Serving with Compassion in Romania: Andre and Brenda Berkhout

Originally published at eurasiaregion.org

Andre and Brenda Berkhout are currently serving as Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) coordinators in Romania. In this role, they are supporting local churches and organizations across the Romania District in their efforts to develop sustainable, compassionate ministries in their communities. The Berkhouts’ work involves everything from building partnerships to strengthening ministry efforts to facilitating communication between the regional NCM office and local ministries – all while integrating to the Romanian culture by learning the language and deepening their understanding of culture and history.

In Sighișoara, they are working closely with the Veritas Foundation, a NCM partner organization and Child Development Center with social services for children, teenagers, special needs adults, and the elderly. Alongside Veritas director Petra Popa, they’re addressing practical challenges like outdated systems, training for staff, and funding needs. Andre is using his background in music to help with Bible lessons for children, while Brenda is using her background as a mental healthcare professional to develop training materials and exploring how Veritas and the local Church of the Nazarene can work more closely together in mission.

In Bucharest, the Berkhouts are assisting the Open Door Foundation. This NCM partner organization ministers to survivors of human trafficking and is closely connected to the Blessing Church of the Nazarene. Andre and Brenda are focusing on updating the organization’s website, looking for new fundraising opportunities, and developing a newsletter to keep supporters updated.

“Since arriving in Romania just a few months ago, Andre and Brenda are been filling several gaps in the area of NCM. Their unique skill set is exactly what we need right now,” noted Romania District Superintendent Jonathan Phillips.

In addition to their work with NCM partner organizations, the Berkhouts have been involved in the local Nazarene congregations in both Sighișoara and Bucharest.

Andre is stepping into preaching opportunities in both congregations and has joined the team of musicians leading worship in Sighișoara. As NCM coordinators, they have been working on community assessments and interviews to get a clearer picture of the realities people are facing, and where the church can respond in meaningful, sustainable ways.

Brenda has also begun coaching several people who need help, offering her time freely to help them grow into the person God created them to be.

Together, Andre and Brenda have become aware of many young women on the streets of Romania who are caught in difficult and vulnerable circumstances. With support from their church in the Netherlands, they have started reaching out personally by giving small care bags that include a Romanian Bible, a snack, a soft toy, toiletries, and a flyer with helpful information for those seeking a new start. Through this simple act of kindness, they want these young women to know that they are seen, valued, and deeply loved by God.

“Giving is not about the gift, but about the love of Christ that lies behind it.” the Berkhouts commented.

Join us in prayer for Andre and Brenda as they continue learning, listening, and serving in Romania. Pray for wisdom and discernment as they navigate complex needs and long-term ministry hopes.

Beauty From Brokenness: New Beginnings for Survivors

By Jeremy Height
Originally published in NCM Magazine 2025 Issue 1
Photos provided by Open Door Romania

At the Open Door Foundation in Romania, survivors of human trafficking find more than shelter — they find community, healing, and the space to dream again.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST DREAM?

When survivors of human trafficking are welcomed into the shelter of the Open Door Foundation in Bucharest, Romania, the staff often ask, “What is your greatest dream?”

The women who enter Open Door are greeted by the aroma of delicious homemade meals and the assurance of a safe place to sleep. The hospitality of current residents, the laughter of young children playing, and the care of an incredible team of social workers, guards, lawyers, and psychologists who comprise the ministry’s staff inspire hope in the women. When team members hear each survivor's dreams, they earnestly look for answers God provides to fulfill these dreams. One answer is a promise to each survivor that Open Door will do two things: throw them a graduation party when they complete their schooling and buy their wedding dress if they decide to get married in the future.

BEAUTY FROM BROKENNESS

Since 2012, the Open Door Foundation has worked with survivors of human trafficking in Romania by providing the one and only emergency shelter in the country, in addition to long-term care and transitional programming for men, women, and children. Residents of the shelter are provided with holistic services that are contextualized to help them recover and heal from being trafficked.Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that enables perpetrators to profit from the control and exploitation of others, and it is often perpetuated through emotional, physical, and psychological manipulation. Currently, an estimated 50 million men, women, and children are trafficked around the world. Many of the survivors at Open Door were trafficked and enslaved through faked relationships (often called the “lover boy” scheme, where traffickers gain trust through a false romantic pretense) or by threats of violence to family members. Such tactics make modern-day slavery harder to identify since individuals are enslaved through fear and manipulation rather than with chains.

The Open Door Foundation began serving human trafficking survivors because of this specific reality of modern-day slavery. Without an emergency shelter in Romania, law enforcement officials lacked a safe place to house women and children who were attempting to escape trafficking, which significantly increased the chances of being trafficked again. By providing a safe and stable home, Open Door has helped reduce the instances of being trafficked again, as well as increasing the number of criminal convictions of traffickers with Open Door’s incredible team of lawyers.

As a part of the ministry’s 18-month residential program, women are provided with therapy, medical care, legal assistance, and support in learning how to engage in everyday life activities such as parenting, conflict resolution, cooking, and laundry. They are also provided with a weekly allowance to support their growth in independence and the time and space to heal before finding a job. Additionally, each woman is supported in pursuing her “greatest dreams” through enrollment in programs such as flight attendant school, public speaking, hair styling, photography, and the culinary arts.

Monica Boseff, executive director of the Open Door Foundation, describes the ministry as an embodiment of the Japanese art of kintsugi, where liquid gold is used to repair broken pottery. Just as the gold brings beauty from the brokenness of the teapot or cup in kintsugi, God has been at work bringing beauty from brokenness in each of the over 1,240 women, men, and children that have been served by Open Door since 2012.

“At the end of the program,” said Monica, “we want each survivor to walk out that front door knowing who she is in Christ, how beautiful she is, and with her dignity and independence restored. We want survivors to remember that they are loved for who they are.”

RADICAL GENEROSITY

A beautiful example of the life change that happens at Open Door is exemplified in how new survivors are welcomed into the shelter. Along with a welcome pack of essential toiletries and clothes, a new resident is welcomed with a gift of three items from every other resident—a gift for the body, one for the mind, and one for the soul. The goal? To empower each woman in her independence and generosity as she selects three of her own belongings with which to bless the new resident.

Susan* was a recipient of this hospitality when she entered the emergency shelter, and she initially found it difficult to accept such radical generosity from the staff and residents. She experienced this generosity further when, at Christmas, she was gifted a beautiful new set of pajamas. Susan quickly fell in love with this Christmas gift, so much so that she barely wore this treasured gift in order to keep it in pristine condition. Because of her meticulous care for her pajamas, Susan surprised everyone a few months later when she gifted them as part of her welcome gift to a new survivor entering Open Door. When asked why she would give away one of her most treasured belongings, Susan explained to the others, “Do you remember how I was when I got here? I had nothing, and you all gave me so much. I want to do the same.”

ANSWERED PRAYERS

Inside their shelter sits a basket filled with river stones. Each features a message written by a resident or staff member to represent an answered prayer or miracle. Open Door is a ministry built firmly on a foundation of prayer. God has proven his faithfulness through the life transformation of individual survivors and in the amazing ways he has tangibly answered prayers at the ministry throughout the years. One of those answered prayers has a well-known name: IKEA.

When Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022, Open Door immediately responded by helping house 66 at-risk refugees from Ukraine in a local Nazarene church in Bucharest. The women in the ministry’s residential shelter offered up their own beds to help the Ukrainians fleeing war. God showed up unexpectedly when the leadership team at IKEA offered to support their refugee response.

“From napkins to the beds,” remembered Monica, “IKEA provided everything we needed to house these refugees, including a washer, dryer, and refrigerator.”

Answered prayers also include the 19 babies born to mothers in Open Door’s programming and the numerous salvations and baptisms they have witnessed as survivors . . .“embrace God and God’s love so fiercely,” said Monica. “Those who have been rescued from the pit of hell by God’s grace and mercy know how to shout at their baptisms, ‘I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.’”

SURVIVORS RECEIVING NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

New babies are born outside the cycle of human trafficking.

Refugees find a safe community of support in a foreign country.

This is the “kintsugi” work of God’s kingdom, as beauty is forged out of brokenness, and the Holy Spirit breathes new life and healing into the women, men, and children who participate in Open Door’s residential and non-residential programming every day.

FUTURE DREAMS

Monica said her greatest dream for Open Door is a farm.

A farm would allow their future residents to grow and raise their own food while also providing sustainability for the compassionate ministry. Other hopes and dreams for the ministry include solar panels to decrease utility costs for their residential and transitional housing and partnerships with new Nazarene Missions Teams in the coming years. Each of these would help solidify the future of their ministry and the survivors they serve.

They are focused on the future as Open Door guides individuals, families, and communities beyond their past toward a new and beautiful future.

“From the moment they enter Open Door, we tell each person that the days of calling yourself a victim are over,” Monica said. “Here, you are a survivor. And you are tomorrow’s fighter.”

* Names have been changed to protect the individual's identity.

GET INVOLVED

Interested in learning more and partnering with anti-human trafficking efforts?

• Journey with your church small group through this new Bible study on Human Trafficking from The Foundry Publishing: https://www.thefoundrypublishing.com/human-trafficking-9780834143203.html  

• Memorize and share the National Human Trafficking Hotline phone number in your country.

• Learn more about human trafficking at: ncm.org/antitrafficking

• Become a monthly donor of Open Door Foundation or support their efforts in purchasing solar panels or new playground equipment for the children at the residential shelter: ncm.org/opendoor
  

The Church of the Nazarene in Romania

A Brief History

Following the fall of communism in Romania in December 1989, members of the Church of the Nazarene in many parts of the world were prayerfully looking for opportunities to respond to the needs of Romanian Christians who had faced persecution just a few years earlier. In the autumn of 1991, leaders of the Romanian Evangelical Alliance participated in a Nazarene Compassionate Ministries conference in Germany. They were impressed with how the Church of the Nazarene balances the holiness message and compassionate ministries. As a result of this meeting, the Evangelical Alliance invited the Church of the Nazarene to join them in carrying out new initiatives in Romania.

In 1992, Nazarene missionaries Jon and Margaret Scott arrived to begin the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. In that same year, the Evangelical Christian Organization for Aid and Development “Nazarineanul” (abbreviated as OCEAD Nazarineanul) was established with the help of the Evangelical Alliance. Throughout the 1990s, hundreds of Nazarenes – missionaries, volunteers, mission teams, and groups of university students – came to Romania to work alongside members from many Evangelical churches in Romania in a wide variety of ministries. In Bucharest, compassionate ministries focused on the isolated elderly at the geriatric hospital and the abandoned children in the orphanages. Nazarenes from the USA, UK, Germany, and the Netherlands began to send shipments of material aid that were distributed to individuals and institutions in different parts of the country still recovering from communism.

Alongside compassionate ministries, OCEAD Nazarineanul offered regular educational courses in theology, computers, and business through partnerships with universities in the USA, Germany, and Romania. These compassionate and educational ministries, alongside evangelistic and church-planting efforts, gave the Nazarene team many opportunities to share the Gospel in practical ways. This resulted in new believers being discipled, growing in their faith, and being equipped for ministry. The first Nazarene congregation in Romania was established in Bucharest in 1993 with Jon Scott as pastor.

Nazarene missionaries in Bucharest faced a challenge shared with missionaries from other denominations – providing quality English-language education for their own children. In 1993, Margaret Scott joined with other missionary families to establish a homeschooling co-op. What began in a single classroom hosted in the Nazarene ministry center has since grown into Bucharest Christian Academy, an accredited international Christian school in Bucharest for children in preschool through grade 12.

Beginning in January 1992, Eastern Nazarene College (ENC), located near Boston USA, sent several short-term groups of students to Romania. In the fall of 1993, the college established a program under the direction of Professor Dorothy Tarrant that gave students the opportunity to study in Romania for an entire semester while also volunteering in the compassionate ministries in Bucharest. In the summer of 1995, ENC’s program moved to Sighisoara where the Church of the Nazarene was preparing to launch a new ministry.

In Sighisoara, ENC students began compassionate ministries focused on poor street children, abandoned children at the orphanage, and the isolated elderly. The actions of the ENC students and the collaboration with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries led to the establishment of the Veritas Sighisoara Foundation in 2001, with Dorothy Tarrant as its first director. Professional Romanian staff – Christians from Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches – continued the work begun by ENC students. In the following years, Veritas began offering accredited social services for children, teenagers, special needs adults, and the elderly, along with a campaign against domestic violence. Additionally, through its educational services, community activities, and café in the historic citadel, Veritas expanded its presence and influence in the town as an ecumenical Christian organization. Since 2006, Veritas has been recognized as a Nazarene Child Development Center and maintains a partnership with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries.

As Veritas was forming, so was the Sighisoara Church of the Nazarene. The American students met each week for a Bible study that they invited their Romanian friends to attend. Young people were attracted to the church through the various youth activities like coffee house and ecology club. In time, the parents of several teenagers also began to attend the church services. Many of the elderly ministered to by the weekday Elderly Club also joined the church. Soon, an inter-generational congregation was being formed. Nazarene missionary Roberta Bustin served as pastor until Relu Cristurean became the church’s first Romanian pastor in 2012.

In the spring of 2002, a new Nazarene ministry began in Tigmandru, a village near Sighisoara with a mixed Romanian, Hungarian, and Roma population, many of whom were living in poverty. Roberta Bustin worked closely with Magda Cini, a member of the Sighisoara church who was originally from Tigmandru. In addition to establishing a local congregation, they sought to improve the quality of life in the village by intentionally ministering to the whole person. A child development center was established to care for the holistic needs of children. The church has offered instruction to the adults in the village on topics including literacy, health, nutrition, parenting, and other practical skills. The desire to provide vocational training in sewing and carpentry workshops resulted in the establishment of Ateliere Nazarineanului (Nazarene Workshops) in 2012. In 2013, Magda Cini officially became the church’s pastor.

In the fall of 2002, a group of Romanian church members from the Bucharest Central Church of the Nazarene planted a new church in a different section of the capital city. From the very beginning, the Blessing Church of the Nazarene has been led by Romanians. Cristian Boseff has pastored the church since 2005. After a few years, the remaining members of the Central Church joined the Blessing Church to form a single reunited church in Bucharest, spanning multiple generations. Over the years, the Blessing Church has prioritized worship, prayer, and Bible study while continuing to emphasize compassionate ministries in an urban context.

In 2013, under the leadership of Monica Boseff, a member of the Blessing Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, the Open Door Foundation opened a ministry for survivors of human trafficking that includes a residential shelter, counseling, and judicial assistance. From the beginning, the Blessing Church has provided the spiritual component of the holistic care for these survivors. Church members intentionally integrate the survivors into the life of the church by developing caring relationships and inviting them to begin new lives in Christ. Open Door Foundation maintains a partnership with the Church of the Nazarene in Romania as well as with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries international.

On several occasions over the years, Nazarenes have led adult Bible studies, children’s and youth activities, compassionate ministries and other initiatives in several towns and villages in different parts of the country. Our long-term goal is to plant new churches that will holistically impact their communities.

In 2022, after completing the necessary studies and other requirements, the largest group of Romanian ministers was ordained, marking significant progress in the development of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania from missionary leadership to Romanian leadership.

The Church of the Nazarene in Romania Today

Today, there are active congregations of the Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, Sighisoara, and Tigmandru that make up the Romania District. In addition to the activities of these local churches, Nazarene activity in Romania also includes translating and publishing literature as well as partnering with European Nazarene College to offer theological education courses in the Romanian language. A key component of our work remains offering compassionate ministries, which includes long-term programs such as Child Development Centers, short-term emergency initiatives such as responding to the 2022 Ukrainian refugee crisis, and ongoing partnerships with the Veritas Sighișoara and Open Door Foundations.

The Church of the Nazarene occupies a unique place among the churches in Romania. Although we are not one of this nation’s predominant historic churches, we share much in common with our Christian brothers and sisters from these traditions – the ancient Christian creeds and councils with the Orthodox Church, a common history of Western Christianity with Catholic and Protestant churches, and the marks of the Protestant Reformation with the Reformed and Lutheran churches. Additionally, we share many practices and beliefs with other Evangelical and Neo-Protestant churches, such as our forms of worship, an emphasis on evangelism and discipleship, and a saving, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Along with the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, we emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Due to this shared foundation of the Christian faith that we hold in common, we value establishing partnerships with Christians from various churches.

With these shared traits identified, it is also important to note how we are distinct from the established churches in Romania and how our theological heritage has shaped our identity as a denomination. The Church of the Nazarene is part of the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. John Wesley was a priest in the Anglican Church who lived in the 18th century. He followed Arminian theology, taught holiness (Christian perfection), and emphasized compassion to the poor. From a theological perspective, we are closest to the churches and organizations of the Wesleyan tradition, such as the United Methodist Church and the Salvation Army. We also share key aspects of our theology with the Orthodox Church that they do not hold in common with Protestant churches from Reformed or Calvinistic theological traditions.

The Church of the Nazarene in Romania is closely interconnected with the international Church of the Nazarene. We share doctrines, form of government, and leadership with Nazarenes around the world. The Romania District of the Church of the Nazarene is part of the Central Europe Field in the Eurasia Region.

About the name “Nazarene”

Nazareth was the small town in Galilee where Jesus lived. When Philip was first told about Jesus, he asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46) Jesus and the early Christians were often associated with Nazareth as a mark of derision. Pilate ordered that a sign for Jesus' cross should say "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (John 19:19). In Acts 24:5, the apostle Paul was accused of being “a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” Given this, our denominational leaders decided to choose this name to identify themselves with ministering to the marginalized. Therefore, we are called to follow the example of Jesus the Nazarene in serving the poor and marginalized of the world.

In order to avoid any confusion, it is important to note that the Church of the Nazarene and OCEAD Nazareneanul are not related to the Nazarene Religious Association, founded in 1990, based in Arad, Romania (with roots that go back to an Anabaptist movement founded in Switzerland by Samuel Fröhlich and promoted in Hungary and Transylvania by Lajos Hencsey in the 19th century), nor to the Nazirite oath described in the Old Testament.

The Impact of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania

After more than 30 years, it is hard to calculate the impact of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. Through the ministry of the local churches, whole families – often spanning multiple generations – have been transformed. Children have been instructed through kids’ clubs and Sunday schools. Teenagers have discovered their identity in Christ in youth groups and summer camps. Adults have been prepared for Christian ministry. Through compassionate ministries, Nazarenes have brought the love of Christ to abandoned children in the orphanages and to the elderly in the geriatric hospital. Clubs for the Elderly and Special Needs adults have provided a renewed sense of value and dignity as beloved people created in God’s image. Marginalized children have received hot meals at a Child Development Center, women and children have found shelter from domestic violence and human trafficking, Ukrainians were offered refuge in Romania as they fled the war in their country, and unskilled laborers have learned job skills. Christians from other churches – Evangelical and Orthodox alike – have grown deeper in their faith as a result of the ministry and devotion to biblical study of Nazarenes. Through educational courses in English, computers, business, and theology, Nazarenes have equipped Romanians for their future, many of whom are now living and serving in different countries around the world. Students from countries around the world have received a primary and secondary Christian education at a school begun by a Nazarene missionary. The lives of American college students who came to study and serve in Romania were often transformed by their experiences in ways that shaped their career choices.

The Church of the Nazarene in Romania may be small in size, but God has used us for advancing His Kingdom in countless ways. We look forward to continuing this legacy into the future.

Opportunity to Serve: Local Church Associate in Romania

“Is God calling you to use your gifts in preaching, worship, and outreach to help revitalize the church in Romania?

The Church of the Nazarene has been present in Bucharest, Romania, since 1992. The local church associate will work with the pastor of the local church to revitalize the congregation, mainly in the areas of worship, discipleship, community outreach, and preaching.

This role would be best suited for an enthusiastic, prayerful and outgoing person or couple, who can embrace an urban lifestyle in an Eastern European setting.

Responsibilities:

• Assist in the Sunday worship service by preaching on rotation and helping with music (preferably playing an instrument)
• Develop positive relationships within the community
• Disciple believers and train church members
• Become conversant in the Romanian language
• Mobilize the church members to engage in missional opportunities outside the local church

Requirements:

• Ordained elder (preferred) or district-licensed minister
• Degree in ministry (preferred)
• Sensitive to working with marginalized groups
• Ability to adapt cross-culturally
• Available to live and minister in Bucharest for a minimum of 2 years.

Click here for more information and to get started in the application process.

Video: 30 Years of Nazarene Ministry in Romania

Ordinations in Romania

From Eurasia Region Snapshots, November 4:

 

We celebrate with our brothers and sisters who were ordained in Romania on Saturday 29th October.

The District Assembly took place in Brasov and saw 3 men and 2 women be ordained -- of which 3 were members of the same family!

We praise God for his faithfulness and pray for our newly ordained elders, their lives, families and ministries.

-- photo shared by Dr. Busic, General Superintendent

District Assembly Videos

On Saturday, October 29, five Romanians were ordained as elders in the Church of the Nazarene as part of the Romania District Assembly. The ordination service can be watched here:

The Sunday morning Communion service, led by General Superintendent David Busic, was streamed live from the Bucharest Blessing Church while the churches in Sighisoara and Tigmandru participated.

A Precious Gift in a Small Plastic Bag

Casey Bloom serves as a missionary with the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. She writes about offering hospitality to people from Ukraine in the shadow of war.

For two nights, we had the immense privilege of hosting five brave men who were returning to their home country of Ukraine.

Bucharest is one of many Eastern European cities that lies along the path of refugees fleeing the invasion of Ukraine. Many people are stopping to rest in our city, and we have been providing them shelter and meals to set them on their continued journey.

At the same time, many Ukrainians were abroad when the invasion began. Some, like these five men who were working in other parts of Europe, are traveling back home. Our new friends had decided they needed to return to support their families. On their way, they found shelter with us in Bucharest.

These men expressed such gratitude for the space provided for them. They even asked how much the accommodations would cost when they first arrived. We assured them it was our absolute pleasure to host them (for free, of course) during this difficult time, and that we were here to help with whatever they needed during their stay and beyond.

Even though we may not see them ever again, the men said they intended to send their families to us (from Ukraine) to experience the same love and care that we were offered to them.

“I’ve worked in Turkey, Uzbekistan and Denmark, but I’ve never been treated like this – with so much love and care,” one of them said.

The Bucharest Blessing Church of the Nazarene and Open Door Foundation are working together to provide housing, with Open Door being the only emergency shelter for trafficking victims in Romania. When it started, the founders of Open Door, could not have guessed that someday it would provide shelter for people experiencing another kind of emergency – war.

As we said our goodbyes, one of the men presented Open Door’s director, Monica Boseff, with a small plastic bag. He said that this precious gift was a piece of their home in Ukraine, and he wanted to share it with us because we had made them feel at home here in Bucharest.

Inside this small, rolled up plastic bag was a piece of bacon from Ukraine.

This type of bacon (Romanian: slănină) is a traditional Slavic food that is a coveted part of the pig. If you are familiar with Eastern European culture, you understand just how deeply moved we were by this gesture. Monica said it is one of the most precious gifts she’s ever received. She even put it in her freezer to forever remind her of the blessings we have been given and the blessings we have to share.

*********

Donations to the NCM Ukraine Crisis Response Fund can be made at ncm.org/ukraine.

Serving Ukrainian Refugees in Bucharest

Originally published at ncm.org

Since February 27, leaders and volunteers from Blessings Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest, Romania, have been working tirelessly to welcome and accommodate Ukrainian refugees fleeing from war. In the church building and at a second property, there has been a constant flow of people both coming and going. Some stay for a night or two, while others have been with us for a whole week.

Aside from offering accommodations, the church has been able to provide rides to and from the train/bus station and airport, warm meals, phone cards, medical supplies, hugs, and spiritual and emotional support. We’ve been incredibly blessed by donations from individuals, nongovernment organizations, and businesses like IKEA: beds and mattresses, food, dishes, water, refrigerators, bedding, clothes, toiletries, cleaning supplies, toys, and more. You name it, God has provided it. It’s been humbling to see how so many people have come together to make sure that our Ukrainian neighbors, and now friends, are taken care of during this difficult time.

Church leaders have connected individuals with people who work at various embassies. Train and plane tickets have been purchased for people moving on to other countries. One couple has decided to stay in Romania and they already have an interview scheduled for the visa process.

God is good. He provides. Thank you for all of the ways that so many of you have supported this work through prayer, financial support, and material donations. Your constant support is giving us the resources we need, and also the stamina to continue serving our Ukrainian friends traveling to and through Romania.

Report from Casey Bloom, living and serving in Romania.

Donations to the NCM Ukraine Crisis Response Fund can be made at ncm.org/ukraine. 

An Open Door to Hope: Ministering to Trafficking Survivors in Romania

By Amy Heckman

During Freedom Sunday, churches that participate collect an offering to support anti-trafficking ministries around the world. This year, part of that offering will go to support the ministry of Open Door Foundation in Romania. Keep reading to learn how they’re extending hope and care.

Residents enjoy preparing dinner together

In Bucharest, Romania, the local Nazarene church works in partnership with Open Door Foundation to serve women subjected to sex trafficking. Open Door is the only emergency shelter within Romania that offers a holistic approach to care for trafficking survivors.

Survivors are helped through medical treatment, dental care, legal assistance, continuing education and occupational training, job placement assistance, life skill and home management training, emotional and spiritual counseling, and financial assistance. Some women live full time in the shelter, but many more attend support groups and counseling on an outpatient basis. The Open Door staff works with all women on the goal of their full autonomy and reintegration into society, lowering the risk level of being trafficked again.

Residents learn to make jewelry and other crafts

Minors are also treated at Open Door through a day program that meets twice a week at the Nazarene church. Participants are offered therapy, medical and social assistance, legal care, and food supplies.

The local Church of the Nazarene is committed to support this ministry with prayer, and four of the shelter staff are part of the Nazarene church. Volunteers from this and other churches offer workshops and lessons to the residents in cooking, health, and beauty training, and spend time with the residents gardening, crafting, or providing transportation. Many of the Open Door residents attend services at the Nazarene church, and there they find supportive relationships as they learn more about the abundant love and care of God. Recently, two young women from the shelter accepted Christ into their lives, and their family members are starting to attend church with them.

Delivering items to a community where Open Door does prevention work

In the future, the staff of Open Door hope to expand their work to include a shelter for minors and a second shelter for women.

This Freedom Sunday, pray for the staff of Open Door Foundation, the local Nazarene church partnering with them, and the 124 survivors of exploitation currently receiving care there.

Learn more about the Open Door Foundation and leadership.

Learn more about Freedom Sunday, held this year on September 22, 2019. 

Reposted from NCM Blog, September 16, 2019.

Video: The Church of the Nazarene in Romania

Video by Casey Bloom for the Central Europe Field Conference, September 2018

Training Sparks New Youth Group in Romania

During a youth leader training weekend, a young Romanian woman recognizes God’s call to start a youth group in her church.

Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, England, has helped Eurasia Region NYI develop training for youth leaders by allowing Rev Louise Kenyon to design and tailor a training tool called Nexūs. Nexūs is an intensive course over a minimum of two-weekends in which people are invited to prepare themselves better for youth leadership. 

Our most recent Nexūs was held in Manchester. Alexandra Marinescu, from the Bucharest Blessing Church of the Nazarene in Romania took part. She says that this training opened her eyes to God’s calling to youth ministry, while also providing her with the tools to answer His call. The following is her story.

A call to youth ministry
By Alexandra Marinescu

Nexūs was a wonderful and unique experience. It was the main reason why I understood the importance of the youth group, so, after the course; I started a youth group in Romania.

Not only Nexūs helped me make this decision, but it taught me to appreciate and give more importance to young people. I have learned that they also have problems and they face difficult situations, despite being young. I have learned that they need someone to be there for them to encourage them, to tell them: Don’t worry. Jesus is in control of your situation!

We live in a tumultuous and hurried world and I know that today’s youngsters are running for the values of this world and not the values of God. That is why they need guidance. I was not convinced, however, that I, a still growing Christian, may be a youth leader and can lead these children to God.

But God spoke to me first through a youth leader at Nexūs. Then, when I was on my way back to Romania, God spoke to my heart in such an overwhelming way that my only reaction was to cry for two hours continuously and to write down what God was telling me.

After experiencing God’s presence, and in light of the course I attended, suddenly my life made sense. I do not mean to say I suddenly became the best youth leader, but my life made sense in that I discovered myself.

Questions such as: How can God put someone like me at the head of the youth group? Am I worthy to serve this important ministry? How does God speak to us? How can I make a spiritual awakening and stay awake?

The Lord spoke to me, and oooh…how my heart was listening to His answers! There would be a lot to write about my confession, but in short, God told me that by His will He is preparing me to serve.

So, I have returned to Romania, full of the Holy Spirit like I have never been before, and I proposed to my church to have a special room for our young people. I found some donations and bought everything they needed. I wanted young people to feel like they’re coming to their second home, so we decorated the room until it felt like a comfortable living room. The young people liked it! They said they feel comfortable and happy.

We started the youth group for a month. I asked God to send 40 young people to the youth group. I now have seven; 33 more to go! I trust the 33 are on their way. I love those kids who come to youth meetings. I don’t know how, but I also love the other 33 I haven’t met yet! I look forward to see them on Friday evenings, to eat together and discuss social issues and how God sees them.

God was the one who really put my desire in my heart.

republished from Where Worlds Meet, May 2018


Pray for the new youth group in Romania, that God blesses and increases it.

Helping Survivors of Human Trafficking

By Gina Grate Pottenger
Republished from Where Worlds Meet Year 12, Issue 3, March 2015
Also published in NCN News

Bucharest, Romania – “Betty” Chirila says that when she was growing up with an alcoholic and abusive father, she didn’t feel secure; she didn’t feel love. Fortunately, when she was 18, a young man she knew invited her to church. What if a different guy had invited her somewhere else? To his house, maybe? To meet a “friend”?

What if that guy sniffed out vulnerability and took advantage? And then he sold her to a pimp, tricking her into human trafficking, a trap from which she could not escape?

That didn’t happen.

Instead, although she identified herself as an atheist, she accepted the invitation to visit the Church of the Nazarene where everyone was cheerful and the youth group welcomed her with open arms. After attending regularly for a while, she accepted Christ in a youth camp and began singing in the church’s worship team. She went on to college, earned a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree in psychology.

Now, as a psychologist at the Open Door, an emergency shelter for human trafficking survivors in Bucharest, Betty can empathize with the girls who come there to escape the hopeless black hole of sexual slavery. Like them, she remembers a childhood without the nurturing, safe feelings of being loved by one’s family. Although her life took a different course, the women and girls can sense her compassion informed by experience.

She was invited to join the staff by Monica, the Nazarene who founded the nonprofit shelter. The young man, Simi, who initially invited her to church, is an administrator at the shelter.

It’s the most fulfilling work Betty could have imagined. “[The women are] not confident in themselves and that’s one of the things that made them vulnerable for trafficking,” she says. “When they start to feel that they’re loved and when you start to give them attention, they are starting to open themselves like a flower, like a tulip.”

Betty has worked with about 30 survivors over the course of her time at Open Door. Normally there is only space for a handful to live at the shelter at any one time. The government brings the rescued survivors to the shelter, where Monica’s team takes over in caring for them and providing rehabilitative activities, such as teaching them to cook, manage money, shop and clean house.

She also helps them work out a plan to finish high school if they didn’t graduate, as well as to find companies who will interview and potentially hire them for jobs. The intent is to shape in the women a new healthy self-awareness and teach them to interact in healthy ways with others, as they become independent and re-enter society.

“They have no idea how to live, how to cook or clean or how to wash their clothes,” she says. “They depend on people. We’re trying to teach them how to live by themselves. It’s pretty difficult because many of them got used to a negative lifestyle; it’s pretty hard for them to adjust to a positive lifestyle.”

The shelter houses each woman for about 18 months, but cases are assessed individually, and women can stay longer if the staff evaluates that they need more time. The shelter also offers nonresidential assistance to minors, currently working with 16 children.

After having been involved so closely with redemptive work among trafficking survivors, Betty is frustrated that she perceives many Christians are still blind to the staggering reach of human trafficking.

Teanna Sunberg, missionary in Hungary, reported in an Engage magazine article:

According to the International Labour Organization’s June 2012 Press Release, Central Europe and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Fields 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, according to an article (http://goo.gl/b81rwp)

“If we would have God’s eyes, we will see things the way God sees them,” Betty says. “You can close your eyes in front of reality. That doesn’t make the problem disappear. That makes you ignorant. Right now I don’t want to do anything else. If you can change a life, then you can say you accomplished the mission of the Lord. They need me. I hope one day we will get more people involved.”


Ask God to bless Betty and her ministry among women and children who have been enslaved and are now free; pray that the survivors would find complete healing and rest in Jesus’ arms, and for Betty to have strength for the work.

Romanian Nazarene Receives U.S. State Department Hero Distinction

by Gina Grate Pottenger
Where Worlds Meet - June 2014

Bucharest, Romania – 21 May, Monica Boseff, the Nazarene who founded and leads The Open Door Foundation, the only emergency shelter for sex trafficking victims in Romania, was honored with the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Hero distinction, an annual award that recognizes only 10 people worldwide who are committed to the fight against human trafficking.

The honor was presented to Boseff at the Romanian-American Foundation in Bucharest by Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of the U.S. vice president Joe Biden, in a short ceremony. Boseff will travel in mid-June to the United States to officially receive the Hero distinction in Washington, D.C. when the U.S. Department of State releases its annual report on global human trafficking.

Boseff told the media who were present that the distinction represented not just her own efforts, but also the work of the shelter’s residents and the staff who are dedicated to supporting them.

“Not for a split second have we done anything for any kind of award or recognition,” she said. “We’re giving our best. That’s everything we learned from Christ.”

Prior to the ceremony, Mrs. Biden and her team held an intimate 40-minute meeting with the shelter’s staff and the seven current female residents in a private location. The guests listened to the women’s stories before presenting the residents with personalized gifts, including signed notebooks and silver angel necklaces.

“It was just an exceptional time, very emotional,” Boseff said. “I wanted them [Mrs. Biden and her team] to know it’s them [the survivors] you need to focus on, they’re the real heroes.”

Boseff said that Biden was very gentle with the women at the shelter. “Our girls were thrilled, they felt like princesses.”

When the U.S. Department of State flies Boseff to the U.S. for two weeks in June, they will also send her to Cincinnati and Los Angeles to meet with government officials, journalists and directors and representatives of other similar shelters. The complete schedule is not yet available.

Monica Boseff of The Open Door Foundation and her staff and residents met with U.S. vice president Joe Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, in May. Pictured from left to right: Vicentiu Patrascan (guard), Betty Chirila (psychologist), Loredana Stanciu (social worker), Kim Vranceanu (board member and volunteer), Monica Boseff, Silvia Tabusca (law professor and advocate for human rights), Simi Cristea (administrator), Cristiana Stanciu (house management), Dan Cristea (guard) and Mirela Podoiu (lawyer).  Photo courtesy Vicentiu Patrascan

The Open Door Foundation began operations in 2013 and has so far supported 25 survivors. The majority of employees are Nazarene young people who attend the Bucharest Blessings Church of the Nazarene, where Boseff is the pastor’s wife. Today, they fill the roles of psychologist, administrator and security. And some of the survivors from the shelter have been integrated into the life of the church, participating in youth activities or singing in the worship team.

“When thinking about human trafficking, the easy thing is to stay overwhelmed by the magnitude of the issue and by how awful it is, and think that the church cannot make much of a difference,” said Jay Sunberg, field strategy coordinator for the Central Europe Field, of which Romania is a part. “This is not an option for Monica and the Bucharest Nazarenes. They get involved and begin to make a difference in the lives of dozens of people. It is amazing to see how the Bucharest Blessing church has embraced these people and to see how lives are being changed. What Monica and her staff face on a daily basis is not easy and we need to support them in much prayer.”

To learn more about Open Door, read the article about how the Bucharest Blessings Church is integrating trafficking survivors into the life of the church.

Please pray for safety, wisdom, compassion and financial support for the team at The Open Door Foundation in Bucharest, Romania, as they love the survivors of human trafficking who have sought refuge at the emergency shelter. Pray for God to use the Hero distinction to increase the team’s influence and voice against trafficking. Pray also for God’s hand of healing on the survivors.

Bucharest congregation integrates trafficking survivors into the life of the church

By Gina Grate Pottenger
Reprinted from Engage Magazine

Open Door – a shelter for trafficked young women in Romania – opened a year ago, through the leadership of Monica, a Nazarene church leader in Bucharest. The new shelter is currently home to five women in their 20s, all Romanian. The team is also assisting two others who aren’t living at the shelter. Monica would say that she’s learning as she goes along. But so far she’s already learned quite a bit.

We sat down with Monica to find out how the shelter works, what services are offered to the women, and most importantly, how the local Nazarene church is integrating these women into the life and love of the congregation.

Engage: How did you prepare the congregation to receive these women?

Monica: I’ve asked the church to pray for these girls months before we even opened the shelter. I told them the vision I had and I told them that I know that as a church we have so much to give these women. Initially they were very rejecting toward the idea of having them in the church. It wasn’t from everybody, it was from a small group of women. I challenged them but I know God was the one who turned their hearts around. Months later they came to me and said, “What can we do? How can we help?”

When they [the survivors] come to church, I’ll introduce them as, “This is my friend such and such.” And nothing else. There is a very small group of women in church that pray constantly … and [are] very trustworthy and they know these are the girls from the shelter and the main reason they know is they would pray more specifically for them and interact more specifically with them. Some may guess they’re from the shelter.

Engage: How do you invite the women to the church?

Monica: We tell them everybody here goes to church on Sunday and it’s not mandatory for them to go, but we would be more than happy to have them with us. We realize that God had prepared their hearts and minds even before they got to us because they all say the same thing: “Do you think I can come? Is it OK if I come?”

It has to be their own choice.

Engage: What kind of activities do you involve them with at the church?

Monica: When they come to prayer group on Wednesday night, this is when we split in small groups. Men have their own separate group.

Since they’re all in their early 20s we integrate them into the youth group as well. The youth group from our church has been very involved in the work at the shelter. Some are hired at the shelter, some are volunteers. The youth group are [age] 17-24. They take [the women] out to a movie or go eat together after church service on Sunday; they play games, they have a karaoke night.

[One young woman] helps pick music for youth night and sang in church at Christmas, and she wants to sing again.

Engage: What does the local church receive from integrating these women in the life of the church?

Monica: The greatest thing our church receives from them is their need to be loved and by this our church learns how to just love a broken person.  I’ve seen a lack of gossip and more sensibility. They’re much more sensitive to emotions than they used to [be] or feelings. And a lack of judgment. When this gal brought her testimony on Christmas day in church, they were all in pieces crying their eyes out.

Engage: What are some of the challenges you deal with in ministering to these women?

Monica: I told everybody to expect the unexpected. They live the life of lies, terror, manipulation. Are we surprised that they lie, or steal or break the rules?
God does discipline, but it’s still in a loving way, and so that is exactly what we’re trying with them.

They have been hardened by the punishments they got for looking the wrong direction or looking the right way or not guessing what the other person is thinking. I’m talking about physical torture, flogging. This girl, my daughter and I took her to see The Hunger Games [movie]. At some point one of the young guys [who] was up against the system is caught by the law enforcement guys and is being flogged. And just like that, she looked for a nest in me and said “Moni, I can’t look at that because that’s exactly what he was doing to me when he was flogging me.”

Engage: Your team has worked to help the women at your shelter find real jobs. What happened?

Monica: Starbucks agreed to be our partner, and they held up their side by interviewing three of our girls for jobs. When it was their first day to go to work, all three of them flipped out. We still don’t know why. We are trying to figure this out. We know they deal with feelings of failure, they say, “I’m no good, I’m a failure.” But it’s deeper than that and we’re trying to understand what’s going on.

Engage: Would you share the story of one of the young women at your shelter?

Monica: So far most of them -- the vast majority -- come from broken families; probably a higher number from rural areas, but broken dysfunctional families with at least one parent out of the picture.

We’ve had a case of a girl, she was a runaway, moved to another town, living on her own. She had a group of friends and they were all going out. She noticed night after night this guy watching her, not saying anything. Suddenly he approached her one night and said, “I’ve been looking at you. You’re so pretty. I got up the guts to come talk to you.” She opened up, they became good friends, they even kissed. He would call her every morning and say, “Did you eat breakfast?” By bedtime, he called and said, “Are you OK? Honey, sleep well. Don’t forget I love you.” For eight months, he bought her little trinkets.

Suddenly he offers her a job prospect as a babysitter. He even brings in a woman who told the girl she lives in the U.K., she has two little kids, here’s a picture. The girl trusts everybody 100 percent. This guy wasn’t even 18. He tells her, go with my friend [to the U.K.] and I’ll turn 18 in a few days, I’ll come after you.

She takes off with this other guy, they get to a hotel and they rent a room. She asks, “Why only one room? I’m expecting to see my boyfriend.” The guy says, “Are you serious? I just bought you for 5,000 Euros. You’re mine. He just sold you to me. He didn’t tell you this?” The entire universe collapsed within seconds. Then he says, “By the way, you start working tonight. Your first client comes in an hour.”

Engage: How can Christians get involved in this fight against slavery?

Monica: In order for us to find out about these cases, we need to build relationships with these people. As part of the church we can’t be spectators. We cannot be just observers. Contact people, make relationships, get involved.

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)

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

They Came to Love Jesus

By Gina Pottenger
Republished from Where Worlds Meet, Year 10, Issue 2, March 2013

When Cristi and Monica Boseff first met the Nazarene missionaries to Bucharest, Romania, in 1992, Cristi was convinced they were American spies.

The Boseffs had gone to meet the missionaries Jon and Margaret Scott, because Monica had been asked to serve as a translator for them. The Scotts shocked the Romanian couple by welcoming them into their home with hugs, smiles and friendliness unusual in that culture between strangers.

“I said, ‘Something is missing, because nobody is nice and polite with strangers, only if they need something from you,’” recalled Cristi. “When I suspected them of being American spies, I decided to catch them and I was very alert.”

Those who were raised under Communism developed a mistrust of others, even friends, Monica said.

“You definitely didn’t trust your neighbors, or not even some of your relatives,” Monica said. “You never knew who was an informer for the security.”

Despite Cristi’s objections, Monica agreed to translate for the couple, and over the next two months she was exposed to something she had never seen in anyone before – the love of Jesus Christ. She was so moved by what she felt around them that one day she told her husband, “I don’t care what you think, but I need my life to be changed. I really want to have what they have.”

In October 1992, she prayed with Margaret to receive Christ, beginning a long journey of transformation in the image of Jesus, and became part of the Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest which was just beginning to form at that time.

Cristi did not share her enthusiasm for her new faith, but did not discourage her. They’d gotten married after knowing one another just two weeks. When Monica became a Christian, they had only been married a few months.

In training to be a nurse, Monica received a scholarship in 1993 to study in Oklahoma, in the United States. The Scotts connected her with the Calvary Church of the Nazarene in Tulsa. They helped her through a difficult adjustment to American culture. And they helped to carry Monica’s burden for Cristi’s salvation.

“The most powerful lesson about prayer I learned in the church,” she said. “What I learned is that a whole church that has never seen this man knelt at the altar crying out for him Sunday after Sunday. I didn’t even have a picture of Cristi to show them. I would even get calls throughout the week [saying], ‘I’ve been praying for your husband.’”

God answered the church’s prayers through Cristi’s job in working part-time for the Scotts and their nonprofit organization.

“I was surprised because they started every working day with prayer. They eat together, they fasted together…. And I wanted to have what they have,” Cristi said.

Over time, God wrapped him up with love and mercy until he began going to church with them while Monica was out of the country. Over time, listening to the sermons and what was said at church, he gradually realized that he had come to love Jesus.

At Christmas, Monica’s mom called her and told her to sit down for some news. Then, her mother’s voice announced, “Cristi accepted Christ at church.”

The leaders of the Church of the Nazarene wanted Cristi to pursue theological education. It seemed they sensed a potential pastor in him. But Cristi was virulently opposed to entering studies. He had a list of excuses: he didn’t speak well in public; he stuttered; his memory was poor; he was too old to study and didn’t like it, anyway.

Then, eight years ago, Cristi was running out of excuses in face of an increasingly clear call from God. The pastor of the Blessing Church of the Nazarene in Bucharest had left, and Cristi needed to serve as a temporary leader. He did such a good job that the church officially asked him to be their pastor.

He came home and sat down with Monica and their two children. He asked his kids, “I need you to tell me if you think I should be the pastor of the church. If you think so… you’re in this with me, because this is not my ministry, it is not something I do. If we do it, we do it together.”

Their children looked up at him and told their father to “go for it.”

Cristi has been the pastor ever since. It’s tough for Nazarene churches in Romania. By law a church cannot be registered officially with the government until it has 10,000 members. But it’s difficult to get members without being seen as a legitimate, government-recognized organization.

So the church registered as the Nazarene Christian Evangelical Organization for Aid and Development. Compassionate ministries are a strong focus of the Blessing church, which is located in a poor community. The congregation has been steadily growing in recent years. In 2010, the church expanded the sanctuary and remodeled several rooms to accommodate the growth. They also built a tank for baptisms.

“We find that people are so open to hearing god’s plain and simple truth,” Monica said. “You would find 99 percent of the Romanian population says they’re believers – they believe in God and belong to religion and the church – but their life is messed up. We are still very high on abortions and extramarital relationships and sex before marriage.”

Monica said that she and Cristi are not trying to bring people to the church but to a relationship with Jesus Christ. She tries to live her life in a way that demonstrates becoming a Christian and joining an evangelical church doesn’t mean the end of fun or freedom in life.

“We laugh so hard together and we enjoy life so much together in a clean and nice way. They realize that in Christ you are full of life and joy and so they start to understand that belonging to a church is vital to your Christian life. And so meeting with some of my friends makes them say, ‘When do you have your service?’”

Also published in NCN News.