A little Romanian History & Activities

I have been planning on writing a nice little post on the history of Romania, but every time I try to write something my lack of knowledge and understanding of Romania is blatantly obvious. But I think I can manage telling you a few facts. Romania use to be a communist country run by a man named Nicolae Ceausescu. He had an education of a 4th grader. He had crazy ideas about what he thought Romania should be run and he wasted a lot of time, money, resources and even lives trying to full fill what he thought was best. Here are a few examples - He ordered the construction of a man made lake because he wanted to be a country with major shipping harbors. So he ordered people out of their homes and they built a lake over their land. One obvious reason this did not work is because this new lake was not located near any other body of water. He also ordered the construction of multiple large factories that he said would provide jobs and products. So the factories were built and Ceausescu was impressed by there size and ability but once he left the factories were immediately shut down because no one knew how to run them. During this time people were relocated from their houses into new apartment style living called block buildings. The block houses were “free” to live in but they were very small and not suitable for living. They were basic cinder block buildings with no insulation, no heating or air, no electricity and no plumbing which meant no bathrooms. 

The government had control of the food and people were given food tickets in order to receive their families portion. But most of the food centers were not given enough food so people would stand in line over night to get there food before it ran out. Ceausescu wanted Romania to become a world power and he thought the best way to achieve this was by having a large army. So he required women to have 5 children so he could start building his army. Ceausescu then started the orphanages and told the people that if they brought their children to him he would take care of them. So thousands of children were taken to orphanages all over Romania and were forgotten. His idea of building an army was not well thought out - he did not provide enough food, supplies, space or workers to care for the children.
A lot of these issues came to light after the revolution in 1989, but they were not fixed over night. The orphanages now are a much better place than they were in the 70’s and 80’s but they are still lacking in basic needs for the kids. But Heart to Heart International has been stepping in to meet some of the needs that they are lacking. In the orphanages they have reading classes, music classes, youth group and character class (like youth group for the younger kids). All of these classes provide a positive place for the kids to grow and learn. They teach a lot of basic life lessons that most people would learn from their parents. 

Last week we took 16 kids from the reading classes on a field trip into the city. A church donated enough money for each of the kids in the reading class to buy 1 book and go to McDonalds for lunch. We had a great time leading the kids through the book store and spending time with them. To everyone on the street and in the store it was very apparent that these kids were orphans because of the way that they were dressed and they the way that they acted. But I could not see a difference between these kids and any other kids I know. They were happy kids who were excited to get a new book of their own and have a special lunch at McDonalds. Each team member was assigned to one kid and our job was to help them find a book that was at their reading level and be their buddy for the day. Oana (pronounced wanna) picked me out as her partner immediately and George picked Brandon and since we didn’t have enough team members for each kid, I had 2 partners! So I asked my buddy Bogdan to join me. The people at the book store were so kind and patient with all of us. And they even gave the kids some free game books and videos. The people at McDonalds were pleased to serve these kids too. They made them balloon animals and served them with a smile - even when they got a little too loud and started throwing and hitting people with their ballon animals. It was such a special day. I am thankful that we got to be a part of it. 

Me and some of the kids on the way to the book store

Brandon & George

Oana, Me, George & Bogdan

Balloon animals at McDonalds

Steven & Haley and their reading class

Sleeping on the way home

Yesterday and today Brandon and I taught a small lesson in the character classes at Peris and Voluntari orphanages. We taught 9 different classes which was about 70 kids total with ages ranging from 3-14. We talked about the life of David and how he depended on God no matter what was happening in his life. The main scriptures we were talking about were Psalm 119:9-11 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. and Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. We took pictures of each of the kids at the beginning of the class and then we used a small photo printer that we were given before we left, to print each of the pictures. And we decorated some photo frames for them to put their pictures in. I think the kids really enjoyed the lesson and the craft. Again Brandon and I were so thankful for this opportunity to serve these kids. 

One of the classes at Peris

The younger class at Peris

Brandon & Becky :)