Romania 2019
WWOB returned to Romania after 30 years. We were there right after the Revolution in 1989 with my brother Wendell Smith and Pastor Dick Iverson (and many others). It is exciting to return and see what God is doing in this great country 30 years after the defeat of Communism.
After flying into Bucharest we then caught a flight to Oradea for our first week of ministry there. It was such an honor to be with Pastor Ted and Monalisa Ciuciui along with his mom, Zemfira, and his brother Calin (and his wife Laura) at Centrul Crestin Salem. They have an amazing facility there and we stayed on the 4th floor with the sanctuary on the 1st floor.
We started the Worship Seminar on Friday night with a sweet time of worship with the local worship team led by Adi on the guitar. This was the first international ministry trip that I brought my new Yamaha electric cello (donated by Fane Campean last year! Thanks Fane!) So Maryl (on the flute) and I joined the worship team as we all worshiped in Romanian! We continue to enjoy singing in many languages and were able to sing a few songs with them in Romanian. They let me play my cello intro to ‘Our God’ which continues to bring a unique take on a great song. After the worship I taught on the Vision of Worship (my main topic I teach everywhere). My translator Silviu did a great job. Since the seminar was split between three nights I decided to divide my teaching accordingly with a different emphasis each night. So Friday night was Jesus and the Father in worship.
During the days I met with the pastors and leaders during our week there. I love being able to spend individual time with leaders and imparting encouragement and wisdom as needed. We were also able to find some time to see the city and enjoy the great Romanian food. Salem has an intern (Danielle Czarnecki) this year from Michael Servello Jr.’s church in Utica, NY and she served us so well (especially finding food late at night!).
Saturday night’s seminar I got to lead worship in Romanian with Calin Ciuciui as my translator and co-worship-leader. Challenging but exciting. I then continued my teaching on the Holy Spirit – leading a rousing session of everyone receiving the anointing God has given us by His Holy Spirit as in Isaiah 61. Powerful night ending with a prophetic song that God gave me over the church. Beautiful time in the Holy Spirit. Afterwards, a man named Stefan told me had been miraculously healed of a painful back ailment during our declaration of Isaiah 61! Praise God!
Sunday morning was again a sweet time of worship flowing with the team. I sang my song ‘Mighty God’ in Romanian (Dumnezeu) followed by Prayer is for the Warrior. I ministered on Forgiveness: Pathway to Freedom in Worship. This seemed such a timely word for a brokenhearted church family that has gone through a lot of heartache over the last few years. God has good plans ahead tho! Sunday night we finished the seminar addressing the Living Word and Healthy Relationships.
Monday we got to minister personally to the worship team and Tuesday we met with the Church leaders to troubleshoot issues the church is facing. Tuesday night we ended our time with Salem by prophetically ministering at their weekly prayer service. God gave us the right words and the right time to bring healing to this great church.
Wednesday we flew to Bucharest (the capitol) and were picked up by Ligia and Andree Toma – they drove us 3 hours to Mangalia, a city on the Black Sea. They put us up in a wonderful hotel right off the beach! After a 12 hour sleep (!) we walked the beach of this beautiful resort area. That night we met with the worship team for the host church, Biserica Crestina Speranta. We had a rehearsal that night and got to know this good group. We also met the very first converted Muslim in Romania who was playing bass for the worship team! Friday we started the Worship Seminar with 7 churches represented (Pentecostal and Baptist)! What a great group. After a stirring worship set I once again established the Vision of Worship. My translator, Max, was so good he would begin before I was done and stayed right with me. It was fun. Because of that, I was able to get further in my teaching: Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit! Again a great response as they stood and read with passion Isaiah 61 – receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Saturday was a full day of teaching, finishing up the Vision and then going into Leading the Flow of Worship and the Worship Team in the Flow. I asked people to bring their instruments so we had a bunch of guitarists playing along with the team on the examples of flowing and transitions that I taught on. Very fun. Everyone was stretched in the possibilities of what God can do through willing servants in worship. In the afternoon, we had a Q&A session followed by prayer over each team. Very powerful. A lot of weeping and receiving His word over their lives.
Sunday morning we ministered at Biserica Crestina Speranta with Pastor Dorel Toma. Flowing with this team was delightful – love their passionate hearts (led by Timi Dumitru on guitar). I once again sang my song ‘Mighty God’ in Romanian (Dumnezeu) followed by Prayer is for the Warrior – this time my translator translated the whole song including the chorus: ‘Let the Warriors Arise and Pray’ and got the people to sing along on the chorus. I then preached on Positioning Yourself from 2 Chronicles 20 (story of Jehoshaphat) Great response. We then drove to nearby Constanta which is the big resort city on the Black Sea. We had lunch there and then visited a mosque and an Orthodox church before heading to Biserica Raul Vietii for the evening service there. After a another powerful and passionate worship service (the Mangalia team led) I sang Dumnezeu (they sang along) and Prayer is for the Warrior again. Then I ministered the same word from the morning service with another great response. My translator, Max, sang all my singing examples, quite well I must say! I also applied Jeremiah 29:10-11 (70 years in Babylon) to the 30 years post-Communism period that God still has a plan and a future for them and Romania! Position yourself in faith and believe for what God is about to do.
Monday we packed up and drove to Bucharest where I have a lot of memories from our time 30 years ago. I asked Pastor Dorel to take me to the government buildings where we took an iconic picture with Wendell and Pastor Dick. We found it and took a similar picture – I was so happy to find it since it was such a powerful moment for us and such a significant time for Romania.
We flew our Tuesday morning and 24 hours later landed in Portland Tuesday night. Travel is weird that way! Ha!
Of course, both churches have asked us to return next year so we will see what God does in that regard. We do love Romania and know God has great things in store for these faithful people. God is so good. We count ourselves so honored to be able to travel to these amazing nations and taste and see what He is doing around the world. Thanks for the prayers and support.
In Him, your worship missionaries,
Dr. Tim and Maryl Smith
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