Go!

Alright guys and gals, it's time for an update. A whole lot has happened since my last entry and I want to extend my sincere apologies for not keeping you all filled in. I've wanted to wait until I have plans nailed down, but right now I want to just let you know whats going on right now.

Things are going great in Resita. The missions ministry there is flourishing with Lucci being hired full-time as a missionary by Hope Baptist. As he, Maria, and others go house to house, people are encouraged by Lucci's dedication and prayers for them. There is much excitement in Terova as the church's building is being built. I have enjoyed every ounce of work done and there will always be a place in my heart for those who are back in Resita.

Now, I need to tell you all what is going on in Timisoara where I now reside. Two years ago during a mission trip to Romania, I ran into a great guy named Petrica Portaru, a staff member for Campus Crusade for Christ here in Romania. Long story short, I find myself now living with him and working among college students and volunteers seeking to reach out and evangelize the campus here in Timisoara. This seems a little overwhelming now to tell you all the details, but I want to emphasize first of all the need for a Christian presence here in Timisoara. I was abruptly reminded while walking around the campus here that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. With 45,000+ college students in Timosoara, there is only one Christian organization, Campus Crusade which comprises of 6 Romanians (including Petrica) who seek to evangelize and disciple the students here. They hand out a magazine and hold weekly meetings which are both in Romanian. Now, this is how I fit into all of this: There are over 1000 international students (mainly in the medical university) from countries such as India, Nigeria, and Palestine who have very little interaction with Christians at all. All of the international students speak English but not necessarily Romanian. Consequently, they stick out just about as bad as I do. So, I feel that through my contacts with Campus Crusade, I can build relationships with these international students and at very least engage them in conversations about religion and so forth. Please, I beg for your prayers as I go to the dormitories, hallways, and parks looking for new friends and people with whom to share Christ and get them involved in a church that is English-speaker friendly.

I want to tell you about one of my first encounters with these international students. Petrica and I walked down a cigarette smoke filled dorm hallway to find a dorm room with Indian students. When Petrica and I walked in we were greeted by 4 smiling faces and "give up my seat for you" kind of hospitality. Honestly, we haven't gotten into any real serious spiritual talks yet. We focused more on our love for mountains and differences in cultures, languages, and so forth. When Petrica and I walked out I asked him, "Are any of them Christians?" He replied saying that there is a Christian, a Buddhist, another guy is Muslim, and the last one is Hindu. Welcome to the field Will.

Renaissance

Over the last year or so, one word seems to creep into in my mind on due occasion, renaissance . There are a couple of contexts that I want to talk about in regards to this idea, but a definition must come first. Renaissance originally meant "rebirth" in context with Da Vinci, A Kempis, Luther and so forth. Right now I can't help but see some of myself in The Journals of Jim Elliot as he describes his own 22nd year (my age,by the way) his "renaissance" wherein he liberated himself of certain prejudices.

Scripture with kids. Over the past week, I have been serving Hope Baptist in helping with their children's camp in a place called Surduc. There were around 75 children from 2nd to 8th grade representing three different churches. I must be honest about this. I'm not used to being around children, much less serving and working with them. Now, I feel somewhat comfortable with crowd control, and tying a shoelace here and there would not hurt. But giving 20 minute lessons every night is some kinda mountain to climb for me. Now I was thinking, how can I entertain these kids in a way that they can enjoy and learn? I had terrible thoughts in mind: redicuolus costumes, acting out crazy stories and perhaps puppets (no offense puppet team) for an audience of sticky kool-aid stained fingers and snotty noses. Needless to say, a renaissance was needed. I started thinking, what did I like growing up? I realized that the Spiritual nourishment I cherished most was when my dad read to me the classic stories of the Bible before bed time. He read them aloud and made sure to emphasize the parts that spoke to my heart as a wild boy. For example, David waving Goliath's head before the Philistines and Deborah jabbing a tent stake through some guy's head will get any boy excited and listening.

Disclaimer: I know that violence isn't what should be solely emphasized. However, I can see now what my dad was doing: He was letting the Scriptures draw his son to God by saying "Look here! This is a cool story. Let me read it to you for what it is." Through this camp I was able to have those stories jump out at me again afresh and anew. Honestly, I can't think of a better renaissance example. Just as Michelangelo saw something new in David through the Greeks, I was seeing something new in David through the Scriptures. The kids loved the stories; I loved sharing with them how Christ is our ultimate warrior king. On Thursday, after sharing some kid stories about shame and discouragement, I shared the story of Jonah and about how he was ultimately running from God by seeking his own comfort. I was somewhat discouraged while I was giving the message because I felt that it was a little over the kids' heads, but much to my joy I learned that a 3rd grader prayed at end the message that he would run after God's presence no matter what the discomfort and shame in order to serve God. What a blessing it is to know that God's word never returns void, so lesson learned. I guess I needed to be reborn in the way I look at teaching children. Kate gave me some good advice, "Just be yourself." I love Scripture for what it is and what it means and I think kids can too. (Pictures below of camp)

When in Rome

It is great to know that when we obey our Father and live sacrificially he rewards us in this life. Today I am resting after a long and wonderful weekend. As some of you know, every couple of months I have to leave Romania for a period to renew my visa. So, Rome seemed to be a good place for me to see because of the really cheap travel fare ($100 round trip plane ticket). First, I feel as though I should make some qualifications here about these travels to make sure that I save face in front of all of you guys that support me back home: I spend the nights in hostels, eat conservatively, and try to take the time to refocus myself in prayer.

Now this next part seemed to be a surprise for me. I was expecting to kinda "have a break from ministry" on this trip and I did to a certain respect, but I also had 2 great opportunities to share Jesus with fellow travelers to Rome. First, I met Keith on the 30 minute train ride to downtown. He is a South African high School Geography teacher residing in London who decided to spend the summer seeing the rest of Europe by purchasing one of those all-of-Europe train tickets. Anyway, after he told me this he asked me what I am doing here and I responded by saying, "I live in Romania as a Christian Missionary." He responded in astonishment saying, "I did not know there were missionaries any more." I further explained that there is a lot of ignorant and mindless religion in the world that is not connected to a personal relationship with God. He agreed with this statement in sort of a nod of the head reaction. We talked about traveling Europe and what we've heard about each city, Jesus, and my joy in my calling to travel proclaiming his good news. There is much left out because I remember that the 30 minute ride seemed as only a couple of minutes. We got off the bus in downtown Rome and we were going to get on different Metro lines to our hostels when he offered me a cigarette saying, "I think I'm going to have a smoke and catch the next one. You care to join?" I denied the offer of course because I don't smoke and was running late for check in at the hostel. As we parted I told him I appreciated the conversation. I'm not sure that Keith was a believer, but I hope that you guys will pray for him and for me to be more bold with my witnessing opportunities.

Second there was Dave. After leaving Keith behind, I made my way to check in at the hostel where I found him, my only roommate for the night (there could have been 2 more because I slept in a 4 bed dorm). At our first meeting, Dave explained his amazing story of why he was in Rome. When you ask people how they like Rome you don't expect them to say, "I hate it," but that's just what he said. I had to ask, "Why?" He began to tell of a race between him and his friend that went from the USC Trojan Coliseum in California to the Roman Coliseum in Italy. They started with no money and after 2 months here was Dave, broke and stranded in Rome. I congratulated him and asked, "where is the other guy?" He said that the other guy stopped in Tampa, what a loser. Anyway, I learned that Dave was from Salt Lake City and then we parted ways a while I explored the ancient part of Rome, the forum, Coleseum, and the Trevi fountain after dinner at dusk (best time to see it by the way). I met back with Dave in the Hostel around 10 PM where our real conversations began that wouldn't end until 3 am. After I explained that I am a Christian missionary in Romania he said, "I know how hard mission work is. I was on mission for two years in Mexico." My mind put things together instantly:

Dave was from Salt Lake City, Utah
+ 2 year mission
----------------------------
Dave was a Mormon

Anyway, I thought that Dave was a pretty cool guy so far and I did not want to get into a screaming theological argument so I kept things simple at first. I found out quickly one reason why Dave hated Rome. Dave was trying to get money by being a pub crawl host. One of the only ways that Americans can get money in Rome is to host a "pub crawl" where you take and take care of Americans and English speaking people around the city while they get plastered drunk. For a Mormon who was attending Brigham Young University who doesn't cuss, drink alcohol or perhaps caffeine, this was a bad and perhaps prodigal situation. Anyway, at first we were hitting on all cylinders talking about a personal relationship with Jesus and subsitutionary atonement. He was so excited to talk to another "Christian" and I was delighted to have the conversation while trying to keep my cool and not let the conversation turn south. With a serious tone in his voice he asked me, "do you have any key doctrinal statements memorized about your faith?" In my mind I was like, "okay, here we go." So while he sat patiently I explained to him about the inherency of Scripture and about how we believe in a "closed canon." His questions followed quickly about apostleship and I think I said that once the apostles died, revelation stopped. If this were true for the both of us, there would be no difference, no need for Joseph Smith. One thing everyone must know about Mormons is they know their stuff. Sometimes quoting from memory paragraphs from the book of mormon, he explained the 15-17 doctrines. He was respectful, honorable and patient with me as I was with him. I don't believe I was being forceful as my thoughts mingled with silent prayers as I talked to him about each point of his belief. Honestly, the breaking point between us is a matter of history. I can see one card that holds up the Mormon stack; Constantine and the Nicene Creed misinterpreted and left out portions of the current canon. According to Mormonism (through Dave), Joseph Smith purposed to correct the evil corruptions the Catholic Church did to Scripture. Even with this said, Dave explained his appreciation for what was found in the Bible and it is a matter of grace that we have what we do have. I have to say though, which is easier to believe? God spoke through a prophet in a North American civilization (Egyptian-Native American Indian) during the time of Christ about a people that would exist 1850 years later through Joseph Smith OR the previously persecuted early church fathers were not perfect but faithful people God used to give us his word. Although ignorance is often confused with modesty (Chesterton), I believe faith to be rational. I believe in asking good questions rather than beating truths into people's brains. For example, I asked Dave, What was the motivation of the church for doing this? What are the things specifically that the early church wanted to censor or omit? Can I be saved without Joseph Smith? What is the difference between what Joseph Smith and what the Bible says? These questions are tough for Mormons and require of them not what I call faith, but imagination. My heart grows with sorrow for people with beliefs outside of orthodoxy, but at the same time, I am grateful for ability to proclaim Jesus to a person who is thirsty for truth. Anyway, pray for Dave and Mormons and we all should read history that can help us carry on conversation with all people as Paul did in Athens.

I could begin to tell you many stories of of all of the magnificent sights of Rome and connect them to Spiritual lessons in some cliche way, but I wanted to expound a little about these two experiences along with a hard lesson that I had to learn towards the end of my trip. Some of you are probably thinking, "where are the pictures?" Well, long story short, I was at the Trevi Fountain on Sunday and slowly wandered into the church there to pray to Christ, my only advocate and to listen to the choir. While I was in the church praying, I had my camera by my side up against me in the pew. Someone must have snatched the camera when my head was bowed. Tragically this put a period to my trip to Rome. More than the camera, I miss the 300+ pictures that I took. Oh well, you know we all learn lessons in life, some come easy, some come with hurt. Now I am back safe and sound and enjoying this moment sharing with all of you who read. For the length of this post please forgive me.

New Places

Hello everyone,

I hope that all is well with my friends who are reading this. I have gotten word about the Shirley family and they are in my prayers. We are often reminded about how futile and valuable life is through events that rock our lives and the people's lives around us. May we love God and one another in times of distress and confusion as well as times of joy.

Things have been really busy around here lately. Yesterday, the youth here in Resita had a mission to a scenic town called Herculane. The church there was filled with traveling tourists who probably woke up in hotels close by. The youth sang praises to God and I was able to give a message from Hosea 11 filled with hope, encouragement, and the Gospel. Following the service, we ate pizza and walked around the town to see the many sights. The more time I spend here the more I realize how beautiful this country is. Herculane is kinda like Western North Carolina with some granite rock outcroppings remeniscent of a smaller Yosemite Valley. I suppose seeing a giant sequoia is what brought Yosemite to mind. Anyway, the town of Herculane was established when Rome conqured Romania around AD 160. The Romans left a legacy that is still enjoyed today, thermal bathhouses. They believed that these waters provided some sort of healing treatment. We see that time has little affect on some things such as people's search for comfort and healing. Unfortunately, "although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Rom 1:21). " Today, a bronze image of Hercules stands in the middle of the square perhaps reminding me that they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal man.

Anyway, I wanted to include some pictures of Herculane here to give you more of a taste of the town. The first picture is of the Baptist church. Please continue to pray for the ministry here and I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

A Simple Definition

Often times we are faced by difficult life questions. Olivia, one of the translators and my friend asked me, "What is the definition of mission work?" I knew she had something in mind so I think I just said, "a Christian." I continued to explain what I am doing here in Romania and she smiled and nodded back. After I stopped babbling she said forcefully, "The definition of mission work is an opportunity to die for Christ by giving yourself for something bigger than yourself." At first, I thought it just to be another cliche Christian saying we all like to agree upon verbally, but I was definitely uncomfortable with the thought. She told me this around a table full of friends but it did not really sink into my mind until a sunset ride along the Danube river brought it back to the forefront. I started thinking that most of the time we think of why we are missionaries and don't spend much time thinking about the how. I hope that all who read this will ponder this question (especially those of ERBC). It does not take a genius to figure out that the people here are serious about their faith and mission work.
I am constantly reminded that missionaries are often ministered to just as much as they minister to others.















I want to share with you some more ministry opportunities that I have had here so far. First, shockingly enough there was an opportunity for me to go to a festival with some of the youth here in Resita. The festival was much like fall for Greenville but more rides and different music that sounded like something out of Jonny Depp's dreams. Anyway, I was riding the swings and I thought to myself, "Will, you are having a good time here. Enjoy life a little bit." So I laughed with the friends about how scary and unsafe the rides were and soaked in all the bliss I could. Also, they do not have any real "wait in line" structure with the rides. Once people get off the ride, there is a mad dash to be the next people to get on. A little scary at first, but I say in the case of circus riding in Romania, "survival of the fittest." Secondly, the festival food is awesome. Grilled corn and sausages for under 2 dollars is quite a steal.

Luci's cast is off and he is back on his feet in the villages (guy in yellow). He cut the cast off himself rather than going back to the doctor. I guess men are the same no matter where they are from. He loves the people he ministers to and I am very very grateful to serve with him almost every day going from house to house sharing God's love with people. There are many needs at the houses we visit. From multiple miscarriages to lost jobs, people are hurting out there. With patience and love we listen to them and pray for them as I hope you will also. On Friday we had a guest with us. His name was Alin Jivan (Far left on the pic). Alin is a highly awarded Romanian Gymnist who loves Christ with everything he has. We went from house to house where he gave his powerful testimony to each group whether it be 10 people or 2. I believed him when he said that he goes to the gym, reads his bible and he prays.
I asked him if he has any other hobbies or interests
and he said, "I only have time for Jesus."
You can find a video of him here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOD0x7YX1GY

Anyway, I hope this has given you a little taste of what is going on here in Romania. Honestly, it has taken me a couple of days to compose this post for lack of time. Things are happening very quickly. I love all of you guys and hope that this has been good for some of you to know that God is really working here in Romania!

Image

Wow, a lot has happened over the past couple of days. These fickle words will not suffice to explain how the ministry here is going. These experiences need to be shared around a coffee table on comfortable couches (Coffee Underground or Paris Cafe downtown Greenville would be nice). I would tell stories in stuttering excitement of how old ladies prod their cows down the street and then move to eye-glistening seriousness in telling of how a loving hand and a comforting word was given to a mother after losing her 17 year-old son.

For now, I want to share some pictures of expereince and people. I can tell you that the pictures will never do justice to what is going on here.



This is my first attempt at cooking for myself in the apartment. Because lunch is so huge, dinner is often more of a snack. In keeping the trend, this is just vegetable soup, ham, tomatoes, cheese (locally made) and olives. I'm trying to eat a little bit healthier here. We'll see how it goes.









is my good friend Shteffie (This is how you pronounce it). He is 29 years old and married to a wonderful girl named Laura. He faithfully serves in the villages with Luci. Although his English struggles, our relationship is very strong.






These two wonderful girls have been my translators over the past couple of days. Simona, the one on the right, has been a great help with showing me around town and eating at non-english speaking people's homes with me (I'm sure that she appreciates all of the free meals). With these people I often think a song with the line "Disappear from your hometown, go and find the people that you know." My closest friends will know the artist.

These next pictures are of a village called Culnic. This is a very difficult village to minister in because the people are not so receptive to the message. There are only about 5 to 10 people that I have been able to talk to in the past 2 visits. But, every time I go the villages like this one I am reminded that God calls people to himself and it is not by my own eloquence or meritt that people recieve the message of God's love. The building that the people are coming out of is where we meet to have a small worship service where we sing a song, someone gives a message of encouragement from God's word, and then we pray together.

Spiritual Wealth

Hello Everyone,

I am glad to see that people are looking at this blog. I hope to do some aesthetic adjustments on it soon so do not get too comfortable with it. I hope to have some pictures up soon of the villages, apartment, church, etc. that way you all can get a visual of what is going on here.

The Lord has been very gracious over the past couple of days in my time spent here. I have been able to keep in touch with loved ones over seas via skype which gives me a lot of comfort. With a week since the team has left me here, I feel a great peace come over me knowing that there are so many people praying for me and thinking about me. Evenings spent alone in studying God's word, reading books like Jim Elliot's Journals, Donald Miller's Through Painted Deserts, and journaling helps me stay focused. Honestly, I enjoy the slower pace here. I wish I could take the mentality back to the states with me. By the way, I am not a hermit here. I have made significant friendships with the youth and twenty-year-olds. We hang out, talk about music, theology and relationships while walking around downtown, pretty much the same things I did back in the states.

Please pray for Luci, he recently injured his leg playing soccer with the youth. Consequently, he will be in a cast for 10 days and giving me more of the responsibility of going and ministering to the villages. Although I am with his wife and a translator, I have grown accustomed to his presence and his elloquence with the people in the village. I understand this can be a serious growing time and an out-of-my-comfort-zone expereince that will bring me into a closer trust to God's will in mission work. In my next blog, I hope to give some more details on what goes on in the villages and also I hope to provide some pictures of the villages and the people that inhabit them.

Until then,
Pace Domnului (God is peace.)

With New Eyes

Hello everyone! So this is my first blogging experience and I am very very excited to let people know how my life is going here in Romania. As further illustrated, it is probably going to take me some time to get used to the feel and the poetic cloudiness and rambling usually associated with "Blogging."

Tonight is a big night for me. It is my first night at the Church's apartment. After successfully moving all clothes, books, guitar, and toiletries in, I managed to set up internet which allows me to keep in touch with the ones that live more than an ocean away. Now for some big picture things going on here with the ministry. Essentially there are 2 areas: First, I am serving the youth in teaching and giving messages that encourage them to live a godly life that constantly reaches out to those in need of a savior. The message and teaching usually involves a challenge to take the message out beyond Resita and into the villages. Within these villages live people who have really no connection to a church. A man named Luci here at Hope has devoted 3 years of his life (without income) to serving these people in bringing a few of them together in small faith communities. This is the second area that I am serving in. Over the past week or so I have been going with Luci to these villages introducing myself, sharing my testimony, and giving a word of encouragement from Scripture. There is much more to be shared about the ministry here, but for now this seems sufficient.

I want to thank everyone for all of the support, love and encouragement that has been graciously given to me by so many people. I am very excited to be a part of such a faith-adventure here in Romania. God is blessing me with the sustaining bread of his Word and comforting me with the warmth of new friends. Oh yea, I picked the title of this blog after one of the Scriptures that really shaped how I percieve missions: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17. Chew on this Scripture for a while. Enjoy!