Full Circle Chocolate Ice Cream
Today, after I went to a nearby village to reach out to gypsies and their families, I walked down the street to our village’s church to help paint it yellow with three locals. Afterwards, I continued down the street to a small grocery store where I met up with one of my favorite girls of the neighborhood. She was in line, waiting to pick up bread for her family’s dinner. We smiled and hugged in greeting and I eyed the ice cream freezer and made my way on over to it. Sophia followed me and I offered to buy her a cone. I picked out chocolate and she picked out a strawberry one.
Now, I don’t usually eat ice cream or anything too sweet, but I was smiling as we made our way to her mother’s home, bread and ice cream in hand. We made our way to the house, which was blue and dilapidated. We found her mother cooking over a fire in the backyard and her younger sister doing cartwheels a few feet away. I was introduced to the whole family with smiles and hugs as well as an envious look at our ice cream cones from the younger sister, Angelina. I gave my cone to Angelina and she hugged me with joy in her eyes. We all attempted to talk (they do not know English and I do not know Romanish) and I found myself petting a cat and then a dog before I excused myself to walk home for dinner. As I walked out the front gate, Sophia handed me a dozen walnuts as a gift in exchange for the ice cream.
After hugging the girls and mother good-bye, I was on my way home, but my favorite babushka was sitting (as usual) on her bench outside her orange home, watching the traffic, greeting passersby, and yelling at an occasional child. She smiled as I waved and beckoned me to sit next to her. I sat with a smile and received the usual greeting of a hug and two kisses. I handed her the 12 walnuts and she hugged me again. I was about to explain to her my day when a 6-year old girl walked past us. My babushka friend waved her over and the girl came with a smile. We greeted each other and she waited patiently as my babushka friend handed her 1 lei (about 33 cents) and instructed her to go to the store.
My babushka friend and I sat mostly in silence, watching cows in the hill before us, children playing in the street, and an occasional car rushing by. Within about 10 minutes, the little girl came back with a cup of chocolate ice cream and a plastic spoon reminiscent of spoons from my Grandmother’s previous TCBY© franchise. I was handed the ice cream and I could not help but laugh as my babushka friend and I split the ice cream. After we ate it, I said my good-bye and walked home with a huge smile on my face.
This is a silly story, but a story and an experience that would not be possible without the support of you. I live on $8 a day ($3 for food and $5 for housing) and I am grateful for every $1 donated in helping me be a missionary through the end of November. I have an up-coming deadline of $942 in order to keep me on the field and caring for babushkas, families, and children. Thank you in advance for partnering with me!
PICTURES TO COME SOON! 🙂
