This past month spent in Romania was probably one of my
favorites thus far. It was a
wonderful time of community and relationship building as well as lots of fun
and silliness. We spent our month
living in a large house in Bucharest with two other teams: Citizens of Hope and
Ridiculous. The ministry we
partnered with is called Casa Shalom and is run by a lovely American woman
named Becky Walsh. It was formerly
an orphanage, but was closed down because the Romanian government recently outlawed
orphanages in the country. The
ministry is still running however, only it looks different now than in the
past. Becky does a lot different
types of work within the community including visiting gypsy villages,
collecting and donating clothes to the poor, and volunteering at a home for
mentally disabled women. We were
able to get involved with these particular ministries during the month.
A huge perk to staying at Casa Shalom was that there was a
massive barn full of donated clothes, some of which were a little… unique. We took advantage of this barn and
played dress up all month long. We
had photo-shoots, made music videos, and even had an ugly-sweater/Christmas-in-September
party during our free time. It was
a blast and we had countless laughs throughout the month.
[Kendall, Hope, & I at Jubilee – a home for mentally disabled women]
We also had the opportunity to come up with a new team name:
Unshakeable. We decided to
go with the superhero theme and dressed up in crazy costumes. It was great fun, and there is a video
below to prove it! J
I think the month of September was a month of blessings for
me. There were hot showers,
comfortable beds, wi-fi, good food, and even adorable puppies to play with at
Casa Shalom. It was amazing and I
know it will be remembered as a great month on the Race for me.
[Glenalyn, me, Kerry, Michelle, and Fluffy, one of Casa Shalom’s furry friends]
****Sidenote: I still
need about $900 to finish the Race.
Can you help? If so, click
“Support Me” on the left side of this page! Thanks!! J*****
