When I first landed in Romania, it felt different. I blamed it on the 36hr travel day which made me incredibly tired. But as I started to get into a schedule, I could tell that this place is depressed, anxiety filled, cold hearted, and crude. It took me only a few days to fill how heavy it is here and that the perfect reason why the World Race comes here.
After a few days of being in Romania and listening to the Lord, I found that this was going to be a demanding month of ministry. I say demanding because I knew it would push the boundaries of me Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually.
Physically this month has pushed me in so many ways. I have lived a life of being on the go and doing everything, but I have never spent 8-10 hours a day doing ministry in the USA and here I am in Romania doing it. It is a different type of physicalness that I was not prepared for…You might be asking “How is it different?”, well let me explain it so you can understand as best as possible…The amount of attention I have had to give to each project/ministry opportunity/activity is 100%. You may be saying, well yeah that’s what you’re there to do…and you’re correct. But we all find ourselves not giving the full 100 when we know others can pick up the slack. Well if I don’t give my 100% doing these task before me, how many people on the squad am I letting down, not reaching the correct people in Romania, not stepping out to connect with everyone, and not letting God use all of me?
Emotionally I have been through it all. I have had many sad moments, depressed thoughts, excitement, joy, and happiness. Being in ministry everyday causes us to see it all everyday. A great man of God has told our squad that he is 100% happy and 100% sad everyday because he knows what Romania needs. That is a tough statement…reread it….He is 100% joyful because he loves the Lord but 100% sad because he knows how many people in Romania need the Lord. Not many of us can say that this is how we feel everyday. We usually just go with what emotion is more present in the moment. It has really challenged me to be more honest with myself on how I’m actually feeling and how can I spread the love of God with every person I come into contact with? Romania can be a place of death or life and we have been chosen to help give life however it looks like.
Spiritually is has been the most challenging month of laying it all down before Christ and allowing him to work while being the vessel he wants to use for his glory. The spiritual warfare happening in Romania is unreal, unsafe, depressing, and heavy. After being in Romania for about 2 weeks, we had a night of prayer over the house we are staying at, our ministry host, the church(staff and all), and over future missionaries(WR included) staying at the house. I signed up at the beginning of the night and spent my time outside in the front yard. I had been told many world race individuals, the family, and other missionaries had seen demons in corners or had bad dreams that they had never encountered before…this was very unsettling to me and was the exact cause for me to be outside that night. I prayed over the gate at the house and over the yard..it was going great. Then I turned and looked at the basement doors(outside) and saw little fingers holding onto the door and immediately felt darkness come over me. I have never felt something like this ever in my life. I started to pray more directly and commanded(God has gave us authority) those evil spirits(demons) to leave the house. I’m only telling you that part of the story because I’m saying that Romania is known for witchcraft, new age beliefs, and being tied to darkness for much too long.
I hope this has allowed you to understand what we have faced, our ministry host, and the people of the church deal with everyday. Find time to pray for Romania and the darkness that they live in willingly and unwillingly. IF you want to sign up as a prayer partner, please follow this link(https://tinyurl.com/HCprayer2022) and fill in the info.
“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11
