Back in the US of A!

We're back! Just landed in Chicago (1 min early)! Customs, Belvedere Oasis, & straight to Madison! ETA: 6pm! We'll keep u updated!

Leaving Europe in 6 minutes...

We're officially coming home! We're feeling very excited to see family & loved ones after nearly 3 weeks apart, but also a little bitter sweet about leaving Europe for good. Our team saw flights to Bucharest in both Budapest & London airports, each time I heard a chorus of cries to sneak on that plane (we miss you our Craiova Romaniacs!). Still, we are looking so much forward to the hugs when we arrive in Madison and our own beds too (it will be 1am Budapest time when we arrive in town, we got up at 5am this morn after a few hours of sleep - needless to say, we're tired, in more ways than one).

Ok, about to pull back from the terminal... better post and turn off the phone.

We love you guys. Should be in Chicago on time at 2:15pm, and in Madison between 5:30-6:30pm!

See you then!

Goodbye Europe, goodbye Romania! We'll be back!

-Lief & the team

Almost Home

Zack here, and its almost time to leave for home! John, Kevin and I are the last ones up, about to take a little snooze before we have to jump on a bus at 530 to get to the airport. fun stuff! See you all soon!! Oh, by the way, today was a great day, filled with debrief, sight seeing, some shopping, and just having fun with eachother, enjoying the final day of the trip. This blog took super long to type... the keyboard at this hostel is crazy! All of the symbols are mixed up, the z and the y key are opposites, and there is a random í button instead of the left shift key. woah.

anyways, goodnight all! see you soon!

Last day in Budapest

Hey everyone! Jenna and Hailey here writing this post from the Baroque hostel in Budapest. We arrived yesterday around 10 am on the overnight train, and it's our second and final day here in Budapest for debriefing. Yesterday the team debriefed in a large park near a castle, and later we toured a basilica and climbed a citadel for some more good discussions and spectacular views. On the top of the citadel we had a really great talk, took a bajillion pictures, and sang a pretty good chorus of "lean on me" and "amazing grace". We've been doing a lot of walking and sightseeing around this beautiful city, as well as talking through some really incredible experiences from camp. Unfortunately Paul had to leave early this morning for a wedding back home--we're already missing him! Last night we had an amazing dinner on a boat on the river and ate some traditional Hungarian goulash (our favorite), and this morning breakfast was great at the hostel too (we are all loving the Mr. Choco chocolate spread.) We have some big plans for today as well: first a tour of a castle, later some serious debriefing, and then a much-needed trip to the hot springs.
Debrief has been awesome. Pray that we would further process everything that has been happening and enjoy our last day in the beautiful city together.

Shout Outs:
From Paul:
Lief - not enought pillow talk on this trip
Kev-you have good mustic taste even though I only liked 1/5 of your top five.
Zack-glad I could share your first public pee in Budapest w/ you...that sounds weird, sorry. Oh, and practice chess.
John- my roommate taped shark week, come over.
Hunter- I will be patiently waiting until you have a beard, so I can pull on it every 5 minutes like you did to me.
Eric-please don't publish that one pic with the capris. Much appreciated.
Larry- sorry I called you old so many times-I think of you as a fine wine, better w/ age.
Pat-Thanks for being my mom away from mom. Might want to bring more vitamin c next year...
Jenna- sorry, my shoulder is so boney, maybe try Liefs next time, he has a bit more padding.
Megan-thanks again for always calling me Pablo.
Sheri-I want a WDOH bottle. Hope you get the house!
Hailey-Whens the engagement party?
Cassidy- Sorry if I asked "are you getting some good shots?" too many times.
Kati- Kati BOO
Taylor- I can't believe it took you so long to figure out how weird I am. You should really give Tommy Boy [or Tom Boy] another try.
April- it was cool to see you love on those girls that your mom loves so much.
Malachi- good being small group buddies w/ you. I agree w/ Oana, you should move to Craiova. PS you are sleep talking right now, creepy.
Tess-nice job MCing at camp. Feel free to use the duck joke next year. You know you loved it.
Elli- You have an awesome voice, keep rockin it, girl.
Nikki-thanks for taking care of everybody. Sorry that I was frantically yelling for you that one time when you had [unbeknownst to me] already started caring for the victim.

Saying Goodbye

Here's the blog from yesterday:

Hello from somewhere in the Romanian countryside! Tess and Kevin here reporting live from the train to Bucharest among pre-industrial farms and an army of corn marching through the field. Since our last blog, so much has happened. Camp ended on a very high note. The last night was so impactful for everyone. Lief and Daniel talked about the sacrifice of the cross and how that was the ultimate example of grace. Then we had the chance to experience a group performance demonstrating the power of Christ to set us free. It was a drama along with the song “Set Me Free” by Casting Crowns. Malachi, Hunter, and Elli and the rest of the team did an amazing job, and it was evident that all of the campers were very moved. The reality of God’s love was really driven home for the Romanians when Daniel read a “letter from God,” detailing a fuller picture of his love for all of us. It was all in Romanian, which was even more poignant. There was not a dry eye in the room. After that, we split up into our small groups and did something we have never done in Romania before: foot washing. All of the leaders washed the students’ feet and the whole small group prayed for the individual. Then the leader’s feet were washed by the students. This was such a great example of what we had been talking about all week, and everyone really was impacted. We then had our last night of small groups, and the discussions were amazing. Everyone opened up and was very vulnerable. A few students even accepted Christ into their hearts that night. It was amazing. We finished up the night with a huge bonfire and a few of us even stayed up all night. It was a great night, as it always is, filled with community and God’s love. The next day, it was time to say goodbye to camp. We packed up the buses and headed to a monastery in the next town f or a little sightseeing. At the monastery, they had a very strict dress code, where no pants above the knees or shirts without sleeves were allowed. Quite a few of the campers, both boys and girls, had to wear the skirts the monastery provided to people wearing shorts. After the monastery, we parted our ways with the campers. It wasn’t a sad goodbye though, because we knew we would be seeing most of the campers in a few days back in Craiova.
The American team and the Romanian leadership team then headed to the city of Bran for camp stories & evaluation. It did take longer than we anticipated though, and we arrived around midnight. The next day we became tourists for a couple of hours and headed to the famous “Dracula’s Castle”. After a short tour, we headed back to the hotel to debrief for a couple of hours before lunch. We talked about ways we had seen God work throughout the week and things that were good and bad about the camp. We then crammed all 36 people into two vans and made our way back to Craiova. We all slept very well that night and were excited for the next day.
This was the first year we were able to go back to Craiova after camp, and it was probably one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. In our extra day in Craiova, we had the chance to visit the Gypsy market, do more debrief, and the most important part: the reunion. Every year after camp, all of the campers from Craiova and the church get together one night just to reminisce about camp and to be together one last time. It was such a privilege to be a part of this event that we usually miss by leaving straight from camp to go home. We went to the park for a few hours to play games and socialize. Then we all went back to the church. It was really great getting to show the campers where the church is, and encouraging them to go there on Sundays and for Saturday night youth group. There, we played games, watched a slideshow of pictures from camp, and sang some songs that were camp favorites during the week. Then came the most important part of the evening: Daniel invited the campers up to share about how camp impacted their lives and what they got out of it. It was so encouraging to see all of the campers get up and be so honest and open about how much camp changed their lives. Daniel later said that he was shocked by the amount of campers who decided to share. It became certain that this camp had had a profound, meaningful impact on many of their lives. It was a great time, and went very late into the night. Then we spent our last night in Craiova at our host families’, and woke up early this morning to spend a final few hours at the church before we headed to the train station. We talked in a group about the pros and cons about camp, and planned a little for future years. Then we packed up and headed to the train station to say goodbye. Every year it is so hard to say goodbye to the people you have been with 24/7 for the past couple of weeks and this year was no exception. After lots of tears and hugs, we boarded the train headed for Bucharest. We will have a layover there for two hours (grabbing dinner and saying goodbye to one of our friends there) and then head out on our overnight train to Budapest for team debrief and preparations for reentry to back home.
We are sad to be leaving so soon, but it’s crazy to know we’ll be home in three days! Thank you for all of your love and support. Until then, la revadere!



Shout Outs:

The Team to our friends in Craiova: It’s been like two hours since we said goodbye, but we miss you already! :( We love you all. Thank you for an amazing experience. We are blessed to be part of your community. (Lief says: if you notice you’re missing a few students – we may have successfully stuffed a few of them in our checked bags. We’ll let you know as soon as we can confirm.)

Megan to Emilia: Write down your address so we can find you in Budapest!

Anne and Audra: Mom says I love you and miss you. We’ve decided to extend our stay for another couple weeks. Or months…

Kevin to Parents: Hi. I love you.

Andi & Leann: Just you wait, l’ve signed you up for next year. Mwahahaha. We’re moving our Life Group to Romania! Da be da! 
Tavalodet Mobarak! Man dar Romania zendegi bekonam. Fekr mikonam that I have forgotten every language but Romaneshte. Ci che daca!

Kree, Shg, Meggles & Kate the Great: I miss you guys and can’t wait to share my experiences with you. Now I’m more confused than ever: Scotland or Romania? Fuorte bine!

Taylor to The Fam: I miss you all! I’ve taken over 1000 pics and there’s more to come. What is my favorite dinner?

Nikki to mom and dad: You thought falling asleep listening to the latin beat in Costa Rica was fun, try gypsy music! Can’t wait to see you! ILY! Dad- Have an amazing trip to the Quetico!

Johnny to Thomas: It’s been real out here man, I taught my small group to be young and unashamed, the 1-1-6 is spreading!!! We finna get some grub right when I get back…I need a burrito!!

Mere Cat to my Nutter Butter: Shnuckumms, you are on my mind every second of every minute, my heart bursts with the mere thought of your cute little ears so perfectly and symmetrically placed on that head of yours. Your eyes are like beautiful almonds, but not the roasted kind – the natural kind – the kind that has not ever been tainted by human touch. Your hair, like the rough grasses of the Scottish meadow – a fitting home for gophers and field mice, your smell, a pleasing aroma to my nostrils, particularly after a morning of hoops. Oh how I miss this odor. You know its true love, my Baby Cakes, when I think of your armpits as much as I do – and I really, really do miss your armpits. Love. Love…. love.

Lief to Emi: I’m almost home to you – I miss you. The Romanians are all hoping to meet you soon – and the 7 we saw in Feb asked “where is Emily?!” I am hoping I got this head infection all cleared up by Friday, cause I hear it’s contagious. You are beautiful – see you Friday!

Sheri to Bradley: Only three more days until I can run in your arms at the airport. :) I am excited! Although it is really difficult to leave … the goodbyes to our Romanian friends were so hard. They really want us both to come next year. :) See you soon hunny. Xoxox Love you.

Sheri to her family: Hey everyone! I miss you all so much. I hope you have fun preparing for the Willow! :) Love you!

Zack to Luke and Noah—Three more wake ups guys!!! I miss you guys!

Zack to T-I can’t believe you crushed everyone in the Euchre tournament! I should be practicing eh? Hah

Elli to dad: Thanks for not letting Annie destroy my room. I am glad Pumpkin is getting rid of rodents. Hehe. Too bad Alberto C won the tour I wanted Andy S to win But they are both good riders.

Tess to the fam: Miss you guys! See you in 3 days!

Word from the trainfront!!! (Direct from the Carpathian Mtns in Romania!)

It's the team with a short update from the train to Hungary. We actually have a long and well-written post that we've been trying to update the blog with for the past days. It should be up within 12 hrs - when I'm not updating from my iPhone. For now, it's 9:30pm & we've been on our sleeper car celebrating the trip & God's work through a little party on the tracks! The sun is finally set & the Carpathian Mtn's are 10 shades of grey & green as we slowly climb them. Bedtime is coming soon. For many of us, our 1st night of 6+ hrs of sleep in a while... and it will be almost 12 hrs of beautiful "rock me to sleep" train slumber. The last few days have been incredible & at our camp reunion we heard stories of lifechange from campers and leaders. Moving... amazing. God is so good. More on this later. Pray for a well deserved sleep and a productive debrief over the next 2 days. I'm SO Proud of this team. Wow! Words can't describe the ways God has used them this week. I can't wait to share more! For now, noapte buna! We'll miss you Romania! -Lief

A Message From The Home Front

Hey Family, Friends, and Supporters,

Since the team has not been able to blog recently, we thought that we would remind you of their schedule.

Their last day of camp was Saturday, July 31. They have now entered the whirwind of debriefing, stories, goodbyes and travel. Since they are no longer at camp their internet access may no longer be as consistent, but we are still able to get in touch with each other for emergency situations. We can't wait to hear their stories when they are able to fully update us!

Lief did let the church staff know that the team is doing well and he is very impressed with the way the students are serving.

Thanks for all your support, prayers and encouragment for the team!

From Angie (High School Admin) and Kristen (Impact Admin)

Yeah World, Keep on Smiling!!

Hey everybody it's Taylor, Kati, and Cassidy. It's our last full day here at camp and there's been a lot going on.

Yesterday the campers got to tye dye t-shirts. It was a messy craft and most of us managed to tye dye parts of their bodies. The t-shirts are hanging up to dry right now and they all look great! Cassidy and Kati even tye dyed sheets that will be used as table cloths in the Underground.

After tye dye we had water day out on the soccer field or as they would say here "fotbal field". First we played drip drip drop, which is similar to duck duck goose with water. Next we had a classic water balloon toss. Then we played a Romanian game, quadrants, in which we split up into four teams and water balloons were launched at us. We put our shoes on our hands to try and break them before they hit the ground in order to win the game. The final game we played was steal the bacon on a homemade slip n slide. It got very competitive and very funny.

In the evening Lief gave a talk on the prodigal son that was very moving. In it, he talked about common misconceptions about who God is. We also heard a parallel version of the story of the prodigal son from the book Whats So Amazing About Grace? that was written to be more relevant to modern times. We also talked about how God is the Father, which I saw in a whole new light as I sat next to a girl who has grown up in an orphanage.

Later that night, in small group, we had a great discussion in response to what Lief had talked about. The girls in my group are young believers, but they had a lot of confusion about views of God and forgiveness and grace. Last night was the first night that the girls had opened up and been willing to share about their relationship with God and some of their struggles. Pray that the girls would be very open and candid tonight, because we have a lot of great stuff planed for tonight. Also, pray that they would focus tonight and not so sleepy, those have been reoccuring problems for our group.

Tonight the team will experience a Romanian bonfire!

Love you all, keep us in your prayers!!



SHOUT OUTS:

Larry to Brady Bunch: Hope you figured oout the lawn mower, replenished your mother's chocolate stash and gained a lead on the chipmonks! --Dad

Zack to Tante: Awesome! I hope the Lambeau 5K goes awesome!
Zack to the fam: Hope you're all doing better now that we posted a pick of me

Cassidy to Mom and Dad: Hope your trip was fun. We're still at camp. It has been so cool. I have over 1,000 pictures so far! Can't wait to tell you all about it and show you in New York.

Elli to mom and dad: I miss you guys a lot. I will be home in 1 week cant wait to see you. I am having so fun at camp. Dad, i hope Annie is not destroying my room or having accidents in it.lol. I also hope Pumpkin is on the hunt every day:)Love you

John to Mom #2: My hair's lookin flyyy! T keep doin your thang!

Paul & Kev's Blog from Yesterday 7/29 (We had technical diffies)

Before we begin today's blog post, here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure:

My name is Kevin Mauer, and I am writing this post in collaboration with a reverend sage by the name of Paul Bunyan Staats, whom you will meet later on. Together, we will provide you, the reader, with a flavorful account of the campside happenings of the past 24 hours. Hold on to your hats.

I'm sure you're all thankful that Zach and Emily so selflessly chose to stay back from yesterday's hike in order to provide yesterday's post -- the post was, after all, a stroke of brilliance rivalling Lief's and Johnny's performance of "Too Late to Apologize" at last week's coffeehouse. Anyway, I appreciate their sacrifice all the more because it was SUCH A GREAT HIKE! We all set out after lunch, all laughing and joking together in Romanian and English. (I had a wonderful coversation with a Romanian boy my age named Manuel, about English slang and language in general. He knew way more about the history of English than I did.) We started on a gravel road lined with trees as old as Romania. Then we reached a meadow with a beautiful, rocky creek. Beside the trail were scattered old abandoned horse carts that are pretty characteristic of the Romanian countryside (and big cities too! ... when we flew into Bucharest, one of the first sights I could make out below from the plane was a peasant woman driving a horse in the middle of town -- I thought that was cool). The real hike began when Lief turned to his right and announced, "In Romania they have a different philosophy on trail-making. Mountain trails don't have switchbacks, they go straight up." Literally, straight up (but safe, of course). We made trains by holding hands and labored up the mountainside. There was a rocky summit that offered remarkable views of the entire wilderness. The best part, though, waited for us a little way down the trail. When we came back out of the trees, we came upon the most beautiful pasture I've ever seen. It was, like, straight out of "Heidi" or "The Sound of Music" or something. Far below, in the middle of the pasture, there was a tiny one-room shack, outside of which a man and a woman were chopping wood -- doing just as they have done day after day, generation after generation, living out their existence in serene seclusion (or, at least, that's the scenario I imagined as I sat fixated on the expansive landscape before me). There is so much simple beauty on God's Earth. There are so many opportunities to experience Creation in ways that demand us to respond by glorifying His name. Man, it was something. By and by, we headed down the hill, hanging around and posing with the cattle along the way. (For safety's sake, we had to check each one's underside. More than once we had to shout "Bull!" and run away.) At the bottom of the hill we found sheep and a grizzled shepherd. A few of us and some of the campers got pictures with him, too. He wore muddy shoes, muddy pants, a muddy shirt, a hat, and a pink Barbie backpack that was very small on him. Don't ask me where he found it. I bet it's quite a story. He was friendly and a little shy. He posed for a picture with April and Manu, one of our Romanian leaders, told him that she is an American. The shepherd was astonished and smiled. He said in Romanian that she is beautiful and offered her sheep cheese from his backpack. Sufficiently creeped out, April moved away from the shepherd and tried to communicate that she could do without the gift. (One of the campers took it instead.) The lives of the shepherd and the man and woman chopping wood are very different from those of all the other Romanians we've met.

In the evening Eric delivered a great message about forgiving others. He introduced to our campers the concept that we can only be truly whole when we let go of the hard feelings we have for people who have wronged us. It was an important message for them to hear, being the other side of the gospel of Grace topic that was explained by Dan the night before. Eric tied into his message a moving video interview with Valentin (one of our Romanian leaders) about how he has forgiven the older boys in his childhood orphanage for forcing him to steal and brutally beating him. For years it became custom for older boys to control the lives of the younger ones with violence. When Valentin was a teenager, however, he and his friends broke the "cycle of ungrace" by treating the younger boys with respect. He overcame the hardship in his life by loving the sinner and hating the sin. In his message, Eric articulated very well that grace sets free the forgiver and the forgiven alike. And now the moment you've all been waiting for...words coming to you directly from Dr. Love himself, Paul Staats.

Hey errrrbody...you may be wondering why Kevin called me Dr. Love......I'd ask Lief for an explanation, he is the ultimate giver of nicknames. Besides Dr. Love, he has given me ones such as Pwetty Paul, Bucket, Buckwheat, Pwince, and his personal favorite, Pwetty Pwince Paul. Sooo as you can imagine, every day I feel more and more confident in my masculinity. Thanks Lief.

Yesterday was great. The hike was awesome, Eric's talk was poetic, and for the most part, it seemed that in our small groups there was a great change of pace...I've been hearing many stories of campers opening up and reaching new depths as far as questions and conversations. It seems that many of them have a difficult time grasping the fact that God's forgiveness is all-encompassing. A camper in my small group actually stormed out in the middle of our conversation about God's forgiveness because he was so disturbed by the idea. Clearly there are many walls that need to be broken down for many of these kids, so please continue to pray for them. Tonight, Lief will be preaching about the prodigal son parable, which I can imagine will be very ground-breaking to many of the campers. So I'm expecting great things to happen tonight in our small groups.....

To all you parents out there, way to go on raising awesome kids. I am continually impressed by our team, especially the students! As I've learned from other mission trips, there is a big difference between going on a mission trip and actually doing missions work. For a mission trip to be effective, everybody on the team really needs to put themselves out there, and I think your kids have truly done so. I wish you could see firsthand the effect they have on the campers here!

Aaand here's a few shout-outs:

Amy to Mom: I am, mom.....thanks! :) Love you!

Amy to Lyss: Of course! I'll fill you in on everything when I get back. Can't wait to hear all your Iowa news! :) I have some good stories for you too! Love you!

Malachi to Will: Thanks for reading the blog see you when I get back.

Malachi to Kenzie: Hey Girrrrl miss you and I'll tell you all the stories Hunter doesn't. >-----< Here's a virtual hug till I see you :)

Malachi to Mom & Dad: Thanks! Love you! Miss you!

Megan to family: hey guess what?! sat in cow poop today.

Kati to Mom, Dad & Em: Hope you're having fun in LBI. I miss the beach! Love you all & tell everyone at the P's that I say hi.

Taylor to Colin: I miss my Collie Mon!! I love you! Kati misses you too.

Larry & Pat to Anne & Audra: We miss you and love you!

Nikki to Krissy: Glad you have been so productive! Proud of ya! :) ILY!

Tess to the Pankratz Fam: Missing you! But I am having an amazing time :) see you soon!

Jenna to Jacqueline Jacobson: You rock, girl! Missing you!

Sheri to financial & prayer supporters: This trip is amazing, its great to be a part of God's work here. Thanks for making it possible!

Sheri to Bradley: I love you, always and forever!

Pau Stau to Lau Mau: Bring it to the Tau Pau....we can't let the frogs beat us....

Zack to Tess: Hey.

Zack to the fam: Hope everything's goin good!

John to Jimmy: Word to your mother.

Hunter to Mommy: I'm feeling a lot better. Your letter said "can't wait to see you on August 20th". So I guess I'll see you in a little less than a month ;)

Emily and Zack Bloggin' it Up

So after we sat down to write this blog and played around with iTunes for a while, Emily said, "We should get started," but then Zack pointed out the fact that we have three hours. So we put it off for a while. But when we actually did get started, we couldn't even think of a title. In fact, we now only have two hours. Right now the campers are on a hike while us fortunate three (Eric Phillippi included) get to enjoy each other's company and listen to "Use Somebody" by Paramore (in spanish). Now, after YouTubing for a while, we shall actually make progress...

It's about three o'clock on day three of camp. As Elli mentioned, we've had as much rain as we can handle. But today we are enjoying 80 degrees and sun. However, the ferocious river is still high. A perfect day for a hike in the beautiful Romanian forest. So, as the campers are off on their hike, we have the opportunity to update you guys about the past day or so.

Last night, after Elli's post, we enjoyed some group games such as Snake Tag and Energy, then had pizza for dinner (with ketsup instead of tomato sauce... yikes). Daniel spoke last night about Grace again, this time touching on Philip Yancy's "Mathematics of Grace." The concept is that you cannot do anything to make God love you more, and you cannot do anything to make God love you less. It was a pretty good, short message that really helped the campers understand Grace. Small group time followed, and there were a few interesting stories from small groups. Emily's small group started pretty rough, with several girls not wanting to participate. However, as the conversation progressed, they slowly entered the circle and conversations and they really seemed interested. It was very encouraging to see this growth out of these girls.

Today started great. Breakfast was interesting, as usual. The lunches and dinners have been phenominal so far, but the breakfasts are a different story. When you have a meal made up of 3 small squares of ham, a half of a tomato, 2 pieces of smelly, salty cheese, some cucumber, and hot tea, you dont often leave the dining hall very satisfied. Oh well! haha. Each morning so far we have done our camp song, "Get Back Up" by TobyMac.

English Classes follow the camp song time. And, believe it or not, we are English teaching partners! Woah! Our class is very laid back, with 9 people in all. We have an advanced class, which has turned out to be a great thing. So far, we have only played catch phrase to increase their vocabulary, and had a small debate to help them think of arguements in English on the spot.

Looking at the watch now, we still have about an hour and a half to finish this blog... so who knows how long this thing could get!

Anyways, today's activities so far have consisted of soccer, ultimate frisbee, archery, and rockwall climbing with our small groups. This was very fun, and it was great to see the small groups working together and/or cheering other people on during these activities. The groups are actually starting to mesh together and open up, despite the language barrier. Also, our small groups have each created a mascot and a chant to go along with their group. Emily is part of the Briosciele (Muffins in English) and Zack is in the Romerican Punks, a very creative name that has no translation because it's that awesome.

Everyone is healthy now, except Zack has had the "Hots for Pumba" for a few days now, but he is doing okay. Sorry, but it is an inside joke, and we cannot explain the meaning of this term. Emily is also doing great, despite the precautionary hospital visit last week in Craiova. For those of you who don't know, during our night at the park, Emily was experiencing light headedness and, beacuse of the long day, she fainted when we returned to the church. Because of a recent heart condition, the hospital visit was made just to be safe, and everything is ok now.

On a lighter note, worship is going great. We are both on the worship team this year at camp, and the campers really seem to be liking the music so far. We have seen clapping, involvement in songs such as the echoes in "Lean on Me," and some occasional hoots and hollers from Lief.

So, as we reach 3:45ish on Day three, we have spent about an hour and half on this post. Later tonight we will be enjoying a great talk from Eric, some small group time, dinner, and free time hopefully. So, we're ending this blog post halfway through our trip, and we're hoping the second half will go just as well. Now, Emily and Zack will go watch The Chronicles of Narnia with Eric.

SHOUT OUTS

Emily to Mary- Dude, hehehe. That's all I can say.

Emily to Dad- Miss you tonnes.

Emily to Mom- I loved your card! The petals were super pretty.

Emily to Jan- I love you so much! I was so surprised to get your note. It made my day :)

Zack to the Fam- The dells should be about over by now i think... my days are getting mixed up. hope everything went awesome!

Zack to the Frydenlund 4-- Hope you guys had a great time at the dells too!! I wish i coulda been there to see you guys, but maybe next time

Zack to Grandma and Grandpa--Thanks for the notes! I have read them already

Zack to Nana- I cant wait to see you and tell you how everything went!

Zack to John-Hope the hike was fun man! We should go on hikes up Bascom this next semester daily since i missed today's hike haha, and maybe iChat while we're hiking?! haha

Zack to Emily-Hey, youre sitting right here, but just saying that this was a fun post to write with you, and i like the blue shirt and the yellow shorts youre sporting right now haha!

Emily to Zack- yeah this was definately fun. I'm liking your purple shorts right now, even though this is like the fifth day you've worn them. No wonder you smell funny.

Zack to Emily- Wow. Sorin washed them okay? And i brought two pairs of purple shorts. and for everyone reading this right now, i do not smell funny. the end. but thanks emily for commenting on my nice matching yellow shirt and red bandana along with the purple shorts.

Emily to Zack- no problem. but, i'm not sure i would trust sorin's washing skills. you should wear your white shorts. they're perfectly clean. and, btw, for everyone reading, zack has this obession where he tucks his shirt in and pulls his shorts up as far as he can get them. it's so attractive.

Eric to Zack and Emily- Guys! I'm sitting right here! I have been here for the past two hours! What the what? I wish you could just acknowledge me... maybe just a 'hello!'...or I would even accept a generic shoutout like, "Zack and Emily S.O. to Eric". That's it. That's all I am asking for! Is that too much to ask for?!?!

Zack to Emily-Sorin is a great washer. and btw, im going to quote john here... "Zack, i think youre the only person i know who can pull off that look" But yes, my white shorts are still clean. i dont want to get them dirty at camp. besides, i might need them for the next busride? duh.

Emily to Zack- well.... john is always right, but may i point out that i never said you couldn't pull off that look. actually i like the yellow and purple. it sort of matches my yellow and navy. and you probably won't need the white shorts because i've learned my lesson.

Zack to Emily- Probably wont? lol i will make sure i have them anyways... but our yellows are different... My mom taught me how to match clothes, we dont match. Sorry!

Eric to Zack and Emily-hello?!?!

Zack and Emily to Eric- Hey..?

THE END :)

Hello from Voronet, Romania

Hey everyone Elli Hutchinson here. I am honored to update the blog for you guys today July 27th. Today is our first full day at camp in Voronet, Romania.The camp is nestled into a hillside surrounded by towering pine trees and a high flowing river below. We arrived yesterday around 11:30am after a long exhausting 16hr bus ride. When we got off the bus we were all really excited about our fun time at camp although we didn't show it. Most of us only got 2-3hrs of sleep.After we were assigned into small groups , got our room assigned, and had a small lunch,we were able to get about 4hrs of sleep. Which once we got to our beds we were totally out. It was a dread though since we have been here it has been raining on and off. We had our first large group last night in which the topic of Grace was introduced. Lief talked about the difference between Mercy, Justice, and Grace. We also watched the first part of Les Miserables which illustrates Grace all through the story. It is a wonderful story. If you have not seen it or read it you should. I personally was stunned to know that most of the Romanians at the camp where very familiar with it. We also did worship and learned the song and motions to our theme songs for camp this week. So far our first full day here has been a blast despite the rain. We had small group time, large group time, English lessons, had a volleyball tournament, and a soccer game outside in the rain.
Please pray for Lief, Kevin and Hunter to feel better...they are a bit under the weather. Nothing major they all seem to still be enjoying themselves. And pray for the rest of our team to keep up our strength this week.
More blog posts and photos coming soon!!

SHOUT OUTS!
To Mom and Dad from Cassidy: Thanks for the letters and starburst. Did you make a trip to half price books? because where did you get the comics from? Camp is great!
Mom Dad Emily and Kyle from Kati: miss and love you! camp has been fun!

Mom and Dad from Taylor: I miss the whole family! Thank you for all the letters. Tell Payton I loved her pictures and her stamps are awesome. Camps Great.
To Anne and Audra from Mom: Thanks for the treats. You are so thoughtful! Loved the comment about the natural prairie look!! : ) Love you both!

To Makenzie from Pat: Thanks for the great post! Loved it! You are so encouraging. We miss you.

To Anne & Audra from April: I'm so glad you guys are having my car fixed before I return home. ;)

To mom,dad& Ami from Elli: I am so jealous you guys got to see Kelly in Cinderella.Hopefully i get to see it when i get back.Love you&miss you guys.

Hey y'all! Johnny Lerdahl here. I feel quite honored to be writing this blog, however, I haven't looked at any of the other posts so I might repeat some things. Yesterday we had our get-together at the coffee house and that was an awesome time hanging out with the kids(I say kids but most of them are probably either my age or older than me) coming to camp. They weren't serving coffee at this coffee house but it was a pretty legit place to be. There was a stage where we performed out activities such as: the worship played some hits, a number of students did a couple of funny skits, and Zack, Cassidy, and I shared why we came to Romania and what were excited for most about camp. The funniest moments were definitely when Lief accompanied Zack on stage while he sang, "Apologize" by One Republic, and when Kevin was doing a skit with Malachi, Rosvan, Amy, Bianca, and Sheri and he was up there singing his heart out and yelling, "What the crap!" Oh, and I guess it was slightly funny when I was singing, "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears, hopefully that video will make its way onto Facebook. Our next adventure was eating dinner at Galaxy, a fine dining establishment. Right as we sat down at our table there was a flash of lighting and instantly the power went out...for the duration of our meal. And of course, the power came back on right when we left. It was kosher though because we had a nice romantic, team-bonding, candlelit dinner. But how could I forget! Before we went out for dinner we visited the City Center where they have fountains lit up and choreographed with classical music...tightttt. God has been working in amazing ways on this trip and hopefully you'll hear about them in blogs to come;) I'm pretty crunched for time here since we finna leave for camp any minute here, we're really excited! We all love 16 hour bus rides. We miss y'all lots and we love the feedback that you've been giving us it really keeps us going.

SHOUTOUTS!!!

Zack to... The Fam--Hope the dells is going great!
Thomas--Hope everything is going awesome for you and we are all enjoying your comments they are pretty funny.

Tess to Kenzie: Girrrl I miss having you here so much. Let's just say...soapy has returned! Hahahah it was so funny i was like ayooo soapy! Brought back so many memories. I loveee you and I hope you're doing good :) Ps Zack is really mad because you said he's the 2nd best hugger hahahah.

Cassidy and Megan to Emilia: How is your new apartment? Can't wait to see you!

Cassidy to Kenzie: aww that was such a sweet comment. miss you so much! like tess said, we found soapy again...hes still the same soapy!

Megan to Kenzie: Thanks for the shout out! I miss you! See you when we get back home lady:)

Some links to videos! Enjoy!

You might have to friend Lief Erickson on facebook to see these - though, I'm not sure.

Zack's Group Hug: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=996771090667&ref=mf



Midday Update from McD's: http://www.facebook.com/lerickson#!/video/video.php?v=996673092057

Lake in the Park 10 Second Dance Party: http://www.facebook.com/lerickson#!/video/video.php?v=996770202447


More vids and pics to come! Keep looking today!

-the team yo

Here's Tess: droppin down a funky update from Mickey D's!

We've been meaning to post this since yesterday at this time... anyway.. here is our blogpost from yesterday! Today's will be posted within a couple hours! -Lief

Tess from July 23:
Helloooo everyone! Tess here, writing from McDonald’s in Craiova. Haha so much cooler than the one I work at back in the States. We are enjoying some ice cream and shakes before we head over to the city park tonight. Since our last blog post, we have experienced our first night in Craiova, at our host families. Most of us slept well, but some are still dealing with a little bit of jet lag. For the most part, though, we all got a full night’s rest. We spent most of the day at the church. We had team time first, read all of the blog comments (loove those, please keep them coming!) and did a short devotion. Then we dove right into planning for camp. We split up into teams, dealing with different parts of camp. Lots got done, and the plans are really coming along. After exchanging money, we headed over here and are about to leave for the park. We will spend most of the night there, playing group games and meeting a lot of the people that will be coming to camp with us. This will also be an awesome time to invite people to come to the camp who might not have heard about it before. We’re all wearing our blue camp shirts and not looking like tourists at all walking around the city in the same shirt…Haha after the park, we will head back to the church for a late dinner and then go back to our host families for the night. Tomorrow will be another day spent planning, with a coffeehouse at night. We are all feeling great, and are really excited to be here. Zack wanted me to include this: When asked if he could “make doing the camp song dance motions look cool”, Johnny Lerdahl responded… “I can make anything look cool.” It’s great to see everyone over here stepping up and doing anything they can to help the team. Some things you can be praying for are:
-A good night’s rest tonight and tomorrow especially, as it is our last full night of sleep before we leave for camp.
-For any last minute preparations, that they are made and organized well.
-Health of the team members, especially a select few.
-The success of the coffee house that we are doing tomorrow night.

Thanks so much for all of your support and comments! It really means a lot to all of us. Keep praying and leaving comments, you are awesome :)

Love, Tess

Shoutouts:

Jenna to Ben and Dan: Have fun with the cousins this weekend! Say hi for me :)
Nikki to Erica: I knew you'd get the job! So proud of you! You'll do great with those kids!
Amy to Erica: I second what Nikki said! So excited for you!
Lulu and Martha to Alonso and Julio: That's a deal. Tonight? Pick us up at 7?
Amy and Jenna to Olan and Jessie: Thanks for the poem! We're working on a formal reply...meanwhile we're still feeling laughing effects of Lief reading yours this morning :D You're both crazy awesome.
April to project life group: We miss you! Hope you are having a great summer!
April to Anne and Audra: Wish you were here-Everyone is asking about you!
Elli to Mom: Good luck mom in the Waunafest run! I love you.
Megan to Hanna: Hey lady, here is your shout out...hi.
Emily to Mary: Once upon a time a girl was tied to some tracks and a train was coming...but then a guy with Dr. Pepper showed up...
John to Jimmy: I have yet to see any flat tops here, I might just have to represent
Cbass and Tess to Mollie: Keeeep singin Bob! You're doing great Bob! lalalalayellow submarinelalalala
To Matt Tolly: We found your Romanian twin. His name is Andrei. He looks and acts exactly like you! Haha he also giggles when you tickle him...
Amy to Alyssa: Thanks for all the encouragement! I can't wait to talk to you when I get back! Yes, I completely agree about the GPS haha I'm not a fan of detours... :) LYLASFEAFRTEA!

Live from CRAIOVA it's MALACHI!!!!

Hey all yalls we have just eaten lupper (that is like brunch except lunch and supper) at a good Romanian restaurant and are back on the bus some Romania’s say an hour away some say 2 and ½ hours away so we will see. I want to thank you all for your posts to us it is very encouraging to us to hear form you. So far today we have seen the People’s Palace (largest building in Europe, built by former dictator Ceausescu during communist regime here - HUGE) and the fountains leading up to the palace and pretty much on the bus the rest of the time. Tonight we will be staying with our host families and we can’t wait, bit we're just getting to the church for time with Romanian students, worship, and dinner. So hope all is well with family and supporters and we will posting as much as we can. ;-) love you all

Malachi Braughler

SHOUT OUTS!!!!!!

Amy to Dad, Mom, Abby: Love you all!

Amy to Alyssa: Lylasfeafrtea! The big red pen is the no doubt the best. Love you!

Lief to GEOFF: how's Madison this time of year? This week you can actually creep the google doc from the UNDERGROUND again! :)

Nikki to Seth: Hope your talk went well! I’m sure you rocked it. :)

Kevin to my family—Dad, Mom, Madelyn, Ryan, Jacquey, Mitchell & Jenny: You are my favorite. Thank you for being awesome. Love you!

Julio & Alonso to Lulu & Martha: Our play date was fun. We should do it again sometime. we’ll buy dinner?

Ground Control to Major Tum: Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.

Eric to Leah: Go Indians! I’m learning Romanian already J Keep having fun in Cooperstown!

Elli Hutchinson: Mom, dad, family and friends I miss you guys so much. Love you all. P.s. Ian happy early golden birthday big brother!! Sorry I cant be there for it

Zack to the Fam—Hope you have a blast in the dells! Have lots of fun and ice cream for me!

Zack and John to Thomas (I guess). Hey bud. Hope the Bruthahood goes well tonight, but not too well, since Brett’s gonna be there.

John to Leah: Ayy! Hope you’re keepin it real, don’t watch too much svu without me and maybe you can catch up on some sleep!!

To the Pankratz fam: Hope everything’s going well! Miss you guys already. Love yah :)

Jenna-Family: Love you all thanks for the post tell Caneel to behave

Hunter- Hey Kenz! Thanks for being supportive of my trip. Make sure you tell dad, mom and the kids that I love and miss you all. All the Romanians say hi and that I’m very lucky to have a sista like you. See you in a couple weeks!

Emily to Dad- Thank you so so so much for the daily cards. Everyone thinks it’s the cutest thing and I love them! You are the BEST. I love you tonNEs (p.s. Lief didn’t understand our inside joke about that being metric)

Megan to Catie- Hope you had an amazing birthday! Tell Minnie I say “hi”! Love ya Catya – meganzo

Sheri to my Family: I wish you were here to experience this! It is fabulous. Love and miss you. J

Lief, Nikki, Mal to Tootles: BIG HUG delivered successfully. Time to brush your teeth, isn't it?

Quick update before hitting the hay (and hard) - How GREAT is our God

Family and Friends -

I just wanted to send a quick note (since I was finally able to find some wifi) to let you know that we have safely arrived in Bucharest, the capitol of Romania. Thankfully our flights were mostly on time and we made it here in record time (leaving Blackhawk at 2pm Tuesday, arriving in Bucharest 18 hours later). British Airways was pretty good - most people got a bit of sleep overnight and the food was not half bad. We had some momentary turbulence on both segments, some that seemed pretty major - but it just added to the excitement of the trip. We also had a run between gates in London, and we were the last one's onto skyway as they closed the gate- prompting a rendition of "Hold that plane! It's okay - I'm a limo driver" (shameless Dumb and Dumber reference).

The only hiccup in our travel has been that of 23 personal bags and 15 team supply bags, only 5 bags did not make the connection in London. Unfortunately all 5 were personal bags (Eric, Larry, Taylor, Amy, and Cassidy)! However, even as I write to you, two leaders are en route to the airport to pick them up as they arrive on the evening flight from London. Everybody should have their bags when they wake up tomorrow. Speaking of what's happening now - the entire team (save myself and the two retrieving bags) is sound asleep in the dorm bunks at the Bible College. We arrived at the college at 6:30pm and walked a few blocks to a large mall complex to enjoy some very delicious and appreciated pizza (who thought the first food we'd eat in Romania would be PIZZA?! This is a youth ministry trip after all! At least it wasn't McD's right?). After that, Daniel Vieru (the youth pastor at our partner church) welcomed us and shared a little bit of his/our history and hopes for our trip and camp. We closed singing "How Great is Our God" - two languages, worshiping one God, together - a beautiful way to complete the long journey here. At 10pm - students went straight to bed - providing what I've decided was the quickest and quietest "lights out" experience I have ever seen. Yes - sleep is very much necessary tonight - and with that, I'll leave you all until tomorrow morning (hopefully a student post and a new batch of shout-outs!).

Thank God for his goodness and grace today - and thank you all for loving us so well! Noapte buna and love from Romania!

-Lief for the 2010 Bhawk Romania Team!

Day 1 from O'Hare Airport!

Hey it's Amy and Megan! Blogging to you from O'hare! We are waiting in the airport to go to London. We are really excited to leave and be in Romania!

Today was an eventful day! We met at Blackhawk to say goodbye to everyone and then got on the bus to drive to the airport. We watched Narnia (Chronic WHATcles of Narnia) and Amy introduced some 10 second dance parties! Also we had to make a side trip to Toys R Us, which was a fantastic detour. Our new mascot is Ricardo the one eyed Peruvian neon puppet lizard! He is amazing.

And of course, we already miss you all back home, but...WE ARE ALL SO EXCITED TO SEE EVERYONE AND FOR CAMP!!

Shoutouts!
Amy: I love you Abby!! I miss you already. Keep practicing the Eagle Song. Ah I should have given him an oreo.
Megan: Happy Birthday Eve Catie!
Love you Mom and Dad!
Shane, stay out of my room...
Lief: RAHoule!
Malachi: Franswa!
Jenna to Olan :)
Emily to Mary: Thank Georgia for me :) and thanks for your pretty blue skirt!
Hailey to the Creator of the Weaver
Hunter: Hi!
Cassidy: Mom, Dad, RIGSBY <3
Kati and Taylor: Noodles
Johnny: I love you Brett <3
Kevin: A shoutout to my supporters - financially and through prayer! Thank you!
Zack: Ditto Johnny's shoutout. I hope the pool was fun!
Sheri to my lovely fiance Bradley: I miss you A LOT. I love you always.
Eric to Joel, Paul and Mark: Thanks for hooking us up with sound equipment at the last minute.
Pat to Audra and Anne: Mow the lawn! :)
Nikki to Jimmy Johns: Why did you put Roast Beef on my veggie sub?!?!
Lief (again) to his beautiful wife: thanks for virtually packing my whole bag for me! What would I do without you?? Also - give a big hug & buttrub to Eli & Jack for me (they're dogs, people, come'on)!
Team Shoutout: To our supporters, families, friends and Blackhawk staff that gave us a lovely send away party! Thank you for your support and your prayers!

22 Days Remaining...

I keep looking at my calendar, each time hoping that we will be closer to July 20th than the last time I checked. 22 days of lazy summer until our plane leaves for Craiova. However, I can't complain because, in reality, this is not simply a time of waiting, but this is our time to prepare for the trip, which is exactly what we have been doing. We have had quite a few meetings, but it seems to me like it will never be enough time.

For example, I am on the 'sub-team' that is planning everything related to teaching English,[even though everyone on the team will be teaching English.] On this English team, we have had several meetings and lots of time planning and discussing, but somehow, there is still more to be done when we part ways. We have made lesson plans and partnered everyone up and chosen who will be teaching what level. We also made a trip to Target to purchase supplies for teaching. [We have bought every memo-sized notebook in the area.] Pray that the people we have teamed up to teach together will work well together and get a lot done at our next meeting on July 6th, we will be making and revising lesson plans.

Since I am only one one 'sub-team,' I can only give an update for my team, but I can imagine that the other teams are also buying supplies and nailing down the details of their plans.

The last blog post didn't really describe the Romanians' visit in February, which seems like an eternity ago as I sit in the warm summer breeze. It's too bad they can't experience Wisconsin now, at its peak. The team of 7 from the church in Craiova stayed for 3 weeks. They did a work project in Chicago along with a youth leadership conference there. They also took a trip to Berry Lake for team building with the American team that is visiting Craiova in a few short weeks. At Berry Lake, we played a lot of Broom Ball and Catchphrase along with planning and dreaming about what the partnership could look like. They experienced the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells and downtown Wisconsin. Also, they played a pivotal role in Blackhawk's high school Snowcamp at Honeyrock Camp in Northern Wisconsin. We had an unforgetable time while they were with us. In my opinion, this was an important part of establishing a partnership with the church in Craiova, because both churches have sent and received a team of students with the purpose of missions.

Since February, we have had a lot of workdays to raise money and support. At the workdays we usually did some form of yard work outside. We are thankful to all the people that offered jobs for our team to do.

Another event that we had to raise support was the Reach Feast dessert night. Reach Feast is a Blackhawk event that the all the missions teams are involved in. There is lots of dessert and a silent and live auction. It was great to see all the people that came out that night to support the missions trips. [Pray for the Honduras and Peru teams that are away right now.]

Prayer requests. We are going to need a lot of prayer as we continue to prepare for the trip.
Team unity. Pray that our team would bond and work together well
Finances. I think that we have the majority of our money raised, but pray for people waiting on last minute checks and pray that supporters would donate as they feel led.
Packing. Our packing party is on July 18th and everyone needs to have their personal luggage packed by then and we will pack the team supplies on that day.
Campers. Pray for the people that will be attending camp in Craiova. Pray that God will be already be working in their hearts and preparing them for what is to come. Also, pray that they would have the money to pay for camp, because we only have so many scholarship opportunities.

As I look ahead to the trip, I get excited, not only because I am excited to travel, but also because I have this feeling that something beautiful is about to happen. I have a feeling that God is going to work in ways that go far beyond all the planning that we have done. Even with all our thoughts and money and time, all of it is insignificant compared to God. He already know what is going to happen while we are there, and no planning or lack there of, will change that; that reassures me and makes me confident about this team, because as we go into Romania, we have the Creator of the Universe leading us onward. I think this is the start of something unforgettable and I cannot wait to experience it.

Cassidy

2010 Blackhawk High School Romania Team

In January 2010, we finalized putting together a team of 15 High School students and 7 adult leaders to go to Romania July 20 - August 6 this upcoming summer. Since then, we've been meeting to grow as a team, train for ministry, and learn what we can about the culture we'll be serving this summer. We also have had (and plan on doing more) a team work day to raise funds for our trip.

This blog will serve as our primarily form of communication to our friends, family, supporters, and church community while we're in Romania this summer - but we'll also be posting some entries during our preparation for this trip. Students will be the primary bloggers. Look back here in the weeks to come for updates about: our most recent work day at the Quandts, the 3 weeks we hosted a team of 7 from our Romania partnership in Craiova (last February and March), Reach Feast, and the upcoming Romania Team Retreat (May 14-16).

Thanks for following us!!

-Lief Erickson (for the 2010 Romania Team!)