Romania Team – Update #5
We are at the camp!
It has been an encouraging but VERY hot first day of English camp. There was a certain amount of chaos heading out in the morning as multiple new students had signed up last-minute and Cristian (the youth pastor at Betleem who makes most of the arrangements for the camp) had to figure out transportation and accommodations for them literally as we were driving to the camp. A personal story: my husband Eli and I got to drive up to Targoviste (where the camp was located) early with Cristian and his wife Estera, and learned more about the calling they had to this region of southern Romania and the different organizations they work with to engage with the youth here, like Josiah Venture. Please look up their bio on Josiah Venture’s website: Romania>Cristian & Estera Cazacu; their heart for ministry is amazing!
The camp is beautifully located; the main building on the grounds is placed at the top of a hill with orange trees and other lovely greenery on the grounds, and there is a sweeping view of the city. There is air conditioning in the main building and some of the rooms, but the building that most of our team and the students are housed in does not have air conditioning; normally, this would just be a minor inconvenience, but currently there is an unprecedented heat wave going on in Targoviste and the heat is truly oppressive. We are finding energy where we can and trying to remain positive and encouraging to each other and the students, but we could definitely use prayers to get through this heat wave without losing our tempers and that we will stay mission-minded even though we are so hot and tired.
On a more encouraging note, the first day of camp seemed to have a very good kickoff! All the kids had been brought in from the train station by 2 PM, and we had a delicious lunch and started making connections with some of the students right away. Lance, Maddie, and Miriam guided the kids through our first sports activity – a very creative series of relay races – and we made sure to time the teams and keep score, making a much less frustrating experience for the very competitive Romanian students (our veteran teammembers informed us that this method was a BIG improvement from years past). After dinner there was a time of worship and a message from Cristian, then the Romanian leaders separated the students into small groups to discuss what Cristian said. The language gap would have made our presence in the small groups a hindrance rather than a help, so we went to a separate room to check in with each other and pray together. It was a good time to unwind and remember what we are here for. John, Dane, and Emma then led the students in our first night activity: country line dancing! It was still very hot (John stated: “Sweatiest ‘country night’ in camp history”) and a lot of the students were simply too exhausted to dance every dance, but most of the students tried at least one line dance and caught on to the moves really well! Then it was time to shower and crash in bed.
Please pray for the students’ and our endurance in the face of this heat, and for the heat wave to end soon. Please pray for tempers and that we can remember to show kindness to each other. And please, please, please pray for the Romanian youth leaders; they will be the ones following up with these kids once we are gone, and so many of the students do not have Jesus in their lives.
Multumesc! (Romanian for “Thank you!”)
