Library books just in time to welcome winter and water projects

Bethany just sent us photos of the kids who can not even wait until their librarian has the books catologed!  What fun!

This week we have visited two sites for potential water sites as well as a projected that was just completed which we can now close.

The second village we visited on Tuesday was Jeloboc/Piata, about 3000 people.  In the upper left corner of the mayor's office you see Hripsime, our translator and friend, on the left, a teacher at the school and the mayor Parascovia Negrutia on the right.  They took us near to the river and a hill and under the hill is an underground lake which supplies water for several villiages and the city of Orehi (Orehi has about 1,000,000 people).  The two large pipes on the left come out of the mountain and one takes water to all those people while the second comes out through the large pipe in the center of the pictures and feeds into the Nistru river.  The water storeage tank is for the villages of Jeloboc and Piata, over 800 homes.  It is in very poor condition.

We had a lot of snow the Tuesday night before we drove here and every brach of the trees were coated.  We felt encased in snow as we drove to Brezoaia.  Lidia, her son Andre and the foreman in charge of the water for the villiage walked with us to the tower so we could make certain all was finished.  The truck is what they used to deliver water before they had the tower.

  We have also helped the Baltis Elders move to a new building in which they will have their first meeting this Sunday. It is the same price for 4 times the space and a very nice location.  We have basically spent three days in the  car in quite cold weather.

Very nice selection of fish

This morning we went with the Kitchen's shopping at Metro which is similiar in some ways to Sam's or Costco..different in other ways!

We also picked up the Sister missionaries so we could pick up boots for Sister Hickman and for Sister McGovern.  The couple who make these shoes and boots are experts in their field and a kind and caring couple.

Although their shop is not heated they manage to make some beautiful shoes and boots here.  Sisters Schuld (in the red coat) and Hickman both got boots made and I got my second pair!  Sister Kitchen will pick up her's tomorrow so she will have them for Romania on Monday.  Our church has helped to buy some machines in this shop and we hope we can finish getting them heat very soon.  It is a joy to meet such intelligent, loving people such as Constantine and Irina.

Two important schools and our first project of our own

On Wednesday Sisters Schuld and Hickman took us to a school for mentally handicapped children.  It was one of the most beautiful, well run school which we have seen.

We were quite impressed with the director, the teachers and the students.  They have some needs, which you can see, but they have a high quality program.  Many of the students spend the school nights there and go home on the weekends. 

Although the tables for wood working are old they have plenty of room, and a great instructor with good equipment.  The computers are very old and do not work and the same can be said about the balls.  The young girls have an excellant instuctor teaching various types of weaving and above right are some of the art work created by the students.  Sisters Hickman and Schuld introduced us to this school and they are checking out some of the weaving done by the young girls.

The director is quite active in recruting help for the school.  They need computers, balls, new flooring, and some upgraded tools for their woodworking program. 

We then went to a school for the deaf in the afternoon.  Again, there is a dedicated director here with about 125 students which are deaf. 

Students in wood shop at top left and center, metal shop and instructor top right, school director on bottom right with various types of sewing which they are teaching the girls.

 The US has helped this school but there are many things they are unable to do.  It is in this school that they need to learn a skill which they can use to support themselves following school.  They would like to teach various types of sewing and cooking to the girls and the boys they teach woodworking and metal working.  However, they have no working sewing machines, no stove or sink and almost no tools of any type for wood or metal work.   You can see from the pictures what they have done with the equipment which they have.



On Friday, January 20th,  we meet with Bethany Winfrey (Peace Corp Worker), (the librarian of Scorteni) and a friend of Bethany's from Scorteni at the book store where they purchased new books for their school library. 

Bethany Winfrey is bottom left with Angela Ureche the school librarian and Angela Franze, Bethany's friend all have great fun!

 They had so much fun!  It was the first time for both women to actually go into any store and buy something they wanted.  We then drove to Scorteni where a few of the children, the director, the mayor, some of the other teachers and parents where waiting.  It was a delightful experience for all!

Arrival and welcome at the school

They have moved the library from the unheated third floor to the heated first floor, painted the room and refinishing the book shelves.  I am not sure if the students or the teachers are happier about the new books!

A meal was prepared for us on the second floor!  It was so delicious!

Sunday the Branch President in our little branch was changed as Ryan Aiken (from Utah) is being transfered in a few months.  We taught with the Russian speaking Elders Jones and Jiles and also had a visit from President and Sister Hill which was delightful! 

Top left you see Elders Nilsson and Finch, Sister Kitchen, Elder Hill and Jones and Sister Hickman's ponytail.  Bottom left are Elders Jiles (who will be 19 tomorrow) Kitchen and Finch.  Ray and Elder Peterson are cleaning up and top right is Sister Schuld, Elder Jones, Sister Hickman and Elders Nilsson and Jiles.

This morning all the missionaries came to our home for a breakfast and district study.  We prepared omlets and studied repentance.  We are so grateful for dedicated people who love God and love others!

Building bridges

On Jan 9^th we took a ward member with us, Ciornii Valdimir, for translation and visited with Mihai at the Society of the Disabled to tie up some loose ends on one wheelchair project and get details on another which he would like the Church to help with.  After we had finished he explained that he would also like our help with getting gas to the buildings there so they could have heat.  In 2006 our Church had put in 4 boilers and they were still not hooked up because paperwork to get the gas was not available.  He said he now had the paperwork and would like our help to get gas from the street to the buildings in order to heat them.

We also went with Sisters Schuld and Hickman to the second floor of the same building where the shoemaker would make them some boots.

We have met with the lawyer three times in the past week in order to do what is required to obtain our visas and also met with two gentlemen, Sergio and Alfonz from the U.S. Embassy to see if we could help with projects they are involved in.

The intermediate class with Sisters Schuld and Hickman had about 22 in the group which Ray and Kathy helped with.  Elders Hill and Peterson's advanced class had about 9 with many returning from last year's class.  Everyone had a great time!

On Wednesday, the 11th,  Elders Hill and Peterson, Russian speaking Elders from Idaho, came for dinner.  One thing which we are all doing as missionaries is teaching English twice a week in the evenings.  It gives us great opportunities to help and also to meet wonderful people.

The highlight of our week was attending a school celebration ceremony at Mihai Eminescu in Cimislia with the Kitchens. 

Fred and Mariam Kitchen at the statue of Mihai Eminescu.  Note all the flowers that have just been placed there by guests, students and faculty of the school named after him.  He is a famous Romanian poet who died a painful death at the age of 30.



At the same statue we have a teacher of English at the school, Ray, Lidia Constantinescu (writer and poet and honored guest), Kathy and Viorica Ghenciu the director of the school.



We met wonderful people there, a writer, librarian, Minister of Ecology in Chisinau, the city Mayor, teachers of English, etc and following awards ceremony had a program by the children and then a lunch.

Viorica gave at least 75 to 100 certificates of achievement to children of all ages.

 

In the upper left you see Lidia presenting a scholarship to a young woman, on the right we are at the statue of Eminsecu and you see a few of the performers.





  The director, Viorica Ghenciu, later showed us the kitchen and the problems they have there.  Feeding 250 each day with no working oven and a small sink area plus no storage for supplies has been difficult for years.  The mayor had promised them tables for the lunch room and if our budget allows we can help with the kitchen needs.  We have plans to go about once a month with the Kitchens and help with the English classes in the school also.  We wish we had a set of 5^th or 6^th grade English literature books to donate to this school as they have very few books written in English.

A typical way for hay to be stored within the Moldovan villiages.



This derrick is useful for moving a variety of things and is found in back of many homes.



Our first opening ceremonies

Two projects, begun by Tom and Tony VanWormer, came to completion just before Christmas.  On both projects the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worked with United States Assistance to Europe and Eurasia through Counterpart International. I have included some before and after pictures of both the hospital and the school.

The first was the Rehabilitation of the Municipal Infectious Diseases Hospital for Children in Chisinau, Moldova. There we replaced 24 outer doors, 31 inner doors and 9 windows which greatly improved the conditions within the hospital allowing improved sanitary and hygiene conditions.

This was a first for us:  first bread and salt tradition, first ribbon cutting, etc. 


There are before and after pictures of inside and outside doors and a sample of the before windows.  The center is a new room, new window and beds along with fresh paint.  Cutting the ribbon is the hospital director Ludmila Byrca, myself, and Luminita Suveica, director of general health for the city of Chisinau. Bottom left you see Ana in the center translating for Ray and I, Ray and I taking our second bread and salt as we go into another part of the hospital, and in the bottom left you see Ray addressing the group with Ana translating.

 We felt a little awkward, as we were not directly involved ourselves, but enjoyed meeting the staff and seeing the hospital.



On the way to Cimislia



The second was the Reconstruction of a student dormitory at Mihai Eminescu Theoretical Lyceum in Cimislia, Moldova which took place 22 Dec 2011.  Doors and windows were replaced here, the kitchen redone and a cafeteria added and the study hall redone.  LDS Charities provided new sinks, fridge, two stoves, a rack for storing dishes and new dishes and eating utilise.  They also provided four new tables and eight new benches for the dining area.

Before and after pictures here - upper left is the study room, top is a hall window before and after.  You can see a sample of a dorm room with a hot plate.  They cooked and ate in their rooms with only a small fridge in the kitchen.  You can see pictures of the kitchen before with a fridge and small table.  They now have a dining room with table and seating, a kitchen with two stoves, microwave, to sinks with running water, lots of counter space, a new fridge and not pictured is shelving with dishes, pots, glasses, etc.  The students bring their own food from their homes which are too far away for them to return except on the weekends.

High School students in tradational costume greeting the US Ambassador

 The ceremony took place in the study room.

Here you see several shots of the children, the ribbon cutting with Victoria the director of the school, US Ambassador William Moser, and Kathy cutting the ribbon.  Below the ribbon cutting is Ray and I with Victoria.  The bottom left talking with the Ambassador is Ryan Aiken who is the Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy and also our Branch President.  Ray and I finally got to visit a little in the center and well Ray and the Ambassador hit it off!

This group includes the Ambassador's three children in the back left of the group (girl in white sweater and two taller boys), the performing children, Ray, Kathy, Ambassador Moser, Victoria (the school director) and the Ambassador's wife Marie.  Against the back wall are the high school student which live in the dormitory.

The US Ambassador and his family attended, giving us the opportunity to meet them plus we were treated to a number of delightful performances by the younger children of the school.

After both ceremonies we were served a grand buffet but I was too busy eating and talking to take pictures of that!

For most of you Christmas is over, but not here as the most part of the people are Russian Orthodox and adhere to the Gregorian Calendar, hence January 7th is Christmas and the 14th is the New Year.  Since we are so near to Europe they also celebrate the 25th of Dec. and Jan 1st....so we are still partying!  Not working, partying!

Our new year found us at church where we said goodbye to two new friends.  It is transfer time, so Sister Bennett is leaving and Eugen Sajin, who is now Elder Sajin, is on his way to England for his two year mission.  He is the only member in his family, so good-byes were extra hard today for him.