More thoughts on faith

I feel like these thoughts continue some of my early posts....

I am reading this book right now called Silence. Its about a missionaries journey and stay in Japan during the period when Christianity was illegel in the country. In the end the priest apostates his faith by stepping on an image of Jesus, b/c they government will continue to torture and kill Japanese Christains until he does. He is in btwn a rock and hard place. If he steps on the image he gives up his priesthood and everything his life is built around, if he does not many people will suffer terrible deaths. The priest struggles with what would Jesus do in this situation? What do you think He would do? What would you do? The book is intenese- they are themes of what does it mean to have faith, especailly faith when God is silent? (if you ever get a chance read it)

It makes me think that Christianity, althoguh a very simple faith in heart, is a very complex in action- sometimes it is easy for me to caught up in the 'theory of Christiainity' and my 'big' questions( ie what is more applicable evangelical or orthodox views?) But I realize that it does no good to get frozen by the question. My responsbility for being here is to be with God and to act His love and to be praying for Romania and the people here.

Thank you for reading, I know its deep, Just some food for thought over your day :)! Love you all!

Eating on the Danube

Hey everyone, just got back from traveling around Southeastern Romanian, seeing some sites.


This is everyone I live with. We are on a resturant boat on the Danube River. The Danube forms Romanians boarder with Serbia and Yugoslavia TOP PICTURE: Charity, Andreea, and me BOTTOM PICTURE: Charity (my roomate), Diane (shes assistant director of the foundation) Me, and Andrew.

They call something a hamburger that is not a hamburger.

I wrote this recently to a friend in an e-mail. I think it sums up best my time here...

"I wish i have more to say about my time here so far. I feel I havn't got to process all the changes yet. The people I work with are great, so I am excited to build stronger relationships with them. Sometime I miss home alot, when I realize that I won't sleep in my bed again for 8 months or little things like a really good hamburger will be hard to find around here. They call something a hamburger that is not hamburger.

But God is opening my eyes- in many ways I realize already that my life will be forever changed by this experience. In ways like- how much we have in American compared to the rest of the world- in materail possession, money and in power within our own government, to other view points of Christain (most of Romania is orthodox vs American evangelist protestant), how Christain are to interact with the world, to my own thoughts on what does it mean to follow Christ? What do you think about all this? "

I told you in my last post about what I was doing, but I feel like this sums up more how I am feeling.

Soccer, language, domestic violence campaign...

Yesterday I played soccer with some coworkers and a bunch of local kids. It was the first time playing since my injury. It felt really good! NuNu (excuse me I don't know how to spell Romanian names, so it will be my best guess) one little boy who we played with was so cute. He kept saying "its a goal" and "Katie" over and over and over again, because thats all the English he knew. I think he was alos suprised to see a girl playing that was half decent.

Its interesting with the language barrier, actions become so much more proment. A smile means, a high five, a hug so much more than it may otherwise. Most of the kids are just excited if you want to interact with them and be a friend, even if you do not have a fullly perspective on what is going on. Its suprised me how you can find other ways to communicate- Most of the older kids know at least conversational english which help alot too :) Some are eager to practice, others are a bit more shy about it. And slowly, I am picking up Romania here and there.

This weekend I attended a theater performance put on my a few of the IMPACT clubs for the local community. We took the maxi taxi ( a local public transportation system) to Utacon, a mining town further down in the valley. The performace was part of a campign agianst domestic violence. About 100 people mostly kids from the community. This is a really big deal for Romania, espeicialy the Jui Valley area. Nothing like this has been done, especailly by youth. And domestic violence is high in the valley, since it is a mining area and miners are known for being 'very tough'

Tomorrow I going to be diong some traveling to Southwestern Romania. This trip is mainly for pleasure just to see more of Romania, one of the supevisors, Diana has some business down in the local area, so she is bring me and the two other Americans here, Charity and Andrew with her. Charity is doing her socail work internship for Gordon College with the Foundation. Shes my roomate, she is cool! Andrew is doing a International Development internship for Calvin College.

I promise pictures are coming soon. I am having some technical difficults with the software for my computer.Thanks for reading- Love you all and miss you!

Addresses and info...

Okay so I wrote down the address a premature. Its a more complicated than I thought.

If you want to send letters or small flat envelopes:

Katie Van Gilder
Fundatia Noi Orizonturi
O.P. 1 C.P. 12
Lupeni 335600
Hunedoara, Romania

The best bet for packages is to Fed Ex or DSL them (local mail is not super secure, plus it involves a two hour maxi taxi ride for me pick up the package). The address would be

Katie Van Gilder
Foundatia Noi Orizonturi
B_Dul Pacii BO5 Et 3
Ap. 9, Lupeni, Hunedoara
Romania

Phone# 0721413609
Include my mobile phone number on the package so that they can reach me if I am not in the office.

If you want to contact me by phone the number from the states would be 01140721413609.

In Romania!

Hello everyone! I have arrived safe and sound in Lupeni, Romania. I have been here almost a week. Everything is new and still very exhilerating in an sense. I bought fresh fruit from phesants in the market for the first time. (Trei mere va rogue- three apples please) she responded by weighing the apples and saying some monetary amount at first I thought she was charge me too much by saying "sapte lei" (7 lei which is a little more than 3 dollars) the acutally price was 1 lei 70 bena (sp?) which is about a dollar. I held out 5 lei and she gave me change. Thankful she was an honest marketer (Some people will over charge me knowing I am a foreigner!). Money, langauge, culture...its all been a bite daunting but also exciting.

I just got back from Straja, that is the mountain I will be working at once summer comes. Straja towers over Lupeni as the second largest mountain in Romania. The views put a smile on my facce, Lupeni is a concrete city- not super scenic. But once up in the mountains it is so beautiful. I cannot wait until summer and spring for things to turn green, it will be that much better! The director of Viata Illea had to go up there to let some men install an alarm system into the Cabana (base area for Viata, ski hut in winter time). A few weeks back a theif broke in and stole a computer and skis! I decided to join Illea to see the mountains. We took a chair lift up the mountain.

Hopefully once I get my camera working I will be able to post more pictures!