This year, a group of members of First Church joined a team from the Smiles Foundation to go and work with gypsies in Romania. One of the team was Gordon, this is his account…
Saturday, 9th July 2005.The day had finally arrived! The teambuilding nights, fundraising activities and get-to-know-you BBQ were all behind us now as, rubbing the sleep from our eyes, we snaked our way surprisingly quickly through the maze of cordons to the check-in desk at Aldergrove.
In that swarm of early risers we stood out in our bright red T-shirts that provoked many glances and strained necks as fellow travellers sought to satisfy their curiosity as to who we were. The logo was an effective icebreaker and as questions were answered we went on our way with many blessings and best wishes.
But who were we and where were we going?
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The team numbered 41, of which 17 came from Ballynahinch (16 from 1st Presbyterian and 1 from the Baptist) with the remainder from Fisherwick Pres and various other churches across the province and 1 from Dublin. We were heading for Romania to spend a week working with The Smiles Foundation, a charity that sought to help Romania's poorest people around the city of Oradea and especially the gypsy communities who were ostracised by the majority of people.
Just before 11.00pm; after 2 flights, a 4-5 hour minibus journey and a 2 hour time difference, we arrived at Cihei (cha-high) the Smiles Foundation's centre outside the city. The final 20 minutes of the journey, after we left the main road, was a foretaste of things to come and DOE Roads Service gained 41 enthusiastic supporters.
The site comprised the administrative headquarters of the charity plus a warehouse for storing tools, equipment, food for distribution and donated articles (clothes, toys, medical supplies) brought by groups like ours and a mission centre. This latter was a purpose-built 2 storey building and would be our home for the next week. It housed dormitory rooms, dining area and lounge /recreation area. As regards accommodation we would have no complaints. Following allocation of rooms we gathered for a light supper and a brief outline of the week's itinerary.
On Sunday morning we held our own service before heading out to visit various projects undertaken by the Foundation. Some of these had been started in previous years and were now in full operation while others were under construction and would be part of our work schedule in the coming week. The outing ended with a call at the gypsy village that had been the main reason for establishing the foundation in 2001.
On arrival we were literally swamped by the children whose smiling faces were a joy to see. Each one of us was quickly adopted and an enthusiastic photo shoot ensued before we were dragged off to visit homes, play games or watch a hurriedly arranged football match between the older boys and some of the younger more energetic in our party.
While the children were obviously happy everyone only had to look around to see their conditions of life. Some of the younger teenagers had children themselves or cared for their baby brothers or sisters. They were mostly barefoot and their homes were small and greatly in need of attention, had earthen floors and lacked sanitation. Indeed the village had no running water or electricity. Some of our party noticed no place to store food and we learned this was not unusual as it was probably bought daily - when there was sufficient money from what work was available or from the children begging rather than being at school. This was a village of around 40 families (260 people) and their life expectancy was about 65. Despite their hardships they were very much family orientated and many here were related.
After dinner we held a service/period of reflection which started with praise and continued with a message from one of the team. Each evening followed this format and everyone found it uplifting and a way of dealing with much of what we encountered during the day - whether it was frustration at the work not proceeding as quickly as planned due to the heavy rain or coping with the plight of the people we visited. There then followed a briefing on how things went during the day and the opportunity for each person to choose their assignment for the following day. These varied from construction work - painting, digging holes or drains, tiling or laying screed floors - to food distribution, visits with the doctors or play therapists and the most popular, but emotionally stressful, visiting the children in hospital. This latter involved joining some of the Foundation's staff in their daily visit to a children's ward in a city hospital. The children had basically been abandoned and they spent each day lying in a cot unattended except for being given a bottle at feeding time and being changed every 6 hours. They were left to their own devices with no stimulation whatever and long periods of this had affected them psychologically. Team members were deeply affected by what they found there but their efforts to give these children some love, attention and mental stimulation were rewarded with smiles where there had been only blank stares before. The reasons for this situation are many but successive mission teams and the regular Foundation staff will continue the work.
The highpoint of the week on the construction side was to actually complete something. This happened on the Wednesday when members of the team successfully constructed some playground equipment donated by a member of our church and which had been shipped to Romania ready for our arrival. It was erected at the school that was just completing its first year of operation.
One could write volumes about the team's experiences during the week and of the difficult situations encountered. We had gone to Romania to help people in need and to show God's love to them and yes, we did help. However, we found people who demonstrated a deep and strong faith. People who lived each day dependent on God's grace to provide for them and who exhibited a joy at knowing Him despite their circumstances.
We had a great team who gelled well together and we enjoyed tremendous fellowship both within the group and with the staff who we worked alongside. It was also a lot of fun as we played mind games, Mr & Mrs, quizzes, pool, table football or just chatted loudly like excited children. Mind you, we try to forget the cold beefburgers and cold breaded chicken burgers we had on 2 successive days for lunch.
I am sure each of the team brought home different memories but all will agree that it was a very worthwhile and humbling experience. With so many projects to sample there is a role for everyone no matter what your capabilities or gifts and you will receive every bit as much as you give. You will certainly make a difference in someone's life - yours included.
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Photos from Romania
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