We are halfway through our month in Romania! In about a week, my parents will be joining me on the field for ministry for about 5 days. Here in Draganesti, we are spending our days delivering Bibles to families, praying for and spending time with new believers, and assisting at kids camps. My team specifically is assisting in the office, helping with administrative tasks (WHICH I AM LOVING (obviously)).
I am finding it harder and harder to share what is going on with me on the race through blogging. It’s not that there aren’t things to share, it just seems like everyday life at this point. Thanks for being patient.
-Smiling face of the refugee crisis- -Romania-
-Sidewalk chalk ministry in Aristotle Square. Thessaloniki, Greece-
I’ve decided to share a few unfortunate events I’ve endured in the past 8 months on the race. Enjoy!
In Costa Rica, my team and I spent a lot of time with a 14-year-old, Andrea. Andrea asked me why I was always picking on and tackling Lindsey. I told her it was just how I showed her I cared about her. A few days later, she tackled me to the ground, telling me she did it because of how much she cared about me. I’ll forever have a scar on my forearm from scraping it on a nail when she took me out.
In Nicaragua, I went to join a teammate in a hammock for our daily team meeting. As soon as I sat in it, it snapped, dropping both of us 3 feet onto the cement. Ashley went home with a fractured tail bone and I still can’t put weight on my elbow. Sadly, Ashley hasn’t been able to return to the Race.
In Honduras, I bitterly told my team leader that I wouldn’t walk with her to the bathroom in the middle of the night even though she was scared to death (I’m very rude when I’m half asleep). I also slept in a crib for a few nights.
In Chile, I fell down an entire flight of stairs (while pulling a curtain down) and slammed into a brick wall at the bottom, all while my friend listened from the bathroom 2 feet away. I played the ukulele on the side of the road in the middle of the night with my squad leader, begging for apples after a very long bus ride. I attempted to take 5 of my squad mates to a city slide I had found the week before, but got us lost, so we spent 3 hours climbing to the top of Valparaiso. Then, while assisting one of my friends up to climb a tree, I stepped into a pile of human poop.
In Bolivia, I sat with my team mate as she got a dread from an Argentinian man we had met the day before. Meanwhile, his friend offered me a crystal out of his pocket that he said “was from the universe and would glow in the moonlight”.
In Bulgaria, while rollerblading with a friend, I fell (quite gracefully) and landed with my face in a bush.
In Greece, I fell down a spiral staircase within a week of being at our church. I also walked a stray dog around on a leash I made out of my flannel shirt, after cuddling with her for 3 hours on the dock.
So far in Romania, I’ve accidently sprinted out of a cave, down a cliff, tripped and fell face forward into a river. On one of my runs, I looked behind me to see if a dog was chasing me and ran straight into a trash can. I also bought a really cool t-shirt at a book store, then later learned (from our pastor) that it said “Alone and Drunk” in Romanian.
The cave/cliff I ran out of… Romanian friend, Andrea
Palace of Parliament
