Transform: Pt 1

Good afternoon... or should I say "Mirëdita"

First off, thank you all for your prayers on Thursday. Things went really well for a lot of people. As for my self and my friend we were able to talk to a group of Peruvians, and a Cuban both in Spanish. We were also able to distribute literature in so many languages, including Arabic. Though I didn't hear about any one coming to the faith, seeds have been planted and lives are on their way to transformation.

My Rome outreach team

My room mate, Hannah (UK) and I

If you have spent a significant amount of time in Rome you have most likely come to the main transportation station in the city called "Termini". This is where (I would say) the highlight of the day occurred. At 8:30 we were all told to meet back there in order catch our train ride home. So we did, and since we were a conference of 300+ people it was a little chaotic. But the cool part was that one group started singing "Our God is an Awesome God", and the whole conference joined in. We also went into "Amazing Grace" but then the South Africans started singing the song they taught us and we joined in while they danced and we clapped. You can only imagine this huge crowd of 300 people in the middle of a train station singing, and dancing. After the dance-link team did a little show, one of the leaders, Richard Sharp, stepped in the middle of the circle and began sharing the gospel through translation. This whole time people came up to see what was going on and they listened to what they could hear of the gospel message! 

The day was filled with great fun, good stories, and Rome being bombarded with the Gospel. 

Transform Rome 2012

However, this whole week we've been in meetings, seminars, interact sessions, worship and break out groups getting ready for the weeks that we have a head of us in our out reach countries. God has been so good to prepare our hearts and minds ready and willing for whatever is thrown our way. I made many friends this week, but like everything in our lives the conference had to come to an end and we had to say goodbye.

 * * * * * * *

Well it's official: I'm in Albania. Half of the team (including me) landed in Albania this afternoon, had lunch and now we are resting. The other half are coming later tonight and probably won't get to the church in which we are staying until 1 AM. If I haven't told you before, we are a group of 12 women ranging from 18 to about 60 years old. I am so blessed to be with an awesome group of girls who all have the same passion I do: to spread God's love to the unloved. My first ministry is tomorrow, and I will be sharing my testimony during church. I'm pretty nervous and would really appreciate your prayers.
The rest of the week is filled with Kid's ministry, and women's Bible studies, as well as home visits. Right now we are simply praying that God's love and power shine through the 12 of us and that the Roma people would simply see His love in our lives. 

Thank you, 

In Him,

Christina

Apologies and Catching You Up

Hi Everyone!

First off I wanted to apologize for not posting anymore posts. The last one I tried didn't want to cooperate and I kinda gave up. But I hope you were able to read my parent's letters and my mom's blog posts. 

This summer has gone by so quickly! To catch you all up, I’ll let you know what we’ve been doing for the past six weeks. Mom, Dad, and myself flew into Istanbul, Turkey and stayed there for a few days, then we went to Patras, Greece, saw the Emmaus work there and moved on to Corinth, Athens, and Thessalonica. From there we went to Burgas, Bulgaria, Bucharest (not to be confused with Budapest), and Timisoara in Romania, Novisad, Serbia, and Budapest, and Gyor in Hungary. From there we went to Austria where a brother so kindly lent us his car and we went to the Czech Republic, Poland (saw Auschwitz) and Slovakia then made our way back to Austria. We stayed there a few days; saw Vienna, then took a train to Venice, Italy. There we met Gil and Carolyn Vargas and, with them, visited Florence then came to Rome where we are currently.

My parents leave tomorrow (Monday) while I stay in Rome for another few days and attend the OM Transform 2012 conference before my Transform Albania team heads out. There we will be working with the Roma people (gypsies) who are an unloved and unwanted people all over the world – especially in Europe. There I will be working with about 12 other women from Europe, the U.S. and the Bahamas. Our group has been teamed up with Emmanuel Mission, an organization that works with the Roma people. In the mornings we will be doing kids’ programs (games, Bible lessons, crafts, etc.) and three of those afternoons will be spent with the women doing Bible studies extending God’s love to them. At the end we have been told that we will do an international night showing a little bit about the culture from which we come to get the whole family involved.

After the mission’s trip is over I stay in Tirana, Albania with the daughter of missionaries there who married a national. From Tirana I fly to Sophia, Bulgaria for the weekend and stay there with a sister from an assembly there. I head home on August 6^th.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. They are greatly appreciated as God has brought us safely this far, and as He continues to do so. This whole summer has been a great cultural experience learning about all the different religions here in Eastern Europe from the ancient Greek and Roman mythology, to Greek and Eastern Orthodoxy, to Roman Catholicism, to Islam, and even different Evangelical denominations. Each country has an interesting history and its fun to learn what aspects of their history affects their culture today.

As my summer comes to an end, I would ask that you continue to pray for:

1. Safety for me and my family as we travel.

2. A willingness to learn on my part.

3. Boldness to teach and witness when it’s needed.

4.Team unity.

5. A pure testimony.

6. That the Power of God’s Word would touch the hearts of the Roma people.

Thank you all so much for everything, and for joining me in prayer.

In Christ,

Christina