Our First Romanian Church Service

This last Sunday, Carolyn and I had the opportunity to attend a Romanian Baptist Church for Sunday worship.  First off, I must say that we had an absolutely wonderful experience.  We were so warmly welcomed by the entire congregation; both adults and youth greeted us with smiles and open arms.  We participated in Sunday school with the youth, attended the first service, were invited to lunch, and then came back for the evening service.  And I suppose it’s important to mention that the majority of these events happened in Romanian!

When we first arrived at church Carolyn and I were pretty nervous, not knowing what to expect. Upon walking into the front door we were greeted by several people, who all initially spoke to us in Romanian. They figured out quickly that we didn’t speak a bit of Romanian, I assume based on the blank stare on my face, and many switched to English to converse with us.  We shared who we were and why we were visiting.  After several minutes of meeting new friends, we were invited to attend Sunday school with the youth.

Sunday school was in Romanian, but they translated it so we could understand.  The associate pastor had us introduce ourselves and tell the youth briefly about our story.  I spoke in English and most seemed to understand; our story was well received.

After Sunday school, we followed the youth upstairs to the main sanctuary where we joined the rest of the adults in the service.  We sang many songs as a congregation with instruments.  Most surprising was when we had evidently joined the youth choir and went to the front to lead a song with the rest of the youth!  The pastor then introduced the guests that were visiting the congregation that day.  He introduced us to the congregation, told them briefly what we will be doing in Romania, and then informed everyone that we would be doing a presentation about our mission in the next service.  That was when I had a minor heart attack because that was a surprise, but don’t worry, I survived; the long term effects of this cardiac event are still up in the air.

We were invited to go out to lunch with some of the youth and parents after the service.  We sat at a table with college students; this was relieving because we got a slight break from Romanian as they all spoke English very well.  We were educated on Romanian culture and tradition as well as a crash course on some basic Romanian words.

I’m not entirely sure how the second service began as I was pretty nervous about my presentation.  Eventually, I heard amongst Romanian words “Carolyn and Dan” and many heads turned our way.  The pastor’s wife told us that he was calling us up to the front of the church.  The pastor explained that he would be translating for me.   This was the first time that I’ve given a presentation with a translator.  This presentation was a little challenging, which I attribute to the frequent pausing for the translation, but I must have done well based on a positive response from the congregation.

Before we arrived at church I was nervous, because I was encountering an entirely new culture.  Now that nervousness is gone and I cannot wait to go back on Sunday.  Knowing that we will only have three more weeks to spend with our new friends saddens me.  I hope that we can stay in contact with them.  Carolyn and I, without a doubt, had the most positive and welcoming experience we’ve ever had at a church.  Because of the wonderful impression that has been left on us, as a result of this first introduction into Romanian culture, we are even more excited about our upcoming move to Romania.