Something beautiful about Romania is its scenery, and the thing that caught my eye were the fields dotted with stunning red poppies.
I instantly wanted to take one and press one in my journal. But as we got closer and closer to our ministry site the poppies started to disappear, and there were none to be found. I had my eye out all month long, and I even told my team I was looking.
Then there was the day we went to the orphanage. There was a time that we went to the near by court to play soccer or run around, whatever was pleasing. And as we walked I saw it…a single red poppy hiding under an old wagon. I walked out into the field and picked it with so much excitement and enthusiasm.
I carried it back to where all the kids were and sat down with it as I chatted with some of the little boys.
Enter Jacob. He is a sweet kids, but has behavioral problems coming out his ears. He ended up trying to play with my hair and I asked him not to. From that point on I had made an enemy.
He gave me eyes that could be portrayed as daggers, told my to shut up and ran away from me. I didn’t fully understand what I had done and continued to try to pursue him, though that made him even madder.
Eventually he stole my poppy.
I told him it wasn’t kind to steal and asked him to give it back. But it was enough of a reaction to start to fill his craving for attention. He started to run around with it. We ended up getting it back, and my team knew how much I had been looking forward to that poppy. Kara decided to take it upon herself to keep it safe, but now it was a target.
As I was holding some other child as he slept, Kara came up to me with puppy eyes.
“Hannah, Im so sorry….your poppy…he just grabbed it and ripped all the pedals off.”
I was a little sad, but understood and figured I would find another in the next few days.
I didn’t. There were literally never to be found in a moment where I could pluck them from the ground. I would see them as we drove from point A to point B but never around where I was. I was looking intently.
But as we pulled out of our ministry site on our last day to go to the train station, I still didn’t have a poppy.
We rode on the train and out the window dozens of poppies passed with no ability to reach out and take them. I even considered jumping off at one of the stops to get one, but they were never present.
Finally we reached our destination, slightly bummed, though I knew it wasn’t the end of the world.
And as we exited the train car with a backpack on my front and my back…
There they were.
Dozens of poppies.
I was so thrilled I tried to bend down and pluck the most beautiful one…and all the pedals fell off as I pulled it from the ground. I let out a slight whimper. At this point the man from the church, who was to pick us up had arrived and introduced himself. Elise turned to him.
“Can you help her pick a poppy?” she looked at him and he stumbled over the strange request.
“Uh..sure, I guess” and I waddled over with all my gear on me and pointed to one.
He leaned over, picked it, and handed it to me.
I was so overjoyed.
I couldn’t stop smiling.
I had my poppy.
