I first must apologize for how much time I have allowed to
go in between my blog updates. I often find myself too tired and exhausted to
type out my thoughts in a form that would make sense for others to read. Here
we go, I will give you a brief review of what we have been doing this past week
or so…
On Tuesday, June 18th we traveled about 2 hours away by van
to a village near the town of Corabia. Unfortunately we were unable to stay for
ministry because not much prep work had been done(where we could set up, etc…)
Our schedule for the remainder of the week was flexible so we decided to return
on Friday and Saturday evenings instead. Before making the 2 hour drive home we
stopped to see the Danube River. We can now say we have seen Bulgaria from afar
and the Danube River at flood stage!
Wednesday, June 19th was a ‘Free Day’ so we
didn’t do much of anything in the morning, but headed to the mall and local
swimming pool in the afternoon. We concluded our day with dinner at KFC and a
visit to the city center.
On Thursday, June 20th we traveled to the village
of Perieti for ministry. There is a Baptist church in this village so there
were many children and adults present for our activities and the film. We were
encouraged by several good conversations that took place throughout the
evening.
Ministry on Friday, June 21st took us back to the
village near Corabia. When we arrived there weren’t any children waiting for us
so we started walking the busy village road to invite people to join us in the
park. When we returned to the park there were only two children there; this is
very unusual. As time passed a few more children joined us. We kept the
activities low key and enjoyed a little bit of hang out time with the children.
At one point in the evening an intoxicated man approached his young daughter
and began yelling at her. After translation…I guess he was upset that she
allowed us to paint her face. It was a very heart breaking situation because
the little girl ran away crying and we feared how the father may act toward his
daughter once home. The entire evening I could feel the hurt and darkness in
this village.
When we returned to the same village near Corabia on
Saturday, June 22nd there were several children waiting for us in the
park when we arrived! Our local connection also brought our attention to the
fact that the Orthodox Priest was in town. We gathered together as a team and
prayed for God to move in this village. When we gathered with the children and
started playing games with them we could hear the Orthodox Church bells ringing
and the priest beginning a service. Not long into our first game a couple of police
officers approached us…after translation and several minutes… they wanted to
know if we had permission to be in the park doing activities with the children.
Our Romanian teammates assured them that we did. While the officers made a
phone call to the mayor we quickly shared the wordless book story with the
children as we were sensing possible trouble. Sure enough the mayor showed up
yelling and screaming demanding that we must leave because we never had
permission to be there. Unfortunately this yelling and screaming took place
directly in front of the children. We were heartbroken however we felt it was
best that we pack up and leave.
Following church in the morning on Sunday, June 23rd
we packed into the van and drove the 4+ hour drive to the city of Deva. When we
arrived in Deva we gathered together with a few others and headed over to an
area of town for an evening of ministry. We were greeted by many, many,
children with beautiful smiling faces. After a few songs and face painting we
began playing a few games. Unfortunately,… after translation… a child got hurt
by another child which resulted in a very large physical fight amongst the
parents. We thought maybe things would calm down after a few minutes….but that
didn’t appear to be the case so it was decided for our safety that we needed to
leave. We were feeling a bit defeated now with two consecutive nights of failed
ministry…
On Monday, June 24th we began our day with a team
meeting over breakfast at McDonalds and a recharged attitude ready for ministry
in the village of Certej that night. During the day were took time to enjoy the
city of Deva and recharge ourselves. *Special note: you are never too old to
take a nap with your best friends and giggle like 7 year old girls at a slumber
party while trying to fall asleep =)
Tuesday, June 25th consisted of us taking a
little side trip to the town of Alba. We were able to see many beautiful historical
places and enjoy the company of friends.
Can you tell I get tired of writing by the end of these
posts??? Tuesday really was a very fun filled day I just can’t come up with
more than two sentences right now. =)
Wednesday was a travel day and for the rest of this week… we
will be in villages for ministry. Please pray for our core team of young people
who organize and lead our evenings of ministry. We desire to be strengthened
together spiritually and are working hard to make this desire a reality through
our faithfulness to Bible study and prayer together on a daily basis.
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