Special Needs Club, a club for adults who have any type of disability, meets twice a week. Monday is their instructional day when they learn different computer and Internet skills or practice English. Thursday is a fun day; those who come can do whatever they want - talk, play games, or use the computer.
Out of all the different clubs, I spent most of my time at the special needs club. The people I met are some of the friendliest I have ever known. They accepted me into their group with open arms, no hesitations. They shared their stories; we learned together, and we laughed together. The amount of English they knew was astounding. Emeshe, the club "leader," did a little bit of translating for me, but we mostly spoke in English. I tried to use the little bit of Romanian I knew, too. They even helped me learn a little more! One Monday we tried to make a list of all the words we knew that started with an "F," in English. We filled over two white boards with our words, and they even had us struggling to find another word. On the fun days, we played UNO, Sequence, and talked about life, our families, and our hobbies.
Once again I found my perspective of missions and service changing. I never thought playing games for two or three hours could be considered a ministry and a blessing, especially one that goes two ways. Each one of the Romanians I got to know thanked me for my time and care, and yet I continually found myself blessed by their hospitality, warmth, and acceptance.
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