Before you get any further...I will be heading back to Texas from 10/27-11/14! One of my best friends is getting married and I will be accompanying Iulian in some of his meetings and engagements to spread the word about LIFE Romania. If you would like to meet up, get coffee, or grab lunch please reach out to me! I would love to catch up and tell you about all God is doing here in Romania! I can be reached at +1 (817) 343-6847 (if you have an iPhone!), through Facebook and Instagram Messaging, or through email: elizabeth@liferomania.org.
Life in Bucharest has been going good and God is continuing to sustain me in all things! This blog is coming out a bit late because I have been so busy with the day-to-day. Finally Bucharest is beginning to feel like home and I am getting used to the normalcy of living here. Here is an overview of this last month and what I have been up to!
September started out with LIFE Romania's Champions Weekend, which is a weekend retreat for youth who completed our discipleship program. All campers from the summer are invited to take part in this discipleship program where they will have a counselor be their mentor and walk them through a 12 step program. All the disciples who complete the program and their mentors come to Champions Weekend for a time of fellowship, celebration, and to be encouraged in their faith. This year was the biggest group we have ever had complete the program, around 70 teenagers! It was absolutely amazing to see this aspect of LIFE Romania which I have only experienced through pictures. These teenagers are not just new believers, but fervent, hungry, and seeking followers of Christ! This is my favorite part of our ministry...seeing the discipleship that continues after camp all year-round!
The next weekend I had the opportunity to go with a few friends to one of their parents' house in Pitești. It is about a two hour train ride away from Bucharest at the edge of the mountains. My friend's house is right on the side of a valley where it was absolutely beautiful. After being in the city, it is such a luxury to breathe in fresh mountain air! My friend's parents were so kind to me and prepared delicious food from their garden all weekend. Fresh tomatoes, eggs, jam, zacusca, rose syrup, peach juice, you name it - we had it! This family has a bridge that goes over a small creek in front of their house. The week before I came, they knocked it down and were spending the weekend I was there to repair it. It wasn't in the plans, but by 11am I had found some spare work boots and was out there with them moving rocks to "help" where I could. My friend's parents seemed shocked that I -- the american guest -- wanted to help. It was so fun and a great comfort to me to be in the presence of a sweet family since mine is so far away. The mother sent me home with many canned goodies and actually just sent me more the other day since I don't have a mom or grandma to make me these things here! God continues to provide people to love me and support me when I need it!
Last weekend we had our Girl's Retreat in Sinaia, Romania - my favorite place that I have visited thus far in Romania. I have been to Sinaia many times, but only for short day trips. It is a sweet mountain town in the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. We had around ten girls and two American women who came as teachers for us. This weekend was one of the most life-giving, pointing to God weekends I have had since my time here in Romania. We spent the weekend being taught about discipleship. However, the ladies decided to focus on how we are called to be women of the Word and women who have their identity firmly planted in God alone before we can disciple well. I felt so encouraged by the words of the women and was challenged in many areas of my personal relationship with God and the way I approach the Word. I felt the most encouraged by just speaking with the two ladies who came from the U.S. throughout the weekend. They both encouraged me in my calling, what I am doing here in Romania, and what my future looks like. It was such a gift from God at a time I really needed it to be spiritually filled up.
God has answered some prayers in that I have decided on a church to go to here in Bucharest! I am attending an international church here in town which speaks English for it's sermons and worship. It takes me over an hour to get there...an hour! I don't mind the trek getting there (it gives me time to read or listen to podcasts), but can we just take a second to realize how blessed we are in the Bible Belt? Granted, there are many great churches in Bucharest, but only two or three English-speaking churches. Their mission is to not only be a place of worship for English speakers in Bucharest, but to reach those who speak English in Bucharest with the Gospel -- a feat that many Romanian-speaking churches would have a harder time doing. Worshiping in your own language and hearing a sermon you can actually understand is so important and something we take for granted in the U.S.. My empathy and compassion for Spanish speakers and other people who do not speak English who find themselves in Texas or the U.S. has grown so much. I see the need for international churches and the importance of giving all people a place for them to hear the Gospel and understand it. I also am reminded of how hard it is to be a guest when going to a new church! Greeters and kind people who are willing to go out of their way to engage in true conversation with guests are so important and appreciated so much! Due to the nature of my job and the fact that I have been out of town almost every other weekend has kept me from going to the church more than a few times, so I am not truly plugged in yet. However, I am looking forward to continue going and developing friendships and community.
My day-to-day job has been varied and different almost every day! I have done a lot of work with our website (go check it out at www.liferomania.org !). I have done some media work creating new content for literature on our ministry and different brochures, cards, and notes that we are sending out. I have written many, many, many letters to our partners in the U.S. This work is tedious, but really rewarding work. I get to see the names of all the people supporting us, either through their finances or their prayers, and use the time to thank God for each of them. We have done some strategizing for the future and even planned our "Adopt a Camper Campaign". I have a challenge for you! Would you be willing to adopt a camper to allow a child to come to camp next summer? We are wanting to bring more campers than ever to camp and specifically bring more campers who cannot pay their way to come. These are kids from villages and orphanages all over Romania who are connected to a local church plant. It costs $10/month or a $120 one-time gift. Even college students can do that! God is WORKING and doing MIRACULOUS things in the lives of the youth here in Romania and I pains me to think that the lack of $120 can keep a child from hearing the Gospel! You can adopt a camper here: www.liferomania.org/sponsor !
God continues to teach me, refine me, and shape me. Through a busy schedule of work, traveling for events, studying Romanian 4 hours a week, taking 9 hours of Seminary classes, and trying to develop community here, He continues to teach me diligence and time management. This is something that God slowly taught me and challenged me throughout college (especially senior year) and I am thankful that I can reach back on that experience in this time. However, I am continuing to learn where I am weak in my discipline and how being diligent and disciplined can be not just self-seeking but glorifying to God! I am a stubborn person. Sometimes this gets me in to trouble, other times I think it helps me have drive. Similar to my daily life, I think my stubbornness can be both good and bad here in Romania. From not wanting to ask for help, to wanting to always give off the impression that I am "doing great", to filling my head and heart with music, podcasts, and books constantly to fight off waves of loneliness or missing friends and family. God is showing me that one of the bravest things to do is to approach these lies and deceptions face on, lean on Him for strength, and fight for godliness and Truth.
Ways you can pray for me:
Please pray for my trip to the U.S., that God would multiply my time there. Pray that God will use me there to spread the word about what He is doing in Romania, but also that I will have sweet times of fellowship and reconnecting with friends and family.
Pray that God would allow me to learn the language quickly and that my mind would remember what I am learning! I am blessed to have so many English-speaking friends, but I so desperately want to learn the language so I can communicate independently all the time.
Pray that God would multiply my time so I will be able to do good work and retain the information I am learning through my seminary classes. Also pray that God would continue to give me motivation and drive. Often I am tired and exhausted from work or Romanian classes and have trouble finding energy and motivation to work diligently.
Pray that God would continue to expand my community. I have great, INCREDIBLE friends and co-workers who honestly are like my family here. However, I still want to meet new people, believers and non-believers, to expand my community here in Bucharest.
Pray for the counselors in our program. Many of them are discipling young believers for the first time and are seeking God for wisdom to know how to best lead and mentor their disciples. A few of our counselors are also feeling called to ministry but their parents do not approve. Pray that God would give them strength to follow His calling on their lives, no matter the cost.
Thank you for making it this far! I am thankful to each and every one of you. I cannot thank you enough for the prayers and the financial support. I pray that I would be humbled as I grow closer to God and that God would be glorified through me in all that I do!
Elizabeth