A Final Post from Craiova

Greetings,

This morning we had the opportunity to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Craiova. Our local church partner decided that it would encouraging to our team and to their community to have a church service in their partially completed new church building. We were also joined by a small team from Pennsylvania. Paul, Susie, and the Yoons did a great job leading the congregation in worship. I preached from Psalm 90 which was particularly relevant because one of the church's key members is on death's doorstep in a battle with cancer. Our entire team was joined by some Romanian youth for a lively rendition of the song "God of This City" which was written by an Irish worship band while in Calcutta experiencing the slums. The song captures our hope at what God might accomplish in Craiova. Rich Millhouse, the church's pastor, concluded our worship service with communion. Sorry parents, but some of your kids may have tasted wine for the first time.

Presently we are preparing to leave Craiova for camp. We will gather at the church in a few hours for dinner and then board a bus around midnight. The journey to camp will take 8-9 hours. The camp is located due north of Craiova in the Carpathian Mountains. Apparently it is quite beautiful and the temperatures will be cooler. (It is in the mid 90s today in Craiova.) Due to your generosity we will be taking over 60 Romanians with us to camp. Many of these students are not Christ followers and have never been exposed to the gospel. A majority of them are part of the Orthodox church. We are also bringing along a number of orphans who have never had the means to travel outside Craiova.

We realize you have enjoyed the frequent blog posts but we are unsure how often we will be able to post from camp due to limited internet accessibility. We will do our best to post a few times but may be unable to do so. If you have emergencies you should be able to reach us on Daniel Vieru's cell phone.

The most important thing you can do for us is pray. We know that you have been doing so and we encourage you to continue. Our team has been flooded by the powerful presence and peace of the Spirit over the last few days. He is unifying and renewing our hearts in preparation for what awaits. We all acknowledge that God has something significant in store for us in the next 10 days. Here are a few specific ways you can pray for us during this stretch:

-Pray for safe travel.
-Pray for physical and spiritual health and vigor.
-Pray for team unity and deepened community. Pray that others would see Jesus in both our words and actions.
-Pray that we would be dependent on the Spirit and open to His leading.
-Pray for the Romanian adults and students who follow Christ. Pray that God would grant them the capacity to serve and love their non-Christian peers. Pray that they would have the vision to see what can be accomplished in their city through their community.
-Pray for the Romanian students who do not have a relationship with God. Pray that God would tune their hearts to the grace of truth of the gospel.

Please know that our students and adult leaders have been simply amazing. They have risen to every challenge and are representing Christ in a way that is glorifying His name and expanding the Kingdom. You should be very proud of them.

Our team does not have adequate words to thank you for you continual and abundant support. Your generosity, your prayers, and your love are air for the lungs of our faith. Thank you for partnering with us we share the good news of Jesus with those who desperately need his grace and love. May God be glorified in and through us.

John R.