I don't think Charlie had any idea when he stepped off the plane in Budapest that he was about to become a superstar in Gataia. I don't know if it was his mad soccer skills or his infectious smile, but by the end of the first day he had a group of boys that followed him everywhere. By Wednesday he had one boy that was bringing him presents every morning (usually a bag of chips and a Coke)! It was crazy! On Thursday we had Charlie duck down in the back of the van as we pulled up to the church. His groupies were eagerly waiting for him. You should have seen their faces fall when we said, "Charlie is sick, he's not here today." Then up pops Charlie and the kids start laughing. One day, just to be silly, I painted Keith's toenails during our break time. When one of Charlie's groupies saw it he said, "Did Charlie do it too? If Charlie did then I will!"
It was humbling to see how quickly any one of us could be put up on a pedestal. You could tell Charlie, though flattered, wasn't really comfortable with all the attention. I asked him how he felt about it. He said that he knew he would be out of his comfort zone coming on this trip and that if this is how God was going use him then he would go along with it. Of course, the rest of the team liked to jump on the bandwagon so anytime the kids started chanting Charlie's name - we did too. Heck - we even started it sometimes.
Though none of us had the following like Charlie, we all had at least one or two kids that always sought us out to play volleyball, American football, football, draw, and - in what became "my thing" - rock, paper, scissors.
On the first day we had 75 kids - 30-35 of which were completely knew names for Iosif's database. He does a very good job of keeping track of the kids and where they live. Soon he is going to start making a point of visiting with the parents so that they too might start coming to the church. Though the daily attendance stayed roughly the same - in all we had around 120 kids attend VBS at some point throughout the week.
From my experience, there is always at least one "thorn in my side" that I have to learn to deal with while on a mission trip. God usually puts it there for a reason. Keith quite literally had this same experience. On Tuesday, Keith & Charlie - with encouragement from the kids - went against each other in a sack race. They were intentionally being silly. Randy - not to be left out - tripped Charlie so he wouldn't win, then Keith dove over Charlie to win the race. After, Keith came over to me and said, "I think I just broke a rib. I heard it crack!" He was in a lot of pain that day and in the days to come. Upon our return to the states, our doctor confirmed that he indeed broke a rib, maybe as many as 3 were either broken or cracked (he didn't do x-rays but could tell by feel). It was a struggle for Keith because there was no outward sign of his internal pain. Not even a bruise. We all knew he was hurt, but the kids didn't and still wanted him to play football & soccer. So what's a guy to do?
Keith became a rock star - though like Charlie - it wasn't his desire to be one. On Monday, during the closing program, he accompanied us with guitar while the kids sang, "Jesus' love is bubbling over" (this was the English song I taught that day. And just like the kids in Haiti when I taught them, they loved it). Thursday, when it was Keith's turn to give a message, Iosif convinced him to play a drum solo for the kids. And then someone told Iosif that Keith could sing opera, so on our last day, he put him on the spot and made him sing for the kids. As talented as Keith is, he doesn't like to "show off." It's usually someone else convincing him to share his talent. As for me - I just live vicariously through him.
Lisa did an awesome job leading the crafts for the kids. I am so glad she was on the trip. Prior to leaving I was so focused on the things in my own world that I didn't even really think about Romania. We would have been lost but for Lisa's prep work. One day they made a paper basket that I think was the thorn in Lisa's side - but they turned out so well - even if they were a headache to do.
Randy & Tammy also should be commended for their prep work. Without them we wouldn't have had prizes and candy to hand out to the kids. Not only that - but had they not made this same trip last year - not a single one of us would have been here this year.
Each night we got to give a brief message to the kids. On Wednesday, Lisa spoke. She told of how she had accepted Christ as a child, but when she grew older, she had gone away from that faith, only to come back about 5 years ago. After she came back she prayed that God would use her. So He sent her a friend to share Christ with. That friend accepted Christ and then shared Him with someone else and on it goes. After her message - Iosif said something to the kids - I don't know what because he didn't translate it for us. Next thing I knew - he was praying and some of the kids were repeating the prayer. We found out later that he felt led to lead the kids that wanted to pray in the prayer of salvation to accept Christ. He told us that he wasn't sure if he'd get in trouble because usually, you don't give that message to children. I guess the idea is to wait until they are older to present it to them. I guess it's kind of like waiting to present it until they can make a more informed decision. Anyway, the pastor was in attendance that night and had no problems with it (and why should he - there are now kids that have Christ in their life???) God is good.
Throughout the week we quickly developed friendships - with some of the kids, the leaders, Iosif, Lanutza, Ramona & Florian, Anca, Marianna and each other. These people became more than just acquaintances, they are now friends. I feel honored to know each and every one of them.
You'll notice I haven't talked much about Friday. That's for tomorrow's post. There is too much to tell to justify it with a simple paragraph or two.
So until tomorrow...
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Romania - part 2 - A summary of the people and schedule for week 1
We met a lot of people on our trip. So that I don't have to stop and explain who they are as I tell about our trip, I'll just give a character list before I begin.
Iosif - Romanian living in Timisoara. He travels several times a week to the church in Gataia to help run the youth program. He also works for an international Christian organization that sells & distributes Bibles. He is the only employee in Romania. (The name of the organization is escaping me at the moment). Due to funding cuts he is no longer able to just give away Bibles and now has to figure out a way to sell them.
Lanutza - (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) - is Iosif's wife. She often goes with him to the church to help with the kids' programs. She's a retired teacher so working with kids comes naturally to her.
Scott & Carolyn Pouncey - American missionaries living in Romania for the past 4 years. You can learn more about them on their website - http://www.rockofhopeministries.org. Friends with Iosif & Lanutza.
Iosif's youth leaders - Denisa F., Denissa A., Madalena (aka Mada), Larissa, Lige (pronounced Lee-jah) and the boys - Marius and Christi. These kids are amazing. They help lead the singing, crafts, games, and lessons. Iosif gives them the tools they need and then basically lets them take control. He has worked on training them up to be leaders in their community and beyond. You don't realize how unusual this is until you understand that just because the Romanians are no longer under communism doesn't mean that the old ways are gone. To put it in perspective - think of the generations in our country that have lived on government welfare. Generally speaking - do these people take initiative to change their well-being or to make life better for themselves? Not really. Why do they need to? - the government will keep giving them assistance. That's kind of the same mindset that communism instilled in it's people. It's not an exact annalogy, but it's close.
Ladies of the church - Anca, Marianna. (I'm sure I've forgotten someone). These ladies were at the church each day and helped clean up before and after. They also were very gracious and loving towards us.
Florian & Romona - Husband and wife. Romona cooked for us twice a day for the entire week we did VBS (except Tuesday's lunch). It was SOOOOOOOOOO good. I gained 4 pounds that week - even though I was running around in the heat playing with the kids!!! I miss her cooking. They were very gracious - opening up their home to us.
There were others we met, but for what I'm writing, that is what you need to know.
Oh yeah - I almost forgot - the members of our team were: Charlie, Randy & Tammy, Lisa, and me & Keith.
*sigh* So now to get started with part 2 of our trip - VBS.
I thought VBS at our church was exhausting! Our daily schedule was pretty much the same. We started at 9am and the kids played for a while then went inside to hear the lesson for the day. All the Bible stories they learned focused on "amazing kids." After the lesson they were split into two groups. While one group was at music, the other was at crafts. After a while they'd switch. Usually around 11:30-noon Iosif would call them together for announcements then they'd be dismissed until later.
We usually ate at Romona's around 12:30 or 1:00 and then came back to the church and had some time to ourselves. Most of us took this opportunity to take a little pui de somn ("chicken nap" the Romanian equivalent of a "cat nap"). This was when we really got to enjoy the only air-conditioned room in the church.
The kids usually came back around 4 - 4:30 and we would play games with them until around 6:30 or so. Then they would have an evening program that lasted until around 7:30. During this program, they would review the Bible story, memory verse, and songs. Then they had a little puppet show that was set up like an TV interview show. The main puppet character would interview someone from the Bible story (David, Mariam, Naaman's servant, etc.). Then I'd get to lead them in the English song I taught them that day, followed by one of our team members giving a message.
After the kids went home for the night, we'd head back over to Ramona's for some delicious food and then finally drive an hour back to Iosif's house. Every day we left Iosif's around 7:45am and wouldn't return until around 10pm (sometimes later). It made for very long days.
To keep this post from being too overwhelming I'm going to leave it as a summary of our first week. In the next post I'll give some detail about some of my personal experiences.
Iosif - Romanian living in Timisoara. He travels several times a week to the church in Gataia to help run the youth program. He also works for an international Christian organization that sells & distributes Bibles. He is the only employee in Romania. (The name of the organization is escaping me at the moment). Due to funding cuts he is no longer able to just give away Bibles and now has to figure out a way to sell them.
Lanutza - (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) - is Iosif's wife. She often goes with him to the church to help with the kids' programs. She's a retired teacher so working with kids comes naturally to her.
Scott & Carolyn Pouncey - American missionaries living in Romania for the past 4 years. You can learn more about them on their website - http://www.rockofhopeministries.org. Friends with Iosif & Lanutza.
Iosif's youth leaders - Denisa F., Denissa A., Madalena (aka Mada), Larissa, Lige (pronounced Lee-jah) and the boys - Marius and Christi. These kids are amazing. They help lead the singing, crafts, games, and lessons. Iosif gives them the tools they need and then basically lets them take control. He has worked on training them up to be leaders in their community and beyond. You don't realize how unusual this is until you understand that just because the Romanians are no longer under communism doesn't mean that the old ways are gone. To put it in perspective - think of the generations in our country that have lived on government welfare. Generally speaking - do these people take initiative to change their well-being or to make life better for themselves? Not really. Why do they need to? - the government will keep giving them assistance. That's kind of the same mindset that communism instilled in it's people. It's not an exact annalogy, but it's close.
Ladies of the church - Anca, Marianna. (I'm sure I've forgotten someone). These ladies were at the church each day and helped clean up before and after. They also were very gracious and loving towards us.
Florian & Romona - Husband and wife. Romona cooked for us twice a day for the entire week we did VBS (except Tuesday's lunch). It was SOOOOOOOOOO good. I gained 4 pounds that week - even though I was running around in the heat playing with the kids!!! I miss her cooking. They were very gracious - opening up their home to us.
There were others we met, but for what I'm writing, that is what you need to know.
Oh yeah - I almost forgot - the members of our team were: Charlie, Randy & Tammy, Lisa, and me & Keith.
*sigh* So now to get started with part 2 of our trip - VBS.
I thought VBS at our church was exhausting! Our daily schedule was pretty much the same. We started at 9am and the kids played for a while then went inside to hear the lesson for the day. All the Bible stories they learned focused on "amazing kids." After the lesson they were split into two groups. While one group was at music, the other was at crafts. After a while they'd switch. Usually around 11:30-noon Iosif would call them together for announcements then they'd be dismissed until later.
We usually ate at Romona's around 12:30 or 1:00 and then came back to the church and had some time to ourselves. Most of us took this opportunity to take a little pui de somn ("chicken nap" the Romanian equivalent of a "cat nap"). This was when we really got to enjoy the only air-conditioned room in the church.
The kids usually came back around 4 - 4:30 and we would play games with them until around 6:30 or so. Then they would have an evening program that lasted until around 7:30. During this program, they would review the Bible story, memory verse, and songs. Then they had a little puppet show that was set up like an TV interview show. The main puppet character would interview someone from the Bible story (David, Mariam, Naaman's servant, etc.). Then I'd get to lead them in the English song I taught them that day, followed by one of our team members giving a message.
After the kids went home for the night, we'd head back over to Ramona's for some delicious food and then finally drive an hour back to Iosif's house. Every day we left Iosif's around 7:45am and wouldn't return until around 10pm (sometimes later). It made for very long days.
To keep this post from being too overwhelming I'm going to leave it as a summary of our first week. In the next post I'll give some detail about some of my personal experiences.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Romania - Part 1
Every time I come home from a mission trip it takes me a while to get back to "normal." This time around was especially hard because of the jet lag caused by the 8 hour time difference between Romania and Kansas. But, 1+ week after being home I finally feel "normal" - whatever that is.
So, it's time to give a report of my trip to Romania. I could be brief and just say, "It was good, we worked hard, we were tired and very hot," and it would all be true. However, for the sake of those that don't get to go on these types of trips I feel compelled to be more specific.
Two years ago, when I returned from Haiti, the first thing Jaedon said to me was, "I missed you Mom. Please don't ever do that again!" Tears were running down his face and it broke my heart in a whole new way. And here I was, going to Romania for twice as long as the Haiti trip - and this time taking his dad with me. I was worried about how he'd handle us being gone. A few months ago when we first told him we might be going to Romania he said, "Can't you just stay here and tell people about Jesus?" But God answered our prayers concerning Jae. The night before we left I asked if he was okay with us leaving. He said, "I'm not worried because God is in control. He's bigger than anything." Thank you Lord for answered prayer.
We left the US on Thursday morning (7/5) and arrived in Budapest, Hungary on Friday morning (due to the time change and a 5 hour layover in Chicago). We flew into Hungary because it was a bit cheaper. Plus it saved us in the long run... 4 of our bags didn't make it to the airport at the same time we did. One contained all of Charlie's (one of the team members) clothes, and two others contained computer towers for Scott and Carolyn to use in their ministry (you'll hear more about them later on). The 4th one had some VBS supplies. We finally received the bags on Sunday and not a thing was missing. Had we flown into Bucharest (in Romania), it would have been a different story. Corruption is not uncommon, and likely, had our bags gone through security hands in the Romanian airport, the computers would have been gone along with anything else that looked good to them.
Friday night, Keith had the beginnings of an anxiety attack. The combination of having little to no sleep in the past 24 hours, being overheated, staying in a room where the windows opened right onto the street - with no screens to keep passers-by out, dogs barking, people talking in the street outside and being in a foreign country took it's toll on him. It has been a long time since his anxiety has caused him problems. I am so grateful that he has learned to handle it. I'm also grateful that God allowed us to take this trip together so I could be there for him. I felt compelled to pray that the blood of Christ would be a cover over him and empower him to control what was going on in his mind. I told him before hand that the prayer might sound weird, but that it is what I was feeling lead to pray. After I prayed for him, he prayed a prayer of confession - he told God that he had not been trusting in Him but in himself. After that he seemed to sleep okay and to my knowledge he didn't have any major anxiety issues the rest of the trip. Well... until we were flying through turbulence several times between Munich and Chicago on the way home - but that's a different type of anxiety.
The whole first week we stayed at Iosif's (pronounced Yosif) house in Timisoara. Having no a/c was definitely an adjustment. The day we got groceries we also bought some fans so we could at least circulate the air in our rooms. They helped, but it was still hot. It was over 100 F many of the days of our trip.
On Saturday we walked around Revolution Square in Timisoara. I don't have room to give all the information on the Revolution that took place, but here is a link if you'd like to learn more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_revolution. For the purposes of this post, all you need to know is that the Revolution that took Romania from Communism to a Democracy occurred in December of 1989 and a large part of of the protesting took place in Revolution Square in Timisoara. The bullet holes are still present in some of the buildings.
After our tour we drove about an hour to Gataia, a small village of about 3000, where we were going to hold VBS the following week. (My Romania friends - please correct me if I have any of my facts wrong!!!) Some of us stayed and helped Iosif set up some tents (so the kids would have some shade) and others went around the village with Iosif's youth leaders (aged 14-18) to tell the kids there would be VBS that week.
The church, Biserica Tabor, in Gataia is a blessing to the community. The pastor lives in Timisoara. He has a successful business there, but says that as long as God keeps blessing him he will keep giving back to the community. The church is not huge but it is beautiful. It is being finished in stages, but we were blessed to be able to use the only room with an air-conditioner to rest in during our breaks during VBS. They also have a well that is available for the whole village to use. Several times a day we saw people walk, drive, or bicycle up to the pump with their bottles to be refilled. It's not that they don't have running water, but not everyone has water that is safe to drink. Many people have wells in their own yards. But for those that don't have them, the church is able to provide clean water.
Sunday we were able to attend church at Biserica Tabor. I was surprised at how similar their service was to the one at Hope Community (where I attend). Though the songs were in Romanian, I recognized many of the tunes. The praise band that leads worship comes from Timisoara as well. They didn't have a drummer, so Keith jokingly told Iosif he could play. Iosif took him at his word so they tried tracking down some drum sticks. When they couldn't find them, Keith settled for a couple of short (but very thick) broom handles! (*side note* twice in our church, the drummer has not gotten back into the service on time for one of the songs so Keith has jumped up on stage to fill in - and he did it well! - I love this man!) Another similarity with Hope, they had their youth leaders who had just come back from a retreat/training camp with Iosif talk about their experience - JUST LIKE we have people talk about the mission trips they go on. Also, every time a missionary comes to Hope they always give a brief talk to the congregation. And just the same in Gataia. Randy Moss was elected to be our delegate to the congregation. The cool thing was that the verses he focused on were the same verses two other guests speakers had talked about in previous weeks. So, when the pastor (the youth Pastor - Raoul - gave the sermon) got up to speak he mentioned that and said that God must really want them to hear what he has to say.
This was the day I also stopped trusting Iosif. He is one ornery guy!!! He was introducing us to the pastor and he told me, "You say _______________." (I can't remember what the Romania words are). So I repeated after him. Then he looked at me in mock shock and said, "That wasn't nice!" Me:"Iosif! What did you tell me to say???" Iosif: "You just told him, 'You have an ugly church here in Gataia.'" From that day forward, I never repeated what he told me to say until I confirmed through one of the other translators. Though I do take comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only one he tricked. During VBS he had Keith tell the kids, "You are all bad children!" Oh Iosif!
Well, this is a long enough post for one day, and look - I made it through 4 days of the trip! Only 13 days to go! :) I'll try to be less long-winded in the days to come.
Thanks for praying for us while we were away. Even though you weren't with us physically, your prayers put you there with us spiritually.
So, it's time to give a report of my trip to Romania. I could be brief and just say, "It was good, we worked hard, we were tired and very hot," and it would all be true. However, for the sake of those that don't get to go on these types of trips I feel compelled to be more specific.
Two years ago, when I returned from Haiti, the first thing Jaedon said to me was, "I missed you Mom. Please don't ever do that again!" Tears were running down his face and it broke my heart in a whole new way. And here I was, going to Romania for twice as long as the Haiti trip - and this time taking his dad with me. I was worried about how he'd handle us being gone. A few months ago when we first told him we might be going to Romania he said, "Can't you just stay here and tell people about Jesus?" But God answered our prayers concerning Jae. The night before we left I asked if he was okay with us leaving. He said, "I'm not worried because God is in control. He's bigger than anything." Thank you Lord for answered prayer.
We left the US on Thursday morning (7/5) and arrived in Budapest, Hungary on Friday morning (due to the time change and a 5 hour layover in Chicago). We flew into Hungary because it was a bit cheaper. Plus it saved us in the long run... 4 of our bags didn't make it to the airport at the same time we did. One contained all of Charlie's (one of the team members) clothes, and two others contained computer towers for Scott and Carolyn to use in their ministry (you'll hear more about them later on). The 4th one had some VBS supplies. We finally received the bags on Sunday and not a thing was missing. Had we flown into Bucharest (in Romania), it would have been a different story. Corruption is not uncommon, and likely, had our bags gone through security hands in the Romanian airport, the computers would have been gone along with anything else that looked good to them.
Friday night, Keith had the beginnings of an anxiety attack. The combination of having little to no sleep in the past 24 hours, being overheated, staying in a room where the windows opened right onto the street - with no screens to keep passers-by out, dogs barking, people talking in the street outside and being in a foreign country took it's toll on him. It has been a long time since his anxiety has caused him problems. I am so grateful that he has learned to handle it. I'm also grateful that God allowed us to take this trip together so I could be there for him. I felt compelled to pray that the blood of Christ would be a cover over him and empower him to control what was going on in his mind. I told him before hand that the prayer might sound weird, but that it is what I was feeling lead to pray. After I prayed for him, he prayed a prayer of confession - he told God that he had not been trusting in Him but in himself. After that he seemed to sleep okay and to my knowledge he didn't have any major anxiety issues the rest of the trip. Well... until we were flying through turbulence several times between Munich and Chicago on the way home - but that's a different type of anxiety.
The whole first week we stayed at Iosif's (pronounced Yosif) house in Timisoara. Having no a/c was definitely an adjustment. The day we got groceries we also bought some fans so we could at least circulate the air in our rooms. They helped, but it was still hot. It was over 100 F many of the days of our trip.
On Saturday we walked around Revolution Square in Timisoara. I don't have room to give all the information on the Revolution that took place, but here is a link if you'd like to learn more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_revolution. For the purposes of this post, all you need to know is that the Revolution that took Romania from Communism to a Democracy occurred in December of 1989 and a large part of of the protesting took place in Revolution Square in Timisoara. The bullet holes are still present in some of the buildings.
After our tour we drove about an hour to Gataia, a small village of about 3000, where we were going to hold VBS the following week. (My Romania friends - please correct me if I have any of my facts wrong!!!) Some of us stayed and helped Iosif set up some tents (so the kids would have some shade) and others went around the village with Iosif's youth leaders (aged 14-18) to tell the kids there would be VBS that week.
The church, Biserica Tabor, in Gataia is a blessing to the community. The pastor lives in Timisoara. He has a successful business there, but says that as long as God keeps blessing him he will keep giving back to the community. The church is not huge but it is beautiful. It is being finished in stages, but we were blessed to be able to use the only room with an air-conditioner to rest in during our breaks during VBS. They also have a well that is available for the whole village to use. Several times a day we saw people walk, drive, or bicycle up to the pump with their bottles to be refilled. It's not that they don't have running water, but not everyone has water that is safe to drink. Many people have wells in their own yards. But for those that don't have them, the church is able to provide clean water.
Sunday we were able to attend church at Biserica Tabor. I was surprised at how similar their service was to the one at Hope Community (where I attend). Though the songs were in Romanian, I recognized many of the tunes. The praise band that leads worship comes from Timisoara as well. They didn't have a drummer, so Keith jokingly told Iosif he could play. Iosif took him at his word so they tried tracking down some drum sticks. When they couldn't find them, Keith settled for a couple of short (but very thick) broom handles! (*side note* twice in our church, the drummer has not gotten back into the service on time for one of the songs so Keith has jumped up on stage to fill in - and he did it well! - I love this man!) Another similarity with Hope, they had their youth leaders who had just come back from a retreat/training camp with Iosif talk about their experience - JUST LIKE we have people talk about the mission trips they go on. Also, every time a missionary comes to Hope they always give a brief talk to the congregation. And just the same in Gataia. Randy Moss was elected to be our delegate to the congregation. The cool thing was that the verses he focused on were the same verses two other guests speakers had talked about in previous weeks. So, when the pastor (the youth Pastor - Raoul - gave the sermon) got up to speak he mentioned that and said that God must really want them to hear what he has to say.
This was the day I also stopped trusting Iosif. He is one ornery guy!!! He was introducing us to the pastor and he told me, "You say _______________." (I can't remember what the Romania words are). So I repeated after him. Then he looked at me in mock shock and said, "That wasn't nice!" Me:"Iosif! What did you tell me to say???" Iosif: "You just told him, 'You have an ugly church here in Gataia.'" From that day forward, I never repeated what he told me to say until I confirmed through one of the other translators. Though I do take comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only one he tricked. During VBS he had Keith tell the kids, "You are all bad children!" Oh Iosif!
Well, this is a long enough post for one day, and look - I made it through 4 days of the trip! Only 13 days to go! :) I'll try to be less long-winded in the days to come.
Thanks for praying for us while we were away. Even though you weren't with us physically, your prayers put you there with us spiritually.
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