Buzescu! June 6, 2009

On Saturday afternoon, President Lundberg and I headed out of town to go to Craiova. We try to get to the various branches throughout the mission, and it had been a while since we had visited Craiova. Sora Dillon offered to keep Joshua for the night, and Joshua was excited to stay with her. On the way to Craiova, we had to drive through a town called Buzescu. It is one of a kind. We learned while there, that the town had been featured the Sunday evening before on a TV program.

Buzescu has one main street that is lined with big, expensive, ornate homes. There is a lot of metal work in the decor of the homes (roofs, fences and gates, etc.) The yards were well-kept, and most homes had long driveways that led to big garages in the back of their yards.

View of gypsy homes!

Other side of the street!

Notice the metal roofs!

I commented to President Lundberg that these people obviously had a lot of money. We walked up and down one street and then had a good chuckle as we passed this house that had this emblem on the ceiling of the front porch!

There was a family out front of one home and we stopped to talk. We soon became friends. When they found out that we had seven children, the father said, "You are a gypsy!" I finally dared to ask them how they made their money.

The answer was.....whiskey! They make and sell whiskey out in stills in their garages. They invited us back and showed us their operation. They also make copper pots of all sizes. They tried to sell me one for 450 euros. (I think that's around $700) When I refused, they kept offering smaller kettles. I finally explained that we were missionaries and did not make money to spend.

I had thought at first that perhaps we could get a little branch started in this town, but when I learned about their careers, I figured they might not be quite ready for such a change! Anyway, it was an interesting experience.