Evangelizing Encounters in Romania Part 1

I write these encounters not only to tell you about them but for me to always remember.

Encounter 1: A group of us were handing out bags of items like books, seasoning food packets, soap, etc. and the bags also had information about the church. It was my first time handing out items and evangelizing in Romania. I would go up to people with the bags in my hands and some people were interested and asked questions. I could tell them about the church and why I am in Romania, etc. Some people were curious about Jesus, but some people who heard the word church or Jesus didn’t want anything to do with it and would walk away. Other times I would go up to people and they would wave their hand side or side letting me know they didn’t want it or they would walk by without saying anything or even looking at me. First time doing this and of course there are going to be people not interested. I cannot let the rejection discourage me from continuing to evangelize and share the love of Jesus. One of my squad-mates who heard this from someone else said “People aren’t rejecting you, they are rejecting Christ.” This was the start of evangelism in Romania.

Encounter 2: Some of the translators that we were partnered with aren’t Christians. They could be youth in the city that just want to practice speaking English by translating for us. But what a cool way that they got to hear about Jesus and how we got to know each other and be a light to them as well. By the end of our time in Romania, our translators knew more about God and some wanted to have a deep relationship with Him.

Encounter 3: One day we broke into groups with our translators and walked throughout the city and collected trash. This was a great way to help the city and start conversations about what we are doing in a different country picking up trash. As we were picking up trash, there was a lady following us around and even started helping us pick up trash. To give you a little background, in Romania it’s mostly broken up into two people groups; Romanians and Roma or as many people call them gypsies. There’s a lot of history between the two groups and how they are not fond of each other. From what I was told, gypsies are known to steal, be violent, or beg because they don’t want to get jobs. The lady that approached us is a gypsy and as she continued to help collect trash, she would mumble things to us. I asked the translator to help us translate what she was saying. Since our translator knew that she is Roma and knew that the reason she is helping us is to get something in return, so he was hesitant to engage. But finally I was able to get our translator to help me talk to her. I told the lady, thanks for helping us pick up trash and I also told her what we are doing in Romania. Once I mentioned Jesus, she didn’t seem to care about our conversation anymore. Knowing that she didn’t look interested in our conversation about Jesus, I told her that if she has questions about God that she can ask us. I ended it by telling her that she is still welcome to pick up trash with us. But instead, she left and went on her way.
When we were finishing up picking up trash, I saw someone looking for a trash can so I went up to them telling them that I can the trash. Which sparked a conversation where I was able to tell them what we are doing and about the church and they even said that they know Raul (the pastor at the church) and they thanked us for what we were doing in the city of Craiova.

Encounter 4: One afternoon with my friends and our translator, there was a group of men, which can be a little risky going up to them and for me being a young, American women. But I gauged the situation, felt comfortable and approach the few men at a table. I asked them if they wanted a book, showed them the book (which was the New Testament that we were giving out) and instead of engaging in casual conversation with these men, I handed them books and said if you want to know more about Jesus let me know. They opened the books and flipped through the pages and I left. I want to reach all people: men, women, young, old but I have to be careful and use discernment to make sure I feel safe and comfortable.

Encounter 5: One weekend night, our ministry host Ana spontaneously asked if some of us would take turns going up to people with her and she would be our translator. We would ask people if they would want prayer and in my head, my first thought was that this isn’t going to work. As we took turns, my squadmates would come back with encounters of people being open to us praying for them. The next thing I know it was my turn to go and Ana, one of my friends and I went up to this family and asked if they wanted prayer. We introduce ourselves and what we are doing in Romania. As we then ask what they would like prayer for and they shared a few things and we prayed for them as Ana translated. After we casually talked about life, got to know them a little and invited them to church.

Evangelizing isn’t easy and you don’t know what will come out of it, but it’s so worth it. I was able to lean on God’s voice more and more and get over my fear of approaching people. I was able to be the hands and feet of Jesus and plants seeds in people’s hearts about our Savior.

Stay tuned for part 2 of evangizing encounters in Romania.