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Alexander
and Lee Anne Galanes - Current Updates
Alex
and Lee's Romanian Update (PDF
Verison with Pictures)
November 2004
Jiu
Valley Contrasts
Last week, we were surprised to look out one night and see a fantastic
fireworks show taking place in a nearby park. While we never determined
the cause for celebration, the fireworks' magnitude and radiance amazed
us. Even the smokestacks looked almost beautiful when lit up through
brilliant colors. We stared out our window in awe for a good ten minutes
before we heard the noise of a car screeching to halt as it hit a stray
dog. The driver must have also been looking up at the sky.
Friday night we
joined our coworkers Ricci and Teo for pizza in nearby Petrosani. We
were kicked out when the restaurant was closing after several hours
of great conversation. As we walked outside, we ran into six street
kids who had been campers in the Viata Program. Alex always described
this group of boys as "the fearless ones," a group of kids
without a sense of risk in any of our program activities. Meeting them
outside that pizza place was a difficult contrast- we had just eaten
out with friends and now we were joined by kids that lack education,
people to care about them, or decent food to eat.
The combination
of great joy amidst pain characterizes so much of our experience in
Lupeni. In almost everything, the fullness of God's love and beauty
seems so apparent; however, nothing feels free of the world's brokenness,
and sin. One of the most poignant examples of this was hosting 38 kids
with HIV/ AIDS for the final week of the Viata Program. The kids came
to us more physically ill and more emotionally scarred than we anticipated.
Many of our campers were between hospital stays; most required frequent
rest. They shared with us their stories of kids taunting them, of doctors
refusing to treat them, and of parents' expressing despair and even
shame. Alexandra, age 16, writes poetry and song lyrics to express herself.
One poem she shared began with these words:
When I am at
home, my mother cries all the time… because I have AIDS
When I am at my block, kids laugh at me… they know I have AIDS
When I am at school, everybody knows… that I have AIDS
Our staff wrestled
throughout the week with the problems of pain in the world. Tensions
were high in discussions about God allowing children to contract HIV
(between 1988 and 1991, the Romanian Government reports that over 10,000
Romanian children contracted HIV through shared vaccination needles.)
Though we all saw much agony in the kids' conditions, we also experienced
great joy with them as well. Our campers had a great week. They loved
the adventure of camp, and they soaked in their time outdoors. We filled
each day with laughter. They felt at ease being with other kids that
understood them. Ana-Maria shared that she hoped other kids might be
nice to her at Viata; she was surprised to discover unconditional love
and acceptance. Though we struggled to make sense of things, our Orthodox
seminary student Bogdan spoke to the kids with amazing clarity and conviction
at our Wednesday night church visit. Bogdan began with the sentence,
"tonight I want you to hear how important you are to God."
He proceeded to share how Christ showed the full extent of God's love
when he experienced great physical pain and social alienation. Bogdan
told us that God is with us in every moment of struggle and gave us
hope for the future. Bogdan's message brought many of us to tears. He
reminded us that even though these kids are paying the price for a terrible
human mistake, their Maker has not forgotten them. It certainly reinforces
our own faith to realize how much God cares for these teenagers.
Thanks for Sponsoring Us!
It was only because so many people responded to our last newsletter
that the HIV/ AIDS week was possible. We are incredibly grateful. Thank
you for your investment of love into these beautiful kids. Thank you
for supporting us as well. On September 5th we ran and finished the
Budapest Half-Marathon. Throughout the race, we felt inspired by the
kids we were running for. We witnessed them pushing their own physical
and mental limitations during the previous week; we aimed to do the
same. Because of those kids, we ran each kilometer well under the pace
for which we trained. We also appreciate Lee's mother timing her visit
in order to support us. She was a great encouragement!
Kaizen Highlights
Same Kids, Deeper Commitments
We kicked off a new school year of Kaizen with our Romanian colleagues.
While the Viata Program draws brand new participants into Kaizen, we
also have the same core group of kids as last year. It is exciting to
see these kids fully devote themselves to Kaizen. Their commitment amazes
us. Recently Raluca shared that, while she is not a very good student
and doesn't feel she has a lot of other gifts, she believes God made
her for Kaizen. She says proudly, "I was born for Kaizen."
In Kaizen, Raluca has a caring community that loves her, accepts her,
and encourages her. Our kids also impress us with their level of compassion.
They overheard several staff members discussing the Viata HIV/ AIDS
week of camp. To respond, they began a public information campaign to
educate their classmates and community about HIV. They desire to end
discrimination in the Jiu Valley against people infected with HIV.
English Classes
One of our new favorite weekly activities with the kids is teaching
them English. While there has always been a small group seeking us out
for English help, this fall we began teaching formal English classes
to beginner, intermediate, and advanced level speakers. Our entire Kaizen
Club committed to this. It has become a great way to spend more time
with the kids and help them enhance their skills.
Kaizen Building
One of the largest constraints to Kaizen's growth and quality has been
the lack of adequate meeting space. Every week, our apartment houses
four different meetings with a maximum capacity of 25 people. Now that
cold weather limits our time outdoors, it is perpetually frustrating
to stuff so many kids into such a small space and still keep meetings
exciting. There is good news! Thanks to recent grants from Geneva Global
and the International Women's Association, Kaizen will be moving out
of our small apartment into a fully operational building by January.
The converted warehouse will include a large meeting hall, several smaller
rooms, and a computer lab equipped with 15 brand new computers. We will
soon have the capacity to reach out to many new kids as well as provide
a real home base for Kaizen.
Big Decision, Big Transition… We are returning to the States
We originally gave Young Life a two-year commitment. While our two-
year anniversary on Young Life staff is indeed approaching, only recently
have we been obligated to think through seriously whether we would stay
in Romania longer than our original commitment. A few weeks ago, a job
opportunity in Northern Virginia was proposed to Alex. It offers retraining
for his "outdated" software skills and work in a field he
truly enjoys. This has not been an easy decision to say the least. Through
a great deal of prayer, fasting, and seeking advice, we have decided
that Alex will in fact pursue this position. We will return to D.C.
in January.
We know this will
surprise many of you, as this decision may seem to contradict the extremely
positive feelings we often share about our time and relationships here.
We do truly love people here. Last August Kristin, a summer volunteer,
shared when she was leaving that she was surprised that she had made
such great friends in Romania. As we consider our leaving Romania, we
are not surprised that we have made friends here; rather we are amazed
that we have family members here. Our staff especially has seen us at
our best and our worst. They have walked beside us through great frustrations
and joys; they love us well in spite of our weaknesses. The kids we
work with also embody so much life and excitement for us. Leaving these
relationships will not be easy. However, we do feel peaceful in moving
on. The primary reason for this peace is that we see that Romanians
can do our jobs. Both in recently hiring extremely competent personnel
and in equipping existing staff with important skills, our foundation's
staff members can do our jobs efficiently and effectively. They give
us hope for the kids of the Jiu Valley and for Romania.
The reality that
we are leaving Romania has not fully sunk in. We cannot provide you
with adequate reflection upon our time here at this point. What we do
know is that we are grateful. We are grateful that God sent us here
and thankful we've witnessed positive changes in individuals' lives
and in our community. We are especially grateful for all of your support.
Thanks you for your willingness to pray for us, invest in us, and care
for us while we are here. Thank you especially for making our programs
possible for these kids. You have supported both us and the Viata and
Kaizen Programs. Any money left in our Young Life account when we leave
will be transferred over to assist with the costs of Viata 2005. We
will also be in touch with those of you faithfully supporting us through
monthly electronic deposits.
Prayer Requests
Pray for our kids. Pray that the Romanian staff will continue
the work we began here, that our kids will continue to grow and learn
and develop true community together. Pray for our kids as they come
to terms with us leaving. Pray for us to be diligent in keeping in touch
with them.
Pray for our
staff. Please pray for our relationships with them to continue even
though we are seven time zones away. Pray for their motivation to love
and invest themselves in the kids, that it would be a joy and not a
burden for them. Please pray for all our staff through the challenges
in growing this foundation.
Pray for us
in saying goodbye. While we are not leaving for two more months,
we are already very sad about having to say goodbye. As both of us tend
to be homebodies, change is hard for us. We know that we will miss Lupeni,
our kids, and our staff. We don't know when we will be back to visit,
and we know that when we do visit, our relationships here will be different.
Please pray for us as we say goodbye to this part of our lives.
Contact Information for letters only
Lee Anne and Alex Galanes
Fundatia Noi Orizonturi
OP 1 - CP 12, Lupeni, Cod 335 600
Jud. Hunedoara
Romania
Faster Communication:
011 40 254 563 117 (Fixed phone)
011 40 724 348 208 (Cell phone)
Alex: galanes76@yahoo.com
Lee: galanes77@yahoo.com
Alex
and Lee's Romanian Update (Click here
to see letter with pictures as Word Document)
August 2004
Greetings from
Lupeni!! Our summer has been exceptionally busy, and we apologize for
not sending you an update earlier. Since early May, our time has been
packed full in meetings with Kaizen kids, planning and implementing
Viata 2004, providing training for our staff, running many miles to
prepare for a half-marathon, and hosting many visitors. We are both
exhausted and encouraged as we share our lives with you now.
*Urgent Need:
Sponsor a Kilometer, Sponsor a Kid*
We usually try to avoid coupling fundraising with our personal updates.
However, we feel that we must begin this newsletter by sharing an urgent
funding need in order to enlist your support. This week, Fundatia Noua
Speranta (New Hope Foundation) from the nearby coal-mining town of Petrila
approached us with their desire to send kids with HIV to Viata. There
are currently over 100 teenagers in the Jiu Valley known to have contracted
HIV through infant immunizations in 1988 and 1989. Fundatia Noua Speranta
approached our foundation in the hopes that we could structure a special
week tailored to the physical and emotional needs of these kids. Our
staff is exceptionally positive about this opportunity and is delighted
to serve these kids.
As we work out
the logistical aspects for this extra week of Viata, one glaring problem
exists: our foundation does not have available funding to support the
week. We need additional funding to pay for lodging, food, transportation,
and medical care for an additional (unbudgeted) week of the Viata Program.
It works out to an extra $100 per participant. We desire your help to
make this week possible. In order to do so, we request that you sponsor
our running in the September 5th Budapest Half-Marathon. It is a 21-kilometer
race (13 miles- remember that we use the metric system here.) Together,
we will thus run 42 kilometers. We desire to find sponsors for every
kilometer we run in order to fund 42 kids with HIV to camp. If you are
willing to sponsor a kilometer, or even part of a kilometer, please
e-mail us back immediately. We hope to find sponsors in the coming week
(before August 22nd) in order to determine whether the week will be
possible.
-
Kaizen Update
By far, the best part of our jobs is our time with kids in our year-round
program, Kaizen. Kaizen continues to be an excellent tool for Jiu
Valley kids' holistic development. We love helping kids enrich their
God-given capabilities while they serve their community and gain
understanding into the values of God's Kingdom. Kaizen Clubs enable
us to build relationships with adolescents and invest ourselves
in their lives.
-
Kaizen Week
at Viata
Last week, we hosted 50 Kaizen kids for a special week in the Viata
Program. Though most of these kids got involved in Kaizen as a result
of Viata, we structured the week to be different than any other
previous Viata experience. We organized a large scavenger hunt/
campout for the kids based upon the College of William & Mary's
Adventure Games II class. Our staff filled the week
with great intensity, life application, and leadership development.
-
Ziua de
Curatenia: Kaizen's Jiu Valley Clean Up Day
The Albert Einstein Project provided generous funding to support
our Kaizen Town Clean-Up Project. Given the low level of civic responsibility
(that is, people really don't exert much effort into keeping things
nice here) and a complete lack of engineering controls (no systems
for solid waste management or sewage management), we have many local
environmental problems. To raise awareness and empower youth to
tackle these issues, we sponsored a public education campaign and
major community clean up day. Kaizen kids wrote a number of fact
sheets on different local environmental issues. They also organized
an essay contest for kids to identify ways to improve their community,
a contest among the schools to beautify school grounds and their
dilapidated buildings, a tree planting campaign, and a major river
clean up and trash removal effort. Over 200 volunteers participated
as Kaizen kids acquired skills in project management and public
education.
-
Building
Relationships with Kaizen Kids
* In Kaizen this past year, fifteen-year old Diana acquired
many skills with computers, budgets, and project management. Diana's
mom headed to France for the summer to find an agricultural job
to make more money for her family. Diana was left to care for herself
and her brother while waiting for money to be sent from France.
Unfortunately, there was no job to be found in France. Diana approached
us in June for help upon learning that her family did not have enough
money to eat. Diana's high skill level made it easy to offer her
a summer job as an assistant in our office. Her time in our office
helped us to further develop our friendship with Diana. It has led
to many conversations with her about the person of Jesus and his
love for her.
* Toni and
Vali are two of our younger boys in Kaizen. Lately we have been
surprised to see their willingness to spend some of their free time
learning computer skills. Before this spring, neither had ever used
a computer. They now come over to our apartment as often as they can
to sit with Alex as he teaches them how to type and how to use different
applications.
* Oana, Eta,
and Andreea come from very poor families with many children. They
are starved for adult attention and for healthy fun. Since April's
melting of snow, one of our favorite pastimes has become evening walks
with these girls. We have a great time picking blueberries, singing
silly songs, and helping them progress in throwing a Frisbee. Our
time with them is a huge stress reliever after any long day in our
office. They also speak absolutely no English whatsoever (unlike many
of our kids and all of our staff), and they have provided a huge boost
to our Romanian acquisition. We are continuously grateful for our
friendships with these kids.
Viata 2004
It has been a different schedule for us with the Viata Program. Lee's
summer has been split between time in the office, Kaizen, and leading
Viata groups. Alex has worked most of the summer on "technical
staff," working at our ropes course. While we haven't spent as
much time directly involved with Viata participants as last year, we
continue to enjoy the program and the kids. Our staff this summer is
especially impressive. Devout Orthodox and Protestant believers alike,
their unity and commitment to the kids is very encouraging to us.
Encouraging
Visitors
-
Skip and
Catherine Galanes, Alex's parents, visited us for nearly a week
in May. We loved showing them where we live and sharing our daily
experience with them. Skip and Catherine experienced Romanian culture
in many ways - good ciorba (soup), hiking the hills around Lupeni,
and spending an evening with Kaizen kids. They also endured the
hassles of Romanian train travel, flexibly adapting to a late-night
drive to catch a train back to Budapest after their original train
was suddenly cancelled. We felt very encouraged through spending
time with them and being cared for by family.
-
John Claypool
(Lee's brother) experienced our Viata Program for 3 1/2 weeks
in June and July. John truly endeared himself to his Romanian campers.
Nicknamed "Johnny Bravo" by Viata staff and participants
alike, John also protected his group from a crazy deer (named Bambi)
that lives up on the mountain as a family "pet." One day,
Bambi charged Lee and John's group of campers while rock climbing.
John was our hero as he chased off Bambi with Lee's hiking poles.
Besides serving our summer program, John also blessed us with his
encouragement, friendship, and nonstop humor.
-
A fifteen-member
team from the Senior High Youth Group of Grace Chapel in
Lexington, Massachusetts recently served here for two weeks. This
was our first experience hosting a team. The trip began with torrential
downpours that flooded Lupeni and washed out the road up the mountain.
The flooding was so devastating that Romania's Prime Minister visited
Lupeni and declared a state of emergency. Through many failed attempts
in acquiring transportation, we eventually made it to camp in the
back of a covered wood truck. The Grace Chapel team built shelters
out at our ropes course to be utilized during inclement weather.
The team realized the need for the shelters as it rained practically
every day of their trip! Though the weather did not cooperate, the
team did a great job hauling wood and building the shelters. Everyone's
trip highlight was the cultural exchange night hosted by our Kaizen
kids. Our kids cooked traditional Romanian food, and the Grace Chapel
team enticed our kids with American goodies - chocolate chip cookies,
Oreos, and Skittles. The two groups hit it off so well that we extended
the weekend so both groups could spend more time together. On Sunday
morning we attended an Orthodox service with both Kaizen kids and
the Grace team. We had a great discussion afterwards on the differences
between Romanian and American churches. Overall the trip was a resounding
success - our camp now has three much-needed shelters, and the Grace
Chapel students have new perspectives on living and working cross-culturally.
Prayer Requests
-
Pray for our
time with kids. As our Romanian progresses, we are able to develop
stronger relationships with kids. Pray especially for our time with
Kaizen kids, that we are able to serve them and bless them.
-
Pray for our
friendships here. We have developed many new friendships here, including
summer Viata leaders and Marius, a seminary student working to start
a youth group at the Pentecostal Church. Pray that we will have
deeper friendship and fellowship with Romanian peers. Pray that
we will grow in transparency and authenticity in our friendships
with Romanians.
-
Pray for our
organizational growing pains. This fall, our foundation will initiate
several new Kaizen Clubs in the Jiu Valley and also throughout Romania.
We have an amazing opportunity before us, but please pray that we
will be able to recruit new volunteers, provide important training,
and continue to run all Kaizen Clubs at high quality.
Contact Information for letters only
Lee Anne and Alex Galanes
Fundatia Noi Orizonturi
OP 1 - CP 12, Lupeni, Cod 335 600
Jud. Hunedoara
Romania
Faster Communication
011 40 254 563 117 (Fixed phone)
011 40 724 348 208 (Cell phone)
Alex: galanes76@yahoo.com
Lee: galanes77@yahoo.com
If you are supporting us financially, all checks should be made out
to Young Life with "Galanes/Romania x277" in the lower left
hand memo line. Young Life's address is: P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs,
CO 80901
Alex
and Lee's Romanian Update (Click here
to see letter with pictures as Word Document)
April 2004
No
sign of tulips or cherry blossoms, but spring finally arrived in Lupeni!
We welcome more sunshine and warm weather here, and it's been a great
excuse to take long hikes into the mountains and enjoy outdoor activities
with our kids. Thanks to so many of you who sustained us through the
winter. Your notes of encouragement and prayers certainly helped us
over the last few months. We are continuously grateful for the support
we receive. To keep you informed, here is the latest and greatest from
our lives in Romania.
Easter In Lupeni
The Eastern and Western calendars coincided this year for Easter. Though
Easter fell on the same day, our Easter celebration looked slightly
different this year. We learned that Easter is actually quite a big
deal in Romania. Employers give two days off to their employees, women
cook traditional lamb dishes, and egg painting is taken to a whole new
intricate level. Here are some highlights from our Easter Weekend in
Lupeni:
* Spring Break
Field Trip: To take advantage of our kids' spring break and to celebrate
Easter, we rented two vans and took 30 kids to explore our county's
sites. We were excited for quality time with the kids and for the opportunity
to expose them to their rich cultural and religious heritage only a
few hours away. While we knew that most of the kids had never left the
valley that we live in, we did not take into account how extended car
travel would affect them. Within twenty minutes we soon found ourselves
on the side of the road dealing with nine teenagers vomiting from car-
sickness. This continued throughout the day. As we traveled over windy
roads, more and more kids became motion sick. On top of the vomiting
stops, we also visited an Orthodox monastery, a 13th century castle,
ruins of an old citadel, and, "most importantly", McDonald's.
While even the most nauseated kids told us they had a great time, we
certainly learned a lesson about travel!
* Good Friday:
We completed the Orthodox fast and climbed a mountain doing the "Drumul
Crucii" (the Road of the Cross) with people from town. Many of
our kids joined us. Despite the slowness of walking four hours up the
mountain with many older people and the town's priests, the kids impressed
us with their level of worship and the sincerity they showed at each
station of the cross
* Easter Sunday:
After attending a very celebratory church service, we visited with friends.
We were greeted throughout the day with "Hristos a înviat;"
we responded with, "Adevarat a înviat" (Christ has risen;
He has risen indeed). Proclaiming and sharing the resurrection throughout
the day was very powerful.
* Monday's Surprise:
Monday morning we opened our door to the little boys who usually come
for sandwiches. Instead of requesting food, they shocked us by squirting
Lee with cheap perfume. In response for their "gift," they
asked for eggs. This happened throughout the day, and very quickly both
Lee and our apartment reeked. No one could give us the meaning behind
the tradition, but it was hilarious to experience.
Hosting a Grandparents' Ball
One of the strategies we use for individual and community development
is service learning. Service learning uses service projects as a tool
for teaching important vocational skills and competencies while empowering
students to take responsibility for their community's needs. We also
use service learning to teach our kids how to be a blessing to others.
Our kids recently came up with the idea of hosting a Balul Bunicilor
(Grandparents' Ball). In organizing the project, we discovered that
the elderly compose one of the poorest populations of our community
(Romania's inflation rate averages over 20%, and pensions are rarely
sufficient to cover basic needs). Adults were incredibly pessimistic
that this could work, and our kids struggled to find sponsors for the
event. Despite others' cynicism, our kids pulled off a great party.
Over 60 grandparents left their shut-up apartments and came out to visit
with friends, share stories with our kids, drink coffee and eat cookies.
We also discovered that many of the over-65 crowd could really dance!
The evening concluded with each of our kids sharing what their own grandparents
taught them. Our guests took great joy as 22 teenagers expressed gratitude
for the men and women who held onto their faith under persecution and
later shared it with their grandchildren, taught perseverance in the
midst of life's difficulties, and passed on important life skills. The
event was a resounding success! Since then, grandmothers constantly
stop us on the street, invite us into their homes, and even bake us
prajituri (Romanian cookies) to express thanks. Our friends in town
now consist of those under 18 and over 65!
Some Other Recent
Highlights
* Lee's brother John proposed to his girlfriend Sara over Easter weekend.
We are thrilled! While we couldn't be there to celebrate in person,
we look forward to viewing it on tape as The Learning Channel (TLC)
filmed it as a pilot for an engagement reality TV show. Hopefully it
will air this summer!
* We witnessed
the baptism of Lydia, one of our kids from the summer Viata Program,
at church last Sunday!
* In addition to
the three other local Kaizen Clubs, our organization's new high school
club is booming!
* Alex's parents
visit in two weeks!! We can't wait to see them and to show them our
lives here. Please pray for their travels.
* Our church here
held its very own Family Life Conference last weekend. We were amazed
to show up and have the guest speaker be an American pastor from southern
Missouri. His thick Missouri accent was such a comfort to us, as it
was great to hear this teaching in English (with translation).
Prayer Requests
* Pray for our time with kids. As weather improves, we're able
to spend more time outside with kids. Please pray for deeper relationships
and that we can minister to their needs.
* Pray for our
time with our staff. Pray for continued growth and unity among staff.
Since September, our staff has doubled in size. This growth is allowing
us to accomplish more, but it poses new challenges as well. Pray for
ever-greater community, tolerance, and love as our numbers grow.
* Pray for preparations
for the Viata Program. In particular, the cabana that previously
held our program drastically increased their prices and has become too
expensive. Please pray as we research alternative cabanas. Currently,
we have one attractive prospect; please pray that it will be sufficient
and affordable.
Contact Information for letters only
Lee Anne and Alex Galanes
Fundatia Noi Orizonturi
OP 1 - CP 12, Lupeni, Cod 335 600
Jud. Hunedoara
Romania
Faster Communication:
011 40 254 563 117 (Fixed phone)
011 40 724 348 208 (Cell phone)
Alex: galanes76@yahoo.com
Lee: galanes77@yahoo.com
Both: GalanesRomania@yahoo.com
If you are supporting us financially, all checks should
be made out to Young Life with "Galanes/Romania x277" in the
lower left hand memo line. Young Life's address is: P.O. Box 520 Colorado
Springs, CO 80901
Alex and Lee's Romanian Update (Click
here to see letter with pictures as Word Document)
February 2004
Greetings from Lupeni! We’re back into winter weather
here after a week of unseasonably warm temperatures. We hope and pray
that you are doing well. One of the most frequently- asked questions
we receive from friends is, “so what’s a typical day like
for you in Romania?” For this latest newsletter, we’ll describe
our lives in a weekend in the life of Alex and Lee Anne in Lupeni.
Friday, February 6, 2004
Apartment George
We spent most of the day fixing up “Apartment George” for
some new staff. Apartment George is named after a former staff member
that is now serving in the Romanian Army in Bucharest. This large, three-bedroom/two-bathroom
apartment will serve as housing for some new staff members. At the end
of February, Theo Miu and Lisa Tedder will be joining our staff here
in Lupeni. It’s exciting to enlarge the staff because we look
forward to enlarging our combined circle of youth outreach.
Theo is a Romanian graduating this month from a Bible College in Bucharest.
He has a plethora of outdoor experience and spent the past 18 months
working with the YMCA in the U.S. As a Romanian who has spent a significant
amount of time in America, he is also an invaluable bridge between the
American and Romanian staff. He raised his own salary completely through
American churches and also recruited some volunteers for the summer
program. Lisa most recently worked on the youth ministry staff of Vienna
Presbyterian Church in Vienna, VA. She also spent last summer as a volunteer
with our Viata Program. She brings six years of youth ministry experience
to our team as well as a connection back to the Washington area (we’ve
already done plenty of name trading).
Please pray for Lisa and Theo’s adjustments to life in Lupeni
and the changes to our team. Pray for staff unity.
Saturday, February 7, 2004
Morning with Kaizen Clubs
One of our goals with the Kaizen kids is to develop vocational skills.
We spent Saturday morning and early afternoon showing the kids a Romanian
typing program. Most of these kids do not have a computer at home and
also have limited computer access in school. Teaching kids to type is
a first step towards computer proficiency. It’s also a great way
to build relationships with them. Our kids are currently working on
throwing a “Grandparent’s Ball” for the elderly of
Lupeni. As part of their planning process, the kids needed to develop
a budget. We incorporated Microsoft Excel into our budget making process,
and they are beginning to understand how computers can help them.
Please continue to pray for our language skills. We can have conversations
with kids, but teaching and leading group lessons and discussions are
still challenging for us.
Conversations with Ilie
After we spent several hours with the kids, we had a long conversation
with our friend Ilie (pronounced Ill-e-ay) about some of his big life
decisions. Ilie is both a terrific colleague and friend to us here.
He encourages us when we are frustrated, assists us with apartment woes,
and shares his life with us in meaningful ways. Ilie’s wife, Cristina,
just gave birth to their first child- Daniel Adonis Popescu. We feel
blessed to know Ilie as he takes on the new role as father. As a result
of his son’s birth, Ilie is beginning to think about going back
to school and working towards a university degree. Saturday afternoon,
we spent time processing this decision with Ilie and considering its
various logistics.
Pray for God’s blessing upon Ilie and his family. Pray also for
deeper friendships here with Ilie and Cristina and for stronger connections
with other people our age that we are just beginning to get to know.
Afternoon Jog
After Kaizen, we went out for a short run in Lupeni. The weather was
unseasonably warm (50 degrees!) and we enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.
Here in Lupeni, very few people exercise. For those who do exercise,
men and women rarely work out together. On our 30-minute jog, we received
some stares, some comments, and some laughs. For us, the jog was a great
time together to unwind.
Please pray for us as we still struggle with feeling like outsiders.
Please also pray for our time together as a couple, away from the busyness
of work.
Evening movie – “Pay It Forward”
We threw a movie night in our apartment for the Kaizen kids, complete
with soda, cookies, and candy. As a group of nearly thirty kids and
adults stuffed into one apartment room, we watched the movie “Pay
It Forward”. “Pay It Forward” is about a boy who hatches
a domino-effect concept of making sacrifices for others. Instead of
paying someone back after receiving a favor, Haley Joel Osment’s
character prescribes that individuals “pay it forward” and
instead help three other people. The movie proved to be a great launching
pad for discussion afterwards on multiple spiritual and relationship
topics. Eleven year-old Bianca summed up well that Romania would be
a very different country if people could understand that it is better
to give than to receive.
Please pray for continued deepening relationships with the youth that
we serve.
Sunday, February 8, 2004
Church: 9 A.M. to 1 P.M.
We laid in bed for 25 minutes Sunday morning motivating each other to
get up for church. We apologize if we do not sound like very holy missionaries,
but some Sundays just take a lot of energy. It’s not that we wanted
to skip the service; it’s just that it takes a lot of energy to
gear up for church- especially after a late night with kids. The Baptist
Church we go to is made up of wonderful older people and a few young
people (including some of our Kaizen kids.) Our lack of motivation is
due to the length of the service, often up to four hours, and our mental
exhaustion following four consecutive sermons in Romanian. We also must
sit apart- we can not relay on each other for comprehension. In the
States, going to church on a Sunday morning was something we looked
forward to; now, we find it to be a discipline. And yet, we are usually
very thankful that we went. Even as we do not fully grasp the sermon
or can follow the words in the songs, we often find ourselves so thankful
for this small congregation of faithful believers.
Afternoon Adventure
The American couple we work with, Dana and Brandi Bates, are currently
fundraising in the US. We’ve been dog-sitting their husky Augi
while they are gone. On Sunday afternoon, Augi needed some exercise,
and we took a walk up into the hills. Normally we do not have any problems
taking Augi off of her leash once out of town. However, on this particular
day, Augi discovered a flock of sheep. The scene became crazy and comical
very quickly. Augi chased the sheep, the sheep dogs chased Augi, we
ran after the sheep dogs and Augi, and the shepherds chased after all
of us screaming profanities about the americanii and their dogs. Thankfully
no sheep were injured in this little adventure, but we will certainly
need to find a new trail.
Please pray for peoples’ reactions to us, especially when we
make culturally inappropriate mistakes.
Evening Spent Moving
Sunday night we moved furniture from our old apartment to our new apartment.
Due to a less-than stellar roof (this is an understatement) and no internal
heat, mold overran our old place. Mold covered the kitchen, our furniture,
our clothes, and some treasured jars of peanut butter and imported spices.
Our staff deemed our apartment unlivable. We declared it a biohazard.
For the past two weeks, we’ve slowly been moving out of our old
place and into the apartment where we hold Kaizen Club meetings and
let the kids hang out. There are benefits and drawbacks to living in
this apartment. We now have heat, a washing machine, a gas range with
oven, and, most importantly, a great opportunity to spend more time
with kids. However, because our apartment’s main function is serving
Kaizen, we now have less space and often feel that we live in a dorm.
In December we prayed for more informal time to spend with the kids.
God has answered this request with black mold. Please pray for us as
we continue to move, remove mold from things, and feel settled.
Monday, February 9, 2004
PowerPoint training with staff
After Monday’s staff meeting, we held a short training on Microsoft
PowerPoint for the Romanian staff. We feel that part of our job here
is to help nurture and develop the staff. Since the Romanians do most
of the public relations work for our foundation (since they speak the
language much more professionally than us J), developing public speaking
skills among the staff is important. We hope to equip the staff with
the necessary tools to make a presentation at a local high school. In
two weeks, we will be presenting Kaizen Clubs to the school’s
faculty and several parents. We desire to start a Kaizen Club in the
high school itself in March. Starting a group at the school would be
a tremendous opportunity to involve more kids in Kaizen.
Please pray for God’s favor in starting a Kaizen Club at Lupeni’s
Liceul Teoretic. Pray for success in presenting Kaizen Clubs, and pray
that teachers, parents, and students would also respond positively
Thank You
That summarizes a fairly typical weekend for us in Lupeni. The coming
weekend will look somewhat similar, though we are hoping to avoid any
incidents with sheep. In closing, it has been nearly one year since
we left our jobs, packed up our apartment, and left our beloved Washington
D.C. to join Young Life staff. In a year full of tremendous change,
we have much to be grateful for. Our marriage feels stronger than ever,
our fellowship with God is deeper, and we continue to learn new ways
to love and serve cross-culturally. We continue to face internal struggles
as well, to see more of our inabilities and lack of love within, and
external challenges (mold, for example.) Thank you for your continuous
support throughout this experience. We are so thankful that our Young
Life account has never been in deficit, that God provides for us and
for kids in Lupeni through you. Thank you also for your prayers. We
continue to hear from so many individuals and groups that are praying
for us, and we truly believe that God is listening as you intercede
for us. We feel grateful, humbled, and blessed. Finally, thank you for
keeping in touch with us- for Christmas cards and letters, e-mails and
phone calls. The small and large communiqués continue to encourage
us and help us to feel connected to you.
Contact Information for letters only
Lee Anne and Alex Galanes
Fundatia Noi Orizonturi
OP 1 - CP 12, Lupeni, Cod 335 600
Jud. Hunedoara
Romania
Faster Communication:
011 40 254 563 117 (Fixed phone) *Note new #
011 40 724 348 208 (Cell phone)
Alex: galanes76@yahoo.com
Lee: galanes77@yahoo.com
Both: GalanesRomania@yahoo.com
If you are supporting us financially, all checks should be made out
to Young Life with “Galanes/Romania x277” in the lower left
hand memo line. Young Life’s address is: P.O. Box 520 Colorado
Springs, CO 80901
Alex and Lee's Romanian Update (Click
here to see letter with pictures as Word Document)
Thanksgiving 2003
Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations
what He has done. - Psalm 105:1
We've been thinking about how much we have to be grateful for over this
Thanksgiving holiday. One year ago, we were in the midst of fundraising
and not sure when we'd get to Romania. In our seventh month in Romania,
we recognize that we have many people and circumstances to which we
owe God thanks. Here are a handful of items that we are very thankful
for.
Heat - while our apartment building does not have central heating,
we discovered that our bedroom does. By keeping the door closed, our
bedroom stays fairly warm. We've taken to spending much of our time
there; we carry in our laptop to work from bed! Lee Anne has been working
on staff job descriptions, organizational charts, and lesson plans all
from the comfort of our bedroom. We've also watched movies while under
our covers (recently Kate and Leopold and The Fellowship of the Ring).
Alex is planning on getting some insulating foam to seal up our windows
- if it works, our bedroom will be warm enough to live in short sleeves.
Kaizen - the highlight of our jobs is our time with the Kaizen kids.
Kids in the Jiu Valley have a lot of free time on their hands. There
are not youth groups or sports teams for teenagers to turn to after
school. With that in mind, our staff plans a number of optional fun
activities each week to reach out to the kids. From everything from
a theater club to painting lessons, we constantly look for new areas
that the kids can use their free time to enhance their God-given capabilities.
Recently the two of us organized a Sunday afternoon hike. Fifteen kids
came with us, and we had a great time seeing more of God's creation,
throwing a Frisbee on a mountaintop, sharing dreams, and eating peanuts.
Working with the kids provides us with incredible joy, laughter, and
satisfaction. Fourteen- year old Vali does not stop talking, and we
usually struggle to withhold our laughter from many of his comments.
Fourteen- year old Dina constantly shares to us how God is her rock
amidst the painful circumstances she faces in her family. We recently
did a lesson with the story "The Wall," a beautiful gospel
parable about the walls we put up that only God can break down. One
of our co-workers, Andra, worked hard to translate the story into Romanian,
and we created a detailed plan for our discussion. When we moved into
the story's personal applications, one of us asked our group, "what
walls do you keep up?" Thirteen- year old Larisa did not give us
the answer we were quite expecting. For the next ten minutes she described
each of the cement walls that she decorated in her apartment. Such are
the conversations that keep us laughing- especially at ourselves.
Lanesville Church Construction Team - We are thankful for Lanesville
Church of Gloucester, Massachusetts. They recently sent over a ten-person
expert construction team for two weeks of hard work on our Foundation's
cabana. While their handiwork will enable us to have more staff housing
this summer, we also appreciated their fellowship and encouragement.
We are constantly grateful that they brought a boxful of Boston sports
apparel with them. It makes us especially happy to walk around and see
Red Sox and Bruins hats; it counters the current Yankees fad among the
youth of Lupeni.
The Man from God - Back in October, we traveled to Deva (our county
seat) for an errand and also for a chance to follow up with kids we
worked with over the summer at Viata. We had a great time with the kids,
but we ended up leaving the orphanage after dark. Our road conditions
are less than stellar, and driving after dark is treacherous. While
on the road from Deva, we hit a hole that appeared out of nowhere and
bent a tire rim. Unfortunately, we were kilometers away from any house
or town. Our tire needed changing, but we didn't have a flashlight and
no cars were stopping to help. We were beginning to feel hopeless about
the situation when an older gentleman pulled over. He gave us a flashlight.
When we couldn't get the wheel off of the axle, he drove home for a
hammer. He went out of his way out of his way to help us. In the course
of our conversation, we learned that he was a Baptist minister. He stated
that He doesn't usually stop in such situations, but he strongly felt
that God wanted him to stop. Regardless of whether we cared about God,
the man went on to say that we needed to know that God firmly cares
about us. His words provide constant encouragement for us. We are more
prone to bouts of depression than ever before; and the pastor's comments
spur us on- our God does care about us. (And yes, we did request that
he pose for a picture.)
Prayer Requests
Ø Depth in our relationships with kids - We know our kids pretty
well at this point; we know their names, family situations, and aspirations
for the future. As our Romanian continues to improve, we're able to
express ourselves better. Pray that with this improvement, that we'll
be able to share more about ourselves and our own feelings, insights,
and dreams.
Ø Recent tragedy in town - Last month, a group of teenagers took
their parent's car and drove through town. The underage driver turned
a curve too quickly, and the car crashed into a group of coal miners
waiting for their bus to work. The driver lived, but a few of his passengers
and one of the miners did not. Please pray that this awful situation
will continue to draw the community together and continue to provide
meaningful conversations with our kids.
Ø Fellowship at church - We want to get more involved in the
Baptist church in town. It's definitely different to what we are used
to (besides being in Romanian, it's three hours long-with multiple sermons-
and we have to sit at opposite sides of the church). Please pray for
fellowship and relationships with other people in Lupeni outside of
our Foundation.
Christmas Sponsorships for Kids
We as a Foundation are beginning to fundraise for next summer's Viata
program. The cost is $98 per kid for the entire week (including food,
staff costs, lodging, insurance, etc). Neither the Jiu Valley's families
nor the orphanages are able to afford for kids to go, and we hope that
500 youth can be sponsored for 2004. If you are interested in giving
a friend or family member the tax-deductible gift of a camp sponsorship,
please email us. We'll send a card in recognition of the gift.
Contact Information for letters only
Lee Anne and Alex Galanes
Fundatia Noi Orizonturi
OP 1- CP 12, Lupeni, Cod 335 600
Jud. Hunedoara
Romania
Faster Communication:
011 40 254 564 266 (Fixed phone)
011 40 724 348 208 (Cell phone)
Alex: galanes76@yahoo.com
Lee: galanes77@yahoo.com
Both: GalanesRomania@yahoo.com
If you are supporting us financially, all checks should be made out
to Young Life with "Galanes/Romania x277" in the lower left
hand memo line. Young Life's address is: P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs,
CO 80901.
Alex and Lee's Romanian Update (Click
here to see letter with pictures as Word Document)
September 2003
Autumn's Arrival
The temperature dropped 20 degrees on the first of September, and the
remaining signs of summer are quickly disappearing. The leaves are beginning
to change on the mountains. The air is crisp. The Piata (marketplace)
produce is shifting from summer fruits to autumn vegetables. It is definitely
a new season here in Lupeni.
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through
love." - Galatians 5:6
We spent our summer sharing the beauties of creation and its creator
with Romanian youth. From the ropes course to rock climbing, from skits
and games to small group discussions, we spent morning to night with
the kids. It was exhausting, but we praise God for an incredible summer.
Upon reflection, one theme stands out -love. Much of our summer was
truly about communicating God's love and our love for these kids. Though
handicapped to communicate fully with words, we felt God stretching
our own capacity and abilities to love.
The summer's most difficult group of kids came from the Pesteana Orphanage.
Hunedoara County recently made a unilateral decision to pull all of
their troubled orphans, kids with mental and behavioral difficulties,
and send them to one central location - the Pesteana Casa de Copii.
Our week with Pesteana included suicide threats, substance addictions,
continuous fights, and a physically abusive chaperone from its orphanage
staff. As if to justify his behavior, the Pesteana chaperone told us
that these kids are hopeless cases, unable to change. They will be perpetual
liabilities to society. Not only was this man a stark contrast to staff
we'd met from other state orphanages, many of whom act as loving champions
for the kids under their care, but he presented to us a message about
people so totally contrary to that of Christ. Regardless of our abilities
to speak Romanian, we resolved to convey to each kid their intrinsic
value.
Fourteen-year old Claudiu was one of our Pesteana kids. While his behavior
challenged us, his craving for love inspired much greater compassion.
We learned early on in our group discussions that Claudiu actually did
not know the meaning of "iubire," the Romanian word for love.
As we learned more about his life, we saw why love simply was not a
part of his vocabulary. Claudiu responded to the action of love by creating
an entire family out of the Viata staff. Claudiu called us his
matusa and unchi (aunt and uncle), and he also designated parents, grandparents,
cousins, and even a sister-in-law. We worked with other kids throughout
the summer also desperate for love. Ovidiu, age seventeen, expressed
that he feels that no one has ever loved him. His mother checks him
in and out of the orphanage like a library book, and he asked us why
he should value himself if no one else does.
Post-Viata…Kaizen
These are only two examples from over 500 kids who came attended Viata
this summer. Twenty percent came from county orphanages, the rest from
Lupeni and other nearby towns. It was difficult for us to spend only
a week at a time with these kids. To follow up Viata, Dana and Brandi
Bates developed the year-round Kaizen Program. Kaizen, a culturally
neutral term, is the Japanese word for continuous improvement. It is
structured as a bi-weekly club incorporating discipleship with moral
development, recreation, community service, and vocational skills development.
Fifteen kids are currently involved in Kaizen. We are excited that this
group includes kids we worked directly with this summer, and are thankful
for the opportunity to develop deeper relationships with these kids
throughout the year. We also see tremendous opportunities for Kaizen
Clubs to grow here in Lupeni as well as within the orphanage system.
In the next few weeks, we will be working to start the next new Kaizen
Club with thirteen and fourteen year old kids that attended Viata.
Kaizen Retezat Trip
"Since everything was collectively owned, no one was really responsible;
no one was in charge; no one cared. Every individual was absolved of
responsibility because he or she delegated it to a higher level, that
of an institution. "
In Café Europa, Slavenka Drakulic provides this description
of the mind-set created by communism. One of Kaizen's goals is to reverse
this mentality and encourage teenagers to take an active role in their
community. The week after Viata ended, we went camping with the Kaizen
kids in nearby Retezat National Park. The trip combined fun activities
(our first caving trip) with building a much-needed outhouse in the
park. It also gave us meaningful time to develop relationships with
the kids and other leaders.
Building Grant Application
We have also been busy working with a small team writing a proposal
for European Union funding to refurbish a vacant building. This building
is here in downtown Lupeni. It will provide meeting space for multiple
Kaizen clubs, expand our office space, and could also serve many community
needs. Through the process of coordinating multiple tasks, evaluating
construction proposals, and dealing with surprisingly complicated real
estate transactions due to our non-profit status, we continue to encounter
confusion with Romanian laws and experience cross-cultural misunderstandings.
We are continuously grateful for the Romanian staff's sound judgment
and translation abilities. The proposal is due September 10th, and the
grant would be worth 20,000 euros. Please pray for our favor in the
eyes of those reviewing the applications.
Cultural Tidbits
Here's what we've learned about Romanian youth culture:
- Clothing Trends - New York Yankees hats (much to Alex's disdain)
and anything FUBU brand.
- Music - EMINEM is VERY popular. If you ask kids where in the world
they would like to visit, the most frequent answer is…Detroit!
Also, we enjoy that many of our own junior high school favorites like
M.C. Hammer, Snap, and Milli Vanilli - yes, Milli Vanilli - are frequently
played on the radio. Kids are often quite impressed that we know all
the words to songs like "Can't Touch This," "Blame
it on the Rain," and "The Power". Not popular here
- U2; when played in the disco, people stopped dancing and complained.
- Recreation - Everyone loves to dance and go to the disco.
- Sports - Football (soccer) is #1, followed by basketball and handball.
The European Cup qualifying matches are going on now (most of you
probably don't know or care about the European Cup…trust us,
it is very important here). As we write this newsletter, Romania is
playing Luxembourg. It seems as if all of Lupeni cheers after each
goal scored by Romania.
The Story of our Fixed Phone
We just got a fixed phone in our apartment! This may not seem significant,
but it has been a tedious three-month process. Every Friday this summer,
we've come down the mountain and headed straight to RomTelecom to find
out the status of our phone. Every week they gave us a different answer
about our status and usually a new request for a different piece of
paper from us. We have been frustrated by the ridiculous bureaucracy
involved; even more so, we find ourselves depressed by the combined
the economic impact of wasting people's time in chasing paper. That
said, this process also challenged our American impatience (time is
not money in every culture) and absolute reliance upon technology. We
don't own a microwave or television, and the electricity is subject
to sporadic black outs. In many ways, we are thankful for opportunities
to live with a little bit less than we are used to. Needless to say,
we are very excited about having a phone (the number is below) because
we can now be much more diligent with e-mail. The fixed phone also provides
a way to call home to friends and family when we miss them most.
Praise God for…as well as our fixed phone
- His love, faithfulness, grace, and glorious creation.
- An incredible summer with the kids and summer staff!
- Friendships with the year-round staff! We are thankful for Dana
and Brandi, Ilie, Anca, Levi, George, and Andra, the community we
have and all of the ways each has helped us adjust here.
- Our health! Thankfully we have been only mildly sick a few times
since coming here.
July's Visitors:
- Dave Martin, Young Life's Regional Administrator for Europe, came
for a few days in July. He cared for us and provided enormous encouragement.
- Amber Brooks, a friend from National Community Church and also from
Lee's 1998 trip to Central America, in now in the Peace Corps in Romania.
Coincidence or not, she spent a week on the same mountain as us with
a camp for children from her town Orastie. It was a blessing to reconnect
and to share our experiences here.
- Kerry O'Brien, a good friend from both college and Washington, played
the role of Santa Claus. Kerry brought both a suitcase full of cards
and goodies from so many of you and her own love, encouragement, and
insights into life in Lupeni.
Prayer Requests
- Kaizen - We will be starting a new club with 13 and 14 year-olds
at the end of September. We have a lot to do in preparation for this.
Pray for us as well kids like Robi and Alex who will be coming.
- Language Acquisition - pray for diligence in study (we will be restarting
classes this fall) as well as the humility to speak Romanian. Pray
that we will speak Romanian more and English less.
- Joy and Peace - seemingly simple, but extremely necessary, requests
for our own needs. This place brings out unexpected anxieties, extreme
highs and lows, and questions about our abilities and purpose. We
continuously must rely on God's promises and in the fruits of His
Spirit.
A Word of Thanks
Thank you for your continuous support. Thank you for loving us well
through your prayers. Thank you for enabling us to work and live here.
We are only able to be here because God provides for us through you.
Please know that we miss you and are also praying for you.
Contact Information for *Letters Only
Lee Anne and Alex Galanes
Fundatia Noi Orizonturi
OP 1- CP 12, Lupeni, Cod 335 600
Jud. Hunedoara
Romania
Faster Communication:
011 40 254 564 266 (Fixed phone!)
011 40 724 348 208 (Cell phone)
Alex: galanes76@yahoo.com
Lee: galanes77@yahoo.com
Both: GalanesRomania@yahoo.com
* Please note that this address is slightly different because of a city
change in mailing code. Also, this address is for letters only.
If you are supporting us financially, all checks should be made out
to Young Life with "Galanes/Romania x277" in the lower left
hand memo line. Young Life's address is: P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs,
CO 80901.
Fourth of July 2003 (Click
here to see letter with pictures as Word Document)
Happy Independence Day - from Romania
Happy 4th of July! While we sang the "Star Spangled Banner"
for many Romanians, we spent the day celebrating the close of our second
week of camp. We're exhausted, encouraged, and humbled by our time with
Romanian teenagers. It has not been a particularly easy week. One of
the girls in Alex's group shared about abuse occurring at home. Discerning
what steps to take was compounded by our uncertainties of legal enforcement,
cultural stigmas, and the lack of adequate social services. Alex's Romanian
co-leaders also expressed frustration and confusion. Please pray for
Ancuta.
We are frustrated and saddened as we witness the struggles Romanians
face here - pervasive corruption, poor health care, high unemployment,
and family problems. However, while only two weeks into the Viata summer
program, we are indeed encouraged. We see Romania's future leaders in
the summer staff. Staff applications included essays on corruption,
the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and lessons Orthodox and Protestant
believers can teach each other. After reading the applications, it was
a tremendous pleasure to meet the finalists. These Romanians are full
of tremendous passion, strong character, and important insights. They
minister each week through servant-leadership.
We also feel encouraged to witness beautiful transformations in the
kids. Thirteen-year-old Iliana came to Viata from a nearby orphanage.
She began the week unable to make eye contact with other kids or leaders.
She protested participating in activities and refused to speak in the
group discussions. Slowly we saw little changes as other kids cheered
her on and leaders gave her ample attention and love. A turning point
in the week came during a discussion of Mark 12, the story of the Widow's
Mite. Iliana identified with the widow who gave out of her poverty;
she saw her own worth in the woman Jesus praised. Through her tears
in leaving camp today, we celebrated her self-confidence, joy, and willingness
to serve others in her team.
Home Sweet Home
Dana and Brandi generously provided us with a wonderful apartment here
in Lupeni. Close to the center of town, we walk out onto the balcony
to see the large dirty smokestacks with breathtaking mountains behind
them. We are also close to grazing areas, the Jiu River, and a playground.
We apologize that we have not communicated very well from here. We do
not yet have a "fixed" phone, which made it hard to feel connected
to home. Thankfully we recently found an internet café in town
that we will use for e-mailing on weekends. We also decided to invest
in a cell phone. We've been told that we will have a fixed phone within
a month. Please pray for quick service without paying a "jump"
(a.k.a. hefty bribe) so that we can stay in touch more frequently.
Becoming Like Children
We spent much more time with small children during our first weeks in
Romania than in our last few years in Washington. Children seek us out
to beg for money, practice English phrases, or just check out us crazy-looking
Americans. Kids also come to the office nearly every day asking for
some food to eat, and we've spent time at a local orphanage. We've really
enjoyed being around kids. Children are patient with our Romanian abilities,
and their joy is contagious. We are continuously reminded that Jesus
had such a culturally radical love for children, a true comfort when
we question why some of these kids have such difficult lives.
Jesus also commands us to emanate children. Childlikeness seems to
be an invaluable tool working cross-culturally. A childlike attitude
prevents us from judging on appearances alone, acting as efficient problem-solvers
without understanding a situation's full context or cultural implications,
or assuming that we know the right formulas for ministry here. We continue
to remind ourselves that we must learn with the curiosity and openness
of children. We also are learning childlike dependence. In this completely
new job and culture, we've lost our sense of independence. We were forced
to rely on God to provide our finances to come here. We need even greater
reliance on our Provider and His provision through many Romanians as
we learn how to live and work here. Neither a childlike attitude nor
childlike dependence come easy for us (we're both oldest children),
but please pray that we become ever-more willing to sacrifice our pride
and independence here.
Additional Prayer Requests
- Viata Program - please pray for effective ministry and safety this
summer. Pray also for leaders' energy, unity, and joy in serving.
- Meaningful Relationships - please pray for our continual grasp of
the language. While our comprehension is perhaps better than expected,
we struggle immensely with speaking Romanian. Pray also for our relationships
with kids "down the mountain." We desire that camp will
be a launching pad for longer-term relationships in Lupeni.
- Neighbor relationships - pray that we can build friendships with
Cosmin and his family across the hall, Rozica and her family downstairs,
and Raul, a twelve-year old boy who comes by every week desiring to
take out our trash . Ovidiu, a VERY determined rock climber
A Word of Thanks
Thank you for your continuous support. We are only able to be here because
God provides for us through your prayers, finances, and encouragement.
Please know that we miss you and are also praying for you.
Contact Information for *Letters Only
Lee Anne and Alex Galanes
Fundatia Noi Orizonturi
OP 1- CP 12, Lupeni, Cod 2696
Jud.Hunedoara
Romania
Faster Communication:
011 40 72 434 8208 (Cell phone)
Alex: galanes76@yahoo.com
Lee: galanes77@yahoo.com
Both: GalanesRomania@yahoo.com
* Packages will likely be held up in customs a few hours away from here.
We are looking into a Christian Ministry that will ship at low cost
and will clear customs for us. We'll keep you posted with what we find
out.
If you are supporting us financially, all checks should be made out
to Young Life with "Galanes/Romania x277" in the lower left
hand memo line.
Young Life's address is: P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs, CO 80901.
January-February 2003
Happy New Year! As most of you know, we are
in the process of going on staff with Young Life
International. We will be working with Viata
in Lupeni, Romania. We haven't left quite yet, but
we'd like to update you on God's provision for our
support and our timeframe for departure.
2002 - The Missions Odyssey
We began 2002 with "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement,"
a class developed by the U.S. Center for World Missions. We thank our
friends Sylvia and Melissa for bringing "Perspectives" to
National Community Church (NCC); it provided us with a new framework
to understand missions and truly revitalized our desires to serve God
overseas.
Early in the year, our friend Kerry O'Brien introduced us to the Viata
program after she returned from eight months in Romania. We met Dana
and Brandi Bates, Viata's founders, in March 2002. Over nights of Thai
food and veggie chili, we were blessed by our opportunity to get to
know Dana and Brandi and learn more about Romania's Jiu Valley. Excited
by the prospect of serving with the Bateses, we applied to Young Life
International in May. The Young Life International Office is conveniently
located in McLean, Virginia (about halfway between our apartment and
Alex's office.) Their proximity enabled us to interview in person, and
it has fostered close coordination for cross-cultural training and various
logistical questions.
We began to raise support in August. Sending out that first batch of
letters felt humbling and scary. We had no idea how God was going to
provide the prayer and financial support to make this venture possible,
and we struggled with our doubts. The process of raising support has
deepened our reliance upon God and truly confirmed His call for us to
go. God has answered our prayers! It's incredible to see Him providing
prayer and financial support through so many of you. Though we are continuing
to raise money to assist the Viata program, our personal travel, training,
and living expenses are pledged for the upcoming year. Thank you so
much for your partnership as we go forward!
2003 - A Year of Change
Our living situation will drastically change in the next year. We're
moving from a fast-paced American city to a rural coal mining region
in a foreign country. We are in the process of preparing for the cross-cultural
adjustment. For example, many of you know that we're vegetarians. The
Romanian diet consists of a fair amount of bologna-type pork products.
Recognizing that we need to be prepared to eat foods that may be served
to us, we've begun to include chicken, turkey, and some fish into our
diets. We'll keep you posted as we make the leap to beef and pork.
We each gave notice to our immediate supervisors before Christmas. It
was difficult to relinquish these jobs that we've invested ourselves
in and to strum up the courage to explain that we're leaving. By God's
grace, we both experienced incredible favor as we shared our news; our
bosses' support only further confirmed this move.
We officially go on staff with Young Life International March 1st.
We will also be saying goodbye to Washington D.C. at the end of February
and will be moving up to Boston. We applied to the Eastern Massachusetts
Missions Consortium in October. A group of five churches in the Boston
area (including Alex's home church, Grace Chapel) have pooled their
resources to support missionaries. In November, we had a great experience
interviewing with each of these churches and explaining our calling,
vision, and mission. The churches accepted us and asked us to spend
time with each of their congregations before we leave. We'll be getting
to know the Consortium churches in March and April and will be living
in Medford, MA with Alex's parents. We will also be taking an intensive
Romanian language class at the Boston Language Institute. We plan to
leave for Romania in early May. This will allow us a few weeks to get
acclimated in Lupeni before Viata's summer program kicks off.
Prayer Requests
Please pray for Romania's Jiu Valley. We will certainly provide you
more specific prayer requests as we learn them, but please pray right
now that God provides the financial resources to run Viata's summer
program. Please also pray for us over the next few weeks as we pack
up and leave Washington. Saying goodbye to our friends, our church,
and our jobs will be very difficult.
Contact Information
E-mail: galanes76@yahoo.com (Alex)
galanes77@yahoo.com (Lee Anne)
To support our ministry financially, please make checks out to Young
Life and make sure to write Galanes/ Romania x 277 in the memo field.
Please send checks to:
Young Life International
P.O. Box 520
Colorado Springs, CO 80901
Westgate
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