This is my first letter to you from Romania and much has happened since you last heard from me in July, so I'll try to fill you in..
HOST FAMILY: On August 1, I moved across the street to a single room apartment with a bathroom and small balcony. I am loving my new host family, a retired couple with four older children studying theology (Eastern Orthodox) in Bucharest. Even though I live in the apartment next door with a separate entrance, I eat dinners with them because I don't have a kitchen of my own. This has been a great blessing for me to have more quiet, privacy and rest, while still living in close proximity to the Ivans (my former host family of twelve).
LANGUAGE STUDY has been going well. I have private lessons three days a week with an excellent tutor who keeps me challenged. I'm discovering what is meant by a “language headache” as I daily try to learn more words through written homework and casual conversation. When my short-term memory gets overloaded, my forehead tightens and my eyes begin to throb. But I'm told this is a good thing, even if a little painful.
DROP-IN CENTER: School began on September 15 so we are getting adjusted to this new schedule with a more formal program. We have seven children enrolled in public elementary school who come to the Center for meals and assistance with homework. We also have some older children enrolled in an accelerated school since they are too old to enter the first grade. In addition, we continue relationships with street boys through organized soccer games three
days a week.
We still have construction and renovation going on at the Center, so these next weeks will be focused on completing these house projects. One of my jobs has been to scrape, sand, prime and paint the windows in our game room and homework center. As soon as we finish the renovations we must pass inspection by the State so that our program becomes official.
I have been amazed and challenged by the patience and endurance of the staff who have been working on the Drop-In Center for more than a year and a half. After only two months, I've found my patience tested many times, so you can imagine what it must be like for those who've been here since the beginning. And it's also amazing to see the metamorphosis of an old run down house into a great drop-in center for kids!
SERVANT TEAMS: There is no WMF Servant Team coming to Romania this Fall so I will be free to continue studying Romanian and helping where I'm needed at the Drop-In Center. I will begin leading teams in February.
ME: God has helped me through these first months of adjusting and surrounded me with supportive friends. I have felt your prayers with me. I am finding a new sense of purpose and
belonging here in Galati and I thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement as I struggled through these first few months.
Lastly, I want to ask you to pray for me and Lenuta Dodu as we travel to Lima, Peru on November 1-15, for a two week exchange program. Lenuta is a dear friend and leader in our WMF community here in Galati and I am blessed to be able to travel with her. We will be visiting the WMF ministry for children-at-risk in Lima and interacting with the staff and children involved
in the drop-in center there. Please pray that all the preparations would come together and that the Lord would open our hearts to what He wants to teach us from this time in Lima.
Thank you for your continued love, prayers and support.
With love,
Rachel Simons
O.P. 6 C.P. 256
Galati, 6200
ROMANIA
rachel.simons@wordmadeflesh.com
PH# 00-236-494-938
Seek Justice, Love Mercy
Lately, I have found myself asking the question, “Lord, what do you want from me here in this city?” And the answer comes:
He has shown you what is good. And what does the Lord require? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
I am called to seek justice. But I hesitate to fully embrace a radical theology of justice for the poor because in taking such a step, I am confronted with several problems.
Maybe I will be seen as subversive if I speak out against acts of oppression and injustice. To be passionate about justice for the poor? To be frustrated by the abuse suffered by these children? How do I keep from becoming angry and ostracizing myself from those I want to speak with on behalf of the poor?
The second problem is trying to find a way to communicate what I am seeing and learning as I interact with those who are by the world's standard, poor. I struggle to find ways of expressing the ugly faces of poverty while simultaneously communicating the beauty in each life, created in the image of God. And how do I tell their stories without dehumanizing them? These are
not just stories, these are people's lives.
For instance, how do I express my sadness when hearing the reason for the absence of one of our boys who has not been coming to the Center lately? I learned that his mom was sending him to work for a man who picks through garbage all day. I can think of nothing more humiliating than picking through garbage looking for scraps to sell. And in saying this much, I already reveal
that which I would never want others to know about me if I were in his shoes.
But when I tell these stories, I seem to gain admiration from my listeners. And here is the third problem. Why is it unusual to show compassion for the poor? If we are disciples of Christ, then we should all be doing radical things in the name of Christ, seeking justice and loving mercy and showing compassion for the poor. It should be the norm and not the exception that strangers would stop us on the street and say, “You are a believer, aren't you.” They will know we are Christians by our love.
So I keep asking questions and searching for answers. And I hope that you will ask these questions with me. What does it mean to seek justice? How can I show compassion for the poor? Can others recognize the life of Christ within me simply by the way I am living?