Leap of Faith

December 7th, 2010

Pardon The Interruption/Life Without Internet

Dear Friends and Family,

I have learned many things during my travels overseas.  What is part of everyday life in the USA is the exception overseas.  Internet access, flush toilets, hot water, power and water are gifts that come and go like the wind.  Since I left Western Europe internet access has been the brass ring that I have constantly been trying to get.  I have not always been successful.  I am presently in Uganda and without internet access on my computer.  I am staying with Tomi Mills of Kids Inspire Kids.  My only access to the internet is with Tomi’s computer.  So, my blog updates will have to wait until I return to Austin.  Know that I am having an amazing time and will share my stories with you upon my return.  For now, send me an email.  I will respond as soon as I can.

Many thanks,

Margaret

Leap of Faith

November 19th, 2010

Prayer in Public Schools In Romania/October 2010

How is this for a surprise.  Emy teaches religion in the public elementary and high schools in Hunedoara.  Yep, a formerly Communist country now allows religion to be taught in  public schools and we have the images/videos to prove it.

I stepped into the classroom and was immediately transport back in time to my elementary classroom; dark wooded floors, drab brown metal desks with wooden desktops, scratched grey metal radiators lined the walls, black chalkboards and dusty easers, small winter coats covered the hooks at the back of the room, large windows with chipped white metal painted frames that open by hand cranks, and childrens’ artwork adorned  the walls.  It was as if time had stood still.  In a way it had, the classroom, the school building and surrounding landscape had not seen any upkeep or repairs since it was built.  It is a reflection of the economy distress in Romania.

As we did at Emy’s church service, Lauren and I attempted to blend into the background and photograph/film things as they happen.  It is true, children are the same everywhere, the ten year old boys and girls in Emy’s class were a ball of energy and lot of fun to watch.  It was obvious from the warm greeting the students gave Emy that they enjoy their time with him.  The feeling was mutual on Emy’s part.

The children moved through their religion lesson with great enthusiasm. Suddenly the students stood up and with one voice sang “Jesus Loves Me” in English. That stopped me in my tracks.  It is true, music is universal.  There was something so utterly innocent about that moment that it brought me to tears.

Leap of Faith

November 19th, 2010

God Works In Interesting Ways/October 2010

God works in interesting ways  ….

Let’s play connect the dots to learn how I came to know Emy and Fabi:
Went to San Antonio to attend an engagement party for my nephew, Michael  ….  met Michaels’ next door neighbor, Don Seidel (http://www.seidel-inc.com/home/Home.html)  ….  we talked about travel and photography  ….  told Don about my upcoming Leap of Faith trip  ….  Don told me that his church, Northridge Baptist Church, sponsors a minister in Romania  ….  met with Pastor Dave of Northridge Baptist Church  (http://www.thepark09.org)  ….  gave Pastor Dave information about myself and explained that Lauren could not attend the meeting because she was busy as the Media Director at the summer camp program at Laity Lodge (http://www.llyc.org/)  ….  at that very moment Pastor Dave’s children were attending summer camp at Laity Lodge  ….  the kids had been going there for years  ….  Pastor Dave told me about Emy’s ministry in Romania and gave me Emy’s email  ….  and that is how I met Emy  ….

What are the odds?

God knew that I needed Romania  ….

Dinner with Emy and Fabi was like an Licarione Family Meal; food and lots of it, constant encouragement to eat more, lots of talk, and lots of laughter.  Lauren and I felt at home.

Emy is an unassuming man with a strong commitment to his his wife, Fabi, his ministry and his town.  Life in Hunedoara is hard primarily due to the decision made many years ago by the government to shut down the steel mill, the main employer in the town.  Overnight unemployment went from 0% to close to 100% unemployment.  The majority of young people have left Hunedoara seeking employment elsewhere.  In his ministry, Emy strives to bring hope to people living in a very difficult situation. His philology, “Come As You Are” is a reflection of Emy’s accepting nature.

Fabi is a joyful source of laughter and love.  Throughout our stay in their home I would hear her singing softly to herself as she went about her day.  Each night she prepared wonderful dinners that included lots of conversation and laughter.  Fabi is a teacher, she kept us laughing with funny stories about her students.

On Sunday morning Lauren and I accompanied Emy and Fabi to their church, a small but growing congregation composed primarily of people in their twenties that meet in a rented building.  Service was somewhat informal, people chatted and practiced music prior to the beginning of service, the singing of several hymns signaled the beginning of the service, a local man gave his testimony about personal difficulties and the importance of Jesus in his life, followed by Emy’s sermon.  After the service, people socialized and eagerly approached Lauren and myself, thanking us for coming and extending invitations to visit them in their homes.  That night we went with Emy and Fabi to attend Bible Study in various church members’ homes.  People talked about important events in their lives, asked for prayers for other, and discussed scripture.  Sundays are always a long day for Emy and Fabi.

The amazing thing about the day is not what we heard that was important, Lauren
and I did not understand a word as everyone spoke Romanian (Emy and Fabi later explained what was being said), it was the joy, laughter, kindness and spirituality that flowed among the people that touched our hearts.

Leap of Faith

November 10th, 2010

The Power of Kindess/October 2010

I know that I have joked my way through my blog about my trip.  I am sure that many of you have wondered if I really am on a spiritual journey or just making a bid for my own alternative show on the Travel Channel.  The truth is that this trip is a spiritual quest.  As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, the death of my husband created a large hole in my heart and my soul.  In the past ten years I have experienced numerous challenges that left me spiritually exhausted.  I am not special, we go through hard times in life.  I decided it was time to take a break from my life.  I happen to be lucky enough that I could jump on a plane and go.  I am especially blessed that my daughter, Lauren wanted to join me and my other daughter, Marissa, was willing to manage things back home.  I have been given a lot in life.

I started the trip with the grandiose idea of embracing the people and various cultures that I would encounter in my travels.  I quickly leaned that the public had no desire to acknowledge my presence let alone any interest in my search for meaning.  Coming from Texas where a smile and a friendly “hello” to a stranger is as natural as breathing, to functioning in a world where people seldom smile at a stranger let alone extend basic social courtesies has been a difficult adjustment for me.  When I stepped off the train in Deva, Romania I felt emotionally and spiritually beat up.  I was stunned to be greeted by the smiling face of Emanuel (Emy) Goicovici.  This was the first time since leaving the Winston family several weeks ago that anyone had smiled at me.  We drove to his small hometown of Hunedoara, Romania where his wife, Fabiola (Fabi) greeted us with a home cooked meal of spaghetti made American style in our honor.  I was shocked.

It had been weeks of nonstop traveling, waking up each day to a new city/country/hostel/hotel, repeatedly getting lost, trying to understand a variety of languages, trying to learn the local customs so that I did not inadvertently insult or offend someone, trying to comprehend new currency, trying to decipher train/bus/tram schedules (when schedules were posted and trains were marked) and catch the correct one, eating different food, etc…  All this happening with seldom anyone extending a gesture of common courtesy.  I know that cultural differences exist but what I experienced went beyond culture.  I was treated like a nonentity, as if I did not exist. I was having serious doubts about humanity and my soul felt bankrupt. I asked God and myself why the hell I was submitting myself to this painful insanity and paying for the privilege.  Then I stepped off the train and saw Emy’ smiling face.

It was in a small town in Romania, a country I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined I would visit, that God taught me the power of kindness.  Emy and Fabi, two people that I was meeting for the first time, went out of their way to make Lauren and I feel welcomed.  I almost cried.

Leap of Faith

November 10th, 2010

The Glamor of Train Travel/October 2010

Train travel is always an adventure especially when nothing is labeled and you do not speak the language.  English is not my second language, it is the only language I know and I am still learning it.  The plan was to take the train from Belgrade, Serbia to Timisoara, Romania, spend the night and then take another train to Deva, Romania.  In Eastern Europe, you can plan all you want, then reality happens.

There are no signs for anything in the train station of Belgrade.  The locals just walk among the tracks, hop onto the train and off they go.  Due to my limited language skills I became the typical tourist.  Yep, I was the idiot holding the slip of paper with my designation printed in large letters, going up to people, pointing to the paper and pointing to the trains.  Lauren stood off to the side and pretended that we were not related.

A train porter directed us to a train.  I got on praying that it was the correct train.  Before leaving the station, a young man approached us in our compartment asking if we spoke English and was this the train to Bucharest.  As I tried to explain that I was not even sure that I was on the right train, the man suddenly began to whisper, asking for our help in getting to Bucharest.  At first I did not understand what he was talking about, then he hit me up for money.  I got it.  I was being panhandled on the train.  I kicked the guy out of our compartment.

Lauren and I attempted to get settled for the long train ride to Timisoara.   Everything in our compartment was broken, the place smelled (I would rather not identify the odor), the door would not stay shut, the seats were filthy, the lights did not work, the window would not close and there was no heat.  It was bad and only going to get worse.

Lauren went off to use the toilet.  When she came back, the look on her face said it all.   Lauren’s only comment was, “I hovered .”  The toilet was a thing that open to the ground.  I stood there staring at the toilet, watching the train tracks speed by and asked myself, ”How badly do you have to pee?”
As the sun went down so did the temperature.  Lauren did lunges in order to stay warm.

Late at night we arrived in a town  –  we did not know where because there were no signs.  Lauren suddenly remembered that there was a time change upon entering Romania.  We may be in Timisoara, we may not, we did not know.  I pulled out my piece of paper and began approaching people as they get off the train.  They looked at me as if I was crazy and would not speak to me  We took a chance and got off the train.  We got lucky (so to speak), we were in Timisoara.

We staggered across the street to the one and only hotel.  Our hotel room made every whorehouse in existence look like the Ritz Carlton.

The next day the insanity began all over again.  I wandered around the train station showing people my piece of paper and pointing to trains.  Again, they looked at me as if I was crazy and refused to have anything to do with me.  A man finally took pity on me and directed us to our train.  In a moment of complete idiocy,  I asked him if the train had a first class section.  He looked at me and said; “I am sorry.  My English is not that good.  On this train there is only one class. Shit!”.  He was right.  It was a repeat of the day before.  For all I know it was the same train.

As the train began to move, Lauren turned to me and said, “This cannot be the right train.  It is leaving too soon.”  I flew out of my seat and went running up and down the aisles frantically showing people my piece of paper.  They just stared at me. I ran to the next car, my foot got caught in the dividing doors.  I grabbed my leg and yanked it out of the clutches of the sliding doors.  Again, no one would talk to me. The train rolled forward ten feet and stopped.  I returned to my seat and sat down in a stupor.

I was learning that train schedules in Eastern Europe are merely guesses. We would pass by some train stations and stop at others.  The stops would last a minute in some places or an hour in other places. We had passed the allotted time that we were due to arrive in Deva, Romania.  As we approached another small town, I showed the people leaving the train my piece of paper, they told me that I had missed my stop.  Missed my stop!!  How in the hell had I missed my stop??? The train started to take off,  I snapped.  I stuck my head out the window, frantically waved my arms and and yelled, “Alto!”.  I had really lost it, I was yelling in Spanish in Romania.  I had become the crazy person that everyone had been avoiding.  An elderly Romanian gentleman, who spoke no English, tried to calm me down.  He showed me his train ticket, he was going to Deva.  He invited Lauren and I into his compartment.  He pulled out a chocolate bar, broke it into half and gave each of us a piece.  I just sat there, staring off into space eating my piece of candy.  The train personnel came looking for me and laughed at me.