Month 7 for our Fusion Route was an opportunity to live and serve together as an entire squad. :0) We worked with a local church in Draganesti-Olt, Romania. Hope Church Romania has an incredible heart for outreach and sharing the love of GOD with its nation. It was a privilege to partner with them for this month!
{Thank you everyone for your continued support and love! I am SO SO SO GRATEFUL! Internet in Africa is a bit tricky to find, so I apologize for being a bit behind in posting videos. Pray for strong wifi in my last month of The Race! ;0) }
TWR 7.1: celebrating fourth of july in romania
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celebrating the independence day of the united states included bringing a vibrant gathering of world racers [from fusion, C squad, and alumni populations] and international missionaries, american classic dishes, loud music, and lots of red, white, and blue to draganesti-olt, romania.
TWR 7.2: bees, bottles, & bow wows
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EmilyAnn and i were blessed with the opportunity to work with the brother and sister-in-law of our ministry host, raul, who directs hope church romania. alexe and vera and their sweet family live in the mission house and church that they are currently building in the village of comani. in addition to leading in their church and hosting outreach opportunities in the neighborhood, they harvest bee honey to support ministry costs and provide empowerment and business opportunities to members in the community. working with alexe and vera provided incredible opportunities for EmilyAnn and me to learn about local ministries and to build a relationship with an amazing family who is so fully dedicated to serving and glorifying the LORD!
TWR 7.3: firewood relocation with guest star squad mentor, daniel!
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continuing our work at the church and ministries based in the village of comani, EmilyAnn and i were able to make a lot of progress with the costea family in relocating the firewood pile, thanks to the assistance of two additional friends for the day! darek, our former team leader from LiFT was assigned to our service site for the afternoon ANNNNNND our squad mentor, daniel, accompanied! daniel came out from the adventures in missions home office [GA] to be on the field with us for a couple of weeks. it was a tremendous and unique blessing to be able to spend so much time with him in ministry, worship, and fellowship. daniel is so fully committed to supporting our squad and pouring into us – to have him stay and serve with us was so special.
*this episode is dedicated to lisa loberg, with whom i had the opportunity to sail with the semester at sea fall 2014. lisa specifically worked with supporting international students and partners throughout our voyage and carried such a bright joy in her spirit. always with a smile, lisa seeks to serve and care for students and colleagues with tenderness and compassion.
to have your friendship and support, lisa, beyond our time together on the mv explorer is so meaningful and i am so moved to have you be a part of this journey with the world race!
TWR 7.4: a surprise home-visit manicure for romanian women
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after visiting a precious romanian family in the village, EmilyAnn felt GOD place a call on her heart to return to pamper the women in the household. it was a joy to see EmilyAnn use her gifts in treating others and empowering women to embrace their beauty; to see how GOD works through my sweet friend to make others feel so special.
*this episode is dedicated to one of my friends from college, stephen fleagle. during our time at north central, stephen and i crossed paths working in the office of admission, playing for our college soccer teams, and through various ministry and service opportunities- including alternative break trips. we remained connect after we graduated and were colleagues for a couple of years back at our alma mater; stephen in student athletics, i worked in residence life. we now attend the same church [SOUL CiTY in chicago!] and our friendship has continued into the next decade, by which i am so blessed. :0)
stephen, i am so grateful for your continued friendship and support [from you and from your family!] and i am so, so thankful for your partnership in this journey with the world race!
TWR 7.5: parent vision trip [PVT] – family arrival
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the world race sponsors a program called “parent vision trip” later into our route in which parents can be invited by their Racers to come on the mission field for a week of ministry, worship, fellowship, and international exploration. though my own parents [mom, dad, and tooty (dad’s wife)] could not attend, i still felt as if i was hosting family! meeting the parents of my squad siblings was a true blessing and created a unique experience to serve alongside of parents and to share what GOD has been doing in the lives of their sons and daughters through the world race journey!
the arrival of the parents was highly anticipated and carried so much joy and energy in the reunions!
TWR 7.6: PVT week | a new testament for every home & prayer walk
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one of the branches of ministry under hope church romania is “a new testament for every home” in which members of the church community walk through surrounding villages to provide each home with a copy of the gospel and extend invitations for families to receive prayer, friendship, and the GOOD NEWS. [www.hoperomania.org]
collaborating with parents from PVT, the world race fusion squad, an international mission team from westlake church in geneva, switzerland [www.westlakechurch.com], and hope church leadership members, we headed to a village outside of the city of craiova to bless the community.
we wrapped up our day trip with a prayer walk through the city center and over the university campus in craiova. the entire day was a beautiful picture of the global church – representing diverse nationalities, ages, and gifts – coming together to spread joy and love across a special part of romania!
TWR 7.7: PVT week | youth day camp ministry
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hope church romania sponsored a day camp for the youth in draganest-olt and the surrounding villages. it was a collaborative volunteering effort between the local church, the world race, parents of racers, the westlake church international team, and international missionaries – a beautiful picture of the global church coming together to promote the KiNGDOM through investing in the next generation!
*this episode is dedicated to dr. jan paterson and her family. jan served as the dean of students while i was working as a graduate student at illinois state university and pursuing my masters degree. jan contributed to our academic setting in the classrooms and invited GAs into opportunities for further professional and personal development- opening her office and even her home to us. her husband, brent, also served as a support and resource to us as an instructor for our classes and as a leader on campus. truly, jan and brent care so deeply for university students and their experience and helped shape me as a professional in the feld.
thank you, jan, for the way you have invested in me and in the opportunity to honor and promote the work of the LORD across the world. i am incredibly moved to share this journey with you!
TWR 7.8: PVT | parent vision trip week overview
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parent vision trip [PVT].
having the parents of nine squadmates cross the ocean to have a direct experience with the world race was so special. it was a time for families to reunite, for Racers to share their journey, and for deep collaboration and joy in sharing GOD’s love with Romania.
TWR 7.9: media production team
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my squad bro, chris, and i had the opportunity to exercise our skills in videography and editing to create promotion videos for the various ministry branches under hope church romania. our week was busy with a LOT of different events to cover, but we had a lot of fun goofing around between highlighting the beautiful ways that the LORD is making an impact through hope!
TWR 7.10: a collection of promotional videos
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check out the 4 promotional videos that my squad bro, chris, and i made over a week of ministry shadowing with hope church romania! [also, let it be know that through this project, we have each discovered and perfected our voice-over voice. ;0) ]
to learn more about the branches of outreach through hope church romania, visit www.hoperomania.org.
TWR 7.11: a date with macaroni and cheese
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salvador, my squad bro and co-storyteller, came upon a coveted box of kraft macaroni and cheese. and we made big plans for it.
TWR 7.12: farewell lunch with our romanian family
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throughout our month in romania, EmilyAnn and i were invited into the costea family. we were so dearly loved by alexe and vera, as well as their four sweet and spirited children and, of course, grandma irina. :0) in our final few days in draganesti-olt, the costea family prepared a delicious romanian feast and sent us off with so much love and care and blessings…and really satisfied bellies. ;0)
we love you, costea family!
TWR 7.13: rando romania
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our all-squad month offered a collection of random moments that provided a lot of entertainment and adventure. ;0)
TWR 7.14: overview of our all-squad month in romania
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here’s a brief overview of our all-squad month experience in draganesti-olt, where we served with hope church romania, hosted the parent vision trip, and collaborated with other international volunteer groups, such as westlake church from geneva, switzerland.
