I am going to open with this statement - I am going to be very honest and blunt in this blog, some of you may not like or agree with what you read and that is only my opinion. So let's get started!
Romania is an amazing country and I have to say I didn't think that when I arrived. As we arrived into Budapest, we got out of the plane and then boom! The Eastern European smell and warmth hits your skin. Quite frankly, I didn't think much of Budapest at that moment in time. We then had to get a 4 hour minibus into Siria (the village I was going to be working in). We were shown around the house and I thought to myself, "how am I going to stick here for 6 weeks?!" One thing I will say about the ''me'' before Romania is that I was very stuck up with where I stayed and the fact that we had a single bed and I was sleeping in a sleeping bag terrified me! I didn't know if the bed had bed bugs or if there were spiders and mice crawling along our floor, I was completely stuck up and non appreciative that I had a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in.
We slept in our house for a night, then went to this place called Touts camp. This was worse. I traveled in a van with 5 people I didn't know and one of them (Dan) was interrogating me on the way there (no offense if you're reading!) It was all a bit much to say the least, plus I was tired so when we got to working there I had a little bit of a melt down and just cried because I felt homesick and was tired and was now sleeping in a rock hard bed, again not appreciating the fact I had a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in. Touts was made of introductions and Lee talking us through what Networks (the organization we were working for) was and all that business. I was then very thankful to return to the comfort of mums and babies! While I was in Touts I realized that God was sending me pictures of rough seas a lot and at first couldn't see what it was God was trying to tell me but, after a lot of prayer God revealed to me that I should always trust in Him and I won't sink if I keep my eyes on Him. We then launched into work and to be honest, the first day was observing what was going on in community and it didn't really hit me until we were about 4 weeks in and then did I only feel the emotions Siria was having on me.
One incident that really broke my heart was with a little girl called Manuela. We were sitting on the stairs of Eden (the hub of Siria), and Manuela was playing with me, having fun and a lady came over and hit Manuela on the head. Manuela came crying to me looking for affection so I provided and that was fine. Then the same lady pulled Manuela from a window ledge which was the same height as her and Manuela fell straight on her back, she ran to me to make it better. She then asked me to carry her home, and on the way my arms were getting tired so I put her down and she panicked thinking I was going to leave her but I assured her I was going to stay, she then told me she didn't like this lady because she hurt her. Manuela is 4 or 5 years old. I cannot help but feel emotional, even as I type this story, I wonder what has happened to her today. It breaks my heart that this is her every day life. These people do all they can to get by and with winter coming up that becomes so much more difficult as temperatures dip to around -30 degrees. It is literally survival of the fittest. Some of those kids don't have shoes or warm clothes to wear. They can't go to the toilet outside because it'll be too cold, so where do they go? You can imagine. They just stay in because it's a bit warmer than outside, the small wood burning stoves take the bite off the freezing temperatures.
Who are we to complain about not having a good enough car? Who are we to complain about the clothes we buy and wear? We have no right. None at all. We definitely have more than enough to get by and these people don't have enough to get by, yet they still manage. Our western culture should be ashamed to be so engrossed in materialistic things! God really showed me that I should be thankful for everything I have and realize that I am very, very lucky. I can now stay in different places and be completely fine with the standard, I pretty much always eat what's given to me now, because I know others don't have as much food as I do.
I am a weak, petty, materialistic, human. At the end of the day, society is bringing me up this way, and the scary thing is, if I have children they will be brought up like that too. That makes me sad. Children that won't explore because of an Xbox, children that don't climb trees and scuff their knees because they don't want to run about in the garden or play park with their friends. The children I have met in Siria are the most creative children I have ever met! Their toys are dangerous but they make them because otherwise, they won't have any toys.
My point is this: you and I value things according to their earthy value. I often get asked if I'm getting payed for this gap year and I answer no. They say, then why are you doing this? I answer, because God wants me to serve Him and get out of my comfort zone. I have no idea what I'll be doing next year but I know God has an amazing plan for me that is best for me! God knows best and his plans won't hurt us.
God bless,
Charlotte x
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