Starting the Project

On Monday Morning, we were up early for breakfast at the Sunshine School and then headed out for the drive to Barzava, where we would be working on a new home for the Toma family.  The Toma family have eight children and live in two rooms of a shared house.  Three of the children are two-year-old triplets, and they have a baby We drove about an hour from Arad and got to work hauling bricks, mixing mortar, bending steel for reinforcement for concrete and assisting the bricklayers build the walls.  It was hard work, but it was rewarding, especially when we could see the fruits of our labor at the end of the day.

We walked into town and were hosted by the Tomas at the town civic center for lunch.  We enjoyed a great lunch followed by freshly made Romanian donuts and homemade jams.

Work continued into the afternoon, but we welcomed an unexpected break when an afternoon rain storm cooled everything down.

Work, fellowship and fun

On Monday evening after a long day of work at the building sight in Barzava,  the team joined the Novac family for dinner.  They graciously hosted us in their home, which is currently being renovated due in part to support from RCE.  Julian and Florentina have 9 children, and they all currently live in three rooms.  Their new home will allow them to live a normal life here in Romania and give them some much needed space.  We enjoyed a great meal, and the family sang for us, accompanied by Julian (Lu-Lu) on the accordion and their oldest son on the guitar.

Later, the team had the opportunity to hike to the ruins of a castle in the ara dating back to the 13th century.  We hiked up the mountain, taking about an hour, saw the ruins and the great view, then hiked down in about 20 minutes.  Our downhill trip was accompanied by a beautiful sunset and a herd of goats. 

It was a long day, and we arrived back at the Sunshine School around 10:30 Monday night.

Sunday in Arad

Our first full day in Romania was a day of acclimation to the time zone, the climate and to the Romanian people.  We we able to sleep in a bit after our long trip Friday and Saturday and woke up to a full breakfast. Then we were off to church at the Gai Baptist Church and n Arad.  We were welcomed warmly by the pastor and the congregation.  We had the privilege of taking communion in the service and we blessed by wonderful music.

After church, we were hosted by Ovi Martin, his wife Doyna, and their three daughters, Lorena, Karina and Andrata.  We had a great lunch followed by cake.  We spent some timein their lovely garden then headed back to Sunshine school.  That afternoon, we were able to spend some time at Darius House, meeting and playing with the children who live there.

Later in the evening, we were joined by a number of young adults from the church to play volleyball.  We had a great time of fun and fellowship and were able to get to know some of our fellow believers here in Romania.

First Day - Getting to Romania

Our team of 13 members met at Dulles Airport to embark on the first leg of our 23 1/2 hour trip to Romania.  We departed on our first flight, a 7 1/2 hour flight to London's Heathrow Airport, where we had a long layover.  While there, some shopped, some ate, some rested, and others visited the airport spa.  We then boarded our second leg, a 2 1/2 hour flight to Budapest, Hungary.  There, our Romanian drivers met us to embark on a long 3 hour drive, including a border stop, to Arad, Romania.

Upon our arrival at the Sunshine School, we were met by our host, Ovi, who gave each of us a big hug as if we had known each other all our lives.  We were treated to a large welcoming dinner of traditional Romanian Tsarmale.  After little rest in 24 hours and a big dinner, we all hit our beds for a needed night's rest.