On our way to a wheelchair distribution, we stopped in the beautiful town of Sighisoara (pronounced) "Siggy-shwara".
The watch tower in the distance is our destination.
This stone ramp will take us where we want to go.
We enter the narrow winding staircase to the top by ducking through this door. A sign says it is from 1536!
Gorgeous views from the tower of the city, the river and the surrounding countryside.
Stone archways cover the paths around the building. Little openings like the one on the left led to an ancient barbershop and torture chamber (no kidding). We wondered which place was more painful.
Now on to business. We met Cecilia Samuel in a Hungarian town in the middle of Romania. She is the president of The Gull Sports Club. She arranged the wheelchair distribution ceremony that we came to participate in. Her leg was amputated after a doctor's surgical error. Inspite of that she was very positive and upbeat and a great champion for those with disabilities in Odorheiu Secuiesc(try and pronounce that one). (odor-hay-u sec-we-esc)
15 recipients, family, friends and the media all gather in the Mayor's chamber at city hall.
Looking up at the beautiful ceiling, while waiting for the ceremony to begin.
The Mayor had other commitments, so he sent two representatives - the lady at the microphone and the fellow sitting next to Vicky. The missionary sitting between Randy and Vicky is from Hungary and was our translator. Always amazing how God provides.
Cecilia expresses gratitude to the church and to the humanitarian missionaries for the wheelchairs.
Randy says, "Happy to be of service" or words to that effect.
The media coverage included a story on their local television that evening and articles in two newspapers the next day. Cecilia sent us copies of the newspapers articles. Being in Hungarian, we have no idea what they say, except we found Randy's name in both articles. Hope they said nice things.
The distribution and fitting of the wheelchairs begin.
This lady came up and tearfully thanked us for bringing her husband a wheelchair. They told us their story - he is diabetic and had to have his leg amputated. He has been waiting a year for a wheelchair.
The expression on this girl's face tells the story.
On the return trip, our Hungarian missionary pointed out these beautiful traditional gates that almost every residence has in this area. We saw many different colors and designs. We think they made him a little homesick. This is a totally Hungarian community. Romanian is their second language and not everyone can speak it.
We saw many of these horse-drawn hay wagons. They are very common except in this case there are two horses and not just the usual one horse pulling the same size load of hay. On to Braila - our next stop.
On a long and winding road through the mountains, we pause to enjoy the view.
Mici (pronounced meech) and salad for lunch at a roadside barbecue. Oh and by the way, it was 34 C in the shade and 81% humidity. Later we had a meeting with a government rep. in Braila who wanted to meet us and talk about a possible project. Then a 3-hour ride back to Bucharest. We did a lot in 3 days - another great road trip.
