Romania

Where and What
Our team of 6 is in Stoinești, Romania serving Hope Church. In fact, all 4 teams from our squad are serving branches of Hope, which seems to be just about the only Protestant church in southern Romania. Romania is only 6% Protestant, and probably less than 0.5% in the south.

Our team is serving the original Hope Church in Drăgănești-Olt, as well as the younger, smaller, sister churches in surrounding villages. We help with several categories of ministry. First, there’s odd jobs like hauling potatoes for food distribution, cleaning the church, and helping church members with projects at home. Second, we work with children. This involves tutoring, playing games, and occasionally singing. Third, we aid youth programs. We sometimes spend time in town meeting youth, having conversations, and inviting the youth to the programs/church services. Then we continue in building those relationships and encouraging participation at the programs.

How God is at Work
One ministry day, 3 of us were talking to a couple teenagers and Jacob spoke some words of knowledge (one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit) about them. To one, he said, “You have an unused Bible at home. God wants you to open it up and read.” To the other, Andrei, he described broken relationships in Andrei’s life that it’s time to repair. When he spoke these words, Andrei said, “It’s a good word, and true.” He looked deep in thought. This was also an answer to pray for me. Before leaving Guatemala, I prayed that other members of my team would be filled with gifts of the Spirit while I work alongside them so that I may encourage them in their obedience and embolden their faith. Furthermore, we hear testimonials almost daily about God showing up in the lives of Romanians, leading them to Hope Church.

What is it really like out there?
Romania is beautiful, and the land is similar to various parts of the US. Where we are now, it is mostly flat along the Olt River. There are fields outside the residential areas, and more trees than in the Midwest (but much less than in PA). We had an adventure to Corvin’s Castle up north, and it looked like we drove from SoCal to the Rockies along the way. It may have been my first time seeing a snowcapped mountain range. So yeah, it is cold here, but the temperature in Stoinești quickly rises from freezing to comfortable fall weather once the Sun comes up. 

In the communities we serve, physical needs seem generally met, though Hope Church does a small bit of food provision. The biggest material need for Hope is a bigger physical space for their growing church in Craiova. It’s difficult to discern at this point what the emotional needs here are, but the spiritual needs are high. The traditional religion here is not one rooted in love or relationship with Christ.

The Romanian people seem unused to Americans, but generally they are excited to meet us and to practice speaking whatever amount of English they know. Almost every day, our hosts (or whoever we happen to serve) will buy us a baked good, bake something fresh for us, or give us local fruit, cheese, etc. Strangers don’t smile here, but they are willing to stop for an unexpected conversation.

Feel encouraged to comment questions about what it is like if I’m leaving significant gaps in your imagination. 

What am I spending on? 
For financial accountability to donors who contributed personal spending money, and so you can all delight with me in things I’m enjoying in the field (and maybe pressure me to treat myself and others more), here’s everything I’ve paid for with donated personal money since my last update:

• 250Q, or $32: admission to Tikal for me and a friend (Thank you, Christina for the birthday $ to bring him. He is Mayan, and the trip had a big impact on him.)
• 1Q, or $0.13: a fabulous Coogi brand sweater that is probably worth $200-600!
• 2Q, or $0.26: 4 delicious rambutans, which I shared with my team
• 61Q, or $7.79: maroon pants, a C. Klein button-up, and a maroon jacket
• 95Q, $12.14: traditional, Guatemalan made shirt that is maroon (yeah, I like wearing that color)
• 353Q, or $45.10: overnight hiking trip up Volcán Acatenango, which was quite a story for another time
• 119Q, or $15.20: two mixed drinks that I shared with a friend
• Lei 117, or $25.72: a winter coat and warm slippers for Romanian weather
• $75.68: all-inclusive trip to Corvin’s Castle, Fort Alba, Cozia Monastery, etc.

Literally everything else (lodging, airfare, local transport, 3 meals a day, professional mentorship, etc.) is covered by the donations you all made. Thank you so much!

What do you want to hear?
Questions and comments are always appreciated, and they help me know people are following along and praying for me. If there is anything you want to know, please ask so I have the opportunity to share more!

The entirety of this blog and its contents were written and published without any AI assistance.