Day #2 of "Christmas in Romania" mission trip

Today was another very good day for the team. We woke up to a beautiful sunny, but very cold morning. The ski slopes of the ski resort are virtually in the back yard of our hotel and the view from the balcony was stunningly beautiful. These slopes, like the ones in the U.S., can create snow if needed, but man-made snow is not needed at this time. You see many homes and businesses with huge mounds of beautiful glistening snow on the roofs. Many postcard worthy pictures are being taken of the beautiful winter scenery. After the morning devotions and a typical European continental breakfast of bread, salami, eggs, cheese, and yogurt, the team loaded into the 8 person Volkswagen van and headed north towards Sighisoara where the team was to visit the medieval city. The team enjoyed seeing local artifacts from the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th century. Sighisoara was also the home to Vlade Tepes or Dracula for 4 years. So, the team saw some of the weaponry and medical items used during his reign as King of Romania.

After a little bit of shopping the team then completed the trip north and were greeted in Targu-Mures by Gabi Szabo, the Buckner Missions Coordinator, and ACF's long-term missionaries Dennis and Swanna Lofton. The team then settled into their rooms at the Continental Hotel which will be home for the team for 3 nights. After some rest the team took a brisk 10 minute walk to the Excalibur restaurant where the team enjoyed a unique meal. The food was not unique but the way the food is served was the uniqueness. The food was served on 1 large platter which included a whole chicken, pork chops, ham, sausages, chicken livers, ribs, roasted potatoes, cabbage, mixed vegetables, apples, cucumber, kiwi, banana's, and probably other items I did not see. Also, since it is a medieval type meal no utensils were given to eat with. However, we did happen to find a couple forks to use. Everyone got their fill of delicious food and I even tried the chicken livers wrapped in bacon. I do not like chicken livers but how bad can anything be if it is wrapped in bacon....well liver can still be bad even in bacon...yuckky! At the end of the meal we still had enough food for a family. So, Dacian was the benefactor of the left-overs and got to take them home.

I am sure you are asking if I could post some pictures of the trip and I promise I will try to do that tomorrow. The team has been talking plenty of pictures but I do not have access to them yet. Tomorrow I will get a few of the best ones to share with you. The plan for tomorrow will be going to shop for all of the construction supplies we need for the project at the Point of Hope Development Center. I would like to send a "shout out" to all of the people from Christ United Methodist Church of East Moline, Illinois for supplying all of the funds for this important project. After shopping for the materials at Baumax (the Romanian version of Lowe's or Home Depot) the team will get the materials delivered to the Point of Hope and start preparing for the work project. The team will also be witnessing the shooting of a TV show for a local Romanian station that is highlighting the transformational work being done at the Point of Hope. This is a huge event for Buckner and ACF. Getting community support for the work we are doing there will be a huge benefit for future support of the community. Dacian Moldovan and his staff is responsible for the great reputation this center has now developed in the community. Pastor Jeff Schlesinger has said that the work being done at the Point of Hope is the purest form of the Gospel he has ever seen as a Pastor within the mission field. The team will then get its first look at the POH Center as well as meet some of the staff there. Finally, the team will return to Targu-Mures for the night.

I have no specific prayer requests for the team other than Kim Gaskins-Delz is developing a cough and would appreciate prayers for her and the entire team to fight off any illnesses that might be creeping in. But please pray for the team as they are considering a question I asked them to think about during devotions this morning. I will ask each of you to consider the same simple question. Why did Jesus come to earth? Sounds simple but the answer is obviously very complex. Think and pray about this and I will give you a response that I have learned to this question in tomorrow's blog.

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