What Happened?

I really wanna know where January disappeared to....it seems like it was New Years just days ago!! This month just FLEW!! Here are some of the things that have happened this month:

*I don't work at Kiwi House anymore. The powers that be decided to go with a strictly salaried staff from here on out...no more volunteers. So I haven't been working there since the beginning of January. Even though I don't miss the diaper changing and such....I really do miss the babies!!

*I am an English teacher!! Who woulda thunk it? I am SO not teacher material...it's one thing teaching a Sunday School class once a week, or doing a few weeks of camp counselor...but I have never seen myself as the teacher type...especially not to adults!! I started the very next week after my last day at Kiwi to teach at another foundation. Right now I teach one class of over--50's from the gas company...Intro English!! Starting in February I will have one more Intro class (which the biggest challenge for that will be getting up in the wee hours of the morning...it starts at 7:30am)!! This last week I subbed for another teacher who hasn't arrived yet, and may have to sub again next week...hopefully that teacher will arrive soon!!

*We FINALLY have internet at the apartment!! Yup, we have now had internet in the apartment for about two weeks!! It took them long enough to get around to installing it...almost three months!! But now it's up and running. We still haven't managed to figure out how to set up the wireless, so we have cables criss-crossing the living-room floor to our laptops....but hey, it's cool anyway...we have internet!!

*I am still going to Petelea on Mondays and to Zau on Saturdays...except when things happen to upset our schedule....such as our van being in the shop...so we aren't going to Zau tomorrow...thus the late night!!

*I worked up an invite to the Friday Fellowships at my apartment on Publisher this past week. I'm gonna print out an original copy and then make copies off of it soon, cause they will start being a weekly thing this coming week.

*I dyed my hair a couple weeks ago...it looked cool, but it was just temporary...so my hair is almost back to normal...just in time to dye it bright red for Valentine's Day...just kidding!!

Speaking of Valentine's Day...let's just forget about that this year, okay? I will be thirty this year and with one solitary exception have never had a special Valentine, so I'd rather forget that particular holiday. So this will be the one and only time that I will refer to it this year, okay? For those of you who have valentines....congrats and have fun...but let's not make too much of this holiday, okay?

Okay, on to more interesting stuff. I really am hoping to make a regular thing of blogging...AND I love to take pictures and can take them easier now that I have a digital camera...so I am trying out quite a few different places for friend networks, blogging, and posting photos. So far I have these places listing me on their site lists...Yahoo 360, Tickle, Ringo, Hi5, Friendster, Bebo, MSN Spaces, MySpace, Angelfire, Xanga, and Blogger. Anyone who knows anything about these sites who can help me figure out who offers the best layout for content, your help would be appreciated!! I wanna try to get all my blogging and pics on just one site or two...but we'll see!!

Anyway....even though I don't have to get up so stinkin' early tomorrow...I still need to clean the apartment and get some clothes over to a friend's house in the AM to get them washed, and it is already almost 5:30am!! Whoa!! I need my bed now, people!! So I'm gonna close this out now... take care one and all!!

November 2005--January 2006 Newsletter

JULIE SEALE—MISSIONARY TO
THE YOUTH OF ROMANIA

Dear Praying Friends,

Greetings from the very cold country of Romania!! It has snowed several times in the last three months and we actually had a white Christmas…which everyone was very happy about. After the New Year the snow melted and it was just bitterly cold for a while, but it snowed again a few days ago and it looks so nice to see the dusting of snow on the eaves of houses and tops of cars!!

During the last two months of 2005 I kept very busy with work at Kiwi House. The babies at Kiwi House are doing very well and growing daily…we are hoping that adoptive families are found very soon for these precious little ones. The Kiwi house administrators are already prayerfully searching for new babies to add to the Kiwi House family as homes are found for the precious toddlers there now. However, due to some restructuring of the workers at Kiwi House, they will no longer be using volunteers, so I had to find somewhere else I was needed.

The timing could not have been any more perfect for moving on to another ministry!! I was told on a Thursday that Kiwi House did not need me anymore and that very same day was approached about working with another foundation that uses teaching English as a door to witnessing. Their classes were starting the very next week on Monday!! So now I am a beginning English teacher to one class of five students (who are all almost twice my age) and will be starting with another class in early February. In addition to the teaching I will be doing with this foundation, I have also been approached separately by several young people asking if I would tutor them in English. Please keep me in your prayers about this, as I have never been in a teaching situation other than with small children or at summer camp!!

I am still working with Livada Orphan Care in their follow-up program. On Mondays I go to a small state-run group home in the town of Petelea to do a program there. There are eight boys at this group home and we have a lot of fun teaching these rambunctious boys all about God, manners, and life in general. On Saturday mornings I have been going to the town of Zau to a girls orphanage there. This is a larger home with around 60 little girls, ranging in age from five to eighteen. They are a great bunch of girls to work with….very affectionate and sweet. They just get so excited when we pull up in the van and we are immediately swarmed with girls who hang onto us constantly until time for us to leave!!

Christmas was an interesting experience for me as this was the first time I have spent Christmas completely without any family around. Even when I was in college and the majority of my family was in Peru, I at least was able to spend Christmas with my Grandma Seale, my aunt Joyce, and a brother or two. I would have to say that this past Christmas was unlike any other Christmas I have ever experienced…at home or on the field. My roommate was gone for the week, I had no oven for cooking up Christmas goodies, I was cat-sitting for both my roommate and another friend, and I went caroling for two nights in a row….arriving home at 5am both nights!!

On the 31st of December, I headed out to the mountains with a large group of young people for a winter camp. This was a great time of fun and fellowship. We were able to go sledding, have snowball fights, participate in some awesome praise and worship, discover our spiritual gifts, and hear great messages about serving the Lord in the new year.

I have continued with the twice monthly youth nights at my apartment…a chance for the young people to meet for fun and fellowship. This will become a weekly thing in the spring, once my roommate heads back to the States. I am also meeting with others in a home group once a week for Bible study and prayer. Please pray that the Lord will be with and lead in all of these ministries in the coming year.

I just want to thank all of you for both your prayers and financial support!! God bless you all!!

All for Him,
JULIE SEALE
For any questions or comments, or if you would like to be added to my mailing list, then email me at texanromaniac@hotmail.com with the subject line: Email Updates