Today we had the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful day off...which was greatly needed after completing all the hard work at the Shalom House (Oaza ministry). Our team met Jackie (one of the American missionaries who now lives here) at this castle in a village outside of Arad. We were all very excited, as it was very hot and would be able to go swimming. When we arrived at the hot springs...we found the "swimming pool" to be a dark organish/black color. It was very interesting, as it came directly out of the ground, no purification. It was straight mineral water. The good thing about it was..is that it made our skin softer. However it was by no means refreshing as it was pretty hot. It was relaxing just the same. It was nice to be able to relax as a team and enjoy the sun. Later that evening, Paula (another American missionary) took us out for a treat. She took us to an American coffee shop called Three Bean Coffee Co. It was owned by an American, so all of the food and drinks were what we would have back in the US. It was so nice to be able to taste the American food again. I think all of us needed a break from the Romanian food for just a little bit. It was such a wonderful treat. As always, we were all enjoying ourselves; making silly jokes and what not. There was a joke going on about one of the girls who came out with us-Nicole who graduated from Roberts this past December and has lived here since Jan. (last year she went on the Romanian missions trip). It had been prophesized by someone in Romania that Nicole had to be engaged a year from the date the man had said this- which just happen to be in about a week. To be funny..our little jokester Bryan decided to be funny and took a rubber band and made it in into an "engagement ring." We got pictures of the whole thing, and decided to play a trick on Dr.Rose. After eating, we took a trip over to the flower shop to pick up a rose to really play out the whole thing. After we left the flower shop we ran into a little mishap..or should I say..someone ran into a little mishap. Janet being her excited little self..was running to the front of the group to capture the special moment...taking pictures in front of the church. While running, Janet hit a little bump and took a nose dive for the pavement. We were all very concerned, as Janet was laying on the ground- none of us were sure that she was ok. Matt and I who were walking behind Janet, saw the whole thing happen. Much to our surprise, Janet was ok...all she was concerned about was taking the "engagement picture." If seeing the accidnet occur, Janet's wounds should have been much worse than they were. It was only a scrap on the knee, hip and hand. But thank goodness for the wonderful nursing skills I learned at good ole Roberts. I nursed her back to health in no time and she was as good as new. She was feeling a little sore, but everything was ok-and that's all that mattered! When we walked in the door, we all played our parts of the wonderful surprise of the "engagement." It only took about 2 min. before Dr.Rose knew it was all a joke. But it was fun in the mean time. All this trouble to play a little ole joke.

We have such a great group, we are a big family each contributing in our own way. We all seem to be having such a great time together, and working hard to help out the ministries who are need of our help. God is really opening up so many great opportunities for us to experience. We are learning most importantly that this trip is not about us, but for God and all his glory. Not only are we blessing the lives of those we work with, but we too are receiving so many blessings.

Lots of love

-Emily and the Team