Life in Craiova.

My mornings usually start at around 8:00 am. The alarm goes off much earlier, but my eyes remain shut until I muster up the strength to roll out of bed. I do the usual morning things like brushing my teeth and washing my face and the my team and I usually try to put on the most European looking outfit we can find. No matter how hard we try, we still look like sore thumbs out on the street but that is pretty much inevitable at this point haha!

A couple of my squadmates and I will usually end up walking to a local coffee shop before we head to the church to start our day. Our favorites are Bad Habits, Ponton, 5 to go, and Smart Cup.

Upon arrival at the church at 9:00 am, we start our day with a short worship session and spend time with the Lord. Then we move into prayer and intercession, which looks like praying over the city of Craiova, praying over the goals and vision of Hope Church, and praying over the people we will meet and see in the day.

After prayer, our ministry host, Raul, will lead us in a teaching. Some of his teachings have been about leadership, the differences in evangelism, and more. We spend time discussing and analyzing scripture and what that looks like for our ministry.

When the teaching and discussion is finished, we break for lunch. Lunch is from 12-2 every day. I spend my lunch break hitting local lunch spots like Maestros or checking out pastry shops for a sweet treat. This is a great time to hang out with a teammate or squadmate and grow in friendship with them, it’s always so fun getting to explore the city and taste all the good things Romania has to offer. Sometimes I will journal or just chill out if I’m not doing either of the above.

When break is over, it’s ministry time! You can read more about ministry here in Craiova in my previous blog post, it really is a blast. Ministry takes up most of the afternoon, and we walk back to the house at around 6:00 pm.

Once we are all home, I get to spend time with my team and hear about their days and what they are learning in their ministries. It is really amazing to see how the Lord is moving so differently in all of our lives and how He seeks after our hearts in such unique and beautiful ways.

For dinner, a different team each night prepares dinner for the whole squad (32 people), and we hang out for a bit in the kitchen before settling down for the night.

My nights are usually slow and relaxing, there’s usually a warm tea involved and hanging out with my team in our room and goofing off before we all crawl into our beds. We close our eyes and anxiously await for whatever the Lord has in plan for the following day.

Every day looks so different and there are so many amazing opportunities each day to see God’s hand and to grow where my feet are planted. Once again, I appreciate all who took the time to read and get a glimpse into what life is looking like for me right now!

Love you all immensely, 

Alyssa 🙂