Hello all! I am in the middle of my fourth week of being in Craiova, Romania. Full transparency, it’s been full of long, long days. But alongside of those long days, I’ve experienced God working in the lives of my teammates, my squadmates, the ministry, and those we encounter in Craiova.
Here are some fun pictures to show part of my time in Romania!
Me and two of my teammates, Elizabeth and Clara
My favorite coffee shop with one of the baristas I have become friends with!!
Me and Sammy, one of our host’s sons, and my dear friend
Eating my new favorite fruit: pomelo!!
My wonderful team, Without Borders!!!!
Now that you’ve seen some fun, you may be wondering: what does a typical ministry day look like for me?
Well, it varies from day-to-day. But a typical schedule would look like this:
9 am – We have a time of worship and prayer. We pray for the people of Craiova, we pray for the ministry and their 2022 vision/plans that they want to see fulfilled, and we pray for one another. It’s a sweet, sweet time to help us start our ministry day.
10-11 am – This is a time where we get to learn from the local missionaries about evangelism and the different approaches to evangelism.
Now the time frame from 11 am to 1 pm always looks a little different. Sometimes we have things going from 11 to 12 and then begin our lunch break OR we have ministry from 11 to 1 and begin our lunch break. During this block of time before our lunch break, we are working on things at the church and/or going out on the streets and inviting people to the different events we are hosting at the church throughout the week.
Then we have a two-hour lunch break in which we spend with our team. We get to spend intentional time with one another and just share what’s going on in our lives and in our hearts.
After lunch from to 4:30ish we are back on the streets evangelizing and again inviting people to our events. As we hand out flyers to our events, we get to engage in conversations with the locals and build relationships with them. We also get time to meet with people we have built relationships with and invest in them.
At 5 pm Tuesday through Thursday and then 6 pm on Fridays, we have worship for an hour where anyone from the community can come and worship with us. We have seen some sweet relationships be formed just from inviting people to these worship nights. Discipleship is being done and it’s so so beautiful.
This is a picture I captured from one of our worship nights, two of the team leads, Aaron and Jacken, led us in a beautiful time of worship
On Saturdays, we have youth events at 5 pm. These consist of games, worship, and then sharing. Because most of the youth are unbelievers or even atheists, the time of sharing isn’t a typical youth ministry message. Rather we approach it from an apologetic standpoint, or even just by sharing our own testimonies on how God has radically changed our lives from the sin we were once trapped in.
A picture the wonderful Brian Sanders caught of me and my team lead Paula <3
That’s what ministry typically looks like. But again, it varies from day-to-day. Some days we have gotten to go to other villages and do ministry there. On February 12 we will be doing an eyeglass ministry where people can come and get their eyes checked and get glasses if needed, as well as prayer, healing, and Bibles. So if you think of that, please be praying for that ministry on Saturday!
One of my favorite things about this country has been our host family. Raul and Ana and their sons, Sammy and Jonathan, have been a huge blessing to me. I have found sweet friendships within this family. In the evening, some of my squamates and I will often drink tea and play games with Sammy and Jonathan. And it’s just a time of laughter and fellowship, and truly the best way to end the long days.
Craiova has been quite a time and I’m going to be sad to say goodbye in a couple of weeks. However, I am also grateful for what God is doing here and is going to continue to do here. The church we are working with has some really cool ministries and I’m excited to watch them grow from afar.
Sorry it has taken me so long to update you on Romania. There’s so much more I could/want to say, but that would be incredibly long. Maybe you’ll hear more from me later, we’ll see what the Lord places on my heart. But for now, I am excited to see what God does in my last week in Romania! Thank you for your continual prayers! Until my next blog!
ps: I tried the garlicky sausages and it is DELICIOUS!!!!!
