After
9 months of traveling, McDonald’s has become a delicacy. You would think that
our team was at some 5-star restaurant the first day that we saw it in Targu
Mures. And since our ministry is in town, it has also become the most common
place for us to take our lunch break (hey its warm inside and it is freezing in
the park where we usually make our PB&J sandwiches.)
A
few days ago in McDonald’s, we had a little surprise. As usual, our group was
probably the loudest and taking up several tables. A couple walked by and heard
us speaking English and immediately stopped to talk to us. Turns out they are a
couple from Texas who are living out here in Targu Mures for 2 years, working
at an orphanage.
Now,
I don’t think I can fully convey to you the excitement we feel when we meet
people who speak English. After months of translators and playing gesturing
games trying to figure out what people are telling you (or yelling at you), we
tend to get super excited when someone speaks English. But this couple, (Jenny
and Jeff) don’t just speak English, they are AMERICANS. We went nuts. You would
think we had just found our long lost relatives in McDonald’s. And they have a
precious 2 year old boy, and I don’t think we have seen any American kids since
New Zealand.
So
tonight, they invited us over to there house for dessert and coffee. It
definitely makes the list for one of the best nights on the race. Talking with
them about their ministry and their experiences was super encouraging, and
other than Racers, they are the first people I have met in a while who can
actually relate to things that we have seen and experienced.
This
month was not one of the easiest ministry months. It involved a lot of passing
out fliers and attempting to communicate with people without a translator. I
think God knew that we were all needing a little bit of encouragement, and
arranged for us to be at McDonald’s at the same time.
When we got to Targu Mures, I decided I loved McDonald’s,
now it might be one of my favorite places in this entire city.
