Some pictures from our final week in Romania

A safe return

I sent the following email out yesterday.

God bless. Dan


Buna Ziua (good afternoon),

Multumesc (thank you) for your prayers and support. We did make it back safe and sound to Washington DC via Milan on Saturday. Our second week was a lot different from the first week in and near the city. It was much more remote, and reminded me a little of summer camp in the Adirondacks as a kid -- complete with bunk beds, outhouses, raised-barrel rainwater showers (appreciated after a longhike) and Iosif's Mama's fantastic cooking.

God kept us safe in the mountains. We were with a church youth group from the city there, also a very different experience, and some neighbors were also involved in our time there. Several kids prayed to accept Jesus, and more asked many questions. So, a lot of seeds were planted.

We spent one long day hiking with the kids in the mountains, and another exploring a huge natural cave system. It's not the easiest thing to leave those kids after developing relationships but it's good to beback. Thank you again for your prayers and support!

I posted more pictures than you'll probably care to wade through onto a photo-sharing site, and will send another email which will allow you (if you like) to take 20 seconds or so to register for free and browse the photos. With the amount of photos, you might have a tough time running a slide show if you don't have a high-speed connection.

God bless and La revedere (goodbye),
Dan

Back from Romania

Well, Rick, Jana, Ann and I have been back in the states since Monday, so I thought it was about time that I posted something about our trip back.
The rest of the team left at 8am Sunday morning, and we were all sad to see them go. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. The Romanians who live in the house where we stayed invited us to have lunch with them and their family who was visiting after a wedding the previous day. (A different one than the one we attended) This was an interesting experience because most of the conversation was in Romanian. They tried to include us as much as possible and most of the people spoke at least some English. Ann and I decided to go for a walk in the mid-afternoon, and we almost got caught in a thunderstorm, but we just made it inside before it got bad. We went to bed early because Iosif was picking us up at 4:45 the next morning.
We had no problems in Timisoara, or on the flight to Milan and it was nice to have a three hour layover. The signs said the flight was delayed, and going to leave at 10:45, not 10:30. They didn't start checking people through until 10:10, before they let anyone through to the bus to get on the plane they checked most of the bags for liquids and took them out. Because of this it took a long time for us to get on board the plane. Our plane took off an hour late (11:30) and landed 10 minutes early, (1:50) isn't God amazing?! From the time we landed till we got through customs was only 50 minutes, and customs was a breeze.
We were all glad to be home, but I at least would have liked to stay longer, and I think we would all like to go back to Romania someday. Overall, this trip was amazing, and I had a wonderfull time. I am looking forward to hearing how this week went for the rest of the team.
Christin

Update from second week

Dan sent out this e-mail yesterday from camp, and though it's a little dated I thought I'd post it here.
Christin

Friends,Checking in from the mountain village of Labacea, Romania. This is myfirst contact with the outside world (via internet, tv, or radio, etc)since leaving Timisoara on early Sunday morning, and might be the lastuntil we return this weekend. We're working up at a tiny camp ownedby Iosif, who works for International Bible Society. This week wehave about 18 kids, ages ranging from about 7 - 15 years old, whoIosif and Bob (from our group) bused in from Timisoara, about a 3 hourdrive. These kids are affiliated somehow with a Baptist church inTimisoara, so it's a different dynamic as many of them do know aboutJesus. We have also been joined by a few people from the villagehere.We are doing a lot of the standard VBS program that we did last weekin Satchinez, and the kids are responding well. They are especiallyenjoying the puppet shows and the songs. Yesterday, most of us wenton a long hike around and through some mountains, a hike which turnedout to be 8 hours long. Jemi stayed back in camp along with 3 or 4kids who have injured themselves in some way (twisted ankles, etc) andhad an interesting time here. The sights during the hike werebeautiful, but it was quite a scary time as well since much of theterrain was along treacherous narrow paths beside cliffs andembankments along a natural canyon with cliffs and rivers. It wasespecially a challenge for Wayne and Reiko, a dear older couple, aswell as some of the smaller children. God was good and answered ourmany prayers and no one was seriously injured.One unexpected way in which I've been stretched is in my role as theteam "doctor." I originally had signed up to be the team medicalofficer, to research medical/health issues and put together a teamfirst aid kit, etc. However, I've been treating a seemingly endlesssuccession of minor injuries to various children since I've been here... something that's been rewarding but also which I've not reallytrained to do. One thing which we discussed in our team bible studythis morning is how God uses the weak and foolish to accomplish hispurposes so that it is evident he is the one doing the work.This evening we will sing with the kids, put on puppet shows, share atestimony, and related things. Earlier today, in addition to aRomanian VBS Bible lesson for the kids, then some songs, I got toshare a brief lesson with them about how God honors persistence in ourseeking him. We used some some balloon animal props, incorporatingsome of the interesting balloon skills we learned from Rick and Janabefore they returned to the US on Aug. 14. Later, the kids had atremendous time playing a couple hours' of other balloon-relatedgames, water-balloon volleyball and balloon stomp. Tomorrow we planto again deviate from the routine VBS plan by taking the kids on acaving expedition with a guide for part of the day.Unlike in Timisoara, the living conditions are very spartan here(though the food has been great) and much more of a challenge. Godhas really united our team, and protected us from many potentialpitfalls. We have had a variety of challenges, but it is clear thatGod is working in our lives and those of the children.Tomorrow evening we will probably incorporate an invitation to come toJesus into the program. Please continue to pray that God will reachand bless each of the children and adults who are involved andlistening, and that he will do all his purposes in our time here.Looking forward to getting back to the States this weekend. God bless,Dan

A scattering of random photos

Group photo.



















Help ... what is happening to our fearless leader?



















Some of the many sheep in Satchinez.



















You may refer to this man either as Wayne, or as "the gorilla."






















The great (new) Romanian sport of kickball.



















Burning fields in Satchinez.




















George, his wife, and one of several children. George was extremely instrumental in encouraging and supporting the VBS effort in Satchinez.



















New Bibles all around!



















Sunset in Satchinez.

Going home on the early plane

Hi! I'll be flying home on Monday, after a good 10 days in Timisoara. The trip has been more incredible than I had imagined. There are many things that I have learned about myself and doing ministry and working in a team and working with kids. I have been out of my comfort zone several times. It has been a period of growth for sure.

It was amazing to see the children as they prayed to accept the Lord, and as they received their new Bibles. What an inspirational time! Doing puppet skits, working with the crafts, playing games with the kids, sharing my testimony, doing a puppet review of the lesson, and doing a chalk talk all were aspects that I was involved in, and I enjoyed it all.

It seems like we just got here in some respects, but it seems like we've been here for a long time in others. I look forward to a nice glass of Diet Coke (not Coke Light) on ice. As a matter of fact, I look forward to ice. It will be hard to go back to cooking for my family after having such good meals here.

I hope to keep in touch with Iosif and Alena in Timisoara, and would love the opportunity to come back.

Jana

Off to the mountains

Tomorrow morning (Sunday) we are heading on a 2.5 hour drive to a camp in the mountains, where we will be having another VBS throughout the week for a number of very poor kids from Timisoara. We probably won't have much in the way of communication access, but please continue to keep us in prayer.

On Monday morning -- Aug 14 -- Rick, Jana, Ann, and Christin will be heading back to the States. We are so grateful they could come and for all their great work over the past week-plus. The rest of us will be flying back to the States on Aug 19.

Pace (Romanian for "peace"),

Dan

Last day at Satchinez

Today was our last day at Satchinez. It was also the only day when the weather affected our plans, it rained a lot last night and there were huge puddles everywhere. We usually seperated the kids half would go outside and do games while the rest stayed inside and did crafts. Today however, they all stayed inside and did crafts at the same time, and when they were done they could go outside for games. The evening service was held inside for the first time.
It was very sad to have to leave the kids, and they all seemed very sad to see us go. This evening they all received Bibles along with a picture of the team, which they were very excited to receive. Not all the kids were able to be there, but for the first time there were more girls than boys. After the service was over the kids came crowding around us, asking us to sign their Bibles (many of which we had signed this afternoon before we gave them out) and/or the backs of their pictures of the team. One girl Diana (Pronounced Dee-anna) had brought the journal she had made on the first day, and asked us to sign that. Many kids also wanted to have their pictures taken with us. One of the girls Ana-Maria's mother was so impressed with what we had done this week that she asked several of us to have our picture taken with her daughter. Many of these kids will never see the pictures printed out, but they didn't care at all!
As a gift for the pastor of the church, Dan went through the pictures on his camera, picked some nice ones, which we had printed out, we bought a nice picture frame to put them in which Mairee and Katy organized, and we presented it to George towards the end of this evening's service. Dan also took in his digital camera card of pictures to be burned onto a disk, and he gave one copy to George and the other to Iosef. George seemed very impressed and greatfull for the gifts.
Overall this has been an exciting week, and we've had a great time. The kids seemed to enjoy it as well!
Christin (or Cristina)

Praise the Lord

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10: 13-16

____________________


Friends,

Thanks for your prayers. Please see Dave's follow-up email, below. Yesterday was a great blessing. Thanks for being a part of the GreatCommission. We will be sharing eternity in heaven with a number of precious little ones from Satchinez, Romania. It's been a challengeto update this site over the last couple of days due to schedule, etc. Please be encouraged and blessed.

Dan

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dave Pantzer
Date: Aug 10, 2006 5:36 PM
Subject: Re: Important prayer request

Hi All,

Quite a night we've had! God once again kept the rain adequately at bay. Thank you for your prayers! During the invitation, most kidsprayed aloud, and during the classic "hand-raising" part, a largepercentage raised their hands. Perhaps a more significant gauge, after we were done, we asked the kids who had prayed to follow Jesusto come apart and talk to our host Iosif, and we brought out sportsequipment and started playing with others. Iosif took those onesaside - later he told us he asked them questions to verify theirunderstanding, and he estimated more than 30 came, based on somematerials he gave them - Bible study booklets with the book of Mark. In the fall, he will help start a kids club in that village. One in particular, an older boy named Valentino, was a pleasure for me to see over there. I talked with him a little afterwards, and he indicated that "Isus" was in his heart. It was great. (Isus = Jesus)

Tomorrow is our last day in Satchinez; we will give out kid's Biblesand some photos of the team. Please pray for the last interactionswith these kids.

On Monday, 4 of our number will return to the US. Please pray forthat group, as they navigate air travel under heightened securityconditions. Please also pray for the remaining 8 who will travel toIosif's camp to spend the second week with a group of 18 kids. Please pray for Iosif, the other Romanian leaders, and for the kids.

Thanks and goodbye for now, I should say good night - it's 12:30 and we are driving between 3 and4 hours total each day!

Dave

On 8/10/06, Dave Pantzer wrote:
>
>
> Hi All,
> Just a quick note to let you all know that tonight is an important night for the week 1 VBS. Our evening program is scheduled for 6 PM. Christen will give a testamony, then Jana will give a chalk talk, then there will be an invitation message and an invitation to Jesus. This is something like a foray into enemy territory, and the enemy will not like it. Please pray for protection for the team, the kids, and especially for Christin, Jana and myself. Please cover this evening in prayer. Thank you. 6PM our time is 11AM EST and 10AM Central.
>
> Thanks!
> Dave

Romanian Kids and Digital Cameras

This is a word for anyone who may be thinking about coming to Romania and thinking about bringing their digital camera:
Don't bring your camera with you when you're with the kids or if you do be prepared to take A LOT of Pictures! The kids of Satchinez love for you to take their picture and they think it's so cool that with a digital camera you can see it right away. About half of the pictures I have taken in Satchinez have been ones kids have begged me to take, and although I delete most of them right away or a little later, some of them are so good that it's hard to delete them! But you have to otherwise your memory card will be filled of pictures of kids. It is fun to see the kids' reactions when you show them the picture you've just taken, but it can get a little annoying when you've got lots of kids asking you, or the same one asking over and over again. But I think it's worth it, to be able to show them a picture of themselves, when who knows if they've ever had their picture taken before!
Christin (or my Romanian name is Cristina

Mairee in contemplation

Drink carbonation shop