Eli emailed me months ago to organize a bonfire for when him and his team of guys from pbcc come to Romania. I asked for input from our youth group and thus a location was chosen. The anticipation was built, food purchased and on the day of the outing, we drove to Soimeni and immersed ourselves into the nature.

The guys explored the surroundings – no manmade noise in earshot, just birds and wind.

We built a fire with scraps of wood from the plain, and it lasted us all evening, five hours. We friend bacon and sausage, and ate hardy Romanian bread.

Conversations were started, laughter was shared, singing was heard. Eli, the guide, open and goofy, a great host, engaged his guys and the Romanian crew into deep great conversations.

Meanwhile, we continued to eat delicious foods and after-eight-chocolate, the moon was bright, just a drape of clouds would discreetly let it shine through, lighting up the entire sky of blue night clouds.

We had a small incident which could have turned bad – some dude not wearing a seat belt and driving like a maniac through the village, hit the car of our new french friend and guest to the bonfire. Conrad and Liviu spent the last 4 hours of the night with her waiting for the police to record everything in their report. It was a surreal experience for her and the 3 other girls in the car. We made it home after 1 AM, all smoked by the fire, cold and tired.

But the day was memorable and beautiful in unexpected ways. It was agift of a day, of friendship and memories.