The past few weeks (majority of August), my squad and I have been working with a church in the Oltenia region of Romania called Hope Church. All 55 of us lived together in Draganesti, spread among a house, a yard, and a back house. With the 46 girls together in the house sharing 2 bathrooms, I think it’s the closest I’ve felt to being in a sorority. We call this experience all-squad month. Most months, we live with just our team of 5-7 people, so all-squad month is a special time to work, play, eat, and rest alongside other members of the squad.
Each team had unique ministry assignments, and my team was placed in the church office to be administrative support. We worked closely with the pastor, Raul Costea, and spent most of each day at the church on our computers. It was something none of us expected, but we filled a huge need for Raul. He is a true visionary, overseeing several outreaches locally, regionally, and throughout the Balkans, and caring for many missionaries who make these ministries happen. He is a busy man. On day 2, he told me “your job is to make me as less busy as possible.” Another ministry I helped in was teaching an advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) class for an hour a day. I loved this! I worked with ESL a little in college and when I studied abroad, but I forgot how great it is.
Daily life involved morning rituals/maybe a workout, an hour of worship/prayer/teachings in the morning, an hour teaching ESL, a “homeworks” session with Raul, lunch break, about 6 hours in the office, and then going back to the house. Oftentimes, the tasks from ministry involved squad communication, so at night the team would be zipping through the house tying up loose ends and giving people messages from Raul. It was weird at first to be in an “office” setting, but hanging around Raul ended up being such an honor. He pours into World Racers very intentionally, cares genuinely, and shares insight freely. He also likes to laugh and buy you coffee and pastries. Once, we said, “Raul, you don’t have to buy us this, we want to work for you anyway. Are you trying to buy our affection?” and he replied, “Of course! When people sit at laptops, you have to bring them these things.” He is also very straight-forward J
I didn’t love Dragonesti, to be honest. I felt vulnerable (but not unsafe) in our community and a little trapped because of the safety restrictions on where we could wander. But when I got over myself and my occasional jealousy at the teams who spent their days out in the villages instead of at a laptop, the Lord helped me realize what a huge blessing our ministry was, both to us and to the church. I’m proud of the effort I gave to it, and grateful for what I learned in the process. Raul and his wife will remain a huge part of my Romania-month story, and I am taking some of his catchphrases on to Africa with me (namely, “goody goody” and “kaput”).
Some other highlights from Romania month:
- Our first week working with Hope Church, we traveled with them to Greece to assist their international outreach. YAY! I was completely at peace in Thesaloniki, though my heart broke over the discrepancy between the church I read about in Thessalonians and the predominant church there now. But Christians in Greece are coming together and we are expectant and hopeful for what will change there in coming years.
- One free day during Romania, Raul and his family offered to take us to a thermal springs in the Carpacian mountains a few hours north of Draganesti. It was a wonderful day with friends and nature, and I basically felt like I was a visitor on the Costea family vacation—something no one should ever pass up. Lots of laughing, bouncing, and singing in that van.
- The other free day during Romania, I received the best gift Romania could have offered: my dear friend Emily drove to spend the day with me! Even though I was working on some logistics of travel day and packing, it was a perfect day. Her long-distance (for now), life-long friendship is one I cherish.
Thank you Lord for the work done in Romania! Thank you Raul, for challenging me to think Biblically and work my hardest. Thank you to my squad for fun times and good food at the house. And thank YOU for reading about this journey!
Onward to Africa!
