October 2008 Freedom Project Comes to Romania

Freedom Project Shares it's Passion to End Human Trafficking

Last October we were honored to be visited by Ro Potter and Ange Miracle, members of The Freedom Project, a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness on the of human trafficking. In a few short days they made presentations for our YWAM staff, church, Day Center kids, street people, students at the cafe, and for 100 high school students at one of the best public high schools in Constanta. Their message was openly received and we are excited by the possibility of local action being taken to fight human trafficking in Romania and Eastern Europe. Not only were we blessed by their presentations but Ro and Ange were a lot of fun to have around and we look forward to the possibility of working together with them in the future.

Check it out: www.freedomprojectinternational.org

Challenging students at New Wine Cafe to get involved

Intercession with YWAM staff for issues surrounding the topic of Human Trafficking

Sharing with a class of English students at a local High School in Constanta

About 100 students came together in this auditorium to hear about human trafficking

Concert at the Cafe

Last week we had a friend from New Zealand, Peter Woolston, play for the students at our cafe here in Constanta. He put on a great show and we so enjoyed having him with us at the base. He also put on a special little concert for the kids from our Day Center. He was amazing with them and I loved seeing the kids smiling and moving to the music. Thank you Peter for your great music, special ministry and blessing us so much! :)
Check him out:
www.peterwoolston.com





We also have a great team serving with us right now from YWAM Chatel, Switzerland's Crossroads DTS. they've been helping us out in the cafe, with the kids and reaching out in the city. We love having them here!

The First Day of School :)

Two weeks ago I had the great honor of taking one of the little boys from our Day Center ministry to his first day of school! The first day of school here in Romania is no small event. Parents bring their kids to school all dressed up in their uniforms and carrying flowers for their teachers. At each school an assembly is held outside of the school where the principal speaks, a policeman, and an Orthodox priest! The kids get to meet their teachers and get acclimated to the classroom while the parents stand around the room listening to the teacher's introduction to the school year and making sure that their children are settled. The little boy I brought was adorable! He couldn't sit still for more than a minute but he was happy to be in class and I am praying that he adjusts quickly to the school environment. I knew a lot of the kids at his school from the kids program that we do down in their neighborhood and it was great to see them there with their parents. It was a special experience to be in a primary school for the first time and to be there for the first day.

YWAM ROMANIA FAMILY- National Conference

At the beginning of the month almost everyone working with Youth With A Mission Romania came together for 4 days of worship, prayer, seeking God, teaching, encouragement and fellowship. We came from all 7 YWAM bases in Romania and were joined by many friends who are no longer working with YWAM but still part of the family :) The conference was held at the Medias base and we packed it out with over 70 people. It was such an awesome time, hearing from God, joining together and celebrating what God is doing in this nation and in our lives. The teaching was especially impacting and I was so encouraged by the leadership of YWAM Romania. They were really open about the good things and the hard things of being in missions. Their faithfulness is such an example for me and has helped me to see that none of us are alone in our struggles or in our joys. And through it all, GOD is good and He is worth it all. I am SOOOO happy to be a part of YWAM Romania- such a special family we have!
Worship School Students from Targu Mures!!!

Targu Mures Discipleship Training School students!

Dear Friends and YWAM colleagues!!! Irene, Claudia, Marta, Lidgia :)

Sarah, Marta and Beta...you girls are the best!

So many great people! Thank you Lord for YWAM Romania!

Mela, my DTS one-on-one and new Constanta staff and Rune, our base leader!

Martin Axelsson, another new Constanta staff playing an original song at a special recital for all of us aspiring song writers :)

Enjoying the recital! There were so many song writers!

Helga teaching on Thankfulness :) I love you Helga!

Florin, Medias base leader teaching on how to stay in mission longterm.

All the new staff that have joined YWAM this year :)

A little time for vacation :)

Birthday Party for Friends in Constanta

Visiting with YWAM friends in the beautiful "Old City" of Bucuresti

I had no idea Targu Mures was so gorgeous!!

L & L together again! Did you say "Lee-il?

Leisl at the top of the clock tower in Sighisoara

View from the Clock tower in Sighisoara

The week before last, I was soooo blessed to have one of my best friends from university come to visit me here in Romania- for the third time! She is such a fantastic friend! It was so good to spend time, catching up on our lives and all the adventures we have experienced since we last saw each other a year ago. We hung out for some days here in Constanta and then headed up to Transylvania, spending some nights in the adorable ad ancient city of Sighisoara. After roaming the streets, seeing the sights and visiting some friends, we made our way to Targu Mures, another gorgeous Romanian city just an hours drive away. We stayed with another wonderful friend and also visited another YWAM base there. But before we knew it, it was time to get moving and we headed back to Bucuresti for a night with more YWAM friends and a tour of the older area of the capital city. It was a great mini-vacation and I am realizing more and more just how blessed I am with so many friendships all over the world and all over Romania. God is good! :)

Summer Camp with the Day Center

This month my roommate Sarah’s sister, brought a team from her church in Frisco, TX to run a week long camp for our Day Center kids. The week was wild, with great devotionals and activities from the team and the humor and antics of the kids. The team made a lasting impact on many of the kids and their example of love and patience was amazing. The camp was held in village outside of Suceava in the North of Romania near the Moldovan boarder. We were in the middle of peaceful farm land, with a huge grassy lawn for playing soccer- the kids are crazy about soccer! For me, some of my most special times were when I was able to lead the kids in their praise and worship times. These kids don’t do anything without passion- they play hard, fight hard J and worship with the same intensity. For me it was a special gift to join together three things that I love, kids, music and worshipping God. I hope to continue ministering through music with my kids, this fall at the Day Center.

New Wine Cafe

This is the first summer that New Wine Café has been open, and it has proved to be a great success! Even with many students returning to their villages for the summer holiday, we have still had a group coming for the different café events and especially for the Friday night discussion groups. For a few months now we have been partnering with the pastor of the local church where I attend. He has a great heart for discipling the students and leads the discussion groups, challenging the students to think about their lives, their desires and what God’s desires are for their lives. We have really enjoyed working with him and look forward to what is in store for the future of the New Wine Café!

That's Andi, my pastor in the blue shirt, leading a discussion about dreams for our futures. This was a really special night with so many hopes and testimonies of dreams-come-true being shared.

Old CIty Kids Club!!!

Woo Hoo! This summer we have continued with one of my most favorite outreaches- to the children from poor families in the Old City of Constanta. We are again joining a church planting effort from one of the local churches here, Good News Church, and also this summer, we have been blessed to be joined by some Romanian young people from a local children’s evangelism organization. Spending time with these children is such a huge source of joy! They love the “kids club” and we are believing that God is touching them in a special way during this time!

Slide Show :)

Summer Teams

Summers in Constanta can be a bit crazy, but in the midst of the craziness we find ourselves as YWAM Constanta so blessed by the young people that come to work with us from all around the world. We have had American, Canadian, Dutch, English, Norweigen, New Zealander, and Romanian guests visiting us this summer and more nationalities are on their way! Some come as individuals, others with their families, some on YWAM teams, and others from churches- but however they come, they have each brought with them a spirit of joy and service, encouraging our staff and sharing their gifts with those we minister too! The teams have been spending lots of time at the beach with the children from our Day Center, praying and interceding for our base, ministry and for the city, put on programs for the kids club in the old city, and joined with our street team and café ministries! Such a blessing each one has been! Thank you to each one!

UniQuip- Training for YWAM School Staff

After my week in Cluj I returned to Constanta for two days, sang in the Café with friend, Martin Axelsson from Sweden, hung out with friends from Constanta and then took off again with a group from our base for Kiev, Ukraine. This time, for training for YWAM school leaders and staff. If you aren’t too familiar with Youth With A Mission, you might not know that the Discipleship Training Schools and other YWAM schools are all part of the University of the Nations. Not long after the start of YWAM, the Lord spoke to the leaders about providing further training for young people, equipping them with skills for serving in all areas of society.

The training seminar we attended was held by leaders of the University of the Nations, to better equip and encourage those who are running these schools. There were staff from YWAM School of Biblical Studies in Sweden, and Ukraine, DTS staff from all over Europe, and other YWAM staff that just wanted to learn more about the UofN and the heart and focus of YWAM schools. Personally I was SOOOO happy to be at this conference! The example of leadership that was shown was amazing and hearing all the background and what YWAM schools are meant to be, finally gave me firm ground to stand on as I look towards staffing future DTS and YWAM schools.

Vishal Mangalwadi on Development vs. Poverty

And if you didn’t think I had done enough running around, after the conference in Slovakia I returned to the YWAM base where I did my Discipleship Training School in 2006. I spent just over a week in Cluj-Napoca, Romania with YWAM Medias’ School of Biblical Christian Worldview, video-tapping the teachings of Dr. Vishal Mangalwadi, an Indian community development worker and scholar who has written many books and spoken around the world on the issues concerning development of the nations and Christian Biblical Worldview. I loved Vishal’s teachings and soaking in the wealth of information and perspective that seemed to bubble out of him. He also discussed the roots and causes of poverty and how the Cross is our hope of redemption from all results of sin, including poverty. It was a powerful, challenging and important teaching. There is much more I could say about this man but I will let you check it out for yourself: www.vishalmangalwadi.com