My time in Romania has flown by! As you approach PVT, it is filled with unknowns and what ifs. So you can have a better glimpse into what each day has looked like here is a summary of each day.
After a long flight Karen, who is another parent going to PVT, and I made out first stop in Dublin. We are all the way across the pond so we might as well take advantage of that! Our time in Dublin was fun, but not without its “hiccups”, most of which involved transportation. We thought we had transportation arranged both to and from the Dublin airport but both times had to punt. We also thought we had been left behind on our day tour to the Cliffs of Moher when the bus was just much later than we anticipated. Maybe all that was God’s way of giving us a taste of what our Racers have repeatedly experienced the last nine months. (((Side note from Elise who is reading over this: This is true. We get these issues all the time on the Race!)))
After hopping another plane, we made it to Bucharest, Romania! The bus ride to Draganesti-Olt, our final destination in southern Romania, was filled with parents who couldn’t wait to see their child. It was a sweet time as we piled off and our Racer’s came streaming out of Hope Church where we are working. Due to the bad storms the south was experiencing, there were four families that had missed connections or canceled flights. All had planned to be in Bucharest a day early. They arrived on Saturday, but 3-6 hours after the rest of the parents. We number 29 parents, 23 Racers, and three AIM staff members here for PVT. Tuesday, the Racers who do not have a parent participating in PVT will arrive. I am excited to meet all the people who Elise has been working with! (((I am excited for her to meet them!)))
Our host, Raul, has told us that southern Romania is only 0.2% Christian and that there is a mixture of witchcraft and orthodoxy practiced here. Draganesti-Olt has a heavy gypsy population. It has been fascinating to see that they are still using horses and wagons as their primary mode of transportation. When walking down the street, we had to wait for a cow to cross in front of us! That is not something that you see every day in Charlotte, NC! This morning, the donkey across from the church had a conversation with us. I didn’t think until after we walked away that I should have recorded it and not just taken a picture!
Sunday, we were split out to attend church in smaller groups so as not to overwhelm any church. Elise and I attended church in a small home church plant. The room where it was held was about 10×10 and outside the room was a garden and chicken yard that included a turkey and guineas. Including the four of us that attended from the Parent Vision Trip, there were 13 adults. It was a sweet time of worship as the pastor tried to translate everything into English for us, including the hymns. Elise has said that this is not the norm on the Race and usually they are pretty clueless during church services. (((It was a relief and a blessing, to say the least!)))
Monday, we went to Craiova, a small city with a university that is about an hour away from Draganesti-Olt. After getting lunch there, we split out into small groups of 3-4 to distribute Bibles. Each group had their translator with them. We talked to people in a park then canvased a neighborhood, leaving a New Testament at each house. Inside the Bible was a testimony and a phone number that they could call to learn more. Raul has a vision of making sure there is a Bible in every home in Craiova. In the Orthodox tradition, only the priest reads and interprets the Bible. This was at least two steps outside of my comfort zone if not a good little leap outside of it. It stretched me but was still very doable. People opened up, and we did see fruit! (((Honestly, she killed it! I saw her get uncomfortable and then take the leap! It was so cool!)))
That evening, we had a sweet time when each Racer gave their parent(s) a listening prayer. They had decided as a group to individually spend a quiet time asking God what He wanted their parents to know. Many tears were shed by all involved. Abby’s dad had brought Holy Water from home with the intention of washing his own daughter’s feet with it, but he felt called to open it to all parents. We ended the night with each parent washing the feet of their Racer. (((These events and the events of every night are planned by the Racers. It will change on what they feel like parents will be comfortable with but also what they feel like God wants them to do. We spent a good amount of time in prayer deciding how to bless our parents. We simply chose to pray for our parents and then tell them what we got.)))
Our last day in Draganesti was spent doing a mini-VBS for roughly 120 children from the area. It was fun playing with the kids and seeing even the teens laughing and enjoying the games. Several of the games involved water -which felt very good on a hot, sunny day!
We spent this morning on a bus back to Bucharest and then enjoyed the afternoon and evening exploring Old Town Bucharest with one of Elise’s squadmates, Leslie Burge, and her mom, Melita. As I sit now, I am in a hotel room in Bucharest dreading that in about 12 hours I will have to say goodbye to Elise for another two months. PVT has given me at least of glimpse of what she has been doing for the last nine months and time to talk to her without dealing with the idiosyncrasies of the Internet. She is happy and healthy and surrounded by her squadmates who are all on fire for the Lord. I’ve made it through about 270 days of the race. What’s 60 more?
In Christ,
Susan Swepston
