People always talk about “the bush of Africa”, but it would be a shame if the world kept on living without knowing that there is in fact a “bush of Romania” and that Sistarovat is it. Over the course of my time in that place, I have learned that capsuni is the word for strawberry and anana means pineapple. So… in summary, the larger extent of the Romanian vocabulary I learned this past month was mainly derived from grocery shopping as opposed to learning from actual human interaction with living, breathing Romanians.
Maybe that’s because I can count the number of Romanians I actually know on one hand.
In this, it’s hard to not be searching for some kind redemption of my experience in Romania, yet at the same time there is a tremendous amount of relief surrounding the fact that I am moving on to something new.
Much like that strain, my entire month has been characterized by tensions. Tensions of the already & not yet, of only seeing in part, and of beginning a process or starting a fight, but not yet seeing the resolution. I’ve felt the tension while spending time with teenagers at a local church… only to be pulled back to endless responsibilities around camp. It’s been the tension between rejoicing in the gift of 24 days of amazing community that have shaped Team Shemah into a family… while still struggling with the lack of connection to the local people. It's the tension of recognizing & pressing into what the Lord is teaching… and yet knowing some things are designed to be a process. It’s been a month of living on the cusp on the Kingdom and seeing it advance in a very obviously oppressed place… and then feeling the heavy spiritual tension of living in a place where the light & dark spark.
And now it's taken waking up in Budapest and nomming on Honeynut Cheerios with a blank stare to realize what it really is to be a missionary in Eastern Europe and to live in this tension. My teammates and I are taking much needed time off here in Hungary before reconviening with all of A-Squad to move on to Moldova. Here in Budapest, we are staying with my good friend, Kirsten, who works as a missionary by teaching English and building relationships with her students. In the past day we've played basketball with one of her students, gone to a local bar for "English Club" with students of Corvinus University, and she feeds us American food that she harvested last summer from the States. Basically, it goes without saying that everything about our time here so far as been glorious.
While exploring the city last night and relaxing beside the Chain Bridge over the Danube (with my view being the photo above), we all shared in the sobering realities of being missionaries in Eastern Europe. The atmosphere here is just flat out oppressive; it wears on you. And then on top of that, much of the work you do rarely shows itself as obviously making a difference. As we dined on legitimate Turkish gyros & baklava we found mutual encouragment in just knowing that someone else is right in that place too and that in itself can really become motivation to keep going hard. Ministry does not always play out the way we hope & plan in our minds and not every act of service ends in salvation of thousands. I mean, I know these things, and most people know these things, but every now and again it’s just sucks to live in the reality of feeling like you are doing everything but yet nothing at all.
So as we head into month 2 in Moldova and as Kirsten continues to be Christ to the students of Budapest, pray for us! Do not be fooled: we do not live in a magical missionary fairyland where we ride unicorns and sweep people up on rainbows right to the feet of Jesus. Pray for Team Shemah and for Kirsten as we carry the love of Jesus & the love that we have for each other to the people we’ve met here in Budapest and the people of Moldova!
