Reflecting back on my time here in Romania has been a rollercoaster of emotions. My squad has been incredibly blessed this first month of ministry. We are partnered here with Hope Church, which is a Baptist church eager to reach out to the lost, orthodox community. We are staying at the church's local mission house, where we have a large kitchen, two bathrooms, free wifi, hot water, a washer and dryer, a big backyard, and access to a supermarket for meals. God has really taken care of us this first month.
As this is not a usual month on the World Race, I can see why God has us here.
Allow me to paint the picture for you.
The town we live in is very small, and is surrounded by open fields, and other villages. There are three groups of people here. The gypsy people who are looked down on, bullied, mocked, and considered trash because of their low economical status. The Orthodox who are basically the normal, everyday Romanian people who attend the Orthodox church. And the Christians who are looked down upon, because they don't follow the Orthodox traditions.
The streets here are filthy. They are covered in garbage, and street animals. Everyone who owns a home, is pretty self sufficient, and has their own garden, water, livestock, etc. Some of the families here even have their own beehives. Hardly any of the locals speak English except for basic hello's, etc.
Now, despite the differences between the three groups of people, they are all so friendly and intentional. It's not everyday that a group of Americans walk down the street, so everyday we do, everybody stops to say hello to us, hug us, or shake our hands. The gypsy people are not use to being recognized, so whenever we acknowledge them, their hearts really open up, and their beautiful smiles shine.
I've had two amazing opportunities to pour into both groups.
Florine is an eight year old gypsy boy who roams the streets begging for his family. He attends an Orthodox church, but because he is a part of a gypsy family, he is very much looked down upon. I run into him everyday in the streets, and despite the language barrier, we've learned to communicate and learn each other's names. It started off with him asking for one of my bracelets, and for food, and blossomed quickly. One night we were doing street evangelism and I was super surprised when a little kid in the distance started running towards me to give m a hug. It was Florine. We are able to give him a version of the New Testament after finding out that he had never heard anything about Jesus. Although he can't read for himself, he promised to get his father to read the first bit of Matthew to him, in return for a Coke. I'm extremely excited to see what God chooses to do in this situation. Evangelizing has been a bit of a downer, but, I'm often reminded of the seeds God is planting into these people, and how it's by His grace, that men are changed, and not by my actions.
Stefan is the second boy I've been able to pour into. He secretly attends Hope Church to learn guitar from a tutor there. His family is Orthodox, and doesn't know that he comes to our church. I've been blessed with time to hang out with him, teach him guitar, get to know him better, and he's blessed me by showing me around town. I love this kid. His English is incredible, and the joy he possesses blows my mind. We have a secret hand-shake, and share some similar hobbies. He's only 12 years old, but he is filled with so much love. He comes from a rather well-off family, but he is still in so much need. He's looking for hope, and is so interested in what the Lord has to offer him. I'm so excited to spend the next few weeks spending time with him, and getting to know him better.
As we just received news of our next month's adventures, our time here is sadly ending. I'm super stoked for next month, and to explore Moldova, but, I'm extremely sad to leave this place. I've read that this was the hardest part of the Race, but I never thought it would directly effect me this much.
