March 14 - Visiting State Orphanage, Baius, and Bear's Cave

Let me first thank you for your patience! The internet connection has been very sporadic lately, and so I have not been able to post the pictures and journal entries as often as I would like. I want you all to know that I read the e-mails and blog comments to the team on a daily basis and they are greatly encouraged to know that you are all in prayer for them!

Today was spent visiting one of Romania's state orphanages (no pictures allowed, however), the city of Baius, and the famous Bear's Cave. The state orphanage was an eye-opening experience for all of us as we saw the difference between the Christian orphanage of loving families versus the institutional orphanage. We were able to walk in and spend some time with the children, who were mostly teenagers. We wanted to do so much more for them, and even share Jesus with them, but were not given the opportunity.

We also went to Baius, the city where Maria Thomas was born. It was encouraging to think about how God sovereignly brought her to Oradea where she would meet her new family! We were not able to go into the hospital there, but it was a good experience for all of us.

As we continued on our way, we were all enamored with the beauty of God's creation! The snow-capped Carpathean Mountain range was simply breath-taking and beautitful. Soon we arrived at the famous "Bear's Cave." This was awesome! This is comparable to several of the caverns in the U.S., but unique in its story. The story is told of how 141 bears were trapped inside this cave when a sudden cave-in took place. All of the bears perished in the cave. Each bear weighed over 1500 pounds and were 9 feet tall! The cave of was discovered shortly after that and they appropriately named it "Bear's Cave." When we ended our tour, we were asked to sing to the group. We sang "All in All" and our voices echoed through the cave! It was a great time for all of us.

As we returned to the church, the team was able to call home and talk with their parents. This was a huge blessing to them since they all have so much to share. When we returned and ate dinner, we had a special time of fellowship and worship as a team. We have done these things before, but this time would prove to be different. We spent over 3 hours singing and praising God for what He has done in us during this trip! I was dumbfounded to hear testimony after testimony from these teens about how God has broken them and opened their eyes to the sin in their life and how they are just going through the motions spiritually. They testified of how they talk about loving God and loving each other, but how it MUST be evidenced in their walk or it's meaningless! They asked each other for forgiveness and committed their lives to serving Christ wholeheartedly. Tears streamed down our faces as we made this committment to God and each other. It was so evident that the Holy Spirit was moving and working! He was in that room using the Word to convict us and challenge us to holy living and keeping each other accountable. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. ALL of the prayers that we prayed for this team are being answered. God is breaking us, shaping us, and using us for His glory! Our prayer now is that this trip will not just be some spiritual experience, but that we will truly be changed from the inside out to love and serve God with all of our hearts! We must desire nothing but God, possess nothing but God, and pursue nothing but God. Continue to pray for us as He continues to mold us and shape us into His image!

Your fellow servant,

Pastor Stephen