Romanian Haiku

Every day I write at least one haiku. Here are some of them from our time in Romania! We leave for Albania on Sunday; please pray for us on our travel day!

now we’re in Europe

two dollar chicken foot long

dozing on the train

 

unfamiliar

city, culture, language, hosts

orientation

 

excited new friends

hoot as I repeat the phrase

“Ce faci, boveri?”

 

snowcapped mountain range

monasteries and churches

Roman fortress walls

 

up steep tower steps

through cobbled castle courtyard

down to the dungeon

 

help woman in need

carry goods from truck to shop

she gifts us produce

 

awake through the night

bowing before the toilet

too feeble to serve

 

earn purs from street cat

receive handshakes from strangers

eat grapes from neighbor

 

my testimony

“was like watching a movie”

my friends say with smiles

 

fill the wheelbarrow

push it past the barking dogs

build a wooden wall

 

warm pair of slippers

snuggled around a laptop

watching Narnia

 

spud dirt coats jacket

pyramid of sacks in van

eight hundred kilos

 

bond broken by death

she won’t be there when I’m home

fluffy companion

 

shot of plum moonshine

prayer with Hobbit hole dweller

vision from the Lord

 

chicken, not turkey

walnuts on sweet potatoes

meal of thanksgiving

 

patio dining

pastor’s wife shares how they met

over home-cooked stew

 

Neolithic bones

Stone Age tools and pottery

Roman era coins

 

icy air in lungs

knees turn purple in shower

there’s no hot water

 

10-minute prep time

testimony for the church

Holy Spirit speaks

 

knows five languages

happy we came to his shop

makes coffee for us

 

tentative actors

fumble choreography

effort for the Lord

 

kind, friendly mustache

buys each of us warm knit socks

cozy movie night

 

within city bounds

spiritual heaviness

team time anointing

 

The Prestige Hotel

interfaith conversations

my heart delivered

 

without instructions

piece cabinet together

with my German friend

 

Christmas themed market

traditional cooked dishes

expensive yummies

 

Europe’s largest spa

steamy water, cold fresh air

near-boiling sauna

 

drill flings concrete dust

hammer pounds brackets in place

new church in process

 

an exploration

in soteriology

fruitful dialogue

 

“go pray with her now”

I obey, leaving my bed

there she is praying

 

helpful words exchanged

Gheorghe values truth like I do

here to honor hosts

 

grief unexpected

step away from ministry

triggered tears stream down

 

cold garage party

more meats than we can finish

attempt to witness

 

teaches me dribbling

hand him Christmas child present

photos together

 

swans glide single file

lone Japanese gazebo

willows weep nearby

 

colorful paper

shoe boxes stack to ceiling

prayer to bless each

 

what a mess I am

when I don’t don God’s armor

at the break of day

 

solitude at gym

mostly here for hot showers

running feels good too 

 

smooth marble columns

planet’s heaviest building

communist relic

 

hours dicing chicken

add heaps of curry spices

serving the many

 

I notice their needs

I seek opportunities

I say what needs said

 

dirt on their faces

clothes reflect their conditions

yet their joy abounds

 

public square singing

staged to look spontaneous

a sparse audience

 

his first Echo night

I pray for him at the end

he leaves excited

 

wind draws tears from eyes

as we reconcile friendship

on a playground bench

 

sunbeam hits stockings

dozens of us in bunk room

gingerbread cookies

 

stroll through Craiova

“Your turn. Tell me a story.”

so grateful for you

 

squad gathers at church

prayer, journaling, fasting

from morning to night

 

white beard, twisted leg

clunky translation attempts

waterfall prayer

 

team of team leaders

praying over each squadmate

words of prophecy

 

squad worship music

private moment with the Lord

kneeling in my tears

 

three men pray in turn

in Deutsch, English, Română

welcome the New Year

 

low clouds form fogged glass

over red clay city roofs

as golden hour wanes

 

each read in accents

restaurant etiquette rules

our laughter draws looks

 

twenty-five of us

and we managed to survive

only two bathrooms

 

bison snorts out steam

rain beckons lions to shade

somber bear paces

 

The entirety of this blog and its contents were written and published without any AI assistance.