Romania flew by just like I’ve learned every month on the race does/will. We worked with Hope Church in Dragonesti, Romania. The Christian population is less than 0.2%. in this area The people of Hope Church have been called to reach the people in this area for Jesus. My team had the opportunity to be the mobile team this month. We traveled to different missionary families in the county and worked alongside them. I loved our ministry this past month. Here are some highlights from the month:
-We had debrief at the beginning of the month in Brasov, Romania. I fell in love with this city. I loved the coffee shops and visiting a beautiful castle!
-We started out the month with Mark and Florina Darvell. They are an amazing couple that works in the village called Comani. They have a 2 and half year old David and 1 year old Ruben. We had lots of fun hanging with the boys and working alongside this couple.
-This month, I prayed for crazy things. One minute we were praying for Alexe’s bunnies then next we were praying for a woman to quit smoking. #prayersheardontheworldrace
-Ministry consisted of a random mix of activities. (blog coming on this)
-The Orthodox Church is huge in Romania. Almost everyone is Orthodox or claims to be. The Orthodox faith is very focused on good works. So many people believe they need to do good things to get into heaven. This broke my heart. I was able to share my heart about this with many people.
-We also spent time at the mission house with Team Thriven, Team BeLoved, and Team Tilatha Cumi. We were able to help out with church logistic tasks and do street evangelism with them. I found out I really enjoy doing street evangelism.
-The second family we stayed with was Ion and Christina Vlad. We stayed in a house with a space heater that ran out of heat, had to have a translator to communicate with Ion and Christina, had no running water in our house, and had an outhouse. It was beyond cold. Despite all this, we felt blessed as a team. It rained our first two days there, which resulted in us being able to get some quality rest.
-We went for a walk while staying with Ion and Christina to a cemetery and took team pictures.
-We went on a trip to Greece on our off days. We spent more time in the car than actually in Greece but I can now say I’ve been to Greece. I ate the best fish I’ve ever had there and a gyro!
-Ashley came back to the field at the end of the month! Thanks for your prayers for her.
-Two of my closest friends on our squad Lynette and Jillian were raised up as squad leaders at the end of the month. I’m so proud of these ladies and excited for them.
This month was so good for Team Yebo. We were able to bond as a team on our own. We challenged each other and learned a lot as a team. This month is manistry month for iSquad. Our men are in Kiev spending time together as men. The women of Team Yebo and Team Thriven are in Yalta, Ukraine. We are working with a local Baptist church teaching English classes. We will also be sharing testimonies at church and doing some cleaning and painting here and there. Overall, this month is going to be very relaxing. I’m so grateful for that. God has already been teaching me so much in my time with him here. This place is beautiful. I’ll be posting more blogs on Romania and what I’m learning here in Ukraine soon.
Heart & Soul,
Kristi
