Romania Wrap up

Day 7:

Today was our touring day. After a long week, we were ready for it. We enjoyed work we did, but a little break at the end was nice. We spent the day shopping and touring the city of Braila. Braila has about 300,000 people in it. While it's not as modern as Bucharest, it is a nice city. It was very interesting seeing the old communist world as the foundation of this city with little spots of more modern times breaking through all around.

We stopped at an Eastern Orthodox church in the morning. They were having a service at the time. The church was beautiful inside - every inch seemed to be painted with murals and icons. It was quite different from a Roman Catholic church in that it was rectangular shaped (instead of in the shape of a cross) and had several pillars inside which each seemed to represent something specific - perhaps a saint or some "pillar" of the church. I'm not up on my Eastern Orthodox, but it was interesting. The other item I noticed was rather than statues and stained glass, all saints and images were paintings on the wall and ceiling.

During the time we were there, the entire service was being sung in chant by one man in the middle of the room. The priest performed some actions in the front and then walked through the room with his incense which he would swing towards each person who was praying. We tried taking a picture with no flash. It's a bit blurry, but you can make out the room pretty well. Notice also there are no pews or seats. Worshippers found stations around the room and stood or kneeled during the service.

The service (or the priest in particular) weirded Sunni out a bit, but I was very interested in it. The ancient liturgy that in many ways probably resembles the early church more than any other Christian faith present today is fascinating. It's sad, though, to see that the church over the years was not able to embrace the blessed assurance of salvation that Christ gives us. Over and over throughout the week when we talked to people about eternal life the response was always "only God knows. I try to do good things and hope that this is enough." The temptation to rely on our own works is so great. Satan uses our own vanity in so many ways. This creeps into Christian denominations across the board, but it has really taken a stronghold in the Eastern Orthodox church. We heard some about a renewal movement within the church in some areas, especially among the young. I pray that this is true and continues. For all the beauty and history this faith holds, it would be great to see the flaws in its doctrine removed.

After seeing the temple and shopping for souvenirs, it was time for lunch. We ate at an outside patio restaurant. Our table shared 3 "house specials" which were trays of traditional meats along with pickles and potatoes. It was pretty good. Meats included pork and chicken chops as well as a couple of sausage types. Here's a pic of our table followed by one of Sunni, Pepper and Dr. Marietta Walker on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant.

Next we went downtown and saw some of the government buildings. One of them was city hall. This is the building Pastor Peter was stationed in to protect during the Revolution of 1989. He was in the Romanian army at the time and they positioned him and several troops in the hall for 3 nights during the heat of revolution to protect it from vandalism. During his 3rd sleepless night, there was some confusion and weapons were fired. He was spared but 3 of his colleagues were killed as well as some other guards and civilians. This is a picture of the wall across the courtyard from the hall he was stationed in. You can still see the damage from the bullets that night.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking the city and shopping some more. We toured a traditional market where they sold all types of foods. Some of us sampled some cheeses. We also went and had ice cream, saw some of the beautiful fountains down town, and bought more souvenirs at a local mall.

That evening, we all came together again for a celebration dinner. The restaurant was on a boat in the Danube. Here are a couple of pictures: First Sunni and I, and then the whole team. It was a good day.

Wrap up:

At the end of a mission trip, people often want to know "what are the numbers". Typically, they are talking about salvations. Numbers are important because they are a tangible way to try and measure the success of a trip. I want to wrap things up talking about numbers. Maybe these will help tangibly measure the trip and provide more insight into the ripe mission field of Romania.
(you may see a big space before the table below. I'm not sure why blogspot is doing that)

~500	the number of patients we saw in 4 days of clinic
4	the number of locations where our teams set up clinic: a Gyn clinic in Braila, a clinic in 1 village for the first 2 days, a clinic in 2 neighboring towns (the 2 spots were 4 miles from each other) the last 2 days
~20	the number of people who prayed for salvation with one of our counselors while we were there
1	the woman who testified at church on our first Sunday in Romania. She said that she went to see some Christian doctors in a medical clinic 3 years ago. She did not accept Christ that day, but over the course of the next year He continued to present himself to her. One year later, she turned to him and has been a faithful Christian in that local church for the past 2 years. Thank God for his word that says some of us plant seeds, some water, some reap the harvest but it is God whole gives that harvest.
1	the number of knife threats we received while holding clinic in a village
1	the wife of the local Orthodox priest in that village to whom we were able to demonstrate Christ's love with a gift of vitamins for the children of her town
85	the number of women seen in 2 days of gynecology clinic
209	the total number of abortions reported by these 85 women
1	the child whose mother had attempted to abort but who is now being raised by that same mother and is a healthy ~7 year old boy. What great plans God must have for him!
19	the (small) number of years that Romania has been free of communist rule
1	the precious saint and church founder that we treated whose husband is a martyr for Christ at the hands of those communists
1	the number of state religions of Romania - Eastern Orthodox
3	the Evangelical pastors who we worked with this week and who now are hoping to continue working the soil and reaping the harvest in their Romanian towns
1	The great God we serve who holds the future of Romania and of this whole world in the palm of His hands

Numbers are an attempt we make at measuring the success of our efforts but numbers alone don't always mean much. They definitely don't reveal a complete picture of the lasting effects from our time in Romania. They also don't fully describe the present situation. But many still like to use them.

I listed numbers of all types above to show that just counting salvations does not really say much. I also listed them to leave some lasting impression of the mission field we were in for those that may think in numbers more than in stories. Finally, I listed numbers to reveal that no matter how staggering some of the negative numbers were (209 abortions, only 19 years out of communism, the fact that the country is under 1 state religion), the final number holds supreme: that our 1 God is in control of all.

Our trip to Romania is one I will never forget. I'm thankful to God that he allowed me the privilege of serving Him and his children there for this one small week!