The Journey

I am a missionary kid. MK's are not like other children. We see things that kids our age and older may never see- abject poverty, people who are hurting in almost every way imaginable, and religious/nationalistic prejudice against other Christians/Americans, our families, and ourselves. We have counseled people younger and older than we are and know when our family's funds are a little short in any particular month. From very young ages, we are forced to grow up. When we go back to our mother countries, people flock around us. (It can be overwhelming to go from servant to rock star overnight.) They ask all kinds of questions that we gladly respond to with half answers because deep down we know what it is they want to hear. They want the funny stories and the adventure. But the one thing they don't want to address is the emotional toll that seeing the world like that has taken. They don't know how to help or deal with it. But it's okay: we don't either. ...

Do you want to know who one of my favorite women of the Bible is? No, it's not Mary. Or Esther. Give up? It's Deborah. Bet you didn't guess her! You may be wondering what this has to do with the title of this post. I admit, Deborah isn't a very talked about woman and there's not much known about her, but there's not much that we know about encouraging the boys in our lives to become men either. If you were to ask just me and me alone how to do this, I would have to tell you that I honestly don't know. But Deborah does. Let's take a look at what we do know about our dear Deborah: She lived in a time when everyone around her was doing anything but what God had commanded them. (Judges 4:1) She was being plagued by an enemy nation that seemed like all it wanted to do was pick on her people. (Judges 4:2,3) She was in an unusual position of authority (that most women in that time period did not have) as a prophetess and judge. Everyone and anyone w...

Have you ever thought to yourself, "What on earth in my life is there to be thankful for?" Maybe it's always too hot or too cold for you. Maybe your children or siblings are fighting. Maybe you're stuck in a job you hate. On those days- how can you be thankful? Confession time- I just finished the worst month of feeling unhappy with my siblings that I think I have ever had in my entire life. And that includes when we were little. It seemed like everything they did got on my nerves. I would feel myself getting annoyed, and in an effort to not lose it I would say something quick and sharp. As I would say it, I would chide myself, "Way to go, Nikitah. You just got an F in Siblings Harmony class." I knew what I was saying, but I couldn't bring myself to stop that little comment from slipping out. I felt unhappy and ticked off all the time. There was nothing  to be thankful for. You know how you are going through something and it seems like suddenly ev...

"Happy Holidays y'all!" Ok, I know, I know- I didn't write anything letting y'all know what was going on for the holidays! But, my dear friends, it wasn't my fault! It was the church. No, really. Romanians are kind of mildly obsessed about going to church all the time- especially around the holidays. I'm not saying that's bad... but when Romanians hear the word "holiday", they take off like a rocket. There is no such thing as a calm, restful v acation -like holiday. Instead they are running around until well after midnight with friends.  Basically, this is what our Christmas/New Years looked like: cookie baking, David Center party, Rebecca's cantata, more cantata, even more cantata, caroling until after midnight, more caroling, party, gingerbread house building, more cookie baking, Christmas, Christmas night church service, Christmas service/visit at a little village all day, friends over, last minute New Year party prep, New Y...

Ok, it's that time of year again! It's Country Christmas time! If you live in Ohio and have never been to a Marmon Valley Country Christmas, all I can say is: "WHY NOT?!" I mean, seriously! If there was ever ANY activity that can get you in the holiday spirit, then this is it. Do me a favor- close your eyes. No, wait. Hmm. That won't work. Ok then, just imagine this- it's a dark, star-filled night. You are outside, wrapped in blankets, sitting close to the people you care about, and watching Christ's story unfold- LIVE- before your very eyes. Afterward you find your way to a toasty room where you can warm up and enjoy chili, hot dogs, and free hot chocolate, cookies and more live entertainment. Then, if you have young children or enjoy real Christmas trees, you can brave the cold once more to visit the tiny critter petting zoo/pony rides/tree sale. Doesn't that sound like fun? Roman soldiers riding draft horses, Mary riding a donkey, ange...

Hey, guys! Ok, so Thanksgiving is officially over. Whew. And by officially, I mean that OUR Thanksgiving is done. Here in Romania they don't have Thanksgiving (if you don't know why, then think back to your middle school days and read this ). Village churches usually set aside a service for thanking God for the harvest, but they don't have an official day, nor is it a national holiday. Anyway, moving on. My family celebrated on Saturday instead of Thursday because, again, Thanksgiving isn't a Romanian holiday, so they don't have the day off. It was interesting trying to explain about how we choose the day to celebrate (third Thursday of the month) and what are the essential foods. Honestly, I think they think we're kind of weird for not setting a specific day, like the 25th or something, but they thought the food was pretty amazing. And it was. In years past we have made dishes that require American ingredients, which we import. But this year we managed to...

All we could do was look around us in awe as the elegant streetlamps escorted us past tall, beautiful high risers on the right and the ocean on our left. A giant ferris wheel brought Alyssa's camera out (which, if you know Alyssa, is a regular occurrence). The rest of that trip was fairly uneventful. Close to 1:00 AM, we were dropped off, ready to enjoy our beds. For the next three days, I was bookin' it. I still had things to put in storage, three hours of work, plates to renew, power of attorney form to get notarized, and vote in a city 15 minutes away before we packed our bags for the plane and went to Singles' meeting at church. But, somehow, I made it. On the third day, we didn't sleep because we would be leaving the next morning at 3:30. Our ride picked us up and we arrived at the airport a mere 30 minutes before our flight. And guess what- lucky ducks, our line was the longest we had ever seen at the little Columbus airport! We fidgeted. And waited. And fid...

"Life is a journey, not a destination." -Ralph Waldo Emerson The first leg of our journey is finally over. Life is settling down, and we are trying to adjust to all the strange, yet familiar things around us. Romania is a land of contrasts: the old mixed with the new, the liberal with conservative. A cold wind sweeps across our little city, bringing with it dark clouds and an increase in activity. Everyone must get something done before winter sets in. For the men outside our house, it is to finish replacing the road they started too long ago. For others, it is to gather the last of their crops or gardens. Me? I'm just hoping the boxes come. Which encourages me to recount our little journey, starting with the boxes. Boxes, bags, containers, oh my! They were everywhere. We took over the living room. Boxes and bags of Alyssa's things, bags of mine, boxes of our parents'. We took those little containers and relocated their contents to four larger boxes. Ye...

Hi, y'all! Nikitah here. Why am I starting a blog? Well, why not! :) But seriously, since I'm off to Romania soon to live with my family again, a blog seemed like the best way to keep people up to speed, but also to use as a platform for personal expression. So keep checking back here for adventures, struggles, and news!