It’s been officially 1 week since M squad arrived BACK in Romania and we hit the ground running! This past week has been fully packed with great things.
Familiarity is such a foreign concept to us World Racer’s so it has been such a sweet gift from the Lord to be back in Craiova, the city where we started 10 long months ago. Little things such as knowing the route to walk to your favorite shops or meeting back up with a local to go grab coffee has been very special.
ALSOOOOO, my squad’s route (M Squad) and L Squad’s route MET in the middle, so we were able to serve alongside one another. Yes, all 40-something of us stayed in the same house and we loved it!
L Squad and M squad pic 🙂 Romanian buildings are so pretty!
During this month we will be partnering alongside Hope Church again. Their pastor and his wife, Raul and Ana are some of my favorite people. I was able to build good relationships with them during my first month here. They equip us so well with the tasks on hand and during my time here we will be working with Ukrainian refugees as well as the local Romanian community.
My team and I will be assisting in transporting refugees from country to country, long term housing, and packing/loading goods to take to the Ukrainian boarder.
We may or may not have played the game of telephone during this assembly line… haha. Who said work can’t be fun??
Loading up the van! (I’ve never seen so many jars of jam in my life!)
There are 8 houses/flats the church has been able to rent out to house our Ukrainian friends. Part of our ministry is going and visiting with them; having quality time and simply showing them the love of Christ. Some days it may be 1 on 1 conversations helping them process everything that’s going on or that has happened. Other days it may be having tea and playing games with the kiddos or getting anything they might need such as groceries, water and supplies. It’s truly an honor to know and serve them.
The family I visited this day blessed us with a homemade Ukrainian pastry and tea. I’ve learned that letting them serve us is one of the most empowering things for them.
One of my favorite ministries in Craiova is working with the Roma communities. This specific people group are outcasted and discriminated against in Romania. They have a poor reputation amongst the people and it is often the case of generational, unhealthy habits and customs. They live on the outskirts of cities in very impoverished areas. In our attempt to show them biblical love, we go at least once a week to spend the afternoon with them; playing games, teaching them bible stories and songs, as well as bringing them some treats.
This is Laura. She is 12 years old and live in one of the Roma communities. I had the honor of playing games with her and braiding her hair.
This is only a first glimpse of what I will be doing during my time here. I will be in Craiova until June 12th. We have already seen God move in incredible ways by providing food and shelter to dozens of refugees that have passed through. Your prayers and support have been much appreciated during my time on the field; it’s bittersweet to think this is my last month.
I invite you to partner with what God is doing in Romania as I am still currently fundraising the last little chunk!! Your financial partnership will provide me with the resources I need to stay on the field. I’m currently $3,540 away from being fully funded.
Again, thank you so much for your support. I’m excited to see more of what else the LORD will do this month and I’m so honored to partner with Him in it! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, prayer requests, or if you would just like to chat! 🙂
Until next time amigos,
Gina Oyuela-Dickinson 🙂
It is truly amazing- the experiences, the challenges, hardships everyone endures; a learning process on a daily basis; the blessings, the love, and spreading the word of the Lord, helping and lending a hand, has no end nor limits to share with others. You, my precious daughter, child of God; cease to amaze me. You and all the other racers have been doing such beautiful things and meeting beautiful people, sharing, teaching and loving them all. God makes things possible and HE is very good. I Love the pictures! May God always bless you and all the other racers as you continue to complete your journey. Love you very much.
This is so good. How fun that you have such variety in your ministry. I know that you let Holy Spirit guide your steps and you are such a blessing to the Roma people and to the refugees in Romania (not to mention your team, your squad, and your hosts)!
I love that you get to be back here in a familiar place to finish your race! And I LOVED going to the Roma village with you!!