Romanian Summer Mission Report 5

Dana's Report - Being part of a team and family is important to me, both here in Bucharest and in my home in Juneau. The book of Ephesians tells us that we are united in Christ. This unity is essential in encouraging one another, supporting one another, and in sharing how God is working in our lives. This week, God helped me to see that isolation gives a false sense of security and the truth is that we are one in the Lord. I feel He is encouraging me to acknowledge, care about, and participate in this amazing family and trust that this family also cares for me, as I care for the members of this family. In times of loneliness, pain, or despair God is there--calling us to acknowledge that we are ONE in the Lord and that He will provide for us, heal us, and care for us. As God heals the wounds and pain in my own life, He is also giving me the strength to help others so that He, too, can heal their wounds. One young woman, Alexa, is someone who is experiencing wounds in her heart that God is beginning to heal.

I meet with my new friend Alexa on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She speaks fluent English and has taken many exams to demonstrate her English proficiency. Very early in our conversations, I saw that Alexa did not need to participate in much of the grammar studies or the reading practice we do in our individual studies. With approval from our Director, Albert (a.k.a. Geoffrey's best friend, Bubba, who is a missionary in Romania), we decided to spend most of our sessions in conversation.

As a young woman, Alexa is seeking to understand more about God, His actions, and His Word. Alexa's life, to me, seems somewhat of a paradox, as she adamently declares her dedication to a movement called the Objectivism Philosophy. This life style places a significant importance on self-preservation and individualism. Although Alexa states she believes in God, she also feels that people do a disservice in helping others, especially those in poverty. God, however, is showing her that she needs to care for others, showing them love and compassion in their hardships. Alexa took her first step towards helping others this week in her act of helping a disabled man on the subway. Not only did she take a stand for this man, but she has also admitted that she DOES care for others, something she previously stated she shouldn't do.

In addition to Alexa's questions about God, she has been actively seeking a credible source of information. She has had many conversations with her family, friends, Orthodox priests, and will often spend time in monastaries. This week, she was surprised to receive some answers (and some new questions) during our sessions. Alexa, like many people I know, including myself, has questions about how God cares for her or if He calls her to demonstrate His love for people. As I've learned and also believe, God's Word is the place to go for those answers. It is there that we learn about Jesus, His life and resurrection, and how much God loves us and wants us to love others. In Thursday's session Alexa discovered that God DOES care about her and that He is calling her. She admits that she had much thinking to do, and she needs our prayers as she digs into God's Word this weekend. I've spent a lot of time in prayer regarding my conversations with Alexa and ask for your help, as members of God's family, in doing this. God is drawing her nearer each moment and as she experiences God's love she is also experiencing His grace through her faith.

As you can see, God is blessing our efforts here. I thank you for your continued prayers.

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Geoffrey' Report - As Dana and I wander around Bucharest each day, we are struck by the poverty that seems to be everywhere. Entering the Metro the other day we watched an old woman sitting with her hand out in the beggars pose. Her sad eyes asked for money. Walking down the street this week, we saw two little kids with ragged clothes hoping to get a handout somewhere. As we rode the bus to school on Wednesday, we could see an impoverished lady passed out in the middle of the sidewalk, people stepping over her. We can't escape seeing these people and we don't always know what to do. Our American upbringing has taught us to be cautious about who we give money to. What if they use the money for something bad? Despite this, our hearts tell us that we can't pass them all by. We sometimes give a few coins and sometimes we give a little bit of food. These are temporary fixes but they make us at least feel like we have done something. We know one thing, we can't look away. That could be Christ sitting there.

Each day in our classes we deal with an different kind of poverty. This is a poverty of the soul. Our students will often share there feelings about God with us. Sometimes they tell us that they do not know if God loves them or if he even exists. Sometimes they tell us of troubles in their lives and their frustration in not knowing what to do. One of my students this week told me that he wants to have a relationship with Christ but "Jesus seems far away. He seems unreachable and untouchable." Again we realize that we can not ignore the pain or the frustration. We can't just step into their lives and treat their problems and desires as trivial matters. We are obligated to share Christ's love with them. Sometimes the only thing we can do is listen. Sometimes we can share a verse or hope they will allow us to pray with them. The more time we spend with them, the more we grow to love them and see them as children of God. We hope they can hear us share the message of grace and forgiveness. We hope that somewhere in our word they will find some peace and joy.

One student this week allowed me to pray with him. He said he had not prayed any more than 10 times in his life and he had not been in a church in over 12 years. After the prayer, he said that he liked the prayer very much and wanted me to write it down so he could memorize it. He is beginning the steps to a relationship with God and I hope he understood when I told him that prayers come from the heart. They are honest communication with God and can't be scripted.

Another students told me this week that our studies have put a change in her life. She feels like God is calling her back to a relationship with Him. She is seeing that God wants her to bring her son and husband to a relationship with Him too. We rejoiced together in this restoration.

After sharing the concept of total-forgiveness with a student early in the week, he sat there in quiet thought and finally told me that nobody had ever told him anything like this. He said it was a lot to think about. I am sure that his vision of God is one of a distant spiritual dictator who looks for ways to make life miserable. The idea of a loving, forgiving God can be a hard one to grasp. "How many sins of mine will he forgive?" "All of them." "So what prevents a me from sinning and sinning and letting God forgive me all the time?" "When we fall in love with someone (God), we go out of our way to not hurt them. As faith and love increases, the desire to sin decreases."

Another student and I concluded a session by resolving that the Bible is easy enough for the simplest person to understand and complex enough to confuse the greatest scholars. However, it is clear that God wants to have relationship with us. He desires reconciliation and forgiveness. He hates spiritual poverty and seeks to put a stop to it. Too bad man is so good at thwarting His efforts. Spiritual poverty will be with us just as material poverty is with us until the end of the world. All we can do is be tools that God can use to spread his message of hope. Thank you for your continued prayers.