Dear Friends,
It seems I have been doing a lot running around over the past two months. Lenutsa and I went to a week-long missionary retreat in Turkey. Shortly after that I went to the States for two weeks to attend a board meeting and visit friends and family. It was such a short and fast trip that Lenutsa decided not to come with me. We hope to travel together next summer and to be able to see everyone that I didn’t manage to on this visit.
I also experienced a bit of culture shock while in the U.S. The bright lights, big cars and shopping centers no longer affect me as Romania has been importing all of that. But I was shocked as I sat around a dinner table one night listening to mostly non-Christians talk about faith. I think that my being a “missionary” induced the conversation, but I just sat and listened as they talked about their trouble with believing in God in the midst of an evil world and their experiences with the church and eastern meditation and their hopes for their children. It was not surprising to see the lack of self-critique in the religion and theology that they purport in the name of agnosticism and secularism. It has its own mythology and morals and demands its own style of worship. But the shocking thing was how they treated “god” as an option – a commodity to be bought based on its fitting into one’s worldview, plans, and desires. For most of the families with whom we are in relationship, God is not an option but a reality. That is not to say that they all know and walk with God personally. But they all know that they cannot do anything without God. Some become fatalistic, saying, “That’s just fate; God has decided it.” Others hold a deep faith, saying, “In spite of all of this, we will survive by God’s grace.” God is a reality, not a choice.
Another aspect that I couldn’t get used to was the amount of space. When I was a child, I mostly had my own room and my own things. But I was visiting our neighbors who have about 20 people living in the same room. Two of their girls participate in the Valley Community Center. When they want to change their clothes, they ask all of the boys to go outside. It is such a contrast that it makes it difficult to reconcile in my own life.
I was deeply encouraged one evening in Omaha that I spent with a family that served with us in Galati for a few years. Their two boys and little daughter (who was born in Romania) led me around their room. The oldest showed me his and his brother’s bunk bed and their sister’s bed. Then they showed me their play space in the middle of the room. I said, “Wow! You all share this room and it is your play room?” He replied, “Yeah, it’s kind of big, but it’s good.”
In the midst of all the transition that we have experienced in the past months, I find it good to have some rhythms. As usual, most of our kids began school in mid September. Along with getting school supplies, covering books, getting uniforms and school clothes, we also receive new children into the activities at the Valley Community Center.
Throughout the year we receive many requests from parents, schools and child protection services to enroll children at the Center. Naturally, we are limited by both the amount of space and the number of staff, so we can’t say “yes” to everyone. But we try to focus on the most vulnerable – children spending time on the streets, children who have dropped out or who are not attending school, and children who are vulnerable due to broken homes or poverty. This year we received nine new children.
Now we are trying to build relationships with them and to help them integrate into the activities at the Center. Some of them are starting school for the first time, so they find it difficult to concentrate. Some are used to the “freedoms” of the streets and broken homes, so they find it difficult to accept boundaries.
Lenutsa was helping two of our new children with their homework during their first few days of first grade. Before she began helping them learn to write straight lines, she asked them how they liked their teacher. One of the seven-year-olds said, “We don’t like her. She hits us and pulls our hair. She’s mean, not like you. You’re well-behaved.” Lenutsa took this as a compliment.
On another day, Lenutsa was leading some of the new children around the room, showing them the school and art supplies in each of the cabinets, and telling them that they needed to ask before taking anything from the cabinets. To make sure that they understood, she asked, “When can you take something out of the cabinet.” One of the little boys replied seriously, “When you’re not around.”
It is a challenge to help the children feel safe and to develop new friendships. Every year we find that there are some who come for a few days or weeks and then never come back. So, please do pray for the new children.
Another part of our rhythm this time of year is preparing for Christmas. In years past we have helped the children do chores around the Center. In exchange for the hours that they work, they can “buy” presents for their siblings. This year is the first time that Samaritan’s Purse is not sending gifts to Romania. Although that means that we will need to come up with 100 or so presents, I think it is an opportunity for the local churches to get involved. Please do pray for the children, for their siblings, and for the churches to really experience the receiving of sacrificial giving.
Thank you for keeping us before the Father in your prayers.
Yours in Christ, david and lenutsa