In anticipation of our trip to Romania in December i have spent some time today looking at the country's history and current status on the internet. Previous to our recent plans to visit my only knowledge of Romania was the harrowing images of the orphanages, discovered there after the revolution, and broadcast on our news programs in the early nineties.

Since then Romania has undergone a dramatic transformation. It's economy has boomed and the cities and industries have grown. Romania is now classified as an upper-middle income country. However, this is not the whole story. Many people in Romania are still living in extreme poverty, struggling to satisfy the basic needs of their family; food, medicine, warmth.

http://www.networks.org.ro/

It's pretty depressing looking at the difficult circumstances in which some people are forced to live. And there's so much of it..... all over the world people are suffering in poverty and hardship. And you feel so useless- how can we possibly help them all? Our attempts to help seem so pitiful- like we turned up at an earthquake with a dustpan and brush.

The temptation is to bury our heads in the sand. It's so easy to do that living here in our little Western bubble. Feeling hard done by because we can't afford brand names or a fancy car. It's impossible for us to fully comprehend such lack when we're living amongst such plenty.

But incomprehension and feelings of inadequacy never got anything done. We may not be able to meet all the needs in the world but if we recognise at least one we can focus on doing something about it.

Our trip to Romania in December is not going to meet the needs of the whole country, it's not even gonna come close to meeting the needs of the city we are visiting. But hopefully it will make some small difference to the lives of the people and families we encounter- and if it does......it's still worth doing right???

Chillin out Max and Relaxin all cool

It's funny how time marches on. You look forward to something for months. It feels like it's never gonna come. And then it's here, and your doing it and it's amazing. And then it's over. And your home. And you've been back to normality for a week, and it seems like a distant memory.

Still- it's a very pleasant distant memory!

We had a fantastic time in Portugal. The weather was amazing, 35 degrees centigrade and clear blue skies (bit of shock to the system arriving home!!), the beaches were beautiful and the company (i.e just my lovely husband) was perfect! We swam, walked, read, dozed, snorkelled, sailed and explored our way through a week of pleasure. It was awesome!

One day while visiting the beautiful little beach town of Luz we found a quiet spot on the rocks and dug out our picnic; Chicken sandwiches on white crusty bread with loads of butter, a huge bag of crisps and a bar of chocolate (everyone knows the 5 a day recommendations are suspended when your on holiday). While nourishing our bodies with white carbs, sugar and fat we were treated to the comedy of watching people getting dragged on inflatables across the ocean. Our particular favourite was a giant inflatable sail which we later discovered was named the 'flying fish'. This thing bounced and flew up in the air every time the wind blew- leaving it's passengers clinging on-to what was they're seat, legs flailing out behind them like a flag. Needless to say much screaming and laughing and falling off ensued. We decided we had to have a go!!!

Strolling down the beach we sauntered casually up to the inflatable station trying not to look like two giddy school children and cautiously inquired whether the 'Flying Fish' would be making any more trips today. To our delight and hopelessly disguised excitement we were invited to ride the beast immediately. The gauntlet had been clearly thrown down..... the challenge was clear..... do not fall off this thing no matter what!!

I'm not sure if it was simply because i was a girl or because i screamed like child being tickled the moment we started moving but the man driving the boat seemed to have mercy on me. Lindon not so much. I think the driver thought it would be more funny if he could get the guy to fall in the water but keep the girl on.....and he'd be right!!! The boat sped along and twisted and turned and the fish flew up in the air and I screamed and laughed and was thrown onto the inside of the sail where i could easily climb back on.........meanwhile Lindon was flung to the other side and dragged along with his whole body in the water stubbornly/ valiantly refusing to let go. Fifteen minutes later and i was still smiling (apart from the chafing) while Lindon, though yet to fall, was providing a living explanation for the phrase 'white knuckle ride'. The next day Lindon's arm was so stiff he couldn't lift it up to his mouth, not even when it was holding something good like ice cream.

It's funny what we do for fun. We all love to sit and relax and sleep. But lets face it we'd get kinda bored if that's all we did. God has wired us with a passion for adventure and challenge. Some more than others i concede, for instance, the guys and girls featured in the triathlon magazine i was reading in the waiting room at the dentist today, clearly got more than their fair share. But it's present in all of us. We all have the capacity to embrace hardship and come through to a (hopefully) glorious finish. I know it can be really hard when your going through a difficult time and clinging on for dear life- but when you make through without falling off it feels good right?

The bible has a lot to say about endurance and perseverance because they're a big part of life, and we are encouraged to be strong and not give in when times are hard. But it's not just about what we have to do. The Bible also teaches that in those times of difficulty when we are struggling to hold on, we can call out to him and He will help us.

He's listening.

He's not spying or trying to catch us out.

He's waiting.

Waiting for people to look up from all the chaos that surrounds them and recognise His goodness and love. Waiting for us to ask for His help.

And if we do...... He is ready to answer.