Hands and Feet of God - Romania - week 2

Jeff's speech on not messing up Buckner's good reputation came to my mind this morning at breakfast. It was either the first or second time that we ate breakfast at the hotel when the waitress inquired whether or not we were from Buckner; in which we replied with an emphatic "yes!" She introduced herself as Judith. It is nice having a foreign friendly face greet you first thing in the morning. This morning she brought pictures of her daughter to work so that we could see them. It was so sweet! Tomorrow morning we are going to show her pictures of our families. All I can say is thank you, to all previous interns for setting a godly example!

We've spent so much time the past several days working in two different group homes. In the mornings, we go to Ceauas special needs home that houses 12 young children. They are all unique. We've been bitten, hit, scratched, spit on, slobbered on, jumped on, pulled, pushed, hair has been ripped out, etc. Enduring all of this is for the glory of Christ. The caregivers enjoy our company as much as the children. In the afternoons, we are in special needs group home for older kids. We've only been there twice; so, we are still in the process of getting to know them.

Last night we got to experience an authentic Romanian meal. Alison and Melanie went to Cristina's home for dinner; Chris and I went to the home of Rares, a Buckner volunteer, for dinner. Last night was the best meal I've had since I've been here and the hospitality is remarkable.

On Sunday, we attended our first Romanian church service. It was quite long. Cristina translated for us. Throughout the service, I was comparing my church back home to the service I was experiencing at the moment, and this is what I discovered: We don't express even a fraction of the passion that the Romanian people were pouring out before the Lord. I was in awe. They spend a lot of time in prayer – they were a refreshing Christian example.

Every morning we meet Cristina and Rares in the lobby of the hotel to do devotions. Cristina shared about what it is like being a Christian in Romania. Communism fell when she was five, but during communism all churches were destroyed. Christians met for worship in people's homes. They had to keep quiet because if the neighbors heard what they were doing they would call the police. Cristina related that people were bolder about their faith when they were under communism than they are now under freedom. Now they don't have to make a stand, they can just be.

Things haven't worked out the way that we had planned or been told that they would, but we are being flexible and realizing that we are the "equipment!"

We've realized that on this specific trip that we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, not the mouth!