 |
| Pictured: Romanian pastors with missionaries who coordinated the translation project |
To learn more about the Eurasia Region's Missional Church Initiative, visit www.missionaleurasia.com.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
"Power of One"
To learn more about the Eurasia Region's Missional Church Initiative, visit www.missionaleurasia.com.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
"paXan" Team of German young adults performs "Week of the Knights" for children in Sighişoara, Romania
Written by Dorli Gschwandtner, Helping Hands
Reposted from the Eurasia Region's website
Sighişoara: a picturesque little town in the Romanian part of Transylvania, established in the twelfth century by German immigrants. Even today, many local children attend a German school. High above the river lies the "citadel", the town's historical centre and the ideal location for a real German "Ritterwoche" – a "Week of the Knights".
11 German young adults travelled to Romania from 24th August to 1st September as part of the "paXan" team 2013. paXan is an annual Work & Witness trip for young adults that served in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2010, in Berlin, Germany, in 2011, and in Dimbula, Sri Lanka, in 2012. It is usually made up of 10 to 20 young adults (18–30 years old) from Nazarene churches all over Germany.
The name "paXan" is derived from "pax" (Latin: peace) and "Pack's an!" (German for "Go do it!" or "Get active!"). So every afternoon the young people got very active at the local Nazarene church in Sighişoara. They did plastering and painting work on the church's exterior wall, painted the gate and cleaned out a lot of rubbish for more rooms to be renovated.
The local Nazarenes were very grateful for the good work of the team, which "made the church entrance look much more inviting", Roberta Bustin, a Nazarene volunteer living in Sighişoara, said.
But paXan teams are not just known for "getting active" and leaving behind shiny buildings and freshly painted walls. One of the young adults' primary goals is to build relationships, share peace and hope, spend time with the local people and show them that they are valued and loved.
This is also why programs for children and youth are always an important part of these trips.
During this paXan trip, the town's children assembled every morning on the square in front of "The House on the Rock", which houses an international café and several classrooms and serves as the administrative centre of the Veritas Foundation. Veritas is a Christian organization that offers services to the community, a variety of educational programs, and intercultural exchange.
Appropriate to the medieval setting in Sighişoara's citadel, the team had planned a "Ritterwoche" with the "armour of God" as the main theme. From 9am to 1pm every day the children enjoyed a VBS-type program with a variety of "knightly" activities highlighting the armour of God and the weapons of His spirit. Activities included drawing and themed crafts (such as tiny egg-spoon knights dressed in the armour of God), stories, skits, and lots of games and fun.
The children, but the parents too, were enthusiastic. "This is the first holiday program that my child begs to be allowed to go to every day!" one mother was happy to report.
But not just the children enjoyed the "Ritterwoche". "I really enjoyed all of it – but especially the kids' program", said David Paul, who was part of a paXan team for the first time this year. "Whatever you put into it, the kids return it to you many times over!"
The paXan team was also able to minister to children in the village of Ţigmandru and to teenagers in a Roma community just outside Sighişoara. Especially the Roma youth, who face great poverty and hopelessness, really enjoyed spending time with the German young adults.
"The German team was a tremendous blessing to all of us", said Bustin, who spent most of the week with the team. "They were able to minister to both middle class children, a group with great potential but a group which is often neglected in the Romanian culture, and very poor Roma children from a nearby village. This team was a great example of giving of themselves and their talents, of sharing, of enjoying each other, and of showing the love of Christ wherever they went."
The ministry trip was also a great experience for the young adults, with lots of new impressions and a lot of fun. Every day was started with a team devotional and in the evenings the team met for feedback sessions, to review the day, make plans for the following day and pray together.
"The week turned out totally different than I'd expected", said Christian Bangert, who has participated in three paXan teams so far. "But it was a tremendous time. Everybody really jelled as a team and together we were able to accomplish a lot of things."
****
The following video (in German with Romanian subtitles) highlights the Proethnica Festival in Sighisoara. Christoph Nick of the paXan team was interviewed (time index 5:48) about the team's activities in Sighisoara.
Reposted from the Eurasia Region's website
Sighişoara: a picturesque little town in the Romanian part of Transylvania, established in the twelfth century by German immigrants. Even today, many local children attend a German school. High above the river lies the "citadel", the town's historical centre and the ideal location for a real German "Ritterwoche" – a "Week of the Knights".11 German young adults travelled to Romania from 24th August to 1st September as part of the "paXan" team 2013. paXan is an annual Work & Witness trip for young adults that served in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2010, in Berlin, Germany, in 2011, and in Dimbula, Sri Lanka, in 2012. It is usually made up of 10 to 20 young adults (18–30 years old) from Nazarene churches all over Germany.
The name "paXan" is derived from "pax" (Latin: peace) and "Pack's an!" (German for "Go do it!" or "Get active!"). So every afternoon the young people got very active at the local Nazarene church in Sighişoara. They did plastering and painting work on the church's exterior wall, painted the gate and cleaned out a lot of rubbish for more rooms to be renovated.
The local Nazarenes were very grateful for the good work of the team, which "made the church entrance look much more inviting", Roberta Bustin, a Nazarene volunteer living in Sighişoara, said.
But paXan teams are not just known for "getting active" and leaving behind shiny buildings and freshly painted walls. One of the young adults' primary goals is to build relationships, share peace and hope, spend time with the local people and show them that they are valued and loved.
This is also why programs for children and youth are always an important part of these trips.During this paXan trip, the town's children assembled every morning on the square in front of "The House on the Rock", which houses an international café and several classrooms and serves as the administrative centre of the Veritas Foundation. Veritas is a Christian organization that offers services to the community, a variety of educational programs, and intercultural exchange.
Appropriate to the medieval setting in Sighişoara's citadel, the team had planned a "Ritterwoche" with the "armour of God" as the main theme. From 9am to 1pm every day the children enjoyed a VBS-type program with a variety of "knightly" activities highlighting the armour of God and the weapons of His spirit. Activities included drawing and themed crafts (such as tiny egg-spoon knights dressed in the armour of God), stories, skits, and lots of games and fun.
The children, but the parents too, were enthusiastic. "This is the first holiday program that my child begs to be allowed to go to every day!" one mother was happy to report.
But not just the children enjoyed the "Ritterwoche". "I really enjoyed all of it – but especially the kids' program", said David Paul, who was part of a paXan team for the first time this year. "Whatever you put into it, the kids return it to you many times over!"
The paXan team was also able to minister to children in the village of Ţigmandru and to teenagers in a Roma community just outside Sighişoara. Especially the Roma youth, who face great poverty and hopelessness, really enjoyed spending time with the German young adults.
"The German team was a tremendous blessing to all of us", said Bustin, who spent most of the week with the team. "They were able to minister to both middle class children, a group with great potential but a group which is often neglected in the Romanian culture, and very poor Roma children from a nearby village. This team was a great example of giving of themselves and their talents, of sharing, of enjoying each other, and of showing the love of Christ wherever they went."
The ministry trip was also a great experience for the young adults, with lots of new impressions and a lot of fun. Every day was started with a team devotional and in the evenings the team met for feedback sessions, to review the day, make plans for the following day and pray together.
"The week turned out totally different than I'd expected", said Christian Bangert, who has participated in three paXan teams so far. "But it was a tremendous time. Everybody really jelled as a team and together we were able to accomplish a lot of things."
****
The following video (in German with Romanian subtitles) highlights the Proethnica Festival in Sighisoara. Christoph Nick of the paXan team was interviewed (time index 5:48) about the team's activities in Sighisoara.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Woman on a Mission
By Gina Pottenger
Reprinted from Where Worlds Meet, Year 10, Issue 7
Magda Cini was distraught. Her 22-year-old son, his girlfriend, and Cini’s daughter were in a car accident on a road in their village of Tigmandru that was notorious for fatal accidents. Her son, Nelutu, was hospitalized with a piece of the vehicle having penetrated his forehead and he had amnesia. Cini was afraid he would die. She had already lost a niece in another car accident on the same road.
She begged God to save her son’s life. In exchange, she would dedicate herself full-time to Christian ministry; she was not yet a Christian at this time, but her daughter Paula had found Christ as a teenager through the Nazarene church and been active ever since, starting a kids’ club in Tigmandru.
Through the relationship with Paula, Nazarene missionary Roberta Bustin visited the hospital and prayed over Nelutu. Ten minutes later, he opened his eyes.
As Nelutu recovered, Cini remembered her promise and began a prayer meeting in her village, inviting people to join her in praying that God would stop the numerous car accidents on that infamous road. Today, there are very few accidents there, which Cini attributes as a direct answer to the prayers of that group.
Since the accident in 2002, Cini’s efforts – along with Paula’s equally hard work – have led to a Nazarene
church plant in Tigmandru that has grown into an established church with 50 to 70 active attendees. Cini is the compassionate ministries director, the full-time pastor, and holds a local preacher’s license; she is working toward her district license.
She is responsible for launching multiple, long-term community outreach ministries, ranging from greenhouses and an aquaponics project, to a sewing shop and a ministry to young mothers and their babies.
Cini drew on her various occupational experiences to organize the projects, all of which are designed to provide small jobs for the many unemployed people in the church, and to teach vocational skills so they can later get full-time work. Very few people in Tigmandru have jobs, and they struggle to feed their families.
For instance, there is a clothing factory in the nearby town of Sighisoara where Cini worked for several years. When some unemployed women in the church expressed interest in working there, Cini took them herself. But the women didn’t have the skills needed and weren’t hired.
So, in 2008, just after the Nazarene church moved into its own building, Cini established a sewing room at the church with donated sewing machines and materials. She teaches basic sewing skills and techniques. The women who participate sew dolls and cloth bags, and various Nazarenes help to sell the items, returning the profit to the women. Several of the women have since gotten jobs at the factory.
Cini also worked as a nurse in a hospital for several years, specializing in massage for babies. So she started another program in the church for the many teenage girls with babies.
“I have 30 babies and 20 mothers, and I help the mothers learn how to care for their children. One day in a week I bathe the children, I change the clothes, and I make massage for the children,” Cini said. The massage helps improve the babies’ strength and circulation, because many are malnourished and don’t receive all the vitamins and minerals they need, she said.
The greenhouse was Cini’s idea, too. It serves a dual purpose: to offer a little work for several
women in the church, as well as to supply fresh produce from which the church can feed 100 village
children at the kids’ club weekly.
“A lot of these children are hungry,” said Bustin. “Sometimes they eat several bowls of soup and many pieces of bread; it’s obvious they’re hungry.”
Cini’s next big dream is for the church to open a bakery. The village doesn’t have one, and there’s not a bakery nearby. The space is available, all they lack is the equipment to get it started, she said. Cini gained experience coordinating a bakery run by an organization in another town.
“I’m very happy and glad because God used me in many things,” Cini said. “This is God. God gives me this vision for people, because I was a very poor woman. I really want to help the people because I trust in God. And all the time, my prayer I share with God and God gives me answers for everything.”
Pray for God to bless and expand the social work led by Magda Cini and the Tigmandru Church of the Nazarene. Ask God to bring many people to relationship with Christ through these vocational trainings and jobs.
Reprinted from Where Worlds Meet, Year 10, Issue 7
Magda Cini was distraught. Her 22-year-old son, his girlfriend, and Cini’s daughter were in a car accident on a road in their village of Tigmandru that was notorious for fatal accidents. Her son, Nelutu, was hospitalized with a piece of the vehicle having penetrated his forehead and he had amnesia. Cini was afraid he would die. She had already lost a niece in another car accident on the same road.
She begged God to save her son’s life. In exchange, she would dedicate herself full-time to Christian ministry; she was not yet a Christian at this time, but her daughter Paula had found Christ as a teenager through the Nazarene church and been active ever since, starting a kids’ club in Tigmandru.
Through the relationship with Paula, Nazarene missionary Roberta Bustin visited the hospital and prayed over Nelutu. Ten minutes later, he opened his eyes.
As Nelutu recovered, Cini remembered her promise and began a prayer meeting in her village, inviting people to join her in praying that God would stop the numerous car accidents on that infamous road. Today, there are very few accidents there, which Cini attributes as a direct answer to the prayers of that group.
Since the accident in 2002, Cini’s efforts – along with Paula’s equally hard work – have led to a Nazarene
church plant in Tigmandru that has grown into an established church with 50 to 70 active attendees. Cini is the compassionate ministries director, the full-time pastor, and holds a local preacher’s license; she is working toward her district license.
 |
| Magda Cini used her background as a professional seamstress to start a sewing workshop at the Tigmandru church for women who needed work. |
She is responsible for launching multiple, long-term community outreach ministries, ranging from greenhouses and an aquaponics project, to a sewing shop and a ministry to young mothers and their babies.
Cini drew on her various occupational experiences to organize the projects, all of which are designed to provide small jobs for the many unemployed people in the church, and to teach vocational skills so they can later get full-time work. Very few people in Tigmandru have jobs, and they struggle to feed their families.
For instance, there is a clothing factory in the nearby town of Sighisoara where Cini worked for several years. When some unemployed women in the church expressed interest in working there, Cini took them herself. But the women didn’t have the skills needed and weren’t hired.
So, in 2008, just after the Nazarene church moved into its own building, Cini established a sewing room at the church with donated sewing machines and materials. She teaches basic sewing skills and techniques. The women who participate sew dolls and cloth bags, and various Nazarenes help to sell the items, returning the profit to the women. Several of the women have since gotten jobs at the factory.
Cini also worked as a nurse in a hospital for several years, specializing in massage for babies. So she started another program in the church for the many teenage girls with babies.
“I have 30 babies and 20 mothers, and I help the mothers learn how to care for their children. One day in a week I bathe the children, I change the clothes, and I make massage for the children,” Cini said. The massage helps improve the babies’ strength and circulation, because many are malnourished and don’t receive all the vitamins and minerals they need, she said.
The greenhouse was Cini’s idea, too. It serves a dual purpose: to offer a little work for several
women in the church, as well as to supply fresh produce from which the church can feed 100 village
children at the kids’ club weekly.
“A lot of these children are hungry,” said Bustin. “Sometimes they eat several bowls of soup and many pieces of bread; it’s obvious they’re hungry.”
Cini’s next big dream is for the church to open a bakery. The village doesn’t have one, and there’s not a bakery nearby. The space is available, all they lack is the equipment to get it started, she said. Cini gained experience coordinating a bakery run by an organization in another town.
“I’m very happy and glad because God used me in many things,” Cini said. “This is God. God gives me this vision for people, because I was a very poor woman. I really want to help the people because I trust in God. And all the time, my prayer I share with God and God gives me answers for everything.”
Pray for God to bless and expand the social work led by Magda Cini and the Tigmandru Church of the Nazarene. Ask God to bring many people to relationship with Christ through these vocational trainings and jobs.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Romanian church installs new aquaponics system
Written by Gina Pottenger, Eurasia Communications
The Church of the Nazarene in Tigmandru, Romania, this month is installing a new aquaponics fish and fruit and vegetable growing system beside the church building.
Kyle Petrie, who also helped develop the aquaponics system on the rooftop of a Nazarene church in Jerusalem, Israel, helped the Tigmandru church plan and install the system.
The system, which includes three tanks to raise fish, as well as sections that will grow strawberries, peppers and lettuce, is intended to provide produce to families in the church, and a little income for the congregation, said missionary Roberta Bustin.
“We want to minister to the whole person, so we try to have a holistic ministry,” Bustin said. “Very few (in the village) have permanent jobs. Almost nobody in the church has a job. As part of our ministry to them, we try to provide some part-time jobs for some people.”
Besides the aquaponics system, the church has a green house, a sewing workshop and is hoping to start a woodworking shop this fall, all to equip people with vocational skills and opportunities for an income.
The aquaponics system is self-sustaining, endlessly circulating water between the live fish and the plants. The fish will grow in the tanks, their waste creating ammonia and other byproducts. The waste-filled water will then pass through another tank that holds pieces of fired clay tile and brick that will filter out solvent waste and create an environment for bacteria to grow. The bacteria will convert the ammonia to nitrates, which the plants need to survive and grow.
The plants will absorb the nitrates, with their roots directly in the water – no soil is involved. In this way, the plants can grow three to five times faster than plants in soil normally do, which means the church can triple its harvest over the usual growing season. The water then flows back into the fish tank.
Strawberries in Romania have a very short growing season, meaning that prices for strawberries are comparatively high compared to other fruits and vegetables. The church will capitalize on that market, expecting to sell more strawberries with the multiple harvests than other farmers could do, according to Bustin.
“We give away a lot of the food from the green houses and also people that come and work in the green houses sometimes get paid with money and sometimes with produce. This is another opportunity to provide food to people,” she said.
They will start out with catfish, which can withstand a very wide range of temperatures; in the fall, when it is cooler, they plan to obtain trout.
The Tigmandru church has been raising money for two years to start the project. A church in New York made the initial contribution. The Church of the Nazarene in Gelnhausen, Germany, held a bazaar from which their raised funds also went to support the aquaponics project, which they sent through Helping Hands Germany.
The Church of the Nazarene in Tigmandru, Romania, this month is installing a new aquaponics fish and fruit and vegetable growing system beside the church building.
Kyle Petrie, who also helped develop the aquaponics system on the rooftop of a Nazarene church in Jerusalem, Israel, helped the Tigmandru church plan and install the system.The system, which includes three tanks to raise fish, as well as sections that will grow strawberries, peppers and lettuce, is intended to provide produce to families in the church, and a little income for the congregation, said missionary Roberta Bustin.
“We want to minister to the whole person, so we try to have a holistic ministry,” Bustin said. “Very few (in the village) have permanent jobs. Almost nobody in the church has a job. As part of our ministry to them, we try to provide some part-time jobs for some people.”
Besides the aquaponics system, the church has a green house, a sewing workshop and is hoping to start a woodworking shop this fall, all to equip people with vocational skills and opportunities for an income.
The aquaponics system is self-sustaining, endlessly circulating water between the live fish and the plants. The fish will grow in the tanks, their waste creating ammonia and other byproducts. The waste-filled water will then pass through another tank that holds pieces of fired clay tile and brick that will filter out solvent waste and create an environment for bacteria to grow. The bacteria will convert the ammonia to nitrates, which the plants need to survive and grow.
The plants will absorb the nitrates, with their roots directly in the water – no soil is involved. In this way, the plants can grow three to five times faster than plants in soil normally do, which means the church can triple its harvest over the usual growing season. The water then flows back into the fish tank.Strawberries in Romania have a very short growing season, meaning that prices for strawberries are comparatively high compared to other fruits and vegetables. The church will capitalize on that market, expecting to sell more strawberries with the multiple harvests than other farmers could do, according to Bustin.
“We give away a lot of the food from the green houses and also people that come and work in the green houses sometimes get paid with money and sometimes with produce. This is another opportunity to provide food to people,” she said.
They will start out with catfish, which can withstand a very wide range of temperatures; in the fall, when it is cooler, they plan to obtain trout.
The Tigmandru church has been raising money for two years to start the project. A church in New York made the initial contribution. The Church of the Nazarene in Gelnhausen, Germany, held a bazaar from which their raised funds also went to support the aquaponics project, which they sent through Helping Hands Germany.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Meet the Hartzlers
Jay is on leave from teaching at a Mennonite high school. We spent a year in Mennonite Voluntary Service working for Habitat for Humanity in Evansville, IN. Sheri worked for 20 plus years in outreach media for the Mennonite Church.
They have two grown boys who will remain in the United States.
Engage: How did you first recognize God’s call to be involved in missions?
Hartzlers: We feel our life has been one of mission. Whether teaching (Jay) or working in media on behalf of the Mennonite Church (Sheri), or serving jointly with Habitat for Humanity and now with the Nazarenes, we have been conscious of God’s call on our lives. The specific call for Romania came after Jay’s choir sang and worked there on two different trips.
Engage: What is your favorite aspect of what you will do in your present assignment?
Engage: What is your favorite aspect of what you will do in your present assignment?
Hartzlers: For Jay, working with the children in a variety of activities is what draws him. They seem to have a life where they cannot escape their poverty and social status. Their parents work very hard to make a living and are often not present in their lives. Just being a part of their lives and helping them experience joy is what he hopes to accomplish.
We will be able to answer this better once we’ve been in Romania for a while. Currently we are anticipating what we’ll be doing but recognize that things could change once we actually get there.
Engage: What are some of the challenges that you face in carrying out your work? Share any relevant stories to illustrate this.
We will be able to answer this better once we’ve been in Romania for a while. Currently we are anticipating what we’ll be doing but recognize that things could change once we actually get there.
Engage: What are some of the challenges that you face in carrying out your work? Share any relevant stories to illustrate this.
Hartzlers: Language will be a big issue for us but an almost a greater issue will be understanding the social and political influences on their lives … both in the lives of the children and in the lives of the adults.
Engage: Please share a story of a significant event or moment that has happened in your current assignment.
Engage: Please share a story of a significant event or moment that has happened in your current assignment.
Hartzlers: God leads in wondrous ways. This past year our lives have been in transition in our current jobs and the opportunity arose to go to Romania. Along the way doors opened and each time we felt God was guiding us to serve. Our financial support was secured in less than a month and that was a humbling acknowledgement of the support of our church community.
Engage: How do you maintain a close relationship with God (and your family, if applicable) in the midst of the demands of missionary service?
Engage: How do you maintain a close relationship with God (and your family, if applicable) in the midst of the demands of missionary service?
Hartzlers: As Mennonites we believe strongly in the importance of living and working within a faith community. While this community will be with Nazarenes instead of Mennonites in this coming year, we expect that our relationship with God will be enhanced and enriched by our interactions with the faith communities in Sighisaora and Tigmandru. In the age of communication we will not have difficulty communicating with our family here in the States. Indeed, there will be demands but we see those demands as part of our calling and do not see them as something to worry about.
Engage: What are the rewards of what you do?
Engage: What are the rewards of what you do?
Hartzlers: In Jay’s regular work as a teacher the rewards are seeing the joy in the lives of the students when they accomplish something and are pleased with the results. The desire they have to move forward and their ability to share what they have learned is an incredible sense of satisfaction.
Engage: What advice would you have for others exploring a possible call to missions, or embarking on their first missionary assignment?
Hartzlers: International experiences have always proved stretching and enriching for us and we would encourage people to be open to God’s call to mission whether in the U.S. or in another part of the world.
Engage: What advice would you have for others exploring a possible call to missions, or embarking on their first missionary assignment?
Hartzlers: International experiences have always proved stretching and enriching for us and we would encourage people to be open to God’s call to mission whether in the U.S. or in another part of the world.
Reprinted from Engage magazine
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Third DS School held in Jordan
Madaba, JordanAbout 50 people from across the Eurasia Region gathered in Madaba, Jordan, in April for the third District Superintendent Training School.
Objectives included encouraging the district superintendents and providing opportunities for them to learn from other experienced DS. In the past five years, the number of districts led by missionaries has dramatically decreased as indigenous leaders take over.
"So you've got a lot of DSs where the district is new and it's the first time they're being a DS," said Brad Firestone, a missionary who helped to facilitate the event. "There are a lot of people who are new to the job and need to understand how to do it well."
U.S. MidAtlantic DS Ken Mills, U.S. South Carolina DS Eddie Estep, and Netherlands DS Arthur Snijders were the featured presenters, along with Eurasia Regional Director Gustavo Crocker.
The participants divided into smaller groups based on district characteristics, such as whether the district is missionary- or indigenous-led, new or mature. In these smaller groups, participants talked about their particular challenges and steps to grow and mature as a district.
"At the DS School, I learned more about how to form and cast vision for our district," said Tamara Hudson, a missionary and DS for the Romania District. "As we grow and implement healthy structures and systems, we need to be clear about our missional purpose. Forming a missional strategy that will guide our efforts is essential so that we do not lose sight of our purpose of making Christlike disciples in Romania.
"These kind of events give us time to reflect on our ministry and to encourage one another. It was wonderful to be together with other brothers and sisters from across the region who face similar challenges and carry similar responsibilities."
Missionary Nancy Firestone, who helped to facilitate the event, said the participants seemed to learn a lot from one another.
One evening, the group invited the Jordan pastors for a time of special prayer.
"That was really special because many of them don't get a lot of support or see a lot of outsiders on a regular basis," Nancy said. "They really seemed to appreciate the support and prayers."
Reprinted from NCN News
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Shelter in the Storm
By Gina Grate Pottenger
Eurasia Region Communications
A Christian nonprofit organization, directed by Monica Boseff, a member of Blessings Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, Romania, is planning to open the first emergency shelter in Romania for survivors of human trafficking.
The ministry, Open Door Foundation, purchased a house in December which it is outfitting with rooms for survivors to stay in while they receive medical care, counseling, spiritual guidance and other help to transition back into society.
The organization is already working with seven women and girls from abroad at a temporary shelter provided by another nongovernment organization, and is in the process of hiring three full-time staff members from the Blessings church. When all the staff are in place, the ministry will have the director, four guards, a psychologist, a social worker and a house manager.
“My greatest desire is that … I want this to be a haven of God’s grace and mercy for every single victim,” said Boseff.
How it began
The organization was originally called Open Door Medical Foundation, and was started by two American Christian doctors in Bucharest who opened a social work ministry with a medical clinic in 2002 for those who couldn’t afford the expensive governmentrun hospitals and doctors. For many years the clinic helped anyone from poor to wealthy. However, over time, many private doctors and hospitals opened and medical care in Romania improved nation-wide. It became clear that the medical side of the ministry wasn’t needed as much as it had been.
Those who ran the foundation put aside the medical work and began seeking God’s direction on where they could be of most help next.
Then, in June 2011, an Americanbased nonprofit organization called MATTO, (Men Against The Trafficking of Others), contacted Open Door and suggested they work together to host an awareness campaign in Bucharest about men’s role in trafficking.
“We prayed about this and God just gave us tremendous peace, so I said ‘Yes, we’ll help you.’ That was starting point,” Boseff said.
The only problem was that the two groups had just a week to organize the city-wide event and there were a number of obstacles. For one thing, they had to get permission from the mayor’s office to find a space to rent in the city. One possibility was the main park downtown by the People’s Palace, but until then it had been closed to all public gatherings after a riotous concert left behind trash and damage to the park.
The committee met right away to review Boseff’s request, and their response was shockingly positive.
“It was our unanimous decision to give you the main park for this event downtown,” they told her. “You should have had this event years ago, we need more like this. You can use [the main park] anytime you want for any amount of hours you need.”
They also said they would “rent” the park to the trafficking awareness event at no cost. Boseff viewed this positive response as God’s clear confirmation to Open Door that getting involved against human trafficking was where God was leading the organization.
Boseff talked to other nonChristian NGOs (non-government organizations) as well as the National Agency Against Human Trafficking to find out what the needs were in Romania. Every group said the same thing: they needed an emergency shelter where survivors could stay for up to six months, because there wasn’t a single shelter for this purpose in all of Romania.
So Open Door decided to open a shelter. The house they bought in December has three large bedrooms, and they’ve put three beds in each room, meaning they will be able to accommodate nine women and girls. When the attic is renovated, it will add four more rooms with space for more
women.
‘If it’s not now, when?’
Staff members are already working with seven survivors at a temporary shelter, and they’re learning how to do this kind of ministry.
For instance, they discovered that it’s best not to share about Jesus Christ right away, but to let the women and girls develop curiosity about spiritual things on their own and then come to the volunteers with their questions and prayer requests.
“By spending time with them, cooking with them, going out shopping, laughing with them, crying with them, they turn around … and ask us ‘Why do you do all this stuff for me?’”
Two of the women asked for reading material, and the volunteers offered to give them some small devotional booklets with short stories, Bible verses and written prayers. The women eagerly accepted the booklets, quickly read them and asked for more.
One young woman asked a staff member, “How is it to be in Christ? What is it like to have a relationship with God? Can I have a Bible?”
Through her research and spending time with the survivors of trafficking, Boseff has developed an unquenchable passion for the ministry. She quoted figures, such as that there are 27 million people currently in slavery around the world, and that it is the highest slavery rate in the history of mankind.
“Why should I wait until someone that I know that is close to me [is trafficked] before I take action?” she asked. “If it’s not now, when? If it is not us Christians, who is going to tell them that a life can only be restored in Christ alone?”
Please pray the staff, director and women of the trafficking shelter that recently opened in Bucharest, Romania. Pray for God to bless the ministry in its material needs, as well as to bring spiritual and physical healing to the victims of trafficking.
“Reprinted with permission from Where Worlds Meet; June 2013 issue
Eurasia Region Communications
A Christian nonprofit organization, directed by Monica Boseff, a member of Blessings Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, Romania, is planning to open the first emergency shelter in Romania for survivors of human trafficking.
The ministry, Open Door Foundation, purchased a house in December which it is outfitting with rooms for survivors to stay in while they receive medical care, counseling, spiritual guidance and other help to transition back into society.
The organization is already working with seven women and girls from abroad at a temporary shelter provided by another nongovernment organization, and is in the process of hiring three full-time staff members from the Blessings church. When all the staff are in place, the ministry will have the director, four guards, a psychologist, a social worker and a house manager.
“My greatest desire is that … I want this to be a haven of God’s grace and mercy for every single victim,” said Boseff.
How it began
The organization was originally called Open Door Medical Foundation, and was started by two American Christian doctors in Bucharest who opened a social work ministry with a medical clinic in 2002 for those who couldn’t afford the expensive governmentrun hospitals and doctors. For many years the clinic helped anyone from poor to wealthy. However, over time, many private doctors and hospitals opened and medical care in Romania improved nation-wide. It became clear that the medical side of the ministry wasn’t needed as much as it had been.
Those who ran the foundation put aside the medical work and began seeking God’s direction on where they could be of most help next.
Then, in June 2011, an Americanbased nonprofit organization called MATTO, (Men Against The Trafficking of Others), contacted Open Door and suggested they work together to host an awareness campaign in Bucharest about men’s role in trafficking.
“We prayed about this and God just gave us tremendous peace, so I said ‘Yes, we’ll help you.’ That was starting point,” Boseff said.
The only problem was that the two groups had just a week to organize the city-wide event and there were a number of obstacles. For one thing, they had to get permission from the mayor’s office to find a space to rent in the city. One possibility was the main park downtown by the People’s Palace, but until then it had been closed to all public gatherings after a riotous concert left behind trash and damage to the park.
The committee met right away to review Boseff’s request, and their response was shockingly positive.
“It was our unanimous decision to give you the main park for this event downtown,” they told her. “You should have had this event years ago, we need more like this. You can use [the main park] anytime you want for any amount of hours you need.”
They also said they would “rent” the park to the trafficking awareness event at no cost. Boseff viewed this positive response as God’s clear confirmation to Open Door that getting involved against human trafficking was where God was leading the organization.
Boseff talked to other nonChristian NGOs (non-government organizations) as well as the National Agency Against Human Trafficking to find out what the needs were in Romania. Every group said the same thing: they needed an emergency shelter where survivors could stay for up to six months, because there wasn’t a single shelter for this purpose in all of Romania.
So Open Door decided to open a shelter. The house they bought in December has three large bedrooms, and they’ve put three beds in each room, meaning they will be able to accommodate nine women and girls. When the attic is renovated, it will add four more rooms with space for morewomen.
‘If it’s not now, when?’
Staff members are already working with seven survivors at a temporary shelter, and they’re learning how to do this kind of ministry.
For instance, they discovered that it’s best not to share about Jesus Christ right away, but to let the women and girls develop curiosity about spiritual things on their own and then come to the volunteers with their questions and prayer requests.
“By spending time with them, cooking with them, going out shopping, laughing with them, crying with them, they turn around … and ask us ‘Why do you do all this stuff for me?’”
Two of the women asked for reading material, and the volunteers offered to give them some small devotional booklets with short stories, Bible verses and written prayers. The women eagerly accepted the booklets, quickly read them and asked for more.One young woman asked a staff member, “How is it to be in Christ? What is it like to have a relationship with God? Can I have a Bible?”
Through her research and spending time with the survivors of trafficking, Boseff has developed an unquenchable passion for the ministry. She quoted figures, such as that there are 27 million people currently in slavery around the world, and that it is the highest slavery rate in the history of mankind.
“Why should I wait until someone that I know that is close to me [is trafficked] before I take action?” she asked. “If it’s not now, when? If it is not us Christians, who is going to tell them that a life can only be restored in Christ alone?”
Please pray the staff, director and women of the trafficking shelter that recently opened in Bucharest, Romania. Pray for God to bless the ministry in its material needs, as well as to bring spiritual and physical healing to the victims of trafficking.“Reprinted with permission from Where Worlds Meet; June 2013 issue
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