We just finished breakfast at Hotel Korona in Sighisoara. This week has been a lot of fun. We left Monday morning for Brasov then hopped back on the train Wednesday morning headed for Cluj. Cluj is a big university town in Romania. We really enjoyed our 2 days in Cluj. We were able to meet up with the author of “The Complete Insiders Guide To Romania”. Sam took us to an amazing little shop for dessert & coffee. Sam has lived in Romania for about 10 years, so he had a lot of insight to share. It was encouraging to see another American over here living the simple life and just enjoying the culture Romania has to offer.
We had a full day on Thursday. We met Sam at 8am to go to the local market. The market was full of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, & breads. We walked out with a nectarine, grapes, & a few bananas. Sam in turn walked out with a brick of goat cheese & green onions. (oh, the difference 10 years in romania makes!). Sam then took us for a little walking tour of some of the more historic parts of Cluj. There is a rich Hungarian history in Cluj so we saw a few historic churches, statues, & a birthplace of a Hungarian king. My personal favorite was going inside one of the churches. It is a humbling experience to walk inside some of these magnificent buildings. You’ll see some of the pictures below from inside the church.
Next we took a bus over to the new mall in Cluj. (You weren’t thinking I would miss visiting the Starbucks in Cluj now were you?) There is something unique about the Starbucks experience. Personally, I appreciate that they keep pretty much EVERYTHING the same as in the states… down to the furniture. It always brings me a little bit of home.
Around 12 noon, Rufus Whynot and his wife Dee picked us up from the mall and took us out to their home about 30 minutes outside of the city to the north. They have a beautiful home on an even better plot of land! The view was absolutely amazing. Looking out their front porch you see a few large hills with a flock of sheep moving back & forth. We had a very nice afternoon just sitting on their front porch talking about doing ministry in Romania. Rufus shared a lot of wisdom about his philosophy of ministry. One of the things I liked best was simply seeing how much he has poured into the lives of his team. They share their property with 2 other Romanian families who are on their staff. It is hard to come up with the words to describe it… But their ministry just felt AUTHENTIC.
Around dinner time we left for a youth service at a local gypsy camp that Rufus’s team ministers at. It was honestly one of the most enlightening experiences I have had in Romania. Its important to understand that the gypsy community is looked down upon by pretty much everyone including the Romanian Christian community. (I remember talking to a gypsy in Bucharest as a teenager and one of my Romanian Christian friends just couldn’t understand why I would be wasting my time speaking with a gypsy kid.) Basically, they are the outcasts of the society here. When I read the Bible… That’s who we as Christians are called to minister to. God’s heart is for the outcasts.
So, this gypsy community has set up a camp/small community at the city garbage dump. There are hundreds of people living right at the entrance of city dump. People spend their time picking through the trash to find things that could be reused or sold. Some businesses have even set up a place to buy these items directly from the gypsies as they bring it back out of the trash. It’s not an easy sight to see as there were so many kids running around the camp. Those kids have very few options for their lives. Some don’t even get any education as their families need them to work scouring the dump all day. Rufus gave us permission to take a few pictures, so you’ll see those below.
Their team has set-up a nice building right in the community for church services, medical services, & other uses. Thursday evening is their family services. They asked me to share with the youth service which consisted of 9 girls ages 10-15. The girls were precious. It was really cool to hear one of the girls recite the entire 23rd psalm from memory. She won a huge power ranger coloring kit which of course she was quite proud of. I shared a little bit about why we come to romania, that we have an important message to share about how much Jesus loves us and wants to change our lives. 7 of the girls raised their hand to accept Christ that night. My heart hurts because I know those girls were going back to their homes and back to a life that looks hopeless. I pray that God will watch over them and protect them. It was during this meeting that I realized just how important discipleship is. Those girls all raised their hands & said “the prayer” but I know that this is just the beginning. I am thankful that the team is there to be with those girls even if it is just a few times a week.
Thursday morning we hopped back on the train headed back towards Bucharest. We decided to split up the trip by staying the night in Sighisoara. This town is pristine… It’s liked we stepped back into medieval times (if medieval times had a ton of souvenir shops). There is not a whole lot to see, but it’s well worth the visit. I guess other have a medieval festival here once a year where people get all dressed up… Now that would be pretty wild to see.
We jump back on the train around 2:45pm this afternoon for a close to 7 hour ride back to Bucharest. UGH! Thankfully, that’s where we will spend the rest of our time here in Romania… so no more traveling.
With just over 1 week into our 3 week trip Andrea & I KNOW in our hearts that this is where God has called us – that has only been strengthened. The exact ministry/opportunity He has for us, we don’t know yet. But honestly, I don’t think He is nearly as concerned about what we do, but where our hearts are. I am continually seeking more of Him. Afterall, THAT is what it’s all about.
