katelyn and me showed Dr. Nelson, Josh, and Mario around hospital. We took them to the 2nd, 5th and 7th floor. Marion and Eliana are on the 7th floor. We spent a good amount of time with them. Marion we let color, play with play dough and blow bubbles. That kid has a huge imagination! He is so talkative and funny. Eliana wasn't feeling too well so we didn't really stay in her room for awhile.  The three of us also took them to see Gheorghe and Mr. Girl. Dr. Nelson loved Mr. Girl! Mr. Girl was just so happy for him. He was smiling a ton. I think Mr. Girl liked all the attention. On the way out of the hospital we took them to see a really small baby on floor 2. The baby ended up not being there anymore but there was another baby. After spending some time with this baby we ended our day early and headed to the Metropolitan cathedral to attend a service with Mario and Dr. Nelson.

This is Marion

I went to a service at the Orthodox church with Mario and Dr. Nelson and his son Josh. I liked going with Dr. Nelson and Mario because they could tell us about what was going on. I was very impressed with how Dr. Nelson knew! I feel like what I saw at the service was very similar to what I saw the first time with Chelsea. We waited in line to kiss the hand of Parascheva. I learned that the chest/ box to the side of Parascheva has bones/ remnants of saints. I think that is a little weird. After waiting in line we stood watching the priest perform some service for what seemed like an hour! I don't know how the Romanian Orthodox's stand for so long. I was so tired by the time we were done.

After the service we went to dinner at Bolta Rece with Dr. Nelson and his son Josh. This restaurant serves very traditional Romanian food.

Borş. It is a type of soup.

I had sarmale and mămăligă.

Us being proud girls, thought we could walk our way back home. We thought for sure we knew how to get home! Well little did we know, we actually had no clue. We took a taxi from the Metropolitan Cathedral to the restaurant but it wasn't a very long ride. So after we told Dr. Nelson and Josh bye we started walking... in the wrong direction. After about walking for 30 minutes or so we gave up and took a taxi home. At least we were adventurous! 

"Fill your minds with truth. Fill your hearts with love. Fill your lives with service." -Thomas S. Monson

Professor Nelson Arrived

This morning I read President Monson's talk See Others As They May Become. President Monson said, "We must develop the capacity to see men not as they are as present but as they may become."I really like this. I need to see people as they may become, especially the kids here in Romania! These kids have so much potential. I know they have so much to offer this world. These kids can teach people so much if they just let them in. Despite everything they have been through, from the health limitations to the disabilities, they have they have overcame them all. The children are examples to me of what people may become.

At Church today I met a new member.  Her name is Claudia. She is very nice and speaks excellent English. She translated Sacrament meeting and some of Sunday School. She has been away on vacation for the holidays and also was taking care of her grandma for awhile too. That is why I haven't seen her until today. She is very sweet and I hope to get to know her better! Church was good. Katelyn gave a talk on agency. She did an excellent job. The lesson in Sunday School was on the atonement. And Relief Society I can't seem to remember, whoops. How bad is that. I guess sometimes when I can't understand that much of it my mind wanders a bit. I should try to pay better attention to the words the translator is speaking.

After church I took a nap. Naps on sunday are the best. I must of been really tried because I slept for a long time. Sarahy, Katelyn and me seem to always have group talks on sunday. We end up talking about everything going on. How we feel, what we are worried about, how we are doing emotionally, what we like, what we are excited about, just everything. We confide in each other. It is a time where we share and lean on each other for support. I know my experience is going to be different then everyone else's, but I have realized that Sarahy, Katelyn and me are all normally feeling similar things. It helps me and I think them too when we talk about. The three of us have been able to do so much. More than I thought. I devote my whole day to this cause. The desire to serve these kids is what is keeping me going. The love I have for each of those children is allowing me to put my whole heart into this experience.

One of the professors from BYU overseeing the program arrived in Iasi tonight. Someone from the program comes every semester to visit the interns. This time Professor Nelson and his son Josh came. That night we met him and Mario at Little Texas. Little Texas is a Mexican restaurant in Iasi with very good food! It did taste different than Mexican food I have had before but I liked it. Dr. Nelson also got us the best apple pie I have ever tasted for dessert. The pie came with vanilla ice cream too. The restaurant plays country music which I really like. I haven't been to any places in Romania that play country music besides this one. With the music in english and the menus too, it felt very music like a restaurant in the US. It also helped seeing familiar faces.

Dinner Party

Earlier today I worked on homework. I am so proud of myself for getting some stuff done! It wasn't much but I at least started one of my cultural proofs paper! And updated my time and language logs.

That night the Sora's came over for dinner. Sister MacDonald is getting transferred to another part in Romania so we invited them over for dinner so we could spend some time with them before she leaves. Sora Moulton is staying here. She only has one more transfer left on her mission before she goes home.  Andreea and Genena also joined us for dinner. They spent most of the day with us. Katelyn and Genena went to a fabric store in Iasi to get some fabric so we can make the girls flower for their hair and maybe some headbands too. Andreea stayed the night last night so she just stayed at our apartment all day. Sarahy wasn't feeling so well so last night Aurelia and Andreea came and visited her and stayed the night. For dinner we had some mexican pasta dish. I can't remember exactly what it was called but it was good. After dinner the Sora's shared a spiritual thought. Sora Moulton talked about letting your light shine. That as we are here in Romania we are all examples. We need to make sure our light is shinning. Sora MacDonald talked about how their is opposition in all things. Sora Moulton also told me a lot about her experience here in Romania. She told Katelyn and I how she thought about Romania a lot when she first got home. She said it impacted her life so much. We asked her how and she said in every aspect. She learned so much. She learned more about the importance of having families and the love that is accompanied when you serve. She said in so many ways it is like a mini mission. I think so too. It was great to hear from her that this experience affected her life so much. I hope it does the same for me.

After dinner I watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower with Sarahy and Andreea. I didn't really like the movie. After the movie I went into my room and watched Wreck it Ralph before I fell asleep.

Wreck it Ralph. The cutest movie ever. It really touched me or I could just be super emotional right now, either reason I cried. Probably way more than a normal person would during this movie.

Vanellope- "I made it for you."

Vanellope- "You know you could just stay here... You could be happy"
Ralph- "I'm already happy, I got the coolest friend in the world."

Ralph- "But I gotta say, the best part of my day is when I get thrown off the roof. Because when the Nicelanders lift me up, I get a perfect view of "Sugar Rush", and I can see Vanellope racing. The kid's a natural. And the players love her, glitch and all, just like I knew they would. Turns out I don't need a medal to tell me I'm a good guy. Because if that little kid likes me... How bad can I be?"

It is a Lazy Kind of Day, but with Pizza!

Lets just say I had a very lazy afternoon and night. My afternoon consisted of watching tv. Not the best way to spend an afternoon, I know, but it felt so good to relax! It was so nice to sit down and just do nothing for awhile. Very relaxing and just what I needed. This morning I went to the orphanage. The day was good. It seemed kind of long but it was good. Toward the end of the morning I started building with blocks with Teo, Denisa, and Mirela. I would build the blocks up high and Teo would knock it over. She thought it was so funny and loved knocking the tower over. Oh and I also learned that I can't put the little babies on a mattress on the ground. If they are around 2 or older then it is okay for them to be on the mattress which is on the ground. The workers don't really like them being on the actual ground though. Today Florin was crying in the crib out in the room. I didn't want to hold him the whole time so I pulled a mattress out and put him on the mattress. When the worker Christina came back into the room, she freaked out. She said something about not putting him that close to the ground, that he will get sick and that the doctor won't like it. It was the weirdest thing ever. I do not understand why they don't like the kids to be on the ground or why Florin, who is about 9 or 10 months old, can't be on the mattress. She told me Florin and Mihai can't go on the mattress on the floor only in the crib. I felt really bad that I put him on the mattress but I didn't know he couldn't until today. I think it is really weird but I guess they don't. 

That evening Sarahy suggested calling pizza hut and having them deliver pizza to our apartment. We were all too scared to call so we asked Andreea if she would call and order the pizza for us and give them our address. Well when she called, they told her they can't deliver to us. Something about us being out of their boundaries, which is so strange because we are so close to 2 Pizza Huts. Anyways Andreea insisted on going there and picking us up pizza. None of us wanted her to go get pizza for us when we were perfectly capable of going and getting some, but Andreea was very insistent and we finally gave in. The pizza she brought was very good, some pepperoni and a meats pizza. She is one of the sweetest people I know. She is always doing stuff for us. She gives us rides home. She does our dishes when she is over. She is just a very giving person. I never see her thinking about herself. She also brought over the best chocolate ever! The chocolate was heavenly. The chocolate is called Merci.

Aurelia came over with Andreea and we ended up playing a card game. It is like war but with a little twist. It is a fun game. I had a good night!

And I also received a letter from Tiffany! It made me so happy to see an email from my dad with the letter from Sister Bradford attached! Hearing from her made my whole day. I miss her so much. I'm glad I can write to her while she is on her mission.

Day Full of Love!

I had the cutest little Valentines! 

And did I mention I probably had over 20 Valentines! They were perfect.

"A child enters your life and fills a place in your heart you never knew was empty."

I also got to talk to this little cutie and my parents! What a treat to be able to talk to them. I am so grateful for technology. Without out it, there is no way I could talk to my family halfway across the world. Too bad I couldn't get a cookie through the screen

The 3 of us are definitely guided as we go through the hospital. We always seem to spend the perfect amount of time with all the children and manage to visit all 8 floors in three hours. Today for Valentines Day we bought chocolate and gave them to the kids in the hospital and some of the moms too! Here in Romanian only the young adults celebrate Valentines day today. The Romanian Valentines day is the 24th of February.

There is a lady in the ICU with her baby who is the sweetest. She knows English and will talk to us. She asks us questions about ourself and tells us about her. She has also been in the hospital for awhile too. I hope she will get to go home soon. Today she offered us pizza. It was so nice of her. I had an indescribably feeling come over me when I was holding one of the babies. It was the most comforting, peaceful feeling. It was an answer to a prayer. I know that what I'm doing is good. At this time in my life this is where I am suppose to be.

The orphanage today was filled with so much love! Everyone seemed so nice. Not that people aren't nice on other days but today felt especially nice. The mood was just so good! Everyone was happy. The worker in my room, Ana, got a surprise bouquet of flowers! It was beautiful! Her face was priceless. She was so excited and just happy. A lot of workers from other rooms came in to see the flowers. I guess news travels fast in the orphanage. The other worker in my room, Simona, was making some really cool stuff with play dough. She made a really cool flower and also made a flower ring for Teo. She is very creative! Ana, the kids, and me also played with bubbles for awhile too. It was a great day!

Institute was taught by Andreea. She did an excellent job! This quote by Richard G. Scott sums up what I learned, "Your agency, the right to make choices, is not given so that you can get what you want. This divine gift is provided so that you will choose what your Father in Heaven wants for you. That way He can lead you to become all that He intends you to be." Heavenly Father knows best in agency. He knows what will make us happy. By choosing what Heavenly Father wants than we can reach our potential and become everything we can be. She also used another really good quote by Thomas S. Monson, "Be loyal to the royal within you." This made me think of the block I had in my room that said, "Remember who you are. Knowing who you are changes what you do." I think we can be loyal by remembering who we are- children of a Heavenly King. If we remember who we are then we can realize the potential we have. It is a way we can be loyal to the royal within us.

Life's a Happy Song

"Everything is great. Everything is grand. I got the whole wide world in the palm of my hand. Everything is perfect it's falling into place. I can't seem to wipe this smile off my face! Life's a happy song when there's someone by my side to sing along."

Sarahy started playing this song monday after the orphanage. It is so fitting. I can't seem to wipe this smile off my face! We decided to make it our song for this Romanian adventure. Today was a good day! At the orphanage I played with play dough with Teo and Mirela. I am so happy that Denisa likes me. She comes up to me all the time. My first day in the orphanage she wouldn't even play with me. She wouldn't dare let me hold her. Now she wants to be by me all the time. Andrei was having a hard day. Every little thing seemed to upset him and make him sad. I can't remember the workers name, how bad is that! She was good with Andrei. When he was misbehaving she put him on his bed. Most of the workers don't do anything. I liked that she did that. She was a bit more rough with the kids. She uses a louder voice and doesn't put up with anything. It just reminds me that everyone is different. I can always tell that the workers love the kids though, no matter how they interact with the kids. Their job doesn't pay well so I would think they wouldn't still be there unless they liked the kids! All the kids love motor boat. I was doing it to them one at a time right before "masa" (lunch). They finally somewhat understand turns. They allow me to give all the kids a turn without crying. They know they have to wait. Right before I left, a different worker came into the room. Teo loves this worker. She always goes to her. I was saying "pa" (bye) to all the kids and giving them "pups" (kisses) and hugs when the worker that just walked in said "kiss." Teo then said "kiss." It was the cutest thing ever to hear her say kiss! She said it a couple times and I just couldn't get enough! She is so adorable.

Pictures from the hospital!

We call this baby Mr. Girl. Before we changed this baby's diaper we were for sure it was a girl. Isn't this just the cutest little girl you have seen! The first time we saw this baby it was dressed in pink and had a pink binkie. We thought for sure it was a girl, but we were wrong.

Gheorghe had a photo shoot!

Andreea

Sarahy and me sitting in the crib. If the rooms are really full and there aren't enough beds for all the moms, the moms stay in the cribs with their baby.

Gheorghe doing sit ups!

Eliana is so funny! She is so cute.

A good thought to end with, remember to enjoy the journey and not focus on the finish line even with the little things we do every day.