“…And That Takes All My Time”

When I returned to Romania in 2009, I was introduced to the phrase “Trăim în Romania și asta ne ocupă tot timpul” – “We live in Romania, and this takes up all our time.” Over the years, there have been days in which I’m busy from morning to night, but I feel that I didn’t actually get anything accomplished. Other times, there are processes that have so many steps, that it seems to be never-ending. (Check out my Nothing's Ever Easy label for previous blog posts on the subject.) I know that part of being in Romania means that time is going to be spent this way, and I anticipate that things will take longer than I'd like. However, after several days like this, it really starts to get frustrating.

When I look at the past couple weeks, I feel like I haven’t been able to minister in Romania because all of my waking hours are spent just living in Romania.

• It started out simple enough. I needed new windshield wipers for my car. I went to the auto parts store, but they didn't have any my size. They ordered them for me. I came back. They were the wrong ones. The reordered them. Before I knew it, I had made 5 trips to the auto parts store in a week! After I installed them all, I realized that the rear wiper stopped working, so now I need to schedule an appointment at the mechanic.
• It started out simple enough. My car looked like I'd been driving through a desert. I needed to wash the sand and salt off my car, and have the wintry mud in the interior cleaned out as well. Before I knew it, I had been waiting at the car wash for well over an hour.
• It started out simple enough. I went to the neighboring city of Târgu Mureș to renew my visa. It actually went very smoothly; I received an extension for my visa without any problems. While I was in the city, I had some shopping and other errands I had to run. In the end, I had spent most of the day on this trip.
• It started simple enough. We needed to update our information for our organization's bank account. This process started last May. In the meantime, we've lost access to our bank account since our accounts aren't yet updated. After countless hours of work, dozens of e-mails with the Global Ministry Center, getting documents notarized with apostille seal, working with certified translators, and multiple trips to the bank in Bucharest (5 hours away), we finally were able to submit our paperwork on Monday to get our bank account updated. Of course, it's still not finalized. Now we’re waiting (and praying!) that they will approve the documents, after which we will be able to gain access to our accounts again. In order to get the documents turned in on Monday, I had to give up a 4-day holiday weekend in Romania.
• This morning, when I stepped out of the shower, I discovered that the entire bathroom floor was wet. The bathroom drain had backed up, flooding not only the bathroom, but also the hall, kitchen, and bedroom. After I got the water mopped up, I set up the fan and dehumidifier to dry the rugs and wood floor, only to have the power go out in my building just a few minutes later.

I'm getting tired. I'm getting frustrated. As all of this is happening, my to-do list doesn't go away. I still need to prepare for the theology class that starts next week (taught by visiting teacher Olga Druzhinina). I have to make plans for the next few courses we'll be offering. I'm WAY behind on coordinating literature projects. And I've been planning for a couple months to write a newsletter. I'm scheduled for Home Assignment in October of this year and again in March-April of next year, but I've made very few preparations for either.

Most people take a vacation from work to enjoy life. Right now, I'd be satisfied with a vacation from life so I can start to get some work done.