Sudden glimpses into reality and embracing the gift of rest (and some muddy vulcanos).

I got home yesterday after a quiet whirlwind of a week in Romania. Even as I sit here sipping my Earl Grey and wanting to write down what has so impacted my heart, it’s hard to find the words. It’s hard to make the words communicate something as opposed to become a muddled collection of moments. But I will try. Try to write down the fun with the heartbreaking with the interesting. And even if it promises to become quite a long anecdote, I hope that as I write, what I’ve seen can be translated into prayers of hope for this nation that has somehow snuck into my heart.

The little girl at the train station.

She couldn’t have been more than 6 years old and had some kind of paper attached to a string around her neck. At first glance she looked like a normal child traveling with her family. And yet on observing her, she didn’t seem to really belong to anyone. She caught me off guard.

I was stood outside the McDonald’s at the train station, getting ready to travel a few hours out of the city to my next destination. She came over and uttered words in Romanian, and I ended up giving her a sweet I’d just taken out of my bag. She took it and continued on. She might have been asking for money. I don’t know. But it made me wonder.

It made me wonder why a child that age would be seemingly roaming around the train station alone. She didn’t seem lost. It seemed like that was where she was hanging out, confidently talking to random people she saw.

So very vulnerable. I wonder if anyone was thinking about what could happen to her...

Unexpected glimpse of reality.

Walking to the station googlemaps took us a back route fit for walking. We strolled along and found ourselves seeing what looked like the back side of the city. We saw an old woman selling her 10 leeks at the side of the road, and mothers with many children chatting on the pavement. At one point we got a glimpse which showed us that despite high rise apartment blocks scattered throughout the city, some people live in a different reality. A small alley just off the main road caught our attention. We only got a quick glance as we walked by, but it looked like what I would expect to see in the slum in Brazil. Dirt ground, clothes hung out to dry, and people filling the space.

It broke my heart. Sure the city is not a rich one by any means, and most of the buildings built in communist times are worn out and some crumbling and abandoned, yet it seems like the people are doing reasonably ok. But as always, there are always different realities, and the reality of these is so different. 

Waiting for those willing to pay.

As our bus speedily traveled through long distances of field and hills, the contrast to the big city was striking. There seemed to be such creativity even in the way the houses we passed were the same but different in the way they’d been decorated. A sign of a people of creativity.

At one intersection I caught a glimpse of her. Her very high heels looked like they were a glittery colour. Her demeanour showed that she wasn’t there waiting for someone known to come pick her up. She was waiting for anyone willing to pay the asking price for her services. It was such a quick moment, and yet made me wonder what kind of lie she has grown up to believe about herself and life. Maybe she is so lost that she believes she is living in freedom...

These short glimpses ended up remaining with me. Glimpses of one young and one older daughter of this nation. Both so vulnerable. Both worth more than the reality they are living.

Beauty and rest on a hill.

After a few hours of sitting on a bus we finally arrived at Camp Eli. It’s located in the village of Ojaca in the region of Buzau of Romania. It’s built on a hill and is surrounded by hills. Beautiful. Built to be a place of retreat for those who need to come away from the bustle of the city and just be.

And so that was what I intended to do the next few days. “Being” not in the sense of forgetting the hope and hopelessness I’d glimpsed the past days, but “being” in the sense of getting to bring those glimpses to God and let Him carry them.  “Being” in these sense of not having so much traffic pass through my mind through a busy day to day full of tasks, and the constant bombarding of information about situations and people through the internet.

Embracing the time as a rare gift.

How often do you find yourself in a place where internet isn’t even an option. Sure one can always “disconnect” and choose not to check email or facebook. Yet, sometimes it’s hard to resist the temptation. At the camp there was no internet so the choice had been made for me.

Friday morning I was sitting in the tiny cabin, which was the accommodation at the camp site. It really felt like camping but without a tent. The sun was warming my feet and the sky was blue. The air was crisp and it was a bit chilly. I’d enjoyed good strong coffee for breakfast, thinking that you have to love a nation that appreciates strong coffee. And I was looking forward to being at the conference where the purpose was connecting people who long to see vulnerable people find dignity and freedom. I was full of expectation as I sat there and found my soul started to rest and my mind wind down. And that rest I felt carried me through the next 3 days of conference with lots of excellent input and deep conversations about things that matter.

At the camp the staff was all Romanian, and they has so much love as they served us and made it possible for those of us attending to have time to focus on things other than cooking and cleaning. I got such a love for these people I couldn’t even speak with. And in the midst of lacking words, I was reminded again that so much communicating can be done without language, and that a hug can make up for many words.  

It was such a good time and there is much to say about the content and connections made, but that’s maybe for another time. It definitely encouraged me to connect even more with God’s heart for the broken as well as with people who are reaching out to those who are broken and lost, wanting to bring justice where there is none. 

Muddy vulcanos.

One afternoon we drove 20 minutes up to Vulcanii Noroiosi.  Mud vulcanos where there were small craters with muddy water bubbling out in the way lava flows out of a normal volcano. The mud was cold and the “volcano” effect caused by some kind of gas in the ground. It was quite stunning and the landscape cracked and dry (reminded me of elephant skin). Such a privilege to get to see yet another part of nature in a very diverse country.

As we were driving back along the windy, slightly uneven roads we passed by different houses and people and again my thoughts went to wondering what their lives are like...

 Last day in the park. 

As the conference ended and we started our day of traveling home, we had some hours in Bucharest, and decided to visit the “Village museum”. In 1936 this museum was built by bringing traditional buildings from the different regions of Romania to create a village in Bucharest to show some of the history of the country. It’s a lovely place (and the sunshine and warm temperature made it a perfect day), and really interesting to get a glimpse into the history and conditions people lived in. After the museum we walked to the Herestrau Park where we sat by the lake for just a moment and enjoyed the sun before heading to the airport.

Final reflections...

As I read back over what I’ve written I find it only captures a little fragment of what this time contained, and yet I’ll have to settle with that. I wonder what the path forward is. Wonder how I am to “carry” the things I’ve seen and learnt into life. I definitely know that my heart has been moved and I think that part of my heart has embraced this beautiful nation and its people. And I hope that as I share of what I’ve seen, that the view of this nation can become one that isn’t just focused on the challenges of its people, but rather one that sees the hope and beauty of Romania, and blesses that.

And I hope that I continue to remember that there is so much more to life and the world than what my reality here in Norway might show me in my day to day. And I hope I don’t ever forget that.