Titus 2 Men And Women

(Spelling of Romanian words and names is more than questionable...I’m using American phonetics which do not always translate into the Romanian language.)

The Titus 2 Men and Women mission team consisting of Becca McDaniel, Fred and Teddi Neevel departed from O’Hare International airport in Chicago on November 4^th. Our flight was on time and uneventful. God had gone before in preparing our way to Romania. None of us had flown internationally before, yet every step from checking our luggage in Chicago, to getting our visas, claiming our luggage, going through customs and meeting our missionary hosts in Bucharest, Romania went without a bit of confusion or delay.

Once we met Bro. Jerry and Kim Chandler and their friends Bro. Steve and Tawnya Rutherford at the airport we were quickly loaded into their van and were on our way. We dropped off the Rutherfords and headed out on the three-hour drive to Brasov. Because of the time difference and the hours of travel time we actually arrived in Romania on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 5^th.

Wednesday, November 6^th was a cold and cloudy day. We made our first visit to Walk Street with Bro. Jerry, stopping at the bank to exchange money from U.S. dollars to Romania Lei. From there we went on over to the Landmark Assoc. Baptist Church and met Savina, Liviu, Lucra, and Reluca who would be our interpreters during most of our time in Romania. We discussed the schedule for the next few days and determined what we needed to have printed for the scheduled Abuse Conference.

Wednesday evening we unpacked the cases of supplies that we had brought for the ministries of the Chandler’s and the Crossley’s. The tears of thanksgiving were ample proof of the gratitude they felt at the generosity of the people of Dyer Baptist Church and Flatwoods Baptist Church.

Thursday, November 7^th was another cold cloudy day. We began the Abuse Conference at 9:30 a.m. and ran on schedule with an attendance of 32 Social Workers, Psychologists, Pastors, and Group Home Parents. The interpreter for the day was a delightful young woman named Dana who is a play therapist at the children’s hospital. A number of attendees asked for additional information and the web site address.

Thursday evening the Chandler’s hosted a dinner party at their home. We had our first taste of home cooked Romanian food. We loved it all. Friday evening the Chandler’s repeated the process with a different group of people and different menu. Watching a Romanian pastor try to learn to play a banjo was very entertaining.

Friday was cold and rainy with periods of sleet. The weather didn’t affect the attendance at the conference. The second day we had an attendance of 35 including more Social Workers, Orphanage Personnel, Pastors and Play Therapists.

Saturday, November 9^th we woke to snow covered landscape. After some morning errands we headed off to Bran and a visit to Bran Castle, commonly called Dracula’s Castle. We enjoyed our tour of the 14^th century castle and the beauty of the snow covered landscape. We then had our first experience of shopping at a piatsa. The vendors of brightly colored, mediculously handed crafted items were very good sales people. We all found some items we couldn’t leave behind in the outdoor market place.

We then were taken over to the Crossley’s group home to spend the evening. Traditional American food was on the menu that evening. After a time of eating and sharing, I was able to talk with the 10 children in the home about God’s desire for us to treasure our bodies as His temple. After my time with the children, Becca and Fred got out the puppets and performed 3 puppet skits for the home. It would be difficult to say who enjoyed it the most...they were certainly a big hit with everyone.

Sunday, November 10^th the weather was still cold with a biting wind. The mission churches from Zarnesti and Harman bused into Brasov for morning services. Fred taught the teenage boys and men’s Sunday School class on Recognizing Abuse. I taught the teenage girls and women’s Sunday School class on Being an Abuse Survivor. We had about 100 in SS that morning. During the church service Becca gave her testimony and then went to help with Children’s Church.

After a quick lunch at a local restaurant, we piled in the van and went to the mission service at Feldioara and then rushed back to Brasov for the evening service. Becca and Fred once again used the puppets to minister to the congregation.

Monday, November 11^th was a beautiful sunny day. We spent the morning doing a little bit of shopping. After lunch we piled into the van again and headed to the Gimbov orphanage. There Fred and his interpreter Livui spoke to the boys, Becca and her interpreter Lucra spoke with the girls, and my interpreter Reluca and I bet with 7 staff members.

After leaving Gimbov we went to the Metro (A large Sam’s Club type store that was recently build.) to do grocery shopping for 6 families who are receiving humanitarian aid from the Landmark Association.

Becca spent the evening helping at the Casa Plina ministry. Casa Plina is a weekly soup kitchen type ministry of the Crossley’s. The young people, many of whom live in the sewer or under railroad underpasses, receive a warm meal and hear the Gospel message.

Tuesday, November 12^th we had a relaxed morning at home as Kim Chandler and Reluca ran errands and delivered food packages. In the afternoon we went to the American School to speak with the children. All of the students in this Christian school speak English, so we were able to work without interpreters. Becca met with the teenage girls, Fred met with the teenage boys and I met with the grammar school children. We had a very good afternoon with the students and staff.

Tuesday evening is Bible study at Brasov so we were back to church for that meeting.

Wednesday, November 13^th was another lovely but very busy day. We began the day with a tour of the Children’s Hospital in Brasov where we had been asked to speak to all of the Play Therapists. The tour was interesting and meeting with the 8 therapist’s was a productive and educational time.

We then met Bro. Jerry Chandler and the Chandler’s daughters for lunch. After lunch we again headed in different directions. We managed to sneak in a bit more shopping and then drove to Cristian to visit the Helm’s Group Home. Mr and Mrs. Helm’s with the help of many volunteers have purchased and restored a 120 year-old home. The run a foster home for 8 children at this time. While they have the capacity to have 20 children, they are considering dividing their home in the middle and making it into 2 group homes for 10 children each. They believe that the smaller number of children in a family unit would better inable them to provide individual attention to the children.

After our visit to the Helm’s we rushed back to Brasov to meet several other people at the church. We packed the van with people and headed out to the mission work at Homorod. Bro Petru had specifically asked Becca and Fred to bring the puppets. There were over a hundred people crammed into a small two-room house for the service. Many people stood around the walls, in the other room and at windows to be able to see and hear the puppets. After the puppet skits, the children were dismissed and the adults heard a wonderful message on our need to praise God.

Thursday morning, November 14^th, dawned to another lovely day.  We began the day by going to the church and helping with the Mica Turma ministry. This is another of the Crossley’s ministries, which is aimed at the begging children on the streets. The children who attend are fed breakfast and the Word of God. The youngest child was probably about 7 years old and the oldest was 15 years old. They were a delightful group of kids.

Next we headed out to tour the baby orphanage. We were not allowed to take any pictures at this facility. All of the children we saw were clean and being cared for. It was a heart breaking experience for all of us to realize that these children could be being placed into loving homes except for the fact that Romania at this time does not allow foreign adoptions.

 In the afternoon we headed out to Burdet Orphanage to speak with the children and staff. The children at Burdet have been placed there because they are mentally impaired in one way or another. We again divided up by gender and age to speak with the people.

Friday, November 15 was another beautiful sunny day. We spent the day visiting the Peles to castle, which was built around 1900. The grounds and castle are maintained as a museum and are spectacular. We met some several other American missionaries at the entrance to the castle and were able to spend much of the day fellowshipping with them.

Saturday, November 16^th included finishing everyones shopping and packing for our return trip.

Sunday, November 17^th began with Sunday School and church at Brasov. The good-byes were harder than I expected. We have met many wonderful Christian brothers and sisters that graciously welcomed us into their midst. After church we made a quick trip back to the Chandler’s home to change clothes and load the van. A stop at McDonald’s and we were on the way to Bucharest. We arrived at Bro. Steve and Tawnya Rutherford’s home about an hour before evening church service. We enjoyed the evening service, which was attended by a record high of 46 people. The Chandler’s and the three of us spent the night at the Rutherford’s home.

Monday, November 18^th the Chandler’s drove us to the Bucharest airport at 5:00 a.m. We had no trouble checking in and processing through passport control. Our flight departed on time. We were delayed on our arrival and departure at Zurich due to ground fog, but still arrived at Chicago O’Hare airport on time Monday afternoon.

To summarize our trip, we had a wonderful time, met some new friends and had the opportunity to teach hundreds of people about abuse. We have been asked to come back and teach again. If the Lord opens the door, we will trust Him to provide, and we will go anywhere He sends us to teach the message of hope.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Teddi Neevel

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