New Semester

 At the beginning of this semester, I went to pick up my parents once they arrived back in Romania. Then, after I came back to the college to start my junior year of Bible College. Once I got here, not even a week into the semester, I got really sick and stayed at home to recover. Once over the sickness came back, and enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and then making new friends. Every weekend, I go home to Hunedoara to help in the ministry there as I am the only piano player of the church, but to also help my parents with whatever they need around the house. Last weekend (October 10-13), I took the three men in the picture to Hunedoara to help dad with cutting the firewood for the winter. They were a huge blessing as they got more done in one day than we get done in a couple of weeks. 😅 From left to right, you have me (Briana), Josué, who is a missionary kid from Spain and is in his first year at the Bible College, and next to him is Dimitri, who is also a freshman and came to the college from Greece, and finally, you have Avenir, who is from Russia. These guys also had the opportunity to serve in the church, from singing in the church for a couple of specials, Josué played the piano for all the specials, and most of the congregational hymns.  Josué and Dimitri also got to share their salvation testimony, or how they ended up coming to the college. Not only did they work, but we also went a did a little sightseeing. I took them during the day to the Corvin Castle so they could see the inside, and then took them in the evening so they could see it all lit up at night. Lord willing, we will have another group come to cut some more wood again very soon. 

College is no small task!

  While being in college is no small task, there always seems to be something that comes up. That is no exception this semester. It is midterm week this week. During this week my folks are leaving for about 6 months to the States to report to our supporting church about what is happening here in Romania. 

Now is the time that one can start to feel lonely, but one starts feeling like I remember 2 verses that are very clear on this subject 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" and Isaiah 41:10 "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Now those should be some comforting verses for anyone in a lonely time.

Now that they are gone it will be an adjusting period between their responsibilities at school and at the house. It will take some time to adjust to. But even though it's taking a lot of out of me I'm up for the challenge. It's a time that I can grow especially in my Spiritual walk with the Lord. 

    Midterm week will finally be over!!! Yay...it's been two weeks' worth of midterms, which has been nice at the same time, and the days aren't loaded down with a couple of midterms each day. We end the midterm week with apologetics. Apologetics is the defense of the Christian faith. Obviously, you aren't to go around picking a fight or argument. But if someone says something inaccurate about the Bible, you have the tools to defend what the Bible says. 

    Next week, we have the youth conference we are ready for it but also a little apprehensive as the students don't know what is going on. We are ready for a break from school, but it won't be "time off" as we are still heavily involved in different activities. None the less it will be a fun time and hopefully stress-free. 

 

College Life while the parents are gone

    

 While being in a college is no small task, there always seems to be something that always comes up. That is no exception this semester. It is midterm week this week. During this week my folks are leaving for about 6 months to the States to report to our supporting church about what is happening here in Romania. 

Now is the time that one can start to feel lonely, but one starts feeling like I remember 2 verses that are very clear on this subject 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" and Isaiah 41:10 "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Now those should be some comforting verses for anyone in a lonely time.

Now that they are gone it will be an adjusting period between their responsibilities at school and at the house. It will take some time to adjust to. But even though it's taking a lot of out of me I'm up for the challenge. It's most definitely a time that I can grow especially in my Spiritual walk with the Lord. 

    Midterm week will finally be over today!!! Yay...it's been two weeks' worth of midterms which has been nice at the same time and the days aren't loaded down with a couple of midterms each day. We end the midterm week with apologetics. Apologetics is the defense of the Christian faith. Obviously, you aren't to go around picking a fight or argument. But if someone says something inaccurate about the Bible you have the tools then to defend what the Bible says. 

 

Christmas Break!!!

Christmas break is the much-anticipated break that any student looks forward to halfway through the semester, but let's be realistic: so do the professors. 😅

 But for me, Christmas 

means much more than just presents under the tree on Christmas morning or Christmas markets. Being raised in a Christian household, I have been very blessed to learn the true meaning of Christmas from a very young age. That is, Christ came to earth to die on the cross for our sins. We also don't know exactly when He was born; all that matters is that He came and that He fulfilled His purpose of taking our place on the cross. 

In my last blog post, I wrote about a friend of mine. Now, I want to introduce another classmate who is also my roommate. 😊 This is Gabriela she and her parents are missionaries in Portugal. She is a brilliant young lady who doesn't let much stop her. She is very focused on her schoolwork and works hard to achieve everything that she sets her mind to. She is also one of the best artists that I have ever met. Her drawings are stunning. She and I have a lot in common. She has been there when I've needed someone, and my parents aren't close by. It was not the easiest semester for me, but she stuck by me and helped me through it all.  I've been told by different people that being a missionary is an easy job or ministry. Quite the contrary. It is not easy, you pack up your whole life, leave your family (like grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even cousins....etc.) and the culture that you've known, and go to a different country and culture. Once you add kids into the mixture, it can be more challenging. They may not have any friends their own age, so they end up becoming friends with all the adults around them. Once there are kids their own age to hang out with, it can feel awkward as we don't always know how to interact with them. That has been the case for me personally.

It has been awhile!

 

First off, I know I've not written a blog post since September 25, 2021. Which was when my brother got married. However, since then, a lot has happened. So, to catch you all up on what has happened in the last couple of years, I'll share some photos along with a somewhat timeline for that year. 

So, in 2022, my folks were in America on furlough. They were there for Thanksgiving but would be returning at the beginning of January. After Thanksgiving, my grandma, who I was very close to, had taken a sudden turn for the worst. She had dementia as well. I got a phone call at 8:30 a.m. my time, which I knew was very late, from my dad telling me that Grandma was in the hospital and would not make it. I then asked if I could go back sooner than what my plane ticket was originally for. Since I was already planning on going back for Christmas to be with my family, all I had to do was change my plane ticket. So I got it changed to fly out the next morning. Some major complications came later on. But I got to see her one more time before she passed away that night that I had arrived. 

The following year, 2023, I started Bible College here in Romania. It most definitely hasn't been the easiest road for me, as academics is a hard thing for me. But I am persevering and taking it one day at a time, trying to do my best. In my first semester, we had the privilege to go on a college choir tour to Ireland. In one week, we had 12 churches to sing at, which reminded me a lot of

Furlough. 😅 I am now in my second year and about to start the Spring semester in February. 

Kari is one of my best friends. Being a missionary kid, I didn't grow up having many friends around me. But Kari has been there for me, and I had the privilege of having my first full year with her and Gabi. Even though she is in Ireland serving with her family as missionaries, every time we talk, we can pick up right where we left off last time. Now that she has graduated, she always makes sure to check in on the girls who are still at the college. She prays for us so often, yet whenever we are having a bad day, she is there, ready to cheer us up the best she can. She is the type of person anyone is blessed to have as a friend. 😊

In August of last year. Now, that's crazy to think that 2024 was the last year...lol! Dad had gotten invited to go preach at a church in Budapest, Hungary, for a national pastor. So, we made it a little family vacation before I started the 2024 fall semester.  

From my family to yours, Happy New Year! May 2025 bring many blessings to each one of you.