On The Ground

I’ve finally found a chance to get online! Our flights went well, though in Budapest Hungary the girl at checkin looked at our tickets, did some checking,and told us “It is cancelled” “Our tickets are cancelled??” “No, the flight is cancelled.” But she said she could give us standby tickets for the same flight. (???) I asked about our luggage - “Yes, it is all on the plane” Anyway, we eventually got on the plane and all was well. We arrived here at 3:30 pm local time, having gotten no sleep that night on the plane, and with little sleep the nights previous. My possible sleeping time on the plane was spent talking with a young Romanian who currently lives in Atlanta. He taught me some Romanian, and we talked about faith and many other things as well. We’ll be in touch when we both get back to Georgia

Serghei met us at the airport, and it was great to see him again after 8 years. He showed us the shopping possibilities in our neighborhood, we bought some groceries, and by then it was time for a Bible study at the meeting place of the church here. Exhausted, I was glad that two other men visiting and teaching here were already responsible to lead the discussion that evening, though Serghei had fun scaring me that he wanted me to teach that night. Brace Rutledge and Larry Paden are here but will soon be heading back to the States. Brace presented a lesson, which was followed by much discussion and many questions. Soon the questions were on completely unrelated topics, and there was a lengthy discussion of wine and alcohol with two different views being presented. I hope to further this discussion in coming weeks.

Nathan and I both noticed something we thought was quite significant; that although opposing views were being advocated, and strongly so, that these brethren were just as warm and friendly with each other following the study as they had been upon their arrival for the study. It was wonderful. A number of brethren could stand to learn some things from their example.

We finally got home, got to sleep, and got some good rest.

We were up again at 6:30 a.m. to be ready for a trip to go to a city in northwestern Moldova today. Larry, Brace, Nathan and I were driven there by a second Serghei in his van (his job is hauling loads of whatever somebody wants hauled, thus he owns the van). Although Second Serghei was at the study the previous night, I had not had a chance to get to know him, so the drive back and forth today was a good opportunity. Without exception, it is always a joy to get to know the Christians of Eastern Europe.

The city where this morning’s study was is Balti, in northwestern Moldova (see map link at right). There is a church there consisting entirely of women, though one man was present for the study, along with about 7 women. Brace again led the discussion, and they also had questions. We have another study in an hour and a half, at 6pm, with one of the older ladies in the church here.

Interesting sights on the highway to Balti. I’ll share one with you. Very frequently along the road, we would see a cow or bull resting or standing eating right at the road’s edge. People who own cattle, maybe one or two or three, but who don’t own land (or possibly for other reasons also), tie them up on the public easement along the highway so they can graze some there.

Moldova is so much poorer than much of eastern Europe, and certainly moreso than the Czech Republic where I previously lived. I am told that one reason for this is that foreign companies are unwilling to come in, due to the lack of contract law here. Those in power would apparently rather continue the system of bribery that prevailed for so long in so many of these countries.

I hope to do some teaching before leaving for the Czech Republic on Friday, but if not, these two or three days were really just for getting a feel for things, learning my way around, and settling in. We’ll be back here after a week in CZ, and I’ll have more teaching opportunities then than I can handle.

It’s GREAT to be here. It’s a joy, and it’s a good work. See you back here again soon.