When one has to get up at 3:30 in the morning to get to the airport in time to catch three flights across Europe and the Atlantic Ocean for twelve hours, it's a little tough to remember that the last week and a half have been life changing! I've known since the start of this trip that my last morning was going to be a toughie and start really early. Fortunately, I was able to block out that little bit of misery to enjoy my last day in Romania and in Timisoara.
After Dave and I finished at House of Worship yesterday, successfully conquering our test for substitute preacher, we were hustled back to Agape Church to rejoin Bruce and Florin as they finished up the service there. Agape was incredibly responsive to Bruce who was, as always, very fired up about his message of reformation! It was encouraging to see all the people who came up to him after church with questions. One was an especially key contact, though. Calin is a lawyer and trial attorney in Timisoara. He told Bruce that he doesn't typically attend Agape Church but just "happened" to be there yesterday. He has been waiting for years, apparently, for the reformation and Biblical worldview message to be preached in the churches of Romania and was thrilled that Bruce was there to deliver such a message. Cool! Calin, Bruce, and Dave are supposed to meet today to talk about further opportunities to work together. Exciting!
We said our sad goodbyes to Florin Suciu who was nothing less than a Godsend to us and then went to lunch with Florin Dorobant, the associate pastor, and his son. I had goulash, cucumber salad, and chicken cordon bleu. It was (too) filling and delicious!
In the afternoon, we had a couple hours to ourselves to re-walk the main square of Timisoara and see the revolution sites in the daylight. I got several pictures. We'll see...
We wrapped up our time in Romania with an absolutely perfect worship and communion service at Agape Church. On the first Sunday of every month, they have an evening service to serve communion. Last night happened to be the night. The worship was just what I needed. It really ministered to me after being away from my family and my church for two weeks. (I tried my best to sing it all in Romanian and finally started to wrap my brain and tongue around the pronunciation. Easy? No. Standard and without exceptions? Yes.) I really enjoyed singing some choruses I already knew and some that I didn't. God showed up for me in a powerful way.
The church ordered pizza for us after the service, and we spent about half an hour eating with the pastor's wife, a few associate pastors, and a few staff members. Very sweet people, and, of course, the video of Jonathan and Andrew was again a big hit! We got dropped off at the hotel by 9:00pm, very early for this trip, and I was out like a light by 10:00pm. Just what I needed for an early morning!
The trip is over, but, alas, the updates are not. I want to post one about initial impressions of Belarus. I know that this was my second trip there, but still. I also anticipate at least one update sharing my overall thoughts about what God did for our team and in me with the whole trip.
More to come...
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