Kati and birth mother --- Kati meets Flavius (bro) --- Kati's birth family

January 8, 2010

Happy New Year

well, a bit late for sure but we mean it anyway.

We have been "away" for a while and most of you are aware that we went bact to the States for Nancy's Dad's funeral. It was a God honoring service that reflected well his life. We enjoyed a quick visit with all our kids and then zipped back to Portugal. 3 days later we were back at the airport headed for a life -impacted visit to Romania. We were able to meet and spend some time with Kati's birth family who live in abject poverty with little hope for a better future unless there is major intervention. We are looking to God for wisdom as to how best to make a small difference. Culture change and economic development etc. are beyond our scope but maybe we can change the circumstances of one or two...just like the Starfish parable. The trip included some very positive times of interaction with Kati's brother at a mall and time with new friends, Jon and Eca, who were wonderful hosts for us. They are the parents of Cornel and Eunice who we met here in Portugal at the church we are attending. Eunice travelled with us and was an essential and wonderful guide/translator for the trip as well as a surprise to her parents who did not know that she was coming with us. Kati seems to have been positively impacted by the events in Romania although you who know her, know that it takes a while to find out what really is going on in her head. Nina is just a blessing consistently. We are thankful for safe and convenient travel and few problems on the road. We only got lost a little while once on the way from Budapest to Arad and the air travel portion of the trip went very well.

Anyway, Nancy has written a wonderful heartfelt summary of the trip and we have lots of pictures if you want more info, just ask at nancy-dubois@hotmail.com

Today is a holiday here and there is no school and the sun is shining (after several bleak days of foggy cold rain) and we scudlled plans for sightseeing trip for a day just catching our breath. Nancy is busy cleaning house with Kati. Nina is babysitting some friends and I am trying to stay out of the way.

I will add a couple of pictures to this post and promise to return to a more faithful schedule soon

Mike