Hey everybody!
I have a lot to tell you about what my team and I have been doing in Romania. In the video below I will give you an overview of our ministry so far, a recap of some cool stories, and a look into what we are doing with the rest of our time in this beautiful country.
Take a look at some photos from my time in Romania so far!
Ministry in Dragnesti
This is the church building of the pastor we served with in the villages surrounding Draganesti.
Packing up “Operation Christmas Child” Boxes. We delivered these to students in local public schools. They provided a point of connection for the local pastor to build relationship with students and teachers.
Sharing the Gospel with students and teachers in the public schools. Since we were bringing free gifts for the kids, the school directors were cool with us telling them about Jesus too.
Tatiana cooked traditional Romanian lunches for us each day that we traveled to her village for ministry. The only thing better than her bread was her joy-filled smile!
We got to sit with this local woman who no longer had the strength to leave her bed. We prayed with her and loved on her as much as we could. The visit seemed mutually encouraging to us all.
This truck of essential supplies came in from Germany. Its intended destination was Ukraine, but with the threat of war, the driver rerouted to Romania. We ended up being able to use the supplies to serve Ukrainian refugees just a few weeks later.
Before
After
Daniel is one of the Romanian missionaries, who serves in the Draganesti area. He was so welcoming and kind to me. Plus, we had some epic ping pong games together.
Ministry in Craiova
Packing some bags of food for Roma (gypsie) families that live in more impoverished towns outside of the city.
Game nights at the church were a way to form friendships with young people in Craiova. Minute-to-win-it games were a big hit!
Got to enjoy an evening watching the Craiova professional soccer team take the pitch.
Maestro’s is hands down the best bakery in Craiova. The banana and chocolate filled covrigi (pretzel) are my all time favorite!
I met my new friend Calin on the streets one day while he was waiting for an Uber. He is a super bright young man. We got to play basketball with him and have some good conversations about God.
Bogdan is another young guy that we became friends with. He challenged us with some deep questions about faith, which sparked some good, theological conversations.
Debrief in Brasov
We had a week up north in a beautiful city called Brasov. Our leaders met us there for a time of debrief and training. Having a day off to go skiing was an unexpected perk too!
The guys and I had to show the Romanians how to bring the heat in karaoke. God actually used our goofiness to spark a conversation with a local guy, who asked to pray for his marriage which was in shambles (story in video).
Refugee Ministry
Buying supplies to be taken to people in need in Ukraine.
The church office quickly became a donation center. Refugees coming to Craiova could walk through the items and take whatever they needed. One of our jobs was to organize the piles of donated goods.
Another one of our normal jobs was to walk our Ukrainian friends around Craiova’s beautiful parks. It was great to see them smile and laugh- enjoying some moments of normalcy and simplicity in a season of chaos.
If you are interested in helping Hope Church’s efforts to care for Ukrainian refugees, go to this link, then scroll down to the “donate for Ukraine” button.
https://togetherformission.com/team/raul-costea/
Thank you for all your support! God bless you!
