Visit to Romania, May-June 07

May 4th 2007, ten people left England bound for Romania on a mission trip organised by 'Haven in Romania'. The trip was comprised of both men and women, ranging in age from 18... up! The trip had several aims, including the continued planning (and planting!) of a sensory garden for the Silvia Day Centre, numerous women's meetings, and simply getting alongside Romanian friends to improve friendship and communication.

The new garden being built behind the Silvia Day Centre has been designed by Paul Baines from Frinton Free Church, and is based around the five senses to grab the children's attention. Whilst out there, the team introduced a little autistic girl called Ioana to the new solar-powered fountain - judging by the wet shoes and the look of delight on her face as she tried to get as much of her arm into the fountain as possible, it was considered a very quick success! Lavandars, roses and various other bushes were bought from a nearby Garden Centre (a relatively new introduction to Romanian shopping) to compliment the work already underway with the paving. It called for plenty of trips backwards and forwards to fetch water, as the plants were gasping in the mid-thirties Celcius weather. (It has to be noted that several of the team were gasping at points as well!)



The first major women's meeting was held in the Piatra Neamt Baptist Church. It involved the preperation of literally hundreds of Romanian 'sandwiches' (a slice of bread with either ham or cheese, two pieces of olive and a slice of red pepper!) and also the slicing up of lots of English fruitcake, kindly made by ladies back home. Irina, one of our main translators, was fascinated by the information that not only was a fruitcake what she was holding and eating at the time, but that, back in England, if someone calls you a fruitcake you're a little bit crazy! She seemed to think it made sense though.

The meeting went on very well, and Sandy Burnett, who spoke, not only challanged the women, but also touched them with her honest testimony of coping with breast cancer. Not a subject that is often spoken of in Romania, the English team then went on to explain how to check for breast cancer, and what to do if you find a lump. The meeting was then followed by a bra-dispensing session, which, after the initial embarrassment, ended up with lots of giggling as the tape measure was found to be useless, and bras were thrown across the room with abandon in an effort to discover 'what size?!' each particular lady needed.


As well as the more structured parts of the mission, there were also times to relax, to make new friendships, and to cultivate old ones. Many lovely Romanian families from within the church took the team in as boarders, or sponsored them massive four course lunches. (Side note: many diet and excercise regimes have been started up since the team returned!)



So, the adult mission went well, and everyone came back fat (sorry, did I say fat?!), happy, and with a grasp of at least two more words in Romanian. But that isn't the last mission for this year. August 6-16th sees another mission taking place - this time with a group of young people and leaders from Frinton Free Church.

Plans for the mission are well underway now, and include kid's clubs, youth clubs, visits to village churches, and plenty of testimonies! Something that is exciting the team is the prospect of three days spent in a gypsy village doing kid's clubs with George (see 'George's Story' in this issue of Speranta), and getting to know the kids there a bit better.

Both teams would value your continued prayers for the mission work in Romania, and the partnership of both Romanian and English as they continue to reach out into the community.