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A Brief Report on Our Trip to Romania, by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous

A Brief Report on Our Trip to Romania
By Pastor Charlie

From February 3-13, Ethan Larson and I had the privilege of traveling to northern Romania with Training Leaders International (TLI), the ministry with which Ethan serves. Over the last year, Ethan has worked with the staff of TLI and local Romanian leaders to set up this training opportunity. The vision of TLI is to bring college and seminary level training to parts of the world that have little or no access to it. They only go at the request of local leaders, and they require those leaders to play a substantial role in the process.
Once a site has been chosen and local leadership set up, they travel to the host country three times per year for three years, for a total of nine courses. The first course is “The Attributes of God,” followed by “Biblical Theology” and “Hermeneutics” (the science and art of interpretation). After these three “core courses,” they lead students through various books of the Bible depending on local need and desire.
Since our trip was the first of nine, Ethan and I taught “The Attributes of God” along with two American assistants. The classes took place Monday through Friday evenings from 4:30-9:00 with a one-half hour break for dinner. We began by establishing the knowability of God, and then went on to meditate on eighteen distinct but related aspects of his being. For example, we covered God’s unity and tri-unity, his unchangeableness, his grace, and his wrath. In each session, we labored to explain and discuss many biblical texts and to evoke a sense of awe in God. As I mentioned in my sermon last Sunday, theology should lead to doxology. Learning about God should lead to the heartfelt praise of God, and thus, we taught and worshiped together.
In addition to our class time, we also spent time each day with the leading Baptist Pastor in Sighet, Romania, Sorin Sorbu. Each day, he took us to various sites, and along the way we got to know one another and collaborate about that evening’s ministry. He also arranged for us to preach in his primary church (he pastors five of them) and another Baptist church in town. It was a great privilege for Ethan and I to share the Word of God with our brothers and sisters there.
Beloved, thank you for praying for us while we were away! Now please join us in praying for the Baptist churches of Romania. They are faithful and yet in need of prayer for unity and evangelism. May the Lord hear and answer our prayers as we cry out to him in faith.


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