The Real Moldova Update

We had such an amazing time in Berlin.
We were totally transformed by God in the time we were there. We
left out of Berlin on a 25 hour bus ride. Yes that is 25 hours in a
bus. The bus we were on only stopped every four hours to use the
restroom. Are you kidding? That is not enough! I have to pee every
three minutes! Often bus rides are great! I have time alone, no
where to go and few distractions. I get a lot of quality thinking
done on buses. This year I have spent close to 250 hours on a bus.
That is ten days. That is not including planes or trains. I mean,
that is a lot of travel! Sorry, I got off topic. So after 25 hours
of riding a bus we were dropped off in Edinet, Moldova. The bus
dropped us of in the middle of the road… seriously. We were
fortunate enough to have a local willing to help us find a shuttle to
take us the rest of the way to Ocntia, Moldova. Our shuttle took us
one hour up the road and he stopped at an intersection where there
was a little construction. We were unable to go under the bridge. I
looked up and a man was walking to the shuttle. It was our contact.
He informed us as soon as the construction was over he would come
pick us up in his van. Fast forward. Our contact picks us up in the
van, we get our stuff loaded and he says, “you ready to go
camping.” I though to myself, “uh… HECK NO!!” After being
in Berlin and then on a bus for 25 hours all I wanted to do was lay
down and sleep! I was exhausted. The van took us another 2 hours
into the vast wilderness where we found our lovely shanty that was
awaiting us. My attitude sucked and I needed a major attitude check!
There was not enough room in the house so Erika and I had to pitch a
tent! We camped outside for three days! Our conditions were
primitive. We bathed in the river and used the restroom in the
smelliest outhouse I have found this year. I have to admit that
every part of me was pissed off! I wanted a real bed and a hot meal!
I was not expecting this at all! Fortunate for me and everyone
around me, I woke up the next day feeling a lot better! I realized I
was surrounded by beautiful scenery! We were in a valley with a
river running through it! It turned out to be a great time of
relaxation.

After our three days was over we went
back to Ocnita, Moldova and began to teach an English camp. The camp
was twice a day, three hours each time… The children were very
sweet and super smart! We played lots of sports and taught them
English from the book of Genesis. We found out that we were actually
going to be leaving this ministry site! We knew we would be leaving
soon. Three days after we go to Ocnita we left and headed to another
location in Moldova. We took another bus for around two hours and we
arrived at the bus stop and we met our new contact! He is actually
younger than I am! He is an amazing man! His English is very
limited, but he is incredible! I wish we could speak more! I think
we would be great friends. I don’t even know the name of the village
we are living in. That is odd. Any way, we are still living in the
1800’s. There is no running water. However, we do have a well
pretty close to us. We take bucket showers and we are all sleeping
on our mats that we brought with us. Not quite as fancy as the
Hilton, but much more cozy! Our ministry the past week has been
walking around hoping to meet people to talk to! That is it! Quite
simple, just making friends and sharing the love of Jesus with them.
I think that every person we have talked to has started crying.
There is a lot of sorrow here, and for some reason they see us as a
sign of hope. We have been so fortunate to be here! The “sisters”
from the church have been taking such good care of us! They have
prepared every meal for us and cleaned up after us after most! We
are being spoiled in some ways! Yet in contrast we take bucket
showers, wash clothes by hand, use the outhouse, sleep on the
floor… I guess this month is really teaching us we don’t need a lot
in life to be happy!