So here we are in Romania, and oh how I looooooove it!!!!! The sights, the smells, the culture, the people. All around, it's the best country I've ever experienced and that's a bold statement for only having been here for the last week and a half but so far, it's held true.
We arrived by bus early last week and the entire ride, my heart was just screaming with exitement, taking in everything my senses could possibly handle with my whole being saying "God, I don't care what kind of ministry I get to do this month, if I get to be in a place that looks like this, I will eat it up!!!!! We were driving through mountains, and evergreen forests, and fog, and rain, and all around it felt like Oregon. Fantastic hunting cabins, farms, log houses, rivers, lakes, streams, and everywhere elk antlers. Finally, something that felt like home.
As if all of this wasn't splendid enough, we ended up in Brasov for all of debrief. Never have I burned through money so fast as there. Give me a hostel to work at or a sweet coffee shop and enough to live off of and have a good time in that city and I would be set.for.life. Trendy stores, cobblestone streets, great brews, and the most perfect rustic coffee shops that I could spend hours in. Heeeeaven.
On top of all this, debrief itself was just amazing. I really couldn't pinpoint which part exactly did it, but something just broke over our squad and it completely became a new season for us, one where there's an actual genuine enjoyment for eachother and real desire to get close and be vulnerable. There was a lot of direct attacks at things that needed to go as well as tender loving nurturing of things needing to flourish. Between splinters getting pulled out and wounds getting sealed with good laughs, it definitely hit exactly where we most needed it.
Nooooow, onto today's events!!!! We're now in a different part of the country. Draganasti-olt to be exact. Today we went out to hand out Bibles in a neighboring town, a town completely untouched by evangelical christians because of the general disdain from the Eastern Orthodox church. We were really excited at the prospect of being pioneers because there's nothing like being the rock that causes initial splash and ripple.
Wellllllllll, long story short, here we are, handing out Bibles and tracks and praying with people when who should come up and shut us down? The cops and the mayor himself!!! We were blatantly told that this was a christian free town and that they didn't want us there, that we needed to leave, and that we weren't allowed to talk to anyone or handout anything. All of this is totally illegal in Romania, being as it's a member of the European Union and therefore must have freedom of religion and expression buuuuuut, they really didn't care.
While one team stayed there and called the American consulate to get their opinion and continue talking with the mayor, a group of us drove about a mile down the road and got out to prayer walk and just see what God wanted to highlight. As we did this, we came across several houses we felt God leading us to prophesy and proclaim life over, as well as getting to meet and talk with several women from the town and speak life into them. After a little while one of the vans full of our people drove past and on the way, told us to keep handing out Bibles but be undercover agents about it sooooo, with new testaments and tracks in pocket, we continued our walk and subtley handed things to passing by horse and carts as well as people on the street.
As we took a break and filled our water bottles, one of the old men who we'd handed a track to beckoned me over and started a convo about Jesus, asking all sorts of questions. He had a hearing aid in and kept asking if we were working with the local clinic. Right as I was about to break into convo about how I was a Physician's assistant so let me take a crack at that ear, the cops pulled up with mayor in tow and shut us down again, insisting we leave town and actually tailing us to make sure we didn't talk to anybody else.
Long story short, we were able to give out something like 200 Bibles plus tracks before having to head out. Pastor Raul wrote up a formal letter for the mayor, pointing out our freedom as Americans as well as their freedom as Romanians to preach the gospel to present to him asap in hopes that we can continue the work set before us. I was beyond pumped cause I thought I was gonna get to go to jail for the gospel buuuuut, we were let off with harsh warnings. Still got a whole month here though so we'll see what we can accomplish;) Please keep us in your prayers as well as the county of Olt and that all spiritual principalities would be bound and broken, that those in positions of authority would experience freedom, and that we could continue to tear down strongholds. We don't battle against flesh and blood but against principalities, demons, and the powers of darkness so we don't hate the people, but we sure wanna see them free, especially since it's the goodness of God that leads people to repentence. Even the man at the Gadarenes with his thousand demons fell and worshipped at Jesus' feet. We have an eager expectation for the same!
Yes please and more Lord.
