News from our organization
“This tough existence suits me”
News from our organization
“This tough existence suits me”
News from our organization
“This tough existence suits me”
At the beginning of December 2022, the Romanian Facebook page reached a great milestone: 100,000 followers! Else and Daniel Mic lead the Romanian team. When they were in the Netherlands for a family visit recently, we found an opportunity to talk to Else about the team’s dreams and challenges.
In the two and a half years since Daniel and Else joined the team, the number of followers has grown from 30,000 to 100,000. Else: ‘Every day I try to post a Bible text or question on the Facebook page, for example: what are you thankful for today? That produces reactions, which open up conversations.’
Lumo-video’s
In addition, the team posts Lumo videos: these are videos which share the literal text of four Gospels, supported by video clips. Else provides the Romanian subtitles. “We reach a lot of people with those Lumo videos. Each video is viewed and shared thousands of times! We have already posted the entire Gospel of Luke and Mark in 24 and 16 episodes respectively. Over Christmas we started with Matthew as his Gospel begins with the Christmas message.”
Most of the viewers live in Romania itself, but there are also many Romanians in the Republic of Moldova, Italy and Germany who access our videos.
“We have six mentors (three Dutch and three Romanian), including Daniel and myself. We also have an editor (someone who puts articles on the website) and a translator. They are very different people: a young mother, a student, but also a few elderly ladies who have retired.
Last September we had our first meeting with the team; ideally we would like to meet three times a year. It’s nice to encourage each other and share advice. One of the mentors, a Dutch girl who has lived in Romania for a while, wondered whether her Romanian was good enough to be a mentor. I advised her to just start slowly and see how it goes. The plan is to start a Whatsapp group for the team members – this will make it easier to respond to each other and pray for each other.”
“We want to expand the team and the number of followers, and hope to help students looking for a church to find good churches. We want to build a network of churches, so that we can refer students properly.“
When someone is looking for a church, the team searches for a suitable church. “We look at the website and we watch sermons from that church on YouTube. Then we contact the church and ask if they are willing to welcome the student. Churches in Romania are generally very welcoming. They have a welcoming committee; they introduce you during the service and take your contact details.
I have asked the mentors if they can recommend churches and am in the process of compiling a list of them.”
Sometimes Else meets students who are ‘special’. Else: “Some time ago a Romanian woman from London was doing two courses: Bible Basics and Life of Jesus. Her answers to questions were more elaborate than I normally see. I saw growth as she progressed through the courses. At one point she said, “I really learned that I should not only read the Bible, but also study it.” She longed for more depth. Her answers were not about rituals and traditions, but much more about Jesus being her Savior, and how she experienced guidance from the Holy Spirit. I found that very special to read.
She was an Orthodox Christian, like most Romanian Christians. In London she visited an Orthodox Romanian church where there are no chairs. But she was unable to stand during the service due to back problems. That’s why she was looking for another church! I found a Romanian church for her and she said she would go there.”
“We sometimes get difficult questions or critical comments, such as: “You are a cult!” The Orthodox Church in Romania is the only true church for many. It is a challenge to respond properly to such comments. Often we respond along the lines of, “We serve the same God and that is what unites us.” The Orthodox faith is very much about tradition. Icons and rituals play an important role. Believers are convinced that they can get to God through the priest. They don’t know that anyone can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The majority go to church at Easter and Christmas. More than ninety percent of the population say they are Christians, but in practice it is only thirty percent who actively do something with their faith.”
“I’m a full-time mom, so when my daughter is sleeping or playing I can get involved. There is satisfaction in doing something for God’s Kingdom. I really enjoy getting grateful responses from people in the chat or from students. It is so rewarding to help or explain something to someone. I spend about eight hours a week working for GlobalRize. I just think it’s great that we get to do this work. It started in the office in Oldebroek [the Netherlands] and we were able to take it with us to Romania.
Daniel preaches in the congregation twice a month. We worship together. Daniel attends a pastors’ school once a month, together with someone else from church. They are taught about sermons and other subjects by a well-known pastor. Daniel is also an electrician.”
Else is from Oldebroek, but emigrated to Romania with her family. What is it like to live there? Else: “Life in Romania is completely different from the Netherlands. In the morning I start by chopping up wood so that we can heat our house, and cook. I also sometimes slaughter a chicken myself. I don’t think many Dutch women my age ever do that.” Else grins. ‘That tough existence suits me.’
