There are some days on the Race where you meet incredible people and you know that this year was worth it.
I had a lot of those days in Romania.
Romania was a tough country; I will not pretend that it was not. We lived in a town called Draganesti-Olt and most people were extremely nice to us, but because of the 5% that constantly harassed us as we walked down the street, we began to be on high alert every time we saw someone suspicious and it was exhausting.
On top of that, we were in another all-squad month and it was much better than our Ireland all-squad experience, but still draining.
So we are harassed when we go out and drained when we go in, yet I can truly say that Romania was one of the more life-changing months that I’ve had on the Race.
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Day two in Romania, we headed over to Hope Church to meet with Pastor Raul at 10am and we were sluggish and tired and as Month 10 Racers, a little over the whole orientation thing. But, then we meet this man and he wants to know a) what we did before the Race, b) what is our role in the kingdom, and c) where do we want to be in 5 years? And he invests an hour and a half of his time getting to know us and probing and challenging us and even though, I had almost been with my squad for a year, I learned so much new information.
Then, he told us a little about the ministry and you could tell that he understood his role and authority in the kingdom. You could feel his fervor and passion for Draganesti and Romania, in general; you could feel his understanding of the mandate to “Go and Make Disciples” and you could tell that he didn’t look at us as resources to be used up and sent to the next month. Rather he valued us and challenged us and encouraged us and provoked us to pray, to study the Word, to serve well and ask good questions. That man changed me.
My team, The Last Battle, was split into pairs for ministry and so Tanner and I worked with a missionary couple for the first week and it was such a privilege working with Mark and Florina and learning about evangelism from someone who is clearly gifted in it. That family changed me.
Some of my favorite moments are going out to talk to people in the villages and fishermen on the riverside and seeing how some people were really receptive to the gospel.
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The next week, I started going out to a village called Valeni and worked with a man named Florin and his family and I would go back to Romania just to visit them. People with the gift of hospitality please understand how powerful your gift is. During a trying month, these wonderful people reminded me of what a loving family looks like and how we have the privilege as Christians to invite people into a heavenly family that is even more loving. That family changed me.
We ran kids clubs and did house visits and as we left one of the house visits, one of the women started weeping as she told us that she felt changed from us coming. She said that she could feel joy and life through us and that us just showing up made a world of a difference and I was wrecked.
I know in my head that the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us, so it’s inevitable for a place to be changed when we as Christians walk into an environment, but I realized that I didn’t deeply believe in my heart until then. That woman changed me.
I could go on and tell you about how I saw one of the original Jesus fish signs at the Roman ruins that reminded me of the legacy of faith that I have the privilege to be connected to or tell you about the Kids Club that enlarged my heart or how working in the fields and a construction site helped challenge me to “Rejoice in the Lord always,” but I will leave you with that for now.
Romania is a very special place. There are gypsies and there is witchcraft and the elderly are neglected and parents leave their kids to get work in other countries and there is lack of purpose or initiative in the southern part of the country, but God reigns in Romania as well. God wants Romania. God is redeeming Romania and God truly is using Hope Church to change that country.
Romania was hard, but Romania was worthwhile.
Would I do it again?
Yes because that country changed me.
