Here (for your viewing pleasure) is a short video montage of proDEO's Christmas Banquet, which was held on 20 December 2008.
This was an evangelistic event and was attended by about 50 people from the church and about 50 people from outside of the church. Everyone who attended will receive a long-form DVD containing highlights from the evening's program.
26 January 2009
16 January 2009
Comprehensive Ministry Update
As I mentioned in the previous post, we have been back in Craiova for two months now and have been heavily involved in ministry ever since returning.
Today, I want to briefly list the different projects which we have been involved in, so that you will have a better idea of the kind of work we are doing here.
I should stress that Raluca and I are not employed by the church nor do we receive any financial support from either organizations or individuals, so in addition to being involved with these various projects we are also both self-employed.
In addition to the major projects which are listed below, we are also involved in many different relational ministries. That is, we are creating, developing and strengthening numerous relationships both within and outside of the church, since we feel very strongly that this is a major part of God's plan for us here in this city.
Past Projects
The first major project which we were asked to be a part of was proDEO's annual Christmas banquet. This banquet is an evengelistic event, intended to make our non-Christian friends feel comfortable within our community and to give them a chance to hear a scriptural perspective on Christmas. Raluca and I were both part of the planning committee for this banquet, which took place on 20 December 2008.
This event was quite successful. There were more than 100 participants at the dinner (up from roughly 70 last year), 1/2 of whom were from outside the church community.
Raluca and I were also asked to take over an English language outreach ministry in early December. The "English Lounge" was a discussion group sponsored by OSCEC with the intention of raising awareness of the ministry among the student community and involving more students in evangelistic events (similar to the English classes which I taught back in 2000 & 2001). The previous leaders of "English Lounge" were a young missionary couple who had been living here in Craiova and working with OSCEC for a number of months. They ended up leaving Romania earlier than expected and instead of allowing this program to sputter off, we agreed to finish out the remaining weeks.
The structure of proDEO's Sunday meetings is to meet once every two weeks as an entire church for community worship and to hear a sermon. On alternative weeks, we break into three smaller home groups in which we discuss the ideas of the previous week's sermon in greater detail. Over the first month and a half, we attended every house group in order to make an objective analysis of the current state of this system and of each of the smaller groups.
What we have found is that by being so separated from the church for so long (almost two years), we were able to come back into the community and see certain things from a different perspective than those who had never left. Changes (both good and bad) which had occured slowly over time - and thus went unnoticed by much of the community - were glaringly obvious to us.
I have also preached at proDEO twice in the past month. I actually gave the last sermon of 2008 and the first of 2009.
Current Projects
I am currently working on editing a DVD of the Christmas Banquet, which the church plans on giving out to all of the attendees, so that they will have something nice to remember the evening by and to serve as a reminder that they are invited to join us again next Christmas (or any time before then).
We are both on the organizing committee of this month's "Family Cafe." "Family Cafe" is an outreach ministry similar to the Christmas banquet, but on a smaller, more intimate scale. In general it occurs once every two months; this months will be the third of its kind. Our intention is to provide a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere, where couples will be entertained and will also be exposed to topics which are relevant to modern families.
Future Projects
We have finished our commitment to lead "English Lounge", but we have agreed to start up a new version of the program starting in March. In addition to the English conversation group, we may also add an English Reading Book Club to the program.
Finally, we have been asked to be involved in leading OSCEC's Ski Camp this year. The Ski Camp is an evangelistic event (yes, we try to do a lot of evangelism here) to which Christian students invite their non-Christian friends. There will be skiing and other events during the day and discussions and other relevant interactions in the evening. It will be held over the course of four days sometime next month. Both of us would very much like to be involved in this camp, but the cost is fairly high (given our current income) and we are trying to evaluate whether this is something which God wants us to do (in which case, money should not be an issue) or merely something which we personally want to do (in which case, there are much better uses of our resources). We would appreciate if you would pray for us to make the Godly decission in this matter.
I believe that covers all of the major projects which we have been working on. We will provide updates to many of these events in the near future.
Today, I want to briefly list the different projects which we have been involved in, so that you will have a better idea of the kind of work we are doing here.
I should stress that Raluca and I are not employed by the church nor do we receive any financial support from either organizations or individuals, so in addition to being involved with these various projects we are also both self-employed.
In addition to the major projects which are listed below, we are also involved in many different relational ministries. That is, we are creating, developing and strengthening numerous relationships both within and outside of the church, since we feel very strongly that this is a major part of God's plan for us here in this city.
Past Projects
The first major project which we were asked to be a part of was proDEO's annual Christmas banquet. This banquet is an evengelistic event, intended to make our non-Christian friends feel comfortable within our community and to give them a chance to hear a scriptural perspective on Christmas. Raluca and I were both part of the planning committee for this banquet, which took place on 20 December 2008.
This event was quite successful. There were more than 100 participants at the dinner (up from roughly 70 last year), 1/2 of whom were from outside the church community.
Raluca and I were also asked to take over an English language outreach ministry in early December. The "English Lounge" was a discussion group sponsored by OSCEC with the intention of raising awareness of the ministry among the student community and involving more students in evangelistic events (similar to the English classes which I taught back in 2000 & 2001). The previous leaders of "English Lounge" were a young missionary couple who had been living here in Craiova and working with OSCEC for a number of months. They ended up leaving Romania earlier than expected and instead of allowing this program to sputter off, we agreed to finish out the remaining weeks.
The structure of proDEO's Sunday meetings is to meet once every two weeks as an entire church for community worship and to hear a sermon. On alternative weeks, we break into three smaller home groups in which we discuss the ideas of the previous week's sermon in greater detail. Over the first month and a half, we attended every house group in order to make an objective analysis of the current state of this system and of each of the smaller groups.
What we have found is that by being so separated from the church for so long (almost two years), we were able to come back into the community and see certain things from a different perspective than those who had never left. Changes (both good and bad) which had occured slowly over time - and thus went unnoticed by much of the community - were glaringly obvious to us.
I have also preached at proDEO twice in the past month. I actually gave the last sermon of 2008 and the first of 2009.
Current Projects
I am currently working on editing a DVD of the Christmas Banquet, which the church plans on giving out to all of the attendees, so that they will have something nice to remember the evening by and to serve as a reminder that they are invited to join us again next Christmas (or any time before then).
We are both on the organizing committee of this month's "Family Cafe." "Family Cafe" is an outreach ministry similar to the Christmas banquet, but on a smaller, more intimate scale. In general it occurs once every two months; this months will be the third of its kind. Our intention is to provide a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere, where couples will be entertained and will also be exposed to topics which are relevant to modern families.
Future Projects
We have finished our commitment to lead "English Lounge", but we have agreed to start up a new version of the program starting in March. In addition to the English conversation group, we may also add an English Reading Book Club to the program.
Finally, we have been asked to be involved in leading OSCEC's Ski Camp this year. The Ski Camp is an evangelistic event (yes, we try to do a lot of evangelism here) to which Christian students invite their non-Christian friends. There will be skiing and other events during the day and discussions and other relevant interactions in the evening. It will be held over the course of four days sometime next month. Both of us would very much like to be involved in this camp, but the cost is fairly high (given our current income) and we are trying to evaluate whether this is something which God wants us to do (in which case, money should not be an issue) or merely something which we personally want to do (in which case, there are much better uses of our resources). We would appreciate if you would pray for us to make the Godly decission in this matter.
I believe that covers all of the major projects which we have been working on. We will provide updates to many of these events in the near future.
15 January 2009
Back in Romania
It's been a while since we have added anything substantial to this blog. The main reason for this is that we had been stuck living in the US for almost two years and - for many different reasons - the opportunities which we had to be actively involved with ministry were few and far between.
As of 5 Nov 2008, however, we are back to living in Craiova, Romania and we have plunged headfirst back into ministry, working with both our church, proDEO, and the student ministry, OSCEC.
Instead of just being here for a short amount of time, though, (yes, 6 months is a short amount of time for us) our hope and prayer is that we are finally back to stay. Ever since Raluca and I were forced to move to the US in 2001, we have felt that it was God's will for us to eventually come back to Craiova to serve him here. We believe that he has been using the 7 years in which we lived and worked in America to prepare us for the ministry which he has planned for us here in Romania now.
We'll be updating this page semi-regularly with updates on the various ministries in which we are involved here in Romania. We will also share more general prayer requests and occasionally offer up commentary on other matters of faith.
As of 5 Nov 2008, however, we are back to living in Craiova, Romania and we have plunged headfirst back into ministry, working with both our church, proDEO, and the student ministry, OSCEC.
Instead of just being here for a short amount of time, though, (yes, 6 months is a short amount of time for us) our hope and prayer is that we are finally back to stay. Ever since Raluca and I were forced to move to the US in 2001, we have felt that it was God's will for us to eventually come back to Craiova to serve him here. We believe that he has been using the 7 years in which we lived and worked in America to prepare us for the ministry which he has planned for us here in Romania now.
We'll be updating this page semi-regularly with updates on the various ministries in which we are involved here in Romania. We will also share more general prayer requests and occasionally offer up commentary on other matters of faith.
12 November 2007
Robertson for Rudy?
A lot of people seemed shocked by Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani this past week, but to those of us who have paid attention to Robertson's deeds (rather than his words) over the years that endorsement wall all too predictable.
Jim Wallis (the founder of Sojourners magazine) lays out the details most clearly in an article which you can find here.
Jim Wallis (the founder of Sojourners magazine) lays out the details most clearly in an article which you can find here.
17 April 2006
Dedicating our Son to God
Shortly before we left Romania last month we had our son dedicated at our church there.
I have posted below my thought on his dedication, which were originally published in the church bulletin:
As Christian parents we are committed to raising our children to love and respect God.
We are committed to teaching them God's laws and helping them to understand that those laws were given to us out of love, since God knows far better than we do what will harm us and what will benefit us.
But standing up in front of the church to dedicate our child is more than just publicly acknowledging these commitments.
Dedicating a child means setting that child apart for God.
It means that we hand him over to God and declare that he is not ours, but he is God's.
This is not an easy step to take.
It is hard enough for us to give own lives to God and trust that he will take care of us. It is even harder to look at our own helpless baby and to accept that we are not the one who can best take care of him, but that we need to give his life to God as well.
But that is what we are doing today and we pray that over the years as we do our best to raise God's child that you will help us and hold us accountable to the commitment which we are making today to raise A as God's child.
I have posted below my thought on his dedication, which were originally published in the church bulletin:
As Christian parents we are committed to raising our children to love and respect God.
We are committed to teaching them God's laws and helping them to understand that those laws were given to us out of love, since God knows far better than we do what will harm us and what will benefit us.
But standing up in front of the church to dedicate our child is more than just publicly acknowledging these commitments.
Dedicating a child means setting that child apart for God.
It means that we hand him over to God and declare that he is not ours, but he is God's.
This is not an easy step to take.
It is hard enough for us to give own lives to God and trust that he will take care of us. It is even harder to look at our own helpless baby and to accept that we are not the one who can best take care of him, but that we need to give his life to God as well.
But that is what we are doing today and we pray that over the years as we do our best to raise God's child that you will help us and hold us accountable to the commitment which we are making today to raise A as God's child.
Back in the USA
Our family is back in the US for the summer.
We'll be working here through the summer and fall with the hopes that we'll be able to save enough money to spend another 6+ months in Romania come winter.
We'll be working here through the summer and fall with the hopes that we'll be able to save enough money to spend another 6+ months in Romania come winter.
07 March 2006
The Strengthening Lion
"Lion" is the English word for Romania's unit of currency leu (pl. lei). Over the last year the leu has been strengthening against both the dollar and the euro.
Although the Romanian economy is still very weak, this trend is positive for anyone who makes a living within Romania, since it means that any money which they earn has a greater value in the rest of the world.
This same trend, however, is disadvantageous to anyone who lives in Romania but who earns his money elsewhere. Even though the value of the leu has gone up, prices of goods and services have remained the same (or even gone up). That means that anyone whose income is in dollars or euros has less buying power in Romania now. This has obviously affected us a little, but it's not a huge problem. Where we have seen it become a problem is for leaders in churches and other Christian organizations who receive all or most of their income from the West. This income is usually fairly low anyways ($200-$300/month), but given that the dollar has dropped in value 10% against the leu over the past year, they have been forced to make difficult financial choices. For example, should the shortfall be taken out of family expenses or ministry expenses? Some have even had to consider giving up full-time ministry in order to take a job with a salary.
Although the Romanian economy is still very weak, this trend is positive for anyone who makes a living within Romania, since it means that any money which they earn has a greater value in the rest of the world.
This same trend, however, is disadvantageous to anyone who lives in Romania but who earns his money elsewhere. Even though the value of the leu has gone up, prices of goods and services have remained the same (or even gone up). That means that anyone whose income is in dollars or euros has less buying power in Romania now. This has obviously affected us a little, but it's not a huge problem. Where we have seen it become a problem is for leaders in churches and other Christian organizations who receive all or most of their income from the West. This income is usually fairly low anyways ($200-$300/month), but given that the dollar has dropped in value 10% against the leu over the past year, they have been forced to make difficult financial choices. For example, should the shortfall be taken out of family expenses or ministry expenses? Some have even had to consider giving up full-time ministry in order to take a job with a salary.
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