Day 2- wow where to start?
We all slept fairly well except Terri who was in the tent and could hear every strange noise. She's moving indoors tonight! Breakfast was an array of corn flakes-ish, muesli, bread and jams. Church was in theory at 10am, but like everything here, it starts when everyone is ready. The church they are using collapsed 3 months ago so they are meeting outside. So on the day Bethany were meeting outdoors back home, we were getting in the mood in Padureni! A mixture of music, all accordions, prayers and a message from a visiting speaker who spoke from James and Philippians on evaluating our lives.
I introduced the team and brought greetings from Bethany. I asked Charlotte to give a short testimony and she did brilliantly, we all agreed. She then prayed for all the Romanian Christians. Is this really the same girl who gave her heart to the Lord on a normal Friday night at the Loft some 21 months ago? How could anyone have imagined that within two years she'd be in Eastern Europe actively praying for a group of Roma Gypsy Christians? We prayed for the pastor's brother Dorel who is needing a kidney transplant. Healthcare in Romania is dependent on bribes. He can't afford the bribe.
For lunch we had chorba, which resembled minestrone soup. Very tasty. Then bean paste with chorizo sausage. Not a crowd-pleaser. I managed 40 winks after lunch, which shows how tired I am. Not a good sign on day 2.
I went with Pastor Marian to visit with a young man called Nelo. He is 21 but maybe with the mind of a small child. I watched with horror as he walked barefoot through nettles and thistles, seemingly hardened to the stings, or just oblivious. It was hard to know. In the UK it would be a challenge to care for him, even with all the health care and social care support. Here he is hopeless. His mum Carmella and sister Liniza care for him. They are both believers. I told his mum many people in England would be praying for them.
We began to plan some sort of program for the week with Rafael, the OM worker here. Romania does not do structure so this will be hard for us to cope with. The team have created a phrase for the week, 'oh well, that's Romania!'- owtr for short. At 5:45 we discovered that there was another church service at 6pm. At 5:50 I was asked if I would preach! I gave a short word from Psalm 119 through an interpreter.
Thoughts and concerns from today.
1. Charlotte has been unable to drink much so far, saying it makes her gag. Gwynneth and I are encouraging her to take on fluids so she doesn't dehydrate. Not sure if she has understood how serious this is...
2. Gwynneth has had a number of bites which have swollen quite badly. Keeping an eye on her.
3. Gwynneth quite touched at how much we have, how much we take for granted, and also the crazy things we grumble about back home. Also Gwynneth and I spoke about what we could leave the church here as a gift from Bethany. Will wait on God as the week goes on... We know that whatever we leave won't be enough, the need is so great.
4. Terri feeling that she has had much more of a culture-shock than she'd expected. She has been fairly chilled by Terri's usual extreme standards and I've been proud of her as she has been very accepting of difficult circumstances. A real answer to prayer so far.
5. Rachel has settled well. We have found out that one of the young people here plays the clarinet and I think she will get the opportunity tomorrow to play in front of everyone.
6. Tom is thriving. Loving the kids and they love him, usually hanging off his arms. He loves the chaos and unpredictability of Romanian life.
7. How do we convey the reality of this back home? It's impossible. The heat, the smells, the language, the chaotic approach to life. When we visit the toilet, the hole in the ground in the garden, we hold our breath. Then on the way back to the house we try not to tread on the geese, hens and turkeys at our feet. I kid you not.
8. And finally, I ate rice for the first time in 35 years today. All bets are now off... anything really could happen. Owtr!
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