Author: Julie Peters

It’s the Little Things

by Julie Peters///Adventuring, Romania

Walking to the grocery store was so much more fun with everyone together!

We immensely enjoyed my family’s visit last week and we were sad to see them go. Please read Mama’s blog for a thorough, day-by-day report of all the adventures we had while they were here!

The last night before they left for the Bucharest airport, Sam asked everyone what their favorite part of the visit to Romania was. Some of them mentioned the trip to Brasov or the trail race there, but everyone mentioned something little they enjoyed as well. They all mentioned something normal, everyday, “not exciting.”

“Walking to the Center.”

“Doing laundry with the new clothes line.” (Daddy bought the supplies and put me up a clothes line! The clothes dry SO much faster than on my drying rack inside)

“Weighing vegetables at the grocery store.”

“Just being here together.”

That was my favorite too. Just being together. Whether we were walking around town, going to the grocery store, or cleaning the apartment, it was all better together.

Sisters and Starbucks 🙂

We don’t always have to do huge or exciting things with those that we love. Actually, sometimes the best thing we can do is just be together. Simply.

That is one of the things I love about being married. We don’t have to think up different ways to be together; we just get to live together every day. I love being able to cook for Sam and do his laundry, and I love sitting down every morning to eat breakfast together. I love walking to the store together or studying side by side. It’s the little things.

Crazy adventures are so much fun and can do a lot to build relationships, but I think it is even more important to focus on every day, little things. If you get excited about little things in life and relationships, life will be full of joy and excitement.

What are your favorite “little things”?

Our Latest Adventures

by Julie Peters///Adventuring, Uncategorized

“You know, we’ve been on a lot of adventures together so far,” I told Sam at some point in our recent travels. It is true, and we both feel incredibly blessed for all the wonderful adventures we have been able to experience together so far in our marriage.

Our most recent adventure was a trip to Moldova to visit some friends. Moldova is a small country to the northwest of Romania, which was at one point a part of Romania. The official national language of Moldova is Romanian, which is nice for Sam and me, but previously the national language was Russian and many people still speak it, which neither of us understands. Thankfully our hosts spoke perfect English, which is always a blessing for us.

Our journey began Friday afternoon as we took a Blabla car to the Bucharest train station, which is about a three-hour trip from Craiova. Our driver dropped us off at the edge of town, so we walked to the nearby metro station and rode the Romanian subway to the train station. I had packed us a picnic supper and we ate at the train station while we waited for our train, and at 7:00 we boarded a sleeper train headed for Chisinau, Moldova.

My first time on a train of any sort was when I first moved to Romania, and this was my first experience on a sleeper train. Sam and I had our own little room with two benches and a small table. We opened the window and read and studied for a while, and before long we began to try to go to sleep. Neither of us slept much, but it was enough to feel rested, and much better than sitting upright all night. We crossed the Romanian/Moldovan border at 3:00 a.m. and we had to go through passport control and customs right there on the train. It was a good experience, but we were very thankful when we arrived in Chisinau.

We had a wonderful few days with our friends in Moldova. Actually, we had never met these friends in person before, but it is amazing how God’s perfect plan for His family brings so many people together and we are able to have common fellowship through Christ.

Monday afternoon we boarded the train again to return to Romania, and we arrived in Bucharest at 6:00 a.m. We got coffee at a McDonalds in the train station and read, studied, and began our morning at a table at McDonalds. We didn’t have any food left, so we walked to a grocery store to buy some fruit and bread for breakfast, then we walked to the Palace of Parliament.

The Palace of Parliament was begun by the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, but not completed before his assassination in 1989, and it is one of the largest buildings in the world. We took a tour of the palace and we were amazed at all the ornate details, marble, gold, and the massive size of everything. I was intrigued to learn that 99% (or more) of the materials for building were sourced from Romania.

After our tour we ate lunch at an Indian restaurant. Our first date was to an Indian restaurant in Tampa, FL, and we both love Indian food. We were quite pleased to find a place to get some in Bucharest!

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening studying at a coffee shop and visiting a friend from Bucharest before heading to the airport!

Part of my family arrived last night for a two-week visit to Romania! Daddy will join us next week. We had night filled with more adventures in a taxi, on the train, and again on another taxi before we finally arrived home, thankful and exhausted.

Now we are ready for many more adventures in the next two weeks!

 

The Life of a Missionary: Discouragement

by Julie Peters///Adventuring

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.” I Corinthians 3:6

We know that God is the one who causes growth; He is the one who gives the increase, but it is sometimes easy to be discouraged when we do not see apparent growth or increase.

We have lived in Craiova for almost six months, and as of now the church has no new members and no regular visitors. We have events and studies, but often no one comes. Sam passes out hundreds and thousands of flyers, posts countless posters, and we advertise regularly online, but the results we have seen are few.

And it is easy to get discouraged.

It is hard for me to see Sam work so tirelessly every day, studying diligently, coming up with new ideas and methods for reaching people, and getting out of his comfort zone to get out and talk to strangers in a country where he is unfamiliar with the culture and unaccustomed to the language, and not be discouraged for his sake. Sometimes I think, “Don’t these people see how passionate he is and how hard he is working? Why won’t they respond?” But I know this is the wrong way to think. I am thinking too much in physical terms, expecting to see a tangible result of spiritual efforts. No amount of effort on our parts will force people to make the decision to turn their lives to Christ; that is up to them and God. All we can do is keep diligently sowing the seed and give the rest to God.

The gospel is still growing in Craiova, whether or not we see the results with our eyes. We have heard countless stories of conversions that resulted from a single small seed planted years ago. With so many seeds planted all over the city, from flyers to posters, to events and conversations, we pray that one day one of these seeds will grow in someone’s heart and prompt them to turn to God for help and salvation.

Yet even if one of these seeds does not take root, the gospel is still growing. Sam and I have both grown so much from this experience, and we continue to learn every day. We are learning to rely on God and His timing, not our own plans and ideas of success.

And He is causing the growth.

Long Distance Relationships

by Julie Peters///Uncategorized

“Distance makes the heart grow fonder.” Over the past couple of years I have discovered just how true this quote is. Growing up I didn’t have much experience with long distance relationships; my family was always right next to me and my closest friends all lived in the same state, if not in the same city. Going to college twelve hours away from home gave me my first taste of long-distance relationships as I tried to keep in touch with my family and friends back in Mississippi, but the summer after my freshman year of college I began to discover what a long distance relationship really meant.

Sam and I started dating at the beginning of the spring semester during my freshman year and his senior year at Florida College. That summer I went home to Mississippi and he went to complete a preaching internship at a congregation in Ohio, which put us twelve hours apart. It was difficult at first, but we began talking on the phone every night, sending letters weekly, emailing periodically, and texting daily. The few times we got to see each other that summer were so special and we really tried to take full advantage of the time we had together.

Nine days after we were engaged Sam got on a plane and flew across and ocean, over five thousand miles away to Romania. We did not think we would see each other again for nine months, until right before our wedding. It made it a little easier to know that we would not have to be apart again once we saw each other again, but such a lengthy long distance relationship was still extremely hard.

I think the most important aspect of a long distance relationship is intentional communication. During our nine-month separation (minus two weeks we surprisingly got to spend together over my winter break) we created schedules for talking and studying various subjects together. We sent long emails each week and texts throughout the day. Some days we didn’t really want to talk to each other (rarely!), but we never regretted it when we did. I think it was thanks to the volume and variety of our communication throughout our engagement that made it so easy to see each other for the first time, and then get married four days later.

Reunited four days before our wedding!

Now some mornings I’ll wake up and tell Sam I’m so glad I can just roll over and tell him “good morning” instead of texting him. I’m so glad we don’t have to schedule our conversations over a seven-hour time difference, and now we can pretty much talk any time we want to.

When my long distance relationship with Sam finally ended, many more began. I moved across the ocean and over five thousand miles away with him to Romania, which now separates me from my family and many dear friends. I have relearned that intentional communication is again what makes the difference in these relationships. I have schedules to talk to different family members and friends throughout the week, as well as emails, texts, and letters.

Long distance relationships are hard. Sometimes they can get easier if you put forth the effort, but they are never easy. However, I think they can be very beneficial. Constant and intentional communication eases the hardship, and when you are finally reunited it is so worth it. I read a quote somewhere that spoke of the benefits of a long distance relationship, that being long distance makes you love a person even more. When you don’t get to be together you come to love their voice, the meaning behind their texts, or pictures of them doing every day life.

We are still so happy!

Whether or not you are in a physical long distance relationship, I think we are all in a long distance relationship our whole lives with God. Constant and intentional communication will help us get closer to Him, and when we are reunited it will be so joyful and so worth it!

Are you in a long distance relationship? What makes it easier?

Our Trip to Israel

by Julie Peters///Uncategorized

Shalom!

Last week Sam and I took a four day trip to Israel with his parents and it was an amazing experience! The days were packed and we slept very well every night because we were worn out, but it was all wonderful and worth it.

We set our alarms for 3:00 am Monday morning so we could get to the airport for our early flight. Our plan was for Sam to drive our car to pick up his parents at their apartment, then head to the airport together. We flew out of the Craiova airport, which is about 12 minutes away from our apartment and it was such a luxury!

Right from the beginning this trip was an adventure. One of the back tires of the Tico locked up and Sam ended up having to remove the tire and do something to fix it. I know absolutely nothing about cars, so I am very thankful for a car-expert husband! Sam put the tire back on the car and we still made it to the airport in time. We were just in time to learn that our flight had a four hour delay. Thankfully, since we live so close to the airport we were able to go back and get a little more sleep before trying again. The second time we were successful and we landed in Tel Aviv at 12:30 pm.

Mom planned a lot (at least a lot more than Sam and I did) for this trip beforehand and we were so thankful for all her ideas and insight! She signed us up for a fascinating tour of the Western Wall for our first night. We got to see layers of history walking under the wall, including a massive stone from Herod’s Temple! Our tour guide was exceptional and I think we all learned a lot and really enjoyed this tour.

Day Two

We went to the Temple Mount first thing Tuesday morning so we could walk around before it closed. When we first walked in a man gave me and Mom skirts and shirts to put over our clothes so our arms, ankles, and heads would be completely covered and we would not offend the Muslims on their site. The men were okay, but we did see a few men around us wearing skirts because they were wearing shorts.

That afternoon we went to the Israel Museum where we did an audio tour. We got to see various interesting artifacts and learn fascinating facts about different subjects, from the Qumran community to the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Isaiah A scroll, and much more.

We were also able to explore the 1/50 model of first-century Jerusalem, which was also a neat learning experience.

Day Three

Thanks to having a rental car, we were able to spend our third day in Galilee. When we arrived in the morning we visited the Church of the Annunciation, which is where it is believed that Gabriel came to Mary, telling her of the birth of Jesus. Whether or not that is true, it was a neat experience to visit the church and see the historical site.

This is another historical site we were able to visit in Capernaum. The church behind us is built over a first-century house that is thought to have belonged to Peter the apostle. Surrounding the church were the ruins of a village that we got to walk around and explore.

We also got to see the Sea of Galilee! It was beautiful.

We had to try some authentic Israeli falafel one day and it was amazing.

Behind us is an olive press that we saw on a tour of a Nazareth village. We did not really plan on seeing the village or taking the tour, but it just all worked out and we were so thankful. We loved learning about first century life and seeing so many relics and replicas that help make Bible stories come more to life.

On our way back we stopped at the Jordan River. This was an especially wide and clear spot, and we just parked the car nearby and walked down.

On the drive back we saw people giving camel rides in a parking lot. I don’t remember why, but recently I was telling Sam the things that are on my bucket list and one of them was to ride a camel! When we saw them he asked me if I wanted a ride. I did if he would with me! The camel was named Pistachio and she was so huge and gentle! It was a lot of fun.

When we got back to Jerusalem we went up to the Mount of Olives to try to get some pictures and see the view before the sun set.

Day Four

On our last day we drove south to Masada. Somehow I don’t have any pictures, but we hiked all the way up to the top and walked around all the ruins. I did not know much about Masada at all before this trip, so I enjoyed learning as we went through, and as Dad explained a lot of it.

We also got to float in the Dead Sea! I had no idea what it would be like, and it was the strangest sensation. After we dried off we were all crusted with salt. After hiking up the dusty mountain and being covered in salt it felt so good to get a shower that night!

It was a short trip, but it was packed to the brim and I know I learned a lot. We are so thankful for all the experiences and memories we have from this trip!

 

 

“You are Amazing!”

by Julie Peters///Uncategorized

“You are amazing!”

I always cringe a little when people tell me this. My impulse is just to deny it or laugh it off, because I don’t think I am exceptional, and I don’t want it to feed my pride.

Yet C.S. Lewis aptly defines humility as “not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” Instead of brushing off compliments whenever I get the chance, thinking less of myself, I need to think of myself less and give all the compliments to God.

I am not the perfect person to be a missionary in Romania. I do not feel like I am a special person who has been called and is cut out to be a preacher’s wife or a missionary in a foreign country.

Growing up I was very much a homebody. I was the girl who left camp early, or at least cried because I wanted to be home with my family. I said I was never going to college. I said I was never getting married. I planned to live right at home in Mississippi forever.

During the first month of college at Florida College, twelve hours away from my home and family, I called Mama, sobbing and begging her to let me come home.

“You can do anything for one semester,” she told me, “just keep trying, and if you still want to come home you don’t have to go back next semester.”

If someone had told me then that in a year I would be engaged, and a year after that I would be living in Romania, I would have thought they were crazy. Getting married and moving to another country was not in my life plans.

But God’s plans are so much better.

I left home at age 18, got married at age 19, and a few days after turning 20 I moved across the world with my new husband to a drastically different life from what I had ever known. I had no idea what I was doing. I felt like I was still a child, trying to navigate my new life as a competent adult. I cried nearly every day and profusely apologized to Sam for not being a perfect missionary’s wife who had her life together.

But it was okay. Nobody is perfect, and I will never be perfect. I am learning more and more every day, and it is getting a lot easier, but I hope I never reach a point where I think I have it all figured out. These past eight months in Romania have taught me so much about fully relying on God and not putting any trust in my own accomplishments or abilities. Only He is perfect, and only He can help me navigate this life.

I do not think I am cut out for this life, but I do think I have been incredibly blessed with the opportunities God has placed in my life and the countless lessons He is constantly teaching me.

I am not amazing. God is amazing.

C.S. Lewis

 

 

A Week in Our Life

by Julie Peters///Adventuring

I have had several people tell me they are curious about what our normal lives look like here in Romania. Here is an overview of a week in our lives as missionaries in Craiova, Romania!

Sunday

On the train to Severin

When we took our trip to England a few weeks ago we left our car in Severin and took Blabla car to the airport in Timisoara. When we returned to Romania everything was covered in snow, so we took the train all the way back to Craiova and left our car in Severin. Sunday morning we walked about two miles to the “gara” (train station) in Craiova and took the two-hour train to Severin, arriving in time to worship with the brethren there. Sorin and Alexandra invited us to join them for lunch and it was wonderful to visit with them for a while. We also got to visit some other friends very briefly and made plans to have lunch with them the next Sunday. Everything was great with the car and we left in time to make it back to our apartment by 5:00 for our worship service here in Craiova. We did not have any visitors to our services in our apartment that time, but it was still a very encouraging day. We worshipped God with friends in Severin, then Sam and I worshipped again together in our apartment, singing in English (which I always enjoy), and Sam gave a message that was specifically encouraging for us.

Monday

Ever since I got pregnant I have been sleeping a lot more, so Sam almost always gets up earlier than me. Since his desk/office is in our bedroom, he puts his computer and whatever books he needs in the kitchen the night before so he can read and study there without disturbing me. Whenever I wake up I come to my desk in the living room to read and pray to begin my day.

On my way back from the store. I had lots of heavy things!

Monday was my first grocery trip of the week. I have just recently gotten to where I am comfortable enough in Craiova (which is a much bigger city than Severin, where we lived at first) to walk to the store by myself. It is helpful for both of us that I can go by myself, because now I can go whenever it fits in my schedule and Sam has more time to study or go out and evangelize whenever he needs to. I am learning to buy things in smaller quantities and go more often because now I have to carry everything myself! On Monday I took my backpack and a couple of bags and I was able to get it all home pretty easily. It is about a 1.5-mile walk to the store, but I have discovered that I really enjoy the walk. It is a great time for me to pray and reflect and the time passes by quickly, unless I bought too many heavy things and I’m ready to get home and get it off my back!

Reviewing the alphabet

Sam and I have begun to volunteer at a local after-school facility a couple times a week. Most facilities like this are very expensive, but this one is free and relies a lot on volunteers. On Monday there was another volunteer there teaching English, so we helped her out.

Monday night we had our date night! We ate dinner at a traditional Romanian restaurant in the center of town and afterwards went to the mall, where we looked at baby clothes and bought one item that we used on Tuesday (more one that later). When we got back home we watched 30 minutes or so of the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. Neither of us had seen it before. I loved it and Sam was so nice to watch it with me! He said he enjoyed it too.

Tuesday

Every morning Sam and I eat oatmeal for breakfast together. During my first trimester when I was dealing with a lot of morning sickness Sam cooked breakfast every morning, but I had a strange aversion to oatmeal and I he cooked me eggs every morning. Now I’m a little more normal and I enjoy oatmeal again! Also I am able to prepare it in the morning because I am free of morning sickness!

I joined Sam on his run Tuesday afternoon, and although it was slower than Sam is used to, he ran the whole six miles with me. It definitely exhausts me a lot more than it used to, but I am so happy to be back to running again!

Sam went to have a study with a couple of people and I stayed back to cook and clean. That night we had our midweek Bible study, for which we are studying the book of Mark. Later that night Sam’s parents arrived from Constanta to stay with us a few days! We gave Sam’s mom the pink outfit we had bought the night before to tell her that we are expecting a girl! I found out at my doctor’s appointment earlier in the month, but we kept it a secret until we could tell her in person.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning Sam did his long run, and I planned on running the last six with him, but after a couple of miles I realized that six miles two days in a row was a little to much for me at this point! I still got in a good four mile run and hopefully I’m learning how much to push myself and when I should stop.

We had an early lunch of mushroom veggie burgers and oven fries, and then Sam and I left to help out at the after-school place again. This time the English teacher was not there, but the kids still wanted an English lesson! I had prepared some material “just in case,” though I didn’t think we would use it, and I was so glad! We learned different animal names and played Bingo.

That night we were invited to a family’s house for dinner and we had a wonderful visit. It was a full day and we got home late, but it was a very encouraging day.

Thursday

Thursday was a more relaxed day and we spent most of the morning hanging out, reading, and studying. I had a lot to do for my online classes because the beginning of the week was so busy, so it was nice to have some time to focus on getting reading and writing done for school. After lunch Sam’s mom and I walked to the big mall, which is a little less than two miles away. We needed a few items for lunch the next day and we also looked at maternity clothes! I do not need them quite yet, but my pants are beginning to be a little tight!

On Thursday I was fifteen weeks pregnant and our sweet little baby is the size of a naval orange! I have so much more energy and I have no more morning sickness, so I am greatly enjoying the second trimester so far!

Thursday night we walked to the center of town to meet some international students from the university for a prayer meeting. It was our first time to attend this meeting, but it was great to meet a lot of new people (who all spoke English!) and get to visit and pray with them.

Friday

Friday morning was nice and laid back again as we all relaxed, read, and studied. I cooked some soup to have later for lunch, then Mom and I walked to the park to study together. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed the long walk. We also stopped by the store on the way home because it seems like there’s always one thing we forgot. Sam and his Dad were out passing out flyers and talking to people while we studied, and when they all got back we had lunch together.

Every Friday afternoon I FaceTime Mama and we discuss the book More Hours in My Day. Well, we discuss it if we have time. We usually have a lot more to talk about, and lately we have been spending most of our time talking about and planning for the baby! I always ask Mama if certain things are normal, I tell her about whatever updates I got at the doctor, and she tells me all about what baby gear and clothes I’ll need or what I can do without. I tell her how my clothes fit and show her my bump, which is still pretty hard to see, but I am convinced it is there! I am so excited to have a “real,” visible bump and actually look pregnant 🙂

Saturday

Saturday morning Sam’s parents left to go to a wedding in Brasov. After they left I cleaned the whole apartment and began preparing some food because we had company Saturday night.

Sam went out to pass out flyers and I went on a run before coming back and getting all the last minute things ready for our company. We had a great evening visiting with our friends and their little boy. I still get a little anxious every time we have someone into our home, wondering if our apartment is clean enough or if they will like the food, but I am always so glad afterwards. I know that most people do not care if the apartment is perfect or if it is their favorite food, and it is always very rewarding to have guests in our home.

Each week is always a little different, but I hope you enjoyed reading about this little slice of our Romanian life! We are so thankful for the opportunity we have here and I am so thankful for all the ways God has helped me get through the harder weeks. He has taught me so many lessons and continually showers us with blessings!

I hope you all have a blessed week!

~ Julie

Date Nights

by Julie Peters///Uncategorized

Sam and I moved to Romania after we had been married slightly less than two months. Not long after that Sam suggested that we have a date night once a week. We spent most of the day together, but it was spent attending various studies and events or studying on our own at home. Since we were together basically all the time (I did absolutely nothing by myself for a long time after we moved to Romania!) we did not set aside a specific time to just be together and talk about whatever. I think we both felt like we could talk to each other whenever we wanted to, but we discovered that without setting a particular time we were less likely to get into either deep conversations or just light, fun conversations.

We have not been completely consistent every week, but we typically try to have one date night a week and it is usually on Monday. While these special times are definitely not the only times we ever relax together or get to talk about things on our mind, it is a perfect time for us to do so and I look forward to them every week.

We have our favorite activities that we tend to revisit every few weeks, but we have tried several different things that we enjoy. We also have a list of things we would like to do someday! I know in a few months a date night will be more difficult when we have a small baby, but we plan to get creative and come up with new ideas 🙂

Here are some of the different date nights we have had:

When we lived in Severin we liked to go for a walk and watch the fountains in the city center.

For one date night we made cozonac together to give to some friends!

Our most common date night used to be stopping by a small convenience store to get espresso and going for a walk around the city.

For one date night we decorated our apartment for Christmas!

One of our more recent date nights was going ice skating in the Craiova city center. This was a lot of fun, and I was extremely impressed and how well Sam could skate! My goal was only not to fall (and I didn’t!).

Sometimes our date nights are just staying in the apartment and watching a movie together. In this picture I made crepes (Sam’s favorite dessert) and we watched one of Sam’s favorite movies for his birthday. Sometimes we make homemade pizza together or order it from the pizza place across the street from us.

Last night we walked into the center of Craiova and ate dinner at a Romanian restaurant. Afterwards we walked to the mall and did a bit of shopping for baby clothes!

What about you? What are your favorite date night ideas?

 

Our Trip to England

by Julie Peters///Uncategorized

On our way to England!

Last year in October, when I was in the process of obtaining my long-term visa for Romania we ran into a couple of problems. There were some papers I needed and it seemed as if one thing kept coming up after another and I was not sure if I would be able to get my visa before my 90 days ran out to be in the country. It looked like I would need to leave the country for two to three weeks while my visa came in, and then I could return on day 89 to pick it up. As we were going through all this we made plans to go to England for Sam to work with a congregation where we knew one member, who was my sister’s college roommate for four years. As it turned out, I did not have to leave the country. When we contacted the congregation in England to let them know we would no longer have to come they were disappointed, saying they were trying to improve on evangelism and they wanted to focus on it in 2018. Sam told them he would come back to do a gospel meeting of sorts and we planned it for the end of February 2018.

We just got back from our weeklong trip in England and it was such a wonderful trip! We were encouraged by the congregation in Brandon, England, and I think they were also encouraged by Sam’s teaching, preaching, and encouragement.

We arrived on Thursday night. On Friday and Saturday evenings Sam taught classes on evangelism, and on Saturday morning the men had a Bible study, after which they walked around Brandon to invite people to services and talk about the gospel.

Sunday Sam preached twice, once on the importance of evangelism and once on his summary of the gospel. In between services we had a potluck lunch at “the cottage” (the nice house next to the building that Sam and I got to stay in!) and we got to visit with and meet the congregation there.

Some members from the congregation at Brandon graciously stocked us up with some staples for our stay at the cottage, but we still made a few trips to the local grocery store for some produce. We loved the “trolley” sign, so we took a picture to send to our family 🙂

On Monday we traveled to Cambridge to visit Morgan and spend the day with her. She showed us all around the city and we got to go into several of the colleges! It was a cold, but very fun day.

 

King’s College, where we went to an Evensong in the chapel that night

 

 

 

It snowed all day! This picture was taken at the end of the day (this is King’s College chapel) and the ground is covered!

On Tuesday we went out for an English lunch of fish and chips!

 

 

Exhausted travelers on the train

The trip home was exhausting! We are so glad to be home now.

Living My Dream

by Julie Peters///Adventuring

Sometimes I cry. A lot. Almost every day.

Sometimes I ask myself again and again what I am doing, because sometimes I have no idea.

Sometimes I feel stuck in the middle of stress and there’s nothing I can do.

At these times I have to slow down, stop, and remind myself that this is my dream. I am literally living my dream!

I think it is typical of most young girls to daydream about their Prince Charming and the perfect wedding day. I had my whole wedding planned out when I was 14 (and I used 0% of my 14-year-old ideas!) and I had a picture in my head of my “ideal husband.” I prayed that if it was God’s will that He would show me my “ideal husband” and we could get married and live happily ever after.

Now I am living my dream and so much more. God more than answered my prayers and gave me the perfect husband for me, at a time when I was not even expecting it.

When I met Sam (although I had determined NOT to have anything to do with guys my first year of college) I was blown away. I can remember praying to God that I had no idea if He was answering my prayers and this was the one, but if he was I honestly could not imagine anyone better. He went above and beyond every item on my “ideal husband list.” As a senior he was always so kind to me, a freshman who was terribly homesick and had no idea what she was doing in college. The more I got to know him the more amazed I was, and I remember thinking that if nothing ever worked out for the two of us, I didn’t think I could ever like another guy; no one would ever match up. We began dating second semester of my freshman year, and a year after we first met each other Sam got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was beside myself with joy and I did not hesitate for and instant to say yes. I had known for a long time that Sam was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. This was my dream.

Our long-distance engagement was difficult, but we survived and had an absolutely perfect wedding. Even though it was nothing like my early teenage fantasies, it was my dream wedding, mostly because I got to marry my dream guy.

Now I get to live with my best friend every single day. I get to wake up beside him and tell him good morning instead of texting him. We get to eat meals together, study together, run together, and everything! We still look at each other sometimes and say, “I am so glad we get to be together now. Living with you is so much fun.”

I am living my dream.

Beginning when I was in about 8th grade my family started reading lots of missionary biographies for school. The first one I ever read was about Hudson Taylor, and we went on to read countless other stories of missionaries to tribes deep in Africa, India, China, England, and many, many other places. I was so inspired by all these stories and it became somewhat of a secret dream of mine to become a missionary someday. I remember thinking it would be more difficult to do it on my own, so it would be better if I married someone who was willing to be a missionary and we could go together.

Now I am here, married to my wonderful husband who was a missionary in Romania for nine months before we got married, and we are missionaries here together. Being a missionary in a foreign country is certainly not as glamorous as perhaps I imagined as an eighth grader. It is much harder than I anticipated living in an unfamiliar country, surrounded by a different language, a different culture, and lots of people who are not readily accepting the good news we have to share with them as much as we would like. But I am learning so much. I learn from watching my husband work tirelessly every day, studying, thinking of new ways to reach people, and going out and talking to others, spreading the Gospel. I am learning so much patience. I am learning to trust in God like I never have before. I certainly have not learned any of it perfectly, and I am still learning every day, but it is truly such a blessing.

I am living my dream.

All my life I have wanted to be a mama. I have gone through phases where I was not sure if I wanted to get married or not, but I have never questioned whether or not I wanted to me a Mama. Dolls were my favorite toys growing up, and I absolutely love doing anything with babies or little children. They never fail to bring me so much joy! I grew up with an absolutely amazing Mama who taught me so much, and she inspires me every day to be like her.

These days, I really have to remind myself that this is what I want to do. Some mornings I lie in bed feeling extremely nauseous, just wishing it could go away. Some days I see Sam cook for me and himself, do dishes, and go out of his way to do anything to make me more comfortable, and while I am incredibly thankful for it, it is hard for me to watch him do the things I feel like I should be doing. Some days I am so exhausted I feel like I’m failing because I can barely keep our apartment clean and getting out to go anywhere is a feat.

But it will all be so worth it, I know. Whenever I feel like complaining I just have to stop and remind myself what it is all for! Sam and I are so excited for our child and we pray every day that we will be godly parents and lead him or her to the truth by our words and actions. We pray we can grow the Kingdom through our family. And if we can accomplish that with God’s help, it will be more than worth it. I cannot wait to be a Mama

I am living my dream.