The dedication of Romani de Sus Church
by Cristina Ranca - Romanian Program Manager
The 75 seats were not sufficient for all people who attended the new church on its day of dedication: residents from Romani de Sus village and the surrounding region, pastors from Vilcea, a few members of a brass band from Tirgu Jiu county, the vice president of the Regional Pentecostal Community, the Mission Without Border’s coordinator Iosif Cercelaru, as well as three other MWB Romania Staff and our two special colleagues from New Zealand, Robert and Pamela Imlach.
We counted over 120 people attending the church service.
Among those at the service were the two kindergarten teachers in the village. There was great excitement surrounding around the immenant Christmas event for all 240 children in the village.
Ionatan Voina presented a short history of the church in Romanii de Sus: the first Christians came from Tirgu Jiu 35 years ago and planted a church there. The church went through difficulties for many years: the believers would gather in their homes because they never had a church building. Few other missionaries visited them, and since they were almost illiterate, they could not read the Bible. However, their faith prevailed, because above doctrine and theology, they had the strongest weapon: prayer.
Thirteen years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Karlsen visited them from Norway. They saw how the people in Romanii de Sus lived: out of the 1100 people in the village there were very few having a job, commuting to 40 kilometers.
They earned their living by picking berries and mushrooms from the forest – part of them was sold, part was used for their own consumption. Another source of income was making baskets or rudimentary agricultural tools. They have their gardens, some chickens and maybe a pig; the wealthiest have a cow or a horse. Although it is modest, the church building stands out in between the small and almost collapsing homes. The Christians there are very proud to finally have a church.I witnessed 83 years old Lenuta Porumbescu walking inside the church for the first time.
When climbing the few steps with the help of her stick, she leaned against the wall and started to cry. I thought she was in pain and wanted to help, but her tears were actually tears of joy as she was thanking God “for keeping her alive to see that day.” I was humbled to hear that 88 years old Ioana Ciucioi walks 4 kilometres to church from the nearby village “because she is able to.”
Seeing her so small and frail, I imagine how church takes her almost the whole day: after 2 hours of church service, she needs to walk back another 4 kilometres. It was a festive day and all speakers expressed their joy and honor to participate in the event. Robert Imlach had a very good message about the church as a building versus the church as a body. He quoted from 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20:“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body”.and 1 Peter 2: 4-5:”As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Victor Tudorache, the vice-president of the Regional Pentecostal Community concluded the service with a Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple (1 Chron. 6) urging the believers to keep the purpose which the church was built: that this place should always be a place prayer of praise and worship, and a place where Christians learn how to live their lives once they leave to their homes, families and neighbors. He also said the closing prayer, asking for God’s blessing upon the Church in Romanii de Sus.
One of the cooks-to-be wanted to bring her gift and participate with something for that day. Her husband came back from Spain where he earned some money in construction. Her offer consisted in a meal for all visitors. Together with the other cook participating in the cooking course, she had the final exam in cooking. In January they will finally have the diploma in their hands, so they are prepared.After the church service, all the villagers attending received a little gift consisting of some hygiene supplies from MWB. The OCL parcels were distributed the day before, and we plan to implement OWR there in January. Thus Thursday, at the children’s Christmas celebration, we will have a gift for all 240 children in the village, and early next year we hope to start delivering warm meals. The life of the people in Romanii de Sus is starting to change!
