Romania! Last month my squad and I were in Draganesti- Olt, Romania. It was a hard month for me. Partly because it was month 10 and the reality of going home was becoming imminent, and partly because it was difficult building relationships with the locals.
We lived in the Mission House, which is surrounded by large mansions, gypsy homes. There are a lot of gypsies in the town and some of them were not happy we were there. They would yell at us and call us derogatory names to intimidate us.The mansions are all for show. We were told they build huge homes and live in one of the rooms. It is all about appearances. When the children living at the homes would see the “Americans” walking by they would beg for money. Still, most of the people were excited to see us and talk to us. The older generation credit us for saving them from communism and their violent history. Though many of them still claim their government to be a type of communism or Neo communism.
After standing out in Asia and Africa I thought I would be able to blend in more in Eastern Europe. I found out after Transnistria and Romania that this is not the case. When I ask locals why this is they say it is the way we walk and look.
Some of the time in Romania I felt like I went back in time. Poor people ride around in a horse in wagon, some poorer still ride around in a mule in cart. Most people in the community claim to be Christians and go to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is a religion based on fear, where having a relationship with Christ is not talked about. The priest has all the power and they control the people through fear. There is a dark spiritual atmosphere in the area, which a lot of us felt. The pastor we worked with greatly encouraged us to pray as it being our strongest tool towards touching the lives in the area.
My squad worked with Hope Church, a local Baptist church. The pastor is very intentional about reaching and serving his community. He is also passionate about raising up people to serve in the surrounding community. My team worked with 9,000 Souls. There mission is to reach the whole community for Christ.
In the morning I taught english to an older gentleman named Sorin. I really enjoyed teaching him because he has a great passion to learn English. He has a desire to be a missionary to India in the state of Punjab. He enjoyed telling me the great history of Romania and I enjoyed listening to him. After teaching I would join the rest of the squad in a pray meeting. In the afternoon, I would work with the 9,000 Souls team: evangelising, preparing for Awana, inviting children to Awana’s and on Saturdays doing Awana’s with the children in the town. Awana was my favourite part of the week. There were four teams competing and I was the leader of the blue team. The kids doing Awanas were between the ages of 8-15. I had a blast with the kids!
1) The town we stayed in. 2) My team and the 9,000 Souls team. 3) Sorin the man I taught English to every morning. 4) The room we stayed in for the month. It got so hot sometimes that we had to buy a fan for our windowless room. 5) The two boys I raised up to be the leaders of the Blue team. 6) The 9,000 Souls team took us on a wagon ride, which turned out to be quite an adventure. The wagon broke while we were way out of town and it poured on us. Still, it is one of my favourite memories of Romania. 7) On our off days we went to Transylvania! My favourite book is Dracula, so I was enraptured to see the Carpathian Mountains, the Black Sea and Dracula’s Castle.
This month I am in Lezhe, Albania. Working at Light Force Christian Camp. I am with my squad again. So far it has been a really good month full of unwinding and spending quality time with my squad mates before we all say goodbye and go home!
