Our ministry here in Romania revolves around the village of Viile Tecii. I guess you could say that the town itself is our ministry. 
There’s a population here of 500 people, most (if not all) of whom are Gypsies. In case you are wondering, the Gypsies are a people group of Eastern Europe. They are a nomadic group known for their music, darker skin color, and, unfortunately, they are sometimes seen in major cities of Europe trying to get your money from you. These people have no country to call their own, but they have their own language and way of life. Some of the Gypsies in Viile Tecii are Christian, but even then they have strict rules about what they can and can’t do that inhibit their spiritual growth.
On the first Sunday we were here in the village, we headed to the 10AM service with some short, simple messages prepared for the people. When we got there, the entire congregation, save 3 or 4 people, were World Racers. Dismayed, we went into a time of worship, inviting the Lord’s presence in. After the second song came to an end, the Lord placed on our contact’s heart that we should 
parade around town, inviting everyone we saw to come to the 6PM service that night.
With two guitarists at the head of the line, we 80 or so Americans (this month we are working with a few teams from the August 09 squad) walked down the street, singing as loud as we could. Believe it or not, the sight of us drew out all the people of the town, some with smiles, others with looks of curiousity and confusion. We used the few translators we had with us to share with these people about the evening service, and we received many favorable responses. This was the case as we walked the entire length of the village. Would these people keep their word?
As 6:00 rolled around, I was delighted to see so many Gypsy people come to join us! They filled up nearly all the seats in the church! We Americans had no problem standing in the back and watching the service unfold. We quickly discovered that the Gypsies loved the music we played, even though they could not understand the words. This we followed up with three short messages about God’s love and 
ended the night with a time of prayer, which many locals responded to. One man was led to Christ, although I feel in my heart that many more embraced what was said.
It turned out to be a wonderful night, and we were truly blessed by the Gypsies who came out to worship with us. Although there are 5 churches in this little town alone, I feel like many of the people here do not know God nor do they know what God has done (and wants to do) for them. My prayer is that, as we continue to pour into these people, they see the love of Christ flowing through us.
