Follow You: Week 3 Team Romania

Hello friends!

Week 3 for Team Romania has come to a close and with that our time in Romania has come to an end! It's bittersweet to leave this place that now feels like a second home but we are excited for all that God has in store for us and each of the people we encountered! 

This week we worked with Outstretched Hands of Romania. Our focus this week was to reach the gypsy community of Calarasi and the surrounding villages. We spent a large portion of our time this week with kids at the Hope Center which was such a joy! Also, our team walked through a nearby village and listened to the stories of each family and prayed with them! We also had the opportunity to serve in several church services through sharing our testimonies, music, and preaching. Throughout this week we had the privilege of spending time with a guys small group, doing street evangelism, and getting to know the staff of the ministry! 

Let us share with you some of our highlights from this week! First, going into the village homes and praying over people was a difficult yet amazing experience. We also enjoyed being able to invest in the gypsy children - they were so sweet and accepting of our love! Further, four of us had the opportunity to go to a Bible Study / hangout with 3 guys! One a Muslim, one a non-Christian, and the third a Christian. We got to share our stories and talk about our faith for a few hours and answer some of their questions. It was so cool to see their curiosity and desire for the Lord! This week we also had the privilege of going to a new church plant. While there, it was so special to be able to pray over a mother and her son and to encourage her as a mother. Next, a few of us had the honor of speaking / sharing our stories on a few different occasions this week and it was amazing to see God work through each of us in different ways! For all of us, it's safe to say that getting to go back to Teen Challenge several times during our time in Romania was so special! By the end of the trip it felt like our "home away from home" and it was nice to spend our last few days with the guys and the staff that we established relationships with! Lastly, we learned that ministry can be unexpected and that God doesn't always use the "ready". We just have to be willing to be used by Him and He will do so, in ways that we would never expect.

Of course, we serve a God that is bigger and more than anything we could ever explain or comprehend. With that, we comprised our trip into a few words: unexpected, bine (good), humbling, eye-opening, faithfulness, selfless servant, perspective changer, and transformation.

Although our time in Romania is finished, God's working hand in Romania and in our hearts is not! We would love for you to continue to join us in prayer. Our team is eager to share stories, encounters, and the places where we've seen the hand of God with you personally! 

Prayer:

-health and safe travels

-That we would not lose what we learned once we go home

-Willingness to think and process what we experienced these last 3 weeks and change what we desire to when we get back

-Process and rest before school starts

-Continual prayer for each ministry, the staff members, the guys at Teen Challenge, and each person we encountered!

-That God will use people to reach the Gypsy villages and bring the truth and hope of who He is to those who are in desperate need of it! 

-That the guys at Teen Challenge would continue to follow Christ with everything that they have and that they would finish the program

We thank you for your continual support, love, and encouragement throughout this whole endeavor! We are thankful for God's provision and faithfulness through this whole process and we rejoice in the work that is being done in Romania and the continual transformation of our hearts.

With love, 

Team Romania