Last Day on the Worksite

April 1, Wednesday 

Three of our team stayed at the hotel due to sickness yesterday.

April 2, Thursday

Our last day in Caracal. The little girls of the town greeted us with an arch of carnations and did a dance similar to a belly dance. It was terribly provocative and bitter sweet to know they were doing their best to do a traditional dance for us and at the same time being taught to use their little bodies in such a way.

Locals could not attend as it is customary for kidnappings to occur when such dancing is done. In this way 12, 13 year old girls are taken away and married to older men in their late teens and twenties. They remain married for life but the men take mistresses, which is considered acceptable. If the women are unfaithful they are ostracized and cast out.

We worked until the afternoon, after which we had a traditional Romanian meal of polenta and meat, (pork, and different sausages) prepared by the teachers and their friends in the back yard of the school. Afterwards we went for a walk through the town. The children and several adults happily accompanied us.

Each afternoon we shared a devotion at lunch, and each evening sang praise songs and reflected from our day together.

Blessed to see the BFA and FES kids get to know and appreciate each other!

April 3, Friday

We drove to Bucharest, visited the Parliament which Chachesku built as an edifice to his memory, which ended very differently from that which he had planned as he and his wife were charged with treason and shot by his own government.

After picking up lunch at McDonalds we drove to the airport and were off. Two hour flight back, 45 minute train trip, and we arrive at the SBB where we were met and driven home.

Day 3, Recap

March 31, Tuesday

Everyone is tired as we drive to work this AM on the bus, most are sleeping, little chatter.

At this point the kindergarten is terribly torn apart. No ceilings, no flooring, plaster on only a half a wall. Big holes in the back of the building where the contractor who is supposed to be helping us took a hammer and knocked a hole in the back of the hall to show the men how easy it would be to remove a steel addition. The addition didn’t move but the adjoining brick wall did move.

One of the frustrations is seeing the men hired to help us stand around watching while we try to learn to do work that they well know how to do.

One of the joys is knowing that we are being obedient to serve.  

One of the saddest things is that the founder of the school, an old man, has to sit up keeping watch all night long so that the locals will not break in the school and steal the tools and supplies. The other sad thing is the lack of appreciation on the part of the people. We are working to improve a kindergarten for their children and except for a few families there is little support. They stand on the street corner and watch but they do not participate.

The saddest thing is that all of this is because they do not know the Lord.  

For that we must pray, nothing else really matters.

Second Day

Mar 30, Monday

Lots of hard work scraping paint from the walls in preparation for putting the mortar on.

Word has gotten out about the work project. The local unemployed, children, and one man who reminded us of the NT story of the girl possessed by demons who went around harassing the disciples until Paul cast the demons out.

He was such a distraction or an embarrassment, not sure which, that the head school teacher called the police to take him away.

Theo gave our devotions in the AM at the work site and sang with us at lunch. One of the workers seemed really touched as did one of the teachers. The theme of his message was being genuine, sharing who we are; sharing our journey with each other.

Thankfully, no rain today as the roof window of our bus still leaks even with the stuffing they put in to augment the broken seals.

First Day on the Job!

March 29, Sunday

Caracal, Romania | 150 km South of Bucharest, 50 km North of the Bulgarian border

The route from the town where our hotel is located to the work site goes through 40 km of low lying farm land, some of which looks as though it has not been farmed in years. Periodically we come upon areas where trash has been piled or dumped. No garbage service here. There are low lying hills and woods in the distance. Stray dogs show from their demeanor that they are not treated kindly. The houses in the small towns are all surrounded by brick walls, many topped with barbed wire or tin cut into a spiked scallop making it clear that they do not trust their neighbors. Our bus, traveling 60 mph, overtakes horse-drawn wagons. A small, one-man cart pulled by small, fuzzy donkeys ambling along, slowing down the busy highway.  

The outskirts of the town are poorer houses, tiny lots. None are well kept. I feel I am looking at a depressed nation. The main street is paved. Side streets are not. There are few cars, mostly taxis or commercial vehicles with their logos painted on the side. The side streets are rutted with large potholes. Most people walk or drive horse driven wagons.  

Our first day on the job.

We were met at the Kindergarten by the teachers and the founder, a college professor who has devoted his life to the eduction of the Roma people.

Dinner was  the most interesting part of the day because Theo arrived and told us the story of giving up his job with no secure support and three children to raise. He worked with the BFA team last year and all the kids who were here then were delighted to see him.

Visiting Last Year's Site, the Roma Neighborhood, and Bucharest

Welcome to Romania!

We drove though what is probably a middle class area of Romania which looks a lot like a poor area of the south in the 50s. Poorer dwellings on the outskirts, wealthier homes toward the middle of the community.  We pass acres and acres of farm land on a dirt road with holes the size of a compact car. As we enter the town, a horse drawn wagon crosses our path.

We arrived at the Habitat project site from last year. Little children who recognized familiar faces came running and jumped in the arms of their friends from last spring.  One little girl didn’t leave the arms of her student friend until it was time for us to reboard the bus. Timon, a teacher from FES, grabbed the little guy who came running to him and swung him around and around. Sadly, the medical clinic–which the local government had obligated itself to complete–is still unfinished. The local government was supposed to finish it. They have not; there is squabbling as to who should work there and complete it.

The joy of children as well as adults was very heart warming. The school teacher asked for prayer as we were leaving.

We also visited the site of a well which was dug for the use of 6 families in the surrounding area. Their homes  were built of scrap metal, mud mixed with horse dung and pressed into woven stick walls. The women appeared to be dressed in layers of clothing, probably all that they owned. They were very proud of what they owned, inviting us into their dwelling. One child begged for pennies when none of the adults were looking. As our bus was driving away, the grandmother of the house was sweeping the rain water and mud from in front of the family dwelling. How tragic that they live in such poverty yet how wonderful that they are grateful for what they have and have such pride in their possessions.

As we drive through the country side we come to towns with wealthier homes which are made of concrete block plastered over with tin roofs. Everything is fenced in. The poor homes with wire, others with wood, the wealthier with concrete columns and steel or decorative concrete panels.  

The town churches are orthodox. In the year 600 Ivan the Bulgar Slayer overran Bulgaria all the way up into southern Romania. The result is the Orthodox Church and Byzantine influence even in the poorer village churches.

In the wealthier Roma areas, homes are built 5 -6 stories high in the style of Indian architecture; Indian being their heritage.

Lunch at a Romanian Restaurant… fun conversation around the table, practicing German, listening to the happy banter of friends, getting to know the kids from FES.

Back in Bucharest, we saw the Revolutionary Square where thousands died protesting the government of 1989. 

En route, a panel half fell off of the side of the bus causing a horrible crash but hung on enough to keep from falling off. Thankfully, it did not affect the operational ability of the bus!

Our bus also leaks on four seats and it continues to rain. One of the students devised a way to use small inverted umbrellas to catch the rain before it falls on passengers… and twice the back door has flown open as we drove down the highway. Fortunately, no harm done and, in the greater scheme, a minor inconvenience after seeing the housing in which an extended family lived and their conveyance, a horse drawn wagon. The question arises in my mind, “How is it that we live so well and often unhappily in the West and they live so happily in their poverty?”

Visiting our worksite from last year and Meeting our worksite for this year