The first few days in Romania have already passed. This first week is focused on orienting myself. I’m looking at how activities are organized here, seeing what the days look like, and finding my place in all of it.

Last Saturday morning, there was an initial meeting on the agenda. This meeting was with leaders from various churches in the area. It was good to meet each other and encourage one another. I’ve learned that church leaders don’t always have it easy and sometimes feel isolated. That’s why it’s good to share experiences and, as we did last Saturday, think together about how we can make God’s kingdom visible in the work we do.

This week, I also participated a few times in the after-school program. It was nice to notice that the children still recognized me from a previous time I was here, especially because I joined the kids’ and youth camp last summer. We spent several days together there.

The after-school program starts at 12:00 PM with a warm meal. After the meal, the children clear the tables and clean the floor. Then they go outside to play if the weather is nice; otherwise, they play inside. The boys usually play soccer, and the girls play other games.

Next, it’s time to do homework. The children sit at tables according to their grade and complete the homework they’ve been assigned. We answer their questions and motivate them to get their work done. Some children find this much easier than others.

After the homework, there’s a different activity every day. On Mondays, there’s English class. On Tuesdays, there’s a creative activity. This time, we followed a YouTube video to draw something. On Wednesdays, the children practiced giving compliments to each other. On Thursdays, after homework, they got some extra outdoor playtime because the weather was great.

On Wednesday evenings, there’s always youthgroup with worship, input, and socializing. A few young people form the worship band and practice once a week here in the building. The past few weeks, these evenings were filled with material from Youth Alpha. Today was the last session of that series. It was about whether it’s good to tell others about Jesus and what might hold us back from doing so. We also discussed what the church is and why it’s important to go to church. Some beautiful answers came from this discussion.

Thursday evenings are for connect groups. These are small groups of people from the church that meet together. I am part of an English-speaking group that includes several missionaries. The meetings usually start with sharing a highlight and lowlight from the week, followed by a discussion of the sermon from the previous Sunday.

On Friday mornings, we always have a meeting with the team called “prayer and breakfast.” We have breakfast together and discuss the coming week and important things to share.

Afterwards, I went with two other volunteers to distribute food to various widows in the village. These people are going through tough times. They often have small pensions, so they don’t have much money. Life is also often lonely for them. I notice that many widows have children who live and work abroad. One of the widows told us that not long ago, she was robbed of her dog and chickens during the night. In this village, everyone knows everything about each other. People also know exactly where these widows live alone. So in this sense, life is difficult for them.

I’ve had a good first week. I enjoyed participating in the different programs and meeting new people. At the same time, I realize that I am still searching. Searching for my place in the team. Also searching for how I can best help the children. Searching for my way here, both at work and outside of it. This is something that makes sense, and I need to take the time for it. Taking time for this is still a challenge for me because, ideally, I want to contribute quickly and see concrete results. I feel supported in this by our Father, the team around me, and your prayers.