Romania Mission Trip - 2019
Last summer, the school board discussed our desire to start an annual international missions opportunity for our high school students and it seemed like nothing more than a distant dream. There were so many questions to answer before we could make it a reality. Where do we go? What is our mission? Will anyone want to go? How will we pay for it? How will we organize it? Although the questions were daunting, the school board and school administrators were united in our belief that an international missions focus with an opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to experience first-hand a world-reality that is very different from life in America would be a meaningful component of a Christian education, and one that should be part of Modesto Christian High School. With the nod from the school board, we set out to answer all those questions. Where? What? Who? and How? God provided the answers to all of these questions by first providing a local internationally focused missions organization to help us plan every step.
The "Where" ended up being Romania, a country with a tortured history of being over-run for centuries. In recent history Romania was a country torn apart in both World Wars, and after WWII found itself a puppet of the communist regime of the Soviet Union. In 1989 with the fall of communism in full swing, Romania had a revolution and became a democratic self-governed country for the first time in centuries. After the fall of communism, the gut-wrenching reality of abandoned children in Romania came to light. Many thousands of orphaned children were abandoned by the former government which created a signifficant humanitarian crisis. Many world-wide mission organizations teamed together, including Ripon's Assist International, to help make a difference in Romania. Fast forward 30 years to today, Romania is in a much better place, but the country still has an ongoing orphaned-children problem.
The "What" became an opportunity to spend time with dozens of orphaned children who are today experiencing new hope by living in large Christian family-homes in 2 cities in Romania (Timisoara and Oradea). In Timisoara we were also able to participate in a daily feeding program called "The Manna Project" for the elderly and poverty stricken families. In Oradea we were able to spend a full day putting a new tile roof on a large multipurpose outbuilding used by the family-homes that had been damaged by fire a few months earlier.
Last summer, the school board discussed our desire to start an annual international missions opportunity for our high school students and it seemed like nothing more than a distant dream. There were so many questions to answer before we could make it a reality. Where do we go? What is our mission? Will anyone want to go? How will we pay for it? How will we organize it? Although the questions were daunting, the school board and school administrators were united in our belief that an international missions focus with an opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to experience first-hand a world-reality that is very different from life in America would be a meaningful component of a Christian education, and one that should be part of Modesto Christian High School. With the nod from the school board, we set out to answer all those questions. Where? What? Who? and How? God provided the answers to all of these questions by first providing a local internationally focused missions organization to help us plan every step.
The "Where" ended up being Romania, a country with a tortured history of being over-run for centuries. In recent history Romania was a country torn apart in both World Wars, and after WWII found itself a puppet of the communist regime of the Soviet Union. In 1989 with the fall of communism in full swing, Romania had a revolution and became a democratic self-governed country for the first time in centuries. After the fall of communism, the gut-wrenching reality of abandoned children in Romania came to light. Many thousands of orphaned children were abandoned by the former government which created a signifficant humanitarian crisis. Many world-wide mission organizations teamed together, including Ripon's Assist International, to help make a difference in Romania. Fast forward 30 years to today, Romania is in a much better place, but the country still has an ongoing orphaned-children problem.
The "What" became an opportunity to spend time with dozens of orphaned children who are today experiencing new hope by living in large Christian family-homes in 2 cities in Romania (Timisoara and Oradea). In Timisoara we were also able to participate in a daily feeding program called "The Manna Project" for the elderly and poverty stricken families. In Oradea we were able to spend a full day putting a new tile roof on a large multipurpose outbuilding used by the family-homes that had been damaged by fire a few months earlier.
The "Who" ended up being 4 awesome Juniors: Seth Gallo, Natalie Burton, David Zepeda, and Ani Villanueva, accompanied by me and my adventurous wife Lisa as team leaders. Please click on the student's name to read more of their experiences.
The "How" ended up being - as usual - GOD PROVIDED! Last August it was not possible for us to see what God would make possible...but He did make a way and it was a great experience!
From my perspective, the trip was a true blessing to Lisa and me. Although we were told many times during and after the trip by people we visited what a blessing our MC kids were to those they interacted with, Lisa and I feel like our team are the fortunate ones. As Lisa has said numerous times since we returned home, "those kids we spent time with are still tugging at my heart!". God showed all of us that He does provide, and part of that provision includes us to use our hands and feet to go out into the world to be His hands and feet. I think our entire team now feels that tug on our hearts, and my prayer is that more MCHS students can experience this heart-tug for missions in the years to come!
The "How" ended up being - as usual - GOD PROVIDED! Last August it was not possible for us to see what God would make possible...but He did make a way and it was a great experience!
From my perspective, the trip was a true blessing to Lisa and me. Although we were told many times during and after the trip by people we visited what a blessing our MC kids were to those they interacted with, Lisa and I feel like our team are the fortunate ones. As Lisa has said numerous times since we returned home, "those kids we spent time with are still tugging at my heart!". God showed all of us that He does provide, and part of that provision includes us to use our hands and feet to go out into the world to be His hands and feet. I think our entire team now feels that tug on our hearts, and my prayer is that more MCHS students can experience this heart-tug for missions in the years to come!