RSP Students

Originally published in Veritas View newsletter, Fall 2017

Two students from America are in Sighisoara for the Romanian Studies Program (RSP) this semester. They arrived in mid-September and will leave mid-December. Carly Catalanello from Cedarville University, Ohio is working with the special needs program at Veritas. Janelle Roby, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, Ohio is working with the It Takes Courage programs. Both girls are leading story and craft time with the youngest children at a Kids’ Club which meets twice weekly in the village of Tigmandru. They are pictured here with Casey Bloom (on right), on-site coordinator for RSP.

Meet the Herndons

In August, Joshua and Shannon Herndon moved to Brașov, Romania, where they serve as Nazarene missionaries.

The Herndons bring to Romania their missions experience from serving in other areas around the world.

Before they met, Joshua and Shannon served separately in different world areas: Shannon in Cuba, Mexico, and for almost a year in Kazakhstan, and Joshua with the Jesus Film Ministry in India and multiple times in Venezuela.

The Herndons served for a year as Mission Corps volunteers in Guatemala in 2006, which solidified their call. In 2010 they were called as missionaries to Spain. Their focus for ministry in Spain was on church planting with a focus on indigenous (Spanish) outreach. While in Spain, they were active in their community and utilized baseball as a way to bring Work and Witness teams to teach sports to the children and youth of the community as a form of outreach. Joshua and Shannon provided support to the local Nazarene Churches in the form of preaching and teaching workshops.

Their focus in Greece was to start the work of the Church of the Nazarene, as there has been no Nazarene presence in Greece. They partnered with the Free Methodist Church in Thessaloniki and were also involved in ministry to the refugees stranded in Greece. After multiple failed attempts to secure a residency visa in Greece, the Herndons were asked to consider coming to Romania.

After the completion of Romanian language study, the Herndons' focus will be on district leadership, where Joshua will serve as district superintendent of the Romania District. As there is no current Nazarene presence in the city of Brașov, it is hoped that the Herndons will help initiate a new ministry in this part of the country. Joshua also teaches Theological Education classes through European Nazarene College.

Joshua and Shannon are members of the Indianapolis District Church of the Nazarene.

Shannon is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University with a degree in Social Work. She recently completed her Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership through Regent University. She has done volunteer work through multiple organizations and has a passion for the needy.

Joshua graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a degree in Christian Education and a focus in Youth Ministry. He then attended Nazarene Theological Seminary, graduating with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies.

While living in Kansas City, Joshua attended a Cross-Cultural Orientation, where he met Shannon. They were married on October 11, 2003. Josh and Shannon have two children. Their daughter, Karis, is 12-years-old and loves spending time with her friends, singing, and dancing traditional Spanish Flamenco. Their son, Kaeden, is an adventurous 10-year-old who loves Legos and superheroes.

Prior to becoming missionaries, Josh served as a youth pastor in Shelbyville, IN, as well as the director of a residential treatment facility for troubled youth. Shannon directed an organization that ministered to homeless families.

Updated and adapted from Nazarene Missionary Profiles.

Meet Casey Bloom

Casey serves as a missionary with the Church of the Nazarene in Sighisoara, Romania. Growing up in the Nazarene church, Casey was exposed to the missions mindset at an early age. She graduated from Olivet Nazarene University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Social Work, and then went on to receive her Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011. Casey worked for 2.5 years as a School Social Worker in a rural area near her hometown. Then, after serving as a teen camp counselor for two summers in a row, Casey knew God was calling her to missions.

In March 2015, Casey came to Romania for the first time. She spent 4.5 months serving the Romanian and Roma people in Sighisoara. The majority of the time, Casey worked with the Kids’ Club program at Veritas, a local non-governmental organization that serves the community of Sighisoara through social and educational programs. Casey spent six weeks back in the States at the end of the summer, and returned to Sighisoara in September 2015.

Since September, Casey has continued to work in the Kids’ Club, taking on more of a leadership role as two new social workers joined the program in the fall. Casey also co-leads an educational program for teens called It Takes Courage, which focuses on building strong character. Additionally, Casey supervises social work students who come to Sighisoara through the Romanian Studies Program to do a social work practicum. Casey attends the local Nazarene church, and hopes to help establish a children’s ministry in the near future.

In March 2016, Casey, along with Dorothy Tarrant, spent a little over one month serving the refugees in Croatia and Serbia. Along with serving tea and soup in a refugee camp, Casey built relationships with a number of the refugees. She spent a lot of time playing with the children as well. Serving the refugees is something that Casey has a passion for, and hopes to be able to do again in the not-so-distant future.

Please keep Casey and her work in Romania in your prayers.

To stay connected, check out Casey’s blog: www.herlifeinbloom.com

Reposted from Nazarene Missionary Profiles.

Romanian Studies Program

Originally published in Veritas View newsletter, Spring 2017

Four American university students spent this past semester in Sighișoara. Along with assisting in Veritas programs: kids, special needs, and elderly clubs, one student helped at Crown Ministries, a foster care agency in Sighișoara, and two others assisted in the kids’ and teen programs at the Tigmandru Nazarene Center. The students were Lara Hoaglan (Olivet Nazarene Univ., Ill.), Madison McRill (Asbury College, Ky.), Ashley Shingleton and Amber Friscia (Malone University, Ohio). Casey Bloom, now in her second year in Sighișoara, is the RSP On-Site Coordinator.

In May, Elizabeth Patterson Roe (faculty at Malone University) brought a group of five students for a three-week May term and in September another group of RSP students will be coming to Veritas for a semester. We are grateful for the students’ energy, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn the language and culture and assist in the Veritas programs in a variety of ways.

NCM Child Sponsorship Begins in Tigmandru Church

On Easter Sunday morning, the Church of the Nazarene in the village of Tigmandru, Romania, was filled with the sound of children singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” This is a song that many of us grew up singing. While we may share this in common with the Tigmandru children, chances are that in many other areas, our childhoods were quite different from theirs.

Childhood in Tigmandru
Many children in Tigmandru are growing up in homes where their parents lack steady employment. In many cases, the parents never finished high school and lack professional training. This means the only way they can provide for their families is to take whatever seasonal agricultural jobs they can find – like spending long hours planting or harvesting crops or collecting walnuts in the forests. Often one or both parents will leave Tigmandru for months at a time to work in Western European countries, saving up money to support their families. This means leaving children at home with extended family members while they are away.

Many children in Tigmandru grow up in families started when their parents, as teenagers, dropped out of school. Because they had children of their own when they were so young, these parents often lack the life skills to raise their children in the healthiest ways. Consequently, many children don’t receive hot healthy meals at home.

It is easy for children and teenagers in Tigmandru to fall behind in school and drop out. Teenagers (and older children) miss school when they go to work with their parents in the fields, thus increasing the family’s income for the day. If parents are illiterate or working abroad, there is often no one to help children with their homework. If a child misses school for an extended period of time, it is nearly impossible to catch up on missed assignments. Children are passed from grade to grade, even if they haven’t acquired the necessary skills, until they reach high school, when many continue to drop out to start families of their own.

Nazarene Ministry in Tigmandru

Since 2002, Nazarenes have been ministering to children in Tigmandru. There are currently about 70 kids who attend the church's children's program on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. There, they hear Bible stories, learn songs, make crafts, play games, and receive a nutritious meal. Additionally, there are about a dozen teenagers who participate in the church’s youth group.

This spring, the Church of the Nazarene in Tigmandru became a partner in the Nazarene Child Sponsorship program.

The expansion of the church’s children’s program into a Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Child Development Center fits in with the church’s overall mission to minister to the community of Tigmandru in holistic ways. In addition to the traditional church activities like Sunday worship service, youth group, and children’s ministry, the church has several practical ministries. Women learn to sew in the church’s sewing workshop – helping them support their families with the proceeds. Likewise, men learn carpentry skills in the wood shop and earn an income to support their families. The church has an aquaponics system, a large garden, and several greenhouses where food is grown – some to be sold to support the church, the rest to feed the children. The pastor of the church (a mother of 5) meets regularly with young mothers and teaches them important parenting skills.

The funding received from sponsors will allow the church to expand its ministries to children and youth in new ways – including providing additional hot meals, school supplies, after-school tutoring, and training in practical life skills for preteens and teens (including skills in the gardens, sewing workshop, and wood shop).

How You Can Help

There are still over 20 children from Tigmandru available for sponsorship.

To sponsor a child from Romania:

1. Go to cs.ncm.org
2. Scroll down to “Find a Child to Sponsor.” In “Location,” find “Romania” (which is listed under the Eurasia region). Then click the “Search Now” button. All available Romanian children will then be displayed. (Note: Some children attend the “Tigmandru CDC-Romania program” and others attend the “Veritas CDC-Romania program” in Sighisoara. The child’s description will indicate which program he or she attends.) 
3. Select a child to sponsor and then follow the directions on the website.

If you prefer, you can also call the NCM office at 1-800-310-6362.

Sponsors commit to giving $30/month which will be used to support the church’s ministry to disadvantaged children and youth by providing hot meals, after-school tutoring, Bible lessons, access to school supplies, and much more. An important part of the Nazarene Child Sponsorship program is that you can write to your child, and will receive correspondence from your sponsored child 4 times a year.

Jesus loves me! this I know, For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong.

Jesus loves me! this I know, As He loved so long ago.
Taking children on His knee, Saying, "Let them come to Me."

Jesus loves me! He who died Heaven's gates to open wide.
He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me still today, Walking with me on the way.
He's prepared a home for me, And someday His face I'll see.

Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so!

Find us on Facebook

You may already know that the right sidebar on this website includes links to several ministries connected with the Church of the Nazarene in Romania.

What you might not know is that several of these ministries also have pages on Facebook that you can like. Check them out below:

Biserica Nazarineanului Binecuvantarea - Bucuresti
The Blessing Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest

Biserica Nazarineanului Sighisoara
The Church of the Nazarene in Sighișoara

Biserica Nazarineanului din Tigmandru, Romania
The Church of the Nazarene in Țigmandru

Tâmplăria Țigmandru
The carpentry shop in Țigmandru

Central Europe Field
The Central Europe Field of the Church of the Nazarene, which includes Romania

Eurasia Region
The Eurasia Region of the Church of the Nazarene, which includes the Central Europe Field

Veritas Sighisoara
NCM Partner organization in Sighișoara

Open Door (also in Romanian as Ușa Deschisă)
Shelter for Human Trafficking Survivors in Bucharest

'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.