Romania Team Update #5
Good Shepherd church family,
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers while we are in the field. These last few days have been tough, fun, and emotional for all of us.
Thursday was our last day of English class, and it was a great end to a time where we grew closer to the students by serving them through teaching English. Thursday was also the day the labyrinth took place. The labyrinth is a great interactive way to clearly represent the gospel. It is often an emotional experience for the campers and provides an opportunity to pray with a Romanian leader or a member of our team. All of us team members were involved in the labyrinth—in the gospel presentation, prayer room, and the craft room—helping campers process what they had just experienced. You could tell the labyrinth helped soften hearts to the saving grace of Jesus. Many experienced giving their lives to Jesus for the first time and taking steps to grow closer to God.
On Friday, we had the opportunity to go on a hike with the students. During this time, we had fruitful conversations and talked about how the labyrinth affected them. The best sight on this hike was a lookout over a city in the mountainous region of Romania. There was a small place for prayer, with beautiful depictions of Jesus, the apostles, and others. On the way down the hill, we visited a 15th-century Orthodox monastery with paintings all over the central building that tell stories of the monastery’s history and biblical texts. There was so much rich history in that building.
When we returned to camp, we had a prayer and worship night that was just so much fun. Two of us Americans got to lead a few worship songs in English that the Romanian students love. It was a great time worshipping with the Romanians in both our language and theirs. Afterwards, many students wanted to be prayed over, so all of us leaders prayed over each student who came forward. Many were crying, and it was a powerful time, it was a privilege to be a part of.
We finished the night by staying up way too late for our own good. We had a bonfire going and sang worship songs together with a guitar. It was a great end to a very special and memorable camp.
– Dane Ruehrdanz and the Romania Team
