1. Brasov. This is only first because it was the city we started in and my first impression of Romania. I loved it! The morning that we arrived in Brasov we were tired from our overnight bus, heartbroken over our Moldovan goodbyes, and a little unsure about navigating our way to the squad debrief in this new country. We wandered through the chilly morning into the center of the city, down cobblestone streets, past lovely old buildings. And then we turns a corner and through the autumn most we could see the Brasov sign atop the green mountain. I was sold. The city felt just like what I expected Europe to be, and it was lovely to experience that before moving into to Asia.
2. River of Life. This ministry was the first we connected with for our Unsung Heroes month. It’s a care home for mothers and children who have no where else to go. We stayed with them for a week and loved every minute of it. First of all, Doug and Roberta, the missionary couple that runs the home, were amazing. They welcomed us so warmly and it was awesome to start our month off hearing their incredibly testimonies and seeing the wonderful work God is currently doing through them. And then there were all the kids! Despite the language barrier we had a ton of fun with them, running around the yard, painting each other’s faces, and goofing around at the swing set. And we fell in love with their moms. These women were so precious, it was such a gift to be able to meet them, hear their stories, and encourage them. I’m so glad that there is a place like River of Life for them to go to. As an added bonus, we were blessed and refreshed by the team of Americans that were also there working on finishing construction on a home for abandoned children. In the end we left feeling filled up with love and eager to go share it with whatever ministry or people God would put in our path next.
3. Paul and Becky. If the only thing I did in Romania was meet this amazing couple, it would have been worth the trip. Paul and Becky blessed me and my team so incredibly much that I don’t think I can fully communicate it. We first connected with them because they are related to Erica’s pastor. We were a little surprised at how much they were willing to do for us before even meeting us: they agreed to have us stay with then for a week and started talking to pastors and ministries in the area that we could partner with. When we arrived in Oradea we were surprised to find that they were our age and only married 6 months! What kind of a newly wed still-in-college couple invites seven strangers from another country into their home for a week? A really special one. They were so eager to bless us and be a part of our ministry. they connected us with so many pastors and ministries, and whenever possible they enthusiastically came along with us to serve. During our week, which turned into almost two weeks, as their guests we hung out with them, worshipped and prayed with them, ate delicious Romania food with them, and rWally truly rested and enjoyed ourselves. After a rough first half of the month, my time with Becky and Paul was the refreshment I needed and had been praying for. I feel I have gained life long friends in them and I am so thankful that God brought me here to bless them and be blessed.
4. Emmanuel University. The only baptist university in not only Romania but actually all of Eastern Europe, this is Paul’s college! He invited us to come for a visit one day. First we got to sit in on presidential candidate (now recently elected president!) Victor Ponta giving a speech to the student body. Then a representative of the school, Carmen, and her colleague Chip, gave us a warm welcome and a tour of the campus. It was very cool to be treated as honored guests and see what Christian education looks like in another part of the world. In the U.S. studying at a Bible college is not unheard of or spectacular, but here our brothers and sisters in Christ remember a time when the school was a secret underground organization under communism. Professors and students alike took their freedom and even their lives in their hands by choosing to attend. I thankful for the freedom they now enjoy and the opportunity to appreciate it with them.
5. C3 church. The beginning of the month was hard for me. We began Romania by gathering together as a whole squad and having a debrief. During that long weekend I experienced a pretty intense spiritual attack that in one way or another affected the rest of my month. The most difficult time was during that first weekend though. I felt overwhelmed with questions, doubts, and negative feelings. About my faith, my God, and my current mission. After several days of draining internal battle, I felt some relief coupled with exhaustion. At that time I had the opportunity to attend a prayer service at a local church, C3. It was just the refreshment I needed. Of all the churches I’ve attended since being on the Race, this one reminded me the most of my home church, EBC. After a month of attending a particularly different church (and the two months before basically having no church) I was so blessed to be able to worship in a familiar way. The pastor and his wife went to college in the US and the wife graciously translated everything for us. Afterwards we got to hear the couple’s story of God’s hand in their lives and their calling to Romania. It was all precious to me, a memorable gift from God.
6. Praying for the Homeless. My teammates and I spent most of our time in Romania in cities and one thing we saw a lot of was homelessness. It was so discouraging to know that giving money would likely only perpetuate the problem. One night we went out with Becky with the purpose of finding some of the people we had passed earlier and blessing them. We talked, prayed, and gave away food. In the pursuit of blessing others I was so blessed myself. Talking with a mom who was looking through a dumpster and got to play with her young son. We befriended one man named George who was very confused but so sweet. Some of the team sat with and prayed over a women with a terrible, disfiguring skin disease. Later I got to encourage and pray for a young frustrated mother and her crying baby. It was the little things that we could do and the reactions from these hurting people we saw each day that encouraged us that no one is hopeless and outside the healing touch of the love of Christ.
7. Visiting the Roma Village. While we were staying with Becky and Paul we had this awesome opportunity to visit a Roma village near Oradea. Roma is another, less offensive, word for gypsy. These people were colorful, down to earth, and so welcoming. First thing we did was meet the pastor of the local church and hear his awesome story about how God has revealed Himself to him. Then we went through the village, visiting homes and looking for ways we could bless (Becky’s idea!) At one home we weeded a garden, at another we cut and stacked wood, we even traveled by horse and wagon out of town to collect fine clay from a pit in the woods. And I got to steer the horse on the way home! Back at the church we played with the kids who gather there every afternoon for children’s programs. It was all in all such a precious time of laughing and showing love to a rejected peoples.
8. Benny and Christina. Becky’s aunt and uncle housed two of my teammates so that we wouldn’t be too crowded at Becky and Paul’s. We ended up staying for longer than we had originally thought and they were more than happy to accommodate us. That alone blew me away- the hospitality toward us, basically strangers, was so uplifting. One night we all got to have dinner together and my heart was so blessed by their generosity and fellowship. Benny is a doctor who works with terminally ill cancer patients. He loves The Lord and follows His leading in sharing the gospel at work. Christina even made us a cake topped with scripture verse. We shared stories of God’s faithfulness and sang hymns in their living room. It was like being with family whenever we were with them.
9. Learning to Give. Every time we have to pack up and move on to a new place, we “drop” stuff. Our packs are too heavy, there’s no space, and some things are just too practical to haul to yet another place. In every country we’ve been to we have left behind the things that we no longer wanted. This month, however, I started giving away things I actually wanted to keep. A necklace, a scarf, a tent. To a single mom, a Roma girl on a cold night, a youth ministry. It felt so good to give. And I saw it in my teammates too! Ima brag on Amber real quick: she bought this hilarious and amazing sweater in Moldova. Loved every second of wearing it. It’s so bulky that she thought about dropping it to save space but she liked it too much. So she was planning on mailing it home. Until we saw George on out way out of Oradea, shivering in the cold. Without a second thought she whipped her sweater out and handed it to him. I loved how this just became a part of who we were as a team and I want to remain a part of who I am, for the rest of the race and beyond.
10. Connecting with strangers. From taxi drivers to others staying in our hostel, we had some really good conversations and unexpected good times with people we just happened to run into. No matter how the conversations started, eventually we’d get around the to topic of faith. Oftentimes it was just because they wanted to know where we were going and what we were doing. It was awesome to get to share, answer questions, and ask some ourselves without having to drag anyone into the exchange. We talked to our friendly taxi driver about what the Bible says about Jesus and the church, and later we discussed our convictions about marijuana with a dreadlock-doning French guy.
11. How much it reminded me of home. Of all the Eastern European countries we went to, Romania felt the most like the United States. We were more fast food restaurants, malls with pop music blaring, and English speakers than anywhere we’ve been so far. It was a more comfortable month, but that didn’t make it better. In a lot of ways that made it worse. There was so much temptation to spend money on things I didn’t need… I was left wondering how I live in America in the first place. I felt surrounded by the things of the world and at times really struggled to resist its wooing. More than in all the previous three months combined I questioned my path, my identity, and my faith. God got me through and I have been enjoying a special closeness with Him this month, but I am still effected. I feel like Romania was a reminder of what I am returning to after this trip. The spiritual attacks are different in developed Western countries but they are powerful. On the other hand, I was pushed to fervently pursue ministries that I could also pursue in the United States. It was exciting and in a way left me eager to get home and be a part of outreach to the homeless, single moms, kids from bad neighborhoods, and even the taxi driver. Turns out there’s more to that guy than just the back of his neck! Who woulda thought. And Jesus loves him deeply.
