The team has arrived

After 24 hours of traveling, our team finally made it to Chisinau.  Thankfully we had no problems on our travels.  The flight from New York to Milan wasn't even that bad! However, it was very strange that for such a long flight we didn't have our own screens behind the seats.  But to make up for it the airline showed us some great movies on the big screens and aisle screens.  The food wasn't that bad either; we had a choice between pasta and chicken- both were great.  After our long flight came the hardest part of our journey; we had a six hour layover in Milan.  We arrived in the airport long before our flight even had a designated gate so we found some chairs in a general area and sprawled out.  It was obvious to all around us that we were Americans.  Needless to say, we were all exhausted.  Several of the girls laid down on the floor to take naps while others slept in their chairs, or just stayed awake.  It was entertaining to watch all of the people passing by us staring at "the crazy Americans laying of the floor."  They just couldn't understand why we weren't in chairs.  Some of the stairs may have been due to the way that Ellie and Jill were laying (both are basically contortionists, as we found out today). During our short stint in Italy we were able to taste some of the local cuisine including some Italian coffee (espresso) and delicious gelato!  We finally got off the ground in Italy and made it safely to Moldova.  Going through customs was a breeze.

Alina (JMI national coordinator), Vlad (Alina's wife) and Borris (our funny driver)  picked us up at the airport and escorted us back to where we are staying.  Once here we got settled in and waited on dinner.  Our first Moldovian dinner was excellent, complete with fresh veggies, bread, chicken and ice cream for dessert.  Shortly after dinner we got to meet the Grace House girls for the first time.  Meeting the girls was amazing.  I can tell that the language barrier will be difficult at first, but I know that God will provide us with many laughs and bonding experiences.  It will be beautiful to watch us grow and serve together.  Tonight we just went around and introduced ourselves.  Our team got to tell a little about ourselves along with the Grace House girls.  Using Alina as a translator we discovered a little bit about everyone.  The girls here are absolutely beautiful.  We can't wait to serve them and love on them through the love that our God offers us.  Tomorrow will be a busy day, but we can't wait to share some of our stories as well as create things with our new friends.