“It’s killing me to see another month fly by. Man’s days really are “like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” (Psalm 144:4). 11 months might seem long, but it currently feels like God is rushing to get me somewhere FAST.”
This is the way my old Team Leader, Connie, described her thoughts on the end of last month, in her latest blog about our time in Romania. I feel the exact same way. Sometimes the months and days whizz by. So many things happen in a given day, and you feel God’s presence in all of these things. Sometimes it can be confusing and hard to sort out, but like Connie, the thing I am VERY clear of is that God is trying to get me somewhere fast. And THAT is exciting.
Here’s a collection of memories and thoughts from our time in Romania, broken up into 2 parts…
We did ministry in the small town of Sistaravat, and so for the second month in a row (last month: Grigorauca, Moldova), we lived in a small village. We partnered with a 24-year Scottish missionary named Callum, who took a leap of faith and moved to Romania when he was just 22. Since the age of 16, he visited here every summer to work at a summer camp called Friendship Camp (part of Friendship International). He started coming more and more until he decided to move here permanently. It was inspiring to get to know someone that young on the mission field full time.
God is using Callum all over the village, and surrounding towns and cities, and for one month, we were able to join him in that work. In a throwback to Moldova, we had the chance to shuck corn again, and learn even new ways of doing it. Who knew there were so many ways to shuck corn? There was one day this month where we shucked corn for 12 hours! Other days, we encouraged local missionaries in different cities, by helping repair their houses, harvest walnuts, paint fences, move firewood, or work in their gardens. Three American missionaries live about one hour away from our village, and it was fun and encouraging to hear their stories and pour into them while we could. We also helped Callum start construction on his house. Since he moved to Romania, he has been living in a trailer on his land, waiting on permits to build. He finally received them after more than a year of waiting, and our team helped lay part of the foundation for his home. His neighbors were around all of the time, so we were able to love on them often. The corn we shucked was theirs. Despite not speaking the language, we developed real friendships with Gitza, his wife Felicia (Baba Feli), and her mom Baba Dora. With a small amount of Romanian we learned, lots of hand gestures, and Callum occasionally as a translator, we learned their stories and loved them.
