Evangelism in Odobesti

On Saturday I helped organize a large evangelism event in the city of Odobeşti, about 40 kilometers to the west of Bucureşti, with youth from my church and students studying at a Christian seminary. At least once a month, I have been going to this city to run a Bible club with children and adolescents. Since this is largely an unreached community, I called my best friend Cat and his band helped us organize an evangelism concert, complete with dramas, testimonies, games, food, and lots of time for one-on-one conversations. I was pleased for how the event turned out for several reasons. First, it was a chance to reach-out to a lost community. Second, it was a great way for the youth from my church and friends to get involved in outreach and to develop leadership and evangelism skills. Third, the day was absolutely beautiful, so we were able to have the concert outside. Fourth, somewhere between 150-200 people attended the concert--PRAISE THE LORD! Lots of parents came with children and seemed to have a great time. On the way home, the youth were buzzing with all the great connections and conversations that were had over the course of the day. We are hoping to build on this momentum to expand the Bible club in this city and spur growth in the local evangelical church. Here are some pictures from the day: One of the best up and coming Christian bands in Romania:

"Profides"

Playing games with the kids

Playing in a drama about

earthly temptations We were pleased to have young and old attend the concert

Here I am in another drama Around 100 kids attended the event

The President is impeached!

It's official! The Romanian parliament has officially impeached President Train Băsescu for allegations of not cooperating fully enough with the parliament and opposition parties. Yesterday there were massive rallies in some of Bucureşti's central squares in defense of the president. Băsescu has been quite outspoken about the need for reform in the government, especially in the years prior to Romanian's EU entry. He remains extremely popular among the populace. What now? It is likely that Băsescu will run in the elections (to be determined) to get his postion back. Some speculate that he would easily receive over 50 percent of the vote, eliminating the need for a runoff. What a mess! If you would like to read more, please follow this link:

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/04/19/romania.suspend.reut/index.html

Paul Washer in Romania

Last week I finally had the chance to listen to Paul Washer, director of HeartCry Ministries, preach at a local church here in Bucureşti. Washer, a former missionary himself in Latin America, is a gifted speaker and extremely popular here in Romania. He led a conference co-hosted by my home church here on post-modernism and its effects on the local church. His style is very straight-forward and thought-provoking. One of the main premises in his sermon is the lack of appropriate teaching on sin and repentance in the Church today and the rise of "feel good" churches that don't properly communicate to new or young Christians the importance of repentance and living according to Christlikeness. It certainly provided something to think about. If any of you have ever heard Paul Washer speak or have some thoughts, I would love to hear from you.

Happy Easter! Paşte Fericit!

Happy Easter everyone. Just wanted to share with you a few things about Easter in Romania. Take a look: The paintings and icons are beautiful, but far too many Orthodox Romanian Christians are guilty of icon-worship. This particular picture depicts the empty tomb.

During Easter, many Romanians create decorative eggs like the ones shown above

In the Romanian Orthodox Church, a common Easter celebration is to light candles and march home with them from the cathedral after a pre-Easter mass. The candles are to symbolize the light (Christ) going out into the world. I love the symbolism of this ritual, but am saddened that for many Romanian Orthodox Christians, it is just that, a ritual and not a heart-thing.

Oţelu Roşu

I had been wanting to pay a visit to the city of Oţelu Roşu for a long time, so I was pretty happy to participate in an evangelism concert last Saturday in this beautiful village in the Banat region of western Romania. Some friends of mine from Bucureşti were invited to play at the cultural palace and a number of youth from the city came, including orphans and disadvantaged children that I have worked with in the past at Fundaţia Humanitas Pro Deo, an orphanage where I have helped lead VBS programs and Bible studies. I cannot express what a blessing it was to visit this foundation again and to follow-up with kids that I have not seen in a few years. Unfortunately, there were more sad stories than success stories. The life of an orphan in Romania is truly difficult to grasp--they are certainly considered the "least of these". Still, it was great to pay a visit, share pictures, prayers, laughs, and stories. I also had a great time staying with my hosts, Iulian Panca (Emi's brother for those of you who know him) and his wife. The food, conversation, and fellowship were great. Here are some pictures from the weekend. One of my favorite groups "profides" playing at the concert
Sharing a message at a local church on Sunday

Fundaţia Humanitas Pro Deo în Oţelu Roşu

With some of the orphans and staff

With "Stancii"

With Claudiu

Cosmina with one of the newest members of the orphanage

What a bunch of goof balls!

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

Ethnomusicology Course

My OC International team here in Bucharest has helped organize a course on ethnomusicology over the next two weeks, being taught by Dr. Roberta King, a professor from Fuller Seminary in California. Dr. King has traveled around the world, teaching on the importance of both understanding a theology of praise and worship, as well as the criticalness of cultural relevance in music communication. The students participating in the course represent various denominations and backgrounds. It is our prayer that these students will, in turn, be able to impact their own churches in articulating a Biblical theology of praise and worship and engage their congregations in true, authentic, and culturally relevant worship. Dr. Roberta King

Some of the students

Logos High School Retreat

I just participated in a three-day retreat with Logos, a Christian high school in Bucureşti. I spoke to the students about praise and worship and how worship is not something we go to do just on Sunday mornings, but should be a reflection of how we live our entire lives--in worship and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ. We also spent significant time brainstorming how we can use our talents in the Church and community. We had a fun time at a camp facility in Ojasca, playing games, singing songs, going on excursions (even swam in the river...many of you know that I love cold water--and well, it was a nice day, so I thought, why not?), and spending time in God's Word. I look forward to more opportunities in the future where I can hopefully encourage this group of young leaders to use their God-given talents for the glory of His kingdom. I can't wait to see all that they are going to do to help reach Bucureşti and greater Romania for Christ. The group shot

We had fun jamming out and learning some new songs

We visited a volcano nearby the camp facility

Some of the formations surrounding the volcano

La Mulţi Ani Cat!

This past weekend we had a surprise birthday party for my good friend Cat! It was a lot of work, but he was genuinely surprised and everyone had a fun time singing songs, playing games, and praying that God will continue to use Cat for His glory. Cat is an extremely talented piano player, having won multiple contests even at the age of 5. He has a great heart and loves the Lord. Happy Birthday Cat!

Preparing the Next Generation of Worship Leaders

One of the projects I am working on here in Bucharest is an "Association of Music School", where a small group of talented, young, Christian musicians in Bucharest would offer lessons in various instruments (piano, drums, guitar, and voice) in an effort to help prepare the next generation of praise and worship leaders here in Bucharest. There is a real need in multiple evangelical churches in Bucharest to find and develop the youth who will eventually lead worship in their churches. A small group of my friends and I began discussing how we could best help to address this situation, and through those discussions, our idea has progressed into a small music school. Students will be taking individual lessons taught by experienced musicians four times a month in addition to coming together one Saturday each month to practice how to work together as a music team. For instance, working on ear exercises, rhythm, blending instruments, and how to communicate with one another while performing music. Moreover, since this is a specialized music program for Christian music leaders, we will be discussing a theology of praise and worship and the importance of not just playing music, but actively engaging the congregation in collective worship. Thus, we will be emphasizing the spiritual life of each student. I will be helping out both with voice lessons and a theology of praise and worship. Currently we are in the process of publicizing and handing out fliers to churches like the one above. Please pray for us as we progress in this exciting new endeavor!

Preaching in Dobroieşti

Sunday I was invited to preach at a small church-plant in a suburb of Bucureşti. This is a young church with a big vision for impacting a very unreached zone of the greater metropolitan area for Christ. I preached from Matthew chapter 13, where Jesus uses various parables to describe both what the Kingdom of Heaven is like and how it lshould operate within this, a fallen world. I also adressed many of the challenges that lie ahead for Romania, spiritually, as a member of the European Union. Certainly, there are aspects of EU laws that are not exactly in connection with the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as Jesus states in Matthew 13 about the weeds among the fields of wheat--there are certainly "weeds" sprouting up around Christians in Romania...one being rising secularisim in the West. Please pray along with me that Romanian Christians will remember that our utmost allegiance is to the Kingdom of God and to follow and obey His Word. We are called to be salt and light in this world. It will be interesting to see how the Body of Christ in Romania responds to EU temptations. Hopefully we will all remember that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is our true king.

Did You Know?

The city of Sibiu, Romania is the European Capital of Culture for the year 2007! It is a beautiful city surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Carpathian Mountains. Sibiu is one city in Romania that has actively preserved much of its ancient medieval architecture. Here are some pictures of this charming city of Transylvania. If you would like to read more about Sibiu, please visit http://www.sibiu2007.ro/index_en.phpSibiu is known for its winding streets and medieval fortresses

The traditional folk costumes of the Sibiu regionSibiu city center

The Carpathian mountains surround the city

Old town Sibiu

Teamwork, Momentum, & Vision

I just got back from attending a youth leadership conference in Bucharest that really encouraged me! The main purpose of the conference was simply to start the new year with a show of unity in working together to reach the youth of Romania for Christ. The content of the seminar was excellent--wish all of you would have been able to be there to hear it. We covered such issues as: the top ten needs of the youth in Romania, teenagers and the mass media, identity, ideology, and the battle many youth have between mind and body.

Here are some interesting points that I walked away with:

*73% of Romanian youth become Christians before the age of 21

*Time & Space are key concepts in understanding teenagers. Very few have a concept of time and when it comes to space-- they want room to be creative, make mistakes, grow, and learn.

*Focus is everything! Youth like to rally around a cause, be it for better or worse. Look at Hitler's youth propaganda movements, the 60's, Tianneman Square, or simply politics. It's important for all of us who have connections with youth to help them find their focus in life, a Godly cause to rally around, and help and encourage them on the journey. Nowhere have I learned this more than here in Bucharest. The churches that seem to be doing well with their youth programs are the ones who rather than planning activities for the youth, instead, demonstrated trust in the youth by giving them responsibilities directly related to the cause of the youth group and the Church as a whole.

Overall, it was some great stuff. I am looking forward to meeting with more youth leaders and starting youth network meetings this year. I will keep you updated about the hills and valleys!

Holiday Highlights

My friend Andrea was in Romania after Christmas to visit friends. We worked together at Christian Student Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. It was good to catch up, show her where I work and entertain everybody with some classic 'MinnesOOOOtan' slang.

On Christmas Eve I sang with my friend Cat and shared a short Christmas message with a friend during a special Christmas program at a church plant about 25 kilometers to the east of Bucharest

Caroling with youth in Bucharest was fun. Our group was comprised of experienced musicians, so we were even able to jazz up some Christmas favorites!This is an evangelistic, youth choir in Bucharest that travels on weekends to various communities in outreach events. The director invited our caroling group as special guests for a Christmas concert.