CHURCH ...BUCHAREST STYLE

THE SIGN IN FRONT OF WHERE OUR CHURCH MEETS EACH WEEK.....


Sunday afternoon.... the only time to sit and have no obligations for a few minutes. Was at church, thinking about how different it is here to "do church." Few of us "do church" like we'd do it in America. For us, we meet in a large, ornate auditorium on the third floor of a very old building that, according to a picture in the lobby, used to be the "Austro-Romanian club," ....whatever that was. We climb a grand marble staircase (carrying Sofia in her stroller) to arrive there. It is very hot this time of year.... no air conditioning and no windows, only a tremendous skylight that allows meanacing sun inside (fortunately, there are black pieces of plastic covering portions of it for shade). You sweat frequently there unless you can grab a rare seat near an osscilating fan.

Nursery... well, not really. A small, hot room where older kids throw things. So, Sofia must be entertained. Today, while the girls and I went to church, Lisa took Sofia back outside (we took her back down all those stairs) and strolled around the neighborhood and eventually went to the McDonald's next door to cool off. The girls will sometimes wear headphones to listen to an English translation. We've decided that foir now, we go to church to teach the girls to go to church!

On the other hand, one of our pastors, a Romanian named Cristi, is a passionate man who loves our Lord and wants to teach his people to love Him and serve Him well. He preaches and teaches and loves the people.... he, along with the other staff like Dan and Marty and a host of others, make the heat worth dealing with each week. Funny, in a few months, the complaint will be it is so cold inside we can see our breath!