This past week has been a good one, but also long in some sense. More or less everybody on my team has been sick at one point or another. I had a real rough 24 hours myself, but seem to be doing much better now, hopefully I’m not speaking too soon. My team knew I wasn’t feeling very good when I started skipping meals. That’s a huge red flag apparently, and I suppose I agree. I don’t miss food for much, especially on the world race.
Life has seemed a little surreal over this past week. I keep having these moments where I think to myself, “I wonder what it’s going to be like when I’m on the World Race,” or as I’m laying in my sleeping bag I’ll wonder,” Wonder where I’ll sleep when I’m on the world race.” Funny moments when I think about it. I think everything is still new enough where it still feels a little bit like summer camp. I’m not sure if this is a common feeling or not, but it keeps thing light for me in the mean time.
Our ministry here has been interesting, but mostly very good. During the day we have been conducting play time with a little VBS attached to it. We play soccer with the locals almost everyday. The field we play on is more or less designed to make sure that everybody leaves the field with a rolled ankle. I have almost rolled mine in the neighborhood of seven or eight times, but luckily haven’t gone over the edge just yet. Colby Long, on the other team we are working with, wasn’t quite so fortunate. The locals really take their soccer seriously. Sometimes I feel like we are just waiting for something to explode the way tempers can flare on the field. They aren’t very receptive to little kids or to girls on the field either. One of the girls on our team, Holland, has played a few times and we do our best to work the little kids in, but its really not easy. During the soccer the girls play games with the younger guys and gals on the side of the field. When soccer is over we gather everybody and have a bit of a VBS moment. We have been acting out skits for the kids. We read the verse in English then we act it out as the verse is also read in Romanian by our translator. We have also had the chance to start working with the schools. We taught classes for a short week of school last week that as far as I can tell was optional and just for those who wanted to go. Today is actually the first day of classes and so starting tomorrow we will be in everyday to teach English. I believe I have decided or rather come to the realization that I really have a strong belief in education, especially in the case of under-privileged children. So hopefully I will get the chance to go into the schools personally for that. We have also been doing a “Bible Study” every night. More or less this is just a small service. This is what they have wanted us to do, but it has been a trying experience. Hardly anybody comes and church everyday can kind’ve wear on you. So we will be changing it up this week. On Friday we are going to go down to the “city center” ( liberally applied) and do a small service there. Hopefully it will go well.
We leave here next Monday to head to Brazzoff (guaranteed that is the wrong spelling) for a conference called the awakening. Every world race team that is out right now plus any world race alum are meeting up there for a three day conference. I am very excited about this, I think it will be an awesome experience. A couple people from my sister’s race will be there also, so it will be really cool to meet and talk with them. And also…..My sister is coming!!! Should be really coo to see her.
The last thing I have is to just brag at how beautiful the sunsets are here. They are incredible. We are probably not in the mountains, but more so in rolling hills. The sun sets every evening right after 8 or so. So we generally eat dinner at 8 watching the sun go down. It is quite the marvelous sight.
