We began the day with a flat tire :( Much to our surprise, the spare was a regular sized tire - no doughnut. Thank goodness we were running ahead of schedule. Changed the tire and headed for the vulcanizare to get it fixed. Total cost - 12 lei (about $2.85).
After our early morning exercise in tire changing, we met with the mission team from Lubbock to purchase
groceries for the families that they serve in the Susani area. After purchasing the food, we returned to the
church to separate into bags. 80 bags
were filled with 1 bottle of oil, 1 bag of flour, 1 bag of beans, 2 bags of
sugar, a small can of porc pate, 1 bag of pasta, 1 roll of salami, 1 bag of
cereal, 4 apples, 1 tub margarine, 1 tub of hazelnut spread and a bag of wafer
cookies. The team also picked out shoes
and clothing, along with some personal hygiene items, for 10 families.
After lunch, we divided up into 3 teams with specific
families to visit. We loaded a bag of
groceries, the clothes and shoes for each of the families, then headed out to
make a home visit. The 1st
family that “our” team visited had 13 children.
We were greeted by one of the older girls, who was taking care of the
smaller children. We entered a courtyard
area, with pig stalls to the left.
Ovidiu, the local pastor, shared with us his concern about the health of
the children – the pigs are usually out in the courtyard. This becomes an area contaminated with fecal
material, and the children are running around in it with no shoes on. Also, they will play with things outside
(getting it on their hands) and then go inside and eat. Or, as in what we saw today, they bring the
feces inside on their feet/shoes and track it in on the floors; the baby
dropped his apple several times on the floor and then picked it up and ate it. The bedroom was about 12’x12’ and held a
crib, 1 toddler size bed, and 2 double beds.
The only other room I saw was a kitchen area that we entered the home
through. I’m not sure if there was
another bedroom, or if the entire family slept in that one room. Anyway, the children were excited to get a
new pair of shoes. The baby acted as if
this was the 1st pair of shoes he’d ever had. What a joy to see the excitement on the
children’s faces!
The 2nd family consisted of 10 children. Their home was a one-room shack about 10’x’10’,
where all of them lived. The father is
currently in Germany where he is working.
As I took some pictures of the kids, the mom pulled out their school
pictures to show us. The pride in her
face and eyes was amazing. The family is
attending a local church, where the children are learning to play instruments –
mainly guitar, with one drummer.
We visited 3 other families, each with their own
stories. It was great to meet new people
and share with them. What a wonderful
ministry that Red Page is doing with these families.
The last visit today was to a new family. Since this was the 1st contact, we
thought it best if just Ovidiu made the initial visit. When he returned to the van, he said it was
good and he thought they could be some help to the family again. As we were backing out of the yard…..as we
were backing out of the yard………….as we WEREN’T backing out of the yard………we
were stuck! Dennis and one of the
college students got out to push……….didn’t work. So the rest of the group got out to lighten
the load………..no good. Now several are
pushing and we’re all laughing at our situation. Bet the other teams didn’t have this much
fun!!!!
Returned to the Precept Ministries for supper and plan out
tomorrow’s VBS. Will do more family
visits and deliver food/shoes/clothes in the morning. Can’t wait…………..
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