Cinderella, Gypsies, and Wood Stoves

Bună Seara! Good Evening! OK, everyone, be prepared for a longggg post, but with plenty of pictures!

This morning, the team of 3 that I am so BLESSED to be a part of traveled to the gypsy village of Rontau, to help out in a ministry there. Here's the thing about the Gypsies. Romanians do not like them. There is so much animosity towards this group of people that Romanian adoptive parents usually won't adopt gypsy babies, just because they look Gypsy. So there is a huge need for outreach in the slums that are gypsy villages.

The Gypsy people originate in India, and moved over here due to religious persecution. They settle outside the "normal" villages, and then suddenly there is an entire second village of gypsies that "just won't leave" [as one Romanian friend put it].

We spent a little time walking around their village. Here are some of the pictures we took. It was very cold and raining and foggy, so we weren't able to get the usual 'slum missions trip' photos, but you'll get the idea of what they live in.

These homes usually have at least 10 people living in them. In one little room. This isn't the first time I've experienced this kind of poverty, but it leaves me speechless and humbled every single time. 

As I said before, it was freezing cold, and raining and muddy and sloppy. Notice the difference between Tiffany's shoes and the little girl that was with her:

Oh, my friends, if we would only realize how blessed we are. If we would only have a heart for ones such as these and DO SOMETHING about it, more than just shrug our shoulders, think "that's a shame" and then go about our lifestyle without a second thought. THIS, my friends, is why my passion lies with the least of these. THIS is why I do what I do.

The children were ADORABLE. And so much fun. We got to play games with them, color with them, share toys with them, and watch movies with them while we were there. Addie and I are pretty sure that some of the boys were matchmaking themselves with us, although we couldn't understand what they were saying. Somehow we just knew what was happening. 

I watched Cinderella in Romanian with a bunch of the children, mostly boys, who had never seen it before. This simple thing really impacted me in a lot of ways. The boys got so into the movie, yelling at Lucifer and the step sisters, and making all sorts of audible reactions as the movie progressed. It was awesome. 

And this really got me thinking, yet again, about how much we take simple things for granted, and how much we have at our disposal. These children were watching a movie for the first time that I grew up watching, in many different formats. Just one of those moments that really got me thinking.

This project is mainly a daycare for the kids as they only go to school for half a day. They teach them Biblical principles, as well as life skills like hygiene. Here's the wall of toothbrushes for the kids:

The rooms were heated by wood stove, which was wonderful for the cold, wet day. The kids are also served a meal and given a vitamin.

 It was sooo much fun, and they loved having us there. It was hard to say goodbye when it was time to go. I'd be content to work there these next 2 weeks, but I know God has other things in store for us! Here are some of our adorable new friends:

I know there's a lot, but just look at their cute little faces! How could I not put a lot up?!

We then had lunch, at McDonalds, which was better than American McDonalds cause it was less greasy, and then headed over to PULS [the ministry we are partnering with] to do some work. We met Tabitha [Ta-bee-TA] who is a psychologist and counsels women with pregnancy issues. She asked that I not put her picture on the internet, so I will respect those wishes. She was a wonderful person, and we enjoyed getting to know her as we had our afternoon coffee to warm up, and as we got to work.

This center is where all the donated baby clothes/items go to, so we spent a few hours sorting and folding baby clothes, so Tabitha didn't have to do it all herself.

It was a wonderful day of ministry! But now friends, it is 11:30, and I am extrememly tired. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day, so I must bid you noapte bună!

In thankfulness of wood stoves and Gypsies,

Ali 

A Lesson in Communism

You walk down the streets of Oradea, and this is what you see:

Row after row after row of Apartment buildings, all in the same drab color with the same construction. Now the inside of these apartments do not mirror the outside, but from the street the scene is very dreary...very grey. 

When the communists were in power, they didn't want anyone living in a more prestigious looking building than another, so they built all of the apartments to look the same, and to be very plain on the outside. 

When the communists were in power, they pulled people out of their villages and forced them to move into the city to work in the factories, all of which are no longer in service, since the fall of communism. 

When the communists were in power, the city was heated with steam heat through a large pipe. If the people started to murmur, the government would simply shut off the heat for that section of the city to bring them back under control.

It's very strange to be able to experience the lasting effects of communism, even now, 30 years after they fell from power in this country. 

Well, friends, it's time for dinner. Stay tuned for another post tonight about my day with gypsies and baby clothes! 

Cold and tired, 

Ali 

In My Heart There Rings A Melody...

Good evening, my friends! It is 5:15 pm here, and we've had a very great day so far! As I said yesterday, we are staying at Hotel Melody, and ever since we checked in the line from that hymn has been stuck in my head! Word associations!

This is what it looked like out our balcony door this morning:

Very rainy and cold! We got up and breakfast at the hotel at 8 this morning. There was a lot of stuff that we would consider typical, bread for toast, cereal, eggs, sausages, etc. But there were also some interesting things like a cold cuts spread that included raw bacon! I had a croissant, an apple, and some bread.

And Turkish Coffee. It was DELICIOUS! And very strong. And not flavored. Which I usually make my coffee sweet, and I don't drink unflavored coffee, but this stuff was great!

Then we all went our separate ways to get ready for church and met at about 9:45 for church.

We went to Biserica Baptista Speranta Oradea for church, which translates to Hope Baptist Church of Oradea. It was a great service that was very similar in structure to what I'm used to. There was a time of corporate worship, followed by the message. The children were dismissed to their kids' club just like in the states. We sang some songs that I knew, like Shout to the Lord  and Communion Hymn by Keith and Kristen Getty.

The sermon was based on Acts 16:11-15 about Lydia. The pastor spoke with such passion as he shared what God had placed upon his heart.

After church we headed to Restaruant Capitolium for lunch. OH MY WORD. This place was like the coolest place I've ever been. It seriously looked like a scene from a movie. As did our waiter, who was just precious.

The Nice place settings at Restuarant Capitolium

The name was imprinted on all the dishes

This sign lets you know that you receive a free portion of soup with a regular portioned meal.

 Lunch took about 3 hours, which, apparently, is common for Romania. No one was in a hurry, and we were served a few courses. First was a fish egg spread for bread. Then we had soup. Most of us got chicken soup, and it was delicious, and a huge portion!

For the main course, I had kiev de pui (breaded chicken with cheese and spices) and cartofi piure, or mashed potatoes. It was really really good, but after the large bowl of soup I got full pretty quickly!

We came back to the hotel, and Addie, Tiffany, and I changed out of our church clothes and decided to do some walking around. It was really cold, so it didn't last too long. We stopped in a patisserie on the way back and got a rol ciocolata, or roll of chocolate for dessert to split.

It was very good, but very rich, so we're gonna to share it with the rest of the team, as well!

Our team meeting went really well. The three of us girls learned more details about our portion of the trip! I don't know how much internet access I will have from Wednesday to Wednesday, but i'll try to post when I can, and if not, fill you in on all the excitement once we're back in Oradea.

We went to a pizzaria for dinner. We ordered a pepperoni pizza and were served a pizza with pepperoni, onions, green peppers, and something else. I picked them off and ate it, but the flavor was just a little too strong for me! Not to mention the fact that smoking in public places is commonplace here, so my allergies and asthma were not having a good time.

Well my friends, I think I'm gonna sit here with my book for a little bit and try to mentally prepare for the days ahead!

Thankful that smoking in public places is banned in the US,
Ali

Hello from Various spots across the world!

Hey Everyone!

We Flew FinnAir!

 As I am writing this, we are flying over the Gulf of Finland on our way to Budapest! But of course you won’t actually be reading this until we get settled in Oradea. What an exciting trip this has already been.

It started with a bean bag. Yes, a bean bag. Like the ones that were really popular back in the day. This bean bag is what the 3 on my team, Addie, Tiffany, and myself traveled on to JFK. I’m pretty sure we all have bruises to show for it, too!

                                      Here we are! Addie, me, and Tiffany.

We all met at 8, pulled out around 8:15, stopped to eat in New York, made it to JFK just in time to get through security and make it to our flight which was already boarding. Of course, we had the usual wait on the plane for actual takeoff, but alas. That is to be expected. The flight from JFK to Helsinki was about 8 hours give or take.

Well, friends, it’s raining in Budapest. (Yes, Bre, I know that sounds like an Indie band song title.)

Hello, Budapest!

The Flags outside the airport

Now I know what you might be thinking. I thought you were just typing from over the Gulf. Well, I was. But then I started to get a migraine, so I had to put this aside and get some sleep. This, dear blog readers, is why one should not be addicted to caffeine.  Thankfully the headache went away so here I am again!

All of our luggage made it through, and we are now on the bus that will take us the 3 hours to Oradea, Romania! What a better time to update, then when I can’t really do much else, and I have the scenery to inspire me!

I guess I’ll start by catching up to where I was before. The flight to Helsinki was about 8 hours, and there were no problems of any kind. The food was the best I’ve had so far for an airplane, so that was a pleasant surprise. I wish I had some pictures, but the flights we were on I didn’t have a window seat, and we weren’t allowed to take pictures on take0ff and landing. Which I’ve never had before. But alas.

I didn’t have to use the bathroom that much, which is good, because flushing airplane toilets really scares me. It sounds like you’re gonna get sucked out! For those of you who have flown, you know what I’m talking about. For those who haven’t, just trust me. It’s scary.

I also learned why there is a height requirement for flight attendants. Cause I totally couldn’t reach my carryon in the over-head compartment. I had to have help putting it up and getting it down. Short people problems.

We also made our connecting flight with ease, and didn’t have to wait long til we were in the air again. Helsinki to Budapest was about2 hours and 30 minutes or so. As I said, all our baggage made it through, THANK THE LORD! And now we are headed to our final destination. Most of us haven’t slept at all, which is quite difficult. It’s a little after 11 here, probably about 11:30 or so, a.m. For those of you at home, it’s 5:43 a.m. our time. We’ll have a little bit more of a time difference as we travel across the border, and end up a 7 hour difference, as I’ve said before.

Why, yes, that is snow on the tarmac of Helsinki. It was only about 27^o F there. It’s not much warmere here in Budapest, either. So far, the countryside just looks like Pennsylvania farm lands.

I’m so used to traveling to tropical climates, that it’s weird not to see palm trees, or rice paddies, and to be wearing a fleece jacket and scarf!

Make sure you stayed tuned every day to my blog. I won’t always be able to post on facebook when there’s a new entry. We are going to be doing some exciting stuff…but I won’t tell you ahead of time, cause that would ruin the fun of you reading it!

As for books to bring, I decided on  the following:

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein

We have  a lot of traveling to do, so I wasn’t sure how much reading I would do. And sometimes it’s good to just have a book you don’t really need to focus on for things like noisy trains, or to help you sleep at night. So there you have it! That’s what I’ll be reading over the next few weeks!

Well, With that being said I’m gonna sign off, and just enjoy the scenery and maybe do some reading.

It was rainy and cloudy most of the bus ride, But I thought the clouds looked cool, so I grabbed a few pictures!

In Praise to the One who is above all others,

Ali [in Budapest]

Just kidding. I’m back. We are now all checked in and getting settled in Oradea at Hotel Melody. This hotel is adorable. Eventually I will post a picture of the outside, but it’s raining currently, so now would not be a good time. We’re all taking turns showering and just resting up.

We’ve had over 24 hours straight of traveling. Makes one a little weary. I was able to sleep a little in the van, thanks Dramamine, but all in all I haven’t slept more than 2 or 3 hours. Which is to be expected on trips like this, so no big deal.

We made it through the Hungary/Romania border checkpoint with no problem.

One of the Border Patrol Guards

Hungarian/Romanian Border Checkpoint

Border Guard and Frontier Police

We are staying at the Hotel Melody. Here's a picture of our (Addie, Tiffany and Me) room. We have a blacony, and everyone is jealous.

Well I'm next for the shower so I better pull my stuff out, and get ready. We're meeting for dinner soon!

From Hotel Melody, 

Ali