You may have seen at the Desiring God website that Johnny is speaking in Europe soon.
Our first stop is Bucharest . Some friends, both here and in Romania, have been urging us for years to come. I’m so glad the time is finally here.
And I’m glad you’ll be traveling along, via Tell Me When to Pack. So I want to give one of you a gift from Bucharest (or it might be from one of our other destinations).
To be eligible, comment at this post with any or all of the following:
- Are you Romanian?
- Have you ever lived in or visited Bucharest or elsewhere in Romania?
- What do you think of when you think of Romania?
- What would you want to do if you were visiting Bucharest?
- Is there particular Romanian food one should not miss?
- What would you recommend as a gift to bring back?
Deadline is 11:59 pm cst, May 18.
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I have visited Romania. It was my first mission trip; taken in the fall of 2002. My husband and I went to help on a construction team at an orphanage in Oradea. We did not go to Bucharest-it is on the other side of the country (we came in through Budapest, Hungary.) The border crossing was scary, and it was a bit disconcerting seeing the armed guard with rifles walking all over Oradea. Remnants from communism still visible, and people still living in want. Many gypsies living a gypsy lifestyle along the river. Sad and depressed place without the Gospel.
I’m sure you will have a wonderful time. All blessings for a fruitful time for you both.
I am not Romanian, nor have I ever been there. However, I have had Romanian Sweet Bread several times and it is delicious! I would imagine it is a common item you will find while there. Can’t wait to hear if you try some. I do know they use lamb in a lot of their dishes.
I have never been to Romania, have no Romanian roots, and don’t even know what kind of food are native to the country! The one thing I think about when hearing of Romania is orphans. I have several friends who served on short term trips in the orphanages of Romania, and I got to live vicariously thru them in hearing their testimonies of working with the many children in need. I think a great gift would be something made by one of the orphans, or a picture of a child in a beautiful Romanian frame that someone could have in their home and pray for regularly.
I, too, sadly, think of orphans when I hear of Romania…I think from prime time documentaries that I saw in the mid-90′s. I d
(continued) I haven’t followed the situation there but I’m hoping it has improved??
I think it has. I expect we’ll hear something about that, because I’m pretty sure Romanians today wouldn’t be comfortable with that memory hanging on as a stereotype now.
I have never been out of the US! Lord willing one day I will!! When I think of Romania I think of dark and cold. I should probably do some research! My little sister has been there on a missions trip and LOVED it! Praying for you all!
Thank you for your ministry to me! God has used you greatly in my life
!
In Him,
Stephanie Rex
I cannot think of anything. I just remember that it was always one of the settings of the assassin games that I used to play when I was younger.
I’ve never been to Romania, but when I think of that country, I think of petite gymnasts, our friends that went there to do student ministry years ago, and the little Romanian Baptist Church near us here in NC. I know your time there will bless many.
I am not Romanian but one of my friends is a scholar when it comes to Romanian history and has written two published works on it. I’ve never been to Romania and to be honest it’s a country I know little about compared to some others. My fore-mentioned friend’s wife made a dish called Mousakka with lamb that is very delicious. I think of the orphanages there and know of several who have taken short-term missions trips to work in them. Some of the Gypsy hand-made items would make a wonderful gift to bring home.
What are the titles of your friend’s books? Are they in English?
The first thing that comes to mind when I hear about Romania is Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who suffered for Christ there, and is now with the Lord he loved and glorified throughout his life.
I have never been outside of North/Central America, so my only Romanian experiences
Are vicarious. I have a friend who adopted a boy named Korchy from Romania. He is now a
Young man. Also, our last church, which was in So. Cal, supported a pastor in Uradia (?sp)
He visited our church a few times and spoke of his work in the church and local university.
Besides an orphan, I cannot think of anything wonderful to bring back, although I’m sure
There are many wonderful things there.
Lord be with you in your travels!
Ann
When I think of Romania I think of the many colorful gypsy families living there.
I have never been to Romania, but my husband and I are preparing to serve as career missionaries in Madrid, where there are many (MANY!) Romanian immigrants. Apparently Spanish and Romanian are very similar in language, so it is easy for Romanians to make a life in Spain. There is some animosity among Spaniards towards Romanians, unfortunately, and Romanians experience some discrimination there.
I love to visit Bucharest.
Never been to Romania but several in our church have gone for short and long term missions. I think of the Romania orphans. And I think of great singers as two of my friends in grad school were fantastic opera singers from Romania.
Enjoy your trip and making memories!
I visited Romania shortly after the Revolution. Very friendly people with a sad history. Should be a lot different now. I remember the contrast between the squalor of apartment blocks and the massive monstrocity of Ceaucescu’s palace. Democratic freedom and EU membership brings a brighter future. Religious freedom brings an even brighter future! Try zacusca (za-coos-kar), it’s a tomato relish which is rich and sweet. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! You’ll have a great time in a land full of hope.
I have been to Romania. I flew into Bucharest but spent most of my three weeks there in Brasov. I think of the streetchildren when I think of Romania, as well as the gypsy families living beyond the outskirts of the cities. I would definitely recommend looking up the nearest gypsy villages and making the trek out to meet them. They are so sweet and so hungry for God’s love. As far as gifts, there are so many neat handmade items you could buy there, both in the cities and out in villages as well. I’m sure you’ll find something lovely.
Praying for a safe trip filled with utterances of the glory of God!
I am not Romanian, but my wife and three kids all are. I first moved to Romania in 2001 when I served there as a missionary for a little over a year. It has long been my desire to return and serve there, but the Lord has kept us here in local church ministry until this year – we plan on moving back to Romania as missionaries this July.
I have visited Bucharest before, and once we arrive in Romania, we will be living there. When I think of Romania, I think of the millions who do not have the saving knowledge of the grace of God. I think of the close to 10,000 villages without an evangelical church. I think of a people who I love and want to serve.
If you are in Romania, you have to eat Sarmale – some people don’t like it, but it is totally a Romanian dish that everyone who visits should try. Best gift idea – go to Starbucks and they sell a Romanian Starbucks coffee mug…usually they will throw in a free cup of coffee when you buy it too. Most trinkets people buy get burred into a box…coffee mugs tend to hang around a while.
In the ’80′s our Pastor and wife were very good friends of a Brit who would smuggle Bibles and needed supplies into Romania and tell us about the needs of the Romanian pastors. The pastor that stands out in my mind is one who was not really old, younger than I am now, but had diabetes. He could not get insulin because he would not renounce Christ. If I were in Romania I would want to talk to those Christians who perservered through those times.
I have never been to Romania, but my husband has been to do ministry with RAM, and he’s headed back in July. I had hoped to be able to go with him, but it didn’t work out for this year. Whenever I hear about Romania I usually think of the things I’ve seen in photos from his trips–the faces, carts for transportation, and huge sunflower fields. All my friends also said that they found pizza to be much different that they were used to here. It was more like bread with ketchup on it, and they didn’t recommend it.
Romanian American Mission is one of the sponsors of the conference we’re here for.
Oh wow. That’s great! Christi really has a heart for his home country.
I am not Romanian, but I have been to Romania five times now on short term mission trips. My last trip was in 2006, and I was there for two months. I miss it so much! When I think of Romania, I think of children, God’s precious babies, who so desire love and human interaction. I think about the hospitality and compassion of the Romanian people. I think of the gorgeous villages and the fast paced city. I think of people, still coming out of the grips of communism who thirst for the freedom of Jesus. I am actually going back to Bucharest in less than a month with a team to serve in some orphanages. I can’t wait to love on those little ones. My favorite Romanian food is Mici. Delicious! I can’t wait to have it again. A great gift to bring back? Perhaps some hand-made lace–absolutely beautiful!
I’ve never been to Romania, but our church has sent short term teams there for many years. I know that it’s a hard place to live, and the hope of the Gospel is the only hope at all. I’d love to spend time with the gypsies, who have been so incredibly generous to their American friends.
I have lived in Bucarest all my life.The comunists have done many damages to it,the house of the people that you saw yesterday was built in place of a lovely old part of the city that was simply torn down . But that is too long a story for a post !So , I recomend you visit the” Village museum ” and the Cotroceni palace which is really lovely!
I don’t think you will have time for some more, but the Atheneum concert hall is interesting too, and why not , maybe a classical concert one evening would be nice, too.
Another nice placxe to visit would be the Mogosoaia palace , not far from the city.
And as a gorgeous place to eat I would recomend the Stirbey palace which is also not far from the city.
We are very glad to have you here with us in Bucarest , it is like a dream come true,and I wish you a pleasent stay and that you enjoy everyting you will do here.
Ina,
Thank you for the wonderful suggestions. I have heard enough to know that Bucharest is a city filled with stories.
It was very good to meet you. We have felt very welcome this first time in Romania.
Blessings.
I have not been to Romania but my dear friend, Emma, is from Romania. She has a beautiful life testimony that I wish I had space to share! One thing I admire about her is resolution of faith… to maintain a positive outlook while in America…enduring at least eight years without seeing her family in Romania (they could not even come to her wedding). I post her responses for her:
Are you Romanian? Yes, I was born in Targu Mures in 1977.
Have you ever lived in or visited Bucharest or elsewhere in Romania? I’ve lived in Targu Mures for almost 21 years. One of my most favorite places to visit is Podoleni, my grandfather’s village in Moldova, right over the Carpathians. Grandpa still wakes up in the morning when the rooster crows and spends most of his days in the garden or tending to his chickens and his goat.
What do you think of when you think of Romania? I think of my parents and how much I miss them, I think of my mom’s cooking. See, it’s hard for me to explain to my mother that the food here tastes different even when I cook with the same ingredients. Romanian cheese is the best, especially cow cheese. You can find the best bread in the world there. I remember when we had missionaries visiting with us, they would have been content to just sit and eat bread with a nice cup of tea. You don’t need to toast it or put anything on it. [Amy's insert: My kind of bread!
When Emma and I were roommates, why didn't I learn more about Romanian cooking??]
What would you want to do if you were visiting Bucharest? I would go to a large supermarket and look for CEAI DE FRUCTE DE PADURE (dried wild flowers and wild herbs tea)
Is there particular Romanian food one should not miss? Their cheese and bread
Anything that’s home cooked, meaning anything that takes hours and hours of preparation in the kitchen usually tastes wonderful.
What would you recommend as a gift to bring back? The merchants who are selling on the side of the road sell beautiful sheep skins. They are soft and wonderful, we use them to keep warm, they also look beautiful. (Watch out though, they shouldn’t charge you more than $20 per sheep skin)
If you would want to haggle over prices, even in foreign country where you don’t speak their language, Romania is perfect place to do it
God bless you and have a wonderful stay! Emma Diment
Romania- Went there while stationed in the military in Germany… I went to share about firefighting and the different effects on different types of fires. We took in many bikes to bless our hosts…. Years later and now a believer, how I wish I could say, “yes, I’ve been to Romania,,,went there to share the Gospel to save them from a far more important type of fire, took in Bible to bless them”….Maybe one day…God willing. Enjoy!
I am not Romanian nor have I ever visited Romania. The closest i got to experiencing Romania was from a good friend who worked in an orphanage for 6 monthes:)) She told me many things about the culture, the people, the language etc.. I am not quite sure what i think about regarding Romania.
To be honets i don’t know too much. I only know of what mr friend told me and i can’t say with confidence that those facts are for all of Romania. I know its a hard place to live given the history.
I would want to try anything to eat that resembled the “best” of Romanian food.
I would love to go on a missions trip there sharing the hope of Christ, mainly with children and women like my friend did. She spoke of how stone cold the women were and the 30 babies in the orphanage hardly ever cried because there was so few help to care for the infants. They need love and nuture that Christ offers and allows us to give. I would also love to see different places while there and visit different churches and experience their times of worhsip!
As a gift i would love anything that spoke loudly and beautifully of the Romanian culture!
I’ve been to Romania a few times. My brother was adopted from there in the early 90s. My parents started a non-profit ministry there 20 years ago, and my husband just got home from Bucharest last night! I think he may have sat next to you and John at the airport waiting to fly to Munich.
It’s a sad but beautiful country. I know you’ve left already, but I hope you had a chance to try papanache, Romanian donuts!
Yes, we did meet your husband at the airport and yes, we did indeed have papanasi. If you go back just a few posts, you’ll see what I wrote about food and dining.
•Are you Romanian? No
•Have you ever lived in or visited Bucharest or elsewhere in Romania? No
•What do you think of when you think of Romania? Gypsies or the fish shape of the country
•Is there particular Romanian food one should not miss? cock-a-leek-a soup
Elisabeth
•Are you Romanian? No
•Have you ever lived in or visited Bucharest or elsewhere in Romania? No
•What do you think of when you think of Romania? I think of my sister’s great desire to be a missionary to the Romanian gypses there someday. Also I think of the Romanian Cock-A-Leek soup that she made. It was very good!
I went to Galati, Romania on a missions trip in 2003 and had the pleasure to stay with a family in their flat for 10 days. We celebrated New Years in an orphanage, Went to a children’s Hospital, took homeless kids to McDonalds, visited a leper village, and visited a Gypsy village. This was one of the most life changing trips i have ever gone on. My heart broke over and over for the people I met and I fell in love with this country. The people are so loving and remind me of good “southern hospitality”.
I’m not sure if I had one bad meal while there and the potato salad was amazing. It reminded me a bit of the southern style I grew up on but everything in it was chopped supper fine. The Sarmale was awesome too!
I did find out that Romania has a lot of hand made china and glass ware. Some of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen. This is what I brought back as gifts and still have many pieces in my home today.
No, I’m not Romania, nor have I been there. But I love the stories that have trickled toward us from Romania, via the Agnews and Sylvia…
When I think of Romania, I think of a poor country and one that went thru the holocaust.