Romania is steadily changing as this country conforms to the wishes of the European Union. In Bucharest, we noticed a new coat of paint changing dull communist-gray buildings into vibrant European colors (a lot of orange). We noticed a much cleaner city because the trash that used to line the streets was gone. We even saw a couple of street sweepers working the roads. We noticed better traffic patterns, cars following the rule of law (most of time) and more police directing traffic than before. We also saw some changes in the spiritual climate in some of the places we visited.
One church we visited had people sitting shoulder to shoulder on every row. During worship, the people sang out with all of their hearts. The looks of joy and the spirit of God on their faces was wonderful to see. The people listened closely as several shared from God's word during the service.
Another church we visited has seen incredible growth over the last year as church attendance has grown by more than 10 times. Not only are people attending church but they are making true changes to their lifestyles as they follow the Bible. One simple example, people who lied and stole to get money are now working together to import garlic into Romania. God has blessed this business and the people are prospering more than ever before. These people give a portion of their earnings to God instead of drinking it all away or gambling it all away. During our time at this church, there was standing room only with people sitting shoulder to shoulder from the very back of the room to the very front (even all over the platform). People stood all along the back of the room and at the door participate. The singing seemed to vibrate the entire building.
We worked on many different projects while in Romania, some of which include:
Putting in a new floor for the Kids Romania offices
Cooking meals for the Kids Romania staff
Teaching review games at multiple locations for children learning to memorize Scripture
Assembling furniture for the Kids Romania offices
Winterizing the windows and doors of the Kids Romania offices
Installing trim at the Kids Romania offices
Speaking to multiple congregations in southern Romania
Teaching underprivileged children in Medgidia (for example, one 11 year old only knew the color red, no other colors and had never written a single letter)
Building a wall to enclose storage space for a ministry center in Medgidia
Teaching leadership principles and conflict resolution principles to pastors and church leaders
Showing workers how to use a measuring tape and level to make construction better
Encouraging many church leaders, some of whom were ready to quit ministering
While we were in Romania, some friends of ours had a special meeting with the missions committee of a Romanian Christian organization. During this meeting, they appointed two new missionary families to go from Romania to Afghanistan and India. The members of the committee were very excited about sending these families and about the future of sending more missionaries to other parts of the world in the near future. It is exciting to see a country that has been invested in by missionaries now making the turn to send missionaries itself. God is at work in Romania and it is our privilege to play a small part in His work!
Romania is steadily changing as this country conforms to the wishes of the European Union. In Bucharest, we noticed a new coat of paint changing dull communist-gray buildings into vibrant European colors (a lot of orange). We noticed a much cleaner city because the trash that used to line the streets was gone. We even saw a couple of street sweepers working the roads. We noticed better traffic patterns, cars following the rule of law (most of time) and more police directing traffic than before. We also saw some changes in the spiritual climate in some of the places we visited.
