(Scroll down to the next blog post to find this post in English)

Carantină? Pandemie? Aceste cuvinte au fost folosite doar in carţi sau de jocuri de masa pentru toţi cei 31 de ani din viaţa mea pana acum. Nu au fost folosite pentru a descrie viaţa de zi cu zi.
 
Mama, cum s-au schimbat lucrurile!
 
Aproape toţi dintre noi suntem intr-o perioada când stam in izolare sau intr-o stare de urgentă şi nu putem sa mergem oriunde vrem. Suntem închişi in casele noastre. Acum câteva săptămâni, am experimentat ceea ce poate sa fie una dintre cele mai grele, dar şi mai frumoase, săptămâni de viaţa mea. 
 
Am avut mare placere sa am grija de trei bebelusi, unul are doi ani si jumatate si doi gemeni de un an si jumatate, pentru câteva săptămâni deoarece mama lor a fost in Italia cu o alta fetita pentru  o operaţie de inima de care depindea viata fetitei. Primele zile cu bebeluşii au fost minunante. A fost obositor sa am grija de ei? Absolut! A fost un rol pe care  mi l-a daruit Dumnezeu şi care a adus bucurie in mijlocul epuizarii fiecarei fibre a fiinţei mele? Absolut! 
 
Cu toate acestea, după câteva zile de fericire, băieţii au început să se îmbolnăveăsca. La inceput a fost doar un nas care curge şi tuse , dar apoi s-a transformat în febră mare şi tuse constanta care m-au speriat. După două zile de a incerca  a face faţă acestui lucru acasă, o doctora a venit la noi acasă şi a verificat starea de sănătate a băieţilor. Ea a zis ca gemenii ar trebuie să mearga la urgenţa imediat..unul dintre ei a avut o tuse atât de puternica încât se sufoca şi a avea si lichid  în plămânii lui, atât de mult încât ar fi fost în pericol pentru viaţa sa chiar în acea seară.
 
Mi s-a spus că poate trebuie să stau cu ei pănâ la o săptămână in spital aşa că am împachetat lucrurile noastre, am încărcat maşina şi am condus la urgenţa cât de repede am putut. Mulţumesc celor doi dragi colegi care au venit repede la noi acasă, au mers cu mine la urgenţa, si apoi au rămas cu mine la spital. Nu pot sa îmi imaginez cât de diferita ar fi putut sa fie noaptea aia la urgenţa dacă as fi fost doar eu cu gemenii!
 
Imediat ce am ajuns la urgenţa, la spitalul de copii, ni s-a spus că da, categoric, gemenii trebuiau să fie internati si trebuiau testati pentru gripă. Si dacă ar avea gripă, am fi trimişi la Matei Balş, un spital de boli infecţioase. În timpul acela, discuţiile despre covid-19 începeau să sporeasca, dar chiar şi fără aceste temeri, fiind internat într-un spital de boli infecţioase sună infricosator!
 
După multe teste şi câteva tratamente, colegul meu şi cu mine, am aflat că da, gemenii aveau gripă. Atunci, am mers la Matei Balş, să fim internati.
 
În timp ce semnam documentele pentru a fi admisi, am aflat ca doar o persoana putea sa insoteasca  gemenii. Am fost internati intr-un salon care avea sa devina camera noastra pentru 5 zile .
 
Acea prima noapte a fost atât de dificilă. Nu m-am simţit niciodată atât de singura şi atât de necalificata pentru ceea ce avea sa fie. Era 4:00 dimineata când în sfârşit doctorii au terminat cu noi si  băieţii au mers la somn. Dar a trebuit sa ii supravegehz tot timpul pe  băieţi  că sa nu isi scopata branula . Ei nu au dormit bine si n-am dormit aproape deloc.
 
Câteva ore mai târziu, a venit asistenta şi mi-a înmânat medicamente si tratamentul pe care trebuia să le ofer băieţiilor. Hei, hei, hei! Staţi puţin! Trebuie să stau cumva pe un băiat pentru a-i da medicamente și tratament, apoi să-l împiedic pe celălalt să-și scoată branulă? Și cu un singur pătuț  .. cum a fost posibil acest lucru? (Am incercat să-i pun pe amândoi în pătuţ, dar nu s-a sfârşit bine!)
 
Deci, suntem acolo, dimineaţa in prima zi şi nu mă simt bine, totuşi băieţii au nevoie de tratamentele lor. Asistenta ni le-a dat şi apoi a plecat. Acolo eram, eu si băieţii, ochii mei ar trebuii să fie mereu asupra lor dar stai, mor de foame! Am nevoie la baie! Ajutor! Cineva?? Dacă ai nevoie de ceva când eşti la carantină, trebuie sa iţi scoti capul pe uşă pentru o clipă scurtă şi să strigi ajutor. Dar nu te duci la hol! Doar ai speranţa că vocea ta este auzita pe hol şi cineva  vine! Dar in acel moment, m-am simţit atât de copleşita. Lacrimile tocmai îmi curgeau pe față. Unul după altul au venit încet, apoi au căzut ca o cascadă.
 
Cum, cum am reuși acest lucru? Acești micuți erau bolnavi și , nici eu nu mă simțeam bine. În timp ce lacrimile îmi curgeau pe față, o asistentă a intrat. Nu mi-am putut înăbusi lacrimile. Ea m-a întrebat ce nu e în regulă şi i-am spus că nu ştiu cum pot administra medicamentele, tratamentele, etc ambilor baieţi. Pur şi simplu nu intelegeam cum e posibil. Am întrebat-o pe ea dacă poate să stea cu  băieţii pentru două minute, ca să pot merge la baie. Ea s-a uitat la mine şi nu intelegea. Am spus ca nu pot sa ii las nesupraveghati cu branulele in picioare. Cred ca in acel moment, ea și-a dat seama în sfârșit în ce situație unică ne aflam. Totuşi, regulile erau reguli. În acest timp de carantină, un singur îngrijitor pentru fiecare unitate de familie.
 
După câteva minute, am fost la pat din nou cu băieţi si tratamenul lor, şi o infirmiera a venit la noi. Din nou, lacrimile îmi curgeau pe față. Doamnă si-a dat seama ca am nevoie de ajutor cu gemenii. S-a uitat la mine si a zis „nu esţi ok. Nu te simţi bine şi ai grija de doi copii. Ai nevoie de ajutor şi ar trebuie sa primeşti ajutor.” Domana infirmiera a chemat o asistenta caruia i-a spus: „Mamica are nevoie de ajutor„. Asistenta a zis ca acum in perioada de carantină, nu e posibil pentru mine să am ajutor, dar a zis ca o să vorbeasca cu doctora.
 
Câteva ore mai târziu, doctora a intrat și s-a uitat la băieți, apoi s-a uitat la mine și mi-a spus că trebuie să fiu văzută de urgenţa la parter. Ea a spus că trebuie să fiu tratata pentru boala pe care o am. M-am uitat la ea, fără voce și probabil mai palidă decât o fantomă și am spus că sunt bine. A zâmbit dulce, la fel ca și celelalte asistente și a spus „Nu, nu ești bine. Trebuie sa faci un consult medical”
 
Și așa a început grija incredibilă pe care am primit-o de la personalul medical si auxiliar de la Matei Balș ...

În timp ce doctora și asistentele erau în salon , am primit un mesaj de la colegul meu că a ajuns la spital. Pentru că eram în carantină, el nu putea veni și nu puteam să cobor să iau mâncare si apă, așa că regula a fost să găsesc pe cineva care să coboare la poartă, să ia lucrurile de la el si sa mi le aduca. Am găsit-o pe doamna infirmiera cumsecade,care m-a ajutat in aceasta privinta.

Când doamna infirmiera a venit cu lucrurile mele, a venit şi cu colegul meu! Ea a vorbit cu doamna asistenta si doamna doctor si au hotarat ca am nevoie de cineva care sa ma ajute cu baietii. Am fost lasata sa am înca o persoana cu noi la carantină! O binecuvantare mare!
 
În acea zi am putut să fac duș, să mă duc la urgenţa și să fiu consultata, să trag un pui de somn, să mănânc mâncare, etc., în timp ce colegul meu a stat cu băieții. Acestea sunt toate lucrurile pe care nu le-aș fi putut face niciodată dacă doamna infirmirea  nu ar fi insistat că am nevoie de ajutor și sa chem pe cineva sa ma ajute.
 
Acum,prietenii mei si colegii mei s-au sfatuit cum sa ma ajute pe mine si gemenii.Una a mers în casă pentru a obține niște jucării și alte lucruri pe care le-am uitat, în timp cealtii au cumpărat șervețele sanitare, săpun, hârtie igienică, gustări, etc. de la magazinul din apropiere. O altă colegă a găsit oameni care să-i aiba grija de animalele de acasa și a spus că se va muta cu noi în acea seară și va rămâne cu noi  în carantină, oricât am fi fost acolo. Da, s-a mutat într-o cameră cu trei bolnavi, fără să știe dacă va lua ceea ce avem sau nu și, știind pe deplin că, odată ce a intrat cu noi in spital, nu ar fi  putut pleca până nu am fost lăsați in  carantină, la domiciuliu.

A spune că am fost iubiți și îngrijiți, în timp ce oamenii au avut grijă de noi, în mod sincer, ar fi o subestimare. Efortul lor de a avea grija de noi a fost imens!

Și așa a început aventura noastra in ingrijirea celor doi gemeni , în timp ce s-au luptat cu gripa, deshidratarea și alte probleme respiratorii, pusi în carantină într-un spital de boli infecțioase în timpul pandemiei covid-19.
 
În fiecare zi petrecuta în acel spital, intalneam asistente noi care ne cunoșteau pe noi  și  povestea noastra. Că nu eram de fapt mama acestor băieți, ci că mama lor adoptivă se afla în Italia, cu  una din fetitele ei. Personalul  medical au  fost uimit și au pus întrebări despre toate acestea. De ce făceam asta? Ce ne-a adus în România? Și cele mai bune întrebări dintre toate ... vreau să adopt și eu. Cum este acel proces? Cine poate adopta? Cu cine pot vorbi despre procesul de adopție în România?
 
Am fost uimiti de tot ceea ce făcea Dumnezeu. După cum a spus colega mea, dacă internarea gemenilor înseamnă că încă un român se gandeste  la adopție / plasament, să fie așa. Fie ca această experiență să fie folosită pentru slava lui Dumnezeu!

În fiecare zi, doamnele infirmiere, asistentele și doctora veneau în salonul  noastru și ne tratau cu cea mai bună îngrijire posibila. Ne-au zâmbit, au stat și au vorbit cu noi. Îmi amintesc chiar două femei care aveau lacrimi în ochi. Una a fost prima doctora care i-a internat pe băieți  în Matei Balș .. m-a privit și mi-a spus că este greu pentru cineva să fie în carantină, mai ales cu doi copii și cu mine fiind bolnavă. Mi-a spus că Dumnezeu este cu mine. Am vrut să o îmbrățișez, dar nu am putut în timpul asta  de distanțare fizică, așa că am zâmbit  si am inceput sa plangem amandoua.

Am auzit despre alte persoane care au șederi lungi în spital și vorbesc despre relațiile pe care le formează cu doctorii și asistentele lor. Acum pot să atest acest lucru. Mă uit înapoi cu o dragoste incredibilă la toate femeile - medici, asistente, doamne de curățenie - care ne-au îngrijit și ne-au iubit în acele cinci zile. Simt o legătură cu toate și pot sa îmi aduc aminte de fețele zâmbitoare și grijulii.

Mă gândesc acum la aceste doamne, deoarece se luptă zi de zi cu acest virus covid-19. Ne-au spus înainte să plecăm că spitalul în care ne aflăm va fi schimbat pentru a trata strict pacienții cu covid-19. Știau că viața lor se va schimba dramatic și erau pregătiți să-și împacheteze gențile și să se mute în spital timp de X săptămâni, dacă se întampla asta.

Când ne pregateam sa fim  externati în acea zi, am avut din nou conversații grozave cu aceste doamne. Toți aveau măști, dar zâmbetele și grija  le puteam vedea pur și simplu doar  uitându-ma în ochii lor, au însemnat lumea pentru noi. Ne-am împachetat toate lucrurile, iar doamna infirmiera de la inceputul internarii m-a ajutat si la externare . Fiecare a carat ce a putut,iar la plecare, pe holurile spitalului, perosnalul present si-au luat la revedere de la noi, ne-au spus lucruri frumoase si incurajatoare! Am observat din nou lacrimi in ochii lor. Unul dintre ei ne-a spus să ne oprim și să așteptăm un moment, iar în timp ce stăteam acolo, incarcati cu lucrurile noastre si bebluşii în brate, ea s-a întors cu masţi și le-a pus cu grijă pe fețele noastre. Ne-a prins ușor părul în spatele urechilor, a pus masca peste fețele noastre, a strâns cu blândețe partea superioară a măștii deasupra nasului și ne-a urat multă sănătate.
 
Chiar dacă noi sumtem acasă si ne simţim bine (slava Domnului!), nu cred că  vom uita vreodată cele cinci zile de carantină la Matei Balș. Grija, dragostea și sacrificiul dezinteresat al personalul medical si auxiliar. Nu le pot mulțumi suficient și este posibil să nu le mai văd niciodată. Dar pot să mă rog și chiar mă rog pentru ele. Ma rog pentru familiile lor și  pentru ele în acesta perioada de grea incercare, când intreg personalul se sacrifica, pentru ca restul dintre noi să ne insanatosim și într-o zi să ne întoarcem la viața „normală”. Mulțumesc personalului de la  Matei Balș. Vei fi mereu amintit cu drag de mine, mamica „surogat” a celor doi gemeni pretiosi!

Quarantine? Pandemic? Those are words that for all my 31 years of life were used solely in books or to play a board game. These weren’t words that were used to describe everyday life.

Boy, how things have changed.

Almost all of us are dealing with anything from self-isolation to government-mandated lockdowns. A few weeks ago, I experienced what may very well be one of the hardest, yet most beautiful, weeks of my life.

I had the great pleasure to take care of three babes, one almost 2 ½ years old and twins that are almost 1 ½ years old, for a few weeks while their mother was in Italy with another daughter and her life saving heart operation. The first few days with these babes were bliss. Was it exhausting to care for them? Absolutely! Was it a role that God has made me for and that brought joy amidst the exhaustion to every fiber of my being? Absolutely!

However, after a few days of bliss, the boys started to get sick. First it was just runny noses and little coughs, but then it turned into high fevers and coughs that scared me. After two days of trying to deal with this in the home, a pediatrician stopped by our home and checked out the boys. She said the twins needed to be taken to the hospital immediately..one of them had a cough so deep that he could’ve choked or had the fluid in his lungs rise so high that would’ve been life threatening that very evening.

Well, pack the bags! I was told that I may need to stay with them up to a week in the hospital so I packed those bags, loaded the car, and took off for the ER as fast as we could. (Thank you to two very dear colleagues who flew over to the house, drove with me to the ER, and then stayed with me in the ER. I cannot imagine how different that ER night would’ve been if it was just me and the twins!)

As soon as we got to the ER, we were told that yes, absolutely. The twins needed to be admitted. However, if they must be admitted, they needed to be checked for the flu. And if they had the flu, we would be sent into quarantine at Matei Balş, an infectious disease hospital. At that time, talks about covid-19 were starting to get heated, but even without these covid-19 scares, being admitted into an infectious disease hospital sounded intense!

After many tests and a few treatments, my colleague and I found out that yes, the twins had the flu. So that meant we needed to finish our testing at the first hospital, gather our papers, and head over to Matei Balş, the infectious disease hospital, as soon as possible, so we could get admitted and the twins could start their treatment.

While signing in at Matei Balş and getting the twins admitted, I learned that it was time for me to face the music..only one person was allowed to stay with the twins. My colleague went to the car to get our belongings while the twins and I headed off to the room that would become our home for the next five days.

That first night was so difficult. I’d never felt so alone and so unqualified for what was ahead. It was 4am when we finally settled in for the night and I needed to keep an eye on both boys so that they wouldn’t pull out their IVs as they tossed and turned in their sleep. The hospital only had one crib for us, so one boy was next to me in the crib sleeping fairly soundly on his back (praise God!), and the other one finally succumbed to his tiredness and was crawled up next to me in our little bed.

A few hours later the nurses came in and started handing me medication and treatments that I needed to administer to the boys. Woah, woah, woah! Wait a minute! I have to somehow hold down one boy to give him medication and treatment then keep the other boy from pulling out his IV? And with only one crib to keep them contained..how was this possible? (I had tried putting them both in the crib, but that didn’t work very well. One boy was very tired for the first few days so all he did was basically sleep! So while one was sleeping, I tried to put the other boy in the crib..but the other boy falls asleep by getting on all fours, and pushing his head along the mattress until he finds a corner to fall asleep in. Well, when you’re in the bed with another person and your head is down, trying to find a corner for yourself to sleep in, you inevitably run into your brother, wake him up, and now you’re both screaming! Oh man. Even thinking back on that makes me tired!)  

So there we are, morning on the first day, and I am not feeling well, yet the boys need their treatments. The nurse got us started and then left. There I was, me and the boys, my eyes must be on them at all times and wait, I’m starving! I need to go to the bathroom! Help! Anybody?? These rooms don’t have call buttons. If you need something while in quarantine, you’re supposed to stick your head out the door for a brief moment and yell for help. But don’t go into the hallway! Just hope that your voice reaches someone down the hall and that they come. But in that moment, I felt so completely overwhelmed. Tears just streamed down my face. One after the other came slowly, and then they just fell like a waterfall.

How oh how would we manage this? These little dudes were sick, and the more I let myself think about it, so was I. I wasn’t feeling well. As those tears streamed down my face, a nurse walked in. I couldn’t stifle those tears. They just came. She asked me what was wrong, and I told her that I didn’t know how I could administer medication, treatment, etc to both boys. I simply didn’t understand how it was possible. I asked her if she could watch them for 2 minutes while I went to the bathroom. The nurse looked at me and didn’t understand. I told her that I can’t leave the boys unattended with the ports in their feet because they roll around, crawl, and try to stand up..and I just really need to use the toilet! I think in that moment it hit her what a unique situation we were in. Yet the rules were the rules, in this time of quarantine, only one caregiver per family unit.

A few minutes later, as I was again back in the bed and trying to administer treatment to them both, or trying to administer treatment to one, while holding the other one down so he didn’t pull out his port, a cleaning woman came in to sweep and mop. Again those tears were just streaming down my face and she told me that I needed help. She looked at me and said, “you aren’t well, and you have two children. You need help and you should get help.” She soon brought in the nurse and started pointing at me and said “this little mama (mamica) needs help. She’s sick and has two babies to take care of. She must be allowed help.” The nurse said that wasn’t how things work in these days with the quarantine, but she would see what the doctor said.

In the meantime, I was in conversations with my teammates about the situation that I was in. I explained to them that I didn’t have any gluten free food or water. When I packed our bags the night before, I was reassured that they would provide gluten free food for me and that there should be water there. They had neither. One colleague was on his way with gluten free food and water, and another colleague asked: “what practical way can we help you?”. I said that I honestly could really use another person to help me, but that didn’t seem possible.

A few hours later the doctor came in and looked over the boys, then looked at me and said that I must be seen by the ER downstairs. She said that I must be treated for the sickness that I have. I looked at her, without a voice and probably paler than a ghost and said that I was fine. She smiled a sweet smile, chuckled, as did the other nurses, and said “no, you’re not fine. You must be checked out.”

And so began the incredible care that I received from the women at Matei Balş …  

While the doctor and her staff were in the room, I received a message from my colleague that he had arrived at the hospital. Because we were in quarantine, he couldn’t come up and I couldn’t come down to meet him, so the policy was I needed to find someone who would go down to the gate, get the things from him, and then the hospital worker would bring me the goods. I found the sweet woman who had been in earlier to mop and sweep and told her that someone was at the gate with a few things for me.

I went back to talking with the doctor and a few moments later, I turned around and there was my colleague, standing in the doorway to our room all decked out in a mask, scrubs, and little booties. I couldn’t believe my eyes! The lady who was mopping and sweeping insisted that I needed help and the doctor agreed.

That day I was able to shower, go to the ER and be treated myself, take a nap, eat gluten free food, etc all while my colleague did the majority of the work with the boys. These are all things that I never would’ve been able to do if the sweet woman hadn’t insisted on me needing help and bringing my colleague up to our room.

As that day went on, my colleagues worked tirelessly to figure out a plan for me and the twins. One worked on going to the house to get some toys and a couple other things I forgot, while also grabbing sanitary wipes, soap, toilet paper, snacks, etc from the nearby grocery store. Another colleague found people to watch her animals and said that she would move in with us that evening and stay with us in a quarantined space for however long we were there. Yep, she moved into a room full of three sick people, not knowing if she’d contract what we had or not, and while fully knowing that once she entered the hospital with us, she couldn’t leave until we were let out of quarantine.

To say that we were loved and cared for, while people selflessly took care of us, would be an understatement.

The one colleague who thought he was just coming to drop off a few things, ended up cancelling all his plans for that day and stayed with us until later in the day when the other colleague could move in and join us for X number of days. And what great timing that was..I had felt incapable of caring well for both boys beforehand, but as my temperature rose and I got more and more nauseous, I literally do not understand how I would’ve cared for those boys and myself on my own.

And so began the crazy adventure of my colleague and I caring for these two precious boys as they battled the flu, dehydration, and other respiratory issues, quarantined in an infectious disease hospital during the covid-19 ramp up.

Each day we were in that hospital, we had new nurses and their assistants getting to know us and the story that we got to be a part of. That I wasn’t actually these boys’ mama but that their foster mom was in Italy, with another one of her children getting a much needed heart surgery. And this foster mom was single, and the adoptive/foster mother of 7 children. The staff were amazed and asked questions about all of it. Why were we doing this? What brought us to Romania? And the best questions of all…I want to adopt too. What is that process like? Who can adopt? Who can I talk to about the adoption process in Romania?

We were amazed at all that God was doing. As my colleague said, if the twins’ hospital admittance means that one more Romanian is looking into adoption/foster care, may it be so. May that experience be used for God’s glory!

Each and every day those cleaning ladies, nurses, and doctor came into our room and treated us with the best care. They smiled, they stayed and talked. I can even recall two women that had tears in their eyes. One was the first doctor who admitted the boys and I into Matei Balş..she looked at me and said that it’s hard for anybody to be in quarantine, let alone with two kids and me being sick. She told me that God was with me. I wanted to hug her, but I couldn’t in this time of physical distancing, so I smiled back and my tears soon matched hers.

I’ve heard of other people who have long hospital stays, and they talk about the relationships they form with their doctors and nurses. I can now attest to that. I look back with incredible fondness at all the women- doctors, nurses, cleaning ladies- that cared and loved us those five days. I feel a connection to them all and can still see their smiling, caring faces in my mind.

I think of these ladies now as they are fighting day after day with this covid-19 virus. They told us before we left that the hospital we were in would be changed to deal strictly with covid-19 patients. They knew that their lives would be changing dramatically, and they were prepared to pack their bags and move into the hospital for X number of weeks if that’s what was asked of them.

As we prepared to leave that last day, we again had great conversations with these ladies. All of them had masks on, but the smiles and the concern that we could see simply by looking in their eyes, meant the world to us. We packed up all of our things, and the lady who mops and sweeps, the very first lady who advocated for me and brought my colleague up on that first day, offered to go down to the car with us and help us bring our things out there. As I had one child on each hip, my colleague had bags lining her arms, and this woman had a little cart piled with our things, we started down the hallway that we could only hours before just yell down and hope that help would come. As we started our journey down that hallway, the cleaning ladies and the nurses lined the hallway and said the most kind and loving things to us. I noticed tears again in one of their eyes. One of them told us to stop and wait a minute and as we stood there, loaded down with little humans and all our belongings, she returned with facemasks and gingerly put them on our faces. She gently tucked our hair behind our ears, fitted the mask over our faces, gently squeezed the top of the mask above our nose, and wished us much health.
​
I don’t think we’ll ever forget our five days of quarantine at Matei Balş. The care, the love, and the selfless sacrifice from these women as they gave up two of the precious masks that they were running low on and could very well save them from contracting this awful virus. Yet they selflessly gave them to us, as they had selflessly cared and loved us those past five days. I cannot thank them enough, and I may never see them again. But I can pray, and pray I will. Prayer for their families and prayer for them during this time as they give of themselves so the rest of us have a chance at getting better and one day returning to our “normal” lives. Thank you ladies of Matei Balş. You will always be remembered fondly by this mamica. 

​I vividly remember putting these verses as the “signature” on my emails back in 2015 when I received my email address with ReachGlobal because of the way that God was rocking my world and just OVERWHELMING me with His gifts.

God brought me to Romania in a miraculous way. God prepared so many of you readers to partner with me on this journey. God gave me new life spiritually over a decade ago then gave me new physical life a few years ago (after a scare that turned out to be celiac disease). God’s given me wonderful friends and family in the US, Romania, and around the world. God’s brought me into my dream job, etc etc.

And you know what’s awesome? God continues to give me more than I could ever ask or imagine. For instance, this past week I was able to go on what may go down as the most memorable trip ever! A trip to Iceland to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

Here’s a few examples..

We all saw the weather forecast before we went..colder temps and rain almost everyday that we were going to be there. But we were ok with that..we were going to Iceland! But then we get there and we realize..hey, wait. We get a day of sunshine before the rain comes. Woot!
Then the next day comes, oh sweet. Another day of sunshine and then that rain will for sure be here.

But you know what? The rain never came. All week. I should take that back because at one point, the most light and beautiful rain sprinkled on our car as we were driving from one majestic sight to the other. And it was perfect. A friend pointed out just how perfect the light rain was in that moment and we all just marveled at God.

Isn’t He wonderful? As the days went on in our trip, we realized with greater depth just how much of a blessing this trip was to all of us and how God loves us all so much. One blessing after another after another.

I readily found gluten free and dairy free food. I mean.. I was overjoyed at a vegan restaurant on the first day. Then vegan cheese and gluten free bread to make sandwiches..golden. Then a few days later I could have gravy on mashed potatoes from a restaurant..?!! And then I could have a gluten free cone with dairy free ice cream inside..what?!?

I’m telling you, blessing after blessing.

And I haven't even mentioned getting to see parts of God's creation that I've never seen before..craters, glaciers, waterfalls (and even getting to walk behind a waterfall), hiking to a geothermal river where we got to swim and be refreshed, geysirs, hanging out with dear friends and just being together. 

Even on my way to the airport, I received a message that was an even greater blessing to me. Something that I hadn’t even asked for, but God knew that I would be blessed by.

We know these things, right? That God, our Heavenly Father, knows how to give good gifts and delights to give them to His children (Matthew 7:9-12). But man, after a week of IMMEASURABLE and out of this world kind of blessings, the only thing I can do is share about it!
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May we continue to be open to the gifts that God desires to give us. Notice His handprints and His gifts. Acknowledge Him and share with others what He’s given you- eternal life and earthly blessings galore.

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be. 
Psalm 139:13-16

God has created each of us with unique characteristics, quirks, and gifts that make us who we are. We are all lovingly created and have been given an invitation for a greater purpose on this earth, to be a part of God's Larger Story.

God has placed on my heart a desire to work with those that are often cast out on the margins of society. Those that society has deemed as "less than". In today's world, two of these populations of people are abandoned children and people with disabilities. Often times it seems that if someone cannot contribute in a way that society deems as meaningful.. the society then determines that the person themself is meaningless. 

However, this line of thinking is exactly opposite of what God tells us is True. Each person has a purpose in this world..and they are so loved by the Creator. In fact, in Luke 14, Jesus tells a story of a master who has prepared a beautiful feast and tells his servant to invite people to the feast. The first people that the servant invites have all of these excuses why they can't come to the feast. The Master than tells the servant to "go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame." The servant did this and then there was still more room at the feast! So the master then said "Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full."

I was recently at a conference where we took this story and dissected it a bit. Back in Jesus' time, most feasts were given in honor of someone that society deemed as important. A big meal was made, everyone drank a lot..and when people were drunk, they would then go out and get people with disabilities to come into the party and dance for them. They would become a source of laughter and mockery for the guests of the feast.

However, the parable from Jesus in Luke 14 once again TURNS THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN. 

Jesus is being very direct with who we are to invite to the feast. We are to go out and invite those with disabilities to the feast. Go out specifically to those that society sees as meaningless, and show them how meaningful they are. 

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12, talks about the members of the body of Christ. When we think of our own body, we may think that there are certain parts of our body that aren't quite as needed. WRONG. We often times think of our body parts as eyes, ears, legs, arms, etc. We forget about our knuckles, fingernails, and elbows. Yikes, imagine if we didn't have these body parts! 

Paul tells us that each part of the Body of Christ is valuable, and "in fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary" (verse 22). As a society, we often times see people with disabilities as less than, less important, and weak. But if we are looking at them in that way, and looking at what Paul says, than in fact, the people with disabilities are the most necessary in the Body of Christ, in our churches!

So, if we don't have people with disabilities in our church, we are missing the most important members of our body! We are missing body parts. And..we, as a church, are in fact disabled if we are missing parts of our body. Did you catch that? If we don't have people with disabilities in our churches, our church isn't a whole body- we are missing members- and we are in fact disabled. This is a bold statement I know, but man, it resonates deep within me and within Scripture. 

I recently read an article that Iceland has almost 100% eradicated down syndrome through abortion. This disgusts me. 

On the other side of the pond, in America, Frank Stephens recently stood up for down syndrome and advocated for more research to be done. Some of his quotes include: "I don't feel I should have to justify my existence..is there really no place for us in the world..let's make our goal to be Alzheimer's free, not Down Syndrome free." Click here if you would like to hear his testimony to the courts. 

Almost everytime I watch this video, tears come into my eyes. 

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God has created us all in unique ways. We are all important. And if we're looking at what Paul says with the Body of Christ, those with disabilities are a vital part of our churches. 

Let us all seek to be a body, seek to be a church, that goes out to the streets and the alleys, and then to the countryside to bring those with disabilities to the feast. A feast in their honor. A feast where we experience Fellowship together. Lord, use us and may your Kingdom come!

Catch up on the past few months: As most of you know, I have been dealing with some health issues for a few months now. I did not feel like myself at different points during the summer and then the month of September was a tough one. I spent the month of September lying on my teammate's couch and seeing doctor after doctor. I wasn't able to do much of anything- feeling exhausted all the time, feeling like I was going to faint, having hot spells, feeling light headed, "brain fog", and difficulty concentrating. It was difficult to stand and shower, let alone cook for myself or get around on public transportation to the doctors offices. My dear friend and teammate, Rhonda, took loving care of me and my other teammates helped out as they could. After a month of no answers in Romania, my dad flew out to Romania and brought me back to the states to seek out medical help here. 

My dad and I arrived in Iowa on October 6th. God then provided a cancellation at a doctor in Marion, IA so I was able to see her on October 10th. After some rounds of blood tests, I found out I have celiac disease. 

What is celiac disease?- Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that is triggered by consuming gluten. When someone with celiac disease consumes gluten, the body attacks itself and destroys the villi lining the small intestine. Over time, the villi are destroyed and the person's body is not able to absorb vitamins and minerals, which leads to malnutrition. If left untreated, people with celiac disease are at risk for more autoimmune diseases. 

What have I found out in the states so far?- The doctors that I have seen are not 100% sure about the damage that was done inside my body by the gluten I consumed, but they told me that it may be months before I heal up completely. As you read above, celiac destroys the villi in your intestine which means you can't absorb nutrients and are essentially starving your body of what it needs to keep going. And for me, I was training for a marathon this summer so not only was I not able to absorb nutrients from the gluten, but I also was straining myself by the training I was doing. So we think that my body was preserving itself as much as it could but shutting down in other ways. I couldn't believe how limited I was in my physical abilities towards the end of August and all of September. 

What has my healing process looked like so far? I have been on a gluten free and dairy free diet since the beginning of October. On October 10th, I went to the doctor in Marion and by mid October I knew I had celiac. I also found out that I had leaky gut syndrome and candida overgrowth which means even more damage to my gut. At the end of October I started an autoimmune diet to help heal the damage that was done to my gut by taking away all the foods that are hard to digest. The diet that I was on meant no sugar, no egg, no dairy, no gluten, no beans, no nuts, no corn, and no rice. Basically I have been only eating organic meats, low sugar organic fruits, and some organic vegetables. At the beginning of December, I started slowly reintroducing some foods and now I have beans, rice, and nuts back in my diet. Woot! I hope to add corn back into my diet within the next week. 

At the end of October I began meeting with a chiropractor who specializes in auto immune disorders and other issues. He has helped me with the supplements I take and also administers electromagnetic pulse therapy on my whole body while also focusing on my stomach for 1 hour, 2 times a week. Since working with him, I am amazed at the progress I have made in the past month and a half.

How am I doing now? Overall, I am doing better each day. I am excited that my diet includes more things now, I can drive myself 30 minutes to the chiropractor each time, I can do normal household chores, and I can participate in most family activities. However, in the past 10 days, I have had two episodes where I felt really weak, got really hot, and my legs felt like jello for hours. Both times I spent time on the couch until I regained my strength. These times remind me that I am not 100% healthy yet.

Am I going back to Romania? Yes, I am going back to Romania! However, I do not have a return date yet. ReachGlobal graciously told me to enjoy the holidays with family and to take the necessary time to heal and head back after the new year sometime.  

What is God teaching me during this time? God has been teaching me that He is in absolute control and that His ways are far greater, and far above my ways. I was initially very confused as to why I was so sick and needed to be medically evacuated from Romania, but now that I am in Iowa and healing, I see everyday why I am here right now.

What do I miss most about Romania? I miss the language. I love the Romanian language and I miss learning it. I miss the children I worked with and I miss my teammates and the Romanians I was getting to know.

Where did I live and will that be there when I get back? I lived in an apartment on my own and my teammates have graciously been paying my bills and taking care of it for me. I will move back in once I return to Bucharest. 

These past few months have been difficult on me physically, but then again, I know that things could be so much worse. I am thankful that the Lord guided my time in Romania with Rhonda. The Lord provided just what we needed, when we needed it. We even saw an incredibly kind ER doctor two times who ended up helping me get medically evacuated out of Romania. My dad was able to come over and get me. I was in no condition to fly by myself and having my dad there to bring me home was incredible. The Lord provided a doctor's appointment immediately after we got back to Iowa and immediate answers as to what was going on in my body. The Lord then provided a doctor 30 minutes down the road who has dealt with patients like me before! I am able to buy food locally and we even make some rather tasty dishes with the limited foods I can eat :) 

Thank you for your support, encouragement, and prayers for me and my family over these past few months. We are so grateful for you lifting us up. I ask for your continued prayers for wisdom as we determine where to go from here with my healing process. I need guidance on how to push and challenge myself, while not overdoing it. Please also praise God with me for His provision!

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9