We just wrapped up our team meeting on Sunday eventing around 10 PM and tomorrow is the big day. We will arrive at the Point of Hope early in the morning and "officially" begin our week of ministry with the children and women. We've been thinking about and planning for this week for several months, and it's finally here.
To our friends and family back home, you may be wondering, 'What have you been doing in Romania all week if you are just now starting Bible school?' While it might seem like we've been on vacation for the past three days, what we've really been doing is bonding as newly-introduced brothers and sisters in Christ. As we sat around the hotel lobby tonight discussing how things will go tomorrow, I can genuinely say, it felt like a room full of good friends discussing activities.
I am trying to imagine how different that meeting might have been had we had it on Day 1 - when the group was jet lagged and strange to one another. How our different plans and expectations, mixed with new faces and personalities, might have created a divisive atmosphere. There may have been conflict or tension.
But instead, I have gotten to know each and every team member here on such a personal level. When we sit down together now, we are comfortable sharing ideas and thoughts about how things should go and what our vision is. It's a wonderful team environment to be a part of and I'm so thankful we've had this time together before we start the actual work of our mission trip. I think we're going to be a great, cohesive team.
Today, we had a wonderful opportunity to see the older kids off to camp and then to visit the Gypsy Church just around the corner from the Point of Hope. Our team from Chattanooga got to see the little boy our church children's ministry sponsors, Iacob. We were overjoyed to spot him in the crowd - he's like a celebrity whose pictures we've seen but who we've never met in person. To him, we were quite overwhelming! When the counselor called him up to us and we bombarded him with cell phone cameras in his face, he backed away, a little unsure of these crazy Americans! But when the counselor explained that we are from the church that sponsors him, he agreed to take a picture with us. When he caught me taking photos of him getting on the bus later, he gave me a big smile - that was awesome! I'm so excited for the great week he's going to have at camp.
Because we took so long with the kids, we were more than 30 minutes late to church. Think of what that would mean at any one of our church homes in the U.S. We would probably not go, or if we did, we would slip in the back and hope no one noticed our disruption. So, how did it go at the Gypsy church? They welcomed the disruption joyfully, escorted us right up to the front, absolutely beaming at us as we entered, allowed us to speak and introduce ourselves, and then allowed Jonathan and I to sing a song we had prepared for their worship time.
As we started singing, all the younger girls sitting in the back of the church whipped out their phones and started taking pictures of us. Many of the older men and women shouted 'Amen' and their faces were just filled with the love of Jesus as we sang. It was an emotional experience for me, personally. During the bridge of the song (a line that repeats 4 times), we were surprised when these people who don't speak our language picked up on how our song was repeating and sang right along with us! For that matter, I was so impressed with how the entire congregation sang every single song - they sang loudly and boisterously. It was such a blessing to experience.
One of the Point of Hope teachers leaned forward during the sermon and told me (in English) a summary of what the pastor was saying, to the best of her ability. Watching his passionate expressions and emotions as he spoke in his language while she pieced together bits and pieces of stories I was already familiar was incredible. He had said before we started that the Holy Spirit was powerful enough to transcend our language barriers - and he was right. As he was finishing up his sermon, he looked right at Jonathan and me and spoke a few words. The translator said, 'He wants you to sing another song.'
It was surprising, but we were totally up for it. Again, I wondered, how would something like that go over in our culture? You mean we're just going to do a song right now unexpectedly? A song that the band hasn't practiced? Do we have sheet music for that? But in this little church, they just let the Spirit move - and we were so blessed to be a part of that.
After the service, people came to the front to shake our hands and kiss our cheeks. They said things in a language we didn't understand, but it was obvious the sentiment - they were happy we were there. I just kept smiling and saying, 'Thank you.' Without a doubt, going to Gypsy Church was my favorite thing we have done so far on this trip.
So, it's been quite a trip already - with a lot of travel, some sight seeing, eating, meeting new friends and discussing plans. Tomorrow, we are all excited and looking forward to more directly engaging with the community and making relationships there that will hopefully make a difference in our lives and theirs.
By Monica Barrett from Chattanooga, TN.
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