A Note from Romania

Below is an email I received this week from a colleague in Romania. Emanuela (Manu) Traica is a young coach and chaplain for women’s basketball and handball teams in Romania and a key member of the Serving the People of Sport Council (http://servingthepeopleofsport.net).  She is doing a tremendous job of serving those in her sporting world. We both hope these notes will be an encouragement to you.

 

Roger,

I have written below a kind of testimony of the way how I have served a few basketball players in Romania. I hope it will encourage others.

 

In Romania there is a great opportunity to serve the foreigner players who are coming to play in my country. I will refer to basketball because for the last 2 years I have served a few basketball players who came to play in Romania. They didn't know anyone else here. The only person they we all knew in common was a lady (who is not living in Romania) who knew one player and also knew me. I started to connect by email, skype and mobile phone with this player. Then through her, I met another of her teammates. Both are Christians.

 

I saw their needs: there were many.

• Being in a totally different culture,

• Learning a new language,

• Playing with a new team,

• Playing for a new coach,

• Being far away from home, family, friends, church...

• Everything was different and new and they were completely alone here.

• Just trainings and traveling for playing the games. That's all.

 

We started to talk more about their everyday lives, challenges at trainings or games and then started to do devotionals together through skype, to read together from the Bible and talk about it.

 

I was looking for opportunities to travel to the cities near mine where their team played just to meet with them before and after the game. I was just there and was available for them for anything they needed and I could help.

 

Another way of serving was just giving information about how different things are going on in our culture. How to navigate public transport for example, different websites for planning some trips. These were small things that helped to build a relationship with these players.

 

One of them is playing now in a different country where I knew a person involved in sport ministry. I gave her contact information and put them both in contact with one another. Again small things, but sometimes it’s so important for them to meet another Christian who understands their world of sport.

 

I am trying just to show my availability to talk, to listen, to pray, and to support...

Manu