It is hard to believe that it is already 2011. I am very much looking forward to this year to work for God and His Kingdom. I enjoyed a great Christmas up in my favorite region of Romania, Mures County in Transylvania. Here are some picture highlights of the season. It is a beautiful time of the year in Romania with the lights and snow. May God do miracles in and through all of us in 2011. To Him be all the glory!
In Romania it is common for many people in rural areas to skin pork, or roast it on the fire. Here is a pic of some people cutting up the pork right in the bloc parking lot :)
On Friday I helped my friends deliver potato-sacks full of food and gifts to extremely disadvantaged families living in Bucharest and the children that were with us in camp last summer. We greeted the families with carols and delivered the beautiful hand-knit sweaters made by the people at Immanuel Church. It was perfect timing, as the weather has turned cold here and the warm clothing is much appreciated. Here are some pictures with the kids, who too would like to extend a big THANK YOU to all those who helped make their Christmas special.
The lights are up across Bucharest, adding a lot of Christmas Cheer!
| As regards its style of construction, Fagaras Fortress belongs to the western system of fortifications used in the 15th century, and brought along to Transylvania as early as the 14th century. In 1539, Transylvania’s prince Stephen Mailath (1528-1541) partially rebuilt the fortress. Gaspar Bekes (1567-1573) had the moat made,strengthened the earthen exterior walls and resumed works in the northern wing of the castle. Stephen Bathóry (1575-1586) and Balthazar Bathóry (1589-1594) finished the second level of the northern wing, the third level of the southern wing and the loggia on the south side. It was Gabriel Bethlen (1613-1629) who brought along major architectural changes he built Italian style bastions and casemates, repaired the inner walls and reshaped the loggia on the south side in the Renaissance style.He turned the edifice into a fortified castle, with much the same its present-day aspect. Strongly influenced by the Italian Renaissance, Bethlen brought along architects and glass-makers from Italy, bestowing elegance and beauty to a construction formerly designed for merely military and utilitarian purposes. For a year (1599-1600), Fagaras Fortress was the residence home of Michael the Brave's family his wife, lady Stanca and their children. During the rule of Georg Rákóczi (1630-1649), the fortification of the castle was doubled and the moat was enlarged. Ráckózi had the bastions bridged and covered, the moat paved with stones, the bridge and the casemates repaired and a guard house built.The fortress had 33 commanders-in-chief between 1507-1848. During the Austrian-Hungarian rule, under the rule of Michael Apáfi, Diets were held there. After 1699, the fortress fell under Hapsburg sway; it was functional as a castle under Maria Theresa's reign (1740-1780); by the end of the 18th century, it was turned into military headquarters and barracks. The only changes that were made by that time were of a strictly military or utilitarian nature. |
This fall I was able to participate in a conference about building small groups concentrated on Bible Study and building a Christlike DNA. I had never been at a conference that was SO biblical. Every day we sat in small groups and studied God's word. Nothing more, nothing less. In each session, we were given several Bible passages and then asked to take a piece of paper and divide it into four columns. In the first column, we would write out the ENTIRE Bible passage we were studying. Tedious? Yes. But the idea is that once you have to copy and write something out, you tend to concentrate and process that much more. So, in the first column we would write out the entire passage. In the second passage, we would then REWRITE the passage in our own words as if we had to tell someone else exactly what happened in the story/passage. This is NOT interpretation, but rather, a retelling of the story in different words. In the small group one guy wrote in column two (a very theological pastor) that, "salvation comes only through God." As a group we responded that we agreed, but where did he get this from the passage. Hence, the idea is to re-tell the story and not interpret it. In the third column we would write two to three "I will" statements with the idea of obedience. For instance, "after reading this material, I will do a), b) or c). In the fourth column, you would write what the passage teaches about leadership, or note if there was any promise given. After completing this process, we would discuss as a group what we wrote, what we learned, etc. It is a very SIMPLE process that includes community action questions and Biblical DNA principles. We will be piloting this approach in small groups in Romania. Already in areas like India, this form of study has already produced over 30,000 groups! Please pray for God to raise up a new generation of people hungry for His Word.
Apparently a Romanian working in Rome recently got fined 160 Euros for diving "spectaculousy" several times from the famous Fontana di Trevi. The Romanian was showing off his acrobatic gymnastic skills and wowing the crowds of turists, but I guess it had a hefty price. I would have at least loved to have seen his dives :)
There has been much political turmoil in Bucharest these days as the minority parties in Parliament recently tried profusely to pass several "no-confidence" motions against the Prime Minister Emil Boc (pictured left) and President Traian Basescu, both of the ruling PDL (Liberal Democrat) party. Romanians are growing increasingly restless with the government's inability to tackle pressing issues, and much like in the US, the ruling party is being pummeled in the polls. Just a few years ago, the Parliament impeached current President Traian Basescu, but he was reinstated on a national referendum and then re-elected last year. Romania is in a major crisis, as prices continue to rise, but salaries are being slashed. The government has asked those on their pension to accept a significant reduction of almost 50 percent--and many have claimed that the pension salaries were already "scandalous." All of this led to over 30,000 protestors, mainly union employees to march upon the Parliament last week in massive protest demonstrations. Please pray that the government of Romania would address the needs of the people and for stability in this turbulent time.
Gotta love the sheep in the passing lane on the Bucharest-Pitesti autostrada! :)
In August, the French government decided to aggressively deport it's Roma (gypsy) population mostly to Romania and Bulgaria. Thousands of Roma people are being rounded up, put on buses or planes and sent back to Bucharest--many uncertain about their futures. The Romanian government has called the deportations a violation of the European Union Human Rights laws. Sarkozy and the French responded by saying that any independent country has the right to deport someone without proper documents. It's a complicated mess--since many of the Roma don't even have proper Romanian documents--many children without birth certificates. Traditionally a nomadic people, the Roma themselves immigrated to Romania and today Romania has the largest Roma populaton in Europe. They are much maligned and discriminated against in Romania--many Romanians frustrated by the image the Roma people have created of Romania abroad. Thus, it will be interesting to see how these deportations play out.
Just got back from a great conference on looking at how we can reach non-christians and post-modernists for Christ through small groups. I enjoyed studying God's Word with my colleagues and was challenged by a new approach to to study the Bible and to make true disciples of Christ, not just "converts." The basis is KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid). In the world we live in today, it is still all about relationships---being genuine, authentic, and investing in the lives of others. Here I am with my colleague Jorge from Brazil.
We are enjoying somewhat of an indian summer here in Bucharest, so it has been nice to get out and spend time with the Lord in nature. One of my favorite things is to go rowing in the parks and sing. Thank you Lord for the beautiful weather!
It's happening! Here is a picture of the President of the International Olympic Committee meeting with officials in Bucharest to look at plans for new facilities being built in the city for athletics (a good thing and much needed in this city). YET, this is just the next step in the process of Bucharest's overly outrageous bid to host the 2020 summer olympics. Believe me folks, our country has much more pressing issues to worry about than spending lots of money we don't have on hosting an event we are not ready for...but this is to me a classic example of the ineptitude of some of our politicians here--schools, pensioniers, roads, the general economy all are in crisis, but we want to bid on the 2020 summer olympics??? Unbelievable, but it's happening. To be fair, they say it would bring attention and much needed investment into Romania. In addition, Romania will also be bidding for the 2022 winter olympic games to be held in the Prahova Valley (Sinaia, Busteni, Predeal, Brasov). Apparently, the IOC is very interested in seeing the olympics being awarded to developing countries, and areas of the world that have not hosted the games...hmmm. I still champion the Minneapolis/St. Paul bid!
Had a great time reconnecting with friends, contacts, and spiritual advisers in the city of Targu Mures, Romania. I am always blessed and encouraged by these people of the faith. Here is a shot of me playing volleyball with the youth of Betel Pentecostal Church at a fall picnic. We had a great time, and even better weather.
Three brothers
Another group of brothers, who need a lot of prayer!
Singing songs
