From
Delhi, it took two speedy plane rides to arrive
to our next scheduled country- ROMANIA! From the airport it was about a three
hour bus ride to Brasov, our debrief location. Our squad spent an
amazing five days together; being serious with our squad leaders and coaches
during our team debriefs, but also getting to relax and enjoy the sights of
Eastern Europe- including Peles
Castle. As you have read about in my last blog, the only team change
on our squad consisted of moving me from team Thriven to team Dry Bones. The feeling was very bittersweet.
I was schmaltzy to be leaving my team after spending the last three months with
them, but enthusiastic to be with my good friend and team leader Joseph and
previous team members Amy and Ashli.
(Peles
Castle Visit)
We
left debrief and had a superb eight hour train ride straight east to the city
of Lugoj. We were picked up by our contact at the train station and were taken
to a ministry center 45 minutes outside of Lugoj. We spent the first two days
of ministry at the center, run by Precept Ministries International, loading and
unloading Bibles, painting fence boards, and befriending two brothers our age-
Sam and Florin. We were blessed to have gorgeous beds (we thought that they
were clouds at first), laundry service, food prepared for us, and WIFI! It was
incredible to say the least.
(Pictures
from Ministry Center)
So
after these two days we packed up all of our stuff again and headed back into
the city of Lugoj. We are now staying in the “attic” of a private
Christian school. They call it an attic, but it is what we call dormitories in
America. We have performed some more manual labor including window washing
inside the school. For church on Sunday we were active in the service; sharing
stories and lessons learned on the race, singing, and making friends. The
church we are attending is in the neighborhood of Mondial. This neighborhood is
dirt poor, nobody has any money. All of the believers at the church are very
new, so it was great to reach out and get to know them a bit.
(Activities
at Ministry Center)
We
will stay at the school and in Lugoj until February 18. For the remainder of
the time here we will be working at the church including painting, washing,
cleaning, and revamping the building. After February 18 we will be traveling to
Timisoara, where we will be handed off to another
contact. The work in Timisoara will include working with a new church and
inviting students on a college campus to come to the new church. Many of these
college students are unaware of the new church so we are raising more awareness
for the church. Timisoara is about a one hour drive from Lugoj.
(A) Bucharest
to (B) Brasov- 105 miles
Brasov to (C) Lugoj- 230 miles
Lugoj to (D) Timisoara- 40 miles
Just wanted to take the time to keep everyone in the loop with what is going on
in month seven. Our awesome contact, Randy, has been leading a Bible study for
us titled- “Lord, Heal our Hurts.” It has been
amazing and I have already learned a lot from it. The months that I have had a
contact pour into my team and I through Bible studies or worship times have
always been tremendous months and I look forward to what God has in store for
me in Romania with Dry Bones.
(Service on Sunday! Church still under construction!)
Ohhh
and happy International Mother’s Day!!. It was quite
a seen here in Lugoj. All the women were shown their appreciation with flowers
and/or chocolates much like our Mother’s Day or even Valentine’s Day. Miss you
Mom!
(Soooo
ummm that’s my mom and I if you didn’t know)
Stay tuned for more…
