The Open Door

by Teanna Sunberg
Reprinted from Engage Magazine

The house sits quietly on a very normal looking street in the heart of Bucharest where the coming and going of families is a predictable Romanian rhythm. Grandmas with head scarves and aprons sweep away the dust from doorways each morning and then produce the tantalizing smells of onions and carrots frying for a midday soup. Dogs bark, kittens scurry, children with backpacks walk to the city bus. It is simply one of many normal houses producing the normal sights and sounds of an every day sort of household. On the morning we visit, two once-upon-a-time Romanian, Nazarene boys are busily finishing a paint job on the edge of the roof. They roll their eyes when we make them move from their job and then, with nonchalant shrugs and warm hugs, they welcome us to The Open Door.

These boys, who used to greet us with shy smiles and quiet Romanian ‘hellos’ at the prompting of their mothers have grown into young men who show us around the brick and mortar that they are renovating. Just inside the door, a two-year old little boy dashes by with his mother close behind as we admire the careful changes that have already turned this house into a home.

Moving into the living room, the landscape begins to alter and it somehow feels that we may have stepped into a corner of Germany. The furniture is solidly wooden and warm as if there is sanctuary and safety in the simple embrace of cushions. A sense of goodness, security, normality are present in the very air we breathe inside this house and yet, for those living here, this is a very new reality.

The five young Romanian women and one active two-year-old now living in this home have recently been rescued from neighboring countries where they were trafficked for sex.

The statistics are staggering. According to the International Labour Organization's June 2012 Press Release, Central Europe and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent Statees) have the highest number of trafficking victims per thousand inhabitants globally. These two parts of Europe account for 7 percent of the global trafficking market. In other words, 1.6 million people from Romania and the Eastern European neighborhood are trapped in forced labour situations today. (http://goo.gl/b81rwp)

The Open Door is a powerful example of the potential for rescue and rehabilitation when denominations work together for impact against the human slave trade. The organization's director is Monica Boseff, wife of Pastor Cristi Boseff (Bucharest Blessings Church of the Nazarene), the majority of employees are Nazarene young people who spent their formative years growing up amidst the pioneering work of the Nazarene church after the fall of Communism. Today, they fill the roles of psychologist, assistant director, security and maintenance. Most of the furniture came from a community effort organized by the Gelnhausen Nazarene Church in Germany. People from the community literally donated entire rooms. Funding and leadership come from a variety of sources including but not limited to Nazarenes and that is an important point. In the face of such a global power structure, one organization, one denomination, one non-government organization is a tiny whisper, but the united body of Christ, dependent upon His Holy provision, becomes a voice for transformation, one life at a time.

The Open Door is simply and profoundly a home. According to the in-house psychologist, the vast majority of girls become prey for traffickers when a life change makes them vulnerable. It might be the death of a parent or a sudden economic plunge, but suddenly the walls that once protected are breached.

In the kitchen, the women who currently call The Open Door home are busily preparing a midday meal of schnitzel and mashed potatoes. Part of their rehabilitation is a re-learning of the normal routines of healthy lifestyles. Monica Boseff reports that both Starbucks and the Radisson Hotel have offered job training to the women. A variety of local businesses have donated practical supplies, such as washing powder, that power the daily rhythms of a busy family.

As I step outside to breathe the fresh air, I notice that the walls around this home are quite high. A street dog who wandered into the yard months ago now claims it and all of its inhabitants as his. He guards them with a fierce territorial growl. I am profoundly aware that the absolute normality of this every day home on this average Romanian street is the greatest testimony to a miracle in progress.

A long time ago, a young boy wrapped up his very normal Jewish lunch and lived and died in such a way that hope and security and heart transformation and home are realities of a new kingdom. His geneology sounded something like this:

Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Issac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his borthers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. (Matthew 1:2-5, NIV)

Covenant Discipleship in Romania

By Teanna Sunberg
Reprinted from Where Worlds Meet, Year 11, Issue 10, December 2013


Sighișoara, Romania – Some historians argue that the faith movement birthed by John Wesley actually saved England from experiencing a fate similar to the French Revolution. Yet, today the mention of a Wesleyan discipleship movement generally brings a yawn and a quick exodus from the conversation. It seems that the word “discipleship” fails to convey the radical transformation that snatched souls from the pit of hell and ransomed a bankrupt British society.

“We have not been intentional enough with discipleship training and practices,” says Jay Sunberg, Central Europe Field strategy coordinator.

At the invitation of Rev. Tamara Hudson, district superintendent of Romania, Sunberg led a Discipleship Weekend in Sighișoara for 22 participants from the Romania District. These Romanian Nazarenes make a groundbreaking statement of faith about the Holy Spirit’s power to redeem and transform at both individual and societal levels.

The agenda of the weekend was an interactive dialogue regarding the Biblical call to discipleship, the Wesleyan heritage of discipleship, and the concept of covenant discipleship. At the end of the weekend, the participants broke into four discipleship groups and wrote a covenant statement which they commit to until the end of April.

Sunberg earned a Doctor of Ministry degree with his thesis on using contemporary methods for discipleship accountability. Building upon the theological work of Dr. David Lowes Watson who contemporized Wesley’s approach to discipleship, Sunberg explored the possibility of utilizing social media methods to connect people for discipleship growth.

Out of this study, a new commitment to holiness and the necessity of submitting to lifestyle accountability emerged. According to Sunberg, “The concept of a radical lifestyle powered by heart holiness begins with a rewiring of how we think about discipleship. Conceptually, we must move from an ‘it’s my responsibility’ to a ‘we are responsible for each other’s growth’ mindset. Discipleship is about accountability, responsibility for each other, and the power of community.”

The power of the new discipleship model begins with that rewiring of the discipleship concept. Participants commit to a weekly accountability check-in, but the key to understanding lies in community. The spiritual journey is based upon James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widow in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

The road to mature spiritual formation is sourced out of the intersection of works of piety and works of mercy. It is where they exist in the same place that holiness becomes tangible. The community shares responsibility for this journey instead of thinking of discipleship as an individual process. It becomes a shared, corporate responsibility of accountability, encouragement, mentoring, and prayer.

The Romanian District is using this new discipleship model in conjunction with their mentoring program for ordination and pastoral training. The hope is to build spiritual structures that lead to solid spiritual formation as individuals prepare for ministry. 

To learn more about the growth of the Church in the Central Europe Field, visit www.centraleuropenaz.org. For more information about covenant discipleship, email Jay Sunberg at JSunberg@aol.com.


Please pray for God to produce fruit in the Romanian Nazarenes who are participating in a new covenant discipleship initiative. Pray for the Holy Spirit to empower them and bring them maturity in their faith.

"Power of One"

Pictured: Romanian pastors with missionaries who coordinated the translation project

At the Romanian District Assembly, the first of the "Power of One" materials translated into Romanian were distributed to pastors. The Power of One is the name of the Eurasia Region's Missional Church Initiative to involve every church member in the mission of the church "to make Christlike disciples in the nations." These books contain translated resources for discipleship, evangelism, church planting, devotions, compassionate ministry, and missional leadership.

To learn more about the Eurasia Region's Missional Church Initiative, visit www.missionaleurasia.com.

"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.

 

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.

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.

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.

Meet the Hartzlers

Jay and Sheri Hartzler are Nazarene missionaries who will be heading to Romania to begin a one-year assignment in August 2013. Jay will be working with the children of Tigmandru teaching music and helping develop a woodshop and teaching woodworking skills. He will also be directing choirs and helping train choir directors in Sighisoara. Sheri will be working with Veritas in a variety of ways in promotion and marketing as well as accompanying the choirs and teaching piano lessons for some of the children. We will begin our assignment in early September by leading a one-week music camp for children in Sighisoara.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

Reprinted from Engage magazine