Meditations 5

Finding the Right Way

When hiking on a mountain, it is necessary to have a guide to help you find the right way. One option is to simply following the markings on trees and other objects to help you. Alternatively, a few times during English camps at the mountains in Romania, we had professional mountain guides who came with us on our hike, to help us find the way.
One time at a camp, on the hike to the top of Piatra Craiului, a difficult and challenging mountain to climb, it started to rain. The mountain guide got a bit worried and started to rush because he knew that once we got to the top of the mountain there was a shelter that we could hide in. He took us on an unmarked path to try and get to the top faster. However this back fired. It had some portions where you literally had to clamber over big rocks. As a result our group became spread out.
I was near the front with him. We reached a point where there was a sheer rock face. The girl that had gone on ahead had already started to climb it without a rope. The mountain guide got worried and took me to the side where there was a grassy slope that was easier to climb than the rock face. He started going up it with me, but was in a hurry and eventually left me behind. I remained clinging to a tuft of grass so as not to slip back down what was an extremely steep slope.
I spent ages dangling here in the fog. At one point, I tried to find my own way forwards but I ended up reaching a crest and on the other side there was just a sheer drop down! I shimmed my way back down and had to wait for those behind to reach me and help me find the right way forwards. Eventually, we made it to the top and met up with the mountain guide who had found and saved the girl who had gone on ahead. By this moment, the weather had started to improve so he then led us safely down off the mountain.
In John 9 we see a passage in the Bible which clearly speaks about how to find the right way in our lives in a spiritual sense. In verse 4, Jesus talks about how He has come into the world to do the work of him who sent me. We see here Jesus’ motivation for coming. It wasn’t for personal gain, pleasure or ambition. Rather, Jesus came to serve God and thus do good to those around Him, and than those who would believe in Him.
Often in our lives we can have different motivations. Sometimes I go to church with my head full of thoughts about who I need to see or what problems I need to resolve. We can be involved in Christian groups simply because we have social or other needs to fulfil. As human beings this is natural and normal but it is an important lesson to remember that ultimately the Christian life is about serving God and doing His will. We will never have perfect, pure motivation like Jesus, but at least our main focus should be on finding a way to get involved in God’s ministry in the world and entrust other needs and concerns to Him and His guidance.
In John 9, we see that Jesus’ work was to heal a man born blind. The man himself shows a certain trust and faith in Jesus. He is put in a slightly awkward situation as Jesus rubs mud on his eyes and then tells him to go and wash in a certain pool. This can’t have been easy for the man as he would have needed assistance to get to the pool, or at best have had to feel his way along slowly. Nevertheless, even if it was difficult and maybe he felt a bit foolish feeling his way about with mud on his eyes, he obeys and the result is that he is healed from his problem.
In order to experience God’s presence and guidance in our lives it is necessary to listen to and obey him. If on the mountain, we had ignored the guide’s advice and instruction we would have got lost and potentially not have made it off the mountain safely. Indeed, the girl who went off ahead and did her own thing, ended up stuck on a sheer rock face, in need of the mountain guide to lower her down a rope to help her climb up to safety.
After being healed, the man returns and is met with different reactions. Instead of rejoicing, his neighbours have mixed opinions about what has happened. They had lived a lifetime with him alongside knowing him as the bind beggar. So, when they see him healed, they raise the question in verse 8, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ Some people accept that it is and say so in verse 9. However, others are sceptical. Instead of believing that something miraculous has happened, they look for a different explanation. Their suggestion is that he just looks like the blind beggar. The man himself insists that this is no case of mistaken identity, or the appearance of a doppelganger or long lost twin but that he is indeed the man who formerly sat and begged. 
It is hard for them to deny his claims as he is standing healed in front of them. They enquire as to the details of how this has happened and then take him to the Pharisees so that they can investigate further. Interestingly, in spite of the evidence (the man standing before them, his testimony and that of some of his neighbours) the Pharisees don’t believe (v. 18). They are only convinced when they call for his parents who confirm that he was born blind but can now see.
Even when they can no longer deny that a miracle has taken place, they still don’t want to accept Jesus, who is said to have performed said miracle. They attempt to get the man to denounce Jesus as a sinner because He has done a miracle on a Sabbath. The man refuses and as a consequence they throw him out of their Jewish community.
Sadly, some people don’t want to believe in things, not because they don’t have any evidence, but rather because it is not convenient for them. They have ulterior reasons for not wanting to accept that something is true. The Pharisees didn’t want to believe in Jesus, not because they didn’t see any miraculous signs or hear wonderful teaching, but He just didn’t fit into their religious system and He was also drawing people to Himself, thus eating into their own power and influence.
Another classic example is the theory of evolution. Many people want to believe in it, not because it is proven fact, but because it is a way of explaining why we are here without the need for invoking the idea of a creator God. Admittedly there is some evidence for aspects of evolution, but it is still only a theory, and although some people go to great lengths to show otherwise, it doesn’t explain everything. What actually is life? What existed before the Big Bang? Why does morality exist? Where are all the transition species? (If life evolved by different species developing into other species where are all the cat-dogs etc. or at least their fossil remains?) If all we are is chemicals, what is love? Alternatively, if we are just highly developed animals, why don’t we behave that way? (cue the jokes about the fact that some people do!)
These are just a selection of the questions that even the greatest evolutionary biologist would have to admit need some explaining. A possible and obvious solution to this dilemma is that science explains how things work and Christianity offers an explanation of why they work. Again, many people don’t want to accept this because it doesn’t make sense or that they have watertight arguments against it, but simply they don’t like the fact that it suggests the idea of a creator God.
Another point here is that people often accuse Christianity of being ‘pie in the sky when you die.’ We see though in John 9 that people weren’t being asked to believe in something fanciful without any evidence. On the contrary, they had the convincing evidence before them of a healed man, and the testimonies of his neighbours, friends and he himself. Christianity isn’t just a convenient way to avoid analysing reality but it can actually be thoroughly researched and verified.
An example are the accounts of the resurrection. The names of specific females who saw where Jesus’ body was laid are included for example Mark 15:47. This is so that the first readers of the text could have gone and interviewed these people to see if it was true.
Finally then, we see the change in the man’s thinking as he goes through all these things. Initially, when people ask him what has happened, he refers to Jesus as a man (v 11). When interviewed by the Pharisees he now says that Jesus is a prophet (v 17). By the end of the chapter, when he actually sees Jesus for the first time, he calls him Lord and worships him. We can infer that the man has not only received his physical sight, but now he is also able to see spiritually and realise who Jesus really is. In contrast, the Pharisees, who claim to be able to see the right way, are so caught up in their own way of thinking that they are unable to see who Jesus really is. Thus, the blind man becomes the person who sees clearly and the Pharisees become those who don’t see reality.
In verse 5 Jesus claims to be the light of the world. It is only those who see and recognise Him who actually understand reality and find the right way in their lives!

Image by Myriam Zilles from Pixabay

Meditations 4

Seeing the Light

When I helped at summer camps in Romania, a popular camp activity (for some!) was always the mountain hike. Usually, it lasted all day and sometimes there was a brave group who went for a particularly long, almost death defying version of the hike. On a few occasions, I boldly, or maybe you could say foolishly, joined the long hike group. Participating in this group, I can recall some dicey moments.
One time, we had spent a long, hard day clambering to the top of ‘Piatra Craiului.’ Eventually, we had begun our descent, but on the way down, we had stopped on numerous occasions to take photos. Romanians like their photos taken! It’s hard to imagine what it was like in days gone by, when people didn’t have access to digital technology. Presumably, Romanians walked around with their pockets full of camera film, just in case the photographic urge came on! Or, maybe, in those days they were just more discerning with their picture taking. In any case, time was going by due to people indulging their pictorial urges.
After a while, it started to dawn on us that it was getting dark and we had the tricky task of negotiating a forest in order to get down off the mountain. The forest wasn’t hard to get through during the day because the trees had markings on them that showed you the way. Night time was a different kettle of fish though as the tree markings were no longer easily visible. Those of us who had twigged (!) this problem began motivating the others in the group to get a move on, and we started working our way through the forest. Some rushed on ahead, showing great dexterity as they wove their way through the trees.
Gradually, the whole group made progress, but towards the end we were all hurtling our way along to try to make sure we made it out of the trees before it was completely dark and so impossible to see. That would have been a difficult and potentially dangerous situation because once it was dark, and the signs on the trees were no longer visible, it would have been easy to get lost in the forest and aside from the unpleasantness of spending a cold night lost on a mountainside, there were also other pitfalls such as bears and other wildlife to contend with.
Fortunately, although the light was dwindling, we had realised the danger and so rushed to make it out of the forest while there was still some daylight, something that we managed with the Lord’s help!   
In John 9, we read a passage which is also about light and the importance of being able to see. The chapter begins with a question. Jesus and His disciples see a man born blind. In ancient Jewish thought (and as is still the case among many people day) was the idea that suffering is a punishment for the bad things we do. Thus, they see a man born blind and so it raises a dilemma. If suffering is the punishment for the bad things we do, what is the situation for people who are born with suffering? Surely, this can’t be the punishment for the bad things they have done, as they were born with the suffering before they had the chance to live and do bad things!
A possible solution to this problem is that the suffering was a result of the bad things that his parents had done, and so the disciples raise the question, ‘Who sinned? This man or his parents?’
Jesus however dispels the idea that suffering is a direct punishment for sin. He says that neither the man or his parents sinned to cause this suffering. This suffering had a different origin. It had been given to the man so that God’s work could be shown in his life. This might seem like an odd concept, God intentionally inflicting suffering on someone so that He can then work in and through the person’s life, but actually, if we think about it, this idea pervades the whole Bible.
Noah had the experience of having to build the ark and go through the flood. Abraham and Sarah remained childless until a very old age. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery and spent time unjustly in prison. The Israelites spent many years suffering as slaves in Egypt. Job lost everything he had. These are just a few examples that come to mind and the list could easily go on. If we started to think about church history the list would grow even more.
Indeed, this incident is just one step along the way in Jesus’ own struggle with the Pharisees, who eventually contrive to kill Him. Jesus makes a subtle reference to this in verse 4, mentioning that night is coming.
So, when suffering comes into our lives, we needn’t ask questions like, ‘Why me?’ or ‘What have I done wrong?’ but rather we can try to seek what God’s purpose in the suffering is and, even if it’s hard to see at the time, we can trust that His purpose is ultimately good. As Psalm 119:67 says, ‘Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.’ Our sufferings often help us focus on what’s important in life and, as a result, find the right way in life.
A lady in Romania once remarked that in the hospital in Romania everybody prays. Of course, they should have all been praying anyway, as God tells us to pray to Him, but it often takes the suffering of being in hospital to help us find the time and desire to pray in our otherwise busy lives.
John Newton is an example that comes to mind of someone who went astray. In his youth, he had been forced to become a sailor. He rose to a good position and eventually was a captain on slave trader ships. Initially, he didn’t think about God, but one time, due to the danger of the ship he was on potentially sinking in a storm, he started to read the Bible. However, he continued in his work as a slave trader for many years and it was only when he got sick and could no longer go sailing that he truly converted to Christianity, gave up his slave trading ways and became a church minster with a successful ministry, which included writing ‘Amazing Grace’, a hymn which is still sung today, 200 and something years later. 
The supreme example of suffering bringing about good is Jesus’ death on the cross. When He died there, it at first seemed like the powers of darkness had won, but actually, this was just the serpent striking His heal and three days later He rose to life, crushing the serpent’s head. While He was on the cross some sneered about Him not being able to come down off the cross (Mark 15:31,32) but actually He voluntarily stayed on the cross because it was always the plan for Him to die there as His death was necessary to take the punishment of God for sin. He then rose to life, showing that if we accept His death in our place, we can also have the hope of raising to a new life with Him.
This gives us hope that no matter what we go through in this life, a new, better life awaits those who trust in Jesus. Thus, He is the light of the world, as He says in John 9:5, who shows those who trust in Him the right way through the dark forest of this life.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Meditation

Taking on Challenging Circumstances

Sometimes in life we are confronted with challenging circumstances.
One time in Romania I was at a Bible class. The teacher was American and the person translating approached me during the break to inform me that he needed to go somewhere and asked me, being an English speaker, if I would translate after the break. I was reluctant, not having experience and also even in English I didn’t know well all the names of the different Kings and other characters that were being mentioned as we were going through one of the books of Kings in the Old Testament. However, I didn’t really have an alternative solution to suggest. The break finished and we all gathered for the next lesson. The translator began, but after a few minutes his telephone rang. He glanced at it, then got his things together, motioned to me to come forward and then left. Talk about being thrown in the deep end. I had no choice to go forward and begin my career as a translator!
Life often puts us in difficult situations. Difficulties are of course relevant and maybe my predicament above was small fry compared to what some face. Financial hardships, sickness, violence, injustice and much more attack people everyday. One of the great things about the Bible is that it is a very realistic book and presents openly all the difficulties and struggles that different people went through. One person who most certainly was confronted with a challenging situation was Joshua.
We first read about him in the book of Numbers. We find out here that he is very faithful to God, for example in chapter 14 he together with Caleb tries to plead with the people when they want to rebel against God and go back to Egypt instead of entering the promised land. The fact that Joshua was one of the spies who went to check out the land of Canaan also testifies to the fact that he was one of the leaders of Israel. There are also passages where we see that Joshua was the assistant of Moses and chosen to succeed him (Numbers 27:18-21).
By the time we get to Joshua 1, we see that Moses is already gone and now Joshua has to fully take on his mantle. This is in and of itself a tough task. There were well over a million people to lead, enough to keep anyone busy. More than this though, Joshua is told here to lead these people into the promised land of Canaan, which would have been fine, except for the fact that there were some very well developed and aggressive peoples already living there, who weren’t just going to happily lie down and let the Israelites come and take over.
This is why we read a number of words of encouragement in this chapter. Joshua could well have been feeling daunted by what lay before him and so God offers some words of solace. Verses 6, 7 and 9 repeat the idea of being strong and courageous. This is however not just a sort of chin up, everything will be alright encouragement like what we often offer to people today, when we don’t really know what to say. Here we see that there is some real meat to these words.
In verse 5, God says that he will be with Joshua. This is a great promise because it was God’s presence that helped Moses through his tasks and so now Joshua is encouraged that God will be there to help him too. The presence of God is an important theme running throughout the Bible. Adam and Eve lost their place with God in the garden of Eden. Cain then loses God’s presence in Genesis 4:14 as a result of murdering Abel. As the story unfolds we see though God restoring his presence among people, first of all establishing the tent of meeting and then the temple. In the New Testament he dwells among people in the form of Jesus and finally the Holy Spirit is given so that He now actually dwells within the believer. In any case, it is a great and vital thing to have God’s presence with you.
Joshua is also given an instruction as to how to be successful in his task. We see this in Joshua 1:7 and 8. He is told to obey carefully everything written in the law of Moses and in order to help him do that, it is important for him to meditate on it day and night. In other words, the secret of success is to keep as close as possible to God’s word and to obey it.
Joshua shows his willingness to obey God straight away. He doesn’t hesitate or remonstrate with God, but rather he sends out the officers of the people to tell them to get ready for going into the promised land. They obey on the condition in verse 17 that the Lord will be with Joshua as He was with Moses, and they even threaten with death any who don’t obey Joshua’s word. Thus, we see that Joshua’s initial acceptance of God’s word to him as had a positive result.
I heard an interesting example of a student group in Serbia. They decided that they wanted to organise a mission week. In Serbia it is very popular for people to go to Cafes and spend their time there. So, the group had the idea of hiring out a cafe for their evangelistical meetings. There was a problem though to find a suitable one. Serbian culture is generally closed to evangelical Christians and over four years they tried 10 different cafes, but each time there were problems. Often they were rejected, but also staff were unfriendly, some were too small or otherwise unsuitable.
One day the group leader was walking past a cafe on the site of the university. He decided to try it. He explained to the manager that they were a Christian group and wanted to organise evangelical meetings. To his surprise, the manager agreed without problem. So surprised was he that he reiterated the situation to make sure the manager had understood. Not only did they want to talk about Jesus, but they also didn’t have much money to pay for the meetings. The manager still agreed!
For this group, it was a challenging task to organise these missions. It took four years and a number of difficult situations, but eventually God led them to an excellent venue, right on campus, and even opened up the way to using it, in spite of potential problems.
Ultimately then, God can and does work for good even in the challenges we and others around us face!

Image by Elias Sch. from Pixabay

Meditations

Cain and Abel

One time I was at a camp in Romania by the mountains. We were staying at a holiday cabin in a tiny village. To get to where some of the people were staying, it was necessary to take a short walk. While walking one morning, I noticed that to my left in the field there was a pig lying with its feet in the air. Alongside were some people, one of whom had what looked like a blow torch in hand. A little later someone brought some pig’s skin over for us to try. I managed to convince an American lady to try it by saying that it was Romanian style pancake (which I guess that it sort of was!).
I guess this is as close as I have ever been to seeing an animal sacrificed. If however I had lived in ancient times, I suppose animal sacrifices would have been a much more common occurrence. The Bible talks a lot about this. Interesting, even the first two people born, Cain and Abel, seem to have had a concept of bringing sacrifices to God.
Cain was a farmer and brought some of the things he had grown. Abel on the other hand was a shepherd and brought some of his flock. In Genesis 4:3-5 we are told about this. Here we see that there was a significant difference between the offerings that Cain and Abel brought to God.
Abel brought ‘fat portions’ from ‘firstborn’ animals. This suggests that he brought the best he had. In terms of Cain’s offering, it just says that he brought ‘some of the fruits of the soil.’ We then see that the Lord was pleased with Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s. From this, we can deduce that Cain just offered what he didn’t need, maybe some left over produce or somethings that were deformed or going bad. In any case, he seems to have brought the sacrifice just for the sake of it, whereas Abel appears to have made a true sacrifice from the heart.
By its very nature, the concept of sacrifice means giving up something, however there is obviously a temptation as humans to sacrifice that which we don’t really need. Later on in the Bible, in Leviticus 22, there is passage which talks about unacceptable sacrifices. Here, it is made clear that God’s people aren’t allowed to bring any old sacrifice to God. The sacrifice was meant to be a male animal without defect, not just a way of getting rid of a sick, unwanted animal.
This concept is illustrated in 2 Samuel 24. Here David has sinned because he decided to take a census of the fighting men in Israel. He insists on this in spite of Joab’s protest. So, the census is carried out, but then David realises that he has sinned. Presumably, the sin was that by counting the fighting men, David was putting his trust in them, instead of God. The consequence of all this is that a plague comes on Israel. The prophet Gad then comes to David and tells him to go and make an altar to the Lord to resolve the problem.
David goes where he is told and wants to buy the piece of land so that he can make the sacrifices required. The owner of the threshing floor, Araunah, however offers to give it for free to David. As a result in 2 Samuel 24:24 David makes a very telling statement. ‘I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’ Again, we see the concept of true sacrifices being those that cost the offerer something.
I heard an illustration once about a rich man who put a large amount of money in a church collection. A deacon of the church offered it back to him, thinking that it was too much and maybe a mistake. The rich man said though that he was very wealthy and that actually for him it wasn’t such a lot of money. When the deacon told the church’s pastor though, the pastor told him to give the money back because at their church they only wanted sacrifices that cost.
In conclusion, Jesus says something similar to this at the beginning of Luke 21. Here we see him commend the widow, who although she only puts a small amount in the temple collection, relatively speaking she had put in a lot compared to the rich people who, although they probably gave expensive gifts, were actually only giving a small percentage of what they had. The widow gave everything and so that shows that she was truly trusting in God and giving out of love. 
Cain is very angry about the fact that his sacrifice is not accepted. God gives him the opportunity to repent of this anger and do what is right. However, his response is to kill his brother and then to try and cover it up. Interestingly, the first human born, murders the second human born, and we see the words of God in Genesis chapter 2, that death would enter the world if humans ate of the fruit of the tee of knowledge of good and evil,  begin to come true. So, we see that something that in Genesis 3 seemed small and insignificant, such as eating fruit, has led to very serious consequences.
A story is told of a man who while on holiday in South Africa decided to ignore the warning that there were sharks in the water and go for a swim anyway. As a result one of the sharks bit him and he lost a leg and could have died. Likewise, the Bible very clearly warns against sin, however often we choose to ignore those warnings, thinking that there’s no harm in a little thing like going swimming, however we are risking getting bitten.
Genesis 4 gives a sign of hope though. At the end of the chapter we see that Eve gives birth to another son, Seth. He takes Abel’s place. This idea of substitution is also an important one throughout the Bible.
As mentioned, before the sacrifices that people were supposed to bring to God, are instructed in Leviticus to be male and without defect. This is because in the New Testament, Jesus, a man without sin came into the world. He came to sacrifice His life in our place. So, just as in one sense Abel’s death gave rise to Seth’s life, Jesus’ death gives us the chance of a new life.
So, what should our response to be to this offer? Some people still have the concept that we need to bring sacrifices to God today. There are probably still cultures out there where animal sacrifices are given. In the modern western world though, this type of sacrifice has been long forgotten. People still try though to bring other types of sacrifice, whether it be time, energy, money or other resources. However, Hebrews 7:27 very clearly states that Jesus sacrificed himself once and for all. His sacrifice was the supreme sacrifice which resolved the problem of sin and so we don’t need to add to this sacrifice other sacrifices.
The Bible does nevertheless talk about offering to God a sacrifice of thanks (Psalm 50:14) and offering our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). In other words, if we have received the benefit of Jesus’ sacrifice into our lives, that is the new life that He offers, we should then live for Him out of gratitude for what He has done for us.
For a number of years, I have travelled regularly to Alunis, a small village twenty or so kilometres from where I live in Moldova. There was a period when we got up early on a Saturday morning to go and run a children’s club. This wasn’t always easy, partly because of the children’s misbehave, but also because of the conditions there. In winter, it was often warmer outside than inside the church, for example. Sometimes I thought to myself that it would be easier to not go there. And it would have been. However, God calls us sometimes to do things that are not easy or comfortable for us. This then is our sacrifice of thanks to Him.

cain and Abel

Reminiscences18

True Church

Ben was awoken from this vivid recollection by Ovidiu’s voice.

'Are you ok?'

The sickness and faintness had passed and so Ben was able to give an affirmative response.

 'I’m fine.'

Ovidiu helped him to his feet. Ben dusted himself off as if it had been nothing and set his face to move onwards, spurred on by the memory of this strange forgiveness that he wanted to get to the bottom of.

They wound their way through a series of back streets until a definitive right turn into a little road, a bit further up which they arrived at the church building. Once again it wasn’t quite what Ben had been expecting. The church was wedged in between other buildings. There was a gate, not much of a courtyard in contrast to the spacious area before the Orthodox church and then steps, somewhat steeper than those of the Orthodox church, which led up to the church’s entrance. Ben readily ascended them, this time without the reluctant uncertainty that he had felt at the other Church. This time he sensed that he was in the right place.

Ovidiu was obviously on home ground and quickly darted in through the door, then sharp right and into the church sanctuary, but taking after this another left turn up a few steps to a raised seating platform at the back of the church. Ben hadn’t seen anything like this before and thought that maybe it was so that the church leaders could see better who was sleeping or otherwise not paying attention at the back of the church. In any case, it didn’t deter Ovidiu and he quickly found what was presumably his usual seat. Ben sat down next to him.

The church was large. Ben pondered how many people would fit in. It was hard to tell. He was tempted to do a quick estimate, but his attention was quickly drawn by something unexpected. Either his Romanian had fast improved or a miracle had taken place, but Ben realised that the person speaking from the front was intelligible. Ben did a double-take and then it occurred to him why. The man was American!

'And so today I want to speak to you about the Prodigal son,' said the preacher in a noticeable southern American drawl.

'Și azi vreau să vă vorbesc despre fiul risipitor,' came the translation.

Could it be a double piece of divine providence? Ben had not only entered the church at the precise moment when the sermon was starting, but it was also a sermon being delivered in a language he could understand. Maybe Ovidiu knew about this and had planned it all along or, perhaps, it was just the way it was meant to be.  

The American preacher skilfully and beautifully told the story of the Prodigal son, a boy who left home with his share of his Father’s wealth and squandered it in wild living. Once the money had run out, he lost his friends and ended up taking care of some pigs. As so many do, when he got into trouble and suffering he then started to think about the deeper things of life. He realised that it was much better back at his Father’s home. Even if he had behaved in such a bad way, he decided to return, expecting that he might just be allowed back, but not as a son anymore, instead as a hired worker. Maybe that way he could repay some of what he had wasted.

However, to his surprise, as he is approaching his home village, his father sees him from a distance and runs to him, embracing him and fully accepting him back as a son. He offers gifts and even throws a party that the whole village can come to!

In the same way, explained the preacher, we too have all separated from God to live our lives as we please, but with his wealth. However, if we realise our mistake, come to our senses and get up and return to Him, he will receive us back and make us a child of His, and all this is a free gift. We don’t have to do anything to earn it or repay our sins.

Towards the end of the sermon, as captivating as it was, Ben’s mind began to wonder. He pictured the last moment when he had seen Alexandra. It was at their graduation ceremony. She had gotten a first-class degree and was off to Cambridge to become a researcher. Ben hadn’t quite hit those heights. He had got an upper second, also respectable, but he felt like he could have done better, if it wasn’t for all the turbulent thoughts that had been going through his mind. He’d started to wonder what the point of everything was. Even if he got a good degree and then a good job and then a family and so on, it was still going to end one day, and then what? And what did any of these things mean, as pleasant and nice as they were, if ultimately one day he would be gone and forgotten. Indeed, when he was gone where would he be? He couldn’t contemplate not existing anymore.

Such weighty thoughts, had greatly distracted him from his studies. He’d read some books and watched some films, but hadn’t yet found any answers. One day, just before the graduation ceremony, it had occurred to him that maybe he should just ask Alexandra. She seemed to have it all worked out and whatever she had he wanted. Graduation after all might be the last time he saw her and so he didn’t want to miss this last chance.

The moment came then. Both with degree certificates in hand and wearing flowing black gowns and funny square topped hats, he approached her to say goodbye.

‘Alexandra, I just wanted to congratulate you on your first and wish you all the best at Cambridge.’

‘Thanks. You too for whatever you now do.’

‘Thanks. There was one thing I wanted to ask.’

‘Yes, what?’

Ben poised himself, not quite sure how to say it, in spite of a number of rehearsals.

‘I’ve noticed there is something different about you and I would like to know what?’

She looked kind of embarrassed and reluctant to speak. After a few moments though, she gathered herself. ‘When I was little, I met Jesus at my church in Romania. He gave me life and now I live for Him!’ was her bold affirmation.

Ben was taken a back. Jesus had died more than 2000 years ago, so what was He doing walking around Romania and visiting churches there?

Ben would have liked to have asked more questions to examine Alexandra’s statement, but he was denied the chance. She seemed a little hesitant to speak anyway, but, some older people who were presumably her parents, called her over to have some photos taken. She said bye and wished Ben all the best and she was gone.

Ben considered trying to follow up later, but decided that he’d heard what he needed. He was left with lingering thoughts in his mind about Romania. Little did he know that he would also meet Jesus there one day.

Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay

Reminiscences 17

The Power of Forgiveness

As they left the church building, Ben noticed that at the top of the stairs that lead out from the church, a book table had been set up. Glancing as he passed, Ben observed all sorts of titles on offer, each of which with sombre, but decorative patterns on the front cover and different black and white photos, many of which seemed to be depicting ‘Sfântul Nectarie’ or other such holy people. There were also books with various different drawings, depicting saints or holy scenes.

Everything was in Romanian, but Ben nevertheless felt drawn to have a punt and after a brief perusal he picked up a book entitled, 'Faptele Duhovnicesc ale Sfântului Nectarie' with a nice black and white picture, which presumably represented the man who was now just a fingernail! The book had a label with 5 RON written on it stuck to the front cover, so Ben happily obliged, handing the money over to the lady selling the books, just as Ovidiu approached, agitated and urging Ben to get a move on. Kind of ironic felt Ben, seeing as it was he who had initially had to wait for Ovidiu and that it had been Ovidiu’s idea to make this diversion into the world of saints. Anyway, Ben shrugged off this slight injustice, accepting that he himself also wasn’t perfect, and he was any way in a vulnerable situation, dependant on Ovidiu’s guidance to get him to the right church.

They left the church courtyard at a brisk pace, weaving their way through the crowd that was slowly building up to see what must have been one of the most famous fingernails around. They headed onward up the street. Ben was struggling to keep up with Ovidiu and as they went he started to not feel very well. At first, an uncomfortable pain rose in his stomach. He fought to suppress it, but it was difficult. He managed to keep going a number of steps but then combined with these pains, his head started to hurt. This was capped by his vision beginning to go blurry. He started to lose sight of everything around him and so needed to break his fast-paced walk. He attempted to stumble on a few paces, but the sense of nausea became overwhelming, combined with a partial loss of consciousness, meaning that he had no choice but to come to an abrupt halt and fall to his knees.

Rather than collapse completely on the floor, he was able to support himself by reaching out to a bench that was handily placed on the street and to which he had just about managed to make it, crouching down beside it. He spent a few moments in this awkward position, trying to steady his balance and hoping that he could hold the contents of his stomach in (he wouldn't want to waste the morning's lovely pancakes). While he did so, in his mind thoughts started to appear of abandoning this journey with Ovidiu to the church. He could see why the more traditional church that they had just visited was an attractive option for some. Its grandeur was something to behold and helped remind you of your actual place in this world. The Bible scenes and other decorations were spectacular and by being there to take them (although admittedly his attention was more drawn by the aforementioned fingernail), Ben felt like he had offered up his respect to divinity and that he was now free to go about his daily business as he pleased. There was however something missing.

Ben reflected on an experience when he was student. A couple of weeks after his footballing exploits, he had got into a conversation with Alexandra before a lecture. She told him that that evening she was going with some people to a film night and invited Ben to come along. He hesitated to accept, not just because he wasn’t really a film buff, but also he lived a long way away from the university and he was nervous about meeting new people too. The lecture wasn’t a riveting one, something about Diels Alder reactions, and so he had plenty of time to reflect on Alexandra’s invitation as the professor waxed lyrical about Alkenes and the various bonds that they could form. Ben realised that he was a bit of a loose radical and that he needed some new connections, so at the end of the lecture, he approached Alexandra and said that he would come, even though he was hesitant and that it wasn’t all together convenient.

Once the final lecture of the day was over, Ben still had a three-hour wait until the time Alexandra had said people were meeting to go to the film night. He killed some time in the library, investigating various cyclohexenes, before heading off to Burger King for some dinner. Once finished, it was just the right time to go to the meeting point for the film. He had some nervousness in his stomach, but as he had said he would go, he felt that it was too late to pull out now. He arrived a few minutes early, but soon Alexandra, followed by some others, appeared.

They set off on a trek through a number of streets before arriving at their destination, a communal student digs, where Ben learned that a few of the members of the Christian Union lived. Ben entered but was already uncomfortable. There was a large living room area where they were to watch the film. Ben plonked himself down on the sofa and a number of others gathered around. A couple of American girls were alongside him and he had a brief chat. Inside of him though, a sense of not wanting to be there grew. It was hard to explain, but he just didn’t feel comfortable and often he developed headaches from such social gatherings. He learned that Star Wars was the film to be viewed. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back and he decided that he needed to find a way to leave. A few people said that they were popping out to get some snacks. Typically student-esc of them to realise that they hadn’t bought any popcorn after everyone had already gathered for the film, but Ben saw for himself an opportunity.

He volunteered to go with them but had no intention of returning with any salty delights. Instead, once out on the street, a conversation ensued among the couple of people he was with as to where they should go to get the snacks. Ben made his excuse though that he needed to go and left abruptly, heading for the nearest underground station in order to make his escape. Those with him were slightly baffled by his decision to leave but were also too caught up in their own snack buying dilemma to say too much. Thus, Ben easily fled and headed home.

Later on, though, reflecting on this incident, he started to feel bad. Alexandra had shown kindness to him, inviting him to this event and his response was to run away without even saying goodbye. He was sure that she would be angry and wouldn’t want to speak to him again. To Ben’s utter surprise though, they saw each other the very next day as they waited for the next instalment in the saga of organic molecule formation, and not only was Alexandra friendly, enquiring about how he was, but she didn’t even mention the erratic behaviour of the previous night.

Ben was shocked. He was used to people holding grudges indefinitely whenever you make a mistake or upset them, ignoring you or having a dig at you for many years to come, whereas Alexandra seemed to have forgotten it all overnight. How could she be so forgiving and understanding?

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

Reminiuscences 16

Orthodoxy

Ovidiu was delighted to hear that Ben wanted to come with him to church. He arranged to meet him at the Piața Unirii metrou station at the exit near to Mcdonald’s. Ben thought that this wouldn’t be too hard to find. The only thing was that Ovidiu wanted them to meet at 9.30 a.m. which meant having to rush. Having already spent one day in the city, Ben felt more confident now and thought that he could manage to handle this.

Indeed, he did, throwing on some outdoors clothes and trainers, shooting out of the block of flats (complete with the dicey lift ride down, fortunately the lift had only been stationed two floors below, so whirred up to him quickly!) and then darting between other blocks of flats and various hindrances such as fences, cars, kiosks, stray dogs and pedestrians to reach his destination of Crângași Metrou station. From here, he bought his two journey ticket and jumped on the first train to come, hoping it was the one in the right direction. It was, although as he studied the map he realised that this wasn’t hard as the route was circular so both trains went through Piața Unirii, just one got there quicker than the other. Fortunately, he had gotten on the one that arrived there sooner, or maybe it was divine intervention once again.

Whatever the forces behind his fortuitous decision, it was handy because he arrived at Piața Unirii with just 5 minutes to spare to navigate his way around and find the Mcdonald’s. He circled around the platform that he had arrived at but didn’t see any golden Ms. He saw that there was a passageway that seemed to be leading through to a different bit of the station, so he decided to give that ago. It was just as well he did because in a jiffy he was standing before an underground Mcdonald’s at 9.32 a.m., only two minutes late. No sign of Ovidiu though. He waited and then waited some more and then started to wonder if anything had happened. Ovidiu had stressed the need for him to rush and be on time, but now Ovdiu wasn’t there. What could the reason be? Ben asked himself.

At precisely 9.48 a.m., Ovidiu appeared. 'Hello! Good to see you. Let’s go!' were his only words, with no reference to his tardiness. It was as if he was right on time. Ben shrugged and followed as Ovidiu led the way out of the underground station via some stairs and a biggish escalator.

They then set off on a good paced walk via a busy area next to a shopping centre, which necessitated some good people dodging skills. They turned right and headed up a wide road, away from the masses and into a much more open space. Ben started to lose his breath as Ovidiu dragged him along at a high pace. Funny thought Ben, he’d rushed to be on time and now he was being rushed at someone else’s behest when if all had gone to plan, he could now be enjoying a stroll. He felt a little annoyance growing in him at this injustice, but after a brief internal struggle, he sensed something drawing him along, even if a part of him was telling him to stop.

Ovidiu led the way, oblivious to the wrestling going on behind him inside of Ben. After a brisk 10 minute walk, Ovidiu abruptly veered to the right and entered into the courtyard of an ornate looking church. It wasn’t quite what Ben had been expecting. He’d seen Ovidiu as more of an evangelical sort of guy, walking around carrying his Bible, making references to God’s will and inviting people to church. But here they were in front of an Orthodox church!

Ovidiu headed up the steps that led into the church and Ben had no choice except to follow. The courtyard of the Church was very crowded with people everywhere. Ben hadn’t thought that the Orthodox church was so well attended, although he started to speculate that something special was going on, especially as there was a long queue of people on the steps waiting to enter the church. Ovidiu, however, avoided the queue and went straight in the door. A bit cheeky it seemed to Ben, but he had no choice but to follow suit.

Ben found himself in the hallway area that lay before the actual church sanctuary.  Ovidiu had stopped by the doorway and was peering in.

'What’s going on?' asked Ben when he finally caught up with Ovidiu.

'Today, the Moaștele of Sfântul Nectarie are here and I want to see,' replied Ovidiu.

Ben was now none the wiser why there were actually there, but he was reassured that this was just a detour and not their final destination.

'What do you mean by ‘Moaștele?' Ben responded inquisitively.

Ovidiu turned to him, looking slightly bothered by the question as if everyone should know what ‘Moaștele’ are.

'These are the bits that are left of the Sfânt.'

It didn’t take Ben much to work out that Sfânt was probably Saint, but the concept of bits of him being left seemed decidedly odd.

To make things clearer Ovidiu began pointing into the church to direct Ben’s attention to what he meant. There placed somewhere in the middle of the church’s open space was a table with a white table cloth on it. Sitting atop the table was a picture frame, a very ornate looking one at that, with golden edges and fine red material backing instead of a picture. Perched within the frame was a small object. Ben had to edge into the church to be able to discern what it actually was. As he got closer, it gradually dawned on him that it was fingernail! There was a long line of people waiting to stand before this most holy of fingernails. When each person’s turn came, they edged towards it, bowing, kissing, making crosses and just generally showing signs of great respect. They then turned and left as the next person approached. This all seemed a little much to Ben for such an apparently insignificant object. After all, if anyone really wanted, he could provide a host of nail clippings free of charge!

Ben stared a while at this most odd sight. Ovidiu stood by his side, also seemingly trying to take it all in. Ben was so struck by the strangeness of what was unfolding before him that he barely noticed the extraordinary insides of the Church building. It was exquisitely decorated with beautifully coloured paintings of saints and Bible scenes and other stories all over the walls and ceiling. There were also many other splendid objects culminating in the extravagant golden wall that stood behind the altar at the front of the church. For Ben though, this was all overshadowed by the fingernail.

Eventually, he and Ovidiu tore themselves away from what was happening and started to make their way out of the church. There was one door to get into the church sanctuary and another to leave. They made their way to the exit, but as they were doing so they heard a voice.

'Nu vreți niște Aghiasma?'

They swivelled around to see a man with a well-grown beard, dressed in a long black robe, wafting a little silver bowl towards them.

'What’s that?' blurted out Ben instinctively, giving away his foreignness.

'American?' asked the man standing before them.

'No, actually not,' replied Ben antagonistically, feeling slightly annoyed at this recurring theme.

'Ok. We have holy water for sale. $20 a bottle,' said the man, whose English was pretty good. Maybe he met a lot of Americans, speculated Ben.

Ben looked at Ovidiu for suggestions of what to do. Ovidiu looked just as uncertain as Ben was.

'No, thanks. I prefer mineral water,' was Ben’s less than subtle response.

This is special water. It is blessed by Mitropolitul Bucurestului!'

Ben was wary of blessed drinks, ever since he’d seen a certain episode of ‘Only Fools and Horses.’

'Well, thanks, but even if the Pope had blessed it, I’m still not interested,' was Ben’s unwise reply.

At this, the man in black started to get agitated and began muttering something about ‘eretici’ and ‘sectanți’.

'You must come back to true church!' were his final words before turning his back and heading off to look for more receptive clients.

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

on Issuu

Romania Reminisciences

Reminiscences15

Decisions

Ben woke up relatively early as his habit was to wake whenever the first sunlight starts to penetrate his window. His first thoughts were about how he was going to spend the day. He was none the wiser, in spite of his meditations before dropping off to sleep. He had two phone numbers, offering two potentially different types of day and he was going to have to jolly well choose one of them. Ben wasn’t good at decision making and he tended to dither until the decision made itself. This situation was a case in point.

Still undecided, he eventually prised himself out of bed and got the two pieces of paper with the numbers written on them out of the pocket of the jeans he had been wearing the day before. He was being tempted by Oana, but deep down inside he thought that maybe this wasn’t the right way. He unfolded the pieces of paper to look at the numbers, thinking that somehow looking at them was going to help him make his decision. Ironically, it did.

He unscrunched both pieces of paper and was struck by the fact that neither Oana or Ovidiu had written down them names. It obviously hadn’t occurred to them that Ben was going to receive more than one piece of paper with a telephone number on it that day. So now Ben was confronted with two telephone numbers, not knowing whose was whose. Maybe this was divine intervention? It offered up an intriguing solution to his dilemma. He could just randomly choose a number, call it and then whoever was on the end must be the person who he was supposed to spend the day with.

Ben liked these sorts of resolutions. It was kind of exciting, but he was also nervous. He went and got himself washed, another cold rinse in the bathtub making him think he must get to the bottom of how to say ‘how do I turn the hot water on, please?’, and then dressed. He fancied some toast but didn’t see anything in the kitchen that looked like a toaster. Doina came upon him as he was contemplating what to eat.

'N-am timp, trebuie să ma duc la piața, dar este ceai.'

Ben knew ‘Ceai’ meant tea. He wasn’t much of a tea person, although he was pleasantly surprised to discover that for Doina tea included a fine selection of pancakes, both with sweet cheese and also some with strawberry jam, not to mention honey and butter to spread on bread. It would have been better if it was toast, but you can’t have everything Ben reflected. In any case, his main preoccupations were elsewhere.

After breakfast, he retired to his room to make the important phone call. He was used to procrastinating, and rather good at it, he thought, but the moment of truth had come. He needed to call one of the numbers. He did manage a bit of a procrastinate nevertheless as he debated how to chose which number to ring. He thought about ip-dip-sky-blue, but it seemed too childish. He needed more of a manly way of going about things. Finally, he came to the manly conclusion that he would scrunch the bits of paper back up and then pick one at random. And this he did.

The number he picked started: 0798. Could this be Oana or Ovidiu? he wondered. Well, there was only one way to find out. He dialled it and then waited with butterflies in his stomach. He heard a ring tone briefly and then suddenly a voice, 'Numarul care ați format este ocupat!' then silence.

Was this once again divine intervention, or was it just a test. He thought about what to do now his plan had been foiled. There were two options, either to move onto the other number or give this one another go. He remembered when he was doing exams at school and sometimes he agonised so much about his original answers that he changed them only to be dismayed to find out after the exam that he had changed an initially right answer to a wrong one. This had taught him a good life lesson that he thought was relevant to his current situation. He would give the first number another go after 10 minutes and only if he didn’t get a response would he then try the other number.

He took the chance for a quick nap as he waited for the time to elapse before retrying the number. It was hard work making decisions and he felt like he had earned a breather even it was hardly nine in the morning. When the time was up, he rose and took up his phone and the piece of paper again. He felt the nerves rising in his stomach once again. He dialled the number and waited. Then, the voice again, 'Numarul care.....'

The decision having been made for him, Ben reached out to get the other piece of paper which was sitting on the table by him in his room. This was a 06 number. Seven seemed like a better bet than six, it being a perfect number and all that whereas six has certain negative associations, 666 and the like, but that was just superstition, speculated Ben.

Without further ado, having summed up new confidence now that the decision had been clearly made, he rang this number with almost no nerves. It rang a few times before Ben heard the receptor at the other end being answered and a voice starting to speak.

Reminiscences 14

Chequered Past 

Being pumped up by the adrenaline rush of recent events, Ben felt the need to wander about some more to let things settle down. Eventually, he calmed down and decided that he had had enough shenanigans for one day and began to head back to the metrou station. On the way, he had one more interesting adventure trying to buy a telephone sim card. He thought that now he was starting to make friends, he had better sort himself out a convenient way to contact them. He had to spend a bit of time remonstrating with the land in the little kiosk near to the underground station, but finally, he left with a 5 RON orange sim. He thought that it seemed good value if had understood correctly the perks it offered.

After a relatively straight forward journey to where he was staying, compared to the other antics of the day, he spent some time resting followed by another hearty meal prepared by Doina, this time some chips, dripping in grease, and some chicken, also dripping in grease. Later on, after another cold rinse in the bathtub and a fair while getting to grips with his new telephone system; free minutes, magic numbers and international calling being among the bonuses he seemed able to get, if he dialled the right combinations of numbers and symbols on his keypad, he finally settled down into bed and began reflecting on the day.

His mind mulled over the different things he had seen in the city, but most of all it was the people who he had met that stood out. In many respects, it was a strange contrast. There was the brief encounter with the underground train driver that he felt he would rather forget, there was also the short interaction with the lady serving at the fast food place and, of course, last but not least, the wanton pickpocketer.  These rather unfortunate moments had however led to some more significant meetings with both Oana, the alluring femme fatale, and Ovidiu, the Bible carrying hero, who had saved Ben’s wallet, all be it unwittingly as his collision with the thief was probably accidental. In any case, Ben was now torn. He had two offers for tomorrow. Either to try and meet up with Oana for a walk or to go to Church with Ovidiu. He had both their phone numbers and began debating in his mind which offer to follow up on. There was of course potentially a third way; maybe he could try and do both!

As he wrestled in his mind with the decision of whether he would rather spend Sunday with Oana or Ovidiu, his mind drifted off to a significant incident a few years before at university. Feeling kind of lonely he had decided to join the football society. They’d invited him to come and play indoor five-a-side football one autumn evening. He’d gone with high hopes, but was eventually disappointed, not just because his footballing ability wasn’t quite as Maradonna-esc as he had imagined, but also the lack of care the other guys showed for him.

Rather daringly he had embarked upon his football playing exploits while still wearing his glasses. Everything was foggy without them and it was tricky playing football when you couldn’t see who you were passing to! The match had hardly begun though when this proved to be a mistake. Ben, porting only a tender frame, collided with an onrushing player from the other team and was knocked completely to the ground. He wasn't hurt, just a little shaken, and quickly picked himself up.

However, he suddenly realised that his glasses had been flung off their rightful spot on his nose. He started to look for them but had to squint to improve his eyesight just enough to be able to make out clearly the floor. After a quick look around, there he saw them, still in one piece, but looking somewhat bent. All the while, as he looked around, the football match was continuing around him, without a care in the world for his fallen spectacles. Indeed, a few times the footballers running up and down were very close to stepping on them. Fortunately, no one actually did and Ben was able to dodge his way between the would-be Paul Gascoignes to eventually make it to the spot where his glasses lay and save them.

He ran off the pitch with them and deposited them safely in the changing room. They were now too bent to fit into his glasses’ case, so he just left them perched by his things and then returned to the footballing fray. He continued playing as best he could, in spite of his eyesight hinderance, but he wasn’t up to much cop. His team ended up losing 3-2 and Ben spending most of the match running around aimlessly. To be fair, he probably would have done the same, even if he had had his glasses on, but at least with them on, he would have been able to see clearly the ball as it flew passed him.

After the match, he went and got changed, half expecting that someone might enquire as to his well being, or at least offer a word of comfort about his glasses. He even wafted them around a bit, before putting them back on. To no avail though, no one seemed the slightest bit bothered about his suffering and so he left discouraged from the football, which he'd hope might lift his spirits and improve his social life, holding onto his glasses so that they didn’t fall off in their now very wonky state that made them sit only precariously on his face.

As he exited the sports hall and began walking a long the damp, central London street towards the tube station to make his way home, who should he see but Alexandra. She was speeding a long, umbrella in hand and with a couple of text books tucked under her arm.

She too nearly bumped into Ben in the grimness of this October evening, but at the last moment, noticed that someone was in her path and swerved to avoid the possible collision. She stopped when she recognised that it was Ben.

'How are you,' she said.

'Fine,' he lied.

'Where were you?'

'Just, playing football. What about you? Where are you rushing off to?'

'The library. We have coursework for tomorrow. You remember?'

'Of course.' Ben had completely forgotten but he figured that in his depressed state it didn’t matter. Anyway, he had plenty of time to go home and get it done.

'Are you sure you are ok? Why you hold your glasses?' said Alexandra, evidently perceiving things were not quite as rosy as Ben would have liked to convey.

'I had a little accident but it’s fine. Nothing much really. I’m ok, just a bit tired,' he replied not sure if he was trying harder to reassure her or himself.

'May God help you feel better and I pray for you to rest and your glasses to be ok!'

With these comforting words, she was off. Ben was a little taken aback. It was more than he had expected. He had never really thought about praying for glasses to get better, but, hey, why not? He didn’t really care about anything much right now and at least Alexandra had time to talk to him, even if she said strange things, which was more than those other football playing guys.

After a few seconds to gather himself, Ben headed off towards the underground station, trying to remember what the coursework was about.

Reminiscences 13

Chance Encounter

Ben entered the park alone. He was slightly sad that Oana had left, a little bemused as to why she had suggested going to Cismigiu, but then bailed out at the last moment, overall though he was relieved, thinking that it was probably for the best.

Cișmigiu was a nice sized park. Not too large that you could get lost, but not so small that you couldn’t have a good wander around. It was a pleasant mix as well of open space, a central lake, some windy paths and wooded end zone, where you could indulge in some adventures.

Today, which was Saturday, was obviously a popular day and the park was full of all different sorts of people, although predominately families with young children. This made for a buzzing atmosphere and those with a commercial flare were endeavouring to make the most of it. There were various vendors dotted throughout the park, selling anything ranging from helium balloons to hot dogs to candy floss. Ben was tempted by some candy floss but thought better of it. Not good for the teeth, he mused.

In the centre of the park, by the lake, a throng had started to gather. Ben felt drawn there, too. A mini-stage had been set up and currently, a clown was doing his stuff. This had attracted the attention of many, particularly those with small children. Little amuses the innocent thought Ben, as he and a multitude of others watched a man in a brightly coloured costume with baggy trousers and glaring red suspenders, trip over his own cumbersome, curvy toed shoes, whip out flowers that squirted water and generally indulge in all sorts of tomfoolery.

As Ben stood, rooted to the spot, staring at the colourful display on offer, he suddenly felt a tug on his right side. As was his habit, when visiting unknown places, he was wearing his long trousers with large side pockets. These were particularly handy for tucking his wallet and telephone into, one on each side, and as he went along, he could regularly feel them and thus reassure himself that these two important items were safe.

The tug caused immediate alarm because the right side was where he kept his wallet, something highly important to not lose. He jerked his gaze away from the clown and to the right to see what had caused the tug. He was shocked to see a stubbly man, black hair and not very tall, standing next to him, with his hand stretched out, clasping Ben’s wallet, and in the process of extracting it from the pocket it was in.

There was an awkward moment as Ben stared at the thief and he stared back at Ben. It was an unusual situation to be in and neither knew quite how to react. After a few seconds though, the thief decided to flee, whipping completely the wallet out of Ben’s pocket and then turning to run. Ben hesitated, not knowing quite the right course of action. He realised that he would be in trouble without the wallet and so instinctively began to pursue the man.

It was a bit like a scene from a classic Hollywood movie as the thief darted between people and shimmed around corners and other obstacles to try and get away, with Ben following not far behind. Ben had done a lot of running in his youth, so felt in good shape, although he was hindered in his pursuit by the thought of what he would actually do if he caught up with the man.

After a brief chase, things came to their culmination when the man took a sharp left. A few seconds later Ben also took this left turn, starting to breathe heavily and uncertain how much he would be able to go on. However, as he turned the corner he was met by what would have been a comedy scene if it wasn’t for the fact that the situation was so serious. The thief was lying sprawled on the ground, with another man beside him, and between them was a large book and the wallet. When the man saw Ben he quickly got to his feet and took off again. This time Ben let him go as the thing of interest, his wallet, remained there, lying on the floor.  Ben went over and grabbed his wallet and then addressed the other man.

'Are you alright?'

'Da, totul e bine!', was a slightly groggy response from him, as he started to sit up.

Ben lent over him and began to help him to his feet. He was wearing a fairly smart suit, missing a tie and, oddly, he had a black t-shirt on as opposed to a shirt. Ben helped him dust himself off. As he was doing so, his attention was drawn to the book lying on the ground. It was largish and pretty thick and had the word ‘Biblia’ written on its cover.

'Is this yours?' Ben asked the man as he bent over to pick the book up.

'Yes, thank you,' came the reply in unexpectedly good English.

Ben returned the book to the man, who accepted it with great glee.

'Are you American?' said the man.

'No, not quite', answered Ben.

'Ah, yes, I hear your accent now. British! Nice to meet you. I am Ovidiu. What is your name?'

'My name is Ben,' he said. 'Thank you for helping', he added, not really knowing how else to interpret the situation and being slightly embarrassed about indirectly causing Ovidiu’s small accident.

'Nu-i nimic! It’s nothing! Actually, I think it is God’s plan,' Ovidiu reassured him.

Ben wasn’t sure about the divine intervention, but he was certainly glad to have his wallet back. It would have been a nightmare to have tried to get through a few days in Bucharest without it. Ben wasn’t much of a one for small talk, but he felt like he owed Ovidiu something.

'You speak good English,' he offered as a compliment.

Ovidiu was visibly pleased to hear this. 'Oh, thank you. I am Masters’ student of foreign languages.'

This explained it. Ben started to think about offering him an ice cream as a reward or maybe better said, compensation, but Ovidiu jumped the gun and evidently had other plans.

'Well, I am glad to help, but I need to go now. I am sorry for thief. România are nevoie de Dumnezeu! Romania needs God!'

'Ok. Thank you again!'

'Maybe you give to me telephone number. We could go to church tomorrow.'

Ben hadn’t really been expecting a church invite and so wasn’t sure what to say.

'I’m sorry, but I don’t have a telephone yet. Maybe you can give me your number?'

Ovidiu happily obliged, offering his number on a scrap of paper. Then he abruptly turned and headed off. Ben started to feel like abrupt goodbyes were perhaps the done thing around here.           

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Reminiscences 12

Temptation 

Ben supped away on his spaghetti with what could only be described as a very runny sauce. Between mouthfuls, he also sipped the clear, dark yellow liquid that he had also bought, which turned out to be sharply flavoured apple juice. As he munched away, he became aware that there weren’t many others dining at this time. It was only around 11.30 a.m. so before the lunch rush, Ben speculated. There was one person though that had caught his eye, and that for the wrong reasons. There was a young woman sitting a few tables away. She had glanced briefly at him as he returned from his money recuperation exploits. That was when Ben had first noticed her. She was certainly attractive; a full, healthy-looking face, well defined with ever so slightly dark skin. She was also a well proportioned looking female, not overly large, but neither was she off-puttingly skinny. Her hair was jet black, straight, shinny and shoulder-length, making for an exquisite crown. All this was very positive, but it was her dress sense that made Ben wary. Her clothes were tight, with just a little too much on display. This gave her the air of a femme fatale and Ben thought that he had enough on his plate, dealing with getting used to a new city, without such an added distraction.

Ben did his best to not notice her as he worked his way through the plate of spaghetti and the apple juice. It was hard though and a few times he found his field of view being drawn in her direction. He struggled to keep his focus on the Romanian style Italian fare before him. He was glad when, after a few minutes, he was able to polish it off and arise to head out of the restaurant. However, as he turned his back to the temptation and prepared to leave, he felt himself hesitate. He quickly whipped some money out of his pocket as if he needed to count it, using this distraction as a way to compose himself and offering it to any onlookers as an explanation of why he was standing still. The hesitation proved significant though.

He was just ready to head off when he heard a voice and sensed a presence near him.

'American?'. Ben swivelled to see the origin of the sound, although he already knew.

'No, actually not,' was his very polite reply.

'Oh, ok. Where are you from?, said the voice that Ben could now see was coming from the young lady who had previously been sitting a little way away from him.

'England, he answered briefly, uncertain how much he should enter into discussion with her.

Nice. What you do in Romania? was her next question.

'Just visiting, spluttered Ben in response, starting to feel a little nervous.

'You like to visit Cișmigiu?', said the young lady.

Ben was a bit taken aback at this statement come question, and he wasn’t altogether sure if visiting Cișmigiu was something that he would like or even should do. It was not something he had ever really thought about. It was like he was starting to get drawn into something that was going to be hard to get out of.

'Maybe. What is that actually?', he said trying to clarifying what was being offered.

'It is park. I go in that direction. I show you', she said tantalisingly.

'Ok, thanks', Ben found himself unable to refuse, thinking that she was probably just trying to help out an obvious stranger and that in any case, he was big enough to handle himself.

They left the restaurant. The young lady took the lead, beckoning Ben to follow after her. They exited the underground passage of the Metrou station and headed back down the road that Ben had already explored, but with a more definite purpose, going beyond the point to which Ben had reached. As they went along, Ben enquired of some more details regarding his new found female companion.

'What is your name?'

I am Oana'.

'What do you do?'

'I am student of international relations'.

Ben realised that there were some jokes to made here, but he decided to refrain. Maybe she was just putting into practice what she had been studying, he chuckled to himself, as he thought about the predicament that he was now in.

After a brief walk, they arrived at a park that Oana pronounced to be Cișmigiu. It looked nice from the outside and Ben started moving towards the entrance, expecting Oana to follow. She, however, remained standing. Ben was slightly startled by this role reversal and turned to look at her.

'I go now. At next bus stop, I get high on the bus', was her explanation.

Ben was alarmed by her declaration of intent, but then he thought that judging by her liberal use of English grammar, maybe she hadn’t quite meant what she just said.

'Oh, ok. So you are going home?', he clarified.

'Yes, I go home, I need to study but I give you my telephone number. Maybe we meet tomorrow', she said, opening her bag and taking out an exercise book. She scribbled her number in it and then ripped out the piece of paper with it on and offered it to Ben. He accepted, said goodbye and then watched as she continued her walk up the street leaving him behind.

Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay

Reminiscences 11

Short Change

Ben exited the ‘Universitate’ ‘metrou’ station vie a biggish escalator and then some stairs that led to a dingy underground shopping area. Not the most attractive place to come to get your goodies. He quickly left here via some more stairs, which required careful negotiation as if he was on a mountain hike due to their somewhat dilapidated state. There was one last obstacle in some extraordinarily tangled electrical wiring, which hang just shy of the exit to the ‘metrou’ station, but most people passed by nonchalantly, obviously thinking that it was sufficiently far away that barring a hurricane-force wind, it was unlikely to collapse on unsuspecting pedestrians. Thus finally, he came out into the concrete jungle that was Bucharest.

Despite his many months of longing to be here, it actually wasn’t in the end anything much to write home about. The underground passageway that he had come out of had four exits, each one leading to a different corner of a mighty intersection between two roads. To the left, there was a big road leading off into the distance, but before him was another lesser road, but all the same pretty busy. To the right, across the road, he could see the University building. A little further down the road on his side, there some other impressive looking buildings were lined up. He spent the best part of the next hour or so wandering aimlessly up and down this road and then around the university building, soaking in the atmosphere of the place.

It had a strange feel to it. In some ways Latin, but with a noticeable hint of Slavic. The language being spoken on the streets was almost unintelligible, except for a few words, however, it sounded distinctly like some of Ben’s Polish acquaintances with lots of ‘shs’ and the like going on. Its written form, plastered on many advertisements all around, also belied a certain Latiness and was certainly slightly more understandable than the spoken form, but nevertheless still included many strange looking words.

Many of the buildings looked like they were about a hundred years old or more, although even here in the architecture there was a strange mix, as there were a number of Soviet-style constructions slotted along the architectural landscape. The streets were reasonably clean and bustling with people and traffic. This all created a lively atmosphere and Ben could see why some would warm to such a place.

Gradually, he became tired of his reconnaissance mission and started to feel hungry. In his circling around, Ben had been aware of a few eating options, but he was drawn to one in the underground shopping area by the ‘Univeristate’ station. Not the prettiest or most appealing of locations, but it was fittingly studenty in appearance and so probably suited his budget and appetite and was also conveniently located on the way back to the underground station. Thus, he headed there.

He arrived to see that its name was ‘Everest’ and so he began to hope that it was a mountain among fast-food restaurants, but after entering and surveying their menu listed on the wall behind the serving counter and the real-life representations on display, he realised that it wasn’t so towering as far as culinary delights were concerned.

He decided to play it safe, and among the various things on offer, many of which he wasn’t sure what they were, he spied what looked like spaghetti bolognese. This was undoubtedly one of his favourite dishes, so he easily convinced himself to try a Romanian fast food version.

Using a handy bit of sign language he managed to order a nice plate of the spaghetti with a slightly anaemic looking, but nevertheless pleasantly smelling, bolognese sauce. In this plac,e they obviously weren’t used to Romanian spoken with an English accent (if even what Ben was endeavouring to speak could be considered Romanian!), so at the till the lady showed Ben how much he needed to pay, 12 RON, by emphatically pointing at the display on the till. He wasn’t yet fully familiar with the money so after embarrassingly rummaging around a while in his wallet looking for the right amount, he just got out two 10 RON notes and thrust them at her as she waited impatiently. In return, she took some coins out of the till thrust them back at him and he turned to look for a seat and get away as quickly as possible from this ‘I’m a foreigner who doesn’t know exactly what’s going on’ situation.

There were plenty of empty tables, so he quickly saw a spot to camp down on and started to move towards it. As he was going, he began to reflect on what just happened. Something didn’t feel right. Ben was no maths genius, but all the same, he knew a bit, and could at least work out in his head that 20 minus 12 was 8. In other words, he should have received 8 RON change, however, the lady had given him just a few coins. He knew that the notes were RON, starting from 1 up, but what were the coins? Was it possible that they were RON too?

He sat himself down at his chosen table and got out the change to analyse it. It was a series of not so shinny coins. All of them had ‘Bani’ written on them, in various different denominations. During his studies of Romania before actually coming here, Ben hadn’t given much thought to the currency, which was probably a mistake. However, it was clear that ‘Bani’ were to RON, what pennies are to pounds. Mulling things over, gradually the feeling started to grow in Ben that he had been short changed! He was starting to regret his lack of Romanian financial knowledge, although in any economy it couldn’t be the case that a few bani coins were the equivalent to 8 RON. Suddenly it struck him that, assuming there were 100 bani to the RON, he would need 800 bani to make 8 RON, but he added up what was in his hand and it only came to 73 bani, some 727 bani short of what it should be, unless of course there was somehow 10 bani to the RON.

Being a placid sort of fellow, at first, Ben thought he would let it go. Who knows, maybe there were indeed 10 bani to the RON and he would only exacerbate his image of being a ‘foreigner who doesn’t really know what’s going on’ by complaining. On the other hand, maybe the lady had just made an honest mistake? It seemed though to be an unlikely error and Ben’s Englishness started coming to the fore. The English hadn’t got where they had got in this world by being short changed had they? Thus, eventually overcome by his sense of national duty and not wanting to loose out on his RON, Ben decided to return to the lady on the till and clarify the situation.

He rose hesitantly, but determinedly and made the brief walk back towards the till. He clutched the coins in one hand to show them to the lady and in the other hand, he held the receipt. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to address the problem from a linguistic point of view, but he felt like he would just give it his best shot. His fears of a communicational showdown were quickly resolved though because, as the lady on the till saw him approaching, without a word she popped the till open, took out 8 RON and thrust it towards him. Wow, thought Ben to himself, she catches on quickly, although then scepticism began to grow in him. How did she know what he wanted and exactly how much money to give him? This was either extraordinary anticipation or a confession of guilt. In any case, Ben wasn’t the sort to make a big fuss and so he returned to his seat, full of pride at his great victory.

Image by RitaE from Pixabay