Here are some bullet points from my experience in Romania. I used my notes app more than ever, but these are from just the first week. Our host, Raul, is very good at bridging the cultural gap between Romanians and Americans. He explained Romanian culture well, so I wanted to share his knowledge. These are just about the culture we experienced in Craiova, not necessarily our ministry.
my first ten minutes in romania:
– pigeons are everywhere
– a 14 year old girl smoking with an even younger sister next to her
– yellow/tan buildings are common
– small personal bubbles
– no greetings no smiling
– nice shoes. value of beauty
– some are kind and willing to teach Romanian
Cultural information from our orientation and what we learned:
– floor is always dirty. have clean shoes. no sitting on floor. you are judged by your shoes.
– don’t lean on walls. dirty
– latin influence
– distrust with outsiders (high uncertainty avoidance)
– 5% evangelical. mountains stopped missionaries from traveling to the south
– craiova 300,000 people
– no color in clothing because communism. this is how you can tell generations apart just by looking at them
– illiterate for scripture (they are told what to believe)
– Hope Church teaches people to rely on scripture
– people don’t trust each other 🙁 slowly changing with youth generations
– orthodox: soooo much tradition, it trumps everything. faith in tradition, not God. Icons
– roma/gypsy: from northern india. brought witchcraft. mixed with orthodox church. mystical. roma have a cast system. facade of rich. identity in thievery. “take what you can get, and a little bit more”
– racism to and from romanians to roma. roma more impoverished. big divide in the city’s culture
– Craiova is very spiritually dark.
– Hope church craiova is a church plant. stage two. evangelical focus. many seekers.
– Americans are on a pedestal in Romania
– youth have no discernment. so back it up to scripture. YAY. God gave us His word, use it
what I learned from Raul, our ministry host:
– He is fully happy and fully sad. there are extremes, Jesus filled everything upside down.
– Kingdom life has endless amounts of paradoxes
– there is an urgency but also have patience
– Raul wants us to push the Kingdom of God, not force it
– when evaluating organizations, ask: is the mission organization empowering or leading? where is the Spirit’s role in sending within the organization?
– missionaries FIGHT for other peoples lives, not their own. they are in enemy territory
– spiritual warfare. two aspects. 1) fight for people [going into Satan’s territory]. 2) flight for self [identity].
– what can Raul do for me. what wisdom did he give?
– Ask God for a burden
– burden = call
– “i can’t be anywhere else but here” <- then go there
– prayer and reading scripture DAILY
– leadership is
– direction
– care
– equipping
Let me know if you want a fuller explanation of any of these mini thoughts about the culture in Romania!
Not my will, but His,
Sarah
