6/14/2012
Family and Friends,
I find it very difficult to write this blog. This will be one of my last blogs, if not my last blog, that I will write regarding my internship in Romania. Today, in fact, is my last day in Romania and the other interns, my Pastor/Professor and I currently are in a Hotel in Bucharest awaiting our flight to London tonight. As most of you know, our internship was supposed to extend until July 5th but I’m reminded of something that Aaron Brown, a mentor of mine said, “we write in pencil so that God can write in ink.” I desire to write about all of the exciting events and “highs” of missionary work since my last blog; however, my memory is currently robbed by the events of the past four days and on those events I will give the remaining content of this blog. Because of the sensitivity of what I will begin to discuss I will intentionally be vague about details understanding that though I’m psychologically and emotionally affected by what has happened there are many more that are experiencing a grief beyond my ability to comprehend.
I’m going to begin be walking you briefly through Jimmy Shaw’s sermon that he delivered to us on Sunday morning on being “Ordinary.” To those of you who read this and do not know Jesus may this begin to help you understand what drives a group of ten students to devote four years of school to study “missions” and then devote the remainder of their life to telling people about the good news and life found in following Jesus. We recognize that we are nothing more than “ordinary” people who have been given the privilege of knowing the “extraordinary” God of all creation. This God whom loves all more than we can comprehend takes the little gift of our “ordinary” life (if we so choose) and writes over it a story that blends into His eternal story. Our story, as all story’s go, end in the awaiting fate of all people no matter the status, success, or age: death. However, those who have given their ordinary life into the hands of the extraordinary God have the promise that death does not win and though the grave desires us all, those who have placed their faith in the good news of Jesus and have given their life to knowing and following them will experience true life with God forever. It is because of this hope that those who know(not just of Him but know Him as a son/daughter knows a Father) live life by faith and will devote their life to Him no matter the risk, if even it ends in death, because those who follow Him know that all die but not all truly live.
Alexis Brownlee, a fellow intern of mine on the trip, did not go to our church service in Dumbraveni this last Sunday morning because she felt exhausted and chose to go to a later service in the evening. At about the same time we were being reminded that our faith means taking risks and those risks may take our life, Alexis had a major seizure that her body could not handle and died. She was exactly one month shy of her 21st birthday; her life was ended at a young age but the way she lived her short life, though ordinary, was longer than most. I choose now to diverge from discussing the events that have taken place after her death. Know that the last few days have been anything but easy for her family, Jimmy, us interns, and the people that grew to lover her at the YWAM base and in Romania. Because of Alexis’ passing, the University has decided it best that the remaining six of us should return home and also the three other interns, who were to join us this week from other missions trips, should be rerouted back home.
Alexis had been preparing for this internship her whole career at ORU. She was, by far, the person most devoted to the internship. She was the first to begin fundraising, she had requested photos of the people in Romania far in advance so she could see who she was praying for, and she was already learning Romanian words and phrases way before we left. I remember her constantly requesting detail after detail of the trip so that she was prepared for anything and everything. She knew very well of her health risks and was even offered an opportunity for a safer internship in the states. She rejected the other opportunity because she had already made the decision that she was to follow Jesus wherever He asked, and He had asked her to follow Him to Romania so that He may use her to extend her unique ability to love to those He knew needed it. And it is her unique abilities to love, care, and listen that she gave whole heartedly to the people in Romania these last four weeks. She devoted herself to what Jesus had asked her to do: love me by loving the people of Romania. She did just that. In the mornings, if she wasn’t singing and making jokes while preparing meals with her mentor she was encouraging people, complimenting them, praying for them, or even tending to any need they had. During the evenings she was found playing with any and every kid, taking every opportunity to tell youth about Jesus, performing dramas and singing to express Jesus’ love, and continually encouraging and serving everyone and anyone. (I’m about to prepare to leave to the airport; I will finish the remainder of the blog when I have time alone again.)
(We flew into Tulsa airport about 4:30pm today. It was a long 50+ hours of travel but we have made it back safely.) We went to Romania to learn how to live life as a missionary and ironically our greatest teacher was among us the whole time. She gave us a lesson that none of us were expecting to learn. We were told about the severity of her seizure and how that no matter the circumstances, if ideal of not, the intensity of the seizure was so great that no matter where it happened the result would have been the same. Words can only go so far as to explain the influence Alexis had during her stay in Romania and everything sounds superficial in an attempt to do so. How can finite words express immeasurable events? I cannot even begin to express that impact her sacrifice had on Romania because even the impact I’m aware of barely scratches the surface of how God took her short ordinary life and did more extraordinary things than people with eighty years of life ever do. Monday evening the YWAM base held a memorial service for Alexis and there were more than fifty people that attended who will forever be changed by Alexis’ presence. There were representatives from all over Romania, Europe, Canada, and the United States present in that room, and all were reminded of the reason why missionaries do what they do: they give their life to telling people about the good news of Jesus that promises purpose and hope in this life and proclaims an eternal life free of every horrible thing, even death.
I end this internship learning way more than I expected at a cost that I would not have ever asked for, the loss of a friend; however, I am confident of this: Alexis now knows fully her God and if given the opportunity would not have changed her mind to come to Romania. I can yet appreciate this final thought fully and my prayer is that I will learn it intimately and it will be a daily reality. Alexis’ life was ended by a seizure that could have taken place anywhere. She, aware of her condition and the risk (though not fully aware of the timing), devoted her life to Jesus and followed Him until her last breath. This reminds me of the fragility of life and the uncertainty of every moment. Even if I may never understand God’s timing in taking Alexis home I will not let her sacrifice end in vain and I will honor her by following her example. Many people live a full life for things they would never die for but I’m certain in the end they will envy those who give all of their life for something deserving of such a sacrifice. An internship acts as an introduction to the realities of a vocation through direct experience. I could not have asked for a better learning experience than these short four weeks. Though tragedy caused the trip to be shortened it was the very same tragedy that caused the trip to be of life-long value (though who holds the right to measure life-long). Thank you Alexis for being a lover of God and people and for instilling in me a reminder that I’m called to do the same, even if the risks are high.
And so my internship is over and I thank everyone who has supported us interns in prayer and support. No one could have expected such an event as Alexis’ death but I hope everyone who reads this asks the same questions I have been these last four days. We all die. But do we all live? Please pray for Alexis' family and friends during this time. If you know any of them reach out and encourage them please.
In Jesus’ Name, Zack
6/5/2012
Hey Everyone,
I’ve been wanting to wrote this blog for the past few days but this past week has been packed with things to do and even though yesterday was our free day all I wanted to do was hang out and try not to think so much. It definitely has been an amazing week of learning, ministry, and building relationships.
I’m not quite sure where to begin because I haven’t written a blog since last Sunday and a lot has happened over this week. I think the main thing I want to write about is an outreach the base did this last Saturday. I somehow managed to be designated team photographer somewhere in these last few weeks so I’ll be sure to post some pictures of the outreach below this blog. So the outreach was designated to celebrate Kid’s Day in Romania. I guess Kid’s Day is a national holiday to celebrate…kids. Anyways, the actual holiday was Thursday and the interns and myself did get to go to the center square on Thursday and set up a face-painting area for kids (that was a great time…I literally only painted butterflies, though I spent most of the time interacting with people and taking pictures. One thing I really love about Romanians is that they LOVE to take pictures. It’s one of the greatest way to meet people here. I just go up to them and say “poso” and they smile wide and say “da.” After I show them their picture there’s usually an awkward conversation where I attempt to converse with them but because I know a total of maybe 30 Romanian words/phrases the core of the conversation is smiling, handshakes, and hugs.
Ok, back to the outreach on Saturday. At the outreach we set up a tent covered in prayer requests, missions pictures, and neat sayings. This tent was designated the “prayer tent” and was available for…are you ready?...prayer! We also did a series of dramas, sermonettes, worship music, more face-painting, cookies with Bible verses, a quiz game for kids, and a board game section for anyone who wanted to play. We also had a prayer team who would go around the city park and talk/pray with people. It was a great time and a lot of kids came and had a great time. We also had a lot of adults come and participate. I was predominately the photographer but I also got to be on the prayer team (the camera was a great way to interact and start conversation…with a translator of course). I was also signed up for games but I only got to play one game of chess. It was with a 72 year old man and we ended up in a tie. It was one of the best chess games I’ve ever got to play and he got a blast having someone challenging to play (sidenote: chess is super big in post-communist countries because it was heavily taught during communist times).
Other than that, the week has been busy! The interns and I have planned and done a couple outreaches with kids. We also planned and led and English class and will continue that tomorrow. I’m actually really excited for the English class. As we were going around Dumbraveni (the town the church plant is in and where we have the class) advertising the class a lot of the community was very excited about it because English is such a valuable tool to have and lessons here can be very expensive…we of course offer it for free :D Because the week was so busy I didn’t get to spend as much time with the young man from the bar as I would have liked but we did have some intense chess matches and he did open up a little bit. I’m hoping to visit him some more this week and maybe see what God opens up in conversation.
One thing I’m super bummed about is one of the YWAM teams that was staying here has to leave late Saturday. They’re a team from Switzerland on outreach in different locations in Romania. They all have beautiful hearts and stories and…dang, I’m going to miss them. It was great to make some friends from Canada, Switzerland, Germany, South Carolina, and Belgium. I want to say one of the girls was from Holland but I can’t remember (for those of you who know me well, that’s no surprise :p)
This week has definitely been a great week for God to really teach me some great things as far as my own personal life. I’m just really grateful for His grace! I’m finding it an interesting experience to be here and start to feel the joy and frustrations of ministry in Medias. It is definitely a tough place to share Jesus. It’s not that there is a large opposition politically to anything we really do (accept with schools and the like) but I really learned on Saturday that because of the Orthodox Church’s presence in Romania for so long Christianity is a strong part of the culture and tradition but not really something people build their life on. Jesus is known but not many know Jesus. God’s been teaching me a new level of trust while I’m here and even though I have a lot of ideas that I want to bring to the base He keeps reminding me that I’m here to serve and to learn and if an opportunity for initiative arises then I can take it. Other than that, I’m doing and being exactly what He desires. One thing I know all of us interns are really struggling with is the cultural difference when it comes to time. Romanians seem to enjoy acting more in the spontaneous while us Americans enjoy planning and knowing details. It’s definitely affected a few of the interns a lot, but these frustrations are necessary ingredients for the learning process. I’ve learned that I’m not as much of a procrastinator as I thought…though I’m still pretty bad at it :p
It’s getting pretty late right now so I’m going to go ahead and end this with some things I would love people to pray for if you get a chance. 1.) That God would allow us interns to continue to serve the base in their needs, their service, in encouragement, and in bringing insight. 2.) for my friend who’s meniscus may be torn. 3.) for the young man from the bar. 4.) for the ministries the base is involved in. 5.) for safe travels for my Mission’s Advisor/Pastor as he travels to visit the base this coming weekend. 6.) my dad’s health 7.) and of course that I would continue to know Jesus more and more and for direction.
I love you all and I pray you can all know Jesus more as you work in the mission field He’s put you!
In Jesus Name, Zack
5/27/2012
Naupte Buna,
It’s officially been my first full week living life as a missionary here at the YWAM base. It’s definitely been a very good week and even though I wouldn’t say that the events of the week were extraordinary I would say they were still productive and meaningful. As all first weeks of any new season in life goes, this week has felt like a whole month. On reflection of the week I’ve realized that I’ve grown a certain attachment to the people here and I see everyone (members of the base and the other interns) as family; and even though my time here has been short, the relationships that have been built have already sunk deep.
Every weekday morning the base gathers in the top floor classroom for a time of prayer, teaching or worship. I rather enjoy this time with everyone and I couldn’t imagine that we would be able to keep our sanity without us taking time every day to lift one another up as we lift Jesus up in worship. Tuesday morning Vio had me go through thousands of photos to winnow out potential pictures for the base’s quarterly magazine they produce. Despite my inability to stay focused on a computer screen very long, I had an enjoyable time looking through years of archives and visually experiencing the memories of the missionaries here as they have traveled to multiple countries over the years spreading Christ’s love. Vio gave me a very exciting project to do after that. He has had a desire to create a promotional video for the base in English and gave me the task. So throughout the week I wrote a detailed script, planned the shots, created interview questions, recruited people to help, and presented to him the idea. He really likes it and I was ready to film this weekend but the weather wouldn’t allow.
Before I discuss the outreaches I’ve had the privilege to be a part in I would like to talk about something I desire everyone reading to join in and pray. Monday, Michael and I met a young man who works at the bar down the street. I immediately felt a connection to him and I’ve been visiting him at the bar almost every day (he speaks English remarkably well ). Sometimes it’s just to say hi and see how he’s doing, but a couple of the times Michael and I have gone and I’ve played chess with him. Not only are we beginning a great friendship, but I now have someone who’s good at Chess to play. Today Michael and I went down to the bar again to play with him and afterwards we spent some time talking. One thing that he talked about was the strong hatred that Romanians feel towards the Gypsies. After a while a few of the other interns were walking by and stopped to talk us. We invited him to dinner at the base and at first he didn’t want to go. After a while longer we decided we had to leave because dinner had already started. As we were walking back a car approached us from behind and the young man was in the car and wanted to join us for dinner. Along the way he asked us about why we like the gypsies and Davita did an amazing job at simply explaining how Jesus has changed us and we choose to like everyone. He simply stated “it’s like you have a new heart” in which I responded “it’s because we do.” He stayed for dinner and even for a few hours to play games with us and walk the girls back to the other YWAM house (the bar is on the way). Probably the most enjoyable experience was watching him help us give food to the Gypsies after dinner despite is outspoken distaste for them.
Other than that, on Tuesday night us interns got to go to a neighboring village and help with a kids ministry they do there. We played games, sang with them and hung-out with them. Wednesday, the interns and myself planned our first English lesson that we’ll be teaching in Dumbraveni (another neighboring village) this coming week. I’m really excited about this and I think it will be a great way to reach out to the community and also invite people to their church plant there. We plan on going out to the schools and passing out flyers for the English lessons Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was a cultural adventure as Dany Pop, staff here, took me with him to town so that I can send some mail. I went with him first to get his son’s passport finalized so that Dany could take him to Hungary with him. After that, he took me to the post office and after about an hour I got to send my first package and postcards internationally! Dany and I had a good time to get to know each other, and it turns out that one of his sisters currently lives in Modesto (a town literally 20 minutes from my home town). Vio gave us interns our first formal Romanian language lesson on Thursday night. It was pretty fun, and I’m learning…slowly. Also, us interns took it upon ourselves to meet that night and have a debrief of everything so far. It was a really encouraging time to be transparent. We’ve realized that even though this trip is planned for us to be treated as individual interns we are actually treated more as a team and expected to work as one. With that said, it had been a very interesting experience to learn how to become a team on the field (especially since we didn’t have any team building prior to the trip). Thanks to God though, we’re working really well together and are adapting quickly to each other’s personalities and strengths/weaknesses. Friday was a very full day. In the morning we all joined together for a great time of prayer and then dispersed to our individual jobs. I worked outside with Teo and Dan until the afternoon. Then that evening everyone broke off into teams and went to one of the three youth groups that the YWAM base leads. Vio, Christina, Davita and I went to this one very small village with a youth group of about ten. It was a good time and I was given the opportunity to share a Bible story and my testimony. I felt a strong connection with the youth there and I hope to return to the same location next Friday. To end the night, Brad, one of the YWAMers here from the Switzerland team, had a desire to explore Medias at night to search for any evidence of prostitution or brothels. His team specifically has a focus to pray for and uncover any injustice in sex trafficking here. Brad, Michael, and I walked Medias for a few hours that night and we didn’t discover anything (which may or may not be good). But it was a good time to get to know the town more, pray for some locations specifically, and hangout. Saturday…we rested, and the Lord said it was good. Today, we traveled by taxi and then train to Dubraveni to attend the church plant there. A few more people attended this week and Michael did a great job at giving a message on Acts chapter 1 and encouraged us to find contentment in our times of waiting. Other than that, most of my day was dedicated to hanging out with the young man from the bar.
There is much more I would love to write about but I think if anyone is reading this they may be losing interest. Know that I’m having a very educational experience thus far and that I’m very grateful for everyone that helped get me here in prayer and finances. I encourage everyone to continue a life of love for Christ and others no matter what continent they find themself. Some things I would love prayer for: the young man from the bar, a continued heart of service for myself, our “team” to grow stronger and more unified, the missionaries here to have some rest with our service here, and for a close friend back home whose knee needs healing. Thanks everyone, love ya and miss you all! I’m not going to be on FB except to post blogs, but if you need to reach me please email me at zripley@oru.edu.
In Jesus’ Name, Zack
5/21/2012
Buna Ziua,
Well technically it's still morning for everyone back in the states but nonetheless, good evening family and friends. So the period for getting adjusted to Romanian life at the YWAM base has taken a turn today. For the past few days the YWAMers here have allowed us a time to acclimate to everything before they fully thrust us into their daily schedule, which has been awesome since I aquired a nasty bug somewhere between continents. We're all picking up some Romanian everyday (some more than others and I admit to be on the tail end of the learning process). I really do like Romanian life; though we have a lot of the same commodities available to us here as in the states the people here are more warm and the pace of life is slower. This actually affects my assumptions I had prior to coming on my first over seas missions experience. I figured that everyday would be packed of evangelism and busyness. However I'm learning that Romania is a very challenging place to spread the Gospel. It's not that the people here are hostile to the mention of Jesus, it's more like they're unmoved by a Christian message in a country where Christianity has been present for centuries. Even today we met for a time of intercession and discussion for new ways to evangelize Medias. The team here has tried everything they can think of and nothing has really worked. Even though I'm only here for a short time I pray that the interns and myself can be a way God can bring new ideas to the heart of this missions base. We may not be able to make a big difference in the town but I pray that the team and I can be a source of service, encouragement, and even some fresh input.
I do know that I'll get to be involved in multiple ministries throughout the week from their children's ministry, youth ministry, to teaching English as a draw for their church plant in a neighboring village. I'm really excited because I get to lead the English lessons. I may not be good at foreign languages but I am more than proficient at English. I also know I'll get opportunities to preach at their church plant. Their church plant is definitely small but I'm excited to get an opportunity to speak )and speaking with a translator will be a good learning experience). Other than that, I'll be following a missionary here by the name of Vio. He's in charge of communications...stuff. So I'll be helping with the website, filming promotional videos, and whatever he decides. Though this will only comprise half of my actual work here I'm excited to aid him in his work. Today he had me go through a couple websites and make sure all of the grammar and spelling was accurate for the English translations on their websites.
Over the weekend, Dany and Anna (a couple at the base) gave us interns a tour of Medias where we got to experience the town square and the town's center. It was a great time but I'm pretty sure I'm okay with doing some actual work. I've discovered I don't like... not doing. I was very excited about getting our weekly schedule this morning because now I can feel like I have some purpose here and not feel like a tourist. However, I think because it is a short trip and because I'm not fully going to get tired of Romanian culture the whole trip will will seem somewhat vacation-like. Side note-being at a YWAM base and talking with many YWAM people who have been in the program for years has got me considering a prolonged internship with YWAM. Something to pray about :D
To end this blog I shall admit that I have already fallen in love here in Romania. Just down the street from the base is a gypsy community and Mia (she's staff here at the base) has taken it upon herself to introduce us to the community, which is comprised mostly of children. The kids their have stolen all of our hearts. Every time we go over there they want me to dance (I'm still trying to get the rest of the team to dance though the young buys are much more effective at coercing a couple of the girls into dancing). I rather enjoy Romanian dancing because all it really takes is a little rhythm, some snapping/clapping/foot stomping, and a lot of endurance. Not to compare, but they are much better sports than American children. They get hit with a ball during their version of dodge ball and even if it's in the face they happily jump over to the sidelines and await another round (I didn't think that was possible!). Also, I'm beginning to think I must look Italian or something because the last couple times we've went separate adults have asked me, "Italiano?," in which I respond "Americano." Alright, it's almost dinner time here at the base so I must go now. I love you all and I'm keeping as many of you in my prayers as I can without throwing a blanket prayer over everyone. Nevertheless, I'm confident our Father is ok with a blanket prayer every now and again-I mean there's no way I can pray for all my official FB friends and have time to do anything else.
Ciao, Zack :P
5/17/2012
Salud,
After about 24 hours of travel the team and I landed in Romania last night about midnight Romanian time. Our six hour lay-over in London was exciting since something I ate caused me many frequent flyer miles with London airport's square toilets, Also, I've come to the conclusion that I am highly allergic to airplane air. :D The flights were still fun and that team and I were happy for any little sleep we could catch on the flights and on the car ride to the YWAM base. We were greeted at the airport by two awesome guys name Vio and Teo who, despite their little English, kept us good company and drove us safely on the five hour drive through the windy Romanian roads to Medias, where the YWAM base is located.
They graciously allowed us to catch up on sleep and greeted us with a good lunch of soup and bread. Today will be a day of rest and orientations as we begin to acclimate to Romanian life here on the base. I'm sure to grow familiar with the Romanina language and the beautiful culture here. Thanks for all of the prayers and the support thus far and all of you are in my prayers and thoughts. I'll keep this updated every now and then.
In Jesus Name, Zack
Family and Friends,
I find it very difficult to write this blog. This will be one of my last blogs, if not my last blog, that I will write regarding my internship in Romania. Today, in fact, is my last day in Romania and the other interns, my Pastor/Professor and I currently are in a Hotel in Bucharest awaiting our flight to London tonight. As most of you know, our internship was supposed to extend until July 5th but I’m reminded of something that Aaron Brown, a mentor of mine said, “we write in pencil so that God can write in ink.” I desire to write about all of the exciting events and “highs” of missionary work since my last blog; however, my memory is currently robbed by the events of the past four days and on those events I will give the remaining content of this blog. Because of the sensitivity of what I will begin to discuss I will intentionally be vague about details understanding that though I’m psychologically and emotionally affected by what has happened there are many more that are experiencing a grief beyond my ability to comprehend.
I’m going to begin be walking you briefly through Jimmy Shaw’s sermon that he delivered to us on Sunday morning on being “Ordinary.” To those of you who read this and do not know Jesus may this begin to help you understand what drives a group of ten students to devote four years of school to study “missions” and then devote the remainder of their life to telling people about the good news and life found in following Jesus. We recognize that we are nothing more than “ordinary” people who have been given the privilege of knowing the “extraordinary” God of all creation. This God whom loves all more than we can comprehend takes the little gift of our “ordinary” life (if we so choose) and writes over it a story that blends into His eternal story. Our story, as all story’s go, end in the awaiting fate of all people no matter the status, success, or age: death. However, those who have given their ordinary life into the hands of the extraordinary God have the promise that death does not win and though the grave desires us all, those who have placed their faith in the good news of Jesus and have given their life to knowing and following them will experience true life with God forever. It is because of this hope that those who know(not just of Him but know Him as a son/daughter knows a Father) live life by faith and will devote their life to Him no matter the risk, if even it ends in death, because those who follow Him know that all die but not all truly live.
Alexis Brownlee, a fellow intern of mine on the trip, did not go to our church service in Dumbraveni this last Sunday morning because she felt exhausted and chose to go to a later service in the evening. At about the same time we were being reminded that our faith means taking risks and those risks may take our life, Alexis had a major seizure that her body could not handle and died. She was exactly one month shy of her 21st birthday; her life was ended at a young age but the way she lived her short life, though ordinary, was longer than most. I choose now to diverge from discussing the events that have taken place after her death. Know that the last few days have been anything but easy for her family, Jimmy, us interns, and the people that grew to lover her at the YWAM base and in Romania. Because of Alexis’ passing, the University has decided it best that the remaining six of us should return home and also the three other interns, who were to join us this week from other missions trips, should be rerouted back home.
Alexis had been preparing for this internship her whole career at ORU. She was, by far, the person most devoted to the internship. She was the first to begin fundraising, she had requested photos of the people in Romania far in advance so she could see who she was praying for, and she was already learning Romanian words and phrases way before we left. I remember her constantly requesting detail after detail of the trip so that she was prepared for anything and everything. She knew very well of her health risks and was even offered an opportunity for a safer internship in the states. She rejected the other opportunity because she had already made the decision that she was to follow Jesus wherever He asked, and He had asked her to follow Him to Romania so that He may use her to extend her unique ability to love to those He knew needed it. And it is her unique abilities to love, care, and listen that she gave whole heartedly to the people in Romania these last four weeks. She devoted herself to what Jesus had asked her to do: love me by loving the people of Romania. She did just that. In the mornings, if she wasn’t singing and making jokes while preparing meals with her mentor she was encouraging people, complimenting them, praying for them, or even tending to any need they had. During the evenings she was found playing with any and every kid, taking every opportunity to tell youth about Jesus, performing dramas and singing to express Jesus’ love, and continually encouraging and serving everyone and anyone. (I’m about to prepare to leave to the airport; I will finish the remainder of the blog when I have time alone again.)
(We flew into Tulsa airport about 4:30pm today. It was a long 50+ hours of travel but we have made it back safely.) We went to Romania to learn how to live life as a missionary and ironically our greatest teacher was among us the whole time. She gave us a lesson that none of us were expecting to learn. We were told about the severity of her seizure and how that no matter the circumstances, if ideal of not, the intensity of the seizure was so great that no matter where it happened the result would have been the same. Words can only go so far as to explain the influence Alexis had during her stay in Romania and everything sounds superficial in an attempt to do so. How can finite words express immeasurable events? I cannot even begin to express that impact her sacrifice had on Romania because even the impact I’m aware of barely scratches the surface of how God took her short ordinary life and did more extraordinary things than people with eighty years of life ever do. Monday evening the YWAM base held a memorial service for Alexis and there were more than fifty people that attended who will forever be changed by Alexis’ presence. There were representatives from all over Romania, Europe, Canada, and the United States present in that room, and all were reminded of the reason why missionaries do what they do: they give their life to telling people about the good news of Jesus that promises purpose and hope in this life and proclaims an eternal life free of every horrible thing, even death.
I end this internship learning way more than I expected at a cost that I would not have ever asked for, the loss of a friend; however, I am confident of this: Alexis now knows fully her God and if given the opportunity would not have changed her mind to come to Romania. I can yet appreciate this final thought fully and my prayer is that I will learn it intimately and it will be a daily reality. Alexis’ life was ended by a seizure that could have taken place anywhere. She, aware of her condition and the risk (though not fully aware of the timing), devoted her life to Jesus and followed Him until her last breath. This reminds me of the fragility of life and the uncertainty of every moment. Even if I may never understand God’s timing in taking Alexis home I will not let her sacrifice end in vain and I will honor her by following her example. Many people live a full life for things they would never die for but I’m certain in the end they will envy those who give all of their life for something deserving of such a sacrifice. An internship acts as an introduction to the realities of a vocation through direct experience. I could not have asked for a better learning experience than these short four weeks. Though tragedy caused the trip to be shortened it was the very same tragedy that caused the trip to be of life-long value (though who holds the right to measure life-long). Thank you Alexis for being a lover of God and people and for instilling in me a reminder that I’m called to do the same, even if the risks are high.
And so my internship is over and I thank everyone who has supported us interns in prayer and support. No one could have expected such an event as Alexis’ death but I hope everyone who reads this asks the same questions I have been these last four days. We all die. But do we all live? Please pray for Alexis' family and friends during this time. If you know any of them reach out and encourage them please.
In Jesus’ Name, Zack
6/5/2012
Hey Everyone,
I’ve been wanting to wrote this blog for the past few days but this past week has been packed with things to do and even though yesterday was our free day all I wanted to do was hang out and try not to think so much. It definitely has been an amazing week of learning, ministry, and building relationships.
I’m not quite sure where to begin because I haven’t written a blog since last Sunday and a lot has happened over this week. I think the main thing I want to write about is an outreach the base did this last Saturday. I somehow managed to be designated team photographer somewhere in these last few weeks so I’ll be sure to post some pictures of the outreach below this blog. So the outreach was designated to celebrate Kid’s Day in Romania. I guess Kid’s Day is a national holiday to celebrate…kids. Anyways, the actual holiday was Thursday and the interns and myself did get to go to the center square on Thursday and set up a face-painting area for kids (that was a great time…I literally only painted butterflies, though I spent most of the time interacting with people and taking pictures. One thing I really love about Romanians is that they LOVE to take pictures. It’s one of the greatest way to meet people here. I just go up to them and say “poso” and they smile wide and say “da.” After I show them their picture there’s usually an awkward conversation where I attempt to converse with them but because I know a total of maybe 30 Romanian words/phrases the core of the conversation is smiling, handshakes, and hugs.
Ok, back to the outreach on Saturday. At the outreach we set up a tent covered in prayer requests, missions pictures, and neat sayings. This tent was designated the “prayer tent” and was available for…are you ready?...prayer! We also did a series of dramas, sermonettes, worship music, more face-painting, cookies with Bible verses, a quiz game for kids, and a board game section for anyone who wanted to play. We also had a prayer team who would go around the city park and talk/pray with people. It was a great time and a lot of kids came and had a great time. We also had a lot of adults come and participate. I was predominately the photographer but I also got to be on the prayer team (the camera was a great way to interact and start conversation…with a translator of course). I was also signed up for games but I only got to play one game of chess. It was with a 72 year old man and we ended up in a tie. It was one of the best chess games I’ve ever got to play and he got a blast having someone challenging to play (sidenote: chess is super big in post-communist countries because it was heavily taught during communist times).
Other than that, the week has been busy! The interns and I have planned and done a couple outreaches with kids. We also planned and led and English class and will continue that tomorrow. I’m actually really excited for the English class. As we were going around Dumbraveni (the town the church plant is in and where we have the class) advertising the class a lot of the community was very excited about it because English is such a valuable tool to have and lessons here can be very expensive…we of course offer it for free :D Because the week was so busy I didn’t get to spend as much time with the young man from the bar as I would have liked but we did have some intense chess matches and he did open up a little bit. I’m hoping to visit him some more this week and maybe see what God opens up in conversation.
One thing I’m super bummed about is one of the YWAM teams that was staying here has to leave late Saturday. They’re a team from Switzerland on outreach in different locations in Romania. They all have beautiful hearts and stories and…dang, I’m going to miss them. It was great to make some friends from Canada, Switzerland, Germany, South Carolina, and Belgium. I want to say one of the girls was from Holland but I can’t remember (for those of you who know me well, that’s no surprise :p)
This week has definitely been a great week for God to really teach me some great things as far as my own personal life. I’m just really grateful for His grace! I’m finding it an interesting experience to be here and start to feel the joy and frustrations of ministry in Medias. It is definitely a tough place to share Jesus. It’s not that there is a large opposition politically to anything we really do (accept with schools and the like) but I really learned on Saturday that because of the Orthodox Church’s presence in Romania for so long Christianity is a strong part of the culture and tradition but not really something people build their life on. Jesus is known but not many know Jesus. God’s been teaching me a new level of trust while I’m here and even though I have a lot of ideas that I want to bring to the base He keeps reminding me that I’m here to serve and to learn and if an opportunity for initiative arises then I can take it. Other than that, I’m doing and being exactly what He desires. One thing I know all of us interns are really struggling with is the cultural difference when it comes to time. Romanians seem to enjoy acting more in the spontaneous while us Americans enjoy planning and knowing details. It’s definitely affected a few of the interns a lot, but these frustrations are necessary ingredients for the learning process. I’ve learned that I’m not as much of a procrastinator as I thought…though I’m still pretty bad at it :p
It’s getting pretty late right now so I’m going to go ahead and end this with some things I would love people to pray for if you get a chance. 1.) That God would allow us interns to continue to serve the base in their needs, their service, in encouragement, and in bringing insight. 2.) for my friend who’s meniscus may be torn. 3.) for the young man from the bar. 4.) for the ministries the base is involved in. 5.) for safe travels for my Mission’s Advisor/Pastor as he travels to visit the base this coming weekend. 6.) my dad’s health 7.) and of course that I would continue to know Jesus more and more and for direction.
I love you all and I pray you can all know Jesus more as you work in the mission field He’s put you!
In Jesus Name, Zack
5/27/2012
Naupte Buna,
It’s officially been my first full week living life as a missionary here at the YWAM base. It’s definitely been a very good week and even though I wouldn’t say that the events of the week were extraordinary I would say they were still productive and meaningful. As all first weeks of any new season in life goes, this week has felt like a whole month. On reflection of the week I’ve realized that I’ve grown a certain attachment to the people here and I see everyone (members of the base and the other interns) as family; and even though my time here has been short, the relationships that have been built have already sunk deep.
Every weekday morning the base gathers in the top floor classroom for a time of prayer, teaching or worship. I rather enjoy this time with everyone and I couldn’t imagine that we would be able to keep our sanity without us taking time every day to lift one another up as we lift Jesus up in worship. Tuesday morning Vio had me go through thousands of photos to winnow out potential pictures for the base’s quarterly magazine they produce. Despite my inability to stay focused on a computer screen very long, I had an enjoyable time looking through years of archives and visually experiencing the memories of the missionaries here as they have traveled to multiple countries over the years spreading Christ’s love. Vio gave me a very exciting project to do after that. He has had a desire to create a promotional video for the base in English and gave me the task. So throughout the week I wrote a detailed script, planned the shots, created interview questions, recruited people to help, and presented to him the idea. He really likes it and I was ready to film this weekend but the weather wouldn’t allow.
Before I discuss the outreaches I’ve had the privilege to be a part in I would like to talk about something I desire everyone reading to join in and pray. Monday, Michael and I met a young man who works at the bar down the street. I immediately felt a connection to him and I’ve been visiting him at the bar almost every day (he speaks English remarkably well ). Sometimes it’s just to say hi and see how he’s doing, but a couple of the times Michael and I have gone and I’ve played chess with him. Not only are we beginning a great friendship, but I now have someone who’s good at Chess to play. Today Michael and I went down to the bar again to play with him and afterwards we spent some time talking. One thing that he talked about was the strong hatred that Romanians feel towards the Gypsies. After a while a few of the other interns were walking by and stopped to talk us. We invited him to dinner at the base and at first he didn’t want to go. After a while longer we decided we had to leave because dinner had already started. As we were walking back a car approached us from behind and the young man was in the car and wanted to join us for dinner. Along the way he asked us about why we like the gypsies and Davita did an amazing job at simply explaining how Jesus has changed us and we choose to like everyone. He simply stated “it’s like you have a new heart” in which I responded “it’s because we do.” He stayed for dinner and even for a few hours to play games with us and walk the girls back to the other YWAM house (the bar is on the way). Probably the most enjoyable experience was watching him help us give food to the Gypsies after dinner despite is outspoken distaste for them.
Other than that, on Tuesday night us interns got to go to a neighboring village and help with a kids ministry they do there. We played games, sang with them and hung-out with them. Wednesday, the interns and myself planned our first English lesson that we’ll be teaching in Dumbraveni (another neighboring village) this coming week. I’m really excited about this and I think it will be a great way to reach out to the community and also invite people to their church plant there. We plan on going out to the schools and passing out flyers for the English lessons Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday was a cultural adventure as Dany Pop, staff here, took me with him to town so that I can send some mail. I went with him first to get his son’s passport finalized so that Dany could take him to Hungary with him. After that, he took me to the post office and after about an hour I got to send my first package and postcards internationally! Dany and I had a good time to get to know each other, and it turns out that one of his sisters currently lives in Modesto (a town literally 20 minutes from my home town). Vio gave us interns our first formal Romanian language lesson on Thursday night. It was pretty fun, and I’m learning…slowly. Also, us interns took it upon ourselves to meet that night and have a debrief of everything so far. It was a really encouraging time to be transparent. We’ve realized that even though this trip is planned for us to be treated as individual interns we are actually treated more as a team and expected to work as one. With that said, it had been a very interesting experience to learn how to become a team on the field (especially since we didn’t have any team building prior to the trip). Thanks to God though, we’re working really well together and are adapting quickly to each other’s personalities and strengths/weaknesses. Friday was a very full day. In the morning we all joined together for a great time of prayer and then dispersed to our individual jobs. I worked outside with Teo and Dan until the afternoon. Then that evening everyone broke off into teams and went to one of the three youth groups that the YWAM base leads. Vio, Christina, Davita and I went to this one very small village with a youth group of about ten. It was a good time and I was given the opportunity to share a Bible story and my testimony. I felt a strong connection with the youth there and I hope to return to the same location next Friday. To end the night, Brad, one of the YWAMers here from the Switzerland team, had a desire to explore Medias at night to search for any evidence of prostitution or brothels. His team specifically has a focus to pray for and uncover any injustice in sex trafficking here. Brad, Michael, and I walked Medias for a few hours that night and we didn’t discover anything (which may or may not be good). But it was a good time to get to know the town more, pray for some locations specifically, and hangout. Saturday…we rested, and the Lord said it was good. Today, we traveled by taxi and then train to Dubraveni to attend the church plant there. A few more people attended this week and Michael did a great job at giving a message on Acts chapter 1 and encouraged us to find contentment in our times of waiting. Other than that, most of my day was dedicated to hanging out with the young man from the bar.
There is much more I would love to write about but I think if anyone is reading this they may be losing interest. Know that I’m having a very educational experience thus far and that I’m very grateful for everyone that helped get me here in prayer and finances. I encourage everyone to continue a life of love for Christ and others no matter what continent they find themself. Some things I would love prayer for: the young man from the bar, a continued heart of service for myself, our “team” to grow stronger and more unified, the missionaries here to have some rest with our service here, and for a close friend back home whose knee needs healing. Thanks everyone, love ya and miss you all! I’m not going to be on FB except to post blogs, but if you need to reach me please email me at zripley@oru.edu.
In Jesus’ Name, Zack
5/21/2012
Buna Ziua,
Well technically it's still morning for everyone back in the states but nonetheless, good evening family and friends. So the period for getting adjusted to Romanian life at the YWAM base has taken a turn today. For the past few days the YWAMers here have allowed us a time to acclimate to everything before they fully thrust us into their daily schedule, which has been awesome since I aquired a nasty bug somewhere between continents. We're all picking up some Romanian everyday (some more than others and I admit to be on the tail end of the learning process). I really do like Romanian life; though we have a lot of the same commodities available to us here as in the states the people here are more warm and the pace of life is slower. This actually affects my assumptions I had prior to coming on my first over seas missions experience. I figured that everyday would be packed of evangelism and busyness. However I'm learning that Romania is a very challenging place to spread the Gospel. It's not that the people here are hostile to the mention of Jesus, it's more like they're unmoved by a Christian message in a country where Christianity has been present for centuries. Even today we met for a time of intercession and discussion for new ways to evangelize Medias. The team here has tried everything they can think of and nothing has really worked. Even though I'm only here for a short time I pray that the interns and myself can be a way God can bring new ideas to the heart of this missions base. We may not be able to make a big difference in the town but I pray that the team and I can be a source of service, encouragement, and even some fresh input.
I do know that I'll get to be involved in multiple ministries throughout the week from their children's ministry, youth ministry, to teaching English as a draw for their church plant in a neighboring village. I'm really excited because I get to lead the English lessons. I may not be good at foreign languages but I am more than proficient at English. I also know I'll get opportunities to preach at their church plant. Their church plant is definitely small but I'm excited to get an opportunity to speak )and speaking with a translator will be a good learning experience). Other than that, I'll be following a missionary here by the name of Vio. He's in charge of communications...stuff. So I'll be helping with the website, filming promotional videos, and whatever he decides. Though this will only comprise half of my actual work here I'm excited to aid him in his work. Today he had me go through a couple websites and make sure all of the grammar and spelling was accurate for the English translations on their websites.
Over the weekend, Dany and Anna (a couple at the base) gave us interns a tour of Medias where we got to experience the town square and the town's center. It was a great time but I'm pretty sure I'm okay with doing some actual work. I've discovered I don't like... not doing. I was very excited about getting our weekly schedule this morning because now I can feel like I have some purpose here and not feel like a tourist. However, I think because it is a short trip and because I'm not fully going to get tired of Romanian culture the whole trip will will seem somewhat vacation-like. Side note-being at a YWAM base and talking with many YWAM people who have been in the program for years has got me considering a prolonged internship with YWAM. Something to pray about :D
To end this blog I shall admit that I have already fallen in love here in Romania. Just down the street from the base is a gypsy community and Mia (she's staff here at the base) has taken it upon herself to introduce us to the community, which is comprised mostly of children. The kids their have stolen all of our hearts. Every time we go over there they want me to dance (I'm still trying to get the rest of the team to dance though the young buys are much more effective at coercing a couple of the girls into dancing). I rather enjoy Romanian dancing because all it really takes is a little rhythm, some snapping/clapping/foot stomping, and a lot of endurance. Not to compare, but they are much better sports than American children. They get hit with a ball during their version of dodge ball and even if it's in the face they happily jump over to the sidelines and await another round (I didn't think that was possible!). Also, I'm beginning to think I must look Italian or something because the last couple times we've went separate adults have asked me, "Italiano?," in which I respond "Americano." Alright, it's almost dinner time here at the base so I must go now. I love you all and I'm keeping as many of you in my prayers as I can without throwing a blanket prayer over everyone. Nevertheless, I'm confident our Father is ok with a blanket prayer every now and again-I mean there's no way I can pray for all my official FB friends and have time to do anything else.
Ciao, Zack :P
5/17/2012
Salud,
After about 24 hours of travel the team and I landed in Romania last night about midnight Romanian time. Our six hour lay-over in London was exciting since something I ate caused me many frequent flyer miles with London airport's square toilets, Also, I've come to the conclusion that I am highly allergic to airplane air. :D The flights were still fun and that team and I were happy for any little sleep we could catch on the flights and on the car ride to the YWAM base. We were greeted at the airport by two awesome guys name Vio and Teo who, despite their little English, kept us good company and drove us safely on the five hour drive through the windy Romanian roads to Medias, where the YWAM base is located.
They graciously allowed us to catch up on sleep and greeted us with a good lunch of soup and bread. Today will be a day of rest and orientations as we begin to acclimate to Romanian life here on the base. I'm sure to grow familiar with the Romanina language and the beautiful culture here. Thanks for all of the prayers and the support thus far and all of you are in my prayers and thoughts. I'll keep this updated every now and then.
In Jesus Name, Zack
B
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See Ya Soon Alexis!
you lived it!.
you lived it!.