ROMANIAN CHAPEL PROJECT REPORT

by Jeffrey A.C. Burke,                                                                             Vol. X, No. 8, Sep/Oct 1997

Chairman of Deacons, Stevensburg Baptist Church, Culpeper

"Why not just send the money to build the chapels. It would be a whole lot more cost effective than sending a bunch of well intentioned, but unskilled Baptists to do the work." I have heard that said, and I have echoed those same sentiments myself. But God had been working with me on my attitude. And, when a quarter page ad appeared last fall in The Baptist Banner concerning the Romanian Chapel Project for 1997, I knew that God's plan was for me to be there.

Fresh from nearly twelve hours in the air, my first response is that every SBCV member who is physically able to go should go on a mission trip. After having been in Romania for two weeks my second response is that we should all make plans to go back to Romania. I don't know if all mission trips are this special ... but this one really was!

Rev. Ken Gooch, pastor of Warwick Baptist, (and also the Second Vice President of the SBCV) was our very able leader for the trip. After our pre-trip meeting some months ago at the International Mission Board office in Richmond, it was apparent that much prayer had already gone into the project. God had clearly hand picked the people that he wanted on this first SBCV mission trip. The trip went off without any major hitches, and God accomplished His purposes. Near the end of the trip, one of our team said that three wives of team members had been praying for months about the trip, and that EVERY prayer had been answered. There are no words to describe the emotions of standing in the front of the new chapel in Negreshti, Romania during the dedication service. The chapel was packed, and hundreds milled about outside, unable to get in for the service. The preaching, the singing, the music, and the fellowship that night was something that none of us will ever forget.

Not all of the blessings had to do directly with the chapel building. For one thing, it was humbling to me to be in the presence of Christians who had truly suffered for the sake of the gospel. One church we visited had been started in 1974 by a pastor who was subsequently martyred. Many church members spoke of being imprisoned because of their faith. Paul, a photographer, and a deacon in Negreshti who lives with his family in a one room home behind the new chapel is another example. He explained that he could not photograph weddings within the Orthodox church because he was a Baptist. This is a major hindrance to earning a living in a country where more than ninety percent of the population is Romanian Orthodox. I had the pleasure one day of walking the streets of Negreshti with Paul, witnessing, and inviting people to the chapel dedication. We visited the commercial area of the town, as well as going all through the local police department. Paul even took me to town hall where we went in every department passing out tracts and inviting everyone to the dedication. To my great surprise, we ended up in the vice mayor's office for 45 minutes where we spoke with the mayor and vice mayor about why the Americans were in town. I even got to question them about why Baptists had been mistreated recently. (We were told that there had been some organized rock throwing during the Jesus film shown on the chapel site shortly before construction began.) They assured me that it would not happen again! What a real example of God being in charge!

The defining moment for me of the whole trip occurred the day before the dedication. A woman came to the fence around the chapel and began to speak with some of the team. She indicated that she was a woman with three children and no husband. She and her children had been shunned by the Orthodox church. She had found some legitimate way to earn a living although the easy route would have been to become a prostitute. She said that her children had been coming home from the team-run Vacation Bible School singing Christian songs and quoting Bible verses. She said that she had been watching the team all week and was amazed at how well we all got along. In other words, she had noticed a difference in our lives. Then she said, "I want to be saved. I want to know Jesus." Some moments later when this lady prayed a prayer of conversion, it was amazing to see her entire countenance changed. The Bible says that there is much rejoicing in heaven over one saved sinner, and I can tell you that there was much rejoicing that day among our team members! She was a new person in Christ, and it was clear for the whole world to see. Had we simply sent over the money to build the chapel, one has to wonder whether this woman would have ever been saved.

Our hotel was in the larger town of Vaslui, about 45 minutes from the chapel job site in Negreshti. One of the added blessings for our team was that there was a huge square adjacent to our hotel where all of the young people came to hang out at night. All we had to do after dinner was go out and stand in the square and we had an instant audience. I have never in my life seen a place more receptive to the gospel message. It was apparent to all that there is a tremendous thirst for the gospel in Romania. Even the young people who were not open to the gospel were courteous and clearly were listening to what we had to say. One of our team, a street evangelist, made the comment that he saw more professions for Christ in a week in that square in Romania than he had seen in years of doing street ministry in Virginia Beach.

In a project such as this there is a lot of time spent on the bus. I cannot begin to tell you of the incredible fellowship that took place. It is always good to get outside our usual group of church friends to be challenged, encouraged, and stimulated from new perspectives. Different team members led devotions each night and at lunch time on the job site. Each devotion was special, heartfelt, and personal. It was exciting how God used people on the team to minister to others on the team in just the perfect way. The world would call this coincidence, but we know otherwise.

I had the special opportunity of rooming with one of our translators. This gave me the opportunity to get a first hand perspective from a young Romanian Christian. But I must say, all of our translators were a special blessing to everyone on the team. They all clearly went beyond the job description to minister, both to our team members and to the Romanians that we interacted with.

Lord willing, I hope to return to Romania next summer. My prayer is that six or more from our church will go with me. Begin praying where God can use you outside of your comfort zone.