Teams, Tests, & a Baby Girl
We write this blog to update you on three prayer requests from last month. We are so thanful for each of you who take the time to read these posts, those who comment or reach out to us, and those who pray for us. The past month has been exhausting. We will tell you about that later. As you read in our last post, we were honored to host our first team here in Romania. Normally missionaries with our organization do not host teams within their first term as the focus is mainly on learning the national language. Preparing for a team to arrive can take quite a bit of prep time. I found this to be very true.
It was exciting to see the team from our home church as we had not seen them since we left the States 13 months ago. We were blessed by the items they brought us which were some snacks as well as 6-9 months worth of baby clothes that had been stored at the home of a family member. We had saved Lydia's clothes in case we had another girl. What a great idea that was! This team came to Romania for a week and worked with refugees. They provided support to our Romanian partners and food and supplies to refugees. We are thanful for our Romanian partners and what they have been doing for refugees as well as the volunteer time our American partners continue to give. Towards the end of their trip Drew along with Emerson took the team to Bran Castle for a fun day. It was a great experience for the team to see some different areas of Romania as well as experience a Romanian castle; a castle that is known for being the home of Dracula!! Haha just kidding. It was only portrayed as his home in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Since this trip two other teams have come and gone with a 3rd team arriving this week. It is a busy summer for Team Bucharest but feeling blessed that people want to come work with us. We hope to see you on a team in the near future.
As we waited for our daughter to arrive we anxiously prepared for our language exam. We have been learning the Romanian language for one year now with many obstacles to overcome. We were originally planning to take our exam in May, but then a few things came up. Then we planned for our test to be in July. As July approached we were concerned that our daughter would come before we could take the test. The test day finally came and we were able to take the test. There was a reading section where we would read the question out loud and interpret them. Then we would respond to them in Romanian. The final part was a written portion that required a 3 paragraph response at the end. When all was said and done we both passed the exam with flying colors. What a relief! Now we move forward into additional grammar and verbs.
Finally, what we are most excited to announce is the birth of our new baby girl. Claira Grace Tucker arrived on July 14th. What a blessing she has been. We were concerned about having a baby in another country in a language we do not fully understand, especially all of the medical words. God had blessed us with a great doctor who spoke english well in addition to the great care Brooke and Claira recieved at the hospital. Now we are trying to get some sleep and give Claira the noursihment that she needs. We pray that her first pediatrician visit on Thursday goes well. In other news, both Emerson and Lydia love baby Claira. They love helping us out with Claira and giving her kisses.
Prayer Requests:
Prayers for Brooke for healing as well as Claira's health and upcoming doctor's visit.
Transition into this new life with a new child. It's not easy having a baby without family.
We continue to advance in the language.