A last-minute train ride to Turin!

Our tired team had just made it back to the hotel after that awesome evening of bowling and dinner with the students. "Do you want to come with us to Torino in the morning? They're having an encouragement time for the ladies there tomorrow."

What a beautiful surprise, plopped right into our lap! I was thrilled, but hubby was ecstatic. Years before our church's partnership in Milan, he had been on a short-term team to Turin and he still had many friends in that beautiful city.

The rest of the team planned to spend the day in Milan's historic center, so we left Chrissy in charge and gave her the team cell phone.

Early the next morning, we boarded a train!

Milan rests in a fertile valley ringed by hazy blue Alps. The view out the window was a gorgeous panorama of blue skies, red-tiled roofs, and flooded rice fields. (Who would have guessed that Italy was the place to grow rice, right?)

Turin has the kind of picturesque charm that can turn even a camera phone snapshot into something frame-able. I took this one at a half-jog as we crossed a street on our way to enjoy a delicious lunch at the home of one of the pastors. 

After lunch, I had a sweet walk and a coffee with Pam, and I realized all over again just how beautiful her heart is. 

We made our way back to the deceptively tiny storefront of the church, and into the underground rooms below the street. There were about ten of us crowded into the Sunday school room, representing about five different countries. I felt so encouraged simply to be there, surrounded by women seeking the Lord in a city known for its darkness. 

And then it just kept getting better! As I talked with some of the younger girls, I learned that three of them were from Romania! As we talked and shared in the beautiful Romanian language, it was as if sweet oil were being poured on the rusty door holding memories of my past time in Moldova. As it swung open, my heart was flooded with the joy of it all. It was as if Jesus, knowing the love I still carry deep for that nation, said, "Here; I haven't forgotten. I see your heart."

At dinner, I finally met one of the dear friends that hubby had made years earlier. "You know?" she said. "Those years, being involved with English Clubs...those were the most fun years I have ever had."

My friend, Dana

I had planned to write a happy post today. My sister is in town for a rare visit, and we had a blast last night in historic downtown Bryan. But today, I am grieving the death of my dear friend, Dana Ciumac. This morning, at around 3 am, Jesus took her home to heaven.

Though I lost both of my beautiful grandmothers to cancer, my heart is feeling a deeper, sharper sense of tragedy because this was a friend who had not yet reached her thirties.

I met Dana in the fall of 2006. With my high school graduation only months behind me, I had flown to Europe for a six-month mission trip with Operation Mobilization. I was such an eager, skinny twig, excited to be abroad where nothing was familiar except the Latin sounds that the Romanian language holds in common with Spanish. Dana, who was Romanian, was one of perhaps 3 people on the team who spoke English, and her accepting hugs and smiles made me feel at home almost immediately.

She was young--only 22--but I was only nineteen and deeply admired her. She was so gentle, so cheerful, and if there was a joke or party, Dana was probably in the middle of it. Kids in the villages we visited would flock around her, glowing under the individual attention she gave so freely. As I greedily learned every Romanian word I could, she would patiently help me with spelling and correct my pronunciations. She led teams of young people as we served widows, created puppet shows for kid programs, and told people on the streets about the freedom and joy of knowing God personally.

After I left Europe, she continued to serve on the team, and I would receive emails, facebook messages, and even precious letters from her in Romanian. In November of 2009, she married a young man who had also been our teammate, and I celebrated with her by oooing and ahhhing over her wedding pictures online.

For approximately the last nine months, her husband Eugen has served and loved and encouraged her as few men could have done. He kept hundreds of supporters and friends informed as the cancer gradually took its course, always with unwavering faith in God's goodness and love. Only God could have known that a healthy young woman like Dana would die so soon, and I am so glad that He brought such a wonderful man into her life.

Even this morning, Eugen wrote: "I know that this is a shocking news for you, but I thank God that He released her from all the pain she had...Please pray for our families and all the friends that kept Dana close to their hearts.

Be blessed and don’t forget, God is good!"

Dana, goodbye, my beautiful friend. I will see you someday again soon.