i’m in romania!!

Hey friends – it’s been a minute since I’ve updated y’all on what we’ve been up to.. My bad, but quick update: I’m in Romania! 

The ministry that we’re partnering with this month is called Hope Church Romania with our hosts Raul and Ana Costea. Let me tell you, Raul and Ana’s ministry is the real deal. Their heart for this community is so cool to witness. Their goals for their ministry are coated in wisdom from the Lord. The way they run their ministry is covered in wisdom and grace. Their impact on this community is not something to be taken lightly. AND fun little fact! My cousin Stephanie was in Romania a few years ago working with Raul and Ana! I didn’t know that beforehand and it was such a fun little connection. Imagine traveling to the other side of the world and finding out you and your cousin know the same people and have walked the same streets. I LOVE it! 

Around 8 or 9 years ago, Raul and Ana moved their ministry here to Craiova. Craiova was a risky city to come to for ministry, but Raul and Ana accepted the challenge. Only about .5% of the 300,000 people in this city are saved. There is also a lot of witchcraft around this area which has created a heavy atmosphere over this city in many ways. A couple of years ago, there was an international witch conference held here in Craiova. A couple of the youth in the youth group have also already openly talked about how they practice witchcraft. As dark and evil as this is, Raul and Ana haven’t backed away with the gospel. They run towards the people in this city with love. They’ve recognized the need of the gospel and have positioned themselves directly in the middle of this community and opened the doors of their church. They train up missionaries to help the spread of the gospel around the area. They’ve hosted multiple World Race teams and put them to work, giving us the chance to be apart of the kingdom building here. 

With all that being said, I wanted to share more specifically Raul and Ana’s main vision and goal for their ministry and some of the ways they excite this vision. Their main, overarching vision is “to grow and impact people with the hope of Christ on a local, regional, and international scope.” This sounds so similar to the vision of NMC – the church that I grew up in and have believed in my whole life which makes Hope Church uniquely feel like home. 

They aspire to meet this vision spiritually by preaching the gospel and engaging new believers with discipleship. They also physically approach their vision by providing resources like food, after school programs, and housing to those in need throughout the community. 

Their strategy on how to fulfill their goals and this mission is through 3 P’s (People, Partnerships, and Projects). To read in more depth about these 3 specific strategies, you can check out their website. It’s pretty cool. 

I really, really believe in this ministry and what they are doing for The Lord in Craiova. Craiova is such a beautiful city. One thing that I’ve specifically noticed and loved about this city is how family oriented it is. Every evening (and often during the day as well) there are families out and about walking, walking their dogs, being with their kids riding bikes/scooters, and just hanging out eating ice cream together. Imagine all these families being transformed by the power of the Lord. Dang. 

One of Raul and Ana’s goals is to find 4-5 new financial partners for their ministry ($25/month) and I think it would be so cool to step along side them in this way. Would any of you consider partnering alongside of Hope Church Romania and Raul and Ana’s ministry? I’m adding in a link to Hope Church’s link tree, which provides links to their website, links to way you can donate, and more. 

 

https://linktr.ee/hopechurchromania/

 

Thanks in advance for all your support towards me and the ministries that I’ve had the chance to work with. The Lord is working in this city and I’m so thankful to have the chance to physically be here to witness it. 

 

Much love, 

Heather