'Global Classroom' links Arkansas and Romanian high school students

Dr. Roberta Bustin

Republished from Engage Magazine
By Richard Gammill

A brainstorming session between two Nazarene friends resulted in a ground-breaking, globe-spanning experiment. It united two groups of students from Batesville, Arkansas, and Sighisoara, Romania, to solve community needs. The project has provided an opening for a Nazarene Romanian pastor to mentor youth in the Sighisoara high school.

The story unfolded when Dr. Roberta Bustin asked her friend, “What can we do to reach out to the youth in my city? After almost 20 years of ministry, we still have not found the answer.”

Roberta is a volunteer with Nazarene Mission Corps., the mission-sending arm of the denomination that matches willing volunteer missionaries with ministry opportunities around the world. Before going to Romania in 1997, Roberta taught chemistry at Lyon College in Batesville. For nearly 20 years, she has had a “boatload” of mission assignments: teaching, preaching, church planting, and more.

Her friend, Jeanne Roepcke, is a teacher at Batesville High School.

“I have an idea,” Jeanne told Roberta. “It is something that has never been done before, but I think we can make it work.”

Jeanne is the facilitator for the EAST program in her high school. EAST is the acronym for “Environmental and Spatial Technology.” It began in 1996 and has expanded to nearly 250 schools across Arkansas and four other U.S. states. A unique model in modern education, it is a project-based, service-learning program. The classes use high-end technology obtained from the most progressive fields in the world. Jeanne is leading seven of these classes in her high school.

“EAST is designed to enable my students to tackle a new problem, take a team approach and come up with their own solutions,” Jeanne said. “We will take the program to Sighisoara and see what develops.”

Jeanne’s school and the Batesville community enthusiastically adopted her proposal. The first step was to establish and equip a laboratory for the high school in Sighisoara. A $5,000 grant preceded financial and material donations from the business community. People donated thousands of dollars worth of supplies, including three laptop computers, a 3-D printer, and a projector.

Back in Sighisoara, Roberta advertised the venture as an opportunity for students to further their knowledge and use of English. School authorities approved the concept and 10 students signed up. The facilitator would be Relu Cristurean, local Nazarene pastor.

Visiting Sighisoara in September 2015

In September 2015, Jeanne went to Sighisoara with two Batesville students and two technicians to open the laboratory. In the first year, instructors focused on teaching the students to use the software, develop three-dimensional animation, use Adobe Photoshop software, create three-dimensioned objects, and more. Ten Romanian students come to the Nazarene church at least twice weekly and meet with the Arkansas students by way of Skype, working around the eight-time-zone separation.

"This may not sound so different from some American classrooms, said Amanda, a Batesville student. “Yet, it highlights the way in which EAST can meet educational needs anywhere and prove transformative, regardless of borders or cultures.”

Her classmate Emma added, "Our Romanian classmates are very smart kids, really nice kids, too, and you can tell they really want to learn."

Pastor Relu is there to work with them.

“Participating in the EAST program is something new for me,” he said. “I get to build relationships with these 10 students. This is a good experience. The students are very bright and eager to learn. We talk about many things and I tell them about Romanian history and geography. I also have opportunity to talk about what it means to be a Christian. One student asked me for a Bible.”

Students in Sighisoara

The Romanian population is more than 70 percent Eastern Orthodox and, thus, virtually everyone identifies culturally as Christian. Pastor Relu says, “I tell them having religion won’t help you. You must have a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

A couple of last year’s students have graduated. One of them wants to return and help Pastor Relu teach the new term. Through the classroom partnership that Roberta and Jeanne established, this young pastor with three children has found a way to build relationships with the youth of his community.

This year the EAST program will expand to the nearby Romanian village of Tigmandru, a poor village that provides its children with limited education. As the EAST students wrestled with the extreme needs in the village, they focused on a single priority. Food becomes scarce during the bitterly cold winters, shutting down even the indoor greenhouses. Weeks of discussions between Batesville and Sighisoara students led to an innovative project.

Students in Batesville Arkansas Skype with Romanians

The Batesville students designed small, three-level hydroponics growing units to be installed in private homes, using available materials such as soda bottles. With the 3-D printer, they designed nozzles, valves and other components. The classes in both Sighisoara and Tigmandru plan to employ the same technology in the coming academic year.

The Batesville community has gathered and shipped the materials needed for the in-home “farms,” including vegetable seeds, pumps, tubing, zip ties. The Romanian communities are gathering soda bottles and other available materials.

This is the first international project done by an EAST class. It is providing more recognition in the two Romanian communities for the Church of the Nazarene. And the residents appreciate Pastor Relu for his significant involvement in working with the students who are learning teamwork and technology as they meet community needs.

Nazarene Manual Printed in Romanian

The 2013-2017 edition of the Church of the Nazarene's Manual has just been printed in Romanian. This is the first complete Romanian translation of the denomination's official sourcebook. 

The Manual includes the history, doctrine, rituals, and church government of the denomination. As such, it is an important to have translated into the languages where the Church of the Nazarene is active so the church can develop in healthy ways consistent with the rest of the denomination. The Manual is updated every four years by the denomination's General Assembly, consisting of delegates from districts around the world.

The electronic version is available online at the Wesleyan Holiness Digital Library. (Click here to view.) 

June Missionary Prayer Focus

Prepared for NMI's Prayer Mobilization Line

Jonathan Phillips is a missionary serving in Romania. Join him in praying for these requests:

• Earlier this year a woodshop opened in the village of Tigmandru. Pray that this and other small business initiatives the church in Tigmandru is hoping to start in the near future will not only provide much-needed jobs but will also minister in holistic ways to the community. (You can read more about the wood shop in Engage magazine.
• Please pray for the Romanian students taking theological education classes through European Nazarene College. Many of them must balance their studies with job, ministry, and family responsibilities.
• Please pray for my upcoming U.S. home assignment in the fall – for safe travels, that I would be able to raise necessary support funds, and that I would effectively communicate what God is doing in Romania
• Please pray for the refugee crisis which continues to affect European countries. Pray for Nazarenes and other Christians who are showing the love of Christ to those who have fled their homes due to war and are now separated from loved ones.

Dorothy Tarrant Begins Work With Refugees

Originally published in Veritas View newsletter, Spring 2016

Dorothy Tarrant, founder of Veritas and President of the Veritas Board of Directors, left Romania on April 30 to begin serving as the Nazarene coordinator for refugee response in northern Greece. Dorothy’s lifetime experiences in Romania will help her lead the development of this work and oversee groups of volunteers and organize their work during these next months. The length of time for her work will be determined by governmental decisions which will impact the future for the refugees. Please be in prayer for Dorothy as she begins this work, for all those who will volunteer, and for the refugees themselves as they see the love of God in the volunteers who relate to them.

Retired Teachers Offer Three Months of Service

Originally published in Veritas View newsletter, Spring 2016

Ron and Jacque Maurer came to Sighisoara for the first time in May, 2015. They wanted to observe Veritas programs to see if it would be possible for Trevecca University (Nashville, TN) students to study in a crosscutural setting as part of the Romanian Studies Program. Ron was teaching social work at Trevecca at the time, and has since retired. So instead of sending students, Ron and Jacque felt God’s call to come to Sighisoara themselves for a three-month term – from March to May, 2016.

Ron and Jacque’s experiences in education and living and working in other countries made them a perfect fit for the needs of Veritas at this time. They served in Japan as missionaries with the Church of God, Anderson, Ind. for almost 10 years and also worked on short-term missions assignments in Trinidad and Tobago and in Kisumu, Kenya. 

Jacque brought her 40 years of teaching experience to the kids’ clubs at Veritas. She provided teacher training, taught lessons, and interacted with the children. With new leaders in the Kids’ Club program whose social work experience was with individual children, rather than educational activities for children in groups, Jacque’s insights and expertise were very welcome. 

Ron’s experiences as a social worker, teacher and a pastor were put to good use in Sighisoara. He assisted with the Veritas Disabilities’ Club and taught a class called Pastoral Care and Counseling, which met for five weeks for four hours each week. Veritas staff were able to participate in this class as part of their continuing education. About half of the 26 students were enrolled in coursework through EuNC (European Nazarene College) and took the course to fulfill requirements toward being licensed by the Nazarene Church. Several other local students work for another social work agency in Sighisoara. Being able to combine theological training with practical counseling techniques benefitted all groups of students. 

During their time in Sighisoara Ron and Jacque enjoyed “being a small part of a great community outreach serving an underserved population in Romania”. Of course they also enjoyed visiting some of the ancient castles and fortified churches in Romania, making friends and building relationships with people from Veritas and the local churches, and participating in Monday night dinners with missionaries and volunteers from different countries. 

Ron and Jacque say, “We would definitely encourage other retirees to come and experience Sighisoara, Romania! Bring your work and life experiences and see what God can do with them. The blessings are many!”

EuNC: Courses taught and books bought in Romania

By Jonathan Phillips

European Nazarene College "In Touch" Newsletter, April 2016

Students in Sighisoara interact with
students in Bucharest
via video-conferencing
in the Christian worship course.
(March 2016)

2016 has gotten off to a good start for the Romania Learning Centre. In February and March, students took the course on Christian Worship. The course was team-taught by Jonathan Phillips, Roberta Bustin, Michael Hudson (learning centre coordinator), and Tamara Hudson; all of whom serve as missionaries in Romania. The five students in Sighişoara and the four students in Bucharest connected via videoconferencing for each of the four class sessions.

First session of the "Pastoral Care &
 Counseling" course (April 2016) 

Students are now taking the course “Pastoral Care and Counseling”, which began early in April. It is being taught by Dr. Ron Mauer, Trevecca Nazarene University professor emeritus. Ron and his wife, Jacque, are spending three months this spring as volunteers in Sighişoara.

In addition to these courses, significant progress is being made regarding the library setup. Since Bucharest and Sighişoara are five hours apart, we are developing libraries in both of these teaching locations. At present, approximately half of the books are in English, having been donated by former and current missionaries. The rest are Romanian books, many of which have recently been purchased with EuNC funds designated for library development.

Cataloging books in Sighisoara
(April 2016)

Cataloged books in Bucharest
(March 2016)

Due to the generosity of a Christian bookstore manager, we have received a 15-20% discount on all the books we ordered last year! When the shipment of books arrived in the fall, the students couldn’t wait for the books to be catalogued before they started asking to borrow them. We hope that in the next few weeks we will be able to upload our complete records to the online catalogue.

Video: Creative ministry in Central Europe

In the Central Europe Field, with its vastly different cultures and economies, the Churches of the Nazarene are developing creative ways to meet the needs of people in their communities, from coffee shops and small business start-up help to anti-trafficking work and an aquaponics garden.

Central Europe Field Video from Eurasia Media on Vimeo.

To download this 5 minute video, or watch other video stories, visit the Eurasia Region's video page:https://vimeo.com/146630648
This video was released at the 2015 Eurasia Regional Conference and published in Engage Magazine.