What an amazing day and start to our trip. We arrived at a humble little airport in Brasov, and how brilliant that Sami and his family live 10 minutes away. Even more brilliant they fed us! On the menu (Kenny’s words), were “from a distance cucumbers”, otherwise known as gherkins, alongside tomato, cheese, chicken and mash.
We were encouraged to be honest and open as we introduced ourselves, sharing our stories around the table.
Different digs from previous trips, We were then taken to Brasov Baptist Church and the new apartment suite. Two of us are sleeping on mattresses on floor, two of us are in normal beds, and then Simon is in danger of hitting his head on the ceiling! Literally, the High Priest.
Once settled in, we explored Brasov.
This morning we reflected on Galatians 1 about how we should not look for the approval of people but the approval of God, and we were then picked up and taken to Teliu church. Because we were five ‘men’, Sami gave us hard work to do! We proceeded to move over 120 large, heavy paving slabs from the front of the church, through the courtyard, through the barn and all the way to the bottom of the garden. Task two was taking all the vegetation from the garden, through the barn, across the courtyard, through the gate, across the road and to the bank of the river where some Goats were most grateful for their next meal. Do ask Kenny for his goat impression,,its worth the wait. The third task was cleaning all the chairs and clearing the barn in preparation for a kids camp in Teliu that will take place in three weeks time.
For lunch we had Ukrainian Borscht and for second lunch Romanian sweet cheese pie. For dinner we had international BBQ with a quick pre-dinner game of football to decide who was washing up afterwards.
It wasn’t all manual labor, within all the tasks there was plenty of time to reflect, be encouraged and inspired.
Today’s reflections
Jason says “As I was sitting at a table with people from around the world, thousands of miles from home, i felt a deeper sense of freedom the Lord brings to those who try their best to love and serve him. i felt profoundly grateful.”
Bart says “Sami said he has a heart for helping others and during the day I could see that in all he was doing and it was a privilege.”
Simon says “How great to know that we are part of the worldwide body of Christ and that we have the privilege of serving our brothers and sisters in Romania”
p.s. The Peruvian is the daughter of American Missionaries and met Rafa, her boyfriend, in Germany
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