Peter Short and Alan Esam, along with Peter
Smittem from St. Mary’s Ashendon set off very early on Thursday
14th November to drive across Europe to Calarasi in south eastern Romania.
Peter Short and Alan were part of the group
which visited Romania in summer 2013 as part of the on-going relationship
between Long Crendon Baptist Church and the church in Calarasi.
It was clear during that visit that the
church in Calarasi needed some chairs for their new church building. Peter Smitten sourced some second hand chairs which
Brill School no longer needed, and a lot of work was put into cleaning and refurbishing
them.
Peter Short had a van to transport the
chairs – once the trip was organised, other items were identified to add to the
cargo - a consignment of ex-hire wedding dresses to enable someone in Calarasi
to set up their own hire business, Crendon Corinthians old football strip and
various toys were offered and added to the cargo.
Taking the ferry from Dover to Calais then west
through France, Belgium and into Germany, the three reached Frankfurt on day 1
after 15 hours travelling.
A slightly later start on day two, they set
off at 8am and continued west through Germany and Austria, taking turns with 2
hours driving, 2 hours ‘relaxing’ in the back of the van and 2 hours
navigating. Still in Austria in the early evening, they needed to get to the
Romanian border in order to arrive in Calarasi by Saturday night. After a meal break, they eventually arrived at
the border town of Szeged at 10pm.
On Saturday morning they headed for the
Romanian border. Thankfully, the border guards took no interest in the van, its
odd cargo and even stranger occupants, after all why would three English men be
driving to an obscure town in the poorest part of the country?
Paying the motorway toll took longer, not
helped by a misunderstanding when asked how many chairs (seats) were in the
van! The Romanian motorways are new and
largely traffic free but only took them part of the way across the country.
Soon, they were winding along on single
carriageway roads that took in every town and village, so it was after dark
before they got onto the Bucharest ring road.
This too is single carriageway and the
lorries have worn deep ruts worn into the tarmac, which were just the wrong
width for the van causing them to bounce all over the road in a most alarming
way. They eventually arrived at Calarasi around 9pm.
The three were met with such a warm
welcome! The young people had been having a meeting and were planning a
sleep-over so as soon as they arrived, pizza and fizzy drinks were served, with
Peter, Alan and Peter sat at the top table and treated to a full meal.
The next day they took part in the Sunday service.
Peter Short explained that their return trip came about because God brought
things and circumstances together. Peter Smittem introduced himself and St.
Mary’s Ashendon. Alan used Jesus’ words
“it is more blessed to give than to receive” to encourage everyone to share
whatever they can, even if that is a word of encouragement, an email or a
prayer of support.
After the service the van was unloaded. It
was a great blessing to see how the chairs, wedding dresses, football kit and
toys were so eagerly unloaded and how much they were admired and appreciated.
The chairs were set out in the church to replace those that had been on loan from
another church and had to be returned the next day, where they were needed for
a series of meetings.
The wedding dresses will be used to
generate a modest income for a single mother of four.
The young people have regular football
games against various teams, so the Crendon kit was appreciated and the toys were quickly in use.
The van has also been left – it has an
electric lift for a wheelchair, something that is not known in Romania. Alan
was able to give a driving lesson before they left - Pastor Iulian will be able
to use this vehicle to bless not just those in his church but also those in the
community of Calarasi whom the church there seek to serve.
We wait to see what God has planned next
for our link with this Romanian church and its community.
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