(I'll add pictures another day!!)
After 18 months of planning and fundraising, we finally made our way to Romania laden with guitars and electric power tools.
St Peter's has been linked with the small Maranatha church in Dragalina, Romania, since 2002 through EPIC (European Partners in Christ). This was our first visit, and we didn't really know what to expect. Our plan was to help convert some of the church building into accommodation to attract a pastor to lead the church. The current pastor, Virgil, travels 2 hours from Bucharest each Sunday to lead the church. This is hardly ideal, especially as the church is wanting to do a lot in the community with regards to feeding the poor. We also wanted to work with the children at the local school, but there was some perceived hostility towards us.
A group of 14 made the journey into the unknown, each taking different skills with them. We left behind members of our families to meet together each morning and pray for us.
When we arrived at Bucharest airport, we were greeted with roses by the Tradafir family (-Trandafir is Romanian for rose). We then eventually set off in our hired vehicles to the church, where we were met by some of the members for a shared meal. We then left wearily, but high-spirited, for the Hotel Select in Slobozia where we were to stay the next 7 nights.
Sunday we arose and prepared for our 3 hour morning service!!! We all agreed to meet beforehand for a photo which was where our first mistake was made. Everyone made it to the church on time... except for my Dad who waited patiently at the agreed photo-spot and ended up getting a taxi to church! Being the daughter, I naturally got the blame, but I'd decided he was big enough to take care of himself!
The service was amazing. None of the British group will look at prayer-time the same again!
After another shared lunch, we left for the church at Tudor Vladamirescu. As the weather was nice (-some may say "too hot"!), the service was held outside.
The real work started Monday morning when we were split into 3 teams: the men, the girls and the school greeters. (All the girls were involved in the school work once the 'ground rules' had been established). I was one of the girls, whose task it was to paint the garden fence. I soon got a name for staying in the shade. The others found this hard to understand as being in the shade meant being by the toilets. (Note - we're talking holes in the ground, not flush loos here!)
The men stood around for a little while getting things sorted before they started the hard manual work of mixing concrete, laying wooden floors, and moving the boiler.
The school greeters were astounded by the warm welcome received and had to call on us girls to make the most of this welcome! We had dances to watch, and lots of cakes and biscuits to eat! It became a joke, especially amongst the school group, that we only stopped eating to do some work. The hospitality we received was amazing! And we were always given English food, although we sampled a typical Romanian meal (or 3!) on the Thursday at the school.
The school is what you would expect in 1950's England and even incorporated stuffed animals in the lab! We observed a typical P.E. lesson which was like a drill. The work we did at the school included singing action songs, teaching cricket, playing other games (including bingo) and making Skoobies.
During our time in Romania, we visited some of the houses of the people from the church. The first house we visited was Gigi's. It had been given to him and his wife, Mariana, by Mariana's parents (who built it) when they married. There were 3 rooms - one for the family, a guest room, and a room where Mariana's mother stayed. Gigi's father lived next door. All the houses we visited were small, humble, dwellings such as these, mainly built by the occupants due to a lack of money.
It wasn't long before we realised the most important person in the village was the mayor. As part of our visit, we were invited to meet him too.
On the first evening in Dragalina, I had made friends with Alexandra (10), Uana (9) and Emanuela (5). Although we were all limited in the others' language, we somehow managed to communicate. The group learned their stories during the week: amazing stories of how rich the people we met were in love despite their obvious poverty. (There is 90% unemployment in Dragalina.)
Our last day in Romania, the fence having been painted, the building work almost complete, and a successful time working with the children at the school being acheived; we went to Constanza by the Black Sea for a day of rest and relaxation.
There are many tales which could be told about our time in Romania (plus there's a song for the best bits!) but it's hard to know where to start. As a church we are now hoping to raise funds for a group of the Romanian's to visit us in England before we return for another visit there.
This page hosted by
Get your own