It’s October and for the first time in nine months, instead of sweating under the sun I am bundled in two layers of black tights, a long sleeve shirt, a giant cozy off-white sweater and a knit olive green scarf. Instead of wearing the $3 sandals I got from India, I’m wearing black knee high boots. The best part is, my entire winter closet was under $30 at the second hand stores in Moldova. We’ve finally made it to Eastern Europe and to the next season of our lives (literally).
My team, “It’s Always Sunny” lives deep in a village in northern Moldova where hardly anybody speaks English. We stay at a house next to the Catholic church which sits on top of a hill and our ministry is random.
My teammates begin to fit themselves into the small grey car that belongs to our contact, a Catholic Russian speaking priest we call Padre. Being one of the smaller women, I get to squeeze my way onto someone’s lap. Head ducked and hugging my teammates, Padre begins to drive us down the rocky dirt road to the main street. The rough dips bump our heads into the roof of the car but we’ve learned to laugh at these types of situations. Usually, we are unsure what we are doing or where we are going.
One day Padre took us to a Moldovan wedding at his church. After about two hours of a service we didn’t understand, we were called up to bless the couple. Apparently speaking in front of any crowd is a skill we’ve adapted on the race. Afterwards, our teammate Jess got a cue from Padre to dress in a Santa outfit she brought and hand out candy. Santa is now in all their wedding photos. I don’t understand it much either, it just happened.
Some days instead of driving us, he sends a babushka (grandma) to pick us up and take us to their fields. We may spend some days shucking corn for hours or hunting for mushrooms in a forest. On these days, the babushkas invite us into their lopsided, village homes at around two or three to serve us lunch. Usually there is an enormous pot of borsch, a loaf of braided bread, homemade grape or strawberry juice and much too much dessert for us to finish. They serve us on their finest plates and never let us sit on the ground (it makes us infertile).
By the middle of the month, we can look out into the fields from our home and know who lives where and what crops grow in different fields. Alison spends most of her afternoons catching the sunset on the front porch. I can always pick her for a good conversation about God, life, people and yes, men- a common topic of discussion when you’re on an all female team.
Occasionally, we are asked to join the children for mass. As we sit there clueless as to whats being said, flashbacks of my days in Catholic church arise but not enough to remember what is actually happening. Instead, we watch the children as they watch us curiously. They are bundled up with coats, knit hats, scarves, boots and have to waddle around.
We basically help out where we can. Some days are as normal as raking the church garden. But even on days like this we were able to jump onto the back of a horse carriage (something my team has seriously been wanting to do all month) and go for a spontaneous ride.
After ministry, some of us gather for insanity workouts or go for walks around the village.
At night, it is just the seven of us in our house. We all gather in the small kitchen because it is warm and to enjoy delicious meals usually cooked by Chefs Jessica and Hannah. We know mostly all there is to know about each other and have covered a multitude of topics since we’ve been together.
I don’t know if it’s the isolation with my teammates who have become my friends, the cheap clothes, the sunsets, the adventures, the babushkas, the food or the simplicity of life in the village but I know I want to take what I have in Moldova with me for the rest of my life; Saying yes to adventure and the unknown, serving and pouring out hospitality like the babushkas, living it accompanied by friends who aren’t just being nice but will challenge me to be better and giving each day’s story and dreams to God.
This journey is coming to an end- we return to America on December 6th! I’ll be home in New York on the 7th and I’m excited to be back and continue living an extraordinary story.
I’m extremely blessed and thankful to have received so much support this year. Unfortunately, I’m still short $1,423 to finish my fundraising. To donate, click the “support me” tab on the left! Any donations would be greatly greatly appreciated!
