Hello everyone! I want to update you briefly on what T-squad is up to in beautiful Brasov, Romania.
We left Nepal on Sunday, flying through Delhi, Doha, and then landing in Bucharest Monday afternoon. My harp, unfortunately, suffered some minor damage in the flight, as they would not allow me to gate-check it. It went through 3 flights without me handling it. The lap bar, which lets me play while sitting in a chair, is gone, and one of the sharpening levers is bent. These are both minor problems, and I am thankful to still have the harp in one piece!
Romania is beautiful. We are about two hours from Bucharest in a small modern city called Brasov, where the daily temperatures are in the 20s, and there is snow everywhere. We are here for Debrief, which is a time for the squad to come together, relax, process what has happened over our first two months on the World Race, and get recharged for a new ministry here in Romania.
My team will be planting a church in a gypsy community about an hour from Bucharest. I’m very excited about building relationships with these people and bringing the message of Christ to them.
God has taught me so much in the last two months about community, attitude, and the difference between being a Sunday morning worshipper of Christ and an imitator of Christ. I hope to share more about this soon. . .
Now, when traveling from countries like India and Nepal to Romania, there are a few adjustments to make and some important things to remember:
- Trash should be disposed of in the public trash cans, not on the side of the road with everyone else’s trash.
- You don’t have to carry your own toilet paper all the time. You can find it in public restrooms. I actually saw paper towels and hand soap in a restroom the other day.!
- When you respond “yes” to someone, it is culturally acceptable to nod your head. The Indian head bobble may confuse the person, unless they are fellow Racers.
- It is okay to drink the tap water and brush your teeth with it.
- You will no longer be stared at. People will not ask to take a picture with you or have you take their picture. Oddly enough, you won’t stick out here.
- The electricity will be on twenty-four hours a day. So don’t feel the need to occupy all the power outlets in the building with your electronics before going to bed, hoping that they power comes back on in the middle of the night and charges your computer enough to use it in the middle of the day.
- Don’t worry. They still drink tea in Romania. 🙂
