Praise Party in Romania

Right now we're sitting in the Budapest airport, waiting for our connecting flight to Amsterdam in a couple hours. It's 8:00 in the morning and we've been up since 4:00 to get to the airport in Targu Mures (where we very nearly weren't let on the flight because the ticketing agent didn't know what to do with our e-tickets! That got us praying quickly and fervently!).

The Praise Party was yesterday evening and a fitting conclusion to an intensive but fulfilling week with the 15 students who attended the Call2Worship course. We heard precious, intimate love songs to God, vibrant evangelistic songs, a swedish folk song (it was great, Martin!), Romanian poetry set to music (thanks Adela and Narcisa!), and spontaneous Spanish praise (you're awesome, Selina!). Soon I'll upload some to my website, so check that soon.

And this was the way the new YWAM base in TgMures was inagurated! What a wonderful start to the ministry.

Please keep praying for Jerry and Carmen as they establish a YWAM ministry with a focus on worship and youth. They hope to have another C2W in Romania this summer and again next year!

As I have a few moments here to reflect upon this past week I see the faces of hungry, young hearts who have been delivered from evil in many forms. They sat and listened, hour after hour, taking copious notes and some of them with tears in their eyes as the Holy Spirit revealed His truth to them. We laughed during some of the practical applications and cried at the foot of the cross together. My staff team was wonderful, gifted, mature, and ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit - encouraging, praying, speaking words of life and truth and just loving on these young people. It was a powerful combination to have such an age difference (any one of them could have been my son or daughter, biologically)... it seems that many youth lack good examples in the older generation. They need spiritual mothers and fathers in the faith. God knew!

So, I return to my little home in Holland, bone-tired but satisfied and with a singing heart full of gratefulness!

Thursday in Transylvania

Hello from Transylvania!

I'm adding a few more pictures that I've taken which will give you an idea of what it's like here in Romania.

Above you'll see some gypsies, easily recognized here by the way they dress.

The big mural of God at the top is from a large orthodox cathedral here in town. Every wall and the entire ceiling of the cathedral was absolutely full of these kinds of paintings. It is amazing to see.

Then, this last photo is just looking up one of the streets in the town of TarguMures, where we're staying.

The 4 of us are staying at a Reformed Church guest house which also houses some sort of nursing training school. Each morning we have breakfast together around 8:30 and I assume that the students have eaten much earlier, so we have the dining hall to ourselves. Breakfast is usually some white bread, white cheese, sausage and some very strong coffee! The 4 of us (Didi, Rodney, Richard, and I) have had some wonderful discussions and prayer times together around the breakfast table - certainly something to look forward to.

We head on over to the YWAM house around noon for lunch together with the students and staff, after which we give some vocal and instrumental lessons to those who want them. Our program then officially begins at 2:30 p.m. with a staff prayer time and at 3:00 p.m. with praise and worship together. The students are split into 3 praise teams and take turns leading these times. There are then 2 afternoon teaching sessions before dinner at 6:00 p.m. Followed by one final session, a workshop, in the evening. It makes for a very long, but satisfying day.

On the first day I had a conversation with Sobe, a young man taking the course. He came to the Lord 2 years ago after searching for meaning amid the world of mediums and mystery. Apparently he'd said some horrible things to his father one evening and his father unexpectedly died the next day before he could make amends. Someone told him that he could "contact" his father through a medium, and this is what brought him to TarguMures and into the dark world of sorcery. A basketball friend of his was a Christian and Sobe felt the peace in this guys heart and longed for it, so he tagged along to church one day and accepted Christ! His life since then has been marked by his passion for God, the Father and worship has changed his life.

That is just one of the many amazing testimonies among the young worship leaders here in the Call2Worship course. Please keep praying for us with only 3 days left. We believe it will make a permanent difference in their lives and here in Romania!

Please also pray for spiritual protection for us as a staff and the entire class. To God be all the glory!

In northern Romania

Yesterday we started the Call2Worship here in Romania. Tirgu Mures is a good-sized town in the northern region of Romania called Transylvania. (yes, we found out that Count Vlad or Dracula was born not too far from here - however, he's a local hero from the wars with the Turks... all the stories about him were made up!)

We have about 20 students, all but 2 are Romanian. They're all young and eager to learn and grow. The YWAM staff has been great and they are real pioneers and servants. This is the first YWAM activity of their new base and they wanted it this way - to start with a worship course.

So, we are laying foundations, setting the tone, preparing for years of ministry ahead with this small but significant work.

The teaching staff (Richard, Didi, Rodney and I) are staying together in a church guest house and we have great unity. These guys really bless me. They've all paid their own way to come to Romania and now paying to stay in these guest rooms... generous givers and investors in youth.

More later... gotta get up and get going!

Blessings, Belinda