Mission Romania
November
22-30 of 2015 I traveled to Sighisoara, Romania on a mission trip with the
primary purpose being to lead worship, preach, and train local worship leaders
in the area. I began the trip leaving from Lubbock, TX on Sunday afternoon,
November 22 and then flew to Houston. After a very short layover, my flight
then took me to Frankfurt, Germany, and again after another short layover and
walking through the airport for nearly an hour and a half to get to the correct
corridor, I flew to Bucharest, Romania. I took a day to see that city and saw
some amazing sights. The beauty of the architecture and culture was incredible.
However, the effects of communism were made very apparent as well.
After
a day of seeing the city, on Tuesday Pastor Sabin Boruga drove me about 4 ½
hours to Sighisoara, the birthplace of Prince Vlad Dracula. While Bucharest is
a city of nearly 5-million people, Sighisoara is much smaller at only
35-thousand. Romania is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Sighisoara is
in the north-central part of the country in a geographic region called
Transylvania. It is a beautiful city exhibiting the characteristics of a
classic little European town that many people would picture. Many cities have a
Citadel or a fortress atop a hill, which would have been common in Medieval
times. Sighisoara is no different, although it has obviously expanded outside
those walls. In general, Europe is technologically advanced. Internet speeds,
for example, are much faster yet much less expensive than in the United States.
In Eastern European countries like Romania, it is common for younger people to
speak English. However, older people usually do not, mainly because they lived
for the majority of their lives during a time when they could only speak Romanian.
Pastor Sabin speaks five languages himself. Being just a little older than me,
he was very young during the Revolution and barely remembers the fall of
communism. This is all made evident in Sighisoara.
Pastor
Sabin Boruga is Romanian by birth but speaks excellent English. His wife is of
German descent and also speaks English. I met Sabin while he was a youth pastor
at a local church in my father’s Baptist association while he was attending
seminary, and we have kept in touch since then and long spoken of doing a trip
like this. Well, it finally happened. Sabin and his brother have planted six
churches since the early 2000s in Sighisoara, and his brother just planted a
Romanian speaking church in Germany. Sabin pastors one congregation but is the
overseer of all six and uses lay-members and other church leaders to fulfill
the role of pastoring the smaller churches in the villages. Many of the
buildings he built with the help of others from the ground up. These churches
are in villages outside the city of Sighisoara, and many of the people Sabin
pastors are Gypsies.
I
spent Wednesday morning visiting with some families in Pastor Sabin’s churches.
It was a wonderful experience getting to meet several people and pray with
them. Most of them are very poor. Gypsy people used to live in the area but
moved away, and after the Revolution and the fall of a Romanian dictator in
1989, they began moving back. The community Sabin lives in is a Gypsy
community. They are people that have traditionally been known as thieves and
outcasts with no place to go. They know him here as the pastor to the Gypsy
people. These are people that no one else will love, but Sabin feels called to
them and they welcome him with open arms. I then took Wednesday night to tour
Dracula’s castle since it is so close. Vlad Dracula was a prince who was
captured and tortured by the Turks in the 15th-century, but later
when he took power again, he used what he learned in their torture methods
against them. The legend of him being a vampire comes from a 19th-century
novel. When Vlad died, his body was never found so Bram Stoker wrote a novel
based on his character about what happened to him, namely becoming a vampire. His
real name is Vlad, and he is known as Vlad the Impaler for how he eventually
killed the Turks. Dracula means “son of the Devil.” Seeing this castle where he
spent much of time was a great experience. On the way back, we stopped in
Brasov, which has a bid to be the European Capital of Culture in 2021.
Romania
has only in the past few years become part of the European Union, which
requires certain things to be in place eventually, one of which is being on the
Euro. Right now Romania uses their own currency called the Lei. They hope to be
on the Euro by 2018. Another requirement is that their official business
language has to be English, which should not be a problem for them. Countries
in Europe tend to be more like states in the United States. There are largely
open borders once you are on the continent, and you can travel freely between
those borders. They will still give you the gift of a passport stamp, but the
European Union is quickly becoming one large government in and of itself.
Thursday
I spent the day visiting the village churches. Every church had a hand-built
brick oven they used to bake bread for the poor people of the village. Sabin’s
parents owned a bakery when he was growing up so he was very good at it. Some
of the churches also contained a soup kitchen where they fed Gypsy children
during the day. The work of the church being the hands and feet of Christ was
obvious in these ministries. The entire purpose of these ministries though is
to present the gospel message of Christ, for any good work that does not point
to the gospel exercise futility. All that is done must be done to preach the
gospel. That afternoon Sabin asked if I could go to his mother-in-law’s house
and play and sing for her. She is dying of cancer so I told him absolutely. I
had never met the woman till that moment, but seeing her sing and lift her
hands while lying on her bed was very moving to me. I then led worship at
Sabin’s main church Thursday night. With a congregation of about 30 people, we
sang and worshiped. I gave a very short message, but most of the night was
spent singing praises. I did mostly hymns since they were the most familiar,
and it was great to hear them singing these hymns in their heart language of
Romanian. They were very appreciative of me being there.
Friday
I went to the city of Sibiu with Sabin to visit a man from his congregation who
is in the hospital with broken legs from an accident. He again appreciated me
seeing him and praying with him. I then took about an hour to see some of the
sights of the city including some incredible cathedrals. The primary religion
in Romania is Greek Orthodox, simply called Romanian Orthodox because of the
country it is established in. It is a state religion, and the priests are paid
by the government. This means that they adhere to what the government wants. Most
people in Romania claim to be Orthodox, but very few of them actually practice.
Other denominations that exist are Catholic, Lutheran (referred to simply as
Evangelical), and Baptist. Sabin’s churches are Baptist.
Friday
night I led worship for a group of college students. They spoke English so I
did newer songs in English and then preached but with Sabin translating, and
they very much enjoyed it.
Saturday
I woke up early to see the Citadel in Sighisoara. It was wonderful seeing the
Medieval walls of the city. I walked up to the Citadel, the highest point in
the city and saw some incredible churches and was even able to spend some time
in the city clock tower, one of the highest points in the city. The view was
unmatched. I then spent the rest of the day Saturday training local worship
leaders. There was a mix of old and young, people who liked contemporary music
and people who only liked hymns, and people who read music and people who
played by ear, and they all spoke English so I did not need a translator.
Bridging the gap and training such a vast group is often a challenge, but that
is why I came. I first gave some spiritual training and talk about Christian
worship being Christocentric. Then I gave some helpful tips for worship leaders
such as how to introduce new songs and how to use the planning process as
spiritual formation. Then I gave some practical training musically. My hope and
prayer is that these leaders not only become better worship leaders through
this training but that they also become better worshipers.
Sunday
I led worship and preached in three different churches, the last one being
Sabin’s main church in Sighisoara. I spoke of Christ as High Priest in all
three services and how that should transform the way we worship. It was
wonderful to see Romanian people worshiping and eagerly listening to what the
Lord was saying to them. These are the local Christians, the light in a dark
place for Sighisoara. I was honored to have the opportunity to work with and
minister to them. In fact, I think they ministered to me just as much if not
more. Throughout the week the Lord was speaking to me about not only
Christocentric worship but since worship is Christocentric, living a more
Christocentric life. In other words, every action and decision in our lives
should have Christ at the center. I was also reminded to always trust the Holy
Spirit. In a culture where everything is much more laidback and relaxed than I
am used to, it was difficult to not be prepared at times. I was prepared, but I
personally like being ready for things much in advance. There were times,
however, when I had to scrap my plans and simply rely on the leadership of the
Holy Spirit. Honestly that is a good place to be. God is in control anyway so
his way goes. We should always trust the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our
lives. This is essential to right worship.
To
my First Baptist Church of Slaton family, I thank you for the opportunity of
ministering in Romania. I hope more opportunities like this arise but not only
for me, for you as well. I encourage you to pray about how the Lord desires to
use you on a global scale. Seek him, and let his will be done. Pastor Sabin’s
biggest need right now is prayer, but second to that is financial support. Pray
about how the Lord desires to use you in his kingdom work around the world,
perhaps in Romania. Again I thank you. The ministry in Romania was fruitful,
and God is at work in Sighisoara. Here is a summary video with pictures and recordings.
