Do these people need Jesus? - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

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Man, I can’t tell you how thankful I am to be serving along side such amazing people. It amazes me how the Lord knits people together to form a community that you can call family. I am loving the opportunity that I have been given to pour into the people of i-squad.

Before leaving the states I questioned why Europe would need missionaries. Are they really the “least of these?” We are missionaries, shouldn’t we be helping the poor?

What a limited mind-set I had. Although eastern Europe is more impoverished than most of Europe, I am realizing that the people who need missionaries are also the people who are spiritually impoverished. Eastern Europe is filled with spiritually poor people.

Almost eighty percent of the Romanian people are Christians. So what are we doing here? Do these people really need Jesus? YES! They need Jesus just as desperately as Americans need Jesus.

The christians here are from the Orthodox Church. You can ask them if they know Jesus and they say “who?” You can ask them if they have ever read the bible, the answer to that is no. Do they pray? Nope. Are they saved? Well, in their minds they are. Again, YES these people need Jesus. They have a religion of Christianity but not a relationship with Jesus.

We have spent this month in Draganesti-Olt, known as the graveyard for missionaries and Pastors. I can’t explain to you how much death lingers in the air here. It’s barren, it’s abandoned, but this place use to have life. The land is dry and hard, so dry that the cracks in the dirt run about eight inches deep. The people here are hardened too. Most people don’t smile. Their eyes even look lifeless. I never understood how much this area needs missionaries until I arrived. The land reflects the people. Dry and hard, but thirsty for living water.

Living water, that is what Jesus offers. I-squad has relentlessly been telling the people here about Jesus, and their own relationships with the Lord. Many people have accepted the Lord into their hearts. Many people have experienced healing. Miracles ARE happening. We will not let this place continue to be known as a graveyard.

Our Leadership Development Week starts tomorrow, and then we head to Bulgaria. Month three is about to begin. Here are some pictures from the last couple of months. Enjoy!

The Leadership team. Squad coaches, squad mentor, squad leaders, and team leaders. (Belgrade, Serbia)