Busy writing articles!

Currently I am writing several articles about the need for real, authentic, and effective youth ministry in Romania. OC International in Romania distributes a newsletter "Ţinta" (the point) that is distributed to over 2000 churches in Romania. When we did a reader response survey, roughly 90 percent of those who receive the newsletter responded that they actually read the articles and that it is at least somewhat impactful. This is a huge responsibility and an opportunity to speak to pastors and church leaders openly about the needs the importance of youth outreach in Romania. Please pray for me as I rely upon God's wisdom in writing these articles. It helps that I have a journalism background. I pray that the articles will be a blessing for the Church in Romania and ultimately spur dialogue and healthy church reform.

Erin Miller's in Romania!

Erin Miller from Immanuel Church in Princeton, MN is here in Bucureşti for two weeks working with a foundation called Children to Love, where she is helping to bring some smiles to hundreds of orphan children in Romania. Erin has been studying abroad this year in Germany and decided to do a backpacking trip around Europe on her spring break. I am thrilled that Erin so willinglz offered her time and service to make a difference in the lives of Romanian orphans. I have enjoyed getting to know Erin better and showing her this country that I love so much. Erin enjoyed eating clătite, a Romanian dessert much like a thin pancake, stuffed with creamy chocolate, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Erin has been working hard at the various orphanages and seems to be liking Romania a lot, but admits Eastern Europe is much different than Germany. I will be taking Erin to my church and she will be enjoying a nice, traditional meal with my dear Romanian family, the Tamaş'. I'll keep you updated.

Romania, oh how I love thee!

Yep, IKEA will be opening in Bucureşti this coming week...my colleagues can hardly wait

Bucureşti traffic? It's a nightmare. Believe it or not, this is the main so called "interstate" running a ring around the city. Nope, there is no accident, just a lot of selfish drivers in an exercise of "survival of the fittest." And see those cars to the left of the tram? Well, "legally" they should be to the RIGHT of the tram. Okay LORD, I repent! I will never, ever, ever complain about the traffic of the Twin Cities again :) And you thought you had a challenging commute to work!

This is how we dry clothes in Bucureşti...myself included

Just when I thought I've seen it all, there is always a new surprise awaiting in Bucureşti

I love this pic. because it is quintessential Romania. If it's Saturday, the guys meet their buddies at the local park bench :)

Youth Network Meetings

Our youth leader network meetings are off and running. After a lot of planning and preparation, we had our first official meeting last week. The purpose of the group is to provide a forum for youth leaders to come together to pray for one another, encourage one another, and simply help each other. As I have visited various churches across denominational lines in Bucharest, it was more than apparent to me the utter need for youth leaders to get together. Although the turnout on the first night was not what we wanted (traffic and scheduling are quite difficult in Bucureşti), we have a good, solid group of young leaders and even more leaders who are very interested in pooling together youth leaders to build one another up. I am looking forward to the opportunities we will have to discuss topics such as discipleship, guy/girl relations, staying Christian in college, etc., that we will be discussing. The youth leaders who did attend expressed their enthusiasm in bouncing ideas off of one another and seeing what we can do better together that we cannot do alone.

Since we also have youth leaders from various denominations, we hope sometime in the future to take our youth groups to visit other youth groups and churches. For instance, Baptists visiting Pentecostal churches, etc. The need for healthy dialogue and respect among the evangelical churches in Bucureşti is a pressing need. This is just one idea we have to help build bridges. A "fun" idea we have is to sometime in the future do "The Amazing Race: Bucureşti" among different youth groups in the city, or sport tournaments, etc. We are certainly not short of ideas!

Please pray for us as we draft our constitution of common values, purpose, and discuss real and relevant issues related to youth ministry. And please pray especially that this network will be a blessing to everyone involved and ultimately contribute to producing fruit that will last.

Church Visit to Oradea

Recently, I visited some churches in and around Oradea, Romania with fellow leaders in my church in Bucureşti in order to get some ideas both for our youth and music ministries. We learned a lot and were able to do some strategizing of our own. I especially enjoyed the time just sitting down and brainstorming, in addition to listening to the beautiful church choirs. Oradea is a beautiful region of Romania, and I enjoyed the fresh air and mountian views.
Emmanuel Church in Oradea

The city-center of Oradea

The Choir