Easter in Romania - Part II

9 April 2007 – Monday
Since its still public holiday in Romania, we spent the day doing team building activities and meeting our Habitat Romania host. Everyone was split into teams and we have 14 in all. Each team was assigned two work team leaders. Being a work site leader, I didn’t get a team of my own but would end up working with every team that would come around and plaster the building!

In the afternoon we had the Pitesti Habitat team to give us an introduction. This was the first time we met the local Habitat coordinator Alex Zaharai. He is absolutely hilarious and has such a great way with kids. Everyone loves him!

Our cabin time topic tonight was “Is there a God”. We deliberately started the talks on the light side since we wanted to share their views freely. In my cabin we have one Catholic, one Christian, one explorer and one just doesn’t buy the idea. I shared with them why I believe in God and how I became a Christian. I learned early on this trip that God really wants me to listen and not make any judgment. I praise God for leading me through the discussion and to give me listening ears and hearts.

10 April 2007 – Tuesday
Our first day on the work site and everyone was really excited. We had a really good briefing from Cristi (our construction director) and Alex. Then we all went to work like busy bees. I was really impressed with how hard the kids worked. Sure there was a bit of horsing around but all in all the kids really did their parts in helping to bring decent housing to the families in Romania. I was the site leader and responsible for getting the my assigned teams to do plastering. The kids were quick learners and in no time they got the hang of throwing cement on the walls! The weather was perfect and everyone got a really nice tan!

The topic for cabin time was about how we see God personally. The girls were tired and the discussion was not as lively. However, they all still openly shared their views. I had to keep reminding myself that my role is to listen and understand. There is no right or wrong answer but just want to make sure the kids have a chance to digest and explore what John talked about during Club. Tonight was the 3rd night in a roll where I could not sleep at all. But I know the Lord is watching over me and keeping me safe on the work site. Praise God!

11 April 2007 – Wednesday
Yesterday gave me some good indication as how to organize the teams and distribute the work load. There were some major plastering that needed to be done outside and we got a few more construction supervisors from other Romania Habitat affiliates to come and help out. We had a complete team that ran the cement mixer and deliver the cement to everyone. Then we had one team to continue on the outside wall and another team to start working on the inside. I really wanted to do some plastering work myself but as a site leader, I had to run through the site to check on everyone’s progress and to deal with the other construction supervisors. It was not what I am used to on a Habitat project but realized that this is not a typical Habitat project. The Lord once again reminded me to have a servant’s heart. The main purpose on this trip is to share God with the kids and to help them see the joy of giving.

During club time, John showed us a great video from YouTube. It showed a chap in Australia offering “Free Hugs”. In the beginning, no one was willing to go near him. However, when the first person decided to walk over to get this “free hug”, the effect was contagious. Soon you see more and more people wanting the “free hug” and some even took up the sign to give “free hug”. After the video, John talked about the character of Christ, about His character of giving. Our cabin time discussion was about whether we believe all people have a desire to give and if we do then whether this comes from inside or outside. This was one of the most interesting cabin time. We started our discussion on the video and whether we would be willing to receive that “free hug”. Most of the girls were quite willing to accept the “free hug” but only after they have seen others tried it first. However, most of us would not be willing to carry a sign to give “free hug”. That struck me as how our society has conditioned our minds about giving and receiving and how perverted our society has become that deter us to have physical contact with people.

We then moved on to the topic of human desire to give. Alexis made a very interesting comment that people are all inherently selfish. And when we do give it’s only because we are expecting something in return whether tangible or intangible. However, Nicole believes that all people do possess the desire to give but just whether we are willing to embrace that desire. I was really touched by how open the girls are and how mature and intelligent they are.