*The street we walk everyday to church
*This is our home! All 45 of us are staying in this “casa de misiune” (mission house)
After traveling over 15 hours in packed cars and trucks we crossed the boarder from Serbia into Romania, having to literally walk across the border at one point. As we shuffled out of our vehicles eager to stretch out our aching legs, we grabbed our packs and filed into the house we were going to stay at for the next month…all 45 of us! So this month is “all squad month” where we get to live with and do ministry alongside our entire squad (including our squad leaders and mentor). This is an amazing opportunity to build friendships with everyone else and live in a fairly good size commune 🙂 Wikipedia defines a commune as: “is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, often having common values and beliefs, as well as shared property, possessions, resources.” I think this defines our squad very accurately.
*Having one of our squad meetings. Jon is giving us some logistical information.
As you walk down Draganesti-Olt’s main road, lined with dusty, overgrown, beat-up buildings and houses, you notice these miniature mansions every so often. I learned later that these were owned by the Roma people. We have been told that they have received their wealth through prostitution, trafficking, scams and other crimes. It is an interesting sight seeing a brand new BMW or Audi drive past you amidst the backdrop of this humble town.
*One of the Roma “mansions”.
This small town of around 12,000 people is filled with witchcraft, curses, voodoo and hard hearts. They like to keep things the way they are and do not like change. Draganesti-Olt has been extremely difficult for missionaries and has even adopted the name “Graveyard of Missionaries”. Despite all of the opposition, we have been blessed with amazing ministry hosts and an abundance of opportunities to encourage and support them in their efforts to love on, serve, and proclaim the goodness of God to their fellow Romanians.
Ministry looks very different here than last month. Our main ministry host is Raul and he is the pastor of Hope Church. There is a huge network of other missionaries and ministries and churches that are connected to Hope Church. They work together for the Kingdom and it is very beautiful. Each team is partnered with a different missionary or pastor and so we are spread out all over the city and surrounding villages. Each team is doing a different ministry.
*Grapes growing in our neighbors yard…May have plucked a few of these as I leave each day 🙂
The other day I went over to Marian’s (a Romanian missionary here) house and harvested potatoes out of his garden and helped level out his yard, while a squad-mate of mine helped with cleaning and watching their kids. The next day I got the opportunity to go to another missionary church planter’s house and help him with his garden and put up tile alongside his outside wall. As you can see, ministry looks very different each day. It could be watching kids, teaching English, picking potatoes, washing floors, or walking down the street passing out Bibles. God has a purpose and design behind everything that is asked of us. Part of our job is to encourage the local missionaries and pastors by serving them, part of our job is to serve and build relationships with our teams and work through difficult situations together with intentionality, and another part is to serve the community through evangelism and discipleship.
*On our “off day” we got to travel to the northern part of Romania into the Carpathian mountains! (The sun was very bright btw)
*The Transfagara?an Road. A beautiful mountain pass that climbs to 6,700 ft with waterfalls all along the way.
It is stated that this land is the “graveyard of missionaries” but this morning we rebuked that in the name of Jesus. This is the Lord’s ground, His territory and He desires to build His kingdom right here. We declare life and purpose over this place. One of my sisters in Christ beautifully read Ezekiel 37 over this land, over Draganesti-Olt and the surrounding regions of Romania, over our squad as we partner alongside His faithful kingdom builders, over the Roma (gypsies), over the churches, missionaries, pastors and harvesters here in Romania.
Pray with me, alongside our brothers and sisters, these verses over the dry land of Draganesti-Olt:
Ezekiel 37
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breathto enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
Draganesti-Olt…The “Graveyard of Missionaries”
NO MORE!!!!
*Right outside our mission house.
God certainly has a plan for this place. He has a heart for these people, or else He wouldn’t have sent us and the many workers here. God has been stirring in the hearts of our squad specifically for Romania. Three faithful women have stepped into and are currently praying for how God may want to use them here in Romania long-term. What a beautiful thing!! God speaks to His people, and they listen! He gives life and does so abundantly, if we are willing to hear His call on our lives. What part does He want you to play? Are you willing to listen to whatever He says or asks of you? What opportunities to build His Kingdom has He placed right in front of you? Are there any orphanages near you to go and volunteer at? Homeless shelters? Refugee centers? What does your community look like and who are the ones that are uncared for? The ones that are easily overlooked.
