Before Jesus returned to heaven, He commissioned His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19). I’ve heard this verse many times before but I didn’t know what it actually meant until I arrived in Romania.
A few things about the southern Romanian town of Draganesti, OLT where we were staying:
- As of 2011, it had a population of 10,033.
- It lies on the left bank of the OLT River at an altitude of approximately 100 metres (330ft).
- Tourists don’t come here.
- It is known as the ‘cemetery for pastors’ so missionaries don’t tend to want to stay here long term.
- 350,000 people don’t know Jesus or have a relationship with Him.
- In order to make an impact, they need 60,000 workers, which they don’t have.
- The main religion is Orthodox.
- The minorities are the Romanian Gypsies and within the three tribes, there are minorities.
- In OLT County, they have the biggest population of people that practice witchcraft.
- Only 50% of the students complete their high school education because they don’t see the importance or future with what they have learnt
I’ve done mission trips before so when I arrived in Romania, I expected to be talking to people about Jesus, sharing my testimony, praying for/with non-believers, setting up biblical dramas for kids etc. I didn’t expect to be picking up rubbish, cleaning windows and doing house chores for other missionaries. I realised that my perspective of ministry was heaps different to what I expected it to be and what Jesus meant when he said, “go and make disciples of al…”
The free dictionary defines a disciple as “One who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another” and one who “believers in Jesus’ doctrines, rests on His sacrifice, imbibes His Spirit and imitates His example” in the Easton Bible dictionary (Matthew 10:24; Luke 14:26-27, 33; John 6:69).
The disciples that have been called to work in Draganesti are:
- Pastor Raul & Ana Costea (Romanians)
- Marian & Adrea Stolca (Romanians)
- Kevin & Michelle Weppler (Canadians)
- Octavian & Nicoleta Berechet (Romanians)
- Mircea & Cornelia Dumitru (Romanians)
- Mihai &Mariana Ileana (Romanians)
- Ion & Cristina Vlad (Romanians)
- Dorothy Reid (Canadian)
- George & Dana Serban (Romanians)
- Alexe & Veronica Costea (Romanians)
- Daniel & Lidia Opris (Romanians)
- Mark & Florina (British & Russian)
This month I have had the privilege to not only share the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ with non-believers but also encourage, love and assist other missionaries who already have a relationship with Jesus Christ and are already sowing a seed in the harvest field. Like Jesus, Paul and Barnabas, my ministry has been a combination of “go[ing] into all the world and preach[ing] the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15) and “…encourage[ing] one another and build[ing] each other up…” (1 Thessalonians 5:11a) in order that the disciples in Draganesti can “…remain true to the Lord with all of their hearts” (Acts 11:23b) and “…complete the task the Lord Jesus has given [them] – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24b).
The ministries I have worked on this month are:
>> Kid’s Club
>> Picking up Rubbish (at a school)
>> Handing out Tracts
>> Cleaning windows
>> Teaching English
>> Intercession/Praying for people
>> Sharing testimonies
>> Living in Community & Cooking for our Squad (Sorry I couldn't rotate it)
>> Promoting events / Handing out Invitations
Our ministry contact, Raul notified us that our ministry this month has impacted their town by:
- Reaching 19 villages with the gospel
- Starting new kids clubs in different villages
- Having hundreds of kids turn up to an annual puppet show we helped promote
- Having new youth kids come to church for the first time after attending our youth event
- Reaching out to other non-believers and orthodox members who came to church for the first time
It has been a privilege to be a part of what God is doing in this town in Romania. Please be praying for the missionaries that continue to be working here. And to end this blog with a few typical sayings that I’ve learnt here – HALLELUJAH, Goody Goody & La Reverdere.
