The Simple Life

I have been musing lately on how I can develop a life.....which is more than just "living". It seems cliche, but I believe there is much more to how I live than the activities I do in the minutes that make up my days. The rich, raw life is what I crave. Surrounding myself with the richest things that this existence has to offer, all the while keeping my thoughts on the things of the next. I pray that God will keep my eyes open to how much more meaningful it is to spend time with the people you love, doing the things you love, than anything this hollow culture can pitch to us.

"When we crave simplicity, we are not after an easier life. We are after life." Dave Bruno

Hello Again!

Wow! I have been slacking the last year as far as blogging goes. :P I guess there isn't much to tell from a missions perspective.  Earlier last year I considered going to a training in NYC for a year dealing with reaching the unreached, but that did not work out as planned. I do believe that it was just not the time for me to get into something like that yet, as I have not finished my education here. So, I decided to stay around this area for now, though I hope to use my summers for mission trips. I believe I have a trip lined up for this summer, but more on that later..... :)

Blessings!

Back From Romania! Volume 2

After we arrived in Charlotte we continued on our way and boarded our flight to Frankfurt. This flight was supposed to take eight hours and forty minutes. It was the longest flight I had ever been on, that is until the way back which was nine hours and fifty minutes! The highlight of that long night was the inflight entertainment that's for sure!
From Frankfort we then went on to Munich, which was a very short flight. We were all very tired by then and ready just to get to Romania and in a horizontal bed! But that was not to be until 12 hours later.....
In Munich we learned that there were no seats on the flight to Cluj (that we thought we were already on) but that we were on the waiting list instead. They said that we would have to wait until the next day to fly out! We just could'nt believe all the changes that had happened today......
But again, Thank the Lord, they found a flight for us to Budapest that would get us closer to our destination. The only thing about that was the eight hour van ride that awaited to take us from Budapest to Finate. :O Finally, around 7am Romanian time, July 18 we rolled in to Finate and arrived at the camp. Boy, was I ever glad to get into bed as I was then! We had been traveling for around 40-45 hours. Though, some of the group stayed up and helped with VBS after we got something to eat. Thanks, guys!
 Later that evening I went with some other ladies to visit two other ladies and to invite them to a Bible study that we were having. They were both very friendly and invited us in and gave us something to drink. At the second house (which was very lovely) we tried fresh warm milk, fresh from the cow just 15 minutes earlier. It was pretty good, but it was weird having it warm. :)

 My only wish is that some day I will be able to speak with these people with out a translator. There are ways that you can show your love and interest in them without speaking to them, but I want to do more than that. We'll see how that goes!

More later!

~Sierra

Back From Romania! Volume 1

Hello everyone!
I have now been around the World and back and would love to share my experiences with you.There is much to say for such a short trip as we went on. :) But here goes!

We started out on July 16th when we headed to the airport around noon to meet the team and get checked in. When we got there everything seemed great but then we found out that somehow we were actually booked for the 12:15 flight instead of the 2:05 and we're not informed of this, and when we did not show they cancelled all our flights out. Big bummer! So they tried first to get us all on a flight together but had to resort to splitting us up in three groups. The first group of five (including Alicia) left for Charlotte, followed by the second (lead by Pastor Keith) that left for Philadelphia. Gabi and I, along with Mike and Lynn Lagermann were the last ones without a flight for at least an hour. In that time, we were told that we might not be able to fly out until the next day! :( Finally, after waiting three or four hours they got a flight for the four of us with the first group that left. They had been waiting to leave just as long as we had, only they had boarded and came off the plane two times already! The first was because of a equipment failure with the pilot's oxygen mask and the second because of bad weather in Charlotte. But in the end that was a blessing because Gabi and I, Mike and Lynn did not have to travel alone!
So, we joined up with the others and boarded our plane to Charlotte. After we were on board the flight attendants told us that we had seven minutes to get to the gate or we would have been turned around a third time! Praise the Lord we were able to make it with only thirty seconds to spare, even with an extra two minutes!

More later!

~Sierra

"Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established" ~Proverbs 16:3

Prayer Requests

 Hey All!
Just putting some prayer requests on here so that you all know how to pray for those on the team who are going to Romania. We are now around two weeks away from departure and ready to see what God does while we are overseas.

For the team-

(Cathy Bond, Rebecca Chrisman, Matthew Phillips, Zachary Phillips, Gabrielle Cullins, Sierra Cullins, Cassidy Grom, Mark Hale, Savannah Hale, Chris Harbin, Kyle Harbin, Pastor John Hedberg, Pastor Keith Joseph, Lynn Lagermann, Mike Lagermann, Karen Murray, John Pulliam, Kim Pulliam, Alison Pulliam, Jonathan Rideout, & Alicia Vessels) 

      Missionaries there-

      ( Achim & Brenda Barbos, Heather Donnelley)

Children there-

(Romanian & Gypsy children in Finate, Romanian & Gypsy children in surrounding villages) I didn’t like to say Romanian & Gypsy, like they should be different. However, there are such racial tensions there, I felt you need to be made aware of this situation. In God’s eyes, we are the same, unfortunately, they don’t see it this way.

                

Pastors-

(Keith & John, leading the conference, Pastor Morcan in Romania setting up the Pastor conference, & our Pastors here ministering to our own folks)

Travel Safety

Health/Wellness (before, during & after our trip)

 Unity

Thank you for your support!

~Sierra 

Donation Supply List

Hi All!
I just wanted to put on here a list of supplies that I am hoping to bring to Romania. If you feel led you can donate either the supplies themselves or money and then I will buy the supplies most needed.
Thank you for your help!

General:
        Treat Bags, Stickers, Bubbles

Medicine:
       Orajel, Benedryl, Tylenol, Neosporin, Itch Creams (Cortisone), Vaseline

Perishables:
       Dry salad dressing mixes,


HBA:
        Feminine Products (Pads, no tampons), Diapers (all sizes), Combs/Brushes ,Hairbands/Bows

Sports Equipment:
            Soccer Balls, Basketballs, Wiffleballs, Used ball gloves, Money to order frisbees with the plan of salvation printed in Romanian

Craft Supplies:
            Sharpies, Suncatcher paint, Paint brushes, Small plastic bathroom cups, ziploc bags (snack, sandwich, quart and gallon)

Thanks again!

~Sierra

Ramblings....

Just counting down the weeks now (four by now) and getting more excited as they pass. I am looking forward to seeing what God will do in my life as I go to this other country. For a while now I have been imagining what my first overseas mission trip will be like and now that I am very close to actually experiencing it I am actually a little nervous.  Where will my life go after this? Will I continue to do things as I have always done or will this bring about a change in me? I guess the only way to answer my questions is to go and experience and see what God brings about. He has a great plan for me and I can't wait to see what happens!

A few weeks back I read some of the book "Kisses from Katie" by Katie Davis and I have to say that she is now a role model for me. She went to Uganda a few years ago on a mission trip, during high school i think, and fell in love with the Ugandan people while seeing the poverty there. She was there she felt God telling her that this is where she was supposed to be. I can only hope that someday I will feel the voice of God telling me that THIS is where he wants me to serve, though I wonder where that will be. :) I pray that The Lord will keep me faithful, humble and reliant on him as I journey forward.

In Christ,

Sierra