The Language of Love and Laughter

When I stepped off of the plane and into the airport in
Bucharest, I was met with a harsh reality: I was no longer in a country where
the people speak the same language as me. This fact became harder and harder to
deal with as my team and I got on a train to Moldova and tried to communicate
with the angry worker where we needed to sit. As he yelled in Russian, Kristin
and I wandered up and down the small hallway trying to find a place to go. I
was no longer going to be able to easily communicate with anyone.

For our two week stay in Ocnita, we were working with
children in the village each night.  We
taught them songs, told Bible stories, and for most of the time just played
games. They tried to teach us Russian, and laughed when we could not pronounce
the impossible combinations of consonants. Even though we didn’t speak the same
language, we could laugh.

In the beginning, it was easy for us to feel like we were
not doing enough. With a lack of supplies, our games were so elementary, and
without speaking their language my team began to wonder if we were making any
sort of impact on their lives. In America we have been trained to think that
everything needs to be a production. In order for a Vacation Bible School to be
successful there must be a theme, with matching songs and skits, and lots of
decoration. Compared to the children’s programs in the States, ours were
nothing. However, we learned that none of that is necessary. We could not worry
if our games were fun or if the songs were understood, we just needed to show
up and love these kids until it broke our hearts.

When the children arrived at the church, we had no idea what
kind of homes they came from. Through our contacts, we knew some of them had
violent homes or absent, alcoholic parents. The fact that these kids would
simply show up to be with people who did not even speak their language, or
anything close, shows that they desperately wanted to be loved. As I looked
back on my past, all the Vacation Bible Schools, Youth Group, and Young Life
meetings I seldom remember the games we played, songs we sang, or lessons that
were taught. I do, however, remember the leaders and teachers that sacrificed
their time to be there, the people that were available and went out of their
way to love me.