Guess what!!
My Momma came to see me in Romania!!
That’s right — after being on the Race for 8 months, I finally got to see my Mom. She flew to Romania & we met up for our last full week of serving there. Well…her & about 21 other parents.
It was PVT — parent vision trip — an opportunity for the parents to join us in serving. Now the timing of this was right after my 17 hour mountain hike so I was wicked sore, but I was also pretty wicked sad because PVT was in a different location than we’d been all month & I wasn’t ready to leave the Golas family. I wasn’t sure why but I was also a tiny bit nervous to see my Mom.
We arrived in Draganesti (pronounced Dragon-esht) & they gave us a run down of what our week of ministry would look like & how they’d give us time with our parents. & then we waited…
I have NO IDEA what I was nervous about — my mom is THE. BEST. It felt like I just saw her last week — completely normal & it was just so so good to be with her.
We were housed separately but we got to have all our meals together & we served together every day. I had been really excited for her to meet my friends & for them to meet her, but for some reason I was nervous about other moms. Turns out they were great too!
Several of the racers approached me & told me how adorable my mom is & I couldn’t have agreed more — I was beaming with pride 😀 She didn’t just come to serve beside me, but as they prepared our meals she would ask if she could help, & at the end of meals you could always find her clearing the table. That’s my awesome Momma 🙂
The first ministry was actually in another town that we drove to. We started with a prayer walk around a college the mission network has a good relationship with & then we went to an event our hosts were throwing for the community. Anyone could come in & practice English with native speakers — us — & there was free food & live music. We’d get to know them & then there would be testimonies from one of us & 2 of our parents about who God has been in our lives.
It was a pretty great success & my mom was brilliant with the people we met. They were wonderful & we enjoyed all our conversations, especially with an 18 year old guy named Antonio who we both hit it off with. We hardly needed a translator because his English was so good. The night was a success.
I am so so sad that I have no pictures of the next day, but we helped host an event that they’ve been holding for a while where they help supply people with reading glasses & give them a minor health screen while they’re there. Some of you even got to participate in this by sending glasses, blood pressure cuffs, or even glucometers with my mom — yay!! Thank you so much for giving!
They’d come in the door & we were their first stop. Being a diabetic, my mom was the perfect candidate to take blood sugars, & as a nurse I got to take blood pressures. We were a team & we got it done!
It wasn’t the most organized event in the world, but it was cool to see my mom in action — as per usual, she was great. I don’t have any pictures of us be here’s one of Caley & her mom doing their part.
The final day of ministry was basically a giant afternoon of vacation Bible school. Some of you sent face paint for this & the kids LOVED it! I don’t have any pictures of that either but the kids had a fantastic time & it was really precious getting to watch our parents interacting not just with us to serve, but also with all these Romanian kiddos. It was a great time.
The final day was supposed to be Saturday, so even though we were pretty tired, we drove into Bucharest & hit the ground running.
Okay, so we didn’t run. But we walked all over & had such a good time just chatting & exploring the city. We saw all kinds of beautiful structures & went into whatever shops we found interesting — we even went into an Orthodox church. Who would have ever imagined I’d be walking around Bucharest with my mom? So fun 🙂
The best place we went was this beautiful…dessert-ery? I don’t know what to call it exactly, but a place filled with delicious desserts & ice creams & mousses that was adorable & just amazing. We loved what we ordered & just enjoyed the atmosphere.
We just chilled the rest of the day only to find that we also would have the majority of the next day together as well. Yay! This was perfect because that meant one thing — some serious talk time!!
We talked about everything. Difficult to discuss grown up things. Catch up on the family things. Our future things. Basically a little of everything. We laughed & cried & I realized that I’d missed her even more than I’d realized & I didn’t want her to go. My mom is one of my best friends in the world — I needed her.
That afternoon Shelby’s parents left & so she joined us. Since Shelby was from the original puppy pack, she was an easy fit with us for the remainder of the afternoon. & then it was all over. I had to say goodbye & I just wasn’t ready. This was my mom — I wouldn’t see her for 3 more months! My heart ached but as usual, my mom was strong, which helped me be strong.
That night all of the racers from PVT stayed in a hostile in Bucharest & I found bed bugs in my bed. My arms were swollen all week & I was continuously freaked out that they had layed eggs in my stuff.
Now that I am bug free I realize how much that helped distract me from my sadness. Not a method I’d choose or recommend to anyone else, but they were a pretty big diversion, & I’m thankful because I know my Momma doesn’t want me to waste time being sad. I am here for 3 more months to serve with my whole heart, & that’s what I’m going to do. That’s who she raised me to be.
I miss my mom — she really is one of the most amazing people on the planet & I love her so much. But I’m really thankful that I got to serve beside her & that she got to enter this world for a brief moment with me. She got to feel some of the discomforts that come with race life like no AC & kids shouting right outside your window at night when you’re trying to sleep, but she also got to be part of the rewarding side like when we met Antonio & helped people with health screenings. It was a wonderful time & I am so glad that she so readily joined me. If I can become half the woman she is, I’ll be one heck of person some day.
So thanks, mom — everything that you & dad taught me to be has helped make this trip so much better. My success comes from God, but He gave me you to show me the way. I love the race & will do everything I can to be all in as I finish out the end in Africa, but I can’t wait to come home & be with you. Thank you.
See ya. Love ya. Bye.
