Hello hello!
Last month, I told you that one of my goals is to post a blog each month celebrating the awesome and amazing things that I learn/experience in each country. Well, here is part 2 of 11! Meet Romania!
This photo was taken in Brasov, Romania. Our squad was there at the beginning of the month for our debrief. Some people from my squad and I hiked up this mountain in our free time and were able to see for miles around us (it still blows my mind- mountains are so weird). God created such a beautiful place. I am still amazed at how big God is and how spectacular His handy work is.
This is me, in the city center of Craiova, dying of happiness with a cannoli. We were able to be in the city during a street food festival (aka a food truck festival) and let me just say- YUM. This was probably one of my favorite weekends in Romania. You can see the beautiful building behind me, but what you can’t see are the dozens of food trucks, the people sitting on picnic blankets in the park, the people talking together, and you can’t hear the music playing or the laughter. I’m so happy that I got to be a part of the celebration. I know that God takes delight in our joy and pleasure and that weekend was just a sweet time to be with friends, meet new people, and enjoy His creation.
One of our ministry days we drove to a little village where a satellite church is located and we just walked around the community picking up trash. We were able to serve the community and to just love on people in a very practical way. It was so fun to see the community to respond- some people started picking up trash around their homes, others bought a group of us juice from the store, and even more asked ‘Why?’ which allowed us to start some amazing conversations. It was also just cool to step into what it means to be a good steward of the planet that God has given us (Side note: I just really to love picking up trash so this was a pretty awesome day of ministry also it’s something we all can do anywhere we go *wink wink*). Right as we were finishing up we walked up to some beautiful flowers and wow they looked so much better without trash all around them. I’m so thankful to partner with a ministry that values not only the spiritual wellbeing of their communities, but also the physical wellbeing of the communities.
I was mainly able to look at the mountains through the pictures that my squad-mates took while we were in the car (because I was feeling SO SICK), but holy crap look how beautiful. (Big theme here in Europe apparently is me learning what mountains are- very neat-o)
Here is a picture of my team and some of our new Romanian friends, outside of the building where the church in Craiova is hosted. The Romanian people, as a whole, are so friendly and sweet. We did a lot of street evangelism this month, which looked a lot like stopping people for conversation and passing out fliers. People would, without fail, stop what they were doing and talk with us. If we passed someone on the street to hand them a flier they didn’t just accept the flier, they read it and stopped so we could explain what the flier was about, then asked questions of their own! I never once saw someone crumple up the fliers even after we walked away. People here seem so open to little interruptions and practicing their English.
Our ministry host is located in Draganesti-Olt, yet much of our ministry this month was in Craiova. That’s because we partnered with a ministry with a vision and a passion for reaching God’s people. Our ministry host is working towards establishing a church in Craiova (They are currently meeting and having church in a rented event center). Our goal was to go out, meet people, and invite them to church and wow did God provide. I am so thankful for the opportunity to partner with the growing church here. I saw a people who were hungry for God, please keep the church in Craiova in your prayers as they work to grow and plant roots in the city.
The ministry that we partnered with this month is Hope Church. I have never seen a more diverse ministry, nor a more passionate group of people than I have here. This area of Romania is known as the graveyard of missionaries and pastors, and honestly I can tell why. There is a spiritual heaviness/darkness here- but that does not stop ministry from happening (our first night here we saw 4 people come to know the Lord!) Every day of ministry here started with 2 hours of intercessory prayer, over the ministry, the missionaries, the region, and over my squad (how freaking cool is that?!). These people here LOVE Romania and the Lord with a fire that comes only from the Holy Spirit. This month, I really have been blessed with a beautiful example of God’s kingdom coming down and just what it means to live life on mission. And I’ve been able to partner with Hope Church this month to further their mission, but also to further my own walk with God. Our last Sunday in Craiova, I was able to share a short testimony in church and it was awesome (yet completely terrifying). God is moving and redeeming this place, and I am so thankful to have been a part of it for a short time.
Much Love,
Morgan
As always, I invite you to make my journey, your journey. Here are three simple ways:
- The most important, PRAY.
- Subscribe. (If you want to subscribe to my blog and stay up to date on what God is doing in my life, click the orange “Subscribe for Updates” in the left-hand corner.)
- Share. (If my blog has touched you in any way tell a friend by clicking the “Share with” links to share this on social media.)
Here are some videos that my squad made for Hope Church this month. I hope you Enjoy! (Also feel free to check out their Youtube channel!)
