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November 2010
Church Challenge
- Jean Barclay
 I first
visited Romania on a mission trip in April 2004, the mission centre
was not quite finished so the small group I was with stayed at a hotel
in Oradea. A big contrast to my trip last month when our group
included a wide range of ages and abilities who took up the ‘Church
Challenge’ with Smiles.
For
twenty six of us the Mission Centre was home for a week, where we were
fed like kings and enjoyed really comfortable surroundings. Church
Challenge trips are in addition to the normal Mission trip dates
which enabled us to fit our trip into the Scottish mid-term break.
Also the trip is a little cheaper which really
helped us as we had to fund raise to enable the group to go.
We left
Glasgow’s Prestwick Airport early on a cold Sunday morning to take the
flight to Budapest feeling nervous, excited and happy that at last,
after all the talk and organising, it was finally happening.
Originally the challenge was taken up by
Dalmellington Parish Church
which has quite a long relationship with Smiles and our youth group
has raised money on several occasions. It was a real joy for example,
for them to see their name on a plaque on the ‘Wall of Thanks’ in the
school at Tileagd. But, the news spread to a neighbouring church and
we were joined by members of the churches in
Coylton and Drogan. What
a team!
We were
delighted to be involved in eleven projects during our week and the
work was very varied. Some of us worked at the new farm in
Arpasel,
painting pig pens and cutting down a very overgrown hedge which
according to some was really as big as a forest! Peppers were picked
at Gepiu
and a
 lot
of weeding was done in glorious sunshine, which stayed with us all
week. Looks like there was a bumper crop of corn because every time we
had sorted and stacked a trailer load another load arrived, and the
jokes about getting a job with the “Jolly
Green Giant”
began to wear a bit thin! A good job well done!
Meirlou’s Emergency Housing Project
will be warm over the winter with wood chopped, staked and ready for
use. I must say, I was more than a little relieved that the wood was
already chopped as teenagers and an axe caused the youth leaders more
than a little concern!!
Undercoat and a blu e
top coat of paint was applied with love and care to a 40 foot
container which will become a much needed home when the interior is
converted into a warm and dry living space for a homeless family. The
new ‘Joint Facility of Love’
in Salonta will soon be opening a charity shop which is now looking
very smart after some of the team spent the day giving it a makeover.
The warehouse was given a good tidy up by our dedicated personal
shoppers!
It
was our privilege to see a converted container being delivered to a
family in Salard
which is a desperately poor community with which
Smiles is just starting to build up a relationship. It is hard for us
to imagine staying in a container but for these families whose homes
were infested by rats, it is luxury by any standard.
The
children in the
Family Centre
really enjoyed the attention they were given by the team members who
spent a very happy time in their midst.
 Family
visits which are
at the heart of all that Smiles do was for many an emotional
rollercoaster. It gave us all the chance to see the dedicated staff at
work in often quite sad situations but most of all we were able to see
first-hand what a difference the charity is making to so many people.
The homeless situations are as bad as it gets with many living in
appalling conditions and
The Smiles Foundation is
their only hope of aid.
The
jewel in the crown of The Smiles Foundation has to be the
Tileagd Complex.
The facilities are first class as is the Nursery which is situated
close by. Our visit to the school was such a happy one; we visited the
children in their classroom and were able to see the great work they
are producing. We were treated to a display of both traditional
Romanian and Gypsy dances. I must say they were much better than us as
we showed off our skills and danced a Scottish Country dance called
Strip the Willow. All good fun.
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When
we arrived in Romania I never thought for one minute that the young
folk in our team would have worked so hard and they did everything
that was asked of them and more. They really grasped the essence of
Smiles and we are so proud of them. We had lots of laughs and tears
and we were tired, but it was a good tired because we had worked so
hard.