Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas 2008

In Romania there is not just one day of Christmas, but two!! The 25th and the 26th are both holidays. We had two celebrations this year.


A Redskin hat and an Eagles Shirt! We are ready for at least one team to move on in the playoffs!!
On the 25th we had a more traditional Romanian Christmas with a woman from our small group from church. She made sarmale (cabbage roles) and Mămăligă (made from corn meal and a bit like grits). We ate and enjoyed time together!
Then on the 26th we had a more American dinner with Turkey and all the trimmings! We had another American family and a Romanian family over. They came in and sang a traditional Romanian carol (see video below) to us and we enjoyed a HUGE meal and games into the evening.


Monday, December 15, 2008

News in Romania

Well the new Romanian government has been formed between two old political rivals. Here is what the Eight O'Clock Online Edition had to say about this:
The Democrat-Liberals (PD-L) and the Social-Democrats (PSD) struck a deal for a joint governance, signing the protocol of collaboration called “Partnership for Romania.” The PSD leader Mircea Geoana estimated it ‘a historical moment’, when political forces apparently irreconcilable join after 20 years their efforts. “We have grown up. It was a complex process of negotiation, the formula found by PD-L was the only one able to assure the stability of Romania,” Geoana said. The Social-Democrat leader stressed that his party and the future Government will assure the protection of the minorities’ rights, referring to the discontent of UDMR (party of ethnic Hungarians) that it was not co-opted to governance.

In his turn, the PD-L leader Emil Boc declared: “We start with one objective: an efficient and stable governance in hard times. We have coalesced in this document both right and left wing measures.” Boc and Geoana announced that they will back different candidates at the presidential elections from 2009. “We are partners, but also political and electoral competitors,” Boc said.
This protocol will be valid until 2012.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008

We were able to return to Rucar, where we had English Camp this past summer, to celebrate Thanksgiving in Romania with 4 other American families last weekend. We had good food, cold temperatures outside, snow and a good time together!

Over the years we have read the Lincoln proclamation of 1863 setting aside a day of Thanksgiving. Part of the proclamation reads, "I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

We do give thanks to our great God for His overflowing love and grace to us! Thanks to you too who stand beside us as we minister to staff and students in Romania!!

Here are a few photos of how 5 families celebrated Thanksgiving in Romania!



Lots of time for games and coffee, tea or hot chocolate!!




Rebekah celebrated her 14th birthday as well on Sunday! Hard to believe how the time flies!!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Romanian News This Week

Here are some headlines from this week in Romania!

The elections are over now and the process of trying to form an alliance government is the talk of the town, since no party won an absolute majority of the vote. What 2 parties will get together to form the government? This is an important step in seeing who will be the next prime minister of Romania. Maybe next week we will know. In the elections only 34.50% of registered voters turned out.

In a move to try and improve domestic car sales the government raised the tax on imported and second hand cars in Romania. Dacia-the Romanian car manufacturer, has closed down production for a few weeks and hopes to reopen in mid-December.

On the bright side of things Romania's economy registered an economic increase for the third quarter of 2008 of 9.1% compared with the same period last year. This is the largest increase in the EU for the third quarter.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Romanian News this Week

We wanted to try and keep you up-to-date with a few current events in Romania. Here are a few news items:

--Talks of a possible strike in the education field as professors have issued demands for a 50% wage increase. Currently teachers are paid 700 lei (about $250) monthly. If the government doesn't respond there could be teachers strike at the end of this month.

--Romania is preparing for Parliament elections on November 30. This is the first time people will actually vote for individual people not just vote for a party that would name the parliamentarian representatives.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Romanian Student

Working with students is always a work that keeps you young! We feel like we are constantly behind in trying to keep up with the changing student culture or the latest trends in electronics or the internet, not to mention new music or films. It is very clear that the Student culture has changed and is changing in many ways in Romania.

A few weekends ago (Oct. 24-26) 26 leaders met from across Romania for our organizations General Assembly. During this time we had many discussions related to the functioning of the organization. We also talked about ideas for fund raising, future leaders for the movement and about evangelism among students today!





Please pray for OSCER and our efforts to reach students across Romania with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Fall Beauty!


Last weekend we were able to spend a few days in the mountains, enjoying perfect fall weather and the beauty of creation around us!! We were in Moeciu (60 kms. north of where we had our camps this past summer).

We enjoyed hiking together and climbing up on rocks!




Relaxing around the house we stayed in!



And exploring inside a cave!!!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Heritics??!!

We stood at a table near the dorms passing out Bibles and inviting students to come to a discussion group called "Glad You Asked", which will look at many of the basic questions people have about Christianity. One young student stopped and asked what we were doing, why, and who we were. He was visibly upset that we were passing out Bibles and that we were not from the Orthodox Church. We tried to talk with him and tell him the Bible we had was not that different than the "Orthodox" Bible, just this one had easier language to understand. He called us heretics and accused us of proselytism.

For 2 days we stood outside one of the dorm areas in Bucharest, offering free Bibles and other Christian evangelistic literature to students. Very few students stopped even with a sign that all the material was free! Many asked us if we were from the Orthodox Church and when we said no many walked on. There is still a stereo-type that people have in their minds that remains from the communist days against the Evangelical church in Romania. It's amazing to see the reaction of students when they find out we are not Orthodox. One guy tired to get his friend to put back the Bible after he found out we were not Orthodox. But the guy said, "That's alright, I'm multi-religious!" Many of these students have never read the Bible. Please pray for the 25 students that took Bibles, that God would work through His Word and they would come to the discussion group that will start on 15 October! We continued this week passing out Bibles at the dorm areas!

After talking with the first guy mentioned above, one of the staff said, "it is amazing just a few years ago students where open to all kinds of different things like meditation and new age philosophy and now it's only orthodoxy." Another interesting fact was that last week there was only one student who came up to the table and said that he was a Christian. He was an international student from Nigeria!

The Business School in Bucuresti with a banner welcoming the students back!

Monday, September 29, 2008

The Romanian Student In 2008

This year officials say that there are 700,000 students attending universities across Romania. When a first year student arrives a few days before classes begin, 1 October, they must try and get a place in the dorm. The authorities have announced that this year there are only 110,00 places in all dorms across Romania. We just read that in Bucuresti at the Business school there are 8000 students who have requested a place in the dorm, while there are only 4800 places in dorms for these students. Across the nation the average is 1 in 6 students get a place in the dorm!! If a student doesn't get a spot in the dorm then they must look to rent a place. This alternative is much more expensive for a student. The dorm is around $35/month, while renting cost 250-300 euros for a very small furnished apartment.

For those "lucky" enough to get a place in the dorm, they often find very poor conditions. Poor furniture, broken windows and doors as well as a dirty mattress greets the student. But the authorities say they are renovating the dorms across the country, and complete on average one dorm per city a year. New dorm construction is going very slowly. This is one thing the Romanian student faces as he/she begins their university days.


Students & Parents waiting to see if they can get a place in the dorm

Many of the dorms in Bucuresti are being renovated slowly

Students put up notices asking if they can buy someone elses place in the dorm!!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Fall 2008 Family Retreat



September 19-21 our church, Bunavestire, had a family retreat. There were 100 people in attendance, and we had great teaching on being a Godly husband with loving leadership and how to be a loving wife that respects her husband. We enjoyed the time away from Bucuresti and got to know a few more people at our church. On Sunday, just before lunch, a young lady greeted us as we walked in a door and then left. After she walked off we realized that it was a young woman who had been involved in the student group many years back, but we didn't recognize her. We asked another friend if our guess was right and it was. So after lunch we went and spoke to Felicia and found out she is married and that she and her husband are working to plant a church a few miles outside of Bucuresti. She talked about how hard it has been and all the opposition they have faced. She also spoke to us about how much she appreciated the ministry of OSCEB, when she was a student and how it had helped to strengthen her in her walk with the Lord and had been an encouragement to her!

After speaking with Felicia we began to think of all the people at the retreat. We could count 11 people at the retreat who had been involved in the student work either in Bucuresti or another city. It was encouraging to think how the student groups in Romania are producing graduates, who are going out into the market place as well as the church and are using their gifts to serve the Lord!!

Thanks for your prayers for us and for your finacial support that allow us to minister here in Romania to students and helping to prepare the next generation of students that will influence the market place and the church in Romania!!



Sunday, September 14, 2008

OSCER Leaders Meeting Hungary Sept. 2008

From September 8-13, twenty-five OSCER Leaders met at a conference center just over the boarder from Timisoara in Hungary. We spent time focusing on our relationship with the Lord, renewing our vision of OSCER, discussing this years activities, as well as refocusing on what a student looks like today in Romania. We also, spent time in prayer for each other and for the the new school year that starts on 1 October.




Lots of Discussions!! L-R (Aidan, Marius, Andrei, Dragos & Simona)


One of our worship times outside! L-R (Ovi, Catalin, Stefan & Razvan)


More Discussions!!


Group Picture!


L-R( Sami, Alex, Gabi, Stefan, Oana, Aidan & Dargos)

The Groups that were represented at the meeting where:

Bucharest, Pitesti, Craiova, Ploiesti, Iasi, Brasov, Timisoara & Cluj.

Please pray for these groups as well as the student groups in:

Galati, Suceava & Oradea,

as they try and put together plans for the new school year (that starts October 1st), and ways to reach out to new students coming to campus this fall. Thank you!!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Adventure English Camps 2008

We had three wonderful weeks in the mountains for our English Camps in July. Overall we had good weather and we saw God at work in the hearts and lives of students. The first week we had a small group of students from Iasi. It was a small camp, but a close and united group!
The hike during the first camp week. Please pray for Dragoș who was at the camp, that God would continue to work in his life!

Hannah ready for rock climbing!!
One of the Adventure activities was horse-back riding! This was a hit with the York Children!!

Kris repelling down the rock face!
Andrew and his friend Jonathan who was with us during the first camp week! The second picture is from the English Culture night where they learned to drink tea!!

We had three day hikes!! It was wonderful to be out in the beauty of God's creation!

The second week we got to visit a cave!!


The last week the team from the US taught us a few dances from the 1950's!! Here is everyone doing the Hand Jive!!
The camps were very good and we appreciate the two teams that served the Romanian students this summer!! They did a great job of building relationships with the Romanian students and serving them. Please pray that God would continue to work in the lives of those who came to the three camps this summer. During the second week we had 2 Vietnamese students who are studying in Ploiești.