THE DIFFERENCE THREE DAYS CAN MAKE

I cannot believe that it has only been three days since we started working at Dallas, the gypsy village on the outskirts of Cluj-Napoca. So much has happened in this short time.

We started out on Monday morning by demolishing the small two roomed house (or I should actually say shack) of the family that we are building a new home for this week. It was incredibly small – you could almost not stand upright inside.

Soon layers upon layers of walling, flooring, and roofing came down as we slowly took their home apart, taking care to cause minimal damage to what we were demolishing so that certain pieces could be reused by the community, either for building, or firewood, or some other use unknown to us for we could see little other use for the trash we were working with. Pretty much like some people would see these people.

By the time we left on Monday night, the shack was down and a pile of wood rose one and a half metres into the air. But the new house’s foundation pillars and floor were in place, and I was grateful that we had not encountered any of the creatures that live in the walls of these shacks that Bert, the missionary, had warned us about.

The family of the shack we had torn down had stacked all their worldly belongings in a small open piece of ground just opposite from their now non-existent home. They had arranged to stay with a neighbour –father, mother, and three girls. With most homes already packed to capacity, I wasn’t sure where they would sleep, so I was not surprised when we came to work on the house on Tuesday, to find some of the children sleeping on the new house’s floor, not worried that a floor was all their house was comprised of at that moment. Perhaps there was no space at the neighbour’s house, but perhaps the children just couldn’t wait for their new home.

As Tuesday wore on, the father of the house slowly started to get more comfortable joining the volunteer workers in building on his own home. By Wednesday he had become an active part of the project and one could visibly see the pride he felt in their new two roomed home that was being built for his family.

And by day three, we had begun to know who his family were - three beautiful daughters, one in her teens, the other two aged around 6 and 8.

It has been incredible to see the difference just three days can make and I can’t wait for Friday to see them moving into their new home.

Sometimes you look at the situation in Dallas and it is easy to get discouraged and wonder what on earth you are doing there –the task seems so enormous. But it’s like the story of the little girl throwing starfish back into the sea … for a few it makes a difference. And for this one family it will make a world of difference.

Contemplating my purpose here …

Marion

James 1v27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

ROMANIAN REFLECTIONS

It was a little after 3.30 A.M. Friday morning when we crossed the Hungarian border into Romania. As the bus waited in the dark while the border police came on board to check passports and visas, my mind was swept back in time. Back to an important event that took place nearly a year ago. An event that was catalyst to our being on a bus in the middle of the night surrounded by foreigners in a country so far, far away from home.

With a smile I remembered the amazing miracle of the Re-birth team crossing this same border ­- except by rail - around the 10th or 11th of August 2011; the miracle of the entire team getting into Romania, as three of the five were South Africans without visas to enter this country. But prayer can move mountains … prayer can move God’s people into the places He wants them to be. And it is through five young men kneeling on a Hungarian platform in the middle of the night pleading for God to make a way into Romania that I find myself in this country today.

As I write this blog, it has only been two days since arriving in Romania and we have already met some amazing people – some face to face, others only by name and the kind deeds of hospitality they have offered. This is the Church – God’s people being there for each other, fellowshipping with each other, serving each other. And the Romanian Christians are big on all three. What amazing people!

Firstly there’s the Bocanala family … Aurel and Annica who have opened their home to five of the team, and their lunch and dinner table to my husband, Noel, and I. Their son, Bogdan, whom I hope to have the pleasure of getting to know more, who collected us from the bus station and assisted us without hesitation with the necessary invitation letters and documentation for visa purposes. And finally, their nephew, Liviu, to whom my first words were, “Who are you?” which he found most amusing. It took me a good part of the day to find an accurate answer to that question. And that answer came not only with a name but with a character: poet, songwriter, a man with a great voice and guitar skills, who not only entertained us with his music but has driven the team around and looked after us.

Thank you all for giving of yourselves for this team.

Then there’s the owner of Marty’s restaurant who has freely extended the hospitality of this amazingly relaxing establishment. Thank you – we will return home with fond memories.

The Suciu family … how touched we are by your kindness in offering two strangers the exclusive use of your town home and meals at your Bistro. We look forward to meeting you sometime this week.

You are all truly amazing people with big hearts – may your kindness not go unrewarded. It is our prayer that one day we would be able to reciprocate with South African hospitality.

And lastly, Brother Costello of Prison Fellowship Ministries … thank you for sharing your life with us yesterday afternoon. You kept each one of us spellbound with your testimony, you broke our hearts with your story.

With such a beginning to our Romanian outreach, I look forward to what this week holds in store. I know it won’t always be easy, that a lot of hard work lies ahead, but it will all be worth it in the end. All for your glory, Jesus. All for your glory!

From Romania with love

Marion

2 Corinthians 9v12-13: This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of this service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.