While serving in Craiova with Hope Church Romania, we had many great opportunities to serve within different communities and partnered with local missionaries. This church has provided us with a lot of ministry opportunities to serve in helping those in need, making connections and building relationships with the locals. It’s also been an honor to serve with pastor Raul. He speaks so much life into us and challenge us to grow more in faith and our walk with God. Every morning he would give us a message on different topics and ask us deep questions.
Being able to serve in the Roma community in Craiova has been very eye opening. Since arriving in Romania this was my first time hearing about the Roma. So the Roma is the largest ethnic minority in Eastern Europe, its seen as the most misunderstood and most persecuted in the region. There is a need in the Roma communities in Romania. In these communities the Roma is despised by the Romanians, there isn’t any electricity or running water, their living conditions are very poor and the children doesn’t go to school. Our ministry is doing really well with reaching out to the Roma and helping them in need. We helped with sorting the food into bags at the church to be distributed. We had a chance to go into these communities to provide the food, clothing and share God’s love with children and families. We also led the children’s program their by leading songs, doing a skit and playing games with them.
Almost every day we would do some kind of street evangelism such as passing out face masks, invitations to our women’s event and flyers for our worship nights and game nights. We would have our worship nights four times a week and a game night once a week. It was so much fun to make connections, share the gospel, build relationships and invite locals to our events. Street evangelism has really helped me to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself in ways I haven’t before. Every day I would have more confidence and boldness to walk up to random people, start conversations and invite them to our events. It’s been amazing to see how God is moving in this area of ministry and God has led us to have so many great encounters and conversations with people.
One day while my sister and I were street evangelizing God led us to the park where we met two very kind sisters named Andra and Estera. One was in high school and the other in college. After our conversations, Andra said we made her day so much better. A couple days later they showed up to our women’s event we had invited them to and they had a great time at the event and they said they wanted to make Hope church their home church. One evening after the worship night my sister and I had went out to dinner with them with a few other squad members and it was a great time. It’s amazing how God led all of us to the park at that right moment which led us to build relationships with the locals, have fruitful conversations and to share his love.
On a different day as Brittany, Katie and I were standing in front of the mall waiting to meet up with another local and a guy named Monroe walked up to us. He is from Liberia and currently studying computer science at the University. We had invited him to our game night which was happening that night and he wanted to attend. He had came with us to the game night and stayed for the Bible study afterwards and he had a great time there. Then he also went to church with us the next day on Sunday morning and enjoyed service and he said he wanted to make this church his home church.
As we are making contacts with people. Pastor Raul encouraged us to continue to reach out to the locals we met and set up one on one’s to hangout with them and get to know them better. Our game nights and worship nights had some really good turnout with people we’ve invited from doing street evangelism.
One evening Pastor Raul asked several of us to help with behind the scenes logistical tasks to assist him getting prepared for refugees. We assisted him by cleaning out his car so it can be ready for when he transport refugees the next day at the border. We also helped with getting flyers ready and wrote encouraging notes. Pastor Raul and his team offers to help refugees by providing transportation, food, housing, helping them to get documentation and spiritual care. The services that Pastor Raul and his team is providing for the refugees is remarkable. Even though we did a lot of behind the scenes work with helping our hosts for the refugees, it still has been very rewarding to help in wherever needed during this crisis. After that night my heart became so full. It felt so good to help the refugees in this way. Also myself and a lot others on my squad donated money to help buy food for a refugee family and a Christian family in Ukraine.
God is so good. I’ve seen God move in powerful ways every day especially in the Roma communities, working behind the scenes to help Pastor Raul and his team with the refugees and doing street evangelism. I am so blessed and grateful to have the opportunity to serve in these places. A day in the life of doing ministry in Romania has been very rewarding, incredible and full of God’s wonder.
