I have always wanted to visit Romania! It wasn't in my original travel plan – I never thought that I would have the time or the money to get there. But it turned out to be another miraculous dream come true for me. I ended up having 3 days in Romania. Since time would be pressed, I decided to hire a car and travel around the countryside through Transylvania. I didn't want to be stuck just in Bucharest, and I also didn't want to be at the mercy of the public transport timetables. It worked out as a fantastic plan. I was able to stow my luggage in the boot so I never had to worry about storage, and I was granted three days of alone time! It was blissful. Plus, I do love to drive. I got the best deal I could from the airport care hire stalls (grumble grumble) and ended up with a brand new VW. I left the airport in my car, armed only with my fierce determination and a map of Romania.
Thanks to couch surfing, I had arranged to stay with the elderly mother of this Romanian man - he was away in Hong Kong and could not host me, but had asked his mother (who lives in a village in the countryside) if she could host me. She said she would love to - and I was so thrilled at the prospect of seeing the life of a country villager! He told me lots of information about how to find the house, and he warned me that she spoke no English, only Hungarian and Romanian. Luckily I had picked up a few words of Hungarian when I was in Hungary - but it was not much just: yes, no and thank you. So that afternoon I drove to this place.
A tiny little village, people driving horse and carts, huge pot holes in the road, small unsymmetrical rustic houses painted brightly. Very traditional village - only one shop in the whole town! I spent 30 minutes looking for the house because the houses are not numbered logically, much to the amusement of the locals (who had come out to look at me). I found the house finally and gratefully went inside. It looked bigger than other houses in the village because it had a courtyard driveway. The house itself was only four rooms - kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom. When I arrived I was the talk of the village! Many people gathered outside to have a look at me. The old lady had a friend around - another old lady. They both looked me over and talked between themselves enthusiastically, they were literally shocked that I was from New Zealand, it seemed like a world away. These women have probably never left Romania. In fact, the woman got a phone call and was even telling whoever was on the other line that I was from NZ!
Then the two women sat me down in front of a huge feast- homemade chicken casserole, bread, tomatoes (from the garden) and biscuits. Now, I forgot to mention, this woman does not even have running water, she has to collect it from a well. The food she had given me was everything she had. I felt so special and humbled by her lavish hospitality. There was only room for one person at the table so I had to eat there by myself, being watched by the ladies. After a while the friend left, and my host pottered around. When I finished eating, she sat down and ate.
She could not even do the dishes, she instead put the dishes away in a small cupboard - I guess she has a certain day when she does them to make the most of her water. After dinner we tried (and failed) to make conversation. It was just too impossible with the language barrier. So I sat her down and I got out my ukulele and I played her some songs! I figured that since she didn't know what I was saying then she wouldn't mind if I sang Christian worship songs. So I played and sang for her, and I really felt the Spirit of the Lord on me while I played, because I am not a great player or singer, but that night I was able to play and sing each song without error.
So I sang to the Lord, with all my heart, and when I looked up at the old woman, she was gently weeping. And in that moment I knew that she had just met Jesus. It seemed she was a Catholic woman, I noticed a few pictures around the place, but it seemed she had never met Jesus personally. But that evening, in some ukulele music in a language she doesn't speak, Jesus touched her. She kept indicating to me to sing more songs, so I did. I sang worship to the Lord with all the passion I have in me. She cried for a little while then when I finished she was smiling. After that she became even more gracious and generous to me and it felt like we had shared a bond. Of course, we still spoke different languages, so I could not discuss with her what she had experienced, but it showed me a lot about the way the power of the Lord transcends barriers of language and culture. Sometimes we don't need words.
In the morning she had heated me a bowl of water to wash with, and had prepared an extravagant breakfast for me (she had gone to the one shop in the village and bought fresh bread and bakery things). She carefully laid it all out for me, more chicken casserole, bread, a pastry and freshly picked grapes. I realised that she had given me all the rest of the casserole, leaving nothing for herself, so I insisted that we halve my plate. I found a way for us both to sit at the table together and eat, which was much nicer than eating alone.
What an incredible example of lavish generosity this lady showed. This dear old woman was giving me literally everything she had. Words cannot even express how grateful and in awe I was. I packed the car and I dropped her off at the doctor on my way out of the area, the whole experience still repeating through my head.
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