Month 4: Moldova
Month three in Romania went by fast. Hardly did we arrive did we leave. Our time in Romania was good. Short, but stretching at the same time. Most of our days packed with service projects
around the residential quarters of the organization leaving us extremely exhausted
by day’s end. Furthermore, even though
we were fairly sheltered from everyday Romanian life, the strong holds played a
part in why our team struggled in month three.
India, Nepal, and Romania
kept us all separated and hardly did we work on projects together (except
Raimie and I in Romania). All-in -all month three in Romania left me physically,
emotionally, and spiritually dry.
One thing that crossed my mind the other day was the fact
that our first three months on the race have almost been individualized
months. The ministry in Moldova
has been more group oriented. World Teams, the organization we were
partnered with this month, provided our squad with translators. Our translator’s name was Tutor. He was a great guy and very involved in
ministry too, which was so encouraging for our team. Tutor was a quiet guy at first, but the more
time he spent around us, the more he came out of his shell. We automatically made him an honorary team
member. Shortly after meeting Tutor, we
headed to our first ministry site in a small remote village called
Rumeantzeovo.
We were greeted with a warm welcome by the Pastor and his
family as soon as we got to the church. I
could feel the joy emanating from Pastor Alexi and his fmaily. The welcomed we received was indicative of
how the Lord was already there and that He was waiting for us. This place was going to be different
ministry-wise and with our team. Even
though we were to be there for a mere five days, I knew that our team was going
to turn over a new leaf. Our ministry in
this village was mainly children’s ministry and evangelism; house visits to
non-believers in the morning and children’s program in the afternoon/ early
evening.
Children’s ministry was tiring because we played soccer
non-stop for a couple hours in the evening.
The most effective way in reaching the children in the village is
through invitation (mainly playing soccer with the church kids). Sports have a mysterious way of attraction
when it comes to kids. There was a small
portion of Bible teaching that was done in the process (either before or during
game time).
Our children’s’ program consisted of acting out a Bible
story, a funny story from our travels, a couple of games, and most importantly
soccer. We might not have been the best
soccer players, but the kids loved playing.
At the end of the day everyone just wanted to play and have fun.
House visits:
The non-believers that allowed us into their homes were
unbelievably welcoming. Conversations
were mainly based on the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ. A large population (98%) in Moldova follows
Orthodox Christianity. Over 600 villages have no evangelical witnesses either. All of the residents
that allowed us into their homes were receptive to the Pastor and our
team.
One man who had been stationed in Russia while he was in the Moldovan
army was immensely open to talking about the Truth. We spent about 45 mins. to an hour in
conversation about the Gospel and Christ’s role in the forgiveness of sin. He knew about Christianity and had a
‘relationship’ with God (he was an Orthodox Christian) However, he was not
fully certain if God forgave all sin. As
believers in Christ, we believe that Christ died for ALL sin (of all peoples
and all time). This man had a very open
heart to hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We probably could have talked for hours, but knew that if the door was
open, God would do the work through the Pastor and the church.
One older gentleman we spoke to on the street was closed off
to Christianity and Christ. In his
demeanour, he was not pleased with our presence. He appeared to be mad at God. We did not ask him to confess all of his sins
or condemn his way of life. All we could
do was speak to him in love and invite him to church. A simple invitation goes a long way because
he actually showed up that Sunday. He
stayed in the back, and left early, but God had done something in that man’s
mind and heart. Hopefully, it was the
start of something huge for him. He left
as soon as the service ended though. Hhe
preferred to come and go quietly on his own terms. God had spoken to him and hopefully is
continuing to reveal himself to this man stripping away his anger and giving
him the joy he so longs to feel.
Raimie and I were given the opportunity to speak in church
and the main thing that hit me about this particular ministry site is that
God’s hand is moving here. With some
prayer and God’s voice I remembered John 8:12 where Jesus says, “I am the Light
of the world.” God’s love and light are
truly in this place. Having been in
three countries on the Race, I knew I wanted to touch on three main points –
how God is active throughout the world, how God’s people are everywhere, and
despite various cultures, languages, traditions we all belong to one body in
Christ. Because of Christ’s death and
resurrection we are wonderfully blessed to belong to one family. Who knew we had family in a remote village in
Moldova…?
Here are some pictures from our first ministry site in Moldova:
