This month on the race has probably been the hardest one for
me yet. I’m not sure if it is so much
the conditions we are living in as it is following up our month in
Romania. As I mentioned in my last blog,
we left family behind in Pitesti, Romania.
Coming to Moldova was a shock, mostly because we expected it to be more
like Romania than India or Nepal. I can
honestly say that I didn’t experience culture shock when leaving the US for
India in January because I was expecting the worst and it turned out much
better than I thought it would. This month, I experienced culture shock for the
first time because I had unrealistic expectations for Romania’s neighboring
country. Moldovans are a very smart
people and are hard workers, but there is very little opportunity here. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in
Europe, so even if you are educated and obtain a good job, it is unlikely that
you will make as much money in Moldova as you could elsewhere. This typically leads to a majority of the
educated population leaving and migrating to surrounding countries such as
Romania.
This month our team is working with a Baptist church in a small
village with a name I can’t pronounce or spell. We are actually living in the church we do
ministry in, so we are here 24/7 with the occasional trek through the mud to
the local corner shop or trip to the outhouse behind the church (that has been
quite an adjustment!). Minus our current bathroom and shower dilemma (and by shower dilemma, I mean-we don’t have one), our
living conditions are actually quite nice. We have heat, electricity, and a kitchen, so
that is a blessing. The church is quite
modern and is well known in the area as “that church”. It’s astounding really-what we know as an
extremely traditional Baptist church is considered radical and “cult-like” here
in the village, and I’m sure in many other places in Moldova as well. Most people here are deeply rooted in their
religion and Orthodox traditions. The rules and traditions have been quite an adjustment for us coming from a month where we were so free. The
children we are working with know the bible better than most people I know, yet
are unaware that they are sons and daughters of God and that they can have an
intimate relationship with their Heavenly Father. What good is knowledge when you miss the main
point? We are however, doing the best we
can to represent Christ’s love and try to remind them everyday that their Daddy
loves them and cares for them.
Our daily lives here in the village have dramatically
changed over the past week. We are doing
a variety of different ministries, so I’ll just give you the run down of our
week. In the mornings from 9-1, we work
in a few different fields planting crops.
It’s definitely like…1800’s style-down on the ground, poking holes,
dropping in one seed at a time (or two or three… oops) and covering it with
dirt. I have to say, my team has really
got the hang of it now. We are learning
all sorts of new skills on the race this year!
Last month we were offered multiple job opportunities painting murals in
Romania, and now we are becoming professional farmers. We are just that good. (Okay, I wouldn’t go professional farmer…. But we are doing
the best we can given the circumstances! J) So, after lunch on Monday through Thursday we
teach biblical lessons and play games with some of the children from the
village that come to eat lunch at the church.
At 3pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday we have rehearsal for the
pantomime the children will be performing on Easter Sunday. I’ve found that recycling things you have
learned on the race really comes in handy!
We are using the same pantomime that Living Hope performed with their
children the last week we were there (Thanks Cristi!). So
far it is really going well. The
children are super smart and really enjoy this kind of thing. In addition, we are teaching 2 sessions
of English class. The younger children
come from 4-5, and the youth comes from 5-6 Monday through Wednesday. I’ve really enjoyed my time with the children
here. They are so desperate for
attention and love, and it is nice to have the opportunity to provide that for
them. Even if I can’t speak fluent
Romanian (which I am totally working on by the way!), a hug and a smile are
just as good.
What’s Next
In twelve days, the squad will head back to Buckarest,
Romania for a four-ish day Debrief with our coaches Seth and Karen Barnes, AIM
staff and squad leaders. There wil be
some changes within our squad, as squad leaders will be leaving After the first month in Africa to head back to the states. They will be rising up new leaders within the squad to take their positions, which creates the need for team changes. We are currently unaware of which teams will change, but there will be some adjustments made. After Debrief our squad will fly to South Africa, but we will no longer be staying there for ministry in May. Our route has changed slightly and we will now be going to Swaziland first (which was originally our third African country). We are unaware of any further changes as of now, but I’ll keep you updated!
Thanks for all your support and prayers!
