Timisoara

I'm writing from seat 7F on the plane headed to Vienna, the first leg on the journey home. This is really the first chance I've had to remark on Timisoara, and I'm only now collecting my thoughts on the trip as whole. A few more updates will surely follow this one.

We rolled into town about 7:00 on Saturday night, having reached Timisoara after a 3+ hour drive from Hunedoara County. While Timisoara wasn't exactly a shock to our system, it was readily apparent that we were back in the west again. The city lies just inside the western border of Romania and only a three-hour drive from Budapest, Hungary. It boasts the largest mall in Eastern Europe, several Romanian universities, and is the primary entry point to Romania from Western Europe. So, you can imagine how it looked to us after traversing the countryside for most of the week. The hairstyles were western, the clothes were nicer, the cars were newer, and the city itself was more modern and clean.

Timisoara is also the most progressive and prosperous city in Romania (though Bucharest probably has more total wealth), and that was visible in the building of Agape Church. The church has a great story, though they've struggled, too. Fifteen years ago, they began to build a large, really large, church on the corner of a vacant field at the edge of town. Since that time, a major bank has been built (four or five stories) almost abutting the church, many apartment buildings have risen, and that large mall has been completed directly across the street! This all makes for great exposure for the church, though it has brought some unwanted headaches as well.

The church building sits uncompleted, because the church ran out of money before they could complete it. It rises six stories with a huge red tile sloped roof and a tremendous prayer tower at the top. The auditorium seats 2500 now and could be expanded to 3000 if necessary. Because the building is essentially only rough concrete with electricity--no interior finishing--only summer services can be held inside. In the winter, the church crams all of the people back into their original building which seats maybe 300. You can imagine what that does to their attendance.

Upon our arrival, we met Florin Dorobant, an associate pastor at the church. He got us to our hotel--the nicest yet, by the way--and then took us on a short waling tour of the Revolution sites around the main square.

If you're not up on your Romanian history, here's your chance. In 1989, Ceausescu, or "the dictator" as everyone here refers to him, was ruling with an iron fist. However, in early December, a priest has begun preaching freedom from his apartment. He was arrested, released, placed on house arrest, etc., but he continued to preach from his window. Between the days of December 16-25, there was building unrest and riots in Timisoara. The military was called in, and upwards of 40 people were killed, many on the steps of the Orthodox Cathedral, which we visited, at the head of the main square. On the 22nd, it got so bad that Ceausescu flew from Bucharest and gave a speech from the Opera House. That was the final straw. Instead of quelling the revolution, it threw it wide open, and Ceausescu broke. He ended up fleeing Timisoara but was caught, tried, and executed with three days. Romania was free!

The Orthodox cathedral is beautiful, all lit up at night with a chill in the air. It was remarkable to stand on the steps and look 200 yards down the square to the opera house, knowing that I was standing where someone gave their life for freedom. We continue to walk down the square and saw the hotel and buildings that still bear scars from the bullets of tanks and military fire to scatter revolutionaries.

We stumbled to bed late and prepared ourselves for church on Sunday. In the midst of it all, I got a surprise. Dave and I were scheduled to deliver the morning message at House of Worship! Just the two of us, without Bruce. He was to be at Agape Church, and the sermon times overlapped. Gulp! Just a little nerve-wracking.

More to come...