Today’s entry is another remote location, this time visited at the end of a week-long filming engagement in Romania. Dave Haas, a very competent photographer and videographer, had requested support from International Headquarters in documenting the extent of Salvation Army ministry in the country, led by Sandu Ionut and Roxy Sandu. As I was already attending a conference in Vienna, plans were quickly drawn up for me to take the overnight train to Bucharest to lend a hand.

The week, in which we filmed at every Salvation Army location in Romania, was busy and tiring. The journey covered over 1500 km and involved 24 hours of negotiating sometimes rather alarming highways (and regular input from Jane, the third member of the team, a dysfunctional satnav, who demanded that we turn left at every junction regardless of the true direction).

Rucăr is a small village in Transylvania which has no permanent Salvation Army presence. It was, however, the venue for a weekend men’s retreat that took place at the end of the week. About 30 men from across Romania gathered for a packed schedule of Bible teaching, worship, prayer, sport, games and food. Lots of food. And fire!

I was, perhaps, overly tired and emotional, but I was particularly struck by the thoughtfulness and kindness of the retreat organisers. The theme ‘love and care’ was not just a slogan, it was a tangible thread through the whole weekend. It began with delegates receiving a t-shirt and goodie bag on arrival. So far, so normal. But the reasoning was so that everyone there could have at least one item of clean clothing to wear, given the varying backgrounds and domestic situations of those in attending. Likewise, the snacks in the care packs were not just for fun, but to ensure that nobody felt left out or denied access to the simple pleasure of sharing a bag of crisps with friends.

This moved me on quite a deep level, and it continued for the two days I was there. Despite the obvious language barrier, there was a genuine desire to include me in every activity and conversation – to pray with me, and to encourage me. This went well beyond the usual courtesies of ‘being nice to the guy from HQ’ – it was absolutely sincere, genuine compassion and fraternal love. At a time when ‘belonging’ – especially to a church – seemed elusive for me, these were very special moments of true fellowship. And just when I needed it most.

I’d ordinarily witter about the wondrous pyromania of the barbecue or the unfortunate incident where one of my full SD cards propelled itself into orbit resulting in half the delegates scouring the meeting room on their hands and knees trying to locate the missing footage (only to discover that, quite miraculously, the errant storage card had leapt into a safe pouch in my open rucksack, several metres away!)

But I want to conclude by returning to the theme of the retreat, and TSA Romania’s 20th anniversary slogan. Love and care. I’m so grateful that I was not just an observer on this occasion, but a recipient. Mulțumesc.