STS Team: Elizabeth

Every spring break a youth group from Church of the Apostles in Atlanta Georgia sends a team of high school students to work with us. This is an account of one of those students.

This is my first trip to Romania, but I never expected that this week would be as meaningful as it already has been. So much of what we’ve seen has been both emotionally and spiritually challenging – in the best way – but I think the most significant was the series of interactions I’ve had with children here. We have visited a few gypsy villages, and each time I’ve been met with a slew of dirty, smiling children. They were all so eager to play and show off butchered English phrases they’d learned. Everyone was especially touched when they yelled “Christians! Christians! America!” We are all really inspired by the new church and the Christian kindergarten being built in one of the villages, Sabolciu. This morning my group visited the government hospital and I spent the entire time on a floor specifically reserved for sick infants with special needs. I petted a toddler with “water in the brain” so severe that he couldn’t leave his crib, and rocked a crippled four-year-old that didn’t show any outward signs of recognizing me. I had a feeling that just being there made a difference, however small. Many of them had just been abandoned there by parents that didn’t want to deal with them. The morning was emotionally draining, but I left the hospital praising God and praying for the sweet nurses who stayed with these babies day and night. We only have a few days left here, but I’ve already been so moved and inspired.