Come over to Moldova

Friday, 3 October 2008

Turkish Delights

The floods have subsided and things have settled back into some sort of routine. The really hot days of summer seem to be a thing of the past and we are enjoying mild weather usually around 20 degrees during the day with cool evenings. We are enjoying sleeping with a doona on. The leaves are starting to change colour and we are ‘psyching’ ourselves up for our second winter.

During the summer many officers take their holidays - many travelling to the Black Sea along with 100s of others all fighting for a bit of sand on which to sit. The month of June to August reminded us very much of January in Australia when everyone is in holiday mood, enjoying the outdoors especially in the evenings. Sidewalk cafes have sprung up everywhere and on every street corner someone is selling ice cream or 'cavas', the favourite drink of the local’s (made of fermented bread we are told).

Over the last few months we have enjoyed being a part of another Moldovan wedding – these weddings are so much fun. This one required us to decorate our car. We then went to the civil ceremony then on for the Christian blessing on the shore of a nearby lake, just as the sun was setting. It was a long hot day, but again most enjoyable.

In true Moldovan style, even the local street dog joins in the celebrations.

Corps visits have included Botanika, Central, and Riscani in the north of Moldova, where the children and youth were fully involved in the worship experience. Hinchesti Corps also celebrated its 10^th Anniversary and we accompanied Commissioners Wim and Netty van der Harst for this special celebration.

This picture from Riscani has some history. The blouse the young girl is wearing would be 20 years old. As well as bearing her Junior Soldier badge on the front pocket, the badge on her sleeve is a relic from Soviet days of the communist 'Pioneers' youth movement.

Hinchesti Anniversary meeting

On September 1^st schools and universities recommenced for the new academic year. A couple of weeks before that date, it was interesting to see a ‘tent city’ suddenly appear along the sidewalk of one of the main streets with a hundred or so stalls selling school uniforms, books, stationery, school bags etc. Then on the first day of school to see all the children so beautifully dressed in their school clothes. Nearly all of them wear black skirts/pants with white shirts.

Buying up for the new school year.

Early in September we joined with other leaders from around the territory for another Conference at Old Orhei. Again it was like a mini U.N. meeting with 9 nationalities represented – Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Romania, Moldova, Sweden, Georgia, Canada and USA. We spent two really worthwhile days together talking through various business matters and of course enjoyed the fellowship which is always a rich aspect of Salvation Army culture. The weather was great (in contrast to the frigid conditions back in February when we met at the same place). We were even able to enjoy lovely evenings together sitting outside.

We are in the process of looking for a new apartment. We presently occupy rented premises, but the owner wishes to move back in so the hunt has begun. We have been fortunate that throughout our officership we have never had to buy a new quarters or give oversight to any building programs, but we are now required to do both here in Moldova where there are so many pitfalls when it comes to real estate! Hopefully we will find something suitable fairly quickly.

At last September 10^th arrived and it was just wonderful to greet Stuart and Beth after they had fought their way through the thronging crowd that is part and parcel of the Chisinau airport experience. (People mill around about a foot away from the customs hall exit door, all pushing and shoving to get a glimpse of relatives who are still inside, yet to emerge!!)

We had been so looking forward to their coming! We spent about 6 days together in Moldova and were able to show them a few sights and various aspects of our work. It was good for them to meet people and go places that until then were only names.

Stuart and Beth making friends in the waiting area of the Mobile Clinic.

Checking out Central Market, which Beth describes as 'Victoria Market on steroids'!

Then on 16^th September we flew out together to Turkey for 10 days. Istanbul is a large bustling city with a population of 15 million people (14 million of whom sell carpets!!!). We had a great time exploring the bazaar, enjoying the food and seeing the ancient sites. It was Ramadan, and after sunset the place came alive with people breaking their fast and joining in the festive atmosphere. We were overwhelmed with the friendliness of the Turkish people. There isn’t enough room to tell it all but one of the highlights was the Turkish bath experience. (Put it on you ‘TO DO BEFORE I DIE’ list!)

(Above and below) The Grand Bazaar - the biggest covered market place in the world with 4000 shops

The Blue Mosque

Beth and Stuart (aka Mustafa !)

Stuarts favourites - Turkish delight and Turkish coffee

Dinner at one of the many makeshift open air restuarants set up for the month of Ramadan

Enjoying a cruise down the 'Bosphorus'

The Turkish bath experience. Mens side. The women's side similar, only without any clothing! A scary but liberating experience, and special 'mother/daughter' bonding time for Viv and Beth. (No such bonding between Ian and Stuart!)

After Istanbul we travelled south, taking the opportunity to do a Gallipoli tour – an informative and sobering experience. Of course w e heard the story many times, but being there helped cement it a little more.

Anzac Cove

Our little 'digger' in the trenches at Gallipoli.

Nearby were the ruins of the ancient city of Troy, then Pergamon and on to Selcuk to see the ruins of Ephesus. Once again we had heard the stories many times from the Apostle Paul’s journeys, but the visits here helped bring them alive. The ruins of Ephesus are truly amazing. The engineering genius of the Romans has stood the test of time. As you walk around the streets or sit in the amphitheatre you can’t help thinking of the 1000s and 1000s of people who have done this before you .

Then on to Pammukale – an amazing geological formation of limestone pools. Over many centuries these pools have been visited as a place of healing and restoration. The ancient ruins of Heirapolis are just nearby. We took the opportunity to swim in the thermal spring pool, where you had to negotiate the ancient marble columns that had fallen into the water. It was most refreshing and a fun place to people watch. I think Stuarts’ comment said it all, ‘The person who invented the bikini has a lot to answer for!!!’ I actually came away feeling quite thin in my modest one piece black bathers. But we still won’t include any photos of Viv in bathers at her request!

It was a sad farewell to Stuart that evening as he boarded the overnight bus heading back home. Together with Beth we journeyed on for 2 days at Cappadocia. Once again, amazing landscape – but totally different from what we had already seen. The effects of erosion on the volcanic soil had left what the locals call ‘fairy chimneys’. These have been inhabited over the centuries but particularly by Christians of the early Church as they sought to escape persecution by the Romans and other invaders to the land. There were entire underground cities, and countless monasteries and churches built into the rocks. One of our holiday splurges was to take an early morning balloon flight over the landscape – words and even photos fail to express what we saw.

Then it was back to Istanbul on an overnight bus for a teary farewell to Beth at the Istanbul airport as we went our separate ways. She travelled on to Egypt for an 8 day tour and we returned to Moldova and are now back hard at it.

It was such a great time together. Turkey is a most fascinating country and the time we spent with Stuart and Beth was truly precious. It did us so much good.

Just two photos to conclude, both toilets (Sorry)

One is taken at the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus, the other in a village in Moldova in 2008. Guess which one I'd rather be 'sitting' on??

Until next time... Ian and Viv xoxo

Friday, 15 August 2008

Here, there and everywhere.

We are experiencing our first Moldovan summer. The temperatures are in the mid 30's during the day and most people take the opportunity of having holidays during this time (including us). So things are a little slower at the moment.

SO… how come we haven’t written for so long??? Good question. Let’s try and catch up on the last two months!

With summer come the ‘fruits of Moldova’. The strawberries have come and gone, as have the raspberries, cherries, and apricots. Peaches are still a plenty, and we are currently getting ‘stuck into watermelon'. Bring on the grape season, which hits in about three weeks!

When driving through the country, villagers often sit by the roadside selling produce from their gardens, hoping to earn a little extra money.

Early June saw us head north to Moscow for about 6 days, where we had the opportunity to meet various heads of department in the Army in 'the flesh', and discussed business for a couple of days. A visit to Moscow also means a visit to Red Square and various other attractions, which was very exciting.

Outside THQ in Moscow.

St Basils Church - Red Square. Can you believe it? (a 'pinch yourself 'experience!)

The Kremlin and the Moscow River

Not long after returning home, Viv attended another Women’s Camp, this time in Moldova. 100 women gathered making the most of the opportunity for fellowship, Bible study and relaxation.

It was also during this time that we had welcomed into the Division a Mission Team of 7 young adults from the U.S. Central Territory of The Salvation Army. They had arrived during our time in Moscow, and returned to spend a weekend with us before they left. It was good to be ‘mum and dad’ again as they shared our apartment with us for two days prior to going on to Russia. They led different children’s activities, visited elderly people, ran some youth days, attended our prison ministry, and worked very well as a team. Many were impacted by their ministry during the ten days they were here, and we believe that they have returned home to ‘the States’ the richer for this experience.

The group at Beltsi Corps...

...ministering at the women's prison

'Crashing' at our apartment

The night before departure to Moscow. What to take - what to leave!

Summer is camp time in Moldova. Each year, one of our sponsor groups 'Global Action' contribute a large amount of money so we can send 100 disadvantaged/orphaned kids plus leaders to a camp. We dropped in for a visit one day... they were having a great time.

After all these activities, there were a couple of ‘catch up’ weeks before taking two weeks furlough. We had anticipated the visit of Viv’s sister and brother in law, Judy and Rob for some time, and it was good to spend a few days here, showing them the country and something of what we do before heading off on a motoring holiday. Our furthest destination was Prague. On the way, we enjoyed driving through the beautiful Carpathian mountains in northern Romania, a very sobering visit to Auschwitz in Poland, a quick stop in Vienna, and then several days in Prague. So many contrasting experiences, each of them highlights for different reasons. One cannot help but be deeply affected by a visit to Auschwitz, where during WW2, 1.5 million people, mainly Jews, were exterminated in a period of 18 months. Tourists walk around silently as if trying to comprehend the scope of all that happened at this place. That’s how it was for us. It makes no sense. But as we reflected later, the same kind of atrocities still happen in our world today.

On a lighter note, Prague must be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with its magnificent architecture. Our days were full, walking around this city, taking in the sights. By chance, we happened to come across a concert that was part of the Prague Proms, featuring the Chicago Apostolic Church of God Gospel Choir and the Czech Symphony Orchestra. We decided to go, a decision that we didn’t regret. The choir had come to Prague especially for this one off concert, and the group, numbering about 200 black gospel singers, was magnificent. They sang with orchestral backing and unaccompanied, and got a huge reception. We went home truly inspired.

Inside one of the many marionette shops in Prague

The Charles Bridge in Prague

Typical street scene in Prague

Rob and Judy left us here to go back to Australia, and we headed for home via Budapest in Hungary. We had two nights there taking in the beautiful sights of this city on the Danube River. An evening cruise on a balmy summer evening capped off the trip, and showed us a different aspect of the city in lights.

View of Budapest

The magnificent Parliament building

Budapest Castle from the Danube at night

Another 'Danube' shot of the castle

As we crossed the border to come back into Moldova, we were greeted with a heavy thunderstorm. It might have been very welcome in Oz, but unbeknown to us, during our time away, it had been raining heavily in areas that we had travelled through only the week before, and parts of Romania, Moldova and Ukraine had been flooded. Many houses had been severely damaged or destroyed, thousands evacuated as flood waters spread and major rivers threatened to break their banks. It has been quite devastating. Within days of returning, we were caught up in helping to distribute emergency relief supplies to victims in some of the most affected areas.

Life in villages is tough at the best of times, but this has brought extra hardship for those who have lost possessions and dwellings. Most villagers in Moldova need to draw their water from wells scattered throughout their towns, and because of the floods, many of these have been contaminated. The Government have limited resources to help, so life is gloomy for those who have been affected. We work alongside other agencies in order to meet people’s needs, but we too have limited resources at our disposal. Still, we do what we can, and the little that we offer is gratefully received.

Returning home with gratefully received assistance

The notice on this well warns of it's contamination by flood waters.
Note the waterline on the house

Typical village women.

So that just about brings us up to date. No wonder we’re feeling too tired to write a blog entry!! (Or maybe that’s just the onset of old age!!?)

You will probably have caught up on the news of the conflict between Georgia and Russia that is of concern to us at the moment. Although Georgia is over 1000 kms from here, both Russia and Georgia are in the Eastern Europe Territory of The Salvation Army, and we have friends in both countries. Please pray for a quick and peaceful resolution to this conflict.

As usual, some random photos....