Modes of transportation in Moldova

Modes of transportation vary from place to place and country to country and Moldova is no different. The ways in which you can travel are as follows :




TrolleyBus- The trolleybus runs all throughout the city but it does not run to the villages. It runs on this cable that hangs from street. The trolley bus must stay attached to the cable although I am not sure why. The advantage of the trolley bus is that it is 2 lie about 14cents and the other modes of transportation are 3 lie 21cents. The trolleybus numbers are single to double digits. Remember if you are going from center to Durlesti take the 28 not the 29 !!!! If you take the 29 you will not get where you want to go :p Oh the adventure I had one cold and rainy night without a cellphone but luckily I made it home safely :)
P.S. ( It is best to take the transportation you are most familiar with :) )
Bus - I actually have never taken the bus so I can not say to much about it except that it looks bigger and has better air circulation than the marchuta :p
Marchuta/Routiera/Micro bus ( they are all the same thing)
OOOOO The marchuta :) It is a thirteen passenger van with the right hand side seats pulled out so it has a few seats less then what a normal van would have. These minibus concoctions are by far the most exciting way to travel in Moldova. There is supposedly rhyme and reason to them however I do not believe there is. They have a number system starting in the high 70's going through the one hundreds. The Marchutcas cost 3 lie no matter the distance you want to travel. Of the several interesting things about the marchutca is that you do not have to pay right when you enter, you can sit down and then pass up your money. If the marchutca is full you must stand and sometimes hold on for dear life because there is not telling how fast or how slow the driver decides they want to go at any given moment. Riding the marchutca is a very exciting way to see the city ! Try and get the third seat back in the aisle row it has a nice breeze during the hot days.
Car - if you are part of the blessed or fortunate in Moldova you own a vehicle and therefore can travel to and from by free will with no worries about catching the marchutca or sitting next to smelly people :p
and by Foot :)
This is a little overview of all the modes of transportation here in Chisinua. I know it is not the most detailed but hopefully you can see a little bit more how things work here in Moldova.

I forgot the tractors and animals but those aren't very common just in harvest time.

Our wonderful host here in Moldova :)

So by now if you are following my blog you have seen the Raatz family in some pictures and you might have seen some of our other wonderful host. In this post I will list some incredible people that have shown us extreme kindness and generosity throughout our stay here in Moldova :)

The Bucks : Wesley and Donna

We have been staying the past few weeks at the apartment of Wesley and Donna Buck. They are now back in America trying to raise funds to come back to Moldova to do ministry for the following year. Donna is the Raatz school teacher and in the fall she will be teaching the Raatz and a few more students. Wesley is a children's pastor and currently goes into the Moldovan schools and does ministry as well as outreaches to the villages. Please support this awesome couple through prayer and monetary gifts :) They are an awesome God loving couple who have brough much joy to the children of chisinua.

The Raatz Family : Andy, Nancy, Elissa, Natalie, Lauren, Brita , Gracie :)

Words cannot begin to describe how thankful we (Courtney and I ) are for the love and kindness shown to us by the Raatz family. They have literally taken us into thier home and shown us the true love of Christ.

Andy and Nancy are the country corrdinators for Moldova which means they do a lot !!! But yet they some how manage to always find the time to sit and talk to us , cook for us or just love on us ! They are an amazing couple who love to disciple up and coming leaders whether they are Moldovan or American ! I could not think of a better example of showing God's love through hospitality. They have truely opened their home to us with barely knowing us and let us be a part of thier lives.

The Raatz have three wonderful daughters : Elissa 14 , Natalie 10 and Lauren 8 . They very much remind me of my family. Elissa definitely acts like my sister Margaret, Natalie acts like Emily and Lauren reminds me of myself for sure ! I love all of the girls so much :) They are all so sweet and loving they too have really gone out of their way to get to know us and it has really helped us feel at home. I hope to teach Natalie and Lauren some swimming skills later this summer.

Last but not least are the dogs Gracie and Brita. Gracie is an adorable little schnuazer who I believe I already mentioned but she is worth mentioning again. She loves me and loves to cuddle whenever we go over to the Raatz house which is often she follows us around and loves to jump in the seat with you :) Brita is a beautiful german shephard she is incredibly gentle even though she is quite large and powerful she is not intimidating at all she is a lover but I know if the Raatz house was ever compromised she would scare away the intruder.

A typical day in the life of an intern in Moldova

There is no typical day, everyday we are met with new and exciting challenges. Those challenges may range from transportation issues , time scheduling issues to emotional issues, each day is a new chance for us to trust in the Lord and boy does He show up ! God is so good ! If there has been one thing I have learned while living in Moldova is that despite the ups and downs and unexpected changes taking place day to day God is still God , Christ is still alive and the Holy Spirit is working :) It is really cool to be in a position where we can understand what truly

relying on God looks like because we honestly need His love and power to make it through the day. Our God is big and soo awesome ! He is good and Mighty to be praised ! It is wonderful to see Him moving in Moldova :)

What does it mean to be an intern in Moldova : Learning to trust God with everything each new day :)