Romania 2009

So I have just spent 2 weeks with 15 members of the church youth group (that of course includes Maurice) in a little village called Parhida, just off the Hungarian border in Romania. I received from God far more than I thought I would on this trip, as I continue through this journey I am on. It should be no surprise of course, as I remember God speaking to me before I left to expect more of him.

During the first week, everyday began with a beautifully designed study of 2 Corinthians that Maurice did, that give us an image to carry with us each day such as being the fragrance of Christ. We then split into 2 groups doing kids clubs in Parhida and Nuyved where between the two, over 100 children came!

I was part of the Nuyved group, and we were caught off guard when we found over 15 teenagers in our club. So we had to adapt quickly and 'wing' a programme for them. As it turned out, when we were put in a position where we weren't prepared, we found ourselves relying more on God to deliver, and as I am well discovering, unlike us He never fails.

We instantly developed a real chemsitry with this group without really having to do anything complicated. We played games, shared the Word of God, sang, and simply just hung out. It was hard to leave but we found a great sense of God's purposes for this trip, as we found out that one of the translators is in the process of setting up a permanent youth group after their experiences over the week. Please continue to pray for this

Later in the afternoon, we visited many locals, just sharing with each other and bringing small gifts of food parcels. It gave a real sense of our theme for the church services, "the body of Christ". We would often sing, and during one of the visits after singing Seek ye first, the lady said that the world "Hallelujah" transcends all languages. For some reason we then sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Just the chorus of course, but it moved this lady to tears. It was a special moment, little did Cohen know when he wrote this song that it would be claimed for the kingdom of God in a small house in the middle of Romania.

We were then usually treated to some of Hungary's finest cuisine, as we were spoilt by Andrea, our host. This was followed by one of the highlights of the trip, the "man shower". This included the boys stripping down to their togs and getting washed under tap and hose.


Over the second weekend we spent a few days living wildly in the bush 3 hours from Parhida. There was much apprehension within the group, as they all wondered how they would cope without some of the things we formally considered "basic needs". However I was so impressed with the attitude of the whole group, as we all got stuck into everything we were asked to do. The team grew closer, as we exerted testorone together chopping wood, as we gazed upon the stars beside the campfire, as we all stepped out of our comfort zones and did crazy things like jumping into dirty water.

Finally, on a personal level I have learnt so much here. I have learned much from our hosts about the freedom that comes in Christ, something I may share later. I have learned how ridiculous some of my insecurities are. And as maurice challenged us with on our last night, I have learned that God is able. I pray that we will all be more like Joshua & Caleb (Joshua 4), and return from enemy territory to say, "yep, with God we can do this, anything is possible", even in the refugee camps in the Congo.