got to Draganesti-Olt a little over a week ago and it’s like nowhere I’ve ever
been before. It’s totally different than
anywhere I’ve been on the race so far. First
off it’s so cold! So cold that jeans, a
long sleeve shirt, hoodie, North Face, scarf, gloves, and a hat still aren’t
warm enough. During the day it is in the
low 40’s and at night it is in the low 20’s and the sun hardly ever
shines. We can’t tell if it’s fog or
mist or smoke but it’s constantly hazy and overcast and you can usually only see a few
houses down the road. In the past 10
days I think I’ve seen the sun once.
Being here is like going back in time 100 years. Most of the people use a horse or donkey and
wagon to get around. All day we hear horses
galloping down the road. The buildings along
main street are old and dreary, mostly from the time of communism- just white concrete. Poverty is a huge problem here with
unemployment over 60%.
Draganesti-Olt is a dark place. This town is mostly dominated by gypsies and witchcraft
is commonly practiced here.
Draganesti-Olt is considered one of the centers for witchcraft in all of
Europe. When we first got here our
contact told us stories about the witchcraft and demon possessed people living
around here. Most of the horses we see
throughout the day have red ribbons tied to their bridles to keep the horses
from being cursed. Most of the people
here are very superstitious. They don’t
trust Christians or any outsider. The
town is dark and we can feel it. The
people are hopeless and spiritual oppression is high- they are trapped.
This month my team is with another team this month. We are living in a huge house, well huge for
the World Race and the biggest so far. All
14 of us share 1 bathroom, but so far it hasn’t been a problem- it’s so cold
hardly anyone showers. We cook all our
own meals together and we do ministry together.
We are working with a church here doing all sorts of things including,
·
Building
a church
·
Gardening
·
Chopping
firewood
·
Cleaning
chicken and pigeon coups
·
Teaching
English
·
After
School Program
·
Children/Youth
program
·
Sending
e-mails for the pastor
·
Creating
Facebook pages in order to connect with the youth in the community
·
Sending
e-mails to churches, Christian colleges, and mission organizations in the
attempt to bring more missionaries here
·
Attending
a women’s Bible Study
·
Prayer
meetings
·
Worship
nights
Pray for us this month.
Pray that we can be the light in this very dark place. Together we are united in overcoming the
darkness and evil here. These people
need to be freed from the oppression.
The oppression is real, we see it every day.
