After spending four restful and amazing days in Brasov, nestled in the mountains of Transylvania, Team Dry Bones loaded up and boarded a train bound for western Romania.
Eight hours later, we were greeted at the Lugoj train station by our contact Randy and host Emanuel. They drove us to our first location about 45 minutes away in Surduc. We served for two days at the International Precept Ministries Training Center there.
The first day we moved over 1, 600 boxes of Romanian Bibles from a storage room to a large outdoor storage container. In the midst of all the moving, we danced, sang, learned some Romanian phrases, and played with some lambs.
The following day, our task was to stain two pallets full of wood boards that would be used for a new fence at the facility. More singing, jokes, and great bonding time together as a team. That evening we packed up again and went to our main ministry site in Lugoj.
Our ministry in Lugoj has mostly consisted of manual labor. The poorest of the poor, the outcasts of this city, live in an area called Mondial. The Olariu family, along with Randy and his wife Tamara, are deeply involved in the church there. Over the past couple of years, the church has been meeting in a building that used to be a bar. More recently, they have moved their worship into an old communist community center. The community center was built in 1923 and has sat in shambles for many years. The people of Mondial have very little, so to have a place with running water, flushable toilets, heat, and the love of God and His people is a vital part of the ministry in Mondial.
Our task has been to help by cleaning up trash, debris, weeds, and whatever else we find that doesn't belong. The vision is to create a garden and children's play area in the backyard of the church. When we started, it was an overgrown mess with trash buried under the dirt and scattered brick remnants. Two days of labor and some sore arms and legs later, we have made great progress! We won't be here to see the end result, but it has been a blessing to be part of the process.
Often when I hear the term "manual labor" I cringe. Not because I'm afraid of hard work, but because I associate it with not making a big difference or leaving a lasting impact. This kind of work is never really done. There's always more that can be done or it will need to be done again in the near future. I would much rather build relationships or serve food, hand out clothing, and love people through their hurt.
But, the past week has changed my outlook on manual labor. Whether I am washing windows, picking up trash, pulling weeds, or prepping to paint, I am serving a need and contributing to the process. This is not a menial calling. It is meaningful to the people of Mondial, to the Olarius, and to the Nelsons.
We serve God by serving His people.
These jobs may seem lowly and insignificant, but…
