It's conference week in Romania! We currently have a team leading a women's conference at Impact Church in Oradea and next week a new team will come in to put on a leadership conference at the Bible college. Each team is taking time to connect with RTC churches and participate in outreach alongside longstanding partners. Mission teams bring an energy and encouragement that is a blessing for us and for many whom we serve.
Board member, Ashley LaBar was the keynote speaker for night 1 with Impact pastor's wife, Flori Galiger, translating.
Take a moment to read this update from team member Vicki Kicinski who shares about the process for her leading up to the trip and her first couple days of travel:
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I received an invitation from Gerri Baker in early December to be part of this trip to Romania in April. I waited til the day of the deadline in January to finally say yes. God kept saying to me “Why not? Why wouldn’t you go?” So I finally listened and agreed. I’m so glad I did.
Our trip over went well. We prayed mightily over the luggage after stories of previous trips and luggage gone awry. All arrived with us including suitcases of supplies for our time in Romania and more cases eventually bound for Tanzania.
The trip really began for me on our flight to Frankfort as I listened from across the aisle as a fellow team member shared her faith story with the young couple sitting next to her. I marveled at how genuinely she did it and prayed for her and them as I eavesdropped. It was privilege.
We spent our first day exploring Budapest trying to stay awake to get adjusted to the new time. It’s a beautiful city. I must have done well staying awake because God granted me a deep sleep and I almost missed our meeting time in the lobby to leave for Oradea. I did miss breakfast.
The drive to Romania was spent getting to know each other better, sharing stories and hearing more about Remember the Children’s work and history. We visited Impact Church where we will be serving this weekend with the local women. We are excited to encourage and bless them as we all learn about being steadfast in our faith. In the coming days I will be working with the kids as their parents attend the conference. We also will be spending some time in a Roma community and visiting the children at House of Hope.
God is already binding us together and giving us many things to be grateful for. I am most grateful for the invitation and for the courage that He gave me to say yes and step outside my comfort zone.
Part of the team in the airport on their way to meet the rest of the crew
A post-session break out group