School's out for SUMMER....wait, what happened to summer?

Can it really be September? Summer has already passed?! Oh dear. I can't believe how transient my summer has been. Yet it has been filled with so many amazing memories...
Bring on the year! I'm ready for it.
This week has been great. Although I posted on Tuesday, I'm not sure how I managed to hold in my excitement of getting a new guitar and not say anything! Well, the "secret" is out. I got a guitar from a place called Reghin. It was about an hour and a half away and I got up around 7 to go (that in itself proves just how excited I was about this...). Karen, Maurice, Hans, the boys, and I packed into our nice Opel wagon and hit the road. Once we got there we discovered that the Hora guitar factory was closed, but they had a store located elsewhere that was selling guitars. So we ventured over there and after much deliberation (and with the help of my handy-dandy dutch friend, Hans) I decided upon a cherry colored "Western" guitar. =] And here are my "artsy" pictures of it:


Okay, I know. Posing with the guitar= really cheesy. But I love it. I'm even considering what to name it. You see, I have a fascination with naming things. My car is Butch, my Vaio laptop is Lappy (clever, eh?), my camera is Snappy... (okay I may have lied about the last two things). Anyway, I think I'll name it a guy name just to offset the pinkish color. Suggestions anyone? =]
The guitar is actually a gift from my parents. It's my graduation present! And I am SO grateful for it. And thankful that I can afford something like this. It's such a blessing!
Hopefully, through spending plenty of quality time with it...I can improve my "skills" and eventually play for worship here at church! I really hope that I can use it to bless others in the future.
Alright, moving beyond Tuesday... the other major update from this week is that I spent some time out in Tsigmandru. Thursday I went out at night for their Youth Group and Friday I went out for Kids Club. I really enjoyed both of them. One thing it made me realize is how anxious I am to continue with Romanian language lessons. I really want to know how to speak it! And understand it (of course). Even with the little Romanian I know now, I had fun trying to communicate with the teens out in the village. They seemed really accepting of me and really kind too. It was another answer to prayer and blessing from God to me. Hopefully I will continue to be a part of the Youth Group in whatever ways I can, including attending their meetings on Monday and Thursday nights. The Kids Club was amazing too. I went to help, but Neluțu didn't really need it. I was astonished as I watched the group of 50 plus kids sit and listen to him talk for at least a half an hour. They were all respectful and attentive. 50 plus kids! How crazy is that? One man keeping that many kids under control for that long...it was extraordinary. I bet that I will be learning a lot from Neluțu this year.
Today has been spent making French toast and reading. A nice, relaxing Sunday. This morning I finally got myself in a picture in "front" of the clock tower. This may be my first "tourist" picture? Okay, not my first...but it doesn't matter...

So this is just a "hey" from me to you. Know that I'm missing you all and really appreciating your prayers and encouragements. Thank you so much!