Amazing Romania - Land of Choice 1

Here are some Romanian tourism videos with Nadia Comaneci, Ilie Nastase and Gheorghe Hagi. Kind of a random video, but I like the idea. So, how about coming to Romania and discover for yourself why we consider it our little slice of heaven :)

Romania - Land of Choice 2 (official)

Here is another Romanian Tourism Video

Picnic in Pucioasa

Last Saturday some of our youth group traveled to the city of Pucioasa, about an hour out of Bucureşti to have a picnic with one of our partner churches. Our music director's brother is the pastor here. We sang songs, had a barbeque, played volleyball, and enjoyed getting to know each other a bit more. We are hoping to do more things in partnership in the future.
Me and my good friend Simon

Corina working the grill

It was hot, so of course we went swimming at the dam!

Viaţa la Inalţime: Life on the Heights

I just got back from an incredible week at adolescent camp up in the Bucovina region of Romania known as Voroneţ. Camp season is truly my favorite time of the year. And once again, God knocked our socks off. We were blessed by great weather, diverse and fun activities, a zip-line, rock-climbing, amazing kids, and an awesome staff. To top it all off, we were shrouded by the majestic Carpathian mountains. Absolutely beautiful! I had a young boy in my group who came for the first time to camp and is not from a Christian home. He left amazed by the week at camp and is starting to ask questions about what it means to live a life with Christ. I will be emailing and following- up with him in the weeks ahead.

The theme of the camp was "Viata la Inaltime" or "Life on the Heights". We talked about what it means to live the Christian life, the sacrifices involved, but the utter joy, comfort, and security that comes with choosing to follow Christ and accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour. I had a great group of kids and enjoyed talking with them one-on-one. Some of the best times of my life have been spent at camps in Romania and this was no exception. And I might add that God didn't just speak to the campers, He spoke to me too--reminding me of how important it is to share Christ with others so that all can share in the ultimate fellowship that is the Body of Christ! Enjoy the pics from an awesome week. I love camp and I LOVEEEEEEEE Romania!
My "gasca" at camp (gang/homies) from Iaşi!

My small-group

Edi and me

La masa

Radu and me, my volleyball buddy and fellow jokester :)

It is tradition in Romania to stay up all night during the final night of camp. No leader wanted to stay up, so I volunteered to look after the kids. I remembered the fact that some of my best memories in life were those nights staying up talking with kids at Romanian camps--those are moments you just don't forget--and I didn't want these kids to miss out either. It was a sweet, blessed time. Besides, sleep is over-rated :)

The cross overlooking camp

Me on the zip-line flying and climbing the wall

Off to camp!

I am off to camp again. This time I will be working with close to 100 adolescents up in Voroneţ, Romania. I can't wait. Camp is such a sweet and blessed time in Romania where God always does some amazing things. Please pray for safety, for many deep conversations, and for lives to be changed eternally for Christ! I love camp!
This is the painted monastery not too far from where our camp is situated.

Back to the Inferno

The summer heat in Bucureşti is quite intense. Because the city has so many concrete block apartments, the sun's radiation makes temperatures soar in the direct sunlight. We have been hovering in the mid-90s lately and are told that it will get much hotter. It is not unusual for us to have weeks of temperatures at or near 110. So we find the nearest fountain as these pics taken around the city. I have to dump water over my head daily, even at the office. Praise the Lord I am headed to the mountains and the solitude of camp!

'Beautifying' the city

My area of Bucureşti is known as Piaţa Muncii (the place of labor). Recently the city has been trying to spruce things up a bit by adding more green space, trees, flowers, etc. The picture above is from the square near where I live. In the past, it was full of billboards, dirt, etc. Now, the city has replaced the the ads with trees, grass, and flowers. I can tell you, just seeing the green space puts me in a better mood when I walk home from work!

About each month the city puts new flowers in. Pansies used to be in the above photo. I am told they are now going to put in some magnolias.

It's Camp Season!

It's summer, it's hot, it's sticky. So, it must be camp season. This is my favorite time of the year. I have had so many blessed times in RO camps, sharing Christ, laughing, crying, and simply lending a listening ear to youth who needed to talk. This summer I will again be involved in several camps for youth, adolescents, sports, youth leader training, and missions. Please pray that God will use each and every camp in Romania this summer for His Kingdom and that lives would be eternally changed!

Hava Nagila (Biserica Buna Vestire Bucuresti)

MANY OF YOU ASK ME TO POST MUSIC FROM MY CHURCH: THIS IS SOME OF OUR YOUTH WHEN WE LED WORSHIP BY SINGING IN SOME SEVEN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

THE GROUP CATRE CER (TOWARDS HEAVEN) AT MY CHURCH

THE JIST OF THE SONG: YOU ARE THE LOVE IN MY LIFE LORD

Theatre on the Street

It seems there is always something going on in Bucureşti, take for example the recent "Theater in the Street" festival that took place:

Around the city

The city has been busy completely renovating Titan park near where I live. Check out the new fountain they put in. On a sunny day it makes a rainbow.
Piaţa Unirii in central Bucureşti

Classic out with the old and in with the new

Parcul Carol on a busy Sunday afternoon

Tomb of the unknown soldier in Bucureşti

International Day of Prayer

Today we celebrated the Global Day of Prayer in Bucureşti together with Christians around the world. At every hour, Christians gathered in places like Korea, Thailand, Africa, France, Brazil, America, etc. to praise and worship our Lord Jesus Christ and to pray for our world, the lost, and the many needs of our world. Several groups from around Romania led us in music and various pastors from different denominations led us in strategic prayer. We enjoyed beautiful weather. Unfortunately, the turnout was not as strong as churches would have liked, which I think is probably more an indication of the struggle we face in Bucureşti to collaborate as Christians across denominational lines. As we say in Romanian, "Everyone in his own camp." Please pray with us for unity among Christian leaders in our city, that we would be united and able to collaborate in order to help the lost of our city come to know Christ. We certainly need and appreciate your prayers. And may we as Christians be united each and every day in prayer.

One Big Pot Hole

In Romania, anything is possible :)

What is that?

This is a short film that I thought really captured how much we should all appreciate our parents and the patience, sacrifices the have made for all of us. I hope you like the clip.

Partners in Mission Conference

OC Romania collaborated with the Evangelical Alliance in Romania and United World Mission to host a conference called "Partners in Mission." The purpose of the conference was to promote dialogue and unity between missions organizations in Romania and the Evangelical Churches in order to see 1) The Great Commission fulfilled within Romania and 2) Romanians leaving to serve on the mission field in foreign lands. It was a very fruitful conference. I led a two-hour seminar on how we can motivate youth for missions that was well received. We also had opportunities to ask questions to representatives of the major denominations about missions in a forum setting. It was a great conference that left me encouraged that Romania is committed to fulfilling her role in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. We continue to pray for greater unity, collaboration, and action among churches and organizations to see all people reached for Christ!

Adventure Park: Team Building

On Saturday before meeting at church, our youth group went to an adventure park just outside of Bucharest full of obstacles and challenges for both individuals and teams. The idea was to 1) overcome fears 2) Rise to a challenge and 3) work together as a team. Naturally, fun was had by all! I especially liked swinging from tree to tree.