At the welcome party of our session, I mentioned the fact that being in Herghelia is a job assignment for me, to learn more and be able to promote a healthy lifestyle among the people I meet.

I had heard about this center since its existence, but I only saw it in pictures. We have  Herghelia’s recipe books at home, but of course, hands-on experience is always different, and better than just hearing or reading about something.

We spent a special time in Herghelia, during which we could witness and reaffirm the value of a healthy lifestyle, the knowledge of which we were so richly blessed so long ago, through the inspiring writings of E. G. White and also the vast literature on this subject that our church made it available for us, all these years.

We were welcomed here with warmth and courtesy. All the staff is very friendly, faithful and dedicated to doing their best in every department. We were so touched to witness the spiritual atmosphere and see their happy and grateful faces. We noticed that this wave of happiness, faith and optimism coming from the workers was contagious. Soon, it pervaded the relationships among the guests too. Although the group was very diverse as far as their religious affiliations, we had many blessed interactions and occasions on which we could connect on a deep spiritual level. I remember, especially, one particular occasion a Friday evening when the service in the chapel was over. Many non-SDA patients had attended. We returned to the main building at the Center and we all gathered together in the lecture room, around the piano there. We began to sing songs from our hymnal. Soon, many other guests came in, until the room was full. Practically almost all the guests in the session were there with us. After singing for a while, somebody suggested that we should pray. What followed was truly a prayer session that offered to everybody who wanted to pray, an opportunity to do so. The atmosphere in that room was uplifting – we could feel the presence of the Lord. The Holy Spirit was surely there, uniting us in worship. I think that the clear, strong impression of God’s presence in this place, we felt as soon as we stepped in, on the first day in Herghelia, remained with us till the end of the session.

We left Herghelia, like everybody else, with a strong desire to come back. But at the same time, energized to promote what we learned and experienced here, wherever we went. We are very thankful to God for this blessed place!