Our first day with the Gypsies


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Europe » Romania » Transilvania » Salaj » Simleu Silvaniei
December 30th 2004
Published: December 30th 2004
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Unloading the foodUnloading the foodUnloading the food

Everyone unloading the food for bag assembly.
Thursday, December 30, 2004:

Well, we have just completed day three in Romania. Today was the day we hit the ground running. After a wonderful breakfast consisting of tasty Romanian fruit, Hungarian cornflakes and milk straight from the cow (it was very good!), we went straight to work. The vans arrived after breakfast full of packages of flour, sugar, oil, rice and cookies. Though the weather outside was frightful, our assembly line was quite effective. Nearly 300 bags were assembled in 45 minutes! We took 50 of those bags, along with 50 loaves of bread to the people in the village of Ciezer. What a sight that was! We walked up a muddy, frozen ramp to meet a group of about 70 gypsies who were waiting to meet us and receive their supply bags. Before we gave them their bags though, they were more than happy to share their praise songs with us in their language. We then sang praise songs in our language and Becky, Shannon and Gilbert shared their testimony. Tarl then shared his testimony and gave the message of salvation. Not knowing what to expect we were moved, some to tears, when we saw over 15 people
Getting ready for food bag packingGetting ready for food bag packingGetting ready for food bag packing

We were able to buy so much food!
raise their hands that accepted Jesus Christ. The families then lined up and received the bags we had prepared for them. We also gave the children bags of toys and toiletries and lollipops. We had a wonderful time handing out these much-needed supplies to the village. Not only did we get to meet Romanian gypsies, but also we got to witness a real pig fight. Some (Gilbert) felt the need to slap the pigs (yes, real ones) as others videotaped. It sounds a little odd, but it was pretty funny. When all the bags had been handed out we headed to the town of Zalau to pick up a few souvenirs and eat some authentic Romanian pizza. We spent an average of 600,000 Romanian lei at this souvenir shop!!! Don’t we sound rich? By this point we were starving, so we went to Amigo’s (not the American chain restaurant) and ate Romanian pizza dunked in sweet ketchup. YUM J we are now back at Tony’s house kicking back and planning another busy day! So now it’s my turn to go relax and get a good night’s rest. Please continue praying for us as we continue to visit the gypsy villages
Together timeTogether timeTogether time

We all enjoyed our time together each day for sharing and singing.
and bless the Romanian people. Hope all is well at home. I have attached a list of personal messages from everyone here. We love you guys!

Random thoughts of the day:

1. Ketchup on pizza is delicious!
2. It’s really hard to play the guitar with gloves and a thick winter coat
3. Amigo’s was an Italian food-serving place with a Spanish name and northwestern décor
4. There are officially potholes on EVERY road
5. Cheap, late Christmas gifts coming soon
6. It is fun to see real pigs fight and even more fun to slap them
7. Milk straight from cow is best
8. We just received 300 jackets and 300 boots to hand out
9. We also just received awesome Siberian-style hats that we will use on a regular basis at home because they make us look 10 times better.

Personal Messages:

Tarl: “I’m not coming home.”
Julia: “Hi mom if you can open the link 😉”
Heather: “Thanks for paying the bill, dad!”
Everyone: Josh, Mama are fundu mare!

A big thank you to Julia who did today's entry for me (Amy)! She did a great job and shed light from a
Gypsy KidsGypsy KidsGypsy Kids

They sang us many songs.
different perspective.



Additional photos below
Photos: 10, Displayed: 10


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Coming to see what was going on.Coming to see what was going on.
Coming to see what was going on.

This was a quick reminder of where we were.
Goodie BagsGoodie Bags
Goodie Bags

Some kids with Shannon and Cindy. We were able to give all of the kids gift bags with tolietries.
Bunica (Grandma)Bunica (Grandma)
Bunica (Grandma)

Cindy and I asked to take a picture with this lady. She sat on her front porch (where we are) the entire time. She was very surprised to see her picture immediately with the digital camera.
Ladies with their food bags.Ladies with their food bags.
Ladies with their food bags.

Every family in the village got a food bag and a loaf of bread.
HouseHouse
House

This was one of the houses in the village.
Tourning their churchTourning their church
Tourning their church

This was their one room church.


30th December 2004

Love
Hi meggie and all,glad to hear what a wonderful time your having.thanks amy for updates.we love you - Dinah and Dane
30th December 2004

Fabulous Journal
Hey Girls, the journals are fantastic. Just like being there. Sounds like a wonderful time. That was touching about the gypsies singing. Wonderful news of the 15 who got saved. PTL:) I can't wait to see the video of the pig fight. hehe Keep up the good work. Hugs and Kisses to Matt and Adrienne and Tarl. - Bev Shaw
31st December 2004

Glad to hear that they are receptive to God's word. Praying for you all, today, tommorrow and until God's plan is complete. Love to you all. Heather: you are welcome but we must discuss this addition problem you seem to be having. - John Denmark
31st December 2004

Greetings to Amy
Hi Amy - Sounds like you are having a great time - glad to hear you all made it safely. I've been enjoying my vacation from work - reading, shopping, saw Oceans 12 and went to this cool place in Tampa with my parents and my aunt. It's called Big Cat Rescue and it's a non-profit that takes in wild cats (leopards, tiger, lions, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, etc.) that have been abandoned by their owners or abused in circuses, etc. They are on a large piece of wooded property and the cats are in cages, but they're big cages (especially compared to the cages they were kept in by previous owners) and they have a lot of room to roam. I got some great photos - I'm hoping to go back soon and do the day-long excursion where you get to interact and feed some of the smaller, tamer cats. Weather here has been cloudy and not too cold. Hope you are getting to take lots of photos. This travelblog concept is great - I really enjoy reading your entries. Stay safe and warm! Michelle - Michelle G
17th January 2005

Gypsies?
The people are called Romany or Roma, not "gypsies". "Gypsy" is an old, degrading term. Just thought you might like to know that...;) - Erin
17th January 2005

To Erin
Thank you for the corrected information on the name of the people group we visited. I personally have grown to love these people and I in no way want to tarnish all of the work we did with "degradating" terms or names. I simply went with the name "Gypsy" because it was used by the locals and all of the workers that introduced us to these people. So I must claim ignorance to any cultural or social significance of that label. Remember that labels only hurt if we let them. Thanks for your comment. Amy :) - amyjoy76

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