We made it....

After traveling for 25 hours, we made it to Timisoara. Steve and Kristi Carnazzo met us at the hotel and after freshening up we headed out to dinner. It was 11:30am Arizona time, but 9:30pm Romanian time. Pastor Alex and his wife Nuti (pronounced Nootsy) met us for dinner. The restaurant typically closed at 10:00 but they are friends with Alex and Nuti, so they stay opened an hour and half past closing for us...it was a great dinner and great company! We went back to the hotel and went to bed at 11:30 (1:30pm AZ time) We hadn't slept in 33 hours!

This morning we got up at 8:30 and had breakfast as a team at the hotel. Steve and Kristi met us for breakfast and brought Andy LeBreche and Dawn Ellenbaas with Greater European Missions. We had a brief welcome and orientation to Romania. They went over subtle nuances that we might want to be aware of while visiting. Some of the tips they gave us were so funny to us. Words that we use in America have totally different meanings in Romania. Our cultural mannerisms, that are second nature to us, could be construed very differently in Romania. It is amazing to all of us how often we do and say things that we aren't even aware of doing. It is hard and funny to try to change ingrained mannerisms.

After breakfast, we headed over to Betel Baptist Church and got to work! Mike, Doug and Matt went directly into the bathroom and checked out the area, started measuring and drawing up plans. Missy, Kelsey, and Katonna started painting a hand rail in front of the church. Joy headed off to the grocery store with Kristi to get the fixings for our lunch. When they got back, Joy jumped right in and started helping us paint. She said the grocery store was very different from the ones in the states. After getting half the railing painted we needed to stop because a guests were starting to arrive for a wedding, so we got to go on a walking tour around Timisoaura. We had a wonderful Romanian guide, she was one of Steve and Kristi's Romanian teachers when they arrived. We visited a Catholic church that as built in the 1700's and took 38 years to complete. I will post a picture later. It was very ornate and fascinating.

After our tour, we headed to dinner. The nine of us had dinner on top of a building near the Town Center. The view was great and so was the food. We had so much fun talking and laughing. It has been a great couple of days in Romania. We are headed to bed, it is 11:00pm. (1:00 pm Az time). Tomorrow we have a big day. We will start by going to church at Betel. And finish by attending an evening service in a nearby village. It will be fun to see the differences.