lots of laughs and lasts

It’s the Vee again. It has been a week of lasts for us. On Sunday we said our Good-byes to the children of Sabolciu although it was raining the kids still came out to greet us. We were unable to do a large group children’s church but we went into the homes and worshiped with the children and played inside games. It was quite refreshing as they are so much more behaved in that environment instead of the half completed Children’s Center (I believe It’s like having church outside for them).

We also did our last Campus Bible Study and Craft Club this week. The groups are dwindling a bit because many of the girls have had opportunities to travel including my Eva. We still had a lovely time with the girls we had and for once the VeeBees completed a craft project for ourselves. The Bee’s have all agreed that we want to spend every spare second of these last 5 day at CP2 just hang out with our new young friends that will forever be in our hearts.

The Minor’s Center Ministry had many first for us this week. On Tuesday, we went on our own as our friends that we partner with, Pat & Joy Hardin, were unable to make it. I think it was the hardest thing we had to do the whole trip. Not because it was anything different, but that we were getting pounded on…Both Bee’s were under the weather and since we were doing one of the VBS days that we already prepared for Sabolciu we thought we had everything…but we didn’t. The notes for the lesson were missing, so I had to wing the teaching. Everything turned out ok and God was glorified, but we were exhausted. As we were leaving, one of the workers told us that some of the new girls that were there and been freed from men that stole them. I believe they were working the streets, got picked-up and brought to Children’s service. It’s been heavy on my heart since then and when we return today I was told by the Hardin’s that all of the 5 teenage girls were brought there because of prostitution (and most of them not willing prostitutes.). It is sad that there is not more we can do for them and since it was are last visit to the Minor's Center all we can do is pray. I know that prayer is a big thing that we all can do but it doesn't seem to be enough with situations like these. We have been blessed to see a lot of good work happening here for the kingdom and it is great to be a part of it, but we are also reminded everyday how cruel life is for so many children. Please pray for them…God knows their names.

Rested and Back in Ministry!

Sue (The Vee) here...

It brings so much joy to my heart to watch the relationships being built between the Bee's and the girls of CP2, as well as the children of Sabolciu. When we arrive at Sabolciu for VBS, it's exciting to see the children run to greet us and with hands held tightly, walking down to the chapel. You can see the love the girls have for these children all over their faces. As a whole group, these children can be quite overwhelming, but when the Bee's individually work with them with their crafts you can see a gentleness in their spirit.

Since returning from camp, the girls of CP2 seem to want to spend every moment with us, on top of us at our house. As soon as they enter the house for Bible study, they run into the room and climb into the Bee's bed. (And hog the computers!) Bible studies are filled with enthusiasm and questions. and it seems like they're making more crafts for us, instead of themselves. Since four out of the six girls that have been coming for crafts&Bible study are aging out of CP2, it's incredible to see the Bee's come along side me in my desire to find these girls a home in a Godly environment.

Now it's time for the Bee's:
If camp wasn't enough nature for Chelsea Burt, Sue and Ali Bee decided to drag her along back into nature. This time there were no safety harnesses for her to cling too. We joined 6 of our Romanian homies, and 2 CP2 girls (see this is ministry) for a hike into the mountains an hour outside of Oradea. Our trip began with a 7 AM train ride, followed by an hour walk on the tracks, where Chelsea found all of the dead frogs of Romania. After the uneasy, ankle twisting walk on the train tracks, we found ourselves in a cave...which was the only place in Romania with air conditioning. After climbing slick stairs and uneven ground, water rushing below us, and clay dripping off of the walls around us, we finally made it out...I mean, we really enjoyed it's beauty....Anyway,

Click here for more pics

after making it out, we stopped for some lunch. Then we decided to take a real hike, the steep, muddy, I'm going to slip to my death kind of hike to see a quaint and beautiful, yet not what the picture showed, waterfall. It was nice and refreshing, and soon Ali Bee decided to rock climb to the top so she could get in the middle of the waterfall. It was magnificent, or so I've heard. The water in the pool was crystal clear with a hint of blue, but also freezing. After the waterfall, we journeyed back on the train tracks searching for the infamous yellow dot trail. We thought we found it, and we risked our lives up a mountainside full of slippery rocks, just to realize that the trail did not exist. Or had existed 10 years ago, because all that was left was a bunch of overgrown weeds and trees on the way down the mountain. Okay, so it wasn't really a mountain. Sue says it was only about 10 meters, but that was one heck of a 10 meter slippery slide on our butts, downward. Ali Bee taught Chelsea how to do the backwards turtle crawl. If you don't know what this is, Ali Bee will be holding a seminar when we return. Anyway, Chelsea Bee found some more dead frogs on the train tracks, but good news followed. We met an old man, shirtless, with blue running pants who pointed us in the direction of the REAL yellow dot trail. Ali thought he was a creeper, but turns out he was Romanian Map Quest man. This hike was much better than the first. It was more scenic as we strolled alongside the river bed until we found our way back to the tracks. The yellow dot trail really started to pick up right across the tracks, up a "REAL mountain" as Sue says, but Chelsea took one look and said, "NO way". So we decided to take the tracks all the way back to the train station, where we took the next train (which arrived 2 and a half hours later) back to Oradea. While waiting for the train, Ali and Chelsea, with the help of Eva, found some more gypsy kids to entertain. But they were quickly shooed away by the train station manager for making too much noise. Chelsea and Ali that is, not the kids....okay, just kidding.

One last adventure that doesn't really pertain to the children, but goes along with the Facebook album, "What the VeeBee's Do When No One is Looking" is what we encountered yesterday after the pool. So here's the story, all about how my life got twisted upside down...sorry, Fresh Prince attack...back to the story. So we filled it, so the gas tank is completely full, and we headed to the pool. It was cloudy, so we had the pool ALLL to ourselves. After 3 hours of cloud bathing and swimming, we ventured out to our vehicle to find none other than a river of gasoline spread around the car. Gasoline that costs $7 a gallon. Needless to say we were slightly aggravated. BUT, since our Bible study the day before pertained to suffering and endurance through trials, we giggled about the fortune lying on the side of the street. Using Google Talk, we texted Mr. Bee (Ed Behrens). His response was, "Just find an Auto Zone, or stick a twig in the oil tank". I think he forgot we were in Romania, funny guy. So we were standing on the side of the street far away from our car.. Because every European smokes... While Chelsea Bee is selectively asking for help from attractive Romanian boys who drive nice cars. It was all out of fun... None of them stopped.. that's how we knew they weren't for Chelsea Bee. After calling everyone in Sue Vee's contact list, we came to the realization that today was No Cell Phone Day, and Sue, holding back her frustration, told us to rejoice in our trials. So Holy. But then...it happened. The ringtone, Bamp, bamp, banamp bananananan.....then a voice...it was David Vede. He was coming, along with his Romanian mr. fixit skills (which these kids are born with by the way) to fix our urinating car. A steady flow of gas urination. Vede fearlessly sped his ministry van to the scene...he got some help from the pool/hotel maintenance guy and plugged the hole with a screw. Now came the tough part. The decision to let Sue Vee start the engine alone, or to die alongside the Vee...we chose the latter. Yes, it's true. Were writing this blog from Heaven, with some help from the the Big Guy...J.C. Great wifi, gotta tell ya...better than any internet cafe I've ever been too...okay just kidding. We got to the apartment, where our poor red car sits outside dribbling. It's now just a steady drip instead of the rushing rapids it was before. We'll update you on how grocery shopping goes taking the tram.

That's all for now. VeeBee's over and out.

p.s. don't stress...only 14 more days until you see our smiling faces once again.

A week of adventure and Jesus in the Romanian mountains...

So I bet most of you are asking, "where have you been for a whole week?!" The answer to that question is...in the mountains! The VeeBee's joined Pathway to Joy and the orphans from CP2 for a week up in the mountains somewhere beautiful in Romania.
Let's start out by saying what an 8 hour bus ride it was.
1. It was 100 degrees outside...plus 10 degrees hotter in the bus....and then 20 degrees hotter for Ali Bee who was still on fire from her sunburn she got the previous day.
2. Romanian air conditioning is not what you think. It is a sun roof, the size of one you would find in a 2 door saturn, on the top of a 60 passenger bus.
**and here's a Romanian culture tid bit for ya; Romanians believe you will get pneumonia immediately from anything that's cooler than 60 degrees....this includes drinks, and apparently air. Trying to find AN ice cube in the country of Romania is like trying to find Waldo in the city on 4th of July. To further express our discomfort with this, we will give you another example: (tid bit #2; Romanians love examples) After a day in a mobile sauna, we stop at a gas station, heading for the cooler for a cool, refreshing drink. However, since we are afraid of pneumonia, so we get lukewarm water. DELISH.
Okay, done ranting, back to the good stuff.


We arrive at camp, and it is absolutely gorgeous. This is exactly what Ali Bee's heaven is going to look like...and feel like because it's 30 degrees cooler than the city. In preparation for the children's arrival, (this is about to get spiritual, can't you tell it's our fearless leader Sue Vee talking?) we had church and team building exercises...which I, Chelsea Bee failed at. The team building brought 2 things: friends and bruises. Lots of bruises. Needless to say, we were done with outdoor activities even before the kids arrived.
Later on, the CP2 kids arrived...and so did the chaos. Chaos of fun that is!  It was nice watching friendships form between the American team and the children. Next, we were pleasantly informed of our activity and small groups. Ali was separated from the VeeBee flock...to make sure she was truly saved. What a week of lessons she had. And if Sue Vee wasn't under enough spiritual attack, as soon as she found out she was teaching small groups her ear ache exploded into full on sinus infection....nu bine. The good thing is, God prevailed. Both in Ali's life and Sue Vee's. And we now have 6 additions to our girl's college Biblestudy.


While Sue and Ali's tests were with people and health, mine (Chelsea) was the activities. and I conquered every one of them! The activities are as follows (prepare yourself for something dreadful): a 50 foot wall with no steps, just human strength to help get you over. Talk about bruises. (Oh and by the way, we are leaving the non fatal activities out of this) On to the wheel of death...picture this: a wooden wheel the size of a truck tire, but looking like a giant spindle. Now imagine the ginormous spindle, 6 feet up in the air between 2 trees. Now imagine you and your 14 other teammates trying to get over to the other side via spinning. Your team mates, who want nothing to do with this and Sue Vee volunteering herself as the camp photographer, otherwise known as get out of hell for free, and ditching us. Next up the rock wall. 15 meters (you do the math) of upper body strength and leg stretches. Good thing Ali Bee had a harness on because she made it all the way to the second row of rocks before her butt cramped up and she could not go any further. She is now doing push ups everyday. You go, girl! Chelsea made it about halfway before she slipped, gave up and just jumped off. I got way farther than I thought I would, but Ali Bee and I plan on practicing in New Jersey with a certain Colombian. That way we can show up babyface (our group leader, who we didn't know had secret spidey senses) next year and make it up to the top in about 10 seconds, just like he did. (Yes, were already planning next year. Start saving, sponsors!) The last of the strenuous activities was the crate game. For this one, you just have to refer to the pictures...because Sue Vee actually got pictures of this, unlike anything else. It may look easy in the pictures, but it was very deceiving. However, this one was probably the most fun...so much so, that even Sue Vee with her crippled knee even gave it a try. We all had the support of our new friend, Calin, who continually made us laugh the whole week. Finally, the thrill upon thrills....THE ZIP LINE. When she wasn't taking pictures, Sue Vee attempted the zip line upside down. Now that is true talent. Speaking of thrills, it took us about 2 hours to even get Ali Bee in a zip line harness. Then another 15 minutes to get off the platform. However, it didn't take Chelsea this long because she was pushed off the platform TWICE. Thanks Paul, aka Peter Pan. Didn't know kindergarden flirting was your second language.

Onto the spiritual highlights. Actually, the whole week was full of spiritual highlights, but if we had to choose just a few here they are. For Sue, it was the girls in her small group and their diligence to do the homework she assigned (Bible Reading) despite their late nights and full schedules. And also their desire to join us for our Wednesday Bible studies.
Ali Bee enjoyed the intimate moments at the campfire with all of the children who snuggled with her and fell asleep on her lap. One even shared his jacket with her, so sweet. A young man from CP2 who greatly inspired Ali was Csaba. This boy who only had full motor functions in half of his body accepted every single challenge with enthusiasm and integrity. If he could do all of the activities, so could we. What a kid.
My (Chelsea) highlight of the week was the excitement and gratefulness shown by each and every kid. It clearly showed that this week was the highlight of their year. You could just tell by the enthusiasm they had when they arrived, the permanent smiles all week long and the tears and waves goodbye as they departed. It was a week I know I will never forget and pray I will be able to attend next year. The sleep deprivation, bruises&bug bites, and hot 8 hour bus ride were all made worthwhile by those enthusiastic, joyful smiles. :D (btw, Ali Bee and Sue Vee second that)

PS: See slideshow on the right for all the pics from camp.

Friday... A day of Epic proportions.

So, yesterday we updated for the previous week, what we left out was...what we actually did yesterday (Friday) We woke up, got ready and headed out to the Minor Center. We met new missionaries through Pat and Joy (people we met from Project 1:27) They were nice people, and you know... the VeeBee's love meeting new people :) even if we scare them a little :p

So! at the Minor Center we said hi to our friends and listened to the Bible Story and 'play' the other missionaries put on for the kids, it was really nice! The kids seemed to really understand it too! which is always a plus :) After they did there thing... The VeeBee's handed out Bibles! to each kid!! (such a blessing!) Sue Vee found a new translation in Romanian that is a bit easier to comprehend. Once the older kids received their OWN Bible, they sat down and started reading, looking through the books, and a few of the kids were even highlighting certain verses... it was ABSOLUTELY wonderful... blessed us VeeBees tremendously!

NOW onto the traumatic near death experience of Ali Bee...

It all started when the VeeBee's decided to go see the movie Transformers 3..Which was pretty awesome... we're big fans of the Autobots! ANYWAY! so in Romania, there is assigned seating in the movie theaters, and you have to go early to select your seat and purchase your ticket. When we arrived we were with our friend Salomea... Then we saw this realllyyy buff guy! Apparently he was cinema security... like.. legit security guy.. not like the ones we have in the States... he was a little intimidating...but had his eye on Chelsea Bee! sooo when we purchased the tickets, we said the row we wanted then, Ali Bee said to the cashier 'make sure to put a cute guy next to her seat (pointing to Chelsea Bee) All giggled and headed out..since we had 3 hours until the movie was starting.

When we headed back to the theater... is where we almost lost Ali Bee.. forever.. like..death...not like misplaced...

NOW... The story of Ali Bee's demise... in her words...

hahahah well. sue knowing that i am PETRIFIED of escalators thought it was an excellent idea to hop on one... unexpected..AND it was not an ordinary escalator... it was one that was FLAT going upwards!!! INSTEAD of scary steps...it was a constant fight against gravity on this escalator.

PLUS earlier. i had decided to wear Chelsea Burt's fancy sandals...that have SHALACK on the bottoms...and were super slippery. SO ..fight against gravity weakened by slippery shoes. so picture me.. with my crazy fear of escalators... on the escalator of death, trying to fight gravity.. with slippery shoes.

i slid down... and almost fell... It was SO scary.

then... after the movie... we decided we'd hop on it again... this time..the added pressure of having to pee, after a cup of coke... enhanced the fear. and the traumatic-ness of the current situation.

oh. by the way..we had to go DOWN this flat

escalator... so... instead sliding backwards...this time i was sliding forward into Sue Vee. to my death

i held onto the germ infested handle thing for dear life. and some romanain boys..stared and laughed at my demise

That is her story...

When we finally made it to the movie theater The security guard was STILL THERE!!! and FORCED Sue Vee to allow him to help her... JUST so he could see Chelsea Bee..

Then Transformers 3 started and it was AMAZING...end of story! Good Day!

This week in Romania...

We have been busy little worker (vee)Bee's for Jesus! And what a blast we've been having doing it! Sunday we headed to a gypsy village called Sebolciu which is where all the previous pictures are from... that Vee posted :) It was a wonderful time! We were warned that these kids could get a little out of hand... so when everything went smoothly... we just PRAISED GOD AND THANKED HIM! (the bee's were a little nervous) The kids all seemed to have had a good time.. Chelsea and I shared a Bible story, then we did a craft with the kids.. Surprisingly they stayed focused for the whole story! The craft was to make a windchime from washers... That kept their attention too. Which gave their parents more time in Chapel with Dan and Steve... (who are from Pathway to Joy Ministries..and preach there to the village people) soooo we did Bible study, Craft time, and some time just hanging out... A few of the girls from the village spoke spanish so Chelsea and I were able to communicate even more! It was sOOOO wonderful :)

Monday:::: Was America's birthday... soooo as Americans in a foreign country often do... we gathered with fellow Americans and had a BBQ... southern style... WHICH WAS AMAZING! our new friends Laurie and Steve invited us.. There was potato salad, ribs, chicken, hot dogs, PEANUT BUTTER PIE!... The list goes on and on.. SO DELICIOUS.. After we filled our bellies we played some volleyball and some foosball.. Had a great time with new friends :)

Tuesday!:::: We went to the minor center and spent some time with our friends there.. Shared the Bible study we had for Sebolciu and did some water colors! :D a few of the kids gave Chelsea and I their paintings... it was really sweet.. we'll have pics up of the paintings soon :D After leaving the minor Center we headed to CP2 and hung out with some of the kids there.. We played games.. Chelsea and i had piggy back races with a few of the younger kids. soo sweet how loving they can be :)
The older girls that we have over for Bible study and Craft time on Thursdays were there as well. .they've been opening up to us a bit more too... (such a blessing!! <3 ) we headed home with Eva, had dinner and headed to bed!

Wednesday::: we went to another Gypsy village with our new friends Laurie and Steve... We played one legged races, wheel barrow races and then headed into for Chapel.. Fellow Missionaries shared the gospel through a puppet show... and 9 kids received Christ!! it was SO beautiful!!! Please keep them in prayer :D

After a VERY eventful day we headed to Campus to have Bible study... Only Teresa was able to make it... so it was veryyy personal... which was good and prayerfully effective for her own life :)

Thursday::: We headed over to Laurie's and Steve's and babysat their NEW additions to their family.. OFFICIALLY as of today!! :D twin boys, 2 years old.. and sooo happy :) After babysitting we had craft time with the girls from CP2 here at the apartment... Shared on the book of Job and had pretty good conversations.. please continue to pray for the girls... that they would come to know Christ completely...and thirst for His word. (thanks!) We walked all the way across town.. the whole mob of us :D we talked about God.. talked about life... and laughed a lot.. We've been so blessed to get to know these girls.. and that they are welcoming us into their lives... truly a blessing!

MUCH TO DO

Since the VeeBee's came to Romania as sojourner for Christ, it pretty amazing how much our days are filled with ministry!

A Picture is worth a thousand words!

UPDATE!

Since the last time we spoke, we've done quite a lot here in Romania. The days seem to just run together...so here are the highlights, (Kinda like ESPN)
Wednesday was the day that we went to Campus and had Bible study with the girls... We did things a little differently, but we still used Charlie Campbell's material. This week instead of just showing his DVD, we went through his notes, explaining the topics, and giving the girls personal examples. Quite successful, and much more interactive. Please continue to pray for the girls. One thing that we, as servants need prayer on is the spiritual warfare we seem to go through before that study on Wednesdays... We rest in the fact that the enemy only is attacking because the Lord is at work. So please join us in prayer for His strength each Wednesday during prep and during the study. Thanks!
On to Thursday.. We have designated Thursdays for Craft and Bible study time for the younger girls still at CP2. This week to kick off our time together, we decorated some messenger bags.. WHAT A MESSS! Sue thinking this would be successful, covered the floor with a plastic drop cloth... But, this is Romania, the plastic was cheap and thin.. needless to say (but we'll say it anyway) it tore VERY easily... So we had paint on the floor...good news is we're friends with the owners of this apartment ;) (the floor isnt too bad, it was fabric paint... ) After the craft we asked the girls what they knew about God... we went around the circle and each girl had something.. we wrote all of what they said on our white board IN ROMANIAN! (thanks Salomea!) After, Sue explained that based on what they mentioned, we would expand on what they knew, and also teach them other characteristics of God.. We, the VeeBee's are VERY excited for the weeks to come :D the girls seem really into the craft, but even more into talking about God..
This was the first day of our newest housemate... EVA!!! she's finally here! Now that she's here, we (the Bee's) have hidden the flash cards... as Chelsea Bee stated... "we have a human flash card now!" Truthfully, we have learned SO much Romanian from her being here! Such a blessing! <3 :D We couldn't be happier that Eva is here with us
Then Friday we had a pretty easy day.. we did a very American thing... drove 20 minutes for some BANGIN food... SO worth the travel... what is this amazing food? It's LANGOS.. it's this delicious fried pita like bread.. STUFFED with seasoned grilled chicken breast (Cubed) French fries, romanian lettuce (shredded cabbage) Tomatoes, Onions, Ketchup and special sauce that Chelsea bee is missin out on... CAUSE IT'S DELICIOUS!! after filling ourselves with scrumdidilyumptious(say it out loud...) we headed home to get ready for chapel...
At chapel, sue cried the entire time.. because Chapel was actually a trip to the movies... a sad sad movie..about how every kid is special... Let me set the scene for you... We're sitting there in Chapel.. and a movie begins... It's not in english with Romanian subtitles... Or in Romanian with english subtitles, NO... it's in Hindi... do you know that language? CAUSE OF NONE OF US DID! BUT there were still Romanian subtitles... of which Sue only understood about 10% of those... and still managed to weep throughout the ENTIRE film... I mean... From beginning To end... it was a nice movie though..
After Chapel we went back to the apartment and got ready for our first night out in Oradea:D Sue took us to this reallly nice Christian Cafe.. We sat outside and met with the intern team from Pathway to Joy. It was a nice time of fellowship and food... our favorite things.. annndd we had coffee and desert... which by the way was delicious :D
We headed home pretty close to closing time.. Watched a movie and went to bed.. Sue, Eva and Chelsea slept until NOON! can you believe that? But that was nice..cause it gave me some quiet time... Some may believe that I'M the loud one... but you should know.. we ALL have a distinct way of expressing ourselves above the normal tone of an average human being..(that's Sue's joke..she's gettin good!)
Ok...wrappin it up now.. Saturday was obviously a lazy day and now we're here on Sunday.. We went to church.. it was nice..in Romanian... Chelsea and I practiced our Romanian during worship.. Then, since we couldn't understand what the pastor was saying, the VeeBee's did their Calvary Road homework. Now we are preparing for our first VBS at the gypsy village, that might be canceled due to rain... but that's ok.. cause we're prepared to go with the flow.. That's something Sue has taught us about the Mission field... gotta be flexible.. Which apparently she stole from Chuck Smith... ( i never knew that)
Ceau Ceau!
P.S. We'll have pictures of the craft club next week :) and plenty more of our adventures :D

More Kids!

Today (Tuesday) we were up early to join our friends at Project 127 for awesome prayer time :D It's a wonderful way to start the day! One of the teams showed us what they do in the mornings before they go out to serve, they've memorized Ephesians 6 and have 'gestures' to go along with the verses...in order to prepare for the day's work :D
Then we were off to the Minor Center! This is where children who were found on the streets are placed temporarily, or children who are accused of petty crimes.. Most of the kids are runaways though. When we arrived here the kids were a bit more reserved than in the village yesterday, but still pretty pleasant and welcoming. One little boy came up to Chelsea and I hugging us and saying "Ceau, Ce faci" Which is Hi, what's up! :D what a welcome! We learned a song, and did a craft with the kids. This group of servants was smaller than the one in the village, and there were a few more kids. Which was nice, it was a more 'intimate' time with them... and much easier to interact and get to know the kids :) Then we played some card games and UNO and a dice game Sue Vee was teaching us :) Over all it was a nice, relaxed day :)
After the minor center we dropped by CP2 and GOT OUR PAPER WORK!!!! Sue headed in with the intent of just seeing where we were in the process of things, and there the papers were! signed, dated, and stamped :D (Thank you Lord!!) So we picked up Eva and Angela and headed back to the apartment. We had some Mac n' Cheese :D and baked brownies..but since these stoves/ovens are gas...we had BURNT brownies... they were still good :) we also had some ice cream and played spoons :D
Tomorrow is the Bible study with the college age girls... we're praying that we're prepared and that their hearts would be open... Farewell all! until the next update! :D

Kids Kids Kids

So! after having two lazy days to re-coup...and the abandonment of Sue Vee, we have begun the little kid ministry! Today we were blessed with an invite from Project 127 to go to a gypsy village in Cherechiu! What a blast we had! We were rollin 4 vans deep and a full car of VeeBee's and friends. We were greeted with smiles and waves even before we got out of the masina (that's car in Romanian, for those of you who don't know romanian, including us) The village itself was pretty small compared to the other villages Vee is aware of.. there were only 12 houses and quite a few kids. First we introduced ourselves and were introduced to the families and all of the kids. Then little kids were going up to the missionaries and grabbing their hands so that they could play together. Except for us...we were new faces...that changed after a visit to one of the families homes. Thanks Stacey and Jeff for introducing the family you sponsor! The family was awesome, they were so sweet and very hospitable. There are four children, a mother and father and the grandmother all live in a two room house. There is no electricity or heat in the house, but the family who is sponsoring them is praying and trying to get electricity to the home. It was an incredible experience and a humbling experience. The children were very welcoming and the adults insisted that we sit and stay a while. Their smiles are engraved in our hearts. That's one thing that is absolutely amazing...seeing the people smiling... it's something unique that just warms the soul. :D

We started a BBQ and handed out hot dogs to all of the people in the village.. Then we began singing! Praising God in HUNGARIAN.. (oh by the way, this specific village was Hungarian, so there was TWO language barriers... we've learned hello and how are you in Romanian, but NOTHING in hungarian.. )

That's another thing that's amazing... when you have the love of Christ to share... all barriers are broken down!

after singing we had one of the guys share his testimony, then it was time for GAMES! it was SO fun watching the kids interact and having fun :D With full tummies :D we had three legged races, 'potato' sack races, and a water balloon toss! Fun Fun Fun in the Sun..and it WAS sunny, we all got dreaded farmer tans (no offense or disrespect to our farmer friends)

After Cherechiu Sue dragged us to CP2 (the orphanage) even though we were EXHAUSTED.. where we had quite the encounter with one of our girls... She was claiming that she was a 'bigger sinner than sue vee' HA! did Sue have something to sayyyy about thattt!!!!! God totally used Sue as a messenger. Sue explained to T that the only difference between her life and T's life was that the blood of Jesus covers her sin daily. We truly believe that T understood, and it was visible in her face that she comprehended the power of Christ. (AMAZING MOMENT!) We are praying for a break through (please join us)

Studiu Biblic

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are excited to inform you of the recent movement in our ministry here in Romania. God has opened the door for a Bible study on the college campus with five young women. We showed one of Pastor Charlie Campbell's DVD's. We chose "All Roads Do Not Lead to God." Chelsea and I, with the help of Sue and our new friend Salomea, translated the message into Romanian so that the girls would have a print out of the information. The study was a success! The girls are excited for next week, when we do " Amazing Evidence for the Trustworthiness of the Bible." After Bible study, Sue and Chelsea took some of the girls out for a birthday dinner for Teresa! I heard it was awesome, but since I'm feeling a bit under the weather.. I stayed home to sleeep :)
The restaurant had a pirate theme, Sue, Chelsea, and I were concerned, we were all "oh man, are there real pirates there?" but Teresa calmed our nerves by explaining that it is not a real pirate 'cove' because Johnny Depp will not be present. Immediately our nerves ceased. Today Chelsea, Sue, and Salomea joined Project 1:27 for a FULL day of painting at the Children's hospital, photos to follow! And I, Ali Bee, your author, stayed home and slept more than i have ever slept in my entire life! Kicking this cold's butt! Farewell for now! Another whole day of painting awaits us. Hope all is well in America!

In other news...

We have begun our work with Project 1:27. We are painting murals for the Children's wing at a small hospital in the town of Marghita all week. It's an hour and 20 minutes from us so we've been having very long days, but it's been a wonderful time of fellowship. What's even more wonderful is that everyone on the team works unto the Lord. It's amazing to sense the spirit of the Lord with us in the simplest of tasks. I truly believe that these simple murals will not only be a blessing to the children but the hospital staff as well.

We are reserving Wednesday's for ministering to young women. Although we have not been cleared yet to work with the children at the Orphanage (CP2), we will be having our first Campus Bible Study with the 4 girls that have moved on to College from CP2. Please pray that the paperwork would go through for all of us to work in the orphanage. Also so that we can have some of the girls here at our house for fellowship and ministering opportunities. Our hope is that the Social Worker will come tomorrow to inspect the house and approve us by Friday. Until this happens, I am just going to CP2 alone for a couple of hours in the evenings to visit with Eva and the rest of the children.

On Thursday and Friday, the Bee's (Ali Bee & Chelsea Bee) will be caring for the abandoned babies in the morning then continuing the murals in the afternoons. The hospital would like all the painting to be completed by July 1st. This would be a miracle and with God all things are possible. I am sure the Bee's will share about this experience soon.

Grace & Peace,

Sue Vee

Grab some coffee, it's gonna be a long one.

First and foremost, we must sincerely apologize to our faithful followers, all eight of you. We have not been committed to updating you on our time in Romania. So, from Chelsea and Ali Bee's "Sorry."

Moving on.

We are currently updating due to our current circumstances, let us you fill you in. There is currently NO hot water. And when we say NO HOT WATER, we mean when you the faucet on for hot water, nothing, no water, comes out. Therefore my friends, no hot water. Also, currently there is a punch threat from... none other than our partner in service, SUE VOLPE. Yes, she has reminded us constantly of your desire to know what. is. up. in. Romania.

So where should we pick up... 

hm. Wednesday is good. 

Our first day here was full of blisters, sun burn, McDonald's and introductions.

Let's talk about the blisters first: THEY WERE TERRIBLE. we got them EVERYWHERE on our feets. except for chelsea, cause she's the smart one and wore flip flops (Chelsea wrote this... obviously..) The blisters were formed due to the frollicking around the city of Oradea, meeting ALL of Sue Volpe's friends... She's got a lot of them. And they are all pretty awesome. except for the guy who stole Chelsea's suitcase...

NEXT: SUNBURN!! came from all the walking around... so.. that's that.

FINALLY:: INTRODUCTIONS! there were soooo many of them! but every time we met a new person we met a new friend... So cheesy, so real.

We met the kids from the orphanage, we met people from the Pathway 2 Joy ministry, and we met some cool pigeons... and other strange birds...especially the one that lives by our window,.. that yells "MEHHHH HEYYYY " EVERY DAY! so we yell back "HEY THERE ROMANIAN BIRD!"

On to Thursday::

We went to campus! We were introduced to the young women who we will be prayerfully having Bible study with once a week :D We had some good laughs with the girls and talked a little about when we will be having Bible study. Then they taught some Romanian words (none of which we remember... except for BALCON! which means balcony) Then laughed at our funny accents.

That night we went and got Gelato for dinner.. but since Sue had a favorite Gelato place, we had to walk... 10 minutes... for a 'quick ice cream run' until we found that Sue's favorite was no longer present. Therefore, we traversed all the way back to where Ali Bee first saw a Gelato place and ordered some ice cream...our loud obnoxious way of talking, attracted a fellow American. He was a Cali boy, with black nail polish painted on his fingernails. But he was not wearing running sneakers with his jeans, and he had nice hair and eyes. not that we saw them, cause he was STARING at the Suuuueeeee Volpe. oh yea. that's what happened. So we chit chatted.. actually They chit chatted... we just ate our gelato. turns out he's going to med school and hopes to see us around. oh, and he's trying to buy a house... 

The Americans then went their separate ways... that's how the day ended. good for sue, and good for us.. we got gelato.

Now for Friday, Day 3

We played Rummy, Ali Bee was victorious for the first time in her entire life... we may be exaggerating a bit, but not by much! It was marvelous, what a site, to see her jump up with such joy vigor due to her victory in Rummy 500.

After that, we walked to CP2 (the orphanage) and went to Chapel with the kids! Now for a serious moment, brought to in spirit by Sue Volpe (you should know, that while i was just typing that... the bird that says MEH HEYY just spoke again...)

So when we went to Chapel ( which is like a mini service for the kids in the orphanage) the first thing we did was say hello to our new friends Tabita and Dan, (we really like them, they're great) then we hung out with some of the kids and got ready for Worship! it was absolutely beautiful to hear the children singing worship songs praising God in Romanian.... i think i fell in love at that moment.. or even more in love with God..(Ali Bee) 

During service, Danny, another cool Romanian guy... who helps out at the orphanage and with Pathway 2 Joy, shared a message to the children... alllll in Romanian. Then showed a movie... It was one of those movies that ALWAYS put you to sleep in history class... BUT! the information was good, and the kids had to read subtitles in Romanian, so none fell asleep! :D 

Thennn after service we walked back to the orphanage and hung out with the girls a little longer..  where we met Salomea, she's a sweet 16 year old girl who's english is AMAZING! She will be translating for us when we go to the gypsy village. Also, we have plans for a day in Oradea next weekend with her :D 

As for Saturday::: We helped Sue make a DELICIOUS salad with AMAZING yellow Romanian peppers... SO SWEET! and headed to a BBQ with the interns from Pathway 2 Joy. It was nice, the one thing to remember is NEVER play volleyball with a kid named Dan. He'll introduce the ball to your face, and it will not be a pleasant meeting. Also to remember, children of the missionary families, DO speak english, and not Spanish... Gracias Dan!

On to Sunday... WE WENT TO CHURCH :D with three of the young adults... our peers... who have aged out of the orphanage. What a blast! what was really cool was that the message was from a missionary! who has been coming to Romania for 38 years! Worship was really great too, but made us miss CCOC <3

after church we went to the supermarket.. and on the way we played yellow car... we've been teaching a lot of romanians the yellow car game, including our taxi driver who only spoke 'no yellow, cream car" in english. 

We and the three fun romanians and sue of course! and Andrea (another missionary from Pathway) all headed back to the apartment for some Romanian soup, and some chicken! We played Spoons, and Rummy, and a bit of Uno.. oohpe! and dice! a fun time was had by all :D especially during our special romanian language class. 

That's alll that i can type right now folks! we'll be updating more often, so that i do not get carpel tunnel, from updating ..now. and so sue doesn't have to threaten us.... 

Farewell! From Romania!

P.S. Chelsea got her luggage!

Seriously

Of Course I have to be the one that gets all serious. The last three days have been for the girls to get acquainted with the city and the places we will be ministering. On Wednesday, we went to see some colleagues of mine to make arrangements for our VBS in one of our local gypsy villages, and then we headed to the orphanage to get approval from the Director. There were some difficulties, but of course God prevailed. He opened the door for us to be at the orphanage in the afternoon to play with the children. In addition, we will be ministering to 6 specific girls weekly in our home. We are just waiting for the paperwork to go through.
Yesterday we went to the College Campus to see the older girls that moved out of the orphanage last year to attend college. We went to see how they felt about a weekly Bible study. This study would be more than they have had in the past, and more appropriate for their age level. Hopefully it will equip them to live their faith and share it in their academic atmosphere. In the past, it was never about being educated in our faith; it was more focused on the grace and forgiveness of Christ. Please join us in prayer for these young women, that their hearts and minds would be open to see the reality and sufficiency of Jesus.

PING AND POW in ROMANIA!

Ping and Pow on the bus from Budapest to Oradea

Ping and Pow with traditional pink Romanian toilette paper

Ping and Pow in front of the City Hall Building

Ping and Pow with McDonald's french fries...the only thing we recognize from America

Ping and Pow with Burn...Romanian Monster

Ping and Pow with Sue and Eva

Ping and Pow with Pufuleti, so goood.

Keep checking back for more!

FRANKS…Hot Sauce MANIA!

It is well known, thanks to Sue Vee, that the children of Romania adore buffalo wings, spicy ones. So upon our grocery store trip in the States, we bought five bottles of Franks! Red Hot Sauce! We packed them so that they would not break, snuggly in a towel. Placed them in the bag along with our marvelous supplies for crafts and fun during our VBS week. Big Mistake. What happened next was the product of sheer brutality against luggage. The men, specifically, the man with the liger tattoo on his shoulder, threw the bag containing Frank's and, we lost a Spice soldier. Only four bottles..... remain. Upon opening the bag, his red spiciness, was..EVERYWHERE. Including all over the supplies, what a horrific sight. Along with Frank, the red hot soldier, we lost two gold stars, and the suitcase. We bid our farewells, and began to aid the saucy-ness supplies. These supplies were then salvaged thanks to a Romanian washer machine, which had a 3 hour spin cycle. A loud one, that sounded like spaceships taking off to another planet. Good news still to be found, the children will still have their hot sauce, andddd they're mac and cheese, andddd their brownies. And some spicy supplies for VBS. Thank you, good day. 

This has been another production by the VeeBee's Stay tuned for Ping and Pow in Oradea.

The Journey to Romania

A word of advice: Never let Sue help alleviate family stress by suggesting taking a train to the airport. Especially when you have 5 fifty pound bags, 3 huge carry ons and 3 purses stuffed to the max and only one Colombian valet to help carry some of those bags through 5 different subway transfers during rush hour in New York City. The adventure starts at 4:26 p.m. as we board the Suffern train..not realizing that we have to change trains in Seacacus. While aboard the train, we have some laughter and fun banter. Then, we began to look for an energy source. The  Colombian being familiar with the train,  shuffles to the back of the car but goes to far. BANG! The train abruptly comes to a halt and the Colombian, while in a squatted in position finds his head colliding with the metal door. Simultaneously, our bags decide they miss us and quietly creep over to their loved ones. So of course, we explode into uncontrollable giggles. The man on his iPhone, however, did not like this and rebuked us. Asking us to show "some respect for the people on the train". FInally arriving to Seacacus, and looking for the gate to Penn Station, Sue's card decides not to work, not letting her into the gate with us. After she leaves to find assistance, the gate opens a few times. After yelling obnoxiously for her to come back, the assistance tells us that it was the Colombians fault for standing too close to the sensors. So Sue sprints, her 40 pound rolling carry on in tow, to catch it, and it closes a final time. The Colombian moves away from the sensors, the assistant places his card in the card reader and the gates open. Sue is FREE! We are on our way to Penn Station. After 3 train transfers and 4 hours of traveling, we finally arrive at JFK for our 7 hour flight to Paris.

BLANKET WARS:::::::

It was 11:50 when we were awakened by threats of police.The cause of arrest at landing; a stolen blanket. One woman, two flight attendants is all that we saw.  The woman was a repeat offender, she was threatening and demanding her window seat. Forcing an innocent older couple to get up and move over. The older woman, who was apparently quite chilly, had wandered up to first class and STOLE a blanket off what she thought was an empty seat but was actually a seat reserved for the crew. We found this out after the police threats. The male flight attendant, after asking for the blanket to be returned threatened the elderly woman with the common french threat; DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? Apparently the male flight attendant was not the flight attendant at all, HE WAS THE CAPTAIN!  who had witnessed theft!! He had caught the woman FUZZY handed, in the act of blanket robbery. After this threat, and power struggle, the woman complained and stated her case : "It is so cold in this plane, I asked several flight attendants for another blanket and they did not have any extras; i need another blanket! I am very upset, very upset." To which the flight attendant AND the CAPTAIN said that there will be police waiting to arrest the woman when the plane landed. We thought the ordeal was over, until the female flight attendant stormed back over, leaned into the woman's face and said "HE SAW YOU TAKE THE BLANKET!" Then…. it was all over, by 11:57 pm (New York time, since there's no internet in flight world to update Chelsea Burt's computer clock)

NOOK  ATTACK!

Finally arriving at the French Airport, we suddenly are not allowed through security because there is something suspicious in Ali Bee's bag. The French man asks her to take out her iPod which she does, but the bag still does not go through. Security keeps asking her to remove her iPad, laptop or whatever she has, but she insists there is nothing in her bag. Meanwhile Sue bag goes right through we iphone, ipod, and an external hard drive. When she begins to take everything out of her bag she finds it…the Nook. After holding up the line, we are finally let through, Nook in hand. As we begin to collect all of our belongings, the man stops us again. This time he shows us the baggage scan display screen that there was a revolver in Ali Bee's bag… we all stop in shock. Why the heck would there be a gun in there, Ali Bee?!  Maybe the blanket lady threw her weapon in there when she heard the cops were coming after her…but then the gun disappears from the screen and the man begins to laugh. What a silly Frenchman, what an adventure.

And now, after trudging up five flights of stairs with 4, rather than 6 fifty pound bags because the airport stole Chelsea's bag, we arrived at our apartment. Stay tuned, more to come!

-Chelsea Bee, Ali Bee and Sue Vee <3

3 DAYS!

We leave for Romania on Monday...I can't believe it's almost here already! Please continue to keep myself, Ali and Sue in prayer as we travel to Budapest and then onto Oradea in a few days. Pray for safe travels, health and opportunities to share as we are on our way. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers these next two months...this summer is definitely going to be exciting! I will try to post on here as often as I can, and hopefully attach some pictures so all of you will be able to have a little bit of Romania at home. Feel free to email: Chelseaburt@gmail.com or even skype me: chelseaburt so we can keep in touch!
-Chelsea