Craiova and Drăgănești in Pictures...

This last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Craiova, where two couples with the company work. I went by train to Craiova, which is the main way of getting between cities here. It was much more pleasant than taking a chicken bus in Guatemala, I'm sure, though fortunately I don't recall ever having had to do that.

On Saturday, they took me to one of the towns in the region, about an hour and fifteen minutes away from Craiova called Drăgănești pronounced "Drugunesht."

The beauty of the trip to Drăgănești was that it served two purposes. The main purpose was for me to meet with one of the couples and the team leader of a group of Romanian Ms in the area. These brothers and sisters are full time workers. They are supported by various churches and are dedicated to getting the Gospel to those in the surrounding villages. I was so encouraged by them, just knowing that they have a burning desire for their own people to know the same Joy that they do in the Lord.

I met with their team leader and he told me a little bit about the difficulties of ministering in that area. This is an area in the southern part of Romania, who for many years have constantly been attacked by the Turks, the Serbs, the Hungarians and others. They have lived for generations defending themselves and their territory. Unfortunately, they also defend their Orthodoxy from the True Gospel. That being said, this is some rough ground. Despite this discouraging situation, as I said before, I am so encouraged by the faithfulness of my brothers and sisters who are there plowing the ground day in and day out.

Besides meeting with the team leader and having the opportunity to meet some of the other workers in the area, I had the chance to experience my first Romanian Civil Wedding ceremony. As I said in a previous post, in many countries, only governing officials have the legal authority to declare two people to be legally married. Therefore, the Civil ceremony is a big deal. For Christians, though, it is the legal side and the equivalent of going down to the courthouse to get the marriage license. Except they have to bring witnesses, the governing official has to sign and read them the terms of marriage by Romanian law, and the whole family comes along.

This civil wedding was for one of the sisters in Drăgănești who is marrying a British man. They met when he came from England on a missions trip. He plans to move to Romania and join in the work. They're having a church wedding on this coming Saturday.

Here are some pictures from my trip...



View from the train....It is fall and it has gotten colder, so it is pretty gray and brown, but I thought it was kindof pretty nevertheless.
There is still a little bit of green left...
Another view from the train. It was getting dark, so the reflections in the window were getting more apparent.
On the way to Drăgănești from Craiova. The goats crossed the road, and their shepherd was right behind them.
A Gypsy house. Apparently, they think that the more metal things they have on top of their roof, the more powerful they are. I thought they were kindof cool and looked very interesting.
An Orthodox Icon on the side of the highway.
In the country, you still see horse drawn wagons.
The Bride and Groom are in the orange and the suit to the right of her. The couple next to them are the team leader and his wife, they signed as witnesses to the marriage.
The governing official (I'm not sure if he is the mayor or what...) reading them the Rites of marriage. The girl with the blue and green scarf interpreted since the groom is British, and it was nice so that some of the rest of us could understand what was being said.
He had to sign...
Then she signed...

The whole crew. The couple got tons of flowers, very traditional. It was good that I was there so that I could take the picture of the whole group with everyone's camera. This is also a good picture of the team that I wrote about above. They are all pictured here. Now you can see their faces and pray for them.