A day in the life of a Transition missionary
6:15– We wake up and head down stairs to eat breakfast of cereal and yogurt and pack a lunch for myself and 2 teammates who have spent the night in the city. Also I spent ten minutes looking at my clothes trying to decide which clothes to pack for my night in the city. My considerations were: which clothes are clean, which ones kinda sorta match, and which ones make me look less like a homeless foreigner.
7:30– We leave the orphanage where we live to walk to the bus stop. The walk isn't long. The walk isn't hard. The walk is often bitterly cold.
7:45– We arrive at the bus stop and wait for a bus with enough room to fit us. For some bus drivers this means there must be seats open. For some bus drivers this means there is room to stand and barely shut the door.
8:25– We arrive at the Expo Center in Tiraspol to teach our first English class. This class is about 15 people, mostly women. Today we went over words related to traveling and the airport. Chelsey explained everything while Gabe and I acted out the scenes. After the lesson, we break into groups in order to practice these terms in conversation.
9:30– Short break for tea and coffee. This is where we eat and drink everything in sight because we are starving by this time and it has only been a couple of hours since breakfast.
10:30– The lesson ends and we sit down with the other team to have a joint team time. Most days we do team time separately but some days it is good to do it together.
(Picture by Shawna Moffatt)
11:30– We begin a 30 minute walk to a construction site where the girls shovel dirt until 3pm and the boys dig a trench until 5pm. In here, we are permitted to eat lunch but it is outside in the cold with a big rock as our table. We talk. We sing to our iPods. We wave at the Russian soldiers who often walk past. And, of course, we shovel dirt.
3:15– The girls begin our walk back to the Expo Center for our next class.
4:00– Our second English class of the day is with kids ages 10 to 15. Mostly we are here to converse and give them an opportunity to practice their English with native speakers. But, being exciting Americans, we sing g and play games as often as possible.
5:30– Our class is over and we have a short break. Lynsey and I run to the store in the freezing cold to buy something for breakfast the following morning not knowing if we will have other food to eat. In this time, I eat a quick snack of soup in a cup for dinner. Meal of champions right there.
6:00-We join together with the church for a night of worship. And they know how to worship. I love to dance while I sing and, at this church, most people were dancing with me. There was much praying and God's presence was tangible.
8:30– Lynsey and I make our way upstairs to prepare for our final class of the day. I was hoping to read my Bible in this half hour break but it did not happen. it is not unusual for me to open my Bible and only manage 5 minutes or so of reading. There is very little available time for personal time.
9:00– Our final class starts and we sit in group and ask questions. They ask many questions about America and when Vitali asked me why I wasn't married, I told them that there was something wrong with me. Sometimes the shocking answer ends the uncomfortable questions. Then I asked, if he is so wise to tell me the secrets of the universe. The rest of the night was enjoyable and we finished at 11pm.
11:00– We began our walk with the pastor's son to his house where we would be sleeping that night.
11:04– I decide it is too cold to walk and I would pay for a cab for us. The cost was 16 Rubles or less than $1.50. It was well worth the small cost. I am constantly reminded of how much I hate the cold.
11:15– We arrive at Pastor Yurii's house where he offers to feed us a late dinner. The meal was a small salad with a squash dish and mashed potatoes. Also, there was banana bread and apple crisp with pomegranate tea. We enjoyed getting to know everyone a little better and learning about Yurii and his ministry. He is a fascinating man.
1:15am– We are taken to our room and I choose to take a quick shower.
1:45– Lynsey is fast asleep and I crawl into bed to fall asleep quickly. The room was warm and the bed was gloriously comfortable. It was blessing to have an easy sleep after such a long time. God constantly gives us little gifts like this to show that he loves us.
This is just one day and the next was just as busy. We awoke at 7am and didn't return home until after 8pm. The days are long but I wouldn't trade any of it. Our days are full of joy and laughter. Transnitrians are a people that love to make jokes and laugh. They are eager to learn English and learn about you. They are full of love and life.
When I look around me, I see uninspired, concrete buildings and I rarely see the sun. It is very cold and I don't have a winter coat. When I wore flip flops to church one Sunday, the young women tried to give me their shoes and the old women tisked tisked as I walked by. We are told women should not sit on the cold floor because our eggs will freeze. The grocery store has a limited supply and Russian is a difficult language. and we've been informed that tonight we will eat placenta. Despite all of these things, I love Transnitria. I love these people. I love listening to Russian that I do not understand. I love attending this church with it's loud and passionate preacher, it's dancing people and willing translators. God has given me an intense love for Transnitria- the country that last month I had never heard of and, if you check a map, you will only find Moldova.
(Picture by Amy Weis)
