Saints in Romania: Carnivals and Orthodox Mass

Welcome back to our journey in Romania! Yesterday, I left off with the promise of an afternoon carnival. I'm glad to say our Saints did not disappoint and put on a great experience for the children! It contained pie throwing, face painting, and an obstacle course that would have made Coach York proud. Here is a description of the afternoon from sophomore Helen Cunningham.

"When we woke up at 8:00 am, we started the day with some "football" and then a Romanian lesson. We learned some great phrases! We got to play at the park and spin a merry-go-round type set. We had lunch with the entire community were we honored those who had died within the past year. After lunch our group returned to create super-secret master plans for a carnival! We started with pie-throwing. John (or Ion as he is called here) whipped some vegan cream for us to smash in everyone's faces. My glasses and hair were casualties of this part of the carnival. Next, we timed the kids on an obstacle course where an unplanned obstacle, some village goats, got in our way! We rolled with it and a couple of us even joined in! Face painting and a rig toss also kept the kids engaged. We've only been here 24 hours I look forward to more excitement, fun times, and good memories for the rest ofthe  week. We miss all of you back in the states! Love, Helen."

Helen and the other students were not disappointed as this morning was another adventure. We hiked about 30 minutes to the nearby village to attend and experience the Orthodox Sunday mass. The hike there was breathtaking, with small villages and the Carpathean mountains surrounding us. Once at the church, we quietly entered on the balcony overlooking the main chapel. Although we were only present from around 11-12, the mass actually began at 8 am. It was definitely different than our Wednesday chapel service at home. Following service, we came back to Pro Vita for a community lunch. 

This afternoon our Saints will be spread out in the community with different age groups doing different activities. Check back tomorrow for another Saint's perspective of the our Sunday afternoon here in Romania!