Home Again, Home Again...

Jim and I went to the Gara de Nord Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and were happy to find ways to be helpful.  We were able to help Ukrainian refugees buy tickets, make other transportation arrangements, work with other volunteers doing the same, serve hot beverages and food to those in transit, do one last clothing sort & organize Tent 3, and find luggage for some who needed it.  And take some more photos of the Gara de Nord.  

I confess: I didn't take this photo of the main entrance to the Gara de Nord
(which we almost never used).  I borrowed it from a video
about the Gara de Nord refugee effort (see link below). 
But it's a great photo!

Jim, taking a photo of a train on approach.

The last person that we were able to help with new luggage was a woman who had just gotten out of Mariupol, which is something of a miracle, as it in now under Russian occupation.  She arrived on Friday with a small bag that had broken during the journey.  Marcel had been helping her but had to travel to Budapest Friday night for work.  She didn't ask for luggage, but he saw that she really needed it. He said he would send us her contact info and asked if we could help her and follow up?  Of course!  But the first phone number he gave us didn't work.  After many efforts trying different iterations of number (with the Ukrainian country code?  With the Romanian country code?) we were thinking that it wasn't meant to be and texted Marcel that the number didn't work. But then Marcel texted back on Sunday afternoon saying he remembered taking a photo of her number.  So he texted us a photo of a page in a notebook.  He said this was the correct number for Katya.  And it was!  We (meaning Jim) called and made arrangements to drop off a suitcase to her on Monday or Tuesday.  She had been reunited with her daughter and granddaughter, and they were staying in accommodations on the other side of Bucharest.  We weren't sure when we talked with her on Sunday where we would find the luggage or when we could drop it off, but we would figure it out.  

We met another couple of emergency senior missionaries at the Starbucks on Monday when we finished at the Gara.  They have been working at the Romexpo, sorting clothing donations and helping in so many other ways.  We all had different assignments, and were grateful for our various ways to help.  

Starbucks: it has the most comfortable seats at the 
Carrefour food court.  And air conditioning. The Wilckens
were always willing to take the extra clothing donations
from Tent 3, even when they had so many other clothes to sort
at the Romexpo. We bonded over donated clothing,
and on our field trip to Dracula's Castle.  

After sodas and conversation with the Wilckens, we checked Carrefour, and it had two pieces of luggage at a good price (they usually only have one roller bag at a good price, and the rest are more costly, so we took this as a sign to buy both... ;) and it meant we didn't have to drive out to Jumbo to buy luggage for  Katya!). We got in the car, even though it looked like it might. rain, and drove to the other side of Bucharest to deliver the luggage.  It did rain--another deluge.  There isn't much drainage to speak of in some of these Eastern European cities.  As we were stopped at a stop light, watching pedestrians wearing plastic bags on their heads, or wielding umbrellas, or just getting wet dancing around and sometimes through the massive puddles in the street, I looked to my right at some stairs and a large wrought iron gate--an entrance to a University, I think--and water was just cascading down the steps and through the gate like little waterfalls.  We were happy to be in our little Skoda car, which maneuvered through the deep puddles and mini-lakes in the streets with courage and aplomb.  When we arrived to drop of the luggage, Katya and her daughter and granddaughter were so happy to see us. We were glad we had brought two bags since they have to move in the next week or so, and are looking for new housing and this will make the move easier. They were so grateful for the suitcases--and one last backpack that needed a good home.  It felt like a good note to end our luggage donations on.  

Katya and family and 2 bags and a backpack.  :)

On Wednesday we turned in our rental car, and Elder and Sister Probst met us at the rental office in the city and drove us back to our apartment (thank you! Traffic was a bear that day.).  When we arrived at the beginning of April, we weren't sure that we'd really use the car, since we were walking to and from the train station and we like using the Metro and walking to get most other places.  But the car became an essential part of our work and service in Bucharest, so we are grateful that we had it.  On the other hand, after the Probsts dropped us off at the end of our street and we were walking to our apartment building, I felt a very real sense of relief that I didn't have to worry anymore about finding a parking spot for our vehicle!  

This last week we took more of photos of us with some of the other volunteers, City workers, pompierii and police that we've gotten to know over the past 11 weeks.  They were kind and thanked us for coming, for our service.  And we thanked them--most of them are not short-termers.  They will continue to work and do the heavy lifting at the Gara de Nord after we're gone.  

Alina supervises Room 2 while she's at the Station; 
she also volunteers two nights a week with Dodo,
helping the homeless on the streets of Bucharest with
medical care. All this in addition to her full-time job.
She's such a lovely, kind person. You can see
the train arrivals and departures in the back of the photo.

Two of the many pompierii who are often on guard 
outside Tent 3 and the other orange tents
where refugees in transit often stay overnight at the Gara. When 
the refugees leave the next morning, the team of
pompierii go in and clean things up, and make
sure there's enough air in the tent supports. 

Ana works for Bucharest City's social services and
was in charge of the "Blue tent:" City workers
who supplied orange and yellow vests 
and checked volunteers in and out. They also spent
half their time at the Romexpo, schlepping boxes 
and supplies to the free "grocery store" for refugees
at the Romexpo on the other side of Bucharest.

Dodo is a remarkable man--he has an ambulance and a 
team that he works with to provide medical care to 
the homeless on the streets of Bucharest.  It was while he
was doing that on the night of February 24 at the Gara de Nord
that he became involved in helping Ukrainian refugees at the station.
He was the first to organize the waiting rooms, reached out to NGO's 
and clubs and others to provide food, tables, water, coffee machines,
refrigerators, and whatever the refugee rooms needed (including an 
incubator for a newborn, after he delivered a baby on site--the mother went
into labor when she was getting off the train in those first days of the war.) 
As a baby, Dodo was placed in an orphanage/
institution, then lived on the streets for a while before joining the 
army and becoming a medic.  Now he has reconnected
with his mother and brother, owns his ambulance and serves the homeless and 
 refugees.  He just wants to help people, and is the glue that keeps the refugee
rooms and services and volunteers together at the
 Gara de Nord.  It was a pleasure and an honor to work with him. 

Our "Room 2" policeman. He spoke a little English, and was
always pleasant and helpful and a gentleman.

Udi and I volunteered together in Room 2 one day--he has
11 children and used to own a restaurant, until a botched 
robbery left him with several bullets in his leg and back.  His t-shirt
says "alive and kicking" and he is!

Shell came from Oregon to help at the Gara de Nord.  
He was using his vacation time to volunteer for a month
while his wife stayed home and held down the fort.

Ilinca is only 23--younger than my youngest child--but we had the
most delightful conversations while we volunteered together in Room 2. 
She didn't treat me like an old person--we were friends. 
Notice the backdrop: this is Room 1--the first
refugee room at the Gara de Nord. The World Central
Kitchen sign (you can almost see it!) is there to promote donations, along
with  Save the Children,  Romanian Red Cross and
other NGO's who help. World Central Kitchen provides
hot and cold food for refugees all over the world. 

Some of our Room 4 volunteers after a long 
overnight in Room 4, the one refugee room staffed
by Red Cross volunteers.  The blue and yellow banners
in the back, hanging from the train station rafters, express
Romanian support for Ukraine. 

There have been a few articles and a video report about the Gara de Nord that Dodo sent me.  Here's a link to the video story of how the refugee rooms started, and some of volunteers at the Gara de Nord (it has English subtitles):  

https://www.facebook.com/593524884/posts/pfbid0n1xhxxuWRXjFkc2jPSoum61D4e2GtH4piwTD9xiLmUxHQX3Mj22Te9r9xZu43SzEl/?d=n

Tuesday evening (after Bucharest experienced another deluge, including golf ball sized hail--one of the Blue Tent city employees told us that June is "monsoon season" in Bucharest) we were able to meet Zorro for dinner.  These connections and friendships have been one of the many things we've enjoyed here in Bucharest.  We were having such a good time that I forgot to take a photo.  

Wednesday evening--beautiful and calm with mild temps--we met two young Romanian speaking Elders that we had served with at the Gara before the recent transfers, and grabbed a bite of dinner at the AFI Cotroceni food court (noodle bowls! why didn't I try that before!? delicious).  Their missions have been anything but "normal"--they've experienced multiple Covid lockdowns and isolations, and just when things were starting to open up, Russia invaded Ukraine and they shifted to helping at the train station or airport at 5am to help with refugee relief.  I think missions are hard enough without the added complications of a pandemic and a war.  But they are serving well, and I think they are grateful to know that their service is recognized and valued.  

Then we went home to finish packing.

Half of our apartment.

The other half of our apartment...and Jim packing.

Thursday morning we got up at 3am to get everything ready to meet our ride to the airport at 4am.  Marcel has been very busy at work this past week, but was able to come to the airport that morning to see us off.  Photos with the Probsts and the Russian speaking elders manning the refugee info center at the airport (they take turns at the airport and the train station), and Marcel,  then we were off to wait in some very long lines to check in, go through security, and then border control before we boarded our flight to Amsterdam and then on to Salt Lake.  

Elder and Sister Probst, on the left, have been absolute rock stars
in helping organize and manage the refugee aid volunteer effort
for the Romanian side of the Hungary/Romania mission.  And they
were there to pick us up at 4am Thursday to drive us to the airport.  
Rock. Stars.
Elders Lundberg and Klebingat are Russian speaking Elders, in 
Romania specifically to help with the refugee effort.  Right before the
war, Elder Lundberg served in Petrozavodsk (for about a week), 
the city in Russia where Jim and I served before the pandemic. 

Marcel has become a dear friend.  And he and Jim
were a great team at the Gara de Nord.  We were afraid we
might not get to see him before we left, because he had so
much work and deadlines to meet for his newspaper. But 
he asked if he come to the airport with us, since he's
not working anyway at 4 in the morning. Such a good man.  :)

But--wait--there's more!  We had one more opportunity to work with a Ukrainian refugee.  While we were waiting to check in for our flight to Amsterdam we saw a Ukrainian woman who Jim had helped at the train station.  She and her husband were ahead of us in line, and she came back to chat.  When she found out that we were on the same flight to Amsterdam as her husband, she asked if we could help him, since he doesn't speak English.  He's an electrical engineer who works on container ships and is flying to Houston to meet his ship for their next voyage.  She was so happy to see Jim and know that her husband wouldn't have to make the transfer in Amsterdam alone.  I'm pretty sure that he would have been fine...but I think it put her mind at rest.  She was staying in Bucharest to be closer to their sons, so he is traveling by himself.  It was lovely to meet Victor and hang out with him while we waited in lines for security, then border control, then for our flight to Amsterdam.  Our flight was delayed by about 20 minutes, so by the time we got to Amsterdam we had to hurry to make our connections.  Happily, the gate for Victor's flight to Houston was right next to where we had gotten off our flight from Bucharest.  We hugged and said goodbye and good luck.  Did we get contact information?  I can't remember...but it was lovely thing to get to know him and see photos of his family and his shipmates and ship.  

Victor and the Bloods: waiting for our flight to 
Amsterdam.   You can't see it, but Jim
and I are eating breakfast: our last covrig (Romanian 
pretzels--delicious) for breakfast.  

We were able to make our connection in Amsterdam, too, for which we are very grateful.  Our gate was on the other side of Schiphol airport, and we speed walked/ran to make it in time.  But we did make it.  And then both of us were were chosen for an extra security scan and pat down before boarding the plane.  Ugh.  But we're happy that they're checking the old people with Church name tags for dangerous substances. And--to be honest--I am grateful for the extra security measures.  So...we'll take our turn!  

The flight was uneventful, and Kate and Mackenzie were waiting for us when we arrived in Salt Lake.  I can't tell you how happy we were to see them!  It feels good to have been in Bucharest, and it feels so good to be home!  And I was too tired and jet lagged to take any photos of those sweet faces when we arrived!  So here's one from our last Facetime/Breakfast with Mackenzie on Wednesday:

Sweet pea, climbing up to grab the phone. 
She likes to drive... 
And we can't wait to see the rest of our children,
grandchildren, family and friends!

Soon after we got back to our home, our wonderful Stake President called us from Stake Young Men's camp, right after a hike, when he could find a cell signal, to talk with us and release us as missionaries.  So...it's officially over.  And I say that with mixed feelings.  It was an amazing experience: good and satisfying and challenging and heartbreaking.  And we have never, ever, done anything quite like it.  We are so very grateful to have been a part of this effort, to have had this experience, and for all your prayers and support and kindness.  Thank you.  

Love you.