This month we are living in Pitesti, Romania at Living Hope Church. We are working with the church and supporting them and their various outreach programs. My team has joined forces with another team for the month- and we love it! This month is special because of PVT- Parent Vision Trip. Some of my teammates/squad mates have family members coming to visit and will do ministry with them for a few days in another city. When they leave, those who don’t have parents coming out will head our way and finish out the month with us.
Living Hope Church is a rather progressive church for the area. In a country where more than 80% of the population claims Eastern Orthodox as their religion, we are among the 6% that they call the “repentant”- those who follow a Protestant denomination. (This distinction worked in our favor at the border- our bus driver told them we were “repentant,” implying we aren’t going to be rowdy or cause problems, which seemed to set the guards at ease.)
So far this month we have:
- Participated in an AWANA-esque kids program
- Prepared and served meals for and worshiped with local homeless people
- Visited a local ghetto and spent time showing Christ’s love to a bunch of kids and their parents
- Participated in two church’s services- our home church and one at a very conservative village church
- Spent a day hiking and picnicking in the forest outside the village with our church friends
The pastor of our church, Cristi, is an awesome man of peace in this community. In every interaction we have witnessed between him and the community, it is obvious he is well respected and well liked. People listen to him because they can see how much he cares for them. This church has been built to evangelize; they hold a service every week, but it seems that their focus is going out into the community and loving people well.
This month has been very difficult (potentially the most difficult so far) for me for a few reasons (none being host-related at all!), which I will dive into in upcoming blogs… For now, know that God is moving here and that’s always a good thing.
XOXO
