Monday, July 8, 2013
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Hard to Believe we've Reached the End
Thursday was a hard day for our ladies as
they had to say goodbye to the babies with whom they spent the last two weeks
bonding. I admire their strength as they faced this tough situation, knowing
the kind of life that some of these babies would have.
In the morning, Tiffany and Paula went
with Tabitha to a Purity class. Paula ended up having the opportunity to
address the group of 30 boys and 1 girl about the subject. She told the group
that as a mother of boys, she understood where they were, and then gave them
the challenge to think past their desires and take responsibility for their
actions.
Here, the schools don’t have a Health
class, and don’t really teach sex ed, so for many of these students, this was
their first time hearing even the basics of the subject. Please pray that
Paula’s words and admonitions will have an effect on the boys to whom she
spoke.
Please also pray for Tabitha and the other
PULS workers who face the hard task of teaching this subject to a bunch of
teenagers who just don’t care. They have a very tough job, and need all their
strength from the Lord.
Addie and I spent the morning with Scott,
who had a meeting with Bianca, the counselor at the pregnancy center. Day in
and day out she meets with pregnant girls and counsels them about their
decisions to have an abortion. A few days before we came, she was able to help
one girl change her mind and keep her baby. But this doesn’t happen very often.
Yet again, pray for Bianca, as she has such an emotionally taxing job to do,
and yet she does it with grace and dignity and strength.
In the afternoon we were able to go the
Walking Street, which is just a cobblestone walkway lined with shops. Then it
was time to meet with Miheala and Gabbi to discuss our trips and travels. We
had a very good discussion with them over dessert, and were able to share the
pros and cons of the trip, and also how it impacted our lives, what we learned
about ourselves, and where we saw God working.
That evening we had a farewell party with
our whole team as well as all our Romanian contacts in Oradea. It was a great
time of fellowship and crepes.
Then it was time to go to our rooms and
pack our bags. Friday we were bound for Budapest, on our first leg of the journey
home.
Craving crepes,
Ali
Coming Home
Returning to Melody felt like coming home.
Our favorite staff greeted us and asked about our trips and travels. We had a
great breakfast, were greeted by enthusiastic hugs by our team members that
were there, and hauled our bags back up to the third floor apartment. Scott
graciously gave us the day off so we could rest and recover from the especially
exhausting days we spent in Ploiesti, and traveling in general. We all got
cleaned up, did some laundry in the sink, and hung it out to dry in the European
way – on our balcony. We spent the rest of the day just recouping. I sorted
through a few hundred pictures, and worked on my blogs from Suceava. It was a
much needed day of rest and relaxation after the grueling pace we had kept the
week before.
Wednesday evening we all had dinner
together and took turns sharing stories back and forth of our different
experiences during our time here. It’s amazing how similar situations impact
all of us differently. Even though all
of the ladies worked at the Maternity Hospital, each one shared different
stories and different parts that touched them a special way. And for the three
of us, apparently dubbed the three amigos by our team, each shared different
things in relation to our experiences.
Thankful for Hotel Melody and the amazing staff,
Ali
Oh...3 girls...
Let me tell you, the Ploiesti-Vest train
station is one sketchy place. Eduard and Fillip were trying to warn us about
it, and the three of us just waved them off. Until we got there, that is. Then
we understood their warnings and concerns for the 3 of us to be there by
ourselves. It kind of looked like a stereotypical subway station that you would
see in a movie about New York City right before someone gets mugged.
Thankfully Eduard waited with us and put
us into our sleeping car. Now that we are experienced travelers we got on
without a problem, found our cabin and got settled in. And then our bunkmate
walked in. A Romanian businessman. Yes, man. As soon as he saw us, he got a
funny look on his face and said “Oh…3 girls….I am wondering what my wife would
think.” We all laughed.
He spoke English very well, and so we
spent the first few hours of the train ride talking about everything from
Religion to government, to healthcare, to movies and tv shows. It was really
fun to hear a different perspective on things and just to chit-chat with
someone from a different nationality.
He got off a few hours before us in the
morning, so we weren’t able to get a picture taken with him, which we were all
disappointed about.
Our 11 hour trainride turned into a 13
hour trainride, and after traveling every 3 days, we were ready to get off the
train when it finally pulled into the station in Oradea. We jumped in a cab and
headed back to Hotel Melody.
God undertook for us in so many ways
during our trips and travels across Romania. It was amazing to see how He had
His hand in the entire journey, from having really nice, helpful train
companions, to never missing a train or stop, to keeping the three of us safe
as we traveled alone. God is always there, but it’s refreshing to be able to
see beyond a shadow of doubt how he protected and guided us.
Humbled by his protection,
Ali
And then we went to Prison...
There’s nothing like a mission’s trip that
ends with going to prison. And that is what we did.
One part of Eduard’s choir ministry is
with a group of ladies at the Women’s prison in Ploiesti. Many of these women
have been there for many years (one lady we talked to was there for 11) and
most of them have little hope of getting out. The real tragedy is that a lot of
them were falsely accused, but because they were women the courts didn’t care.
So Tuesday morning, we went to the prison
to the work that God is doing through Eduard there. He only sings Christian
songs with the ladies, so that they are constantly confronted with the Gospel.
Eduard said that most programs like this are only allowed to meet once a month,
but he has been granted the permission to meet once a week. (Everyone can see
God at work, there, right?) Apparently the prison guards said that they have
noticed a change in the ladies and that Eduard’s program seems to really be
working.
The ladies in his choir were all very
nice. There were some songs we recognized from the church services on Sunday,
as well as ones we sing at home, like Shout
to the Lord so we were able to sing along at times. Yet again, the fact that God transcends
language amazes me. He could hear the heartfelt singing of each person seated
around that table, even in different languages, and knew exactly what we were
singing, and could see what was in our hearts at the time.
We, obviously, were not able to take
pictures inside the prison, but it is a very nice facility for the women.
Still, it is not right, nor just for the innocent to be kept there. Please pray
for justice to be served where needed. Please also pray for Eduard’s ministry
with the ladies, that through the messages of the songs, they would come to
know Him as Savior.
That afternoon, we picked up some more
friend from Boldesti, and went to an orphanage where Eduard has a children’s
choir. We didn’t have much time there since we had to gather our luggage, eat
dinner, and board our final train that evening. It was, however, still a great
time. The kids sang a lot of songs that we knew in English so it was fun to
just sing along with them. The ones we didn’t know we did our best to
sight-read in Romanian. The kids around us laughed at our pronunciations, but
it was so much fun to participate with them. We were able to just play with them
for awhile, which is always wonderful.
Leaving places like that, however, always
adds to the burden that God has placed in my heart for the least of these. I
don’t understand how parents can socially orphan their children. The kids that
are giving up, or kicked out, or left on the street. Their beautiful smiling
faces. I don’t understand how you could abuse them, or mistreat them. The
burden just grows every time I am around children such as these. Each face
confirms God’s calling on my life.
We aren’t able to post pictures from our
time there for the sake of keeping the children’s identities hidden, but we had
such a great time there.
After the orphanage, it was go-time for us
again, literally. We went to the store to get some train snacks, and then
Eduard took us to his house again for dinner, before heading to the train
station.
Thankful for God’s clear call in my life,
Ali
Shepherds and Castles
As I write this, we are flying over some
astonishingly beautiful mountain ranges that are snow-capped. Some of them are
in wispy clouds, and it just a breathtaking view.
Monday morning was beautiful. We got up
and had breakfast at the hotel, and then headed out for a day of adventure with
Eduard and our gypsy friends. We took a very scenic route through the
Carpathian mountains to arrive at our final destination: Bran Castle, one of
“Dracula’s Castles”. Now for those of you who have been reading my blog since
the very beginning, (THANK YOU!) you may recall my post concerning the
historical Dracula, Vlad Dracul. So naturally I was incredibly excited to see
this castle.
It was a beautiful sunny day for our drive
through the mountainous countryside, but very windy and cold when we reached
some of the summits. Here are some of our scenery pictures, and some pictures
of the whole group of us:
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| See that twisty road on the mountain in this picture? We drove on that one. That's how all the roads were. |
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| This is a cow on the road. This brings a whole new meaning to "free range" animals. They really did roam freely on the mountainsides. |
It took us about 5 or 6 hours to drive
through the mountains to finally reach the castle, after all of the
non-optional stops for picture taking with our new group of friends. During the
car ride we had a lot of good conversation, and it was great to just fellowship
with friends from a different culture.
We are all facebook friends now. Isn’t technology great sometimes? Such
an easy way to stay connected to the friends we made in Boldesti.
One of the awesome things that happened
while in the mountains was getting to see a Romanian shepherd tending his heard
on the hills. We couldn’t resist getting our picture taken afterwards. It’s a
memory that will last for a lifetime. And we’re pretty sure that we are the
first Americans that he ever met. How cool is that?
We finally arrived at Bran Castle. This castle dates back to medieval times, and has connections with Vlad III. It also became a royal residence in the 1920s, and was a favorite spot of Queen Marie.
The castle has been turned into a museum
that has a lot of different facts about the royalty that lived there. Again,
with my love of history (thanks for instilling that in me, pops) it was so much
fun to see the different antique pieces and read about the history of the
castle and its inhabitants. I don’t really remember all the different pieces
that we took pictures of, so I’ll only put a few that I remember.
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| The steps leading up to the main entrance. |
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| The view of the surrounding area from one of the many balconies. |
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| Beautiful wood carvings surrounding the door frame. |
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| One of the narrow secret staircases that more than likely was a servant's passageway. |
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| A nook in the library/music chamber right next to the wood stove. I want one of these. |
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| The courtyard as seen from another of the name balconies. |
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| This nook tucked into one of the roofs was just too cute to not sit in! |
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| The Painted ceiling in the dining area |
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| A little window seat |
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| We thought this sign was funny. |
There were so many hidden passageways and
winding narrow staircases. It was really cool to walk around in. They had the
tower closed off, though, and we were disappointed we couldn’t go up there.
The Castle grounds were beautiful and I
could just imagine what they would have looked like during the Medieval times.
It was a really great experience, and I’m so thankful that Eduard took us
there.
It was rather late when we all piled back
in the car. Thankfully, we didn’t take the scenic route home. We were all
tired, but the three of us especially after the long day we had on Sunday and
the little sleep we got on the train.
When we arrived back at Ploiesti, Eduard
took the three of us to his home to have dinner with his family. His daughter,
Ligia, knew the top part of Chopsticks, so she and I played a few rounds. I was
surprised to find that the basic duet that all piano students learn is
international!
We all got telling stories and had a great
time laughing and carrying on, but we were also extremely tired. Finally,
around 10:45 we arrived back at our hotel, and all 3 of us crashed. (Hence me
having no time to update while in Ploiesti).
In awe of the beauty that God created for
us to enjoy,
Ali
9 1/2 Hours of church...
We had just enough time to shower and get ready for church before Eduard came to pick us up. We attended church at the baptist church in Ploiesti with Eduard and his family. Eduard leads a choir there.
This Sunday was special because this church was celebrating Thanksgiving. The first service was their normal 2 hour Sunday morning service. Which was very nice, but for us running on little sleep, it got a little difficult towards the end. But as we very much learned throughout our stay in Ploiesti, God's strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). And He proved that to us over and over and over and over again.
We had communion during the first church service, which was really cool to experience in a different culture. The Pastor read from the same passage that dad uses from Corinthians about the Lord's table.
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| The Pastor and some men of the church broke the loaf of bread and passed it out |
After the dinner, there was an hour break, and Eduard and his daughter Ligia took us around different parts of Ploiesti city. Then we headed back to church for the Thanksgiving service.
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| This is us at the dinner. Each place we went to, our contact person was told to look for the three blonde girls. |
During this service, we were able to see different areas of Eduard's church - the choir sang, people sang solos, the children sang, and the teenagers sang. It was cool to see the many different areas of the church. We all had a good time, despite the complete exhaustion that was befalling the three of us. But again, God gave us the strength and grace we needed to carry on with what He called us to do.
After the 2 1/2 hour Thanksgiving service, it was time to pile in the car and head out to Boldesti, to the gypsy church. Eduard also lead a choir there, and they were phenomenal. One of the teenagers translated the service for us. At the end of the service the gypsy pastor asked us to sing for them. Well, on the spot, we couldn't really think of anything but Amazing Grace, which the congregation ended up singing with us. Then we sang a few songs with the gypsy choir, which for me was an AMAZING experience. We sang the Hallelujah chorus, and a few other songs that they had learned in English.
A lot of the girls there were around our age, and many of them spoke English. We ended up spending another 45 minutes after the service just talking with them and having a great time fellowshipping together.
I think of all our experiences on this trip, some of our favorites where at the gypsy church that evening in Boldesti.
We finally made it back to our hotel room at about 10:30 that night, after stopping for dinner. We were beyond the point of exhaustion, and basically fell into bed.
As I said before, God truly showed us the meaning of giving us grace in our hour of need. He was our strength when ours was floundering. He was our peace when we had none.
Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive and find grace to help in the time of need."
Thankful for the Strength He Provides,
Ali
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