5th Romanian Summary: Another day of travel . . . Arriving at Camp

Sunday, July 10

We woke up at 5:30 a.m. to be ready for breakfast at 6:30.  It looks like breakfast isn’t going to be my thing this week ~ salami and goat cheese!  Hooray, they did have boiling hot water for tea!

We left for camp at 8:00 a.m.  I enjoyed visiting with a team member and reading a book (The Swan House – highly recommended).  No lunch was planned, that we knew of, while on the long journey, so we were thankful for the peanut butter tucked away in our suitcases.  A few stops were made along the way with fruit offered as a snack. 

The bus ride was long, but I didn’t mind it except for the close call with the river and a small bridge.  I’m learning that in other countries roads are small and traffic rules don’t exist.  The best way to handle the stress of travel like this is to close your eyes or sleep!  You are completely out of control, so why watch?  At one point, they actually asked the passengers to get off of the bus and walk across the rickety bridge to insure a safe arrival.  You can believe I didn’t mind at all jumping off to help out with this situation!   

Overall, the day was great traveling and enjoying the very pretty view of the Romanian countryside of rolling hills, haystacks, and beautiful fields of sunflowers.

We arrived at The Camp around 4:00 p.m.  Right away I could tell this camp would be one the kids would love.  We met the Romanian team members and had a late lunch with them, which is the main meal in this country.  It was time now to set up our cabins.

All eighteen of us shared one three story cabin.  The guys took over the top floor sleeping on couches, mattresses on the floor and a couple of beds.  The younger girls consumed the bottom of the cabin all sharing one bathroom.  The adult ladies enjoyed rooms on the middle floor.  For camping we really did have nice facilities . . . for camping which are the key words in that sentence!  Since I am not a camper, this was a real stretch for me!  There was no air conditioning and no towels!  Thankfully, my roommate was an expert camper and came very equipped.  Well, maybe not “very” equipped, but  she did pack one small hand towel for emergencies.  The emergency was here and we shared that one little towel for three full days until more towels were brought in. 

I believe our team was hand-picked by God even down to our specific roommates.  We were quite a pair!  Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island would be the best way to describe my roommate, and I guess I would have represented Ginger well.  Mary Ann covered all the basics…medicine, snacks, hiking equipment and appropriate clothing, while I brought only an assortment of fashions.  And I do mean an assortment everything from my heavy winter coat to a bathing suit with many options in between.  I probably had six pairs of sandals and NO hiking shoes!  Remember – I am NOT a camper, at least I was not one before this first international missionary journey.  I can’t say that we were shipwrecked as Paul, but I can definitely relate a little more as he describes his travels.

Dinner was served soon after our late lunch.  Afterwards, we experienced our first chapel with everyone.  The American worship team sang with Amy performing The Untitled Hymn as a solo.  I could feel the presence of the Lord ~ so things were looking up!  As long as God was with us, it would be a great week.  It was around 11 p.m. when we went to bed and fortunately, I was able to sleep well again.  Tomorrow was the big day – meeting all of the orphans!