Romania Reports 2004

The Journey

We had to wake up very early on Friday morning to be at school for 1am. We set off in the packed minibus to Heathrow airport. The journey took 5 hours and most people went to sleep. We arrived in the airport at 4.30 and the flight did not leave untill 9.30! We had a very long wait and we played a few games and had something to eat. When we finally got on the plane at ten o'clock it felt like teatime. The flight took three and a bit hours and there was no entertainment on the plane.

When we got to Romania we got on a very nice minibus that was up to date and was very comfy. This was the start of a very long five hour trip to Mangalia. The roads are very poor in Romania and the main road from Bucharest is just a sand track.

We passed many crop fields with many people doing their jobs in them. For miles we just went along a road with no towns. All the trees along the roads are painted white so no insects go on them.

It was very hot in Romania, much hotter than England. It felt like we were in a much poorer country as we went past many horse carts and most of the cars were old fashioned. There was a train line that followed us all the way from Bucharest to Mangalia. Sometimes we had a very long wait at the crossings as trains there are nearly a mile long! We finally arrived in Mangalia at around 9pm (7pm here).

A week later we set off back to England. Five minutes down the road the Police stopped us asking for a document. We had to go back and wait for an hour for the document to be produced. This was going to make us very late for the flight. We had to check in for ten to two and it was already ten o'clock. We got to Bucharest and Mr Walker decided to get us all a McDonalds as we were all hungry, even though we only had 30 minutes until the flight left. We made it though and arrived at the airport ten minutes before it left. Back in England we got back on board the very small minibus and had a very long ride home.

by Ben

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Naomi

When we arrived at the apartment Naomi was waiting for us. My first impressions of her were good because she was very smily and welcoming.

At first she seemed shy but as the week past she became louder and more bubbly especially when she was with Rachel (a Romanian girl). She helped us by translating at the holiday club and on the beach at night, she also helped us to buy the food as she knew all of the good places to go, and eveyone was quite amazed at how fluent she was at the language.

She seemed like a strong Christian and must be to devote her life to God in the way that she has. It must have been strange for her because she had been alone in the apartment for all that time and then she's suddenly crowded by lots of over excited teenagers. I think that Naomi is a very caring and loving person and can't wait to see her again.

I think that I have gained a lot spiritually from this trip and hope to go out to Romania again. I never knew the suffering that goes on around he world and have come to realise that there are other people on this Earth apart from myself.

I also feel that I've got closer to the people that were in my group and feel more comfortable around them.

by Sarah G

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The Meal and The Apartment

On the Wednesday evening the group had planned and were looking forward to a meal out at "The Rose Marie". This restaurant was full of sophistication and debonair. The pastor of the church's children, Jonny, Raquel and Rebecca, accompanied the group from Bradford Christian School. The meal was very tasty and it was a calm and classy place to be in. Naomi also came with us to the restaurant and became our translator for the evening.

When we finished our meal, which was a combination of pizzas, pasta dishes and spicy peppers (I think you know what I mean Melissa!) we went down to "Neptune". This was a part of Mangalia where there were stalls and kebab shops, candy floss and ice cream. It was a pleasant place to wander and take in the surrounding. After some of us bought souvenirs we walked along to a fair where we engaged in the fun of the dodgems. Each person went on at least once but this was an enjoyable experience for the whole group, even Mr Walker became a child for the evening and enjoyed crashing into other children's carriage.

On our return we went on a tractor with a huge trailer type thing attached to the back where we all had a ride back to the apartment (or thereabouts).

The apartment we were staying in was bought by Church on the Way. It was very nice and a comfy space to live in for a week. It was always clean and we all had just about enough space.

In the girls' bedroom there were three bunk-beds and a pull out mattress from underneath one of the bunk-beds. The room wasn't all that big so for 7 of us to be sleeping in one room with our suitcases and all our possessions it did get a big cramped from time to time, which is why two of the girls offered to move two mattresses out of the bedroom and one in the kitchen and the other in the hall (only at night-time).

In the boys room there was one bunk-bed, one single bed and a pull out mattress. That was a smaller room than the girls' so it was very cramped (they seemed to survive!) they too seemed to find space for their suitcases and belongings. But being boys they all say it was "alright.".

The kitchen was of an average size and was fine for the group who had to prepare the meals.

The living room was simplistic. It did have a television but we didn't really watch anything (I think the boys did). Mr Walker had a camp bed with a mattress in the living room and was a bed at night but became our sofa during the day. The camp bed broke because everyone was sitting/standing on it began to fall to the ground, and snapped (sorry Mr Fawcett-Jones!).

There was also a comfortable sized room next to the girls bedroom for Nicola, Naomi and Mrs Hewer to sleep and live in. There were two bathrooms(thankfully) for the group to use.

by Lydia V

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The Holiday Club

The first group that went to Romania went to the church each day to do the Holiday Club.

The group was split into 3 different groups, which was group one and two and then the boys. At the holiday club we sang songs with Naomi. Naomi has been living in Romania for about 11 months and already knows the Romanian language.

After we had sang a few songs we then did a story from the Bible which one of the groups would perform to all the children. Then we played various games like Simon Says but we had to say it in Romanian. We played musical statues and musical chairs. We also played a game called Higher or Lower, which is where you answer a question which was taken from the previous story which has told, and they played girls against boys but the boys were really competitive.

Going to Romania was a really good experience for a lot of us who went. Looking at how the life style is in the Gypsy Village made most of us think how fortunate we really are in England. It made me feel quite sorry for the gypsy children that went to the Holiday Club.

by Olivia

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The Berreca

While we were in Romania, the group got split into three groups. As the boys group only had four people only the girls were separated. Each day the groups were set a task, either to cook, do the shopping or prepare a programme for the holiday clubs at the church. These programmes consisted of a bible story and a few games. While the girls group were doing their programme the boys group went on a visit to the gypsy village called the Berreca. This was set up by the Amadeus Foundation. The houses were once army barracks.

This was about a fifteen minute walk from the flat. When we reached there we went into a few houses. When we entered we could hardly see in front of us. What we could see was kids sat on the ground eating and some squatting and going to the toilet. The houses were quite dark inside and very humid. As we approached the doors you could smell a damp smell throughout the corridors. The houses were constructed in a way that there was one long corridor with doors along it each family had one room that had no running water and no toilet often not even a window.

There was about six people to one room and some families had small children and babies. When we went into the houses we were shown around and we prayed before leaving most people wanted us to pray for them getting a bigger house or finding a job or if their baby was sick to get better.

As we were talking to a family there some people waiting outside to repossess the house. The woman and her three kids would have nowhere to live.

As we were leaving all of the kids that we were teaching at the holiday clubs came to meet us. One of them who we nicknamed Zidane came to show us some football cards he owned.

Most of the kids over there were very fond of English football so much that they would write the name and number of their favourite player on the back of probably their only shirt. When the kids finished chatting with us we started to head back. The kids started to follow us and Naomi had to tell them to go back. The kids liked being around us and playing games with us.

When we had left the village we noticed some women from the village who had got jobs as road sweepers just to get some money to look after their family.

The affect the trip had most on me was to not take things for granted that I get and to remember the kids over there who aren't as blessed in their everyday life such as us. Some of them would even be happy just going to school. What I was shocked by the most was even though the kids didn't have much they were still contented with what they had and were able to smile even through the ongoing struggle.

by Michael

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The Romanian Children

The Romania children we met were full of life, they were always smiling and trying to get your attention. The children that went to the holiday club enjoyed playing the games that we set up.

Some of children that we met lived at the Berreca which was a gypsy village that we visited, wore clothes that were torn and they didn't wear anything on their feet. They smelt a bit because they didn't have any running water where they lived so they wouldn't be able to wash.

The children wouldn't be able to go to hospital if they were ill and some of them usually would have a bad cough.

We met two boys who named themselves after footballers called Zidane and Lampard. They were always happy to see you and play with you.

Sometimes when they wore nothing on their feet or wore ripped clothes you felt very sorry for them and you then realised how fortunate we are compared to them.

by Joe

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The Foundation

The Amadeus Foundation is a Romanian charity. It adopts babies and supplies food, clothes, prams, cots and bedding for families who live in the gypsy village. Some Brazilian missionaries called Irene, Christi and Gilberto run the foundation. Also they teach mums how to sew. They talk about health issues like how to clean your house or how clean you are, so the babies don't get ill. They are also thinking about making showers for people to have a wash in so they are not so dirty. Also a washing machine for them to wash their clothes so they don't have to be dirty or smelly, and they will be clean.

My favourite song in devotions was "Your love is amazing".

by Zara

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Beach at Night!

At the beach at night we had loads of fun because on one of the first nights Joe got a really big crowd by using his diabolo, then we did loads of parachute and non-parachute games, the children seemed to enjoy them. Throughout the week we got to know the children more and more, and we could just about understand them.

After a few games Lydia V and Chantelle shared their testimonies with everyone that was there, a few people came to Mr Walker at the end wanting to know more about Jesus. On some other nights we did dances and dramas for people we also did face painting for the kids which Sarah, Hannah, Olivia and Melissa did.

On the last night we all decided it would be a good idea to go swimming in the sea with our clothes on. The sea was very cold and we got very wet, the Romanian children decided to copy us we all had a water fight.

Almost every night we walked back to the flat passing an ice-cream lady we all had a chocolate and vanilla ice cream dipped in melted chocolate they were gorgeous!!!

by Melissa

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Free time in Romania

In our free time we went to the beach. On the second day the boys played a match against some Romanians and Mr Walker got taken down twice by the same guy. The score ended up 7-5 to the Romanians.

After the match the boys and girls decided to go on the pedal boats. Paul and Ben jumped in off the pedal boats and went for a bit of a swim. When our time was up for the pedal boats we got off and everyone said that they were ace. After the pedal boats the boys ended up going to the Russian market and most of them bought a nice pair of trainers.

Then later in the week the boys ended up playing three more matches against the local boys whilst the girls sunbathed on the beach. The town was just like a holiday town apart from nicer.

Romania is a lot different from Bradford as most of the animals are homeless and as you take the bins out you can find them in the skip looking for food. The schools also let you go in the area to play football. As I have come back from Romania it has made me realise how lucky we actually are and what we take for granted.

by Paul

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The Fanta

In Romania you can buy three different flavoured Fantas to the ones you can get in England. They are Madness, Shokata and another fruity one. These were very addictive and all the boys bought some every day.

Because we cant get it here the lads decided to bring loads of it home. Paul and Ben took nearly a suitcase full and on the last day Mr Walker decided to play a joke on Ben. He sent him out to empty the bins and whilst he did this they broke into his suitcase and replaced all the fanta with 3 big concrete blocks! The fanta went into Mrs Hewer's bag and she carried it back to England. When he opened his bag back at home he thought the Fanta had frozen!! On Monday he was given it back.

by Ben

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Related pages: Romania

Category: Trips

Author: BenT