Romania: Beauty, Blessings and Battles

Two planes, two cars and 26 hours after leaving Gainesville, Georgia we arrived in a dark alley with fenced in doors and windows. We’re lead into this large home, quickly told the rules of the house, the wifi password and set into specific rooms for the night not knowing how much time we will be spending in this new home. The next morning some of our squad-mates wake up feeling sick and the decent begins. Eventually over 20 out of 34 of us will end up testing positive for COVID. 

The next day, I was sent to a new room with my team (The Navigators + the amazing Madie) where we had to quarantine together, being unable to have contact with anyone else in the house. Honestly, it felt like a fun upgrade from the quarantine I experienced back home for over a year (I mean, I’m in a whole new country so I can’t complain). After a week, our room was tested for COVID and unfortunately I was the only one who tested negative. This meant I had to switch to another room with new roommates. I was upset at first about leaving the people I had grown to love so deeply but then I got to spend time with my new roommates and even found new ways to bless and pray for the people I missed. Eventually, the time came once again when my room was tested and only myself and one other were negative. So we switched rooms once more. After a couple days, my new room was tested and we all finally tested negative! We were then moved out of the house and onto the floor of the office of Hope Church (our lovely hosts) to start ministry work.

I honestly can’t fully remember that day because we went straight from testing; being told to pack up all our stuff in 10mins; throwing everything into a random room; being handed brochures; and then suddenly trying to talk to a new person for the first time in weeks. I remember meeting a sweet young girl named Bianca and then blowing up my sleeping pad for bed in a random room in downtown Craiova. It was overwhelming and I don’t think I was able to fully process any of it. I did enjoy it though, and we were able to move back into the house eventually. I got to meet many new kinds of people, eat new foods, sight see, participate in group prayer and serve. A true highlight was being able to go and spend time with some kids in a nearby Roma community. These kids were beautiful and just wanted your time and love. We told a story, sang some songs, danced, handed out snacks and gave/received lots of hugs. I also had the blessing of being able to design and paint a mural for the house we stayed in. The whole squad was super helpful in cleaning, priming and sharing design ideas throughout the process and Emily Beaver did such beautiful work on the second mural. I had a great time.

Though half of our time was spent in quarantine, Romania was a wonderful experience in teaching me to be present with God. Through the stillness and business, I was taught valuable lessons about myself and Christ. It wasn’t exactly what I pictured our first month being like but I think it was what our squad needed.