In just 2 days, the Antioch Romania team will board a plane in Seattle and step off into former Communist territory, where we will spend 20 days serving, teaching, and learning alongside Romanian Christians and youth. The team of 17 has been meeting and planning since the fall, and it's surreal to be leaving so soon. Here's a rundown of our ministry and what we'll be doing:
Why Romania? If you've been around Antioch in the past year, you may have had a chance to meet Emi and Vio Popa who served as interns at the church. Both are from Romania, met at Moody as graduate students, married, and spent the past year serving in Bend. Emi is a gifted teacher and pastor, and Vio has an abiding passion for women's ministry. This trip is what we hope will be the first step in a lasting partnership between Antioch and the Church in Romania.
What we'll be doing: With instructions to be flexible and open to new experiences, our 20 days in Romania are sure to be rich and varied. We'll be spending much of our time in Arad, Emi's hometown, working with several local churches and ministries, including an orphanage and a Christian clinic. We will also be visiting a new church plant in Bucharest, participating in an Apologetic's conference and a women's conference. During the second week we're running a camp for youth from 6 different churches in the Arad area.
How you can support us: Prayer Please keep us in your prayers as we travel, serve and learn. Pray especially for Emi, Vio, and Kip, who are leading the trip and handling details, and for Rick Gerhardt and Brenda Jacobson, who will be teaching at the conferences and at camp. Pray for the people with whom we'll be interacting and for the health, both physical and spiritual, of the team.
Finances Even in this markedly rocky economy, the team has managed to raise almost all of our funds. A sincere thanks to everyone who wrote checks, got cars washed, donated garage sale items, and purchased chicken bowls after church. As a team we've raised $35,000-- just $3700 short of our goal.
Thanks for reading and for following our adventures. We'll be updating the blog periodically throughout the trip, so check back for more pictures and stories from Romania!
-Megan
