Romania 2006 the travel journal of Isaac McPheeters To my friends and family, I have recently returned from the Romania missions trip with Grace EPC’s graduating seniors. But before I start sharing about the trip, I would first like to thank you all for the prayer and financial support. Without either, this trip would not have been possible (as you will soon find out), and the team considers all of you as helpers in this great work for God. As many of you know, preparation for the Romania missions trip went into play many months ago. We organized fund raisers, work projects, a pancake feed, and even a dinner theatre to raise money. By God’s grace, we were more than able to meet the financial needs required for the trip. And now, I want to share some of our experiences with you.
Introductions… Please meet the wonderful members of my team; Team Leaders-
David McCleod was great to have on the trip. His experience traveling in the mission field was invaluable, and he had a lot of wisdom to share with the rest of us.
Elaine Jones had been to Romania many times before, which was very helpful. She was always ready to listen and kept everyone sane.
James Cook is great at putting people in a good mood and building great relationships. He brought his whole heart into playing with the kids and was a real help in organizing our work teams.
Kara Nanson had also been to Romania before and knew a lot of the kids there. She was able to help us ease into the new setting and was really like a big sister to all of us.
Emma Markley was a true servant-leader. She wanted nothing better than to serve, and everyone looked up to her. Also, we could always count on her to lead us in music.
Leslie Phariss was a real friend to everyone. She was constantly looking for ways to help out. I can’t imagine what the trip would have been like without her. The older girls at the orphanage really found a sister in Leslie.
Nathan Hickey doesn’t know how to do anything without putting his whole heart into it. He finished lunch early to finish digging the ditch, and he exhausted himself playing with the kids.
Kristi Rudman brought a real joy to the trip whether it was through a simple “Hi” or attempting an English accent. She did really great with the younger kids.
Kat Goeke has one of the greatest hearts for the Lord I have ever seen. She has a lot of wisdom and really knows how to work with people.
Margaret Yoe once told me “I’m built for endurance.” Well, that was certainly true this week as she spent hours running and playing with the kids who have seemingly unlimited energy.
Amanda Snyder is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever known. She’s not afraid of anything and was a real help to everyone.
The History of the Orphanage Ilie Coroama, born in Romania, is the founder of Walk in the Light Ministries. As a young man Ilie was involved with the Romanian underground church and was a key regional leader in an organized Bible smuggling operation involving 30 operatives. Taking Bibles and other materials into Russia earned him the title ‘spy’ by the Communist Romanian government. On occasion he was arrested and imprisoned for days and weeks at a time, beaten and interrogated. Each time he was set free, but in 1974 word came that he was about to be arrested again and charged with espionage. This time someone in the underground network had talked and Ilie knew that if captured he would be executed. God provided for his miraculous escape, though he had to leave his wife and children behind. Later, God would be faithful to reunite the family at a refugee camp in Austria. After arriving in California, Bro. Coroama began to minister to Romanian communities in California and across the nation. God expanded his ministry to an international level as he began to take spiritual and material aid to refugee camps around the world. Shortly after the communist government in Romania fell in Dec. of 1989, Bro. Ilie returned to his hometown of Dornesti, located on the eastern side of the Carpathian Mountain range. He brought support and Bibles to those in his former community. The needs were everywhere, especially in the area of childcare. God opened Bro. Ilie’s eyes and heart through a young boy named Cristi, who became the first of many children who would be cared for by this organization. Today, Ilie continues to minister to the children of Romania. With the children calling him Daddy, he lives at the Children’s Village at Livezile, caring for them and showing them first hand the love and faithfulness of Christ.
About the Orphanage The Village consists of 4 units, currently housing about 60 children ranging from infant to teen. Each unit also houses workers, nurses and other caregivers. Because infants are sometimes abandoned at birth, and with recent changes in government laws, the number of children housed changes on an almost daily basis. The first building was opened in 1995 and lies just outside the town of Bistrita in the Transylvania area of Romania. The orphanage was set up in house style so that there would be less chance of illness infecting all the children and for a more home-like atmosphere. Within the last year, a gym has been completed for the children to play in during the rainy weather.
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Tuesday, May 30 — Kansas City Our group met at the church and said a word of prayer. Kat specifically prayed that God would give us bad distractions on this trip so that we could grow and learn to trust in him. Guess what. We arrived at Kansas City Airport only to discover that our plane to Chicago had been cancelled. Anyways, we all prayed about it. We knew that there was only so much we could do and that if God wanted us in Romania, we needed him to get us there. Finally, we were able to confirm a 6:30 flight to Minneapolis with a connecting flight to Chicago. Talk about the power of prayer.
Wednesday, May 31 — Chicago Due to our delay, we were going to be a day late. But looking back, I think it was good since we got an extra day to get to know each other before starting work together. The day we were in Chicago, we got some pizza and then went to the airport. When we arrived, we were told we may be split up into two groups going to London and would then be split up into three groups with two going to Bucharest and David McLeod and me taking a train from Vienna to northern Romania. We immediately prayed that God would get us all on one flight. Less than five minutes after praying, we were all given a single flight to London.
Thursday, June 1 — London & Bucharest We had a safe flight to London, and if things weren’t interesting enough, we then split up into two different groups. The first consisted of Mr. McLeod, Dr. Jones, Kara, Amanda, and myself. We were to fly on to Bucharest, and the others were to follow a few hours later on a second plane. We were not thrilled for several reasons. First of all, we didn’t want to be split up, and second, the other group didn’t have any leaders with them. And when the others got ready to board, they were told they might be split up yet again. Kat, Emma, and some of the others were praying that God would get them all on the same flight, and before they were even done praying, Kristi came and told them they all had seats. My group was able to meet Brother Ilie at the airport, and he took us to a hotel. His son-in-law-, Coni, met the others when they got in, and we all spent the night in a village a few hours drive north of Bucharest.
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Friday, June 2 — Arrival We all had a good breakfast and a decent nights sleep which helped since most of us were still suffering from jet lag. We left early morning from the hotel and arrived at the orphanage later that afternoon. The orphanage itself is very nice. There are six main buildings that include a gym, lodgings for us, houses for the kids, a barn, and a home for Brother Ilie and his family. The buildings were very nice, and we had a terrific meal. That evening, we met all the kids. They gave us quite the reception.
Saturday, June 3 — First day Our first day we started out digging a ditch and moving pipes from the garage to the shed. But something happened that I really did not expect. The children had all gone to the local school, but once they came back around noon, they started helping. It was really great. We saw kids around ages nine to eleven coming up to us asking what they could do. Two in particular, Cosmin and Chilika were always eager to help. I must say something about the meals. Marie, who worked in the kitchen, did a great job cooking for us. They really catered to us Americans who were, frankly, a bit nervous about tasting Romanian food. After lunch, we moved cinder blocks for the rest of the afternoon. Everyone worked hard, and lots of us got a little scraped up here and there. That evening, we had our first devotional time with the kids. Emma lead everyone in songs, we did a skit, and then I did a short talk about pride and how we as humans so often stumble because of it.
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Sunday, June 4 — Sabbath Morning worship Sunday was pretty much a day of rest where we just played with the kids (which wasn’t all that restful). That morning we were lead in worship by Takashi, a pastor from Japan. Then two of the guys shared their testimonies. James spoke about how he lived his life as the “good kid” and then realized it wasn’t good enough for God, and Nathan shared how different his life was before he came to know Christ and how God burdened his heart to change. Then, David McCleod gave the main talk that morning. He talked about our identities in Christ as children of God, how everything else we do in this world fades, but how our salvation is everlasting. He did a good job; the kids definitely got it.
Monday, June 5 — Concrete and Scrapes! Well, today was one of the best days ever. James Cook organized us and took control on a job that involved moving big sheets of concrete from inside the garage. Everything went great except that on the way back to the house, James got a nasty scrape on his knee and needed a couple stitches. But he didn’t let it make a huge impact on his week (though he did limp a bit in the ball games). That evening, brother Ilie shared his testimony. We were all astonished. Some of us had heard his story before, about how he escaped from Romania and came to America escaping from the Soviet Union, but it was still amazing to hear again. I think what challenged me the most was the amount of faith he had.
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Tuesday, June 6 — Getting to rea%y know the kids I felt that today was the best day yet. For one thing, I got to know the kids really well and got to play with the younger kids quite a bit. I had learned enough Romanian by that point that I could play with the kids and ask them what their names were. That night, after we finished working, we got to hang out with the kids one more time. We played a game with the younger kids and then said goodbye and prayed with them. Then we decided to just play one more game as a proper farewell. For the rest of the evening, we just talked to the older teens. Leslie and Kat shared their testimonies, and both made lasting impressions. Kat talked about how she’s grown closer to God in the last few years, and Leslie spoke about her conversion in High School.
Wednesday, June 7 — Leaving Romania We did a bit more work and moved some furniture. Then we played with the kids some more and prepared to leave. When we finally said “Goodbye” to everyone, it was kind of hard. We’d made some good friends here, and in some cases some great friends. Chilika in particular became especially good friends with James and took it very hard when we left. James had brought a KU hat with him that had been his since 6th grade. We all joked about how he’d never part with it and would have it forever. But as we drove away, I could see Chilika with that hat. We arrived at the train station and said fairwell to Coni and Brother Ilie. Our ride was eventful to say the least. We were riding along when we slowed to a stop. We looked back and could see (and smell) a lot of smoke coming from the last coach. At this point we started laughing and asked what elst could possibly go wrong. But despite all this, God got us to Bucharest safely.
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Thursday, June 8 — He%o London! We spent a day in London in order to spend time together as a group before going our separate ways. It was really good for all of us. At one point, James said to me, “Isn’t this cool?” I asked him what he meant. “All of us in London together! It’ll never happen again.” We took a bus tour, a boat ride on the Thames, saw Buckingham Palace, visited Covent Gardens, got really close to each other, literally, during rush our in the “tube” subway system, and got ice cream.
Friday, June 9 — Saying Goodbye Friday, the team went home, while I stayed behind and met up with my grandparents to tour more of Great Britain. But before my friends left, we had some group time where we all shared what the trip meant to us. I think that for me, the trip showed me a lot about the importance of good priorities. In lots of missions trips, we help people out with material or physical needs. But on this trip, we worked on relationships with the kids. This trip reminded me that investing in people is always most important because when we die, the only thing that lasts is the soul. I am so glad I went on this trip. I really think I made some great friends that I will know for the rest of my life. When your working with people, playing with people, and learning to apologize and forgive each other in foreign settings, you really get to know one another pretty well. In every sense of the word, this trip has been phenomenal. I pray I can return someday, and I know I will always think of this trip when I hear the word “Romania”.
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