Romania 9.23.23
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
1 John 4:4
There have been lots of things to do at the church lately. We had an Autumn cleaning day where many people from the church came to help clean, paint, do lawn work, and reorganize some spaces. I have also helped with shopping to restock the kitchen at church. Every week the hospitality team sets out finger food for the congregation, which means they buy a lot of food at once and it takes multiple sets of hands at the grocery store.
On Thursday I taught my first English class! I have taught English before, but it is much more challenging when you have people who have a pretty good understanding of english mixed with some that are still on a very beginner level. Either way, we work around it and try to get the most out of it for everyone!
A sweet moment from last week was spending the day with Simona (Addy’s wife) and helping her make a traditional Romania food. The end product is jars and jars of a spread that you put on bread. It’s called zacuscā. The process takes ALL DAY! Which is understandable considering we had 45 pounds of eggplants, wayyyy to many onions, and lots and lots of red peppers. These are the things I love most when in another country, getting to experience everyday things. Zacuscā is only made once a year and I’m so glad I got to be involved with making it!
There have been many opportunities to hang out with the youth. We met at church to play volleyball and had a bonfire the other night where we roasted marshmallows (no hate but american marshmallows are better haha). I have gotten to chat with many of them and it’s a true honor to share space with this group. I have also rekindled one of my old hobbies, rock climbing. I am going at least once a week with my neighbor, her and her husband lead the youth program here, and when the youth can, they join us for a fun workout for a few hours!
Pictured below is a youth event we have on Friday nights called Alpha. Alpha is a course for youth that are interested in learning more about Christianity. It closely resembles what youth group in the United States looks like. We hang out, eat good food, watch a video, and have a discussion to answer some questions. It’s amazing to see youth who don’t believe in Jesus talk out their curiosity.
Prayer Requests
- Pre-teen service. Tomorrow will be the first pre-teen service that I am leading while here. I am very excited to get to know these students more and am praying that it’s a time that challenges them, encourages them, and leads them to see the truth in the Bible. Tomorrow we will be talking about the character of Jesus. We will look at how he acted, talked, and treated people in the gospels. Then there will be space for the pre-teens to ask questions and chat about what sticks out to them.
- Relationships. I want to be intentional with every person I meet and when there are so many new relationships being formed, that can be hard at times. I firmly believe that relationships between people are the biggest form of evangelism there is, character is the first thing people see and I pray that they would see intentionality and love from me.
The last two weeks have been challenging and encouraging! 3 months is long to most people, but in the scheme of missions, it is still short term. As a missionary, no matter what, it always feels like there is more to do and just not enough time. The balance is hard because when it comes to helping people, I want to say yes to everything. Tomorrow is 5 weeks of living in Romania. Crazy. I’m incredibly grateful for the last 5 weeks and expectant to see what comes of the next 7!
Love ya, Sumer
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