walking next to you...

once we arrived in cluj, we had a day to do laundry and off to camp! aura and i were invited to participate in a camp for romanian youth while i was in romania...it was fantastic. the term "youth" is different in romania...they consider you youth for a very long time. i am not certain as to why but that is just how it works. so, the age ranged from 14 to 30, which made for a very interesting time:) aura and i were given the task of translating! it was quite the challenge, a good one:) the camp was held in sucevita, a mountain community in romania.

it was a fantastic week. we were encouraged to build community and that worked wonderfully. we spent time together everyday, reading scripture, doing music, visiting monasteries, eating, praying, it was wonderful. i was reminded of why i love community so much! because we are called to love and to build relationship and it is so necessary. being up there, away from everything, my vision was very clear...brilliant. i mind was consumed with thoughts about tradition. i love it, but not when it is empty and as we went to the different monasteries, i witnessed a great deal of emptiness. i love the different church traditions we participate in as followers. but i want to participate in these things as a result of the beckoning love of our Father, not unmotivated ritualism. that is something i saw throughout the country... a lack of spiritual motivation. so anywho, here are a few photos from our time at camp:)

group photo:)
these photos are from sucevita monastery. it was built between 1583 and 1601 and it is just beautiful. it has been wonderfully preserved...the coloring is just beautiful. restoration is currently taking place on the walls inside...




more photos of monasteries and other neat happenings soon...

after a couple days in bucharest, aura and i took a trip to cluj to visit the family. bucharest is ok, def not my favorite place in the world. cluj is pretty terrific...i am glad i can call it home:) this year was a little different from the last because it rained almost the entire time we were there...but no worries, we had tons of fun with the family. i have the cutest cousins. when i first met them, they were a little shy, but aura and i managed to break them out of their so called "shells":) i remember the first time i met them and can i just say, it was instant love, they did not need in any way to convince me, i just loved them. they are so sweet and full of kisses and just terrific:)

cousin chris...
us and the cousins
aura, me, cousin and husband:)
and cousins:)

our last night in eretria was pretty terrific...
we were lucky enough to snap a few photos with the lovely brown ladies...:)
the isthmus in corinth...

the greek flag...i like it.
athens in the evening...terrace view
me and aura after a very long day at the acropolis...:)
on the way to the acropolis...
athens
the propylaea...
a nice street somewhere in athens...


athens was interesting. there are many unpleasant things about the city but when you find yourself at a place like mars hill, perhaps the acropolis, or even the temple of zeus, it is not so bad. before leaving for romania, aura, myself, and a few of her teammates headed into athens for a few days. we were able to visit a few places, some listed above, that i only hoped to see some day. it was pure delight visiting these places...



oh, what fun:)

on a delightful trip:) our bungalows
a nice walk to the beach...in greece
greek owls are pretty neat:)
enjoying dessert with two lovely ladies:)

i am thinking greece this summer is a terrific place to begin since it was such a wonderful experience. i was there with my big sister and a group of fun people and we had a neat time. we spent the first nine days or so in a town called eretria and this place has history...google it if you are interested:) it was just delightful. we stayed in bungalows walking distance from the aegean sea. i spent most of my time in eretria playing with five and six year olds and yes, it was fun:) we played dress up and swam in the sea. the kids, parents, the community were beautiful...

night time in greece

memorizing becoming more difficult...:)
my first day in greece:)