A little knowledge...

A good part of these two weeks in Romania is learning time for me.  Seeing what is going on, getting used to speaking through an interpreter, learning some of the culture.  The locals will proudly tell you that Transilvania, here in the north, is different from Bucharest, in the south.  (Is there any country without a north-south difference?)  Mind you, at the beginning of the week even one of my friends in Bucharest emailed me to say "Transilvania is one of the most beautiful areas in Romania with kind people and great food :) even better than Bucharest.  People are very welcoming and really enjoy having guests."

So in an effort to accelerate the learning, I picked up a guide book last weekend.  A little history, a little culture, a little language.  Who was it that said "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?"  Here's hoping that I'm equipping myself to become too dangerous.

We stopped in Simpetru on our way to Zalau.  Pausing in the home of one of the church members, I became increasingly aware that initial success from my weight gain programme was to be observed in my eyelids.  The cool weather outside is more than compensated for in rural homes and churches by the presence of wood burning stove which generate a lot of warmth (most churches have the large stove in the main meeting room).  A cup of tea was quite reviving.

We then all spoke briefly at a meeting of the church congregation and about eleven other members of the community.  Those who know me best know that I don't do 'briefly', but Mircea, our organiser and the pastor of the church in Simpetru, had asked if I would speak for longer.  So I took a lesson from the teaching and life of King Solomon, about the need to deal with the weeds that crop up in our own lives and spoil our relationship with God. Solomon as King progressively didn't follow the rules for Kings of Israel (see Deuteronomy Chapter 17) and allowed the weeds to take over his own life.

From Proverbs Chapter 24 in the Bible (NIV)
30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
    the ground was covered with nettles,
    and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
    I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

And of course, after that we returned to the same home for our second cooked meal - chicken, rice, cold meats, cheese, salads, cake & fruit.  And then we drove on to Zalau, our home for the the two weeks, and the welcoming apartment of Mircea and Maria.