5 people became believers this month.
Our WHOLE SQUAD of 29 people lived together in ONE house!
Daily we split up into a bunch of different ministries and here are the ones I found myself serving in this month. Wow is Jesus so stinkin’ cool.
Passing out New Testaments in the Romanian Countryside:
Goal: Every household to have access to the Bible in Romanian.
Why? While most Romanians have a general understanding of Christianity through Orthodox tradition, many haven’t read the Bible for themselves.
Along the way there were some misadventures and incredible surprises.
Most teams are sent out with translators and we got Gaby (Gavril) who loves Jesus a lot and doesn’t know English.
While we passed a village’s well, Gaby pointed out John 4 in the Romanian Bible to tell us it was a well, and then to the verse where it says Jesus was tired to explain to us he needed a little break.
Which, praise the Lord he did, at the well a small group gathered and Gaby got to share about Jesus with them. (At least that’s what we gathered, our Romanian is a bit shaky but Isus is Jesus- we’re certain of that)
Also Spanish speakers in the Romanian countryside?! Never thought I’d use my Spanish here but two different families had Spanish speakers who were willing to chat a bit about life and Jesus and that we got to pray with.
We’re about 1,500 miles from Spain. Wow Jesus, thanks for using the things you gave me like the Spanish language for your glory.
Prayer Requests:
The New Testaments would be read and understood.That they wouldn’t just sit on shelves.
Scripture would be seen as something accessible for everyone and anyone to read and hear from the Lord and not just for religious authority figures.
Widow Ministry: ??5 tons of wood. 3 different widows in the community.
Lead by Dorothy, a long-term missionary from Canada, our little team loaded up chopped wood into a truck and then from the truck to widows’ yards.
Wood is crucial here. Homes are wood stove heated and winters are cold. Without wood, there isn’t a way to get warm. Having wood is life or death.
After moving wood, we prayed with the widows and chatted for a bit. At one widow’s house, the woman had a wooden prosthetic leg and used a cane to get around. She showed us a new cane she wants to use but the bottom rubber part was broken.
Josh tried to fix it. The woman provided a different rubber part that she had wanted to replace it with but wasn’t strong enough to pull it off and stick it on the new cane properly. This task that was really hard for her to accomplish, Josh was able to do in a minute. There was a lot of joy and cheek kissing that ensued.
Prayer Request:
That the three widows we gave wood to would be warm this winter, that they would be reminded of how the Lord supplies every time they throw more wood on the fire. That the wood would burn longer and better than expected.
Also pray that the Lord would supply for these widows other needs and that they would look to Him in all things, trusting Him to be their Lord and Savior.
Video Work for Hope Church:
Created some videos for Hope Church!
One day we helped with Eyeglass Ministry. Got to meet a physical need for glasses while also meeting a spiritual and emotional need.
Was commissioned to make a video to appeal to those considering doing long term missions here in Romania.
Prayer Request:
That the videos would be seen and Jesus would be glorified through them
For more long term missionaries to come to southern Romanian, where there are so so few born-again Christians.
That the people we worked with through Eyeglass Ministry wouldn’t just see the physical world around them with greater clarity but also see Jesus to be Lord.
Evangelism Outreach:
While passing out New Testaments, we were also passing out invitations to an event that would have a children’s program, music, and the Gospel.
As part of the event I got to share my testimony in front of a church filled with men and women from the community. My friend Megan Small also shared her testimony, Brie played some worship songs on her guitar and Josh preached the Gospel. Some of our Romanian friends also played music and preached.
Josh shared something that has stuck with a lot of us. You know that phrase in English, “I’m dying to…”? Like I’m dying to get a pumpkin spice latter or dying to see that new Marvel movie? That’s how Jesus felt about us; he was dying to have us so he died to have us. In order that we could have a personal relationship with Jesus, he died for us.
Prayer Request:
That those who heard the Gospel would be transformed by it and begin to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Encouragement for the local church, that they would as a congregation continue to seek to glorify the Lord in all they do including reaching out and sharing the Gospel with everyone around them.
Craiova:
On the weekends I was part of a 7 person crew that got to minister in a big city an hour away where our ministry has missionaries and is planting a church.
We walked the streets, inviting people to our concert we were hosting, build relationships and share the Gospel.
While praying for at least one person to have a solid conversation with while walking with a local missionary Ellie, we stumbled across not one but three(!) high school girls. We talked for ages about life and Jesus and school, met up the next day and they even came to our concert.
One night going out with Hunter, Ellie & Emanuel, we walked past this group of boys. They were staring at us and I felt uncomfortable (which typically my gut says to walk fast, walk away and find someone, anyone else) but just after we passed them- the Lord so clearly said “go talk to them.” So I sent Hunter, “go talk to them” who proceed to drag me with him “you’re coming too, right?” We talked to this dude for like 45 minutes. Hunter and one of the guys hung out loads after- the next two weekends we were in the city. This guy came to church twice, engaged in discussion about the Bible and Jesus and came to our concert, even bringing his friend and sister.? Crazy cool how when we say “yes” to Jesus, he shows up.
Morgan, a fellow World Racer, & I walked with Adrian, a local missionary, one evening. We loved hearing his heart for college and international students. Prayer request: University starts this week, pray Adrian meets and connects with Arabic speaking people hungry for the truth and that they’d come to his group for Arabic speakers.
Every Saturday morning I taught English with a local missionary, Ellie, which I absolutely loved. In a city that charges a lot of money for lessons, part of outreach was offering free lessons to adults in the community. I LOVE my students, they were so eager to learn and some even came over for dinner on my last in the city and we got to talk more about life and Jesus.
On a Wednesday night, the whole squad came to Criaova and we held a concert. There was a mix of English and Romanian music, popular music and worship songs. We worshipped together, had a mini dance part, played games at tables and some real deep discussions flourished.
Every Sunday we got to go to the church that meets in a restaurant. Hunter, Kat and Morgan all shared their testimonies on different weekends. There was a small teaching and worship but the bulk of the time was discussing in small groups a Bible story and questions to build relationships with people.
On one of our last nights in the city there was a big food truck festival. Hunter and I sat down next to this Romanian couple. We tried talking with them but they weren’t into chitchatting so we carried on just talking with each other sharing what the Lord had done that day. They then, after a few minutes, interrupted us and asked where we were from, why we were here and what we were talking about. Overtime, other World Racers joined us and another couple as well. This second couple, from Italy and England living here in Criaova, became our fast friends and we even got to meet up the next day and visit the biggest park in Eastern Europe together.
Ministry also looked like loving our neighbors well.
Two missionaries live next door with their two year old Emma, who we loved to love.
Emma!
We wrote post-it notes on the first day of school for the wife, she’s a teacher.
We celebrated anniversaries and birthdays with our neighbors and strove to love them well.
Ministry was also loving and encouraging my dear friends!
Larissa is an 18 year old from Germany who just began as a tutor for a missionary family who is German & Romanian here in Romania. We met at the small groups that meet on Sunday nights. We bonded over a shared love of Jesus, a newness to Romanian culture and chats about how to navigate loss. One Sunday night I invited over to the house all the World Racers live in (Deep chats at the kitchen table are a miracle amongst 29-something people all making dinner) and another Sunday she invited me over to her family’s house. (German/Romanian cabbage rolls are top notch)
Prayer Request:
For friends as she adjusts to a new culture and for the Lord to be her comfort.
Ellie, a missionary in Criova. She’s also 22 years old and also just graduated university studying to become a teacher like me. She and I met my first Sunday in Romania and have spent as much time together as we can. I love sharing the Gospel together on the streets of Criaova and she and her husband open up their home so freely. They’re absolutely incredible hosts. She’s selling these baller bracelets as part of a fundraiser, she and her husband are raising support to be missionaries in Criaova. Want to encourage her? Email: [email protected]
Prayer request: For her and her husband, Emanuel, to be fully funded and encouraged as they seek the Lord’s will for missions in Criaova. For more English students for her Friday & Saturday morning lessons.
And that’s a little snapshot of the many opportunities for ministry that we’ve had here in Romania. Boggles my mind that we leave so soon but I can’t help but be so so grateful for all the Lord has done here.
Thanks for reading & praying,
Caitlyn Louise
Also can we praise the Lord I’m 70% fundraised!!! Still need quite a bit more to be fully funded so if you’d like to partner with me… there’s a lil’ orange donate button up at the top. ??Let me know if you’ve got any questions!
