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.

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.

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!!!

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!

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!!

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!!

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!!