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Greetings from Romania, dear friends!

     
     A request, first: please do not distribute this message nor the pictures, or place them online where accessible to anyone without a password. Thank you.

     Summer is almost gone (though it is an unusual September 1st, with 95 degrees outside), so it is time to bring you up to date with our ministry here. The country has been under a state of alertness for a few months, with a number of restrictions (though fewer than we had during the initial couple of months under the state of emergency), and it's probably going to continue like this for a while. After canceling church services in mid-March and doing pre-recorded videos of services, by mid-May we were allowed to gather outside. We did so for a couple of months, first standing up, then using chairs, but always juggling the times of meeting based on the weather forecast (see the first two pictures). By mid-July we moved inside, and now we hold two services in the morning and two in the afternoon/evening (3rd picture). It is good, though, having to preach twice in the morning and then lead two more evening services is way more tiring.
     The ministry at church is moving ahead. We are mid-way through a catechetical class in preparation for a baptism, which we hope to hold perhaps during the second half of October. Also, tomorrow I meet for the third time with a group of men for some training in biblical interpretation and ministry (four from our church, and four or five from the neighboring village-church; that congregation consists mostly of people from our church who moved a few miles closer to the city). I was hoping for at least 10 men from our church to be part of this group, so I am disappointed in that regard, but the Lord is sovereign. Some have to leave town for work, others don't think they need it, and others have placed themselves in 'the opposition'. Ana has resumed the Wednesday night Bible study, using the book ”Respectable Sins” by Jerry Bridges. We are also thinking about restarting the children's ministry once we see how the government handles the restart of the school year.
     At Timotheus university we finished the year online, though there was no graduation ceremony. I keep in touch with the students by e-mails and WhatsApp, especially as they need to send homework assignments. In a couple of weeks I will have a special Greek-session on Friday and Saturday in a different city. The school year for universities here starts at the end of September, and that is when we will hopefully be on campus again for a shorter session. Concerning writing, I just finished another article, on `Integrity and Freedom of Conscience` about two weeks ago - this is for a conference taking place at the Romanian Parliament in October, yet I wrote as a representative of Timotheus (along with a few others).
     The highlight of our summer was that Alex and Adora were finally able to come home on June 17 (the first day flights were actually allowed to come in). This was after changing their tickets 3 or 4 times. Because of coming from the States, they were placed in quarantine at home, so we spend two weeks in the house and out in the garden (not allowed outside of the property). Police came every day to check on us and make sure we were all here! I know not everyone has the same attitude toward this pandemic - but this puzzled me: people coming from the States into Germany (on the same plane with Alex and Adora) were not placed in quarantine in Germany; others, from Germany and other places coming into Romania on the same flight with our children, were not placed in quarantine in Romania, unless their trip originated in the States, or in a few other countries - yet, they all traveled from Germany to Romania together! Then, we all got in the car, and theoretically could have stopped in 10 places on our 4-hour drive home, and could have interacted with any number of people (which we did not!) ... Got home that evening, had to call the family doctor to let her know we arrived, and the next morning the police were at our gate (not to arrest anyone, just to check we were all behaving!). 
     Anyway, it was fun being quarantined together. We worked on a couple of projects inside the house and in the garden, read some stuff together and discussed it, and answered the rolll call when the police showed up (some days in the morning, others in the afternoon). I was also busy at the same time with a number of online sessions for Timotheus, and some church issues.
     After we got out of quarantine, we were able to be in church together, with Alex and Adora helping lead worship through singing every Sunday we were able to attend (4th picture; Alex on the guitar and Adora on the piano); drive down to Greece for a time of relaxation and visiting some spots where the apostle Paul had gone; and, spend some time with grandparents and family here in town (in the 5th and 6th pics Alex and Adora are making donuts with their grandma). Time went by very fast, and they had to return earlier (last picture), so we had to switch their tickets again. Ironically, it wasn't only the Romanians quarantining the Americans coming in; the Americans decided to do it as well to everyone returning to the States! So, Alex and Adora ended up being quarantined for another two weeks, at school this time (except there were no police checking on them, just the resident hall director); this was prior to starting school. So, if one returned from a "Covid hotspot" in the States, no quarantine; but if one crossed the border, ... 
    The world has changed. Many lessons are perhaps to be learned, but a couple stand out for me: the frailty of life, and the frailty of freedom. What has become apparent is how the Lord through a tiny virus can turn the apparent might (and false sense of security) of the world upside down, and also, how far and how fast the government can muscle its power and extend its reach (not that we do not need government for the proper order and restraint of evil). We, as Christians, though beware, should not be surprised, for Revelation warns again and again regarding the power of the beast as it intersects with the life of the saints; perhaps a foretaste of things to come, the Lord knows how soon.
     Pray for the situation here in Romania to ease up - it will be quite difficult to hold a baptism in our context with any restrictions in place. Pray as we progress with this particular class for catechesis that those truly converted might grow and persevere; it has become more clear that some who want to get baptized want to do it for unbiblical reasons, so pray for wisdom as we address these things. Pray for others who have been either excluded or under discipline for a long time, then during the crisis showed a desire to repent and be received back into fellowship; for the most part, they went back to their old lives after the crisis. Pray for the women in the study led by Ana, that they would begin to internalize the teaching and be changed by the Word. Pray for the men in the ministry-training group (these are unschooled men, perhaps up to 6th grade for some, less for others), that they would also apply themselves, do their assignments, and begin to see the mandate and the value of actually preparing for the work of the ministry. Pray for Alex and Adora at school; Alex is a senior now, and Adora a sophomore (she already had an exam yesterday, her third week of school). And pray for good health for us, as well as for strength, to effectively carry out our mission: "Equipping Believers and Training Christian Leaders in the Academic and the Church Settings
among the Romanian and Rroma Ethnic Groups 
for the Building of the One Church to the Glory of the Triune God!"

In Christ's love and service,
     Dan & Ana, Alex & Adora


PS: We have found it helpful to keep 'in touch' with what goes on in the States and in the world by listening at times to Dr. Albert Mohler's "The Briefing" - a 25-30 minute news and analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview. Here is a link, if you'd like to give it a try: https://albertmohler.com/the-briefing - begin perhaps with the one from Tuesday, August 25.


 
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