Today marks the beginning of my second month on the World Race. My team and I just arrived to our ministry site, a kid’s camp in Sistarovat, Romania. Sistarovat is a Russian word meaning “six springs” because of the well-known hot springs near here and the camp is named the Seventh Spring. As a reference point, Arad is the next largest city to our west.
Our team is flying solo for the first time, and could not be more excited to get to work here. The campground needs help with some landscaping upkeep (I thought of you, Nate!) and painting and staining touch ups on the buildings. We will also get a chance to help out in the kitchen and with housekeeping duties in the dorm rooms. Finally, volunteering as a dishwasher at my camp back home pays off ;).
Life here is very western, and a drastic contrast from our last
month. I am so happy that we started in such a quant environment our first month however, because it allows for us to get super jacked and appreciative of things we usually take for granted. For example, we are set up in this apartment with electricity, hot water, and kitchen amenities. Hallelujah! If this had been our first month we would have barely batted an eye, coming from our cushy life back home.
As far as communication goes, there are some English speaking people here which is nice. The groundskeeper, Miha (Michael) has limited knowledge of the English language, so we’re excited to swap a few language lessons with him as we work together. My hope is that this month really locks in our team and sets us up to face any curve balls that India, our next month’s location, throws at us.
On a side note, there is some variation of chapel every night, and we sat in yesterday. It was super fun just because it’s outside, and brings back old memories of camp from back in the day. The songs are sung in Romanian, obviously, but surprisingly they sing a lot of the same songs we do in the states so worship kind of turns into a game of “name that tune” and then try to remember the English words to it or make up your own. You guessed right, the latter is definitely my preferred option :D.
The kids here this week are ages 12-16 it looks like, but this will vary by week as different camps move in and out. It should be a great time getting to hang out with the kids in our free time and do the camp thing with them when we can. There are also a lot of trails that curve through the woods, used by loggers I guess, which makes for great running trails. So there you have it. I suggest you send your kids to camp in Romania, its sweet. This month is going to be awesome!
***stay tuned for some awesome video footage :)) ***
