Romania 2011
Rugby Christian Fellowship (RCF) Mission Trip August 2011
A very excited, but tired team of 11 from RCF arrived in Cluj-Napoca, in the north west of Romania on Friday 19th August for their second visit to our Elim Missionaries Bob & Edith McDonald, in Sardu, five of whom were on their first ever Mission Trip.
The aim of our team was to minister to the young people in the 4 villages, of Sardu, Sanpaul, Mihaiesti and Berindu, as well as the gypsy village which is on the outskirts of Sanpaul, through singing, testimony, preaching and more importantly through play and building friendships.
The team was led by Don Weaver who could see a difference in the Romanian young people, their attitude, sitting & listening, joining in & general behaviour had all improved, compared to last year. Many of the youngsters were happy to try and talk to team members, and especially liked joining in with action songs and games etc. Although language was a barrier, it didn’t seem to matter; everyone was so happy to get involved & form friendships.
The weather was very hot; most days were in the mid 30 degrees and on one day reached 44 degrees. This meant we were able to have a very relaxing time during the day, as we prepared for the various different youth meetings that we were to minister in - every night from the Saturday right through to the Friday, with every member of the team would taking part at some point.
Sunday morning saw the team taking the Church service in the local village of Sardu. Gabbie Tyler & Michelle Dixon gave very powerful testimonies moving a number of the congregation to tears. We attempted to sing, however not too successfully, as we didn’t have a musician! Then I (Don) preached the word using an interpreter; this can be at first a little difficult, but eventually you get used to it and judging from the response I got at the end, it was not only a blessing for me to have spoken, but I had a couple of gentlemen come and speak to me at the end to say how much they had been blessed & challenged by the word I had given. I spoke from Philippians 2, and my theme was “How to Shine as Lights in the world in the midst of a crooked & perverse generation”.
Gabbie and Michelle also received thanks for their tremendous testimonies; in fact this was the first time Michelle had shared her testimony in Church; we look forward to when she can give it at RCF. 
Sunday evening saw around 80 youngsters come to the centre, where they sang some songs and Peter gave a word on Salvation. Afterwards, we spent the next 1.1/2 hours just playing games and having fun, with everyone trying to get to know each other. It was quite amusing watching people who cannot speak the same language trying to communicate and understand each other! This was a great start to the week.
Highlights from the rest of the week were: Tuesday we did a picnic/bonfire in the meadow, Heather and Kirsten shared testimony, I gave a short word on the love of Jesus. We then played a number of games. Last year a number of the youngsters would not always take part, but now every single person joined in.
Bob could not believe this; he had never seen this response before, and he put it down to the fact that many remembered a number of us from last year and the continuity of us returning was a major factor, as we had kept our promise to return.
The attendance on Wednesday night was the biggest. Carl and Peter spoke excellent words, and the youngsters listened intently. Afterwards, we did “friendship bands” , basically 3 or 4 lengths of wool twisted and tied around the wrist; simple but so effective. We lost count of how many were made, but they all had great fun doing them. With Thursday’s temperature at 44 degrees we spent the day at the hot springs in Oradea, not far from Norman & Margaret Crofts home. Friday - final night, a BBQ had been arranged so the youngsters could invite their parents. About 50 youngsters & a dozen parents came. Fiona & Peter gave very powerful testimonies that a couple of the parents recorded on their phones. Niul read scripture from a Romanian Bible and got a standing ovation, and I again spoke on the need for Salvation.
It was hard for many of the team to say goodbye, many had built up some very strong relationships with the youngsters. We know that God is beginning to change some of their lives. I would like you to join us in praying for these young people, that God will indeed breakthrough in ways that Bob and Edith have not seen before. I believe, along with Bob, that this Mission was so successful because of continuity ; we were able to build on what we had started last year, and I would like to think that we can continue to do this in 2012.
As for me - a brilliant time, well blessed, challenged, (having to speak on more than one occasion and prepare the word), fantastic kids and I know God is going to do great things with them. Finally - a brilliant team! Thanks to everyone for making my role as leader so easy!
Apart from the team’s aim to work with the youngsters, this was a chance to see what Mission is all about. God has blessed, challenged and given them all a new perspective on what they want to do to serve God. A fantastic trip; the team were greatly blessed by God, but also by the youngsters and all those we had the privilege to work with in Sardu. Many thanks to Bob, Edith & the team, who continue to do a great job! RCF look forward to hearing & seeing great things over the coming months, as God continues to bless this great work.
Finally I asked the team members for their thoughts and comments about how the mission had gone for them.
First Time Mission Trippers:
Carl Weaver: Amazing & Awesome.
Michelle Dixon: Life Changing.
Gabrielle Vella: Utterly Incredible.
Peter Blatchford: God has truly changed my whole perspective on life.
Fiona Higgins: Shown me how God’s love can cross any age, culture, political or linguistic barriers.
Second Time plus Mission Trippers:
Niul Weaver: This year has topped last; the youngsters are amazing and have touched me so much, some even remember me!
Gideon Salter: A fulfilling & rewarding experience.
Heather Walker: It’s a joy to see the children learning how to love God.
Kirsten Weaver: Truly amazing; a big difference in attitude, and many hungry to hear God’s word.
Gabrielle Tyler: Challenging.
As for me, it was a brilliant time where I was totally blessed and really challenged.
Don Weaver
