Three years ago, as I planned to travel from Serbia to Moldova, I realized that I needed a place to stay somewhere in central Romania because the distance was too great to drive in a day. I sent an email to a few friends and soon received an email from a friend of a friend of a friend who had an unused apartment in Sighișoara, Romania.
My family and I stayed there for just one night, in town for less than 24 hours. That evening, the young lady who gave us the key to the apartment also introduced us to David McGuire, a British missionary who has lived in Romania for over 20 years. It was a very nice first visit and I stayed in touch with David.
Two years later (last summer) I found myself again in Sighișoara, traveling through the area with Stoneworks board chairman Glenn Cole. We had a great visit with David, his wife Rodica and daughter Sabrina (at left) as we ministered in villages near Sighișoara.
David has built many houses for the poor, mostly in Roma and/or Hungarian speaking villages. After talking with David about his desire to increase his ministry in village churches, I thought that Alex Erbeck would be a good fit. Alex was on two of our Montenegro teams and is very gifted.
Our time in Romania is an example of how our work is based on relationships, how the Lord opens doors of ministry through relationships that He ordains. I liken it to mining for gold — you dig until you hit a seam of gold and then turn to follow it. Sometimes it fades to nothing, and sometimes it opens up to a very valuable haul. Stoneworks never had a ‘strategic plan’ for serving in Romania; we’ve just followed the relationships. The Lord surely sets us together as living stones.
Alex led a team of three: herself, Daniella Lima and Nancy Baglia (at right). I joined them for a week. I taught at Manna Church in Sighișoara. We spoke at several ‘daughter’ churches located in nearby villages. We brought words of encouragement and comfort as we prayed for people. I taught on Abiding in Christ, The Work That God Demands of Us, and The Differences Between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of This World.
We visited a village kindergarten and the pro-life center Casa Vietii Sighisoara, directed by Mihaela Mihai. We also had time with Pilu & Hadasa Hadarean. Pilu is the pastor of Manna church, and he and Hadasa have adopted several children and have a great heart for orphans. The team also ministered with the youth ministry Perspective.
Here is what David said about the team:
In these times, the team has fulfilled what my first hopes of what such a team would do, and way beyond. My first idea would be such a team to hear from the Lord and give personal/corporate impartation from the Lord. Since they’ve been here, this has been happening, and in ways I’d not thought about. The good challenge to myself is the thinking and planning and hearing of God in guidance in the team to be where God wants them to be. As we’ve been in these places, edification, comfort, encouragement, and even the saving of marriages and the leading into all truth, coupled with the Word of God, has manifested to many. The team with Michael has been 3 ladies who have blessed many. My prayer is that this would be the first of many such type teams to be a blessing to this area and beyond.
We are already talking about next summer. David has invited us to do some ministry training followed by ministry in the villages – preaching, teaching, prayer, children’s’ ministry and worship.
I believe that doors are opening for us to continue helping the church in Romania. We’ll take the next steps and see how the Lord leads.