Why Romania?
My first trip to Romania happened during the summer of 2001. I was on a 14-week missions trip to Germany with Greater Europe Mission and thinking about joining them full-time. They decided to send me on one of their two-week work trips so that I could learn how these trips were run. The trip that they chose for me was Romania. Four of us drove from the southwest corner of Germany (near Basel, Switzerland) to Camp Bradatel in the Transylvanian Alps. It was love at first sight! :) I spent three weeks in Romania that year (we came earlier and left later than the work team) and couldn't wait to go back. Everything about Romania fascinated me.
In the summer of 2002, I went back to Germany with Greater Europe Mission and prepared to lead my own team to Romania. A small team of computer science students joined me and two other short-term GEM missionaries to run a week-long computer camp in a tiny village outside of Timisoara. The pastor of the small church there invited all the youth in the village to come and learn how to use a computer. We packed out the small room in which the church met. My translator was Liviu Oprea, a 19-year-old who volunteered his time to run the church's youth ministry. Liviu and I "clicked" immediately and have kept in touch via email and phone for the six years. After the camp was finished, I visited with friends from the previous year, went back to Camp Bradatel and then did a tour of Greater Europe Mission's other ministries in Romania. I was definitely in love and ready to move to Romania ASAP!
That, however, was not God's plan for me. By October of 2002, I had left Greater Europe Mission and taken a job as the Administrator of UrbanPromise Ministries in Vancouver. I thought that I would be there for two years or so and then move to Romania. Mmmmm...no. In the fall of 2006, I went back to Romania to visit friends and explore my options. Romania was on the verge of joining the EU and prices were rising while wages were not. The people were discouraged and many were leaving to get jobs in other countries. It became clear to me that the best thing that I could do was to stay in Vancouver, find ways to encourage my Romanian friends from afar and try to get back to visit them every couple years or so.
Sure enough, two years have gone by and back to Romania I go. My friend, Liviu, has graduated from Bible School and gotten married and I need to go and spend time with him and his new wife. Liviu and I need to talk about his ministry options and how I can help and I want to see if the model of working with children and youth that we use at UrbanPromise is a good fit for Romanian village churches. For the first time, I will visit Bucharest...and I will continue to make new friends and learn more Romanian and eat lots of Romanian food!
"'You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a [lantern] and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.'"
Matthew 5:14-16
Light and dark are two of the most powerful metaphors in our world. Light represents the known, the safe, the comforting. Light allows us to see the world around us, it reveals the truth, and it brings hope. Darkness, on the other hand, represents the unknown, potential dangers that we cannot see. It obscures our choices, makes us fearful of moving forward, and brings despair.
For me there is a big difference between a walk in the dark in unfamiliar territory...and a walk in the dark in unfamiliar territory with a lantern. Even though the circle of light might be limited, it is still a circle of light. I can see the path in front of me, I can see what's right beside me. I have hope that I will reach my destination unharmed.
That is what I want my ministry to be. I want to give a "lantern of hope" to each person that I serve. I want to enable them to see their own path and to move forward without fear. I want them to know the truth of God's love and feel hope.
"Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light,
Like a little [lantern] burning in the night.
In this world of darkness, Jesus bids us shine;
You in your small corner and I in mine."
Matthew 5:14-16
Light and dark are two of the most powerful metaphors in our world. Light represents the known, the safe, the comforting. Light allows us to see the world around us, it reveals the truth, and it brings hope. Darkness, on the other hand, represents the unknown, potential dangers that we cannot see. It obscures our choices, makes us fearful of moving forward, and brings despair.
For me there is a big difference between a walk in the dark in unfamiliar territory...and a walk in the dark in unfamiliar territory with a lantern. Even though the circle of light might be limited, it is still a circle of light. I can see the path in front of me, I can see what's right beside me. I have hope that I will reach my destination unharmed.
That is what I want my ministry to be. I want to give a "lantern of hope" to each person that I serve. I want to enable them to see their own path and to move forward without fear. I want them to know the truth of God's love and feel hope.
"Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light,
Like a little [lantern] burning in the night.
In this world of darkness, Jesus bids us shine;
You in your small corner and I in mine."
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