Nuggets from Romania

On Monday August 4, Steve and Liz arrived but I didn't meet them until Wednesday August 6th. Steve and Liz are from the United States and they have joined our team here at the base in Targu Mures, Romania. They also have a 2 ½ year old daughter named Elisa. She is so cute! Liz is actually Romanian (she also goes by Luminita). She moved to the States with her family when she was 14 years old during the Communist times. Steve and Liz are from Chicago which is an area with a very high perent of Romanians. I just found that out recently.

 

I'm so excited God brought them here to Romania because not only are they here for a year commitment but they are here indefinitely so in other words they have just moved here permanently! Being a missionary sometimes I feel my life is a bit unstable because I'm always getting to know people and then saying good-bye to them after a period of time or when I go home to Canada I see everyone there for a short time and then I have to say good-bye again. I know that God has called me to Romania and I know this is where my home is right now but I also need some stability in my life too so I'm so happy they are here to stay! I'm also glad they have a little girl to play with in the office because I missed being around young children!  

 

 

On Wednesday August 6, my friend Ramona and I went to Dealului Street for an hour. On this street there is a large gypsy community that lives there. The street is still in Târgu Mures but when you go to it, it feels like you are in another world because only gypsies live there and the conditions are very poor. I think that’s the first time I was struck by poverty when I went there last summer.

 

I went to Dealului Street five times with teams and each time God has been speaking to me about the children there. There is so much need there and the children are longing for love. God has also spoke to my friend Ramona’s heart too about starting a ministry with the children there. Ramona and I went there on Monday July 14, for the first time to see if we can try and start a ministry there and then we went there again on August 6^th. Both times were very good. We gathered around ten young children together. We sang songs with them and played games. It was wonderful!

 

Now Ramona isn’t in Romania. She went to England for six months. Finally when I want to start a ministry with the children there and God puts someone else in my life that also has a heart for those kids it doesn’t work out. I don’t want to give up hope but I cannot go there alone because it isn’t safe.

 

I would really appreciate your prayers for God’s wisdom and direction in this ministry because these precious children are still on my heart. I really want to invest in these kids lives to not only sing songs and play games with them but also share God’s love by sharing Bible stories, teaching them how to pray, etc. I long to see God rise up a whole new generation of children in the gypsy community who are passionate and in love with God! Children who will turn their lives around and not continue in the horrible cycle that is so ingrained in the gypsy community. Children are innocent and they don’t know any difference. I need to hear from God and I need to know what God wants me to about this that He has put on my heart. Thank-you for your prayers!

Last summer was my first year going to camp with my church here in Romania and it was truly an amazing life changing week for me! When I was asked if I wanted to go to camp again this year I didn't give it a second thought and I said yes right away. I actually had to fight to keep this week so I could go to camp. Back in April my director mentioned to me that there was a team that was interested in coming to Romania for a week. It was the same week as the church camp. I told my director I'd rather not have any teams coming that week because I wanted to go to camp. I even told my mission organization head office that I'm going to my church camp that week and not to send any teams that week. Not that teams aren't important for ministry here in Romania but going to my church camp is also very important to me. Then when I was home in Canada I got a tentative schedule for the summer from my director. In the schedule my director planned an intensive English week for children, which was the same week as the church camp. I sent him an e-mail and expressed that it is really important to me to go to camp with my church. After all of that I was able to go to camp and God kept it free for me to go!!

 

On Sunday July 27, I left for my church camp! At 9:30am I met my director, his son Josh and Reka at the school and then we left to go to Reghin for the opening service at my church for camp. At the service Pete who is Kevin's pastor from England spoke and he also preached at camp for the week. Pete also brought three ladies from his church as well to join him for the week. The ladies who came were: Carol, Anne and Sharon. The ladies introduced themselves at the service. I met Pete last year and I'm so glad all three ladies came to camp this year!

 

The first service in Reghin God already began His work in my life of what He wanted to do at camp. Pete spoke about not letting any obstacles come in the way of what God wants to do in your life at camp during the week. God specifically spoke to me about the fear of man that service. Pete invited people to come up to the front if anyone wanted prayer. I went up front because I wanted prayer. I remember Carol and Sharon prayed for me. Afterwards Carol asked me if there is anything specific she can pray for me. I told her that often I am nervous when I speak in Romanian and I don't want to be afraid anymore to speak in Romanian because I really want to learn and it is such a struggle for me to learn the language. She prayed for me and I felt very encouraged.

 

The church camp was at Lunca Bradului (the same place as last year) and it was from Sunday July 27 to Saturday August 2, 2008. It is such a blessing to have the church camp at Lunca Bradului because it is so beautiful there with being in the mountains and the hearing the river flow right near the cabin where we stay. It was another incredible week and I honestly cannot say last year or this year was better because both years were amazing! This year there was more people that went to camp compared to last year. Last year there were 70 people that went to camp and this year we almost had double the amount of people (120 people came this year!). There were many people that went whom I didn’t know and I wondered before I left how the week would go but it was another great week with God and everyone who went!

 

This year people came to camp from five different cities in Romania: Târgu Mures, Reghin, Hunedoara, Timisoara and Cluj. There was even a group of people that came to camp from Moldova as well. It was awesome to see so many people come to camp for a week to seek God together and also get away with your family to have a mini vacation together (there were a lot of families there this year) from all over the country. This year I stayed in a room with nine other girls. I knew half of the girls in the room before the week began. We had a great time hanging out in our room together throughout the week! It was also a blessing for me to have one of my close friends come to camp this year too.

 

During the week we not only came together to seek God but we also had a lot of fun too! I went on the zip line again and enjoyed the obstacle courses again this year. This year I brought along Dutch Blitz. It was fun to play it throughout the week with some of my friends! There were also five cute kittens that were at camp. I really enjoyed holding and playing with them. I really miss my cats and I would love to have a cat here!

 

On Wednesday afternoon 60 people went on a hike in the mountains. I went along too. It was my first time going on a hike in the mountains in Romania and I was so glad I did even though it very tiring but it was so worth it because it was beautiful! The view from the mountain was incredible. It was difficult climbing sometimes and also when we came down at certain times but it was very encouraging to see how we all helped each other out. It definitely was a great experience and I’m so glad I did it!

 

Friday evening we had a huge campfire. Last year I roasted slanina (pig fat) for the first time. It was the first time I ate it. What a cultural experience! It tastes alright with bread. I had it again this year but this year I also brought marshmallows from home for people to get a cultural experience of what people eat at campfires in North America. Everyone liked it and those four bags of marshmallows disappeared fast! I enjoyed the campfire. I really enjoyed spending time with everyone. We also sang, talked and laughed lots!

 

One of my goals for the week at camp was for me to speak in Romanian the whole week and by the end of the week I can say I was able to do it! I truly believe that God began His wonderful work in my work in my heart even before I got to camp at the Sunday morning service in Reghin when Carol prayed for me for God to take away that fear I had of speaking in the language. It was the first time for me I think in my life to communicate in Romanian a whole week! I told everyone I knew both at my church and all of my friends to not speak to me in English (in the past they usually speak to me only in English) but only to speak to me in Romanian which was a huge help to me in forcing myself to communicate and focus in Romanian at camp. I’m so thankful for everyone who made me speak in Romanian because they did it in an encouraging and fun way so I was in a “safe environment” to practice my language learning skills.

 

I will never forget when I laid in bed Wednesday night at camp. I felt like a heavy weight that was on me was lifted that night. Wednesday evening after the service I ended up speaking in Romanian for over an hour to different people and when I was in bed that night I thought about that because I was exhausted after that hike I took. I was amazed that I was able to do that because I was dead tired that evening. It was great too that I was not only speaking in Romanian but I was starting to think in Romanian too which was a great first step for me! I felt so encouraged.

 

I really wanted to help with the children at camp this year like I did last year. This year there were much more children that came to camp so we decided to do a special program for them during the morning services which meant I would have had to miss the morning services. On Sunday evening Mihai asked all the people to meet together who are interested in helping with the children. I met together with them but when I found out I would have to miss the morning services in my heart I didn’t feel good. I didn’t want to disappoint my friend who asked me to help with the kids so I said yes anyway. Sunday night I had a lot of trouble sleeping because I did a lot of thinking. I love children and they are my passion that God has given me but I didn’t want to miss any services so I struggled all night if I was going to help with the children in the mornings or not. I didn’t want to miss anything that God wanted to do in my life at camp and my heart was longing to receive everything He had for me that week.

 

I did go to the children’s ministry on Monday morning but it was a bit strange because I didn’t feel my heart was there. After the morning service I spoke to Tuni who is one of the leaders of the church and told him that I would love to teach the children English and do a performance with them like I did last year. He asked me if I spoke to Mihai who is in charge of the children’s program. I told him I did but he said there wasn’t enough time for that. Tuni then told me then there’s nothing he could do about it then. I told him I wanted to help with the children but I really wanted to go to all the services. Then I started to cry. He told me that it is okay for me to not help with the children’s program in the morning and for me just to enjoy the week. Then I told Mihai that I wouldn’t help out with the program in the morning with the kids I felt guilty for not helping but I couldn’t do both. Then I told Gabi who also works with the children and I started to cry again. She hugged me and told me that it is okay. She told me that maybe I am tried and need a break. She was right I was feeling tired and needed that break. She then prayed for me and I felt encouraged.

Even though I didn’t help with the children’s program in the mornings at camp I still enjoyed being with the kids throughout the week. I played with the children during the week and I went on some walks with some of the kids. I held the kittens with the children and I also helped my director when he did the obstacle course games with the kids one afternoon which was a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed attending the children’s services on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. It was such a blessing from God that we had two services for the children at camp this year. It was great to see the kids worship and praise God and then Pete preached a message just for the children at those services. I think there were at least ten children that received Christ! After the services Pete and Pastor Liviu told the children if they wanted prayer they can come and receive prayer. For me this was very precious time from God because I was able to pray for the children and I was able to see God touch many children’s lives! It was awesome to see the Holy Spirit move upon the kids. I was so encouraged to see this one young teenage boy seek God with all of his heart as he worshipped God and receive from Him during the week.

 

This year’s camp theme was “Luand Chipul Lui Isus”. The translation is: “Taking the image of Christ” or “In the Image of Christ.” The services at camp were amazing beyond what I can put into words! The Holy Spirit moved powerfully and many people’s lives were touched by God. Twenty three (23) people received Christ at camp which is not including the children so around thirty people became Christians! Reka who was one of my director’s former students also received Christ. It must be very encouraging for him because she has been seeking God for a while and asking him questions about the Christian faith. It’s awesome because I saw a complete transformation in Reka’s life at camp. The hunger I saw in her heart for God was incredible!

 

Pete spoke about knowing God intimately throughout the week at camp. On Sunday evening Pete told us that God wants to release people, bless people and empower people this week. I believe God did just that! Monday evening’s service Pete talked about how Bartimaeus called out to Jesus and he didn’t let the crowds quiet him down because He wanted to see (he was blind) and he also talked about how Mephibosheth knew shame. Pete told us to not ever disqualify ourselves but God has invited us to the table and wants to restore everything that’s ours. Pete encouraged us to seek Lord with all of our heart and those people who seek God are radiant and are never covered in shame. Tuesday morning Pete spoke about how God has chosen us and loves us and in the evening he talked about how we are God’s children and how His love has lavished on us. Pete also talked about how God wants to bring total freedom into our lives and take off all of the grave clothes that bind us. Wednesday morning service Pete spoke about when God works in our lives sometimes it is not always what we expect. He used the example of Naaman of when he received his healing. Elisha told Naaman to dip in the river seven times. Naaman thought it was odd to do that to receive his healing but he did it anyway and he was healed from his leprosy. At the Thursday morning service Pete spoke about giving all of our worries over to God and in the evening service he spoke about seeking God’s face and knowing Him intimately from the book of Song of Songs. I just love the first couple of chapters of Song of Songs because it talks about how God wants to embrace us and hold us close to Him. At the Friday morning service Pete spoke about Joseph’s life and also Elisha and the widow. He encouraged us that it is a lifestyle of receiving from God.

 

Throughout the week God really spoke to me from the sermons. A lot of things that Pete spoke about at camp I heard before and I already knew about but at camp God spoke to me in a fresh new way. God worked in my life and touched me deeply. I praise God for bringing His restoration, freedom and healing into my life. At the Saturday morning service we had a time to share testimonies of what God did in our lives at camp. I shared how God has set me free from fear, given me more confidence to speak in Romanian. I also encouraged everyone not to ever be ashamed to cry because God brought healing through my tears on Thursday evening. I’m so excited of everything God is doing in my life!

 

What another awesome week at camp!  

On Friday July 25, I went to Reghin for a guitar concert. Jon who is part of the team here taught guitar lessons for a month in July. It was a wonderful evening to hear all  students (children, teens and adults) play what they have learned within the month of their guitar lessons. Many of the children I knew from church and also one of my friends played too. It was really cute to hear the kids play! Two girls did a duet on the guitar and the keyboard to the song "Amazing Grace" and we also heard another duet by Jon and Meli from the guitar and violin. It was beautiful! Everyone did such a great job and I'm so glad I was able to attend the event.

On Friday July 25, I went to the police station to pick up my new resident visa card for Romania. My old visa expired on July 4, 2008. I can only get a resident visa in Romania for a year so I needed to get another one. When I came back to Romania after being in Canada for six weeks I originally thought I had three months to apply for my new visa because I thought when you leave the country and come back it interrupted your visa expiry date. I was wrong and I even asked our school lawyer if I had until July 4 (when my old visa expired) or until August 13 which is three months after I came back to Romania. So, Geta the lawyer told me that I have an interruption in my visa because I went to Canada and came back again. It turned out that she was wrong too because the rules and laws changed. I wish I would have known the rules had changed and I wish that our lawyer would have got better information (she did confirm but I think she got the wrong information) because it turned out to be quite an emotional day when I went to apply for my resident visa on Wednesday July 2nd. I gave Geta all of the papers at the beginning of June and then soon afterwards she sent the fax to Bucharest to apply for my new visa (which is the first step).

 

When we went to the police station on Wednesday July 2nd to finish the visa process we didn't expect there to be any trouble at all but just to go there and fill in the forms and then get my picture taken. When the officer at the police station who works at the immigration department asked to see my old visa he was very surprised that I hadn't applied for a new one earlier. He told me I should have come in a month ago because my old visa expired two days later. Geta and him spoke for a while. I didn't understand everything but when they talked I knew there was a problem. It turned out there was no interruption and extension with my old visa and I should have applied for my new one when I came back to Romania in May. After a long discussion about my situation. It  turned out  I got a 100 Lei fine ($50 CAD) because I applied for my new visa late. I was upset by the whole situation which was something I totally did not expect but at least it wasn't something much worst than that. The thought ran through my mind that I might even have to leave the country.

I am so thankful that I didn't have a much worst penalty than the fine that I got. I just wish that our lawyer and I got proper information but now we know for the future. I'm so grateful that I was able to get my new visa without any problems especially after all of that commotion at the police station. My new visa expires July 5, 2009. I am planning on going to Canada in August which means I just have to leave the country and come back again but it will all work out I'm sure. I know God will provide and everything will be fine. Thank-you for your prayers!!

On Monday July 21st to Friday July 25th we had our second intensive course for children at the English school for the summer. We had another great turn out!  This time my director wanted to split the levels and the age groups which meant James and I both taught all day from 10:00am to 3:00pm. I taught the older children and the immediate level. I had six students in my class. It was nice to have a small class. James taught the younger children and also the beginner level kids. He had bigger class than I did. There was ten students in his class.

I used the same curriculum as I did with the first intensive summer class but I just made it a bit more challenging. It was nice to use the same topics as I used before but my class' English wasn't as high as I originally thought it was going to be so I still had a lot of planning and re-planning to do throughout the week. I really enjoyed teaching the children but it turned out to be another stressful busy week so I was glad when it was Friday and it was over! Children are a blessing to teach but when you have to create your own curriculum and plan your lessons everyday it can be difficult especially in the summer when you want to relax a bit and on top of that it was the weather was hot. I enjoyed Friday afternoon when we ended our week with a party. It was nice to have a laid back afternoon with the children and have a fun with them to end the week!

I took a mini vacation right after my stressful busy week at school. I went to Codlea which is 15 minutes near Brasov which is three hours south of where I live here in Romania. I went to Codlea to visit Mirela's family. This is the Romanian family that I met through my Dad. Back in the fall my Dad took a course for his work and he met Mirela who is Romanian. They were in the same class together. My Dad gave her my e-mail address and we started corresponding. When I was home in Canada from April 2 to May 12, my family and I had dinner with her family. It was wonderful! Mirela and her husband told me I am welcome to visit their relatives in Romania. They told me their daughter Mara will be in Romania for a month in the summer time.

 

In the early afternoon on Wednesday July 16th, I took the maxi taxi to Brasov. I met Mara and her aunt (Mirela's sister) where the maxi taxi arrived at the train station. Originally I was going to stay until Friday but they told me it would be better for me to stay until Saturday so I could do more things. I decided to stay until Saturday! I had a wonderful time in Codlea. Codlea is a small town just outside of Brasov. It was nice to see Mara again and also meet some of Mirela's family as well. I stayed with Mirela's parents. They were very kind and hospitable. Oh, it was also nice to see where Mirela's parents live too because they have their own chickens and grape vine! Everyone seemed to know each other in the neighborhood too because they get most of  their food from each other (fruit, vegetables, milk and bread).

 

I was very surprised the first couple of days I was there the weather was cool and rainy. The rest of the week the weather was alright. When I arrived on Wednesday we went to Mara's grandparents house where I stayed with her and also her cousin. We ate dinner and then we went over to Mara's aunt and uncle's house for a couple of hours. I met some of their friends. One lady just had a baby. She was really cute! I also met a couple of older ladies who were in their nineties.

 

On Thursday July 17, I went on a walk with Mara and one of her family friends around the city. Then in the evening I went to Poiana Brasov with Mara's aunt, uncle and cousin. Poiana is a famous ski area in the winter time and they told me it's packed with skiers in the winter time. I'm glad in the summer time it is not so busy. It was beautiful there!  The mountains, the scenery, all the cabins and hotels!

On Friday July 18,  it was more of a relaxing day. In the afternoon I went on a walk around the city with Mara, her cousin and his friend. We went up on this hill where we got to see the whole town of Codlea. It was a nice view! In the evening we went on another walk with Mara's grandma. We went to an older cemetery near where they live. It was interesting to see it because all the tombs were above the ground and they had flowers on top of it. People buy the cemetery plots before they die and they take care of it (they plant flowers and plants there).

On Saturday July 19, in the morning I originally thought  we were going to go to Bran castle in the morning but then plans changed because Mara's aunt and uncle had to get their car repaired and also her aunt had to plant some flowers for her work but they didn't come until later that morning. Instead in the morning Mara and I went on another walk with her grandma. We had lots of interesting conversations and I learned so much from her! Around 2:00pm Mara's aunt and uncle arrived at her grandparents house. We still had time to go to Bran castle!

I've always wanted to see Bran castle so I was very excited that we were still able to go there. Bran castle is known as "Dracula's castle" (His real name is Vlad Tepes, who was the ruler of Wallachia) but the interesting thing was when I went there and read the history of the castle he never even lived there! The castle is now a museum open to tourists, displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie. At the bottom of the hill there is a small open air museum park exhibiting traditional Romanian peasant structures (cottages, barns, etc.) from across the country. Even though it was never Vlad Tepes' castle it was still great to go there and see it. It was beautiful and it has a lot of history to it. The open air museum with all of the peasant houses, barns, etc was also very interesting to see too.

After we went to Bran castle we ate lunch on the way back to Brasov. Before I went back to Targu Mures we had a bit more time so we walked around the centre of Brasov for a bit. I took the maxi taxi from the train station at 6:00pm. We said good-bye and then I got in the maxi taxi and headed home.

I'm really glad I had an opportunity to visit Mara while she was in Romania and also meet some of their relatives. I had a wonderful time. I really wish I had spoke more Romanian while I was there though but I had still had a great time! It is a blessing of how God puts people in your life and how you meet them along the path of where you are at either in Canada or here in Romania!