Leaving Camp Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning we leave camp and head to Timisoara where we will fly back to the states. our internet access and opportunities have been minimal so sorry that we have not been able to report on all the things we have been doing and experience. Everyone is having a great time and doing well. NO sickness at all on this trip for our team, but a few have been pretty tired. The students from Grace have been serving God faithfully and having a great time getting to know the Romanian students and children. This will be the last opportunity to write before we start on our way home tomorrow morning. please pray for safe travel as we will be driving and flying many miles over the next 48 hours. most of all, pray for the Romanina students and Pastors that they will have been encouraged by our time here and that God will continue to work in their lives. We will see you next week. Chow (Goodbye in Romanian)!

Tuesday night was really special. It started with the bridge video where the bridgemaster has to chose to derail the train to spare his son on the tracks, or spare the train and sacrifice his son. Then Jim Holt shared the bridge illustration of man separated from God by sin and Jesus providing the bridge to cross over into heaven. Next, our team did a skit with 4 people confronting the separation canyon, Jesus becoming the bridge, and 3 perish while 1 accepts Jesus. During this time, the room is decorated with bridge posters and everyone is wearing their camp t-shirts with the slogan "Cross the Bridge!". After this, Lindsay gave her personal testimony and Teodoara Rodean also gave her personal testimony. (This was a first for a Romanian camp.) We had a skit from the Romanian students about Peter walking on the water and Jesus feeding the 5,000. Then Jordan showed a hilarious slideshow of photos from the first 2 days of camp. We headed outside for a nice campfire with some singing of Romanian songs. Caleigh and Vicki were just finishing up the rice krispie treats -- which were a big hit! After a few more games of UNO, Rummy, cups, and Connect 4, it was time to shut things down and hit the hay.

First and Second Days of Camp

Hello everyone!! We're sorry we have not been able to update our blog as often as we have hoped, our Internet resources have been scant the last few days. We are pleased to announce that the first and second days of the camp at Alpinis have gone very well. The children arrived on Monday at 3 P.M. and really started bonding with us right away. We are currently teaching them about the life of Simon-Peter and have been quite surprised with how much they really know. It was quite hilarious when one of the groups already knew the Bible verse that they were supposed to be memorized! Their use of English has greatly improved since our last visit, or perhaps they were just a little more encouraged to use it this time around. We enjoy conversing with them without a translator being necessary, though some of the younger children speak little to no English. Today we went on a five mile hike and got to see some of God's greatest wonders in Romania. We thank you for your prayer and we will write more often.

Romania Team 2009

Sunday Church and Drive to Sibiu

Yesterday, we went to Churches that Pastor Florin and Pastor Aurel lead. We sang a few songs and enjoyed meeting some of the kids that will be attending camp today. Jim and David presented a message to the congregation and the village attenders were very thankful to have us in Romania. The churches are much smaller than ours (30 people) but it was a blessing to get to see other believers in Christ.

Drive to Campeni

We did not have a chance to write yesterday and so we are writing early Saturday morning. Yesterday we took a tour of Timisoara and heard Pastor Eugene share about the Romanian revolution. This is a very interesting and personal story for Eugene having participated in the revolution in 1989. The pictures are from the city square where the revolution took place, where thousands gathered in an overthrow of communist rule in Romania. After a tour we ate lunch and started our 6 hour drive to Campeni. David got the opportunity to drive in Romania since he is the one that could drive a bus and was able to drive a manual transmission. It was a very nice day and the drive was beautiful. On the way we were able to enjoy a bit of the US by stopping at McDonalds! When we got to Campeni we were greeted by Pastors Florine and Aurel. We divided up into several groups and went to different homes for supper and sleep. Today we are going to be visiting an orphanage in Abrud and putting on a soccer clinic. Everyone is still doing well and we are looking forward to the ministry before us. Please continue to pray as we meet new people and begin our days of ministry here in Romania.

First Day in Romania

WE ARRIVED SAFELY!

Greetings from Timisoara, Romania! Our mission team was dropped off safely by John and Linda Berger at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. Our flight took off around 8:45pm and after an hour layover in Munich, Germany (good chocolate, mmm) we flew into Timisoara, Romania. We arrived at approximately 4:00pm in the afternoon (8:00am US time), so we flew all night and our Thursday was pretty much already over when we arrived in Romania (boy does that feel strange). Everyone tried to sleep on the plane but I don't think anyone was very successful except Caleigh Graeber :) We were picked up at the airport by Eugene and Doru who took us out to eat at one of their favorite restaurants which is owned by Christians. The food was delicious, I think the favorite of many was called "Pizza Emily" which had canadian bacon and french fries as toppings. Everyone is very tired but doing just fine. No problems at all, as you can see from the bottom picture we moved our things into Bethany Baptist Church where we will be spending the night. Please pray for a good night sleep and that we might quickly recooperate from a long night (and day) of travel. I'm sure I speak on behalf of the whole team when I say "I miss you" and "I love you" to my family and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ at Grace Church. Be looking each day for a new update on our blog!

David G

General Trip Itinerary/Schedule

7/22 (Wed) – Drive from Blm/Nor to Chicago, fly to Munich, fly to Romania
7/23 (Thr) – arrive in Timisoara, Romania; meet with MLI staff
7/24 (Fri) – travel to mountain villages and meet Pastor Florin and Pastor Aurel
7/25 (Sat) – Village Ministry (orphanage outreach; soccer clinic & outreach)
7/26 (Sun) – Worship in Campeni and Bia de Aries; travel to Sibiu/Alpinis camp
7/27 (Mon) – Kids arrive! Day 1 of camp – Accepted by Jesus
7/28 (Tue) – Day 2 – Protected by Jesus – mountain hike
7/29 (Wed) – Day 3 – Saved by Jesus – games & campfire
7/30 (Thu) – Day 4 – Forgiven by Jesus – Swimming trip to salt lakes
7/31 (Fri) – Day 5 – Living for Jesus – closing session
8/01 (Sat) Kids return home; visit Sibiu; travel back to Timisoara (5-6 hours)
8/02 (Sun) – Attend church in Timisoara; return Munich/Chicago/Bloomington

Romania Here We Come!

This blog is being established to keep people as up to date as possible concerning our mission trip to Romania July 22-August 2. Our team has 11 members including 5 Sr. High School students, 1 college student, and 5 adults. While we are in Romania we will be working with Pastors Florin and Aurel encouraging local churches, ministering to children in an orphanage, hosting a youth soccer camp, and leading a week-long youth summer camp. We will primarily be using this blog to keep church members updated while we are in Romania. So, check it out every once in a while and let others know that this is a way they can be updated concerning our trip.

In the mean time . . .

Here are some ways you can pray for us as we prepare for our mission trip . . .

1. Romanian students – for building relationships and trust; for understanding who Jesus is in a new way; for open heart’s and listening to God’s voice; for lives changed for eternity

2. Final preparations – preparing lesson materials, having things translated in advance, planning activities, gathering supplies, and writing testimonies.

3. Our team – that we will go with servant’s hearts; that the strengths of each person will make the team stronger; that there will be team unity from a group that doesn’t know each other that well; that we will adjust to the culture; and that God will teach us through the experience.

4. Protection – for overall safety; for health & no sickness from the water, etc.; from thieves and trouble.

5. Families – at home and their adjustments to not having the their spouses, parents or children with them.