Is it September already? I’m disappointed my time in Europe is over. Well, for now at least. Here’s a few pictures from our early travel and adventure days. We drove from Draganesti-Olt to Transylvania. Visiting the oldest cathedral in Romania, beautiful caves and castles. The land of sunflower seeds, castles and vampires did not disappoint.
Our main ministry, Hope Church, was a short 10 minute walk from our house. Where each team served the community in a different way. August was C Squad’s third all-squad month together. Romania looked different for our squad as all 28 young adults lived together under one roof.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been unsure of how I wanted to describe my month in Romania (thankfully, having no wifi access gave me plenty of time to figure it out). Then I realized I could describe most of my month in one word. KIDS, and guess what? I loved it.
Honestly, serving kids for the first few months of the Race was difficult. Attempting to communicate with little knowledge of the language can often become frustrating. I’ve learned to sit back and let kids be kids. It’s never about what you offer them, it’s only about you spending time with them. Just like our relationship with Jesus.
For one week myself and three teammates cooked, served and babysat at a youth camp. I had a great opportunity to learn patience, humility and a few delicious Romanian dishes.
On Saturday afternoons we helped our hosts, Tavi and Nicoletta, teach Bible study with kids in the Maruntei community. We included games, coloring and snacks giving me plenty of time to practice the little Romanian I learned. One project I enjoyed in particular was administration. It was my job to take photos, edit and post them to the Hope for Maruntei Facebook page, website, blog and newsletter. I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed putting my computer and administration skills to use.
On a few occasions C squad walked the streets of local villages handing out New Testament Bibles. About an hour in I handed a Bible to a young man. As soon as he realized it was a Bible he dropped it and ran a few yards away saying it was cursed, that it was against his religion to touch a Christian Bible. We laughed together at first, later it broke my heart how superstitions still control Eastern Europeans. Some villagers didn’t accept a Bible while others welcomed us into their homes and fed us until we were filled to the brim with local cuisine.
Without a doubt, my favorite part of my month in Romania was cooking for PVT! Parent Vision Trip (PVT) is an opportunity for parents to visit racers for a few days and come alongside our ministry. I knew since April that my parents weren’t coming. With the busyness of the Race I never gave it a chance to bother me. Growing up I was taught to be independent and the Lord has been teaching me to be present where He’s put me. I knew even if I didn’t see my parents during PVT, I would see them in less than three months when I return home.
Which is why I was surprised at my reaction when parents arrived. I am usually a tough cookie, but I’m also extremely empathetic. When the bus full of parents pulled up to the church I saw many of my squad-mates begin crying. I held it together until parents embraced their racers with big ole bear hugs. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized, I wanted my parents there with me. I wanted to share with them all the beautiful things I was seeing and experiencing on the Race. I wanted a big ole bear hug!
Luckily, my server mode kicked in. I had signed up to cook and serve these parents and racers because I knew I could handle being around parents even when mine were absent. It was my job and luckily, I’m good at it (I ought to be after 5 years of practice). We cooked, served and cleaned up after three delicious Romanian courses. After years of working in the service industry I finally put my skills to a good use on the Race. Not only my skills of service but my skills of putting on a good face.
I don’t want to make it sound like I had a terrible time during PVT. I’m only saying (add baby voice here) I miss my mommy and daddy! It was a pleasure getting to know everyones parents and see where they get their personality quirks. All the parents made me feel loved. Bringing us “non-PVTer’s” multitudes of gifts from home and loving hugs. Even with the explosion of rice pudding and the long days cooking and cleaning, I had a blast! I had the pleasure of building relationships with Anna, the pastor’s wife, more family in the church and many parent’s.
I made lovely memories in Romania. I have many friends and family forever there. I hope to return to beautiful Romania one day.
