Four Languages: One Purpose

Romania and Bulgaria churches send first mission team to Moldova

Moldova – Three Nazarene churches in Romania and three in Bulgaria sent out their first international Work & Witness team this August. The team spent 10 days assisting local missionaries Sergei and Irina Talalay in conducting children’s camps in Moldova, a country that the denomination officially entered in 2009.

“A lot of people in Moldova speak Romanian, so it was logical for us to do something,” said Roberta Bustin, a Mission Corps missionary who pastors the Nazarene church in Sighișoara, Romania. “This really was a start for our people, for them to kind of get the feel for what Work & Witness is and be more involved in the whole thing.”

As part of the fledgling work in Moldova, the Talalays felt led to begin ministry to children and to start addiction rehabilitation for adults. The mission team agreed to help them launch these outreaches.

The 20-person team – made up of six Bulgarians, six Romanians, five missionary kids, missionaries in Bulgaria Jay and Teanna Sunberg and Bustin – were tasked with hosting a week-long vacation Bible school. Many of the team’s participants were teenagers, and the team spoke in Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian and English.

Bustin said the mission trip was a success in large part because of how well the Talalays planned and organized the projects before the team arrived. “I think that was a real advantage. We weren’t going in with things we wanted to do; we were doing what they wanted to have done.”

Sergei and Irina had distributed invitations to families in their area, asking parents to call ahead and register their children. Thirty-eight children reserved places. The Romanian-Bulgarian mission team divided the children into groups – two groups spoke Romanian and two groups spoke Russian. They led the children in singing, Bible stories, crafts and games, an English lesson and a meal.

Although the team was only with the children for the week, in that short amount of time they witnessed changes in the children’s behavior. On the first day, some refused to sit still, listen to the lessons or respect one another. By the end of the week, they sat quietly and listened, worked at learning songs and Scripture verses and treated each other more considerately, Bustin said.

The week of activities provided a core group of children for the Talalays to continue working with in a Kids’ Club ministry that began at summer’s end.

“They met all their goals and are running like crazy now in doing follow- up and working the folks they gathered during that time,” said Robert Skinner, missionary advisor to Moldova. “There are concrete results of new people in church and kids coming several times a week to Kids’ Clubs and other ministry ventures.”

The members of the visiting team also benefited from the experience. Some enjoyed giving of themselves to missions after receiving the investments of others for many years, Teanna said.
One woman from Romania said she learned how to improve ministries for children. Upon returning to her church, she made suggestions to the children’s workers about more closely integrating games and crafts with Scriptural lessons and memorization.

“Seeing these three countries working together was quite inspiring,” Bustin said. “Even though we didn’t speak the same languages [and] things were different, seeing how we all worked together … that was quite encouraging to see this inter-district activity.”


By Gina Pottenger, Eurasia Region Communications
Published in Where Worlds Meet, Year 7, Issue 8, November 2010 and NCN News

Dorothy Tarrant Honored for Community Service

On Monday evening, September 27, Dorothy Tarrant was honored by family, friends, city officials, and clients and staff of Veritas, the non-profit organization which she founded. The occasion marked 15 years of Tarrant’s social service activity in the community of Sighișoara, Romania, and the handing over of Veritas to its first Romanian director. The celebration even included a presentation by the vice-mayor of Sighișoara, awarding Tarrant with honorary citizenship.

Before coming to Sighișoara in 1995, Tarrant had served as German language professor and head of the campus counseling center of Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA. In 1993, she had been asked by ENC to develop a new study-abroad program in Romania. After three semesters in Bucharest, Tarrant relocated the Romanian Studies Program to Sighișoara.

Under Tarrant’s leadership, students quickly began to meet community needs – ministering to abandoned babies in the local orphanage, children from impoverished families, and isolated elderly shut-ins. Tarrant founded the organization Veritas (meaning “Truth” in Latin) as the legal structure to hire Romanians who had first served as translators for students, but who were soon assuming leadership roles themselves.

During a time of academic restructuring, ENC removed its sponsorship of the Romanian Studies Program in 2001. Tarrant chose to resign from ENC and remain in Sighișoara as a volunteer – continuing the work she had begun with Veritas and the Romanian Studies Program.

Today, with 25 Romanian staff members, Veritas offers accredited social services for children, teens, elderly, disabled persons, and domestic violence prevention, as well as educational programs, community activities, and a coffee shop. Veritas is a participant in the Nazarene Child Sponsorship program. The Romanian Studies Program has continued to attract students (over 400 to date) from several American colleges and universities who combine academics with service learning and cultural immersion.

The evening of festivities, under the banner “Together for the Community,” included choral selections, Romanian folk music, and traditional dances performed by those in Veritas ministry groups – the Gospel Choir, special needs program, senior adult club, and youth group. Several members of the community shared about how their lives have been improved as a result of Veritas. Approximately 250 were in attendance to honor Tarrant.

The evening also marked the public recognition of Petra Popa as the new executive director of Veritas. Popa came to work for Veritas in 2003 as the director of the domestic violence prevention program. For the past four years, she has also served as coordinator of social services. Thus, under Tarrant’s direction, a study-abroad program for American students has given birth to an ever-expanding organization under Romanian leadership.

For more information about Veritas and the Romanian Studies Program, please visit: www.veritas.ro and www.RomanianStudiesProgram.org.


Photos:

Dorothy Tarrant (left) and Petra Popa (right) share their vision for Veritas.

The Veritas Gospel Choir sings praises to God to open the evening

A man from the Veritas Special Needs Program sings a Romanian folk song from his wheelchair.

Women from one of Veritas's senior adult programs sing a song they wrote about the fellowship they have together at their Elderly Club.
The refrain of the song says, "Thank You, God, that our eyes aren't sad anymore."

Some of the teenagers from the Veritas youth program perform a traditional Roma (Gypsy) dance.

Photos used courtesy of Paul Benham.

Baptism in Țigmandru

The Church of the Nazarene in Țigmandru celebrated its 3rd annual summer baptism service at Lake Bezid, near Țigmandru. Five believers confessed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and were baptized. An all-church picnic followed the baptism.

The hillside worship service by the lake included songs of praise and worship led by the Țigmandru worship team. A visiting team from Northern Ireland also sang two songs. Nazarene missionary Michael Hudson and Nazarene elder from Northern Ireland Norman Patterson shared about what baptism means and why we are called to be baptized. Each baptismal candidate shared their testimonies, were presented with a promise verse by a fellow church member, and received their certificates of baptism.

Missionary Roberta Bustin leads the Țigmandru church with Romanian pastor Magda Cini. Missionary Michael Hudson and Norman Patterson assisted in the baptism.

Southeast European Faculty Meeting

Less than a week before EuNC’s campus graduation, Antonie Holleman, Academic Dean, made a quick trip to Kosovo to meet with the faculty members from the Romanian, Bulgarian, Albanian, and Kosovo learning centres. Faculty members present were Doug Mann (Albania- Kosovo); Michael and Tamara Hudson and Roberta Bustin (Romania); Jessica Morris and Jacob Hill (Bulgaria) along with various invited people and potential faculty members from across the SE Field. The meetings were chaired by Teanna Sunberg who is the Field Education Coordinator. The main agenda item was how to most effectively offer courses to people who express a call to ministry in a time full of change and challenges.

Republished from EuNC's "In Touch" Newsletter, July 2010

Teens take over for a day at Bucharest Blessings

Bucharest, Romania – While most adults from the leadership team of the Bucharest Blessings church took a weekend away to concentrate on building healthy marriages, the Sunday service did not miss a beat. In fact, it took on a decidedly teen rhythm.

The teens of the church, many of whom share leadership roles in worship, children’s Sunday school and the youth group, took responsibility for the entire service. When the adults returned home, they were greeted with encouraging news: “It’s good you guys weren’t here today. Church was so full, there wouldn’t have been anywhere for you to sit!”

First-time visitors to a Blessings service quickly notice the teens play a vital role in what happens in the life of the church. Not only do they carry visible responsibilities, they are also the energy source for outreach. This group is dedicated to bringing their friends into a real experience with God’s kingdom on earth.

They have also been very intentional in finding ways to cross borders and interact with the Nazarene youth in Razgrad, Bulgaria. Monica Boseff leads the youth group. Her husband, Cristi, pastors the church and their two teenage children, Cris and Lisa, are a part of the committed core youth group.

Click here to read more about the Marriage Retreat.

By Teanna Sunberg and Monica Boseff
Where Worlds Meet, Year 7, Issue 3, May 2010

Marriage Retreat

Three dozen couples planning to attend marriage retreats in the Southeast Europe Field refused to let a little volcanic ash stop them. While retreat leaders David and Lisa Frisbie were stranded in an airport following Iceland’s volcano eruption, 24 couples from Romania and Bulgaria met April 16-19 in Veliko Turnavo, Bulgaria, and 12 couples from Albania and Kosovo met in Gjilan, Kosovo April 22-25. The sudden change in plans allowed for additional times of rest and relaxation, which the participants appreciated, said Jay Sunberg, the field strategy coordinator.
For the Bulgaria retreat, Klaus and Martina Arnold, who had planned to co-lead, took over the activities.

Attendees Svilen and Elena Simeonovi, of Razgrad, Bulgaria, were particularly struck by an object lesson the Arnolds presented. They tied themselves together with a rope, which symbolized that a husband and wife are climbing partners in the mountain of life.

“There should be a good balance and tension so the distance from your partner and God is neither too distant nor too far, nor you get so close together that you actually suffocate,” Elena said. The demonstration showed how each partner in a marriage has a different personality and different interests. A healthy marriage allows each person to explore different interests while the partner supports the other in those interests, the couple added.

At the retreat, each couple was randomly paired with another couple so they could pray for one another and have married friends with whom to share joys and struggles over the next two years. “Sometimes it’s better to share things with people you haven’t known before,” said Elena. “It’s also good to be able to talk on a deeper spiritual basis with new people and couples.” The couples exchanged e-mail addresses so they can share prayer requests and answers to prayer.

With the Frisbies still stranded in London, the second marriage retreat in Kosovo was led by Jens and Sabine Haberkorn, Youth With a Mission volunteers in Bulgaria. Klaus Arnold is rector of European Nazarene College (EuNC) and Martina is also on staff at EuNC.
By Gina Grate Pottenger
Eurasia Region Communications
Where Worlds Meet, Year 7, Issue 3, May 2010

My Field Placement in Transylvania, Romania

by Heather Conroy, MSW Student
Published in the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work Bridges Magazine, Spring 2010

“Why Romania?” This question, which had been posed countless times while I wprepared for my trip to Eastern Europe over the summer, echoed in my head as my plane traveled down the runway. My well-thought-out decision to be the first student in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Pittsburgh to earn field education credits abroad – as well as the first person in my family to obtain a passport and leave the East Coast – kept thoughts of this question from getting me down.

I was off to Sighisoara, Romania, (or “Sighi” as the townspeople called it) in the Transylvania region to work with the faith-based organization Veritas. Headed by Dorothy Tarrant, Veritas – which means “truth” – serves many groups of people in the area and is well known for both its service and religious affiliation with the Church of the Nazarene. My work involved attending regular group meetings and assisting Roma (gypsy) teenagers and community members suffering from disabilities, all while learning the language through the organization’s classes and a personal translator. To further my knowledge of Romanian and my assimilation to the culture, Dorothy suggested I stay with a host family.

Throughout my trip, my host family was a constant source of support. Everyone in the family spoke at least some English, and my host sisters were fluent in English, German, Romanian, and Hungarian. Dorothy was also very supportive. She was open to my suggestions and proactive in making things happen so that I left the experience feeling like I truly made an impact on those with whom I worked for such a short, yet intensive, period of time.

With help from Dorothy and other members of the organization, I was able to directly impact the life of a 21-year-old man by providing him with a wheelchair. I met with him two to three times each week at the Impreuna, or “Together,” Group for people with disabilities, and I visited him at his home. He was so full of life and humor in spite of his severe physical impairments from birth complications. I noticed the deteriorating physical condition of his device and the limitations it caused him; within minutes, Dorothy was on the phone to find a donated upright wheelchair.

My position with the Together Group led me to take on another unlikely role: working with a 25-year-old man with severe autism who had had no consistent schooling. My experience working in the field of autism had been with children up to this point, but, after meeting with him and seeing his severe state, I was intrigued. I worked with him to help him gain some communication skills in the form of more functional vocal noises and signing. His mother told me near the end of my work that she noticed him trying to make words, something he had not done since he was 3 years old. Although I was sad to leave knowing that he would likely receive little or no additional help, my experience working with this young man as well as presenting on working with Romanian children diagnosed with autism showed me that I am destined to remain in the field.

It was during home visits with Roma children and their families that I experienced the most emotional times of my trip. Some neighborhoods were better than others, but nearly all of the homes were infested with flies and lacked indoor bathrooms. Those who had running water were considered lucky. From what I could see, some of the Roma were making an effort to work and bring money in for their families, but those stigmas that had led them to receive a poor education also led to less-than-equal job opportunities when compared to the ethnic Romanian population.

After seeing their homes, I was proud that the youth were still so vibrant and happy. They showed so much promise despite their backgrounds, which is a testament to the work that Veritas is doing. Most of these children expected to continue living as their parents had, but some will break free of this cycle thanks to the opportunities and support this organization provides them.

For those who wonder whether my trip was worth the efforts in planning and funding; leaving the security of my friends, family, and Western Pennsylvania home; and taking a chance on an agency I knew little about, it was. My Romanian experience was unforgettable, and I hope it is only the beginning of more world adventures to come that will allow me to explore different cultures and utilize the social work training I have received at the University of Pittsburgh.