The Power of Community

Romans 12:4-5 “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.”

As Paul and I began to pray about becoming full time missionaries in Romania, we knew that there would be a lot of preparation work needed before we moved. Paul and I both feel a strong calling to missions in Romania and feel that God has orchestrated our lives to equip us for this journey. However, we immediately recognized that a whole community would need to come together to work alongside the Hungarian Baptist Union (HBU) and us to see the camp established. We very quickly came to the conclusion that we would need to take a trip with camp developer experts prior to us moving to Romania in order to begin to build a community of support for this ministry.

On April 21st, 2014 we took a team of 15 to Romania. Our team consisted of an architect, a water systems/sewage expert, a contractor, ministry leaders, and corporate experts. We had a wealth of knowledge and wisdom as well as passion on this trip. During our time in Romania, we worked closely with the HBU to determine the vision, governance and facility development of the camp. We also worked closely with a local construction company to cost out the development plan and discuss local construction standards. During this time, we were able to work with the future camp directors of Camp Falcon Rock. Tamas and Tunde are local to Romania and have been hired as the camp directors. They joined us in all of the camp discussions and will be vital partners in the development of the camp.

We had the opportunity to connect with the people of the village through a number of different opportunities. We led a VBS in 2 villages and were able to hangout with over 40 kids. In the first village we handed out Olympic Team Canada Soccer jerseys and then played a number of relay race games. The women of the team had a heart for the women in the nearby villages and decided to host a women’s event. This was the first time the women that we work with had the opportunity to experience a women’s ministry event. The night was incredible and powerful. We shared Canadian desserts, testimonies, crafts and devotions. We bonded quickly as we realized that women all around the world deal with similar issues and that we are all unified because of our love for Christ! Lastly, we were able to connect with 2 families in the village that were in need of support. We bought groceries for the families, brought some needed gifts and spent time sharing stories with them. All of these events encouraged us to see the incredible opportunities there are to serve the people of Romania even beyond the camp ministry.

Over the next few months before we move to Romania, we have a lot to accomplish. We will be having a number of meetings regarding the development plans for the facility and fundraising plan. Tamas and Tunde will be arriving in Canada on June 1st and will be joining Paul and I at Camp Caroline to spend the summer learning the ins and outs of camp ministry.

The Kingdom can only be pursued when we work as a body of Christ. This trip helped us start to build a community of support for the camp development however, we are still working toward establishing long-term partners for this ministry in order to establish a rich community of support to help see this camp come to life!

If you are interested in financially supporting us personally or the camp you can click here or email us at rootsromania@gmail.com to receive more information. We’d love you to be ongoing ministry partners if you are led to! If you are interested in reading our support letter please click here.

Please continue to pray for this ministry! Our current prayer requests are:

1. Financial Support for Paul and I as well as the camp

2. Fruitful summer for Tamas, Tunde, Paul and I as we work together at Camp Caroline

3. Continued wisdom and progress for the camp development plans

Thank you for being incredible supporters in our lives and in this ministry!

Tanya and Paul