From Arad to Cluj

So we left Timisoara excited to see what else God was going to do on tour. We had just begun and already we were closer as a team. So we piled up in the cars and made our way to our next stop: Arad.

Arad was very different then Timisoara. For one, Timisoara is a big city with big malls, McDonalds, Movie theaters, etc. and Arad was smaller and less westernized. Where as in Timisoara so much of our ministry was involved in the churches we worked in, Arad was special because of the orphanage we stayed in.

I had the pleasure of speaking with one staff member's wife, and found out some very interesting things about the laws concerning orphanages.  Years ago, the Romanian government did away with all of the orphanages and set up a new system for orphans. Instead of having one building with one hundred children, now every "house" can only have 12 children with a minimum of five paid staff workers around the clock. As you can imagine this does make things harder to keep an orphanage running, however, it does make the ministry more personal.

While we were there, we focused on serving this ministry. We loved on their kids and dug a garden for them. What we dug up was about the size of the average American's back yard. We had even cleaned out the grass and raked the dirt. It wasn't easy work but felt very rewarding. However, one of the things that I'll remember the most from this stop was a boy I had met. He was a graduate of the house and I felt the need to talk to him.

Now I don't believe in throwing peoples dirty laundry out for everyone to see, nor am I fond of exploiting people for ministry, so I'm only going to tell this one part of our conversation. As I was talking to him, he told me that God was a pain in his butt (for the sake of certain Christian circles I'm editing how he said this). So I asked him what he meant and why this was so. He looked at me and said, "I don't know, he's just a pain in my butt."

I waited, listened, and then felt the nudge in my heart to reply, "You know, there was a time when God was a pain in everyone's butt. You see, he had decided to come down to save us, and this aggravated everybody. The ironic thing about this, is that when he was the biggest pain in people's butts, he was showing us the most love." He stopped and didn't exactly know how to answer. The thing was, he knew the truth but refused to except it. Truth is truth, whether we feel like it is or not.

He then eventually through out, "Well, all of you guys keep coming by and praying for me like you all can save me, like there's something so special about you..." and then he later said, "Yesterday I cried out to God and told him to give me a sign. Something that shows he still wants me."

I then replied, "Do you think that maybe he has been hearing you prayers, and has been sending people your way to show you he still wants you?" He had no reply. Now, I would like to say that at this point we began to pray, he rededicated his heart to God, and he left with a "Happily Ever After". However, it doesn't. He left knowing the truth...however, whether he accepts it or not is up to him now.

This question then pops in my head, "How often do we ask God for stuff and miss Him?" We pray for joy but miss the opportunity to exerciser it; provision and then refuse it. We ask for more love and then deny others from it. How often is God so obvious and we blatantly refuse to see it and then blame it on blindness?

The next day we ministered in a park. We loved on kids and had the opportunity to do our whole production outside A club. A lot of young people were affected by our production and the ministry after was powerful. The next day we left to Oradea.

Oradea was another great stop. We got to minister in a village church where ten people got saved and a youth service where we made new friends and got to pour into more lives. When we were finished there, we then traveled to Cluj.

The place that really had my heart from this stop was from a church just outside of Cluj, Casa Tamplarului. It was a beautiful body of believers. They all had great hearts and a young spirit. They welcomed us in and even asked for an encore for our stomp. Their youth students opened up to our MCR students, and our guys got to pour into their lives. As the night got late and the youth began to leave the church, I overheard one of the youth say to one of our students, Marius, "You're awesome." I could tell that because of Marius' humility this caught him by surprise. You could tell that these youth and our students really felt connected to each other and that our students really made a difference in their lives.

With each stop we left, we left a good taste in people's mouth. God had moved powerfully and we are very greatful for that. We had ministered to around 600 people on our tour, and 44 gave their hearts to Christ! Many are also very interested in MCR. We even had a few married couples who said they were interested in doing a first year... at least, that's what they checked off on the connect card.

So tour ends and Easter break begins for MCR. This break will be well needed for our students. They have been so dedicated to the ministry and everything they put their hands to. This break will also be well need for us staff...we'll finally be able to relax for the first time in four months.