‘In Germany there are people that love me!’

by Dorli Geschwandtner, Helping Hands
As posted on www.eurasianazarene.org, January 13, 2012

Gelnhausen, Germany - "I'm so happy! Miss Monica, I didn't know there are people in Germany that love me! Can you tell them 'thank you' for me?"

Albert, 9 years old, doesn't know if it's too good to be true. In his arms he's holding a Christmas parcel; it's so heavy that he can barely hold it.

"He was heavily traumatized when we met him," Monica Boseff, local Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) coordinator in Bucharest, explains. "His parents are divorced; when his mother remarried, she didn't want him anymore. Now he lives with his father, stepmother and grandmother in a small house. His father's salary is barely enough for basic necessities."

Albert is among many people in Bulgaria and Romania who are thrilled to receive boxes of donated clothes, shoes, linens, food and toys from Nazarene churches across Germany each year. Helping Hands Germany organizes an annual Christmas shipment that is divided among Nazarene churches, who distribute the aid goods to church attenders and needy people in their communities.

The Helping Hands Christmas transport that left Gelnhausen at the beginning of December 2011 included 9,000 kg or 61.5 m3 of aid goods (clothes, shoes, linen etc.) and Christmas parcels (food and toiletries) – more than 100 boxes above what was donated the previous year.

About two days later the shipment reached Bucharest where local church volunteers unloaded the boxes. NCM and Church of the Nazarene Romania distributed 200 Christmas boxes and relief supplies to elderly ladies and families with children in Bucharest as well as needy families in six surrounding villages. The other parcels and relief boxes were sent on to Sighisoara, Tigmandru, Viscri [in Romania] and Vidrare in Bulgaria, where they were given to children in a boarding school.

Standing next to Albert are Denisa and Sabrina. The sisters have come alone to pick up the parcels. Their mother has to work late hours to feed her family and also has to protect her children from the abusive father. The constant violence has left deep scars in the children's hearts. What an amazing difference the gifts from the Christmas transport make!

"They were so happy about everything they received," Boseff says, "about the food, the clothes and toys, the school supplies and shoes."

In their gift bags they found two pretty dresses and put them on right away. Now they are simply glowing with happiness. "No one at home is going to give us anything for Christmas," they say. "We want to thank all the good people that made us and our mom happy!"

In Romania and Bulgaria the Christmas boxes, household goods and school supplies cause great joy around Christmastime, but also meet a variety of urgent needs and relieve suffering.

"All these things – the food, the clothes, toys, shoes, toiletries and school supplies – those are things that many people here urgently need, but cannot buy for themselves. They would have not had them had it not been for you to send them!" Boseff writes. "A big ‘thank you’ to everybody involved in this for loving these kids, these elderly ladies and all the people they've helped so much by sending this container!"

Helping Hands Germany is a nonprofit compassionate ministry organization founded and operated by Nazarenes in Gelnhausen. The organization works closely with NCM International in holistic development projects and disaster relief, reaching more than 40 countries since it launched in 1992.

Although Helping Hands participates in various emergency relief efforts, the organization emphasizes long-term development projects, as “the mere distribution of relief items forces people into dependency,” according to its website, www.helpinghandsev.org/eng.

Those who want to get involved with Helping Hands can visit the website, which is in both German and English, send donations – both monetary and requested goods, stay informed about the ministry’s projects, and volunteer.

To learn more, visit www.helpinghandsev.org.

Women In Leadership - Tamara Hudson

By Gina Pottenger, Eurasia Region Communications
Published in Where Worlds Meet, December 2011

Rev. Tamara Hudson, a missionary serving in Romania with her husband, Michael, was appointed as the superintendent of the Romania District on 20 November, 2011. Prior to this new role, Hudson has been offering her experience and gifts to theological education, mentoring the district’s youth council and assisting with literature development.

She previously co-pastored the Nazarene church in Brampton, in Ontario, Canada, with Michael (2007 - 2009); before that, they served as missionaries in Albania for nine years (1996 - 2005) and Romania for two years (2005 - 2007.) They returned to Romania in 2009.

We talked with Rev. Hudson about her experience as a woman in ministry, both in her home culture and in the Eurasia Region.

Eurasia Communications:  Talk with us about God’s call on your life.

Hudson: When I was young, I grew up in a Christian family in a Nazarene family. My grandfather was my pastor growing up. We had missionaries coming to our house to stay with us and our whole life really was the church when I was young.

And then when I was 8, I realized that I wasn’t a Christian just because my family was a Christian, but I recognized that I needed to ask Jesus to be my personal Savior. When I was about 9, I felt like God was speaking to me, saying, “When you grow up you’re going to be a missionary.”

As I continued to grow older, the Lord continued to strengthen that call. And when I was a teenager, I had an experience of entire sanctification and just gave my life to the Lord; I felt like he was calling me to preach when I was 16. And so, just step by step, the Lord has been faithful to lead and to guide.

EC: As a 16-year old and being a woman called to preach, did you ever question that?

Hudson: Yes, definitely. As a teenager in the 1980s, feeling this call to preach … one leader I talked to said, “You know, that’s great. But maybe you should find a nice pastor to marry. You’ll make a good pastor’s wife.” That was devastating. I was kind of a shy teenager and not really outgoing and didn’t think that I could really do it. And then to have a leader say, “Well, maybe you should just become a pastor’s wife,” was pretty discouraging. So through the years I feel like the Lord has really had to make it clear to me that it was His call to preach and to become ordained. But I praise the Lord for the people in my life who have been encouraging influences.

When I went to university, I knew I was called to be a missionary. So I continued to follow the call to missions. I’m a registered nurse. I felt that it was important to have a skill, especially not being accepted [as a preacher]. I felt … if I did have a skill [beyond ministry] that I could go to some country [and] it would help to open doors.

EC: So as a missionary, what have your roles and responsibilities been?

Hudson: As missionaries we don’t pastor churches. We understand our call to be more like the equipping of Ephesians chapter 4. We do preach, but more than that we want to be training preachers and evangelists and missionaries.

EC: Do you anticipate any challenges in being a D.S.?

Hudson: No more so than if I were a man. There will be challenges for sure! I’ve just received nothing but positive affirmation from the other pastors and the people in the churches. I feel like the people in the Romanian Nazarene churches respect me as their servant. I would like my time in ministry here to be one of servanthood and just leading in love and humility.

EC: As a woman in leadership, how do you fit in with the surrounding societies you’ve been ministering in?

Hudson: When we lived in Albania it was a lot different. It’s interesting because during the Communist years, men and women were treated equally. They all did military service; they could have university education; they were government officials.

But then after Communism, going back to some of their traditional religions having a big influence in Albanian society, women weren’t so encouraged to take places of leadership, especially in the religious sphere of things. We just really feel that that’s one reason why the Church of the Nazarene maybe was in Albania -- to be that voice. There are several young women in Albania, and I really feel like the Lord was able to use me to encourage them in their call to ministry. Praise the Lord for that!

EC: Are those women now in ministry?

Hudson: Actually two of them; we were at Albania’s district assembly just two weekends ago, and two of them received their district licenses. One just finished the Spiritual Formation Certificate at EuNC and is continuing on with her studies. So they’re continuing to follow the call that God has put on their life. Really exciting that we got to go back after a few years and see that they’re continuing and they’re faithful.

EC: What are some important milestones on the Romania District?

Hudson: In 2006, we had one of the young women ordained as a deacon on our district, Magdalena Balaban. She is right now the only ordained Romanian on our district, and she’s also the district secretary.

[Relu Cristurean also answered a call to preach and is currently leading in the Sighişoara church.] That was such an answer to prayer, and I think that’s one of the milestones of our district that God is continuing to call a new generation of ministers for Him. And the restart of the theological education program here in Romania, again that’s just amazing. We need that. We need to put all our efforts and energies into it.

EC: What is your vision for the future of the Romania District?

Hudson: Well, this year I feel like we need to really focus on the basics of what it means to be a healthy church – our mission is to make Christlike disciples. Our role here in Romania is to tell others about Jesus and to help them grow in their relationship with Him. And so that carries over into everything that we do in our local churches, any of the district things that we do – it’s all with this focus of telling others about the Lord and then helping people to grow as disciples in Him.

This article was republished in NCN News.

Hudson appointed first female district superintendent in Europe

Tigmandru, Romania - Tamara Hudson became the first female district superintendent in Europe on November 19 when she was appointed superintendent of Romania at the Romania District Assembly in Tigmandru.

Europe is part of the Eurasia Region, which also includes India and a portion of central Asia. There are now three female district superintendents on the region as a whole.

Jay Sunberg, strategy coordinator for the newly consolidated Central Europe Field, officiated at the assembly.

The Central Europe Field includes Hungary, Poland, and Scandinavia, along with the current districts in Southeastern Europe, Albania, Kosovo, Croatia, and Romania.

Sunberg served as Romania D.S. for the past three years.

Prior to this new role, Hudson was offering her experience and gifts to theological education, mentoring the district’s youth council, and assisting with literature development.

She previously co-pastored the Nazarene church in Brampton, Ontario, Canada (2007 - 2009), with her husband, Michael; before that, they served as missionaries in Albania for nine years (1996 - 2005) and Romania for two years (2005 - 2007).They returned to Romania in 2009.

Tamara Hudson was called to preach at age 16. She was ordained on the Canada Central District in 2006 and graduated from Brock University. She and Michael have three children, Julia, Elena, and Emily.

"This year I feel like we need to really focus on the basics of what it means to be a healthy church – our mission is to make Christlike disciples," Hudson told Eurasia Region Communications of her vision for the Romania District. "Our role here in Romania is to tell others about Jesus and to help them grow in their relationship with Him. And so that carries over into everything that we do in our local churches, any of the district things that we do – it’s all with this focus of telling others about the Lord and then helping people to grow as disciples in Him."

Note: The full Eurasia Region Communications interview with Hudson will appear in an upcoming NCN News series focusing on women in leadership.

From NCN News, Thursday, December 15, 2011

Giving Tradition: Churches in Germany give to special projects

The Helping Hands Christmas project ministers to Nazarenes and
their communities in Romania. This year the Germany District
assembled 650 boxes of household items and 583 Christmas
boxes filled with food and treats for families. Photo courtesy Roberta Bustin.

By Gina Pottenger
Eurasia Region Communications
Where Worlds Meet, December 2011

Gelnhausen, Germany -- Several Nazarenes were chatting at prayer meeting on a Wednesday night in Romania. One man complimented the other’s sweater.

“Oh, this is from Gelnhausen.” “This is from Gelnhausen, too,” piped in another, proudly fingering a shirt.

“Well, I like this Gelnhausen fashion,” the first man joked.

The clothes they referred to came from the used clothes, linens and shoes collected each year by churches throughout the Germany District for the Helping Hands Christmas project to minister to Nazarenes and their communities in Romania.

The 650 banana boxes of household items collected this year is being shipped this week from the collection point in Gelnhausen to the Nazarene church in Bucharest, Romania, for unloading and distribution. The district also assembled 583 Christmas boxes, each filled with food and treats, including tea, coffee, pasta and rice, toiletries, chocolate and sweets. Several boxes of school
supplies were also included.

The delivery truck will arrive in Bucharest on 12 December.

The German churches increase the number of packages they give by involving their communities. For instance, the Gelnhausen church advertised the project in the local newspaper, and the Büsingen church invited attendees at its weekly English class to contribute.

“We actually got about 50 boxes that way this year,” said Dorli Gschwandtner, who is responsible for project management and public relations for Helping Hands. “Last year it was only six, so we’re quite excited about this development.”

The Bucharest church plans to divide up the care packages
among the Nazarene churches in Sighisoara, Tigmandru
and Viscri. Photo courtesy Boseff family, 2010.

The Bucharest church plans to divide up the packages among the Nazarene churches in Sighişoara, Ţigmandru and Viscri, said Rev. Tamara Hudson, district superintendent. The church members share them with people in their communities who inhabit difficult living conditions with little to no income, such as children in the child sponsorship program, elderly people in Saint Luke Hospital in Bucharest and the Elderly Club in Sighişoara. The packages are also distributed through the Veritas Family Centre, an NCM center in Sighişoara.

Those attending the Bucharest church’s Wednesday night prayer meeting have been praying for weeks over the shipment, and asking God to use them to touch others with the gifts.

“What a blessing this is to the people of Romania!” Hudson said. “Not only are people blessed materially, but the believers here have the opportunity to serve and share in ways that would not be possible without the help of the German brothers and sisters.”

This year some boxes will also go to the Nazarene church in Bulgaria for distribution in the Vidrare area, she added.

The people leading this project are Elke Tengler, office manager of Helping Hands, Germany, and Monica Boseff, local NCM coordinator in Bucharest.

The Answer Stood On His Doorstep

The following story, written by Gina Grate Pottenger, appeared in Engage Magazine:


Sighişoara, Romania – Relu Cristurean clearly remembers the night he called out to a God he didn’t know.

Walking home alone from a disco, he noticed how clear the night-time Romanian sky was. You could see every star. He walked with his head tilted back so he could take in the vast, sparkling dome.

“God, you know what? I know you exist. I know you’re there somewhere and I know you can hear me now,” he recalls saying.

“I was just talking out loud, ‘cause nobody was [around],” he added. “And I said, ‘You know, I think something’s wrong with my life. It’s not what it’s supposed to be. Something is missing. This is not [a] good life. So, if you have something else for me, please lead me or send someone to me so I know that’s the way.’”

Afterward, the 20something young man continued with his lifestyle of working, smoking, drinking and having fun.

Several weeks later, the answer to his midnight question stood on his doorstep.
 
An old schoolmate, Claudiu, showed up for an unexpected visit. Relu had always liked the young man, and always sensed something different about him.

The friends had dinner and spent the weekend catching up on life. Relu enjoyed it so much he asked if he could in turn visit Claudiu and stay with him for a short time. The young man eagerly agreed.

The first night at Claudiu’s town, he surprised Relu by taking him to a Church of the Nazarene.

In some Eastern European countries, evangelicals are viewed as cults and looked on with suspicion. As a result, Relu was skeptical about the experience. He observed the people singing on the stage and listened to the sermon. Every time he tried to question his friend, Claudiu said, “Just listen.”

In Romania, where more than 80 percent of the population claim membership in the Romanian Orthodox Church, part of the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity, Relu and almost everyone he knew already considered themselves to be Christians. He described the popular image of evangelicals as boring, singing slow, plodding music, adhering to too many rules and so conservative in their dress as to be marginalized from mainstream culture.

“Here, the songs were alive, or had rhythm,” he said. “And then the sermon … was so different, I said ‘Whoa.’ And I can understand what was said there.”

After the service, Relu demanded Claudiu tell him more about these “strange” Christians who call themselves Nazarenes.

Claudiu and another former classmate later took him to a Youth With a Mission service, where Relu realized he enjoyed these meetings. A man shared his testimony of how God called him from a life as a rock singer and changed him and now he was a missionary.

Relu was amazed.

“Is this God? It’s not the God I knew and not … that image of God I had before,” he thought.

When the speaker invited people to come forward for prayer to accept Christ, Relu wanted to invite Christ into his life, but didn’t have the courage to move to the front. Instead, he prayed silently in his seat.

“Something happened then,” he said. “I felt like something was lifting up, lifted off me. You know that feeling, like, ‘Whew.’” Relu sang to himself all the way home.

Not long after, an English missionary arrived with a vision to build houses for poor people in the community, working with a Nazarene-founded compassionate ministry called Veritas. Relu offered to provide translation services for the summer. When the ministry team went to a community to build, they also shared the Gospel. The man gave Relu a book with Bible stories and asked him to explain the stories to the local children.

Afterward, Relu applied to and attended a small Bible school to deepen his faith and relationship with God. For the next seven years, he continued working with Veritas; in 2003 he married Oana, whom he met in his local Nazarene church.

In 2008, during a Southeast Europe Field (now the Central Europe Field) conference, he became aware that God was calling him to full-time ministry. He realized he’d been resisting the call for several years.

“I’m a practical guy, I can work with my hands,” was his protest to God. “’Lord, you already gave me this gift, this way of serving you. I’m involved. I am the guy who’s in the back somewhere just making things work. You don’t need this ministry of pastoring or leadership.’ I was scared of leadership.”

Relu was in a losing battle, because what he didn’t know was that Roberta Bustin had been praying for Relu to hear and accept God’s call. As pastor of the Sighişoara Church of the Nazarene, Roberta had been working closely with Relu.

“I really prayed that this would be the time – at this conference – when he would recognize and affirm his call, if indeed God was calling him,” she said.

God persisted with Relu over the five days of the conference. On the final day, during a time of open testimonies, a district superintendent asked, “Is there anyone who felt God’s calling for ministry for being a pastor?”

“At that moment the chair was burning,” Relu joked. “And I said, ‘OK, this is it.’”

He stood and publicly announced that God was calling him to ministry, and now he was willing to make himself available.

“I will be your feet. I will be your hands. I want to be your mouth,” he recalled saying. “But you have to do everything. You have to teach me step by step, you lead me.”

Roberta burst into tears.

“I don’t show my emotions much, but that night I cried and cried,” she recalled.

From that point, she began mentoring him. Although he was terrified of public speaking and had no formal training in preaching or teaching, he sweated and trembled through his first sermon. Through repeated preaching, he gradually gained confidence.

“I’m so amazed by God’s faithful and grace and love,” he said. “I have to prepare a sermon, and I pray, ‘Lord, what do you want me to tell to your people?’ I read through the Bible and sometimes some passage comes alive and I can only explain how it works but the words and the story and everything becomes alive and I can see the full picture, I can see the message.”

Relu takes turns with Roberta on preaching, and also has led Bible study groups. He’s taking courses through European Nazarene College, and recently his wife, who teaches children’s Sunday School, began taking courses, as well.

“Throughout the years I have witnessed the miraculous ‘hand-work’ of the Lord in Relu’s life,” said Magda Balaban, who served the church alongside Relu for several years. “Because of his strong Christian character, wise and balanced thinking, as well as real approach to life, I believe he could and will influence the lives of many in Sighişoara.”

District Assembly Highlights

The annual Romania District Assembly was held Saturday, November 19, 2011, in at the Țigmandru Church of the Nazarene. If you think a district assembly is just about listening to reports and voting for church officers, then you really should have attended this district assembly. Yes, we had our share of official business, but the entire assembly was a celebration of what God has done this past year and what He is leading us to do as a district in the coming year. It was indeed a very special day for all involved.

One of the most important changes at district assembly was installing Rev. Tamara Hudson, Nazarene missionary serving Romania, as the new district superintendent. Jay Sunberg, who serves as field strategy coordinator of the Central Europe field has also been filling the role of Romania district superintendent for the past 3 years. Tamara, her husband Michael, and their 3 daughters live in Bucharest. (Photo: Jay Sunberg, left, prays for Tamara, center, and Michael, right)

Another highlight of the assembly was that Antonie Holleman, dean of European Nazarene College, presented Cristi Boseff and Dan Cristea (pictured right), both district licensed ministers in Romania, with the Certificate of Spiritual Formation. This marks that these two men have reached the final level of their studies in theological education in preparation for ordination in the Church of the Nazarene.

Before the assembly began, Antonie met with all EuNC students in Romania to explain changes taking place at EuNC – most notably the absence of campus students in Buesingen (read more here). With all EuNC learning now happening in learning centers throughout Europe and the former Soviet Union, the administration can take more time to develop consistent quality education for students in these learning centers.

One very special moment during the assembly was a surprise tribute to Dorothy Tarrant, complete with a special slide show and a cake. Tarrant has served full-time in Romania since 1994 as a Nazarene tentmaker missionary, teaching semester-abroad American students in the Romanian Studies Program and as the founding director of Veritas, the NCM partner organization in Sighisoara. Tarrant, ENC professor emerita, plans in the near future to take the next step of her retirement by returning to Scotland to be close to family.


As we enter a new church year, please pray with us for the development of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania: following:

• For the local churches in Bucharest, Sighisoara, and Tigmandru.
• For planting new churches in the near future.
• For development of discipleship ministries and lay training
• For ongoing development of theological education through EuNC in Romania
• For Veritas, the NCM center in Sighisoara.

Relationships in Ministry: Men's Group

Written by Jonathan Phillips for NMI Adult Mission Education

When I agreed to lead the men’s Bible study in Țigmandru, Romania, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. I had sat in weekly church services with the few men who attend the church, but I didn’t know much about them beyond their first names and that they were eager for me to lead a men’s Bible study group for them. I realized early on that for a Bible study to be applicable for these men, I would need to build relationships with them before I could focus on them learning and mastering biblical content.

It didn’t take long before I started to learn about them. Each of the 4 young men who attend the Bible study is married and has young children at home. None of them has finished high school, and they all struggle to make ends meet – being hired for just a few days or weeks on occasional or seasonal jobs. Why does this matter if I’m leading a Bible study? It means I understand when they come late from work, because I know having income to feed their families is important. It also means that I don’t forget my seminary education, but rather use it to structure each lesson in a way that it can involve both the literate and illiterate among them, applying the Bible to their lives.

I don’t know where to begin to describe the side effects of such a relational approach to ministry. First, trust is built. They trust me and I trust them. I don’t see them simply as objects to be taught, but as people who need to understand God’s Word in a way that makes sense to them. Second, with this foundation, mastering content comes easily. These young men have already successfully completed the Continuing Lay Training exam for the Pentateuch. They not only understand the content, but understand how to apply it to their lives. Finally, while being a blessing to others, I’ve been blessed myself. What I thought was going to be my ministry to them turned out to be a way for us to mutually minister to one another.