Romania service project

ever seen the movie children of the corn? that is how to best understand how many kids were running around at all hours of the day, doing whatever they dang well please in romania. crazy, man. no adults would tell them they should stop harrassing the girls, quit asking for money or food, clawing at us for any sort of attention they could get. this country has been wrecked by communism like no other i have seen. these people are poor with no hope of that ever changing. if something is broke, it stays broken, if a lightbulb goes out, they just plain don't have one, if you litter, it doesn't get picked up. i don't think we can comprehend this world that many romanians live in every day. they believe the only way to get ahead in life is to steal, cheat, and lie even when it comes to family members. doctors lie to pregnant mothers telling them that their baby will die unless they perform a certain surgery just to get more money. there is blood on the hospital walls, kids pee and spit on their school hallways, you have to carry toilet paper with you because if you leave it, it will be stolen - toilet paper! that's why dana and brandi bates moved there 7 years ago with Young Life to try to begin rebuilding hope and trust in the local community of Lupeni. it has taken years for the people there to even begin to trust them, in fact many businesses there have cheated and stolen from the bates. that is why we come - to help wherever we can and build trust. this year we built a ditch, taught english classes, put together playgrounds, and loved on kids. we were on the news, the mayor and many residents were very grateful, and young life romania shared Christ in service and deed.