How Great Things: winter goings on

It's been a while since I posted anything. Life has been incredibly busy with holidays, travels, ministry, and furlough preparation (just to name a few). But enough babbling. On to some pictures!

Back in the beginning of December, we had some beautiful, clear days. The mountains off in the distance could easily be seen with their snow-capped peaks. How beautiful!

Next was preparing for Christmas. One night we went downtown to see the lights, browse the shops and stands that were set up for the holidays, and get some traditional Romanian food.

One of the things we had been praying about was being able to buy a Christmas tree. It may seem like a small thing, but we didn't know that we would be able to, and we very much wanted to decorate for that special time of the year. However, the Lord provided for us to get one. And my siblings gave us money for decorations as a Christmas gift. Praise the Lord for His provision even in the small things!

On Christmas day, Jonathan and I first celebrated together, then with his family, then with our coworkers, and finally with some other missionary friends. What a busy but wonderful way to celebrate Christ's birth.

the lovely earrings my husband gave me for Christmas

After Christmas, the weather turned cold. Really cold. The first snows started one afternoon and continued falling through the night. It was beautiful that first night, as the snows rested gently on the ground. But the next day we awoke to howling, frigid winds, bare grass, and snow drifts.

the trees were sure beautiful...

... but the bare grass was not

the winds even blew the sidewalk dry

you can see some of the marks the wind left in the snow

even the windowsills were full

It was pretty at times, but oh, so cold. The winds just raged and howled. We rolled towels up and put them around several of our windows because so much air was blowing in. Strong drafts were even coming in our key hole! The cold hung around for a couple of weeks, often dipping below zero (Fahrenheit). Reports stated that it was the coldest spell this area of Romanian has had in 53 years.

Unfortunately, the frigid temperatures meant that we needed to use more firewood than we thought we would. Last year we had fires going every two or three days, and the house stayed fairly comfortable. This year, however, we were often making them every day. We could see that our supply was not going to make it through the winter. But the Lord always supplies when we need it. A supporting church somehow heard of our plight and gave us a large love gift with which we were able to purchase some more wood. We now only have a small amount of the old wood left. We are saving it in case we get another super cold spell, as it burns better and hotter than the newer, greener wood. The new wood, though, is perfect for the not-so-cold days, as it warms our house, but doesn't make it stifling.