Trip of a LifetimeOM International How far do you get after one plane, two taxis, two buses, one metro, one tram, one overnight train, and two car rides? From Birmingham to Moldova!
I recently went on a one-week mission trip to Moldova. The trip was not meant to be this eventful, but nevertheless, it was an adventure every bit of the way! After getting flight times mixed up and missing our flight to Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, we had to find another route of transportation. We ended up flying out Sunday instead of Saturday, and this time to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, as that was the only flight available.
We took different modes of transport all over Bucharest, arrived ten minutes too late for a bus ride to Moldova, and then waited over seven hours for a train, and finally arrived in Chisinau! From there we were split into teams and I was sent out to the village of Paicu (pronounced Pie – e – coo), in the southern part of the country.
It was like stepping back in time at least 50 years. This was one of the poorer villages in Moldova, which is already the poorest country in Europe. There were no showers and no indoor plumbing. The toilets were wooden shacks with holes in the ground. The gravel roads were covered with animal waste as geese, ducks, and other animals wandered freely around. Water was drawn daily from wells. I was shocked at the stark contrast between the Westernized country I had just come from and this standard of living staring me in the face.
Our team of 10 joined five local Moldavians to run a three-day kids program. On Tuesday, we went out to invite kids to come to the program. I met a grandfather with his two grandchildren. Through the translator, we invited them to come the next day. Later on I saw the grandfather again, and Renia, the translator, was unsure of how to approach a group of men. I said, “No problem, I’m a foreigner. I’ll introduce myself and then you can talk to them.” So I did and she ended up talking with him for quite awhile.
We invited him to come to church that evening, and he actually came with us and stayed for the whole service. Renia said she was shocked because this usually didn’t happen, that someone would come to church just like that. The next day he sent his two grandchildren to the program. Praise God!
Because of the language barrier, our focus as foreigners was more on showing Jesus’ love than sharing the Gospel verbally. What we couldn’t say, we communicated in big smiles and cheering them on during the many games we played. My team named themselves Anglia, which, translated, means England. That made me laugh! I was also able to teach them English songs – Romans 16:19 and Be Bold Be Strong. They sang very well, especially considering they could neither read nor speak English!
The Bible lessons were mainly on the importance of family and that God loves them and thinks they are special. There were also memory verses, a drama, snack time, and crafts. The first day we had around 40 kids ranging from two years old to the upper teens, the second day 50, and the last day we had 60 kids! This was a blessing, especially since there were only about 400 people in the village. The kids were absolutely amazing. They were so patient when they had to wait between activities (the Moldavians aren’t known for their organizational skills), and they cheered loudly to encourage their team mates during game times.
What the people didn’t have materially, they made up for in character and generosity. I stayed with a local family – a grandmother, her daughter and son-in-law, and their two year old daughter. Although they didn’t have much, they welcomed us into their home with big smiles and a river of Moldovan language I didn’t understand! They were always trying to help us with whatever we needed and one night, even brought us some traditional Moldovan food before bed – placinta and lapte dulce (deep fried pastry filled with goats cheese and sweet milk).
Little girl enjoying her snack
L-R: Toilets, man in the street, sunflower in the fields
Horse & wagon ride
Group picture with the kids holding their crafts
Borscht – a traditional Moldovan soup
Little girl enjoying her snack
Credit: OM International
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