Romania Team Update #6

Hello Good Shepherd family!! Thank you for all the continued prayers as we come to the end of our trip. 

Saturday

After a very long night Friday, the leaders came in one by one, most late and rubbing their eyes, to our last meeting. We discussed the previous night and the impact it had on the students. There were a lot of deep conversations had and God definitely worked through some of the spiritual warfare that had been going on. When we went downstairs, all the students had gathered in the message area. We sang the camp song and then Christian gave the students some time to come up and give short testimonies about their experiences at camp. Some spoke about the friends they made, the leaders they were able to talk to and the way God met them through this camp. We didn’t have long before everyone was packed up and saying goodbye. A lot of the students we would see on Sunday, but for some this was the last time. After the students all got on the buses, we cleaned up all the rooms and said goodbye to the Romanian leaders. A longggg van ride later we were back at the community center making pizzas and debriefing the week.  

Sunday

We woke up and went to church where Levi and Dane gave testimonies about the impact the camp had on them. After service we had a quick lunch and then headed back to the community center to rest before the after party that night where we’d get to reunite with some of the students. At the after party we sang worship, played some games and listened to more of the students testimonies. It was much more of a sad goodbye than Saturdays because this was the final time we’d see them. After our long goodbyes we prepared for our flight the next morning. 

Monday

We left for the airport at 3am and arrived in Prague in the afternoon. We spent the day getting settled in our Airbnb and beginning to debrief our time in the camp. We talked about the best and the hardest things we experienced. We also took time to recognize and appreciate some of the positive things we saw in each other during camp. That night we made pasta and played some games before turning in.

Tuesday 

Tuesday was our full day in Prague so we were excited to see the sights. We started with pancakes for breakfast and then took some time to individually debrief about our personal growth. After that we headed out. We saw a castle and a few church’s and stopped for ice cream in town. The architecture was simply beautiful. Then the weather shifted and the wind and rain came. We took cover for lunch at a restaurant and waited it out. When it somewhat cleared we went back out stopping a little souvenir shops and one of the biggest malls I’ve ever seen. Then we dropped our stuff back off at the Airbnb and went to dinner at a German restaurant. When we got back, we packed up and went to bed early.

Wednesday

We woke up and immediately our travel started to go wrong in every way. 

• Our driver was 20 minutes late
• They didn’t have our tickets for our first flight 
• Our next flight got delayed by almost an hour
• Levi’s luggage wasn’t at baggage claim
• Another delay for our last flight

But we made it home and only a little bit off schedule. God was with us through our entire trip and answered every prayer no matter how small. Thank you for all of your prayers and we’re so thankful we got this opportunity to be God’s messengers and spread His love.

– Miriam