We like the new clinic design, and we like the "new" architect as well the Romanian-American construction firm from Braila. Everybody seems to work well together, and we think we have a clinic design that will meet our needs, be approved by the Romanian bureaucracy, and still at a reasonable price. We're waiting for the final engineering and all the approvals for the "Autorizatie de Constructie" before starting the digging for the foundation. Until the engineering is completed, we won't know the exact price of the building phase of the project. We are looking forward to having some hard numbers soon, so that we can have a better idea as to how much more we will need to complete the project. We just found out that the sewer line is a lot farther away than we had been told originally, and that digging and laying sewer another 100 meters might cost another $10,000. However, we are not discouraged, realizing that God has provided so much already (even the delays to protect us from some serious future problems), and trusting that He will continue to provide for the clinic's needs.
A lot of things mentioned in last month's letter have either passed, didn't happen, or are still waiting. We still have hot water. The flu season seems to be almost over. All the children in the orphanage came down with chicken pox, but they all did well. The snow has all melted. Last month's letter told about a boy named Bogdan with a severe neurological disease. Two people contacted us, offering to try bring him to the United States for further diagnosis. His health seems so frail, and the trip would be very difficult for him and his mother. I have tried and tried to contact a specialist here in Bucharest whom we have been told might be able to confirm the diagnosis. If this is indeed true, that would obviously be much easier for him and his family. If we can't reach the specialist by phone this week, at least one of us will drive to the hospital on the other side of town to try to find her.
We met with our attorney again this week to check on a number of things including the status of our citizenship applications. The new law changing the time required from 5 years to 7 years had been passed last year but wasn't published in the "Monitorul Oficial" until December 14. She had filed our papers on December 13, one day before the new law went into effect! So it appears that our applications will be considered. We are waiting for an invitation to appear before "the commission" who will decide if we can become citizens (double) or not. One of the new requirements is to be familiar with the Romanian constitution, so Linda has been translating it (152 articles) just in case we're asked questions about it.
The Family Practice residents had their last lecture this past Tuesday morning. Another 200 third year residents start next Tuesday. We won't have to prepare any lectures for a while, but we still try to attend Dr. Restian's lectures. We hope this new group of residents will be like last year's group, seemingly motivated and interested in learning.
It's not all work and no play. A couple weeks ago I helped our friends, the Traistarus, buy a donkey and a little cart. I stayed in the car while they bargained at the animal market. The price (less than 3,000,000 lei or about $155) would have gone up if "the American" had been there. While Flori and Mimi (Marius) and I waited in the car, I read them stories from the children's Bible that we had given them. I asked them "Who was born the first Christmas?", and Flori answered, "Mesia" (The Messiah). I said, "Jesus, right?" and he said, "No, Mesia." But now he knows that Jesus is the Messiah.
We had been there the Sunday before for Mimi's 5th birthday. Flori is 7, and they both go to kindergarten. They showed us their workbooks including their printing. Georgeta, their mom, proudly exclaimed that Flori has learned the Lord's Prayer and I asked her who had taught her the Lord's Prayer, expecting her to say her mother or grandmother. She told how under Communism she had never even heard the Lord's Prayer until at age 15 she visited a monastery in another town and heard a nun singing it. "I learned it that same day, I was so impressed, especially the part about forgiveness." Her husband added that he first heard it after they met when he was 20. Communism especially restricted any Christian teaching in their part of Romania. Sometimes I forget that communism was overthrown only 10 years ago here.
We just made reservations for a quick trip to United States in early June. We can't be gone long because we believe that construction on the clinic will be started by then, and we need to be there as much as possible. We would also like to take a few days off in April and drive somewhere, but it's hard to plan anything, waiting for the invitation to meet the citizenship commission.
Other than that, we've been seeing a lot of people with medical problems here. We realize that this is what we really enjoy--helping people medically, to be healed and to stay healthy. Please pray that what we do and say here will give glory and honor to the Lord, that His love will be seen in and through us. We enjoy living and working here in Romania. We thank you for all the prayers and other support that makes it possible.