Brothers and sisters

 

It's been very, very strange to be in Romania and not go to the meetings. 

No coordinating trips to Vivien with the Sunday meeting, no bundling up in coats and sturdy shoes in case it snows when we come out of the mid-week meeting. 

No sitting in the second story hall on a sweltering summer afternoon with the single air conditioning unit set to the lowest setting and watching those closest put cotton in their ears so they won't die of a stroke from the cold air. (It's a Romanian thing)

No struggling to find Acts 5:29 because I've forgotten that Acts in Romanian is Faptele, or Hebrews 10:24,25 (which is Evrei zece douăzecișipatru si douăzeci și cinci for those of you who are interested).

No standing in the back, smiling nervously until someone, and it's usually Amelia, does a double take and recognizes us and comes forward with hugs and kisses.

However, I'm extremely grateful for Zoom and the opportunity it affords to keep in touch with brothers and sisters near and far, even if it does mean getting up at 5 am to attend the Westcliff mid-week meeting (so far I've slept through my 5 am alarm twice and missed it.  First time was jet lag, the second time, I forgot to remove the Do Not Disturb setting on my phone.)

But we're not totally cut off from the friends here. Since we're vaccinated and the restrictions were (briefly) loosened on social gatherings in Romania, we were able to spend a lovely afternoon/evening in the company of Gabi and Gabi Tudor and their kids, Andre and Radu, who are now grown. I can cope (sort of) with the entrance into adulthood of my own offspring but when it's other kids that I knew since they were in short pants, and now they're they ones married and expecting a baby....it does my head in.

All emotional angst over aging, time marching on, and all of that jazz aside, it was lovely to see our friends and hang out together. It was, as always,  a small glimpse of a future world where we don't have to worry over pandemics, visas, passports, and the other barriers that divide us physically, though not emotionally or spiritually. 

Gabi, the master BBQ-er

A very long and noisy game of Mexican Train

Gabi and her new daughter-in-law (and her first grandson on the way!)

Obviously Luci was having a good time with his buddies