VBS - Vacation Bible School at Tigmandru Church of the Nazarene

By Paula Creely
Originally posted at paulacreely.blogspot.com

The VBS began with shopping for supplies. I praise God for the NMI Philadelphia District and Hershey Church of the Nazarene for giving $500 towards this 5 day camp.

Pastor Roxana Cini, who is my sister-in-law is the children pastors at Tigmandru Church of the Nazarene, Romania. God has given her a true gift with children. She not only loves the children in the village but she cares so much that they know about God and His love for them. Along side of her, we organized in detail the VBS.

We began on Wednesday morning at Tigmandru Church of the Nazarene and ended on Sunday morning after the service. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the program started at 10 am- 12 noon. We had four stations: Story lead by Pastor Magda ( Lead Pastor of the Tigmandru Church), Crafts lead by Pastor Roxana, Games lead by me and Food served by four lay ladies in the church. The food was amazing, each day Pastor Roxana and Pastor Magda made delicious soup that the kids love. It was hot meal which means, for some children this was the only hot meal they received that day.

We had 105 children during the week and around 60 on Sunday morning during the service.

Each morning we began with songs, prayer and scripture and 7 teens from youth group help each day being crew leaders for the groups of kids.
We focus teaching the kids about Jesus. His love for children, His sacrifice on the cross for us and how to continue to stay near Him each day.
Saturday all the children came back for a picnic, games and practice for Sunday morning service songs. They had a blast.

 
We had 105 children during the week and around 60 on Sunday morning during the service. On Sunday morning, the parents where invited to attend the service and see their children sing 3 songs, after we had balloon games and giant bubbles. I thank God for Child Sponsorship Funds for buying goodies to give each child at the end. It was a fun, exciting and spirit filled VBS.

The special thing about this years VBS was that it was in partnership with the Philadelphia District and for the first time the parents and the kids attended Sunday morning service. The following Sunday some of the same parents came back to church.

 

The Pre-K and Kindergarten Group

Craft time

Game time

Raising their hand to tell scripture

Pastor Roxana Cini

Delicious homemade soup

Practice for Sunday Morning service

Intro of each VBS day

Our Teens are leading the children into songs

Waiting to go to another station

Games

Leaving the church with a sweet snack at the end of the day

Ukranian refugees arrive at Veritas

Originally Published in Veritas View Newsletter, Spring 2022

On April 13 four refugees from Ukraine arrived at the Veritas Family Center. Casey Bloom, Nazarene missionary who is coordinating Veritas’ involvement with refugees, welcomed our guests. Staff had just finished preparing rooms in the historic building for this purpose when the call came that a man and three women would be arriving the next day. Two bedrooms, a kitchen, a large living/dining room and office spaces are available for the refugees. At the time of writing this newsletter, our experience with hosting refugees is brand new. We don’t know if guests will stay a week or a month, or how many we may host. Check our Facebook page and monthly emails for updates.

Pictured: Jan Hockensmith Laun and George Laun, visitors from the US, helped make the refugees feel welcome.

Veritas Board President Announces Retirement

Sheri Hartzler (with her husband Jay) came to Veritas for the first time in 2013 to spend one year. Nine years later, after living in Sighisoara nine months of most of these years, they are retiring and returning home to Virginia in June. Now in their early 70s, Sheri and Jay say they have been privileged to live and work in the Sighisoara and Tigmandru communities during the first years of their retirement. 

At Veritas Sheri was involved in a myriad of activities: writing newsletters, emails and Facebook posts; managing the Veritas website; organizing clothing donations and distribution; organizing schedules for visiting work teams; working closely with Petra and the Leadership Team in making decisions for the Foundation and serving as President of the Veritas board for the past three years. 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24) Petra Popa says this verse came to mind as she thought about Sheri's time at Veritas over the years. 

She commented, “Sheri was a great example of serving others in many different ways: teaching, carrying boxes, singing, encouraging people, preparing special devotional and celebration times, organizing cabinets, rooms, and even buildings, offering professional advice, being the engine for any action, and coming up with more than one solution for any problem. For all of these, I am so grateful. I feel privileged to have a friend like Sheri and a coworker in building God’s kingdom.” 

Sheri recalled, “I've received more than I've given during my time here in Romania and will always treasure the friendships and memories I have made.”

With Sheri's retirement, Jonathan Phillips has been elected as the new Veritas Board Chair. Jonathan has been involved in Romanian culture since his early days as a student in the Romanian Studies Program in 2001. He is a district superintendent for the Church of the Nazarene in Romania, fluent in Romanian and enthusiastic about serving the community in his new position.

This article was originally published in the Spring 2022 edition of the "Veritas View" newsletter, available at this link.

Dorothy Tarrant honored by British Government

Dorothy Tarrant, founder of Veritas, has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for her work developing the Veritas Foundation and the Romanian Studies Program. The MBE is awarded for an outstanding achievement or service to the community which has had a long-term, significant impact.

In 1993 Lynn Powers, an experienced social worker, came to Romania to help supervise students in the Romanian Studies Program (RSP) who were caring for toddlers in Bucharest’s Orphanage Number 1. During her time here Lynn was moved to begin the lengthy procedures for adopting a little boy from the orphanage. She named him Joshua. Now a grown man, Josh wanted to recognize Dorothy’s work because of the huge influence it had on his life. In 2018 he asked others to join him in writing letters of recommendation and he sent these to the British government.

Four years later, Dorothy received a letter saying she was selected to receive this honor. At some point Dorothy will be invited to one of the royal palaces to receive her MBE Medal from either Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles or another member of the royal family. 

Congratulations, Dorothy! We are grateful for the vision and the work that went into creating RSP and the Veritas Foundation. Hundreds of students have been impacted by the Romanian Studies Program, and Veritas continues the work that Dorothy began. Her actions created a legacy that inspired others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. Thank you!

This article was originally published in the Spring 2022 edition of the "Veritas View" newsletter, available at this link.

Gerald "Jerry" Manker (1936-2022)

Jerry Manker served as district superintendent of Romania from 2002-2005. 

Opportunities Wednesday: Wood Shop Manager in Romania

Is God calling you to use your woodworking skills to serve in holistic community ministry in Romania?

The church in Romania is committed to serving in a holistic ways to meet physical as well as spiritual needs. In the small community of Tigmandru, the Church of the Nazarene has served as a beacon of hope and learning for more than 10 years in an area with few opportunities. The way the church extends itself to meet the needs of the community has served as a powerful witness to the God who cares about meeting our daily needs.

The woodshop is an established outreach to provide job training and small business work opportunities those who would like to learn wood-working skills. However, there is a current need for a full-time manager to offer technical training and oversight for the woodshop.

Responsibilities:

• Train those interested in learning wood-working skills
• Provide daily oversight of the woodshop
• Participate in the evangelism and outreach ministry of the Tigmandru church

Requirements:

• Experience and skill in carpentry and furniture making
• Micro enterprise skills
• Good relational skills
• Teaching abilities
• Evangelism and outreach experience
• Administration and organizational skill

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

NMI Central

Originally Posted at NMI Central (formerly "Prayer Mobilization Line") - 23 March 2022

Romania

The Church of the Nazarene began work in Romania in 1992. There are compassionate ministry projects, including partnerships with educational and social work to children, small businesses providing jobs, and partnership with ministry to trafficking survivors. One challenge the church in Romania faces is ministering in a traditional culture where Protestants generally are not viewed positively. The official language of Romania is Romanian with a very diverse age range within its population.

Prayer

• Pray for the churches responding in the midst of the Ukraine crisis.
• Pray for our established Nazarene churches in Romania as they continue to minister in their local communities.
• Pray for our national pastors, their families, and our mission team members as they disciple new leaders, plant churches, and share Christ with passion and conviction.
• Pray for strength and resources for compassionate ministry workers serving marginalized groups: survivors of human trafficking, neglected children, those with special needs, the elderly, and the poor.

Praise

• We thank God for the missionaries serving in Romania and the work they continue to do.
• We thank God for a global church that comes together to support each other in crisis.
• We thank God for the 5 Romanians who have been approved for ordination as elders at our next district assembly.

NMI Snapshot

Nazarenes Partner with Businesses and Organizations to Support Refugees in Romania: A Firsthand Report from Romania: Click here to read this story.

Could you serve in Romania?
Is God calling you to use your woodworking skills to serve in holistic community ministry in Romania? Click here to learn more.