God is at work in rural Romania!
Today I want to share with you a little about the country of Romania and give you a glimpse of just some of the things God is doing there.
Romania is a land of spiritual challenge and opportunity. Even though parts of the country have some of the largest concentrations of evangelical believers in Europe, many parts of the country still have well less than 1% who know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. In many areas, spiritual darkness is woven into the culture and fabric of daily life.
For many of us, our image of Europe is a place rich in Christian history, art, and faithful tradition. We know that today much of the continent lacks the light of Jesus, but when our history books tell us Europe and Christianity used to go hand in hand, we may ask ourselves where did it go wrong? As Christianity initially swept through Europe, certain parts lacked the depth and foundation of faith that undergirded the Christianization of society. As Dwight Poggemiller, a GEM worker in Romania, notes, “they simply changed the names of pagan deities to saints; but the local practices never disappeared. Rather than adopting the lifestyle of Jesus, Jesus was adopted to serve our man-made lifestyles.” Down through the centuries, this syncretism of Christianity and cultural beliefs have intertwined in subtle yet powerful ways.
Where is the hope when darkness is so rampant?
God has raised up GEM missionaries to serve in this remote region—to learn the language, to live among the people, and to find ways to break through the walls of mistrust and suspicion that have for so long blocked out hope.
GEM workers Kevin and Michelle Weppler, serving in Dragonesti (pronounced dragon-esht) Romania had a breakthrough when God gave them a vision for a second-hand store in their community. The store they opened quickly became a bridge for the gospel. Their 5 Romanian employees came to Christ and began sharing their testimonies with their families and neighbours. Now, the store is thriving, with nearly 100 customers a day and lines out the door. People come because they need clothes, but what they find is compassion, love, and hope. They are transformed and they themselves are transforming their community.
The gospel has found a small opening in the barriers around this community, and God has given Kevin and Michelle a vision and a desire to expand the second-hand store into a new building that would include a medical and dental clinic for traveling doctors and dentists. The nearby hospital was defunded and then closed by the government—leaving people in the village with nothing and nowhere to turn when the young and the elderly are sick or in pain.
We have recently been running a campaign to help see this expansion become a reality, and God has richly blessed this project already. Construction has been started and partially paid for, but the medical clinic won’t be finished until we reach the funding goal of $150,000. I’m sharing this with you because, as Dwight notes, “The Romanian Church is a praying church” and so we want to lock arms with our Romanian brothers and sisters in prayer.
The Lord is raising up a generation of disciple-makers in Romania, and we can be a part of delivering the practical love of Christ through opportunities like this, using whatever God has given us to share with others. One thing we all have is the capacity to pray, so please join me in praying for God’s work in Romania today! If you want to find out more about the project, please check out the project site at https://gemission.ca/donate/romania/.
