More Than a Plane Ride

After hiking up a hill and a few small paths we finally arrived at her home. She invited us in with a smile on her face excited to finally have visitors. I couldn’t stop wondering how a woman so lonely and suffering so much could be so joyful.

We walked into what we would consider in America as a broken down shack, consisting of a room and a bathroom the size of a small pantry. The smell in the room was awful, potent and hard to ignore. There was nothing but a hardwood floor that looked like it was installed by children. There were no cleaning products, no vacuum, no couch, and no television. Only a small bed, a wood stove for warmth, and a table that you might find at a dump.

Her hands were worn and beat up, resembling old farmer’s hands and it was obvious that she was suffering from the constant pain of arthritis. I asked the translator to ask the widow how she kept warm during the winter. The widow looked at her and replied, “It’s simple; I hike up the mountain and cut the wood down.” I was amazed by how lightly she took this extremely hard task that occurs every other day. She went on to show us the handmade basket that she had made for carrying her cut firewood. I was completely blown away!

To give you an idea of what I saw let me put this all in perspective for you. This woman was around 80 pounds, fragile from head to toe. The hike up the mountain from where she lived was about 2-3 miles. Baskets full of cut wood can weigh up to 50 pounds. That is more than half of her body weight. On top of that, the winters in Cavnic last around six months. You can only imagine what that does to your back, legs, and feet. After she was done showing us her basket that she was clearly proud of, she asked us to sit down and enjoy something to eat.

In their culture it is extremely rude to refuse a gift or gesture so we smiled and waited. I was so captivated as I watched her prepare this small meal for us that I took a picture of her. As I watched her prepare the food for us I was humbled and my heart started to break. A woman, who truly had nothing, was preparing a meal for me! In that moment I realized that God was trying to tell me something. “How could I not help those in need?” Right then it was clear that this was not just my calling, but that it was my duty as a human being to take care of those who are in need.

That moment changed my life and I will remember it as long as I live.
Jared Teska