***Blog originally posted on (8/16/2021)***
Buna! (Hello) from Craiova, Romania.
Here is a little backstory of our travels leading up to arriving in Romania. All Covid tests (for the people who hadn’t been vaccinated) came back negative the Wednesday before travel. My squad flew out from Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday, August 12th. We had an 8 hour flight and landed in the Paris airport. We had a quick 3 hour layover in France before another 3 hour flight heading to Bucharest. From there, we got into vans and drove from Bucharest to Craiova. The normal 3 hour drive ended up being 6 hours after we hit some traffic, but the drive was beautiful seeing the architecture of the city, the sunflower fields that are everywhere, and the glorious sunset over a pond. It was so evident that our being in Romania was a complete God move as a couple days before we left the States the USA had moved from a green country (less restrictive) on Romania’s list to a yellow country (more precautions). The day we flew into Romania the USA got moved to a red country tier (most restrictive). We got through at just the right time, mere hours before they started adding restrictions and denying entry/ enforcing a mandatory 2 week government quarantine. Having all of my squad get through this process was a clear example of the favor of God on our squad and confirmation that the Lord desires us to be here in Romania.
We arrived at our Ministry host’s home after 29 hours of travel and we were all feeling it. I was feeling really tired, had a headache and was just not feeling myself. I figured all I needed was a good night’s rest. The night we arrived we had a couple of people with fevers, so 3 of my squamates moved into a separate room to quarantine as a precaution. The next morning, I woke up and still felt exhausted, even after sleeping well the night before. Slowly, as the morning wears on, I realize that I am not feeling well. I find out that the 3 of my squamates in quarantine have tested positive for Covid. Since I had not been feeling well, I figured that I most likely have Covid as well, since we have all been in contact with each other and I have so many of the symptoms… So into the Covid room I go. At this point, I register with a fever of 100.2 and eventually lose my sense of taste and smell, as well as other flu-like symptoms. My whole squad is in quarantine for 14 days in different rooms, with several people testing positive for Covid. All of us seem to be improving each day and are grateful for God’s goodness to us in this time together.
While this is not the plan that we had in mind when we envisioned coming to Romania, I know that God brought us here and allowed us to enter the country right before it became the most restrictive. Those that were not vaccinated had negative Covid tests and no one was experiencing symptoms until we arrived in Craiova. As I was processing this quarantine with the Lord, I felt like He said that this experience is a setup, not a setback. While it may feel like this is a setback at the moment, as we are not able to focus on ministry as quickly, I do not think that this is a coincidence that we experienced this on Day 1 in Romania. We are able to take this time to rest, focus on prayer for this amazing ministry/team here, and press in to more of what God has for us in this season and for the next 11 months as a squad. I am excited to see the ways in which the Lord is going to use this time of delighting in Him as preparation for future ministry here in Romania!
