Aches & Pains, but well worth it!

So, I just got back from a much needed retreat. One day, I met my good friend Catalin in the city of Buşteni and we hiked 8,400 feet to the cross memorial overlooking the city. It was quite the adventure. The trail is marked "very difficult" for good reason. I admit that this was the most challenging hike I have ever done, mainly because of the steep climbs and dangerous paths. About halfway up, we hit rain and sleet. But, the beauty was breathtaking and well worth it. Unfortunately, the joy of reaching our summit was subdued with the realization that we had to hike back down--which was actually much harder than the climb up. But I guess when you are with a good friend, it's all worth it. It was one of those days you look back upon, smile, and cherish. Still, my knees are in a recovery program :) Here are some pictures from our great adventure.... To give you an idea of the fog, and sleet, my friend took this photo of me standing only about a foot away. Can you find me?

Just a silly photo with my friend Cat

This is the cross that overlooks the city of Buşteni.

It serves as a memorial to WWII vets in Romania. It got extremelz foggy and snowy when we finally reached the summit.

The view in Romania's Bucegi mountains is incredible

We climbed well above the clouds and treeline

Winding waterfalls

Biserica Bunavestire

In the last month, I have gotten much more involved in my home church here in Bucharest, Biserica Bunăvestire (Church of the Good News).The church rents a concert hall in central Bucharest on Sunday mornings, and on Sunday evenings, we meet in small groups. I am excited that God has led me to a church home here. But, I assure you that I will continue to be working with many churches in their youth programs and outreach.


I am excited about my new church for several reasons. First, it is a church that seems open to new ideas and is not locked in tradition. This means the youth and the congregation as a whole play a large part in the worship service and church activities. Second, the church is working hard to create true, authentic community. We are one of the few churches in Bucharest that has tried small groups and if you ask almost anyone in the congregation, they will likely tell you how the small group ministry has helped them not only to make friends, but also to grow in their personal walks with the Lord. The third reason I am excited about this church is because I have gotten involved in the praise and worship team. In the picture above, I am singing with one of my best friends, Catalin. It has been a huge blessing to share the gift of music with friends and explore ways that we can engage the congregation in genuine, collective worship. One of those ways, is by involving the many children of the church into the worship service. My friend Cat hopes to start a children's choir. In addition, we hope to get the youth involved in dramas. It should be fun. I'm excited to be working with the youth of the church. Please pray for me to have wisdom in working with the youth and pray that God would allow me to relate on their level and simply share life with them. It's exciting to get more involved in working with the youth and I can't wait to report back to you on some of the things we'll be doing.

A Welcome Surprise

Well this was certainly a surprise. My good friend, Anna Bongard, and I got to spend an afternoon in Bucharest catching up! Anna was my 80-plus-year-old Romanian language tutor when I lived in the Twin Cities. We would get together once a week to practice language, cook Romanian cuisines together, and play games. Anna was born in the city of Feldioara, Romania (just north of Braşov), and moved to the United States when she was a teenager. She continues to fellowship within the Romanian community in St. Paul and attends a Romanian church just north of the state capitol building. This was Anna's first time back in Romania after 21 years--so she was blown away by many of the changes since communist years. Anna is a lady with a lot of 'spunk' and it was wonderful getting to see her again. For a woman her age, she sure got around--having traveled to see relatives and friends in a good chunk of the country. Some of my favorite memories with her are when she would set up her apartment in Roseville like a Romanian piaţa and we would role-play and practice ordering foods and various merchandise in Romanian markets. Other good memories include visiting various Romanian culture events in the Twin Cities. I am so glad I was able to see Anna and catch up--she's a great friend!

The wonderful stuffed peppers we enjoyed at Anna's friend's apartment!

Small Group Ministries

This morning I went to a meeting about the small groups that will be starting up in my church, BunaVestire this fall. It was nice to see a big turnout of people, young and old, men and women, who are interested in hosting a small group in their home. I am very thankful that our pastor, Vasile Taloş, is committed to real and authentic community. Small group ministries are a relatively new concept for the Church in Bucharest, but something I think will be critical in terms of community outreach, especially to the youth. I hope to start a small group this fall at my apartment.

It was also exciting to get positive feedback from members in the church to some of the youth ideas myself and others would like to see started.

Steaua Pandemonium

Well, the soccer craziness is back in Bucharest (not that it ever left). My team, Steaua, qualified for the Champions League in Europe. The bad news? They have a horrible draw. Bucharest Steaua is in the same group as Real Madrid, arguably the best team in Europe. In Steaua's first game in their pool, they defeated Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine) on the road by a score of 4-1. Once again, it was utter euphoria around my neighborhood. When Real Madrid comes to Bucharest, including Ronaldino and David Beckham, I can hardly imagine the excitement. In this part of the world, it doesn't get much bigger than Ronaldino and Beckham. Well, so far Steaua is undefeated in pool play--so FORTZZZZZA STEAUA!

Casa Beniamin

This afternoon I went to visit Casa Beniamin, which is a small home on the northern edge of Bucharest that houses about a dozen teenage boys who would otherwise likely be calling the streets their home. I worked with the Benjamin Foundation several times in the past, when they had many more kids (around 70). Due to financial issues and ever-changing Romanian policies, among other issues, the foundation has been through a lot in the past several years. I am pleased, however, to see that the foundation was able to hold on to at least some of these young men and give them shelter, responsibilites, and share the love of Christ with them. Many are mentally or physically handicapped. When I visited, the boys were busy painting the new home, pouring cement, and laying bricks for the walk-way around the small home. I have prayed often for this small foundation with a friend of mine from Minnesota. Times are tough, so please pray that God would uphold this ministry and that Beniamin would be able to make a positive impact in these young men's lives. And pray also that doors would be open for the ministry to be able to extend its doors to welcome in even more young men who are in severe need of a home and a loving hand.

Beniamin (pictured in red) told me that his heart is to open up more homes around Bucharest for disadvantaged children. It is certainly one of my prayers for Bucharest that all children would have the opportunity to have shelter, food, and people around them who will show them love, compassion, nourishment, and the love of Christ. I plan to mention this foundation to several churches, so hopefully some youth groups will get involved in active ministry and discipleship with these young men. Please remember to keep the Benjamin Foundation and these boys in your prayers. Thanks!

Today while riding home on the Bucharest Subway, a different street-child entered the Subway cabin at each stop, begging for money. Many had extremely noticeable physical defects. In a transitioning country like Romania, where the rich are getting even richer, the poorest of the poor, namely the orphans and street-children, are the ones often left behind. I'm affraid that an attitude of complacency seems to have perculated into nearly all facets of Romanian society. Although Europe is experiencing an Indian summer (temperatures here are still in the eighties and might climb to 90s next week), autumn is around the corner, and then another long, brisk winter. Just across the street from a very large Carrefour store (the French owned European Wal-Mart store that makes U.S. discount stores look small, with over 100 checkout lanes!) in Grozaveşti (a zone in Bucharest), over 20 kids are sleeping under concrete slabs. Pray that these children would not be forgotten, that the Romanian government would reach out to these children, and that these kids would find the proper shelters, foundations, medical care, etc. that they need.

I have been invited to audition to become a member of the Bucharest Christian Choir that is starting up next week. Apparently, a few of my friends here recommended me to the director, so we will see where this leads. I have always missed being in choir since college days, so I am looking forward to this opportunity. It is also a chance to fellowship with young adults and make new friends in an environment surrounded by songs of praise and worship to our Lord. Recently, I have also gotten involved in the praise and worship team at my home church here in Bucharest (more on that in the future). To say the least, it has truly been a blast! I'm glad to be getting more involved in music at my church, in addition to working with worship leaders on how we can be effective in using music as an effective ministry in the church.

Last Sunday CAT and I sang a couple of songs for a small church plant. Currently, we have about ten invitations to sing at various churches on Sunday evenings. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to report on this soon.

Sharing Life Together

I just got back from the wrap-up session of Viaţa la Maxim. The week-long outreach program went very well--thank you so much for your prayers. In the mornings, I led a VBS program for kids of various ages at a large park near my apartment. Despite rain, we still had 30 kids with their parents and grandparents on the first day, and by the last day, we had well over 60 kids. Praise the Lord! We sang songs, played games, presented dramas and puppet shows, and had ample time to share our faith with the adults.

In the afternoons, we went on prayer-walks around Bucharest, visited orphanages, and ministered in nursing homes. And if that weren't enough, each evening I played volleyball with youth in various parks around the city. The final day, we had day-long tournaments for various sports in several parks around Bucharest. During that time, we were able to have many great conversations with non-Christian youth and I am very encouraged to see how many new relationships were formed. Romanians truly have a gift for evangelism. This my friends, makes me really excited, because the Romanian youth are starting to recognize their role in the Great Commission, and it's an important one, especially considering the spiritual state (or lack thereof) in Europe today. The youth of Romania are one of the few sparks in a dark continent.

I cannot tell you enough how great it was to see Christian youth swapping phone numbers, emails, and setting up get-togethers with the non-Christian youth in the parks. It was a great week, but I must admit that I'm exhausted! Here are some pictures from some of the week's activities:

Our winning volleyball team collecting awards

An evangelism drama

We had kids of all ages

The kids loved getting their faces painted...

...and puppet shows

We had plenty of time to talk with the youth about "real" life issues

Over 10 teams participated in our volleyball tournament