Hello from Transnistria–The "country" inside Moldova that doesn’t actually exist. [It's weird, google it.]
We have been here for a week and it has been eventful.
Last month ended well but to be honest, I coasted my way through it. It wasn’t really a hard month by any means. I thrived with so many people around. Ministry was simple. I didn’t feel stretched or pushed too much. I laughed a lot, slept comfortably, ate well, and just enjoyed being in Romania with 53 people who are on this journey with me.
This month however is a different story.
My team is with 2 other all girls teams, which means there are 22 of us staying in what we have lovingly named the “princess palace” but looks remarkably similar to a concentration camp. Have no fear though, it is actually the beginning of a Community Center that the church is building. We have a grandma who cooks us dinner for breakfast (i.e. tomato and cucumber salad, and beef pasta), soup for lunch, and a rice/grain type of food for dinner. Bread and hot tea accompany every meal, which I obviously love.
My team teaches English from 8:30am-12:30pm each day. We walk 3 miles there and back. We do construction work from 2-5 in the afternoons. We have squatty potties. We all sleep in one big room. There is one washer so I’ve been hand washing my clothes. WiFi is also a 3 mile walk. A big white rat is being kept in the room next to ours as a pet. We’ve adopted a little puppy who follows us everywhere. We use the (actual) nice outdoor shower that we pretend is a water park. Who knew showering under the stars with water that’s been heated by the sun would be so cool? We have pink curtains hanging in our front windows amongst the dust and concrete that our room holds.
The church we are with this month is very progressive. They sing songs from Hillsong and have crazy techno lights and we had a dance party at the youth meeting last week.
Needless to say, this month looks completely different.
And I am loving it.
I love the adventure that this month has for us. I love the girls I am with. My team is a blessing and is drawing me out to be the most Jesus like version of me that I can be. They love me well, take my sass, and gently call me out when I need it.
Even through the exhaustion, the sweat, the miles we walk each day, I am so happy this month is what it is.
Life with Jesus is good.
