Frost-covered trees in Romania
I hope this blog finds you well after the Thanksgiving holiday. All of the leftovers have probably been eaten, you may have ventured in to get a good deal during the Black Friday sales and now you’re feeling the pressure to get all the Christmas decorations up. Meh, if they don’t all make it up this year, no big shake.
The temperature continues to drop here in Oradea, Romania and it continues to remind me of home. We haven’t had our first snowfall yet but the frost-covered trees sure make it feel like winter. The temperatures hover around 35 F each day and drop below freezing at night. It’s a far cry from balmy South America!
Our morning construction projects have been slowed due to the frozen ground and our ministry contact hasn’t directed us to other needs that we can meet during our stay here. Needless to say, it’s been a bit slower month than the previous 4. One can imagine that 4 months of living in transit wears on a person’s body, so a little more rest is welcomed. But then again, you’re talking about 50 busybodies who signed up served God all around the world and are easily restless.
So when we were given a ministry opportunity on Saturday (technically our “day off”), we were more than willing to serve.
We loaded into a bus-van vehicle and headed to the grocery store. A few members joined our contact in shopping for some food- 10 of each item, 10 bags total. We then headed to the city dump and piled out. The information we were told was that we would be distributing some food to needy families in the area. These were the folks that made a living by collecting aluminum and glass from the mountains of trash and sold it for a living. From their descriptions, it reminded me a lot of the garbage dump ministry in Peru. (http://emilybouche.theworldrace.org/?filename=junk-in-your-trunkuh-i-mean-backyard)
We gathered outside a family’s house and were told a bit more about their lives. Each day, family members make the trek over to the dump in search of recyclable material that they can resell. Needless to say, they don’t make much. Their homes have no running water and most are with out electricity. In the winter they heat their home with wood stoves; the man we met told us his 2-year-old son just went to the hospital because he fell onto the wood stove.
We were welcomed into their home to see the living conditions and encouraged to take pictures, though I felt odd snapping a picture.
We gave the family a food bag and they thanked us for coming. We continued on the trail and handed out the other 9 bags. At each home, we were greeted with smiles and thanks but that was the extent of our conversation. We couldn’t speak Romanian and they didn’t know English. So we smiled, hugged kids, shook hands, gave them a bag of food and continued on.
I must say, it’s quite a scene when 20+ Americans show up in the middle of nowhere and walk in a large pack. Imagine them showing up at your door…not quite a “normal” day.
It took about and hour and a half to distribute all the bags and head back to the van. We piled back in and were home within a half hour. Everyone headed in the kitchen to get something warm to drink and tried to warm up. My Wisconsin readers know what it’s like spend a few hours outside in 25 F weather- it’s cold!
Once we were thawed out, people began to process this “ministry opportunity.” Some were upset because they wanted to do more- they wanted to pray with the families, play with the kids, spend more time with them. We had just spent less than 2 hours in the cold and were freezing but this is where they live!
Some were thankful for the opportunity to meet a physical need. Some were deeply affected by the living conditions. Some were glad to get out of the house. Some wanted to go back. Some were frustrated because they felt they had so much more to offer these families but all they did was give them a bag of food, smile and walk away.
I listened to my teammates process. I processed myself. I realized we were exposed to a pre-existing ministry for about 2 hours time. We don’t know their names, their stories. We don’t know if we’ll return or if there is more we can do for these people during our remaining 2 weeks here. I trust that our ministry contact will continue a relationship with these families long after we’re gone (they distribute food bags at least once a month). But we did meet a physical need, even if it will only last for a few days. We brightened their day. We were forced to process poverty in the world.
The day was not wasted.
As I continued to ponder my thoughts as well as my teammates, I had a thought. Maybe I’m not suppose to pick apart this ministry, whether we could have done more or if we were giving handouts; We did as our contact asked, we have to trust his judgment.
But maybe I’m supposed to bring awareness to the situation. Maybe I’m the one that’s supposed to let you know that people halfway around the world live like this. How else would you know? I feel blessed to be the one to go, but I also feel responsible to let you know what I’m experiencing.
Maybe these pictures will stir something in you. Maybe it will continue the spirit of Thanksgiving as you decorate your home for Christmas. Maybe it will renew your awareness of how blessed you are. I don’t know, I’m just operating on a thought and this blog is a result.
(Warning: Parents may want to preview the pictures before showing kids, they may be disturbed by some of the images or bring up questions. You may be disturbed by some of the pictures, too.)
A typical home.
The backyard.
The kitchen.
One of many.
Home Sweet Winter Home.
Discarded treasure.
Welcome home.
