Where Has The Time Gone

Well, it seems my time for visiting Moldova is coming to a close. I can't believe these 3 weeks are almost gone. I feel it has been a blessing, both for the people of this area and most definitely for me. I have lost count on the number of food parcels we have delivered and there has been some improvements made around the church, although Charlie thinks if the Belguim team had been able to stay longer, more construction could have been done. According to Igor and Marianna, many seeds have been planted from the visits we have made. I praise God for that! Even the haircutting has been a success with more that 30 haircuts given--this has been a great ice breaker.
Another item that has been a good tool for breaking the ice is something I brought along to keep my children and grandchildren close. That is my grandmother necklace. I have worn it everyday and the people I have shown it to, just love it! They are so interested in my life and in where I live and how many children and grandchildren I have. They ooh and aah over the necklace and smile, then chatter away about their own families and I can feel the warmth radiate from them.
One subject that comes up alot is President Obama and what I think of him. I tell them I am giving him a chance because I feel everyone needs that. They are very interested in our country and most are very favorable of the US. Most have tvs and keep up with what is happening in the world.
But, what grieves me so are the conditions some have to live under. One place we visited on thursday was the home of an old woman. She was bent over and used a cane to get around. She was well into her 80's. She was so dirty and her hair was filthy and matted at the back of her neck. Her home-or at least the 3 rooms we were in-- had not seen a good cleaning for many a day. In walks her daughter, dressed nice, with makeup and jewelry on and not very friendly.
We found out that the daughter lives in the home as well. At the insistance of her mother who wanted to give us something to drink, she got a glass from the kitchen and went outside to the water spout, rinsed out the glass( I could see her from the window) and brought the glass back in. She poured some orange drink into it and handed it to me. Meaning to be polite, I drank it while she stood there, gave the glass back to her. She poured more liquid into the glass, then handed it to the lady next to me who had come with us to see the old lady. She chatted on to Marianna in Russian the whole time and seemed impatient for us to leave.I cannot believe this woman did not take better care of her mother and home.
In another place, a crippled woman lives. It is a nice apartment and very clean. She has a friend who is staying in the next apartment who helps the woman, Nina. Nina is very intelligent and very gracious. But, she told us because of her health, she has no money and cannot pay her heat bill. Someone has come and disconnected the heating register(you could see where it had been disconnected) and she will have no heat when winter comes. The friend who is helping her is only here through the summer and will be going back to Russia in the fall. Nina has no children or family so she will be all alone. We were very amazed about her faith--she was raised Russian orthodox and she has no bible. She has not been taught about a personal relationship with God because in that religion, they ask the priest to pray for them and for help. But, she told us she prays and she knows within her heart God will take care of her.
Marianna told her we would get her a bible and she said she wanted to come to church with Xena, our old friend from earlier posts. We are hoping she will and I know she will find the church family she needs to love her and help her. Praise God for sending us to her in this hour of her need.
I don't know if I will be able to get on the computer again before I leave for home. But, I will be leaving here early monday morning--my flight leaves at 5 am. It will be a long day for me, coming back across all the time zones--I am scheduled to get back to Washington around 1:30 in the afternoon which would be 8:30 pm in Moldovan time. It will be a bittersweet day for me, I miss my friends and family so much, but, it will be hard to leave all my new found family here that I have come to love so much!