Thanks to the generous support of many of you, I was able to make my second journey to Romania this summer! I returned about a week ago, and while words can not possibly describe my experience, I'm going to try my best to put it all into words as my way of thanking you for making this opportunity possible!
On June 1st my grandfather and I met our mission group in Atlanta and we began the very, very long journey across the globe to Romania! Our first leg was from Atlanta to Paris, and then we left Paris to fly to Budapest. About a four hour drive separates Budapest, Hungary, and Oradea, Romania. So, all in all it took us about a day to make it to the mission center, and when we arrived our pillows were well-appreciated. There was, however, one thing we had to do before we got to go to sleep... we had to choose our mission project for the following day. We had around three different projects to choose from, and the only one that stuck out to me was homeless visits. Last year, I steered away from homeless visits and chose to fill my time with missions like VBS or family visits. For some reason, the idea of homeless visits scared the daylights out of me. Not in the safety aspect, I have always felt completely comfortable while doing mission work for Smiles, it was more in the intensity aspect. I knew I had seen some of the worst conditions possible on family visits, but something in my mind told me that while on homeless visits I would see even worse living conditions, if that were even possible. None of the other missions for the next day interested me, and I began to feel God tugging at my heart, asking me to just step outside of my comfort zone, even if just for one day. So, with some hesitation, I signed up to sped the day visiting the homeless community surrounding Oradea.
Before splitting up for our missions the next day, we spent the morning visiting a building that was practically rubble when we saw it last year. The building is JFL, or Joint Facility of Love. One of the very harsh realities in Romania is that parents usually do not have the means to care for themselves, their own children, and their own aging parents as well. So, as a result, many elderly find themselves on the streets with nowhere to turn to for help. The Joint Facility of Love is a solution to this growing issue. The building currently serves as an elderly home providing low cost cares to those families in need with a Christian influence and loving staff. Soon, the building will also serve as a safe place for families with mentally disabled children. Thus, the name, Joint Facility of Love. Seeing this building go from shambles to a beacon of hope in such a short amount of time was so incredible, God is surely working to provide for those in need in Oradea.
JFL June 2013
JFL June 2014
After our visit here, we split up into our groups to head out to do our mission projects for the day. Before leaving for family visits, Raul, the Smiles social worker responsible for the homeless mission, explained to us that we needed to go to the store first to pick up supplies for the day. As a group of about 5 people, we were each given the equivalent of around $25 to spend, which had to buy enough food to last a family for a month. With that in mind, we started to walk around the store and buy whatever we could with our individual budgets. For $25 I was able to get carrots, potatoes, cooking oil, a nice sized loaf of bread, a liter of water, some packaged meat, pasta, and a can of peas. Basically, I was able to get enough food to last the average sized American family around two full meals. Raul then explained to us that the typical Romanian household has about half as much money as we had to spend on groceries per month, my mind was blown. With that shocking realization floating through our minds, we left to see who we could find around town. Our first stop was to a huge, abandoned communist aluminum factory where around 20 homeless people took refuge. I prepared myself to expect the worst, but no amount of imagination could have prepared me for what I saw. We walked around for a few hours speaking to the different people, some were old men living alone, some were small families, and some were couples. Two of the old men were so severely depressed that they spent every penny they had on alcohol, and stayed drunk almost every day when they could. One family consisted of a mother and father and two of the most amazing children I have ever met. They were living in an abandoned concrete building that they called home, they had nothing more than the clothing on their back and the food that Smiles provides for them, and yet they were to of the happiest children I have ever seen. The two little boys were so excited to have someone to play with for a while, and even while nestled in the heart of poverty, these two boys had smiles as big as the sun on their faces. The stories went on and on, and none of these people ever thought they would be in the situation they are in today. I wish we could have stayed there for the entire day, just talking and visiting with the people there, but we had already spent most of our time with them and given them all of our supplies since there were around four families and three individuals. We had one more visit to make, though, and the story of this man is one I will never forget.
The man and his girlfriend lived in a small shack not far from our first visit. The man was once a famous Romanian boxer who was sure to succeed in his boxing career, until the Romanian mafia sent his career hurdling to the ground. He was fighting in a match one day, when the mafia told him that he had to loose his next fight, because they had a LOT of money bet against him. He did just the opposite, and knocked his opponent down with one single blow. The mafia was furious, and as punishment they killed his entire family. He, in return, killed one of the mafia members to get justice for his deceased family members, and turned himself in to the police. Since he confessed, he received only a 13 year prison sentence as opposed to life without parole. Once released, he could not find work due to his record, and he ended up homeless. His girlfriend was a woman he met while living on the streets I suppose, and he took her under his wing and cared for her. He convinced her to stop drinking, took care of her after she was in a car accident, and continues to take care of her now.
The two precious brothers I mentioned in the last paragraph
Another family from the compound
The boxer and his girlfriend
This man's story hit me like a freight train. It's easy to believe that people are impoverished or homeless due to their own choices in life, but the difficult thing is to realize that it only takes one wrong turn for us to end up the same exact way. With this realization in mind, we stayed to visit with the couple for a while before going back to the mission center. After dinner, we had sign ups again, and I knew that I needed something more light hearted to help with the next day, so when VBS was announced as an opportunity I bolted to the sign up sheets to make sure my name was first on the list. I was thankful for the experience I had while on homeless visits, but I also knew that the children were where my heart was at. I was even more elated when I discovered that the village we would be putting on VBS for was the exact same village I had done VBS for last year. I was going to get to see the children's pictures I had been looking at all year, the same children I was blessed to share Jesus with last year, I was going to be reunited with their sweet, innocent faces. I didn't get much sleep that night for two reasons: 1. Because I was feeling extremely guilty as I laid in a warm, cozy bed with a full stomach after seeing the unimaginable living conditions of the homeless I met earlier in the day and 2. Because I just could not contain my excitement brewing inside me to see the same exact children I had been missing all year.
When my alarm went of bright and early the next morning, I put aside my tiredness and awoke overjoyed to start the day. After breakfast, everyone left for their missions while I and the rest of the VBS team stayed behind to plan the afternoon. We chose the story of when Peter walks on water to Jesus for our scripture, and came up with a craft idea, a puppet show, a few games, and then made some small goodie bags for the children. Once we were done with our planning and organizing, we began the hour long bumpy drive to a nearby mountain village. From nearly a mile away, you could hear the children shouting, "NELU! NELU! NELU!" Nelu is the social worker in charge of family visits for Smiles, but he also helps with VBS whenever he can. Most of the children of the village were already waiting at the school, and the others came quickly when they saw the bright yellow smiles van driving down the villages dirt roads. The children all had smiles that stretched from ear to ear covering their faces, they were sitting outside underneath a huge tree, eager to hear about Jesus, eager to craft, and eager to spend the day playing with their American friends. The day went by quickly, and before we knew it we were packing up the things we brought and heading back to the center. We spent our time singing bible songs in Romanian and then in English, learning the story of how Peter trusts and then doubts Jesus while walking on the water through a skit, watching a puppet show related to the bible story, playing fun games, and receiving a small snack and goodie bag.
VBS day 1
VBS day 1
VBS day 1
The day was everything I hoped for and more. On the drive home, we were traveling through the curvy mountain road with a beautiful sight of the mountains when I had a shocking realization. On my first mission to Romania, I saw what the living conditions were like for these children, and I saw things that no individual, much less an innocent child, should ever witness. This remembrance fueled a question in my brain: what do these children have after we leave? We leave, and they go back to their so called homes and hope that there will be dinner that night. We leave to go back to a cozy bed and a table full of food, and these children are left there. They are left there and all we can do is hope that they remember the stories from the day, that Jesus loves them no matter where they live, regardless of their Gypsy or Romanian status, and that we love them as well. This realization broke my heart in two. I shed a silent tear or two on the drive home, and quickly put away my sadness when we returned to a party-decorated mission center!
We had no idea, but this was the tenth year that the mission center had been up and running, providing a space where hundreds of people have stayed to participate in a Smiles mission trip. So, that night was a celebration! We were throwing a birthday party for the smiles center, and celebrating the opportunity this building gave to so many people to be able to have their lives forever influenced by the people of Romania. While at dinner that night, I met one of the Smiles workers that I had never had the privilege of meeting before, Emilia. She sat at my table for dinner, and throughout the meal we talked and got to know each other. She had meet my grandfather earlier in the year while she was in the US for some promotional work, and she heard about my bracelet fund raising from him. She brought up the idea of being a Smiles Student Ambassador, a commitment that meant I would help raise money and awareness for Smiles in the US. The idea seemed just like my cup of tea, especially since I had already started doing a little promoting on my own during the year, so I told her I would definitely consider the idea and thanked her for the opportunity. The only thing that concerned me was the commitment to fund raise at least $1300 a year. So, I thought about it, and I made a deal with God. The deal was that if this was something he really, truly wanted me to do, he would have to show me some kind of sign. I'll be the first to admit that easily trusting in God's path isn't always the easiest thing for me to do, so I needed some form of reassurance before I said yes to such a large task.
Happy birthday mission center!
Each week during the summer Smiles chooses one of their mission outreaches to celebrate, and the next day the VBS program was being acknowledged, so everyone was going to be involved with the VBS outreach for the day. It just so happened that we were leading VBS for the same group that I got to see the day before, which only made the day even more exciting! In the morning, half of the group left to go visit the homes in the village while the other half of us stayed to prepare like we did the day before. I stayed to help prepare, and we were expecting around 100 children so we had a lot of work to do! We finished up around 10:30 and then we left to join the rest of our group. Since it was a celebration, we cooked lunch for the children and prepared even more activities for the day! When we pulled up, I ran over to hug and tickle some of the girls I recognized from the day before, and then we sat together for a while before we started passing out food. One of the girls, Andrea, insisted on giving my her seat on a wood stump, so I accepted and then I realized that she was asking me to sit down so she could sit on my lap. So, she did and we communicated the best we could for a while and then the girls were all fascinated when I fish-tail-braided Andrea's hair, they had never seen anything other than a regular braid before so they were all really excited to try it themselves! I eventually had to leave the girls and go help with all of the VBS activities, but when it came time for the craft I went and sat with Andrea and helped her color. She would point to the color she wanted and I would say it in English, and then she would teach me the Romanian. Craft time was coming to an end, and all of the kids were excited to put up the markers and get in line for snacks. Andrea, however, was perfectly content sitting in the grass coloring. So, I stayed with her, and we sat and colored. Then the girls started playing a game, Cat and Mouse, and Andrea grabbed my hand to go play. The game involved a great deal of running, so when we were both completely beat we went and sat in the grass again. We continued to teach each other some words in Romanian and English, anything we could find. Tree, grass, horse, and so on. Then Andrea started trying to ask me something that I couldn't understand, so I grabbed a friend Ana to translate. Andrea was asking if I was coming back to see her again. My heart broke in half because I knew that the answer was no, and that I only had one more day of mission work and that sadly, VBS wasn't an option for my last day. The group leaders announced that it was about time to go, so I got up to go grab the goodie bags to hand out. The boys and girls split to form a line, and I handed out the bags to the girls. Andrea was one of the last girls in line, so I handed her the small gift, wishing I could give her so much more, and she reached up to give me a hug. I was fighting back a tear because she wouldn't let go of the hug, and when she did I saw a tear slipping down her face too. She started to walk away as I finished handing out the bags. When I turned around to walk back to the van, I saw her standing waiting for me. I motioned for her to come give me one last hug, and when she did I couldn't hold back the tear anymore. I let a few loose and then I watched as Andrea disappeared around the corner while we stayed back to finish cleaning up. I couldn't think of anything but Andrea. I missed her already and she had only been gone for a few minutes.
VBS day 2 with my sweet Andrea
We loaded up in the vans to go back to the center, and on the way back I realized just what God's sign to me had been. You see, when I made that deal with God, I think I expected something along the lines of a bright yellow light coming out of the clouds accompanied by two trumpet playing angels and a deep Godly voice telling me that this is what I'm meant to do, help these people. This day, I learned that one of the beautiful things about God is that he is subtle. Its not always about some big ordeal, and in that moment I realized that Andrea was God's gift and reassurance to me. The relationship I formed with this child was short, but so full of coloring, laughter, and love. Andrea was God's end of the deal, and that night I fulfilled my end by telling Andrea I would love to sign up to become a Smiles Ambassador.
This commitment wasn't the only thing on my mind on that van ride back to the center. The thought from the day before, the thought of what happens after a mission group leaves these kids, came creeping back in. I was starting to realize that fund raising for Smiles isn't enough for me. I realized that I need to be there myself, as often as I possibly can.
God still wasn't done fulfilling his end of the bargain, I quickly learned that the next day. I signed up to travel to Gepiu, a small village close to the center. In Gepiu, Smiles has set up an after school care program in which the children receive a meal, homework help, and anything else they may need help and assistance with. In the morning, we spent our time cleaning out the small house that the after school program began in, so that it could be used as a form of income for Smiles by being transformed into a rental home. A few pounds of dust, lots of dirty rags, and many spiders later, we finished up at the house and headed across the street to the recently built facility that the after school program is now housed out of. We had a blast with the children, as suspected, but towards the end of the afternoon I noticed one girl who was sitting off to the side by herself with a pretty upset look on her face during a pretty intense water balloon fight, so I went to sit next to her for a while. I couldn't say much, so my 21st century teenager brain kicked in, and I took out my phone to show her some pictures. I showed her pictures of my friends and family, and she eventually took my phone and started scrolling through the pictures myself. Two of my other friends from the day ran over to look as well. When the kids were called inside to clean up, I stayed outside with my new friend, Roxy. After we finished looking through the pictures, she caught sight of my necklace. It was a very, very small crucifix and miraculous medal. She took the necklace off of my neck, and put it on herself. I pronounced "Jesus and Mary" in Romanian to her, and she nodded that she understood. Our van arrived shortly after, and it was time for another painful goodbye. Right before I left, Roxy took of the necklace to give it back, and I felt a voice inside of my saying to let her keep it, so I did. She gave me a big hug, and those darn tears worked their way back out again.
This was our last day of mission work, and I felt like my work had just began. I wasn't ready to leave... my job wasn't complete. That is all I could think of on the last ride back to Oradea. I was starting to formulate my return, just like I did last year. Only, this time, it didn't just seem like my plan, it felt like God was helping me make this plan, like he was fueling my desire to return, he was there telling me that this is where I'm meant to be, and it couldn't have felt any more perfect.
Now, don't get me wrong, the mission last year was absolutely amazing, but this year was SO much more. I asked, and God responded. These children I encountered touched my heart in unimaginable ways, and because of the experiences I had in Romania this year, I know that I have to go back. I know that I have to go back and see these children again, to let them know that I care about them and that I will do anything to see their bright faces. More importantly, I now understand that a week isn't the commitment I owe to these children, I don't have much to offer, but time is something I CAN and will try like heck to give to them.
For these reasons, I have decided to try my absolute best to raise the money I need in order to devote my entire summer to Romania either this year or next year, whichever fundraising allows for. This, on top of my ambassador commitment it going to be a lot to handle.
So now, I am asking YOU to help me. I am asking YOU to help me, and in turn help all of the Andreas, and Roxies of Romania. If you now feel compelled to donate to the Smiles Foundation, please shoot me an email and we can talk about how to get things set up! If you would like to support my personal mission, or have questions about attending a Smiles mission trip of your own, I can help with that as well! Email: (34657@sjabr.org)
I know this post was extremely long and tedious to read, and I thank each of you SO much for taking the time out to do so.
Until next time, (Where a much shorter post will occur)
-Katie :)
