Preparation

This post is all about logistics.  The action doesn't begin until we set foot in Romania, so for now it's just lists and packing.  But I've never been on an international missions trip before!  If you haven't either, maybe this will be as interesting to you as it is to me.

Before we leave, our team meets three times:  Once to learn about Romanian Christian Enterprises (RCE), the ministry we'll be working with.  Once to discuss mercy ministries, and why Christians are called to support them.  Once to talk logistics.

Everybody has to make sure their passport is up to date, and that they've filled out their application for the trip.  The form includes emergency contact information in case one of us drops something heavy on our foot and has to go to the hospital -- fyi, this will probably be me.  I put down my dad, because always.  If you knew him, you would put my dad down too.

In the past this missions trip has doubled as a supply run for the Sunshine School which RCE runs, but this year they don't need much, so we'll just bring soccer balls.  Romanians, like most of the world, love soccer.  We will probably play a few games in the evening, after the work is done, and they will probably beat us handily, because Americans.

We will all be meeting at the airport on Friday, July 14th.  We will have a long flight to Budapest, Hungary, followed by a long bus ride to Arad, Romania.  We will arrive on Saturday, and we will leave the following Saturday.  Our goals are to help build housing additions for two Romanian families, and to help take the kids from the orphanage out for an activity day.

Each day different members of the team will update this blog, so y'all can follow along as we go!

Here are some things I need to pack:

Work shoes

Work gloves

Shorts and t-shirts that can get dirty

Sunscreen

Advil

Because we are going to be building things, and it will be hot out, and we will be sore afterwards

Hostess gifts, like Bath and Body Works lotion (a favorite, apparently) or peanut butter

Because we will be visiting a lot of hospitable people, and it's polite

A long skirt and blouse

My Bible

Caffeinated mints (my own addition)

Because we will be going to church, which will be long and in Romanian, and it's rude to look sleepy during a sermon

Hard candies

Origami paper (my own addition, for making paper cranes)

aka Non-Verbal Gestures of Love, because we will be hanging out with kiddos and only one of us speaks Romanian

Here are some things I want to leave at home:

Expectations

Self-consciousness

The desire to have clean hair at all times

Physical coordination (I'm kidding, that was never a thing.)

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Author: Sarah Engel
Fact: I am a legal assistant.