This month, my team’s ministry project has been a task of the utmost importance;
ADMINISTRATIVE WORK!
In particular, I was assigned the role of “Raul’s Personal Assistant”. This means a lot of answering emails, delegating tasks, and asking the Lord “Did Raul mean *one thing* or *opposite of that one thing*?”
I now have the greatest list of skills to add to my future resumes! I’m a master of Google Drive, tried my hand at spreadsheets, and had to laugh over language barriers more than once. Technical work is where I thrive y’all. All those years of Mavis Beacon Typing Lessons finally paid off, mom!
This month, God showed me what it is to minister within the mundane. I didn’t lay hands on a blind woman this week but I did go in every single morning ready to smile at anyone walking through the door. I might not have seen children singing praise songs every day but I did see my team laugh till we cried over the way my name sounds when said with a really strong Southern accent.
I heard the wisdom of Raul Costea on a daily basis and was challenged by his ability to teach in any scenario. Pastor Raul is a man with so many hats I lost count. He started Hope Church in June 2003. Growing up in Romanian culture, he faced the giants of a corrupted Orthodox majority. Regularly, Raul tells us that he is “always happy, always sad”. To Raul, this means that he is never doing poorly. He is always alive in Christ – what more could you ask for? In all of these little things, Christ shone through. In our laughter, the joy that only comes from the Lord rang. In Raul’s little words and occasional challenges, I felt what it is to be discipled. Overall, ministry has rocked!
Now for a fun story.
So this month, my team has been responsible for cooking our own meals. This is great. Except for the fact that this Alabama raised, Louisiana bred child wanted something flame grilled and greasy. So me and two other squadmates decided that we would grill our own burgers. There was only one thing holding us back; we don’t have a grill.
Instead, we used an improvised chimney (A seeder that we drilled some holes into) to light some $2 charcoal. Our method looked like this:
- Pile some cardboard from the trash together on the pavement.
- Sit in the 35 degree weather and face the fact that you forgot hamburger buns.
- Use some kitchen matches to light the aforementioned cardboard.
- Cram some charcoal into the chimney and work for 45 minutes to get it lit over the cardboard flame.
- Use a dirty grate as the grill.
- Take the meat out of the freezer and warm it up in your hands till you can squish it into patties and place on the dirty grate (Side note: take meat out to thaw next time)
- Place your frozen solid, probably actually pork patties on the flame
- Take them off and cut the half cooked patties in half with a giant hunting knife so they cook faster.
- Pray that it isn’t raw as you eat it.
After all of this is done, rejoice as you eat a relatively hot meal and keep blowing on the cardboard to keep it lit! I’m no critic, but this was the best meal I’ve ever eaten. Maybe slightly raw, maybe it wasn’t fully beef, but BOY. It was a meal we earned. I’ve included a picture of our little “Lord of the Flies” mealtime.
So this is life in Romania. It is cold, includes a lot of stray dogs, but it’s ours and I am loving it!
Talk soon y’all!
*P.S. Please send easy recipes ASAP!!! I’m running out of options.
