A dash of thought - July and August 2021

Everything different

A week after the beginning of the lockdown in March last year, I had planned a trip to Romania. I wanted to visit the communities there again. But things turned out differently. I postponed the trip until after the Annual Conference Bulgaria-Romania in September 2020. I was able to travel to Bulgaria, but in Romania the second Covid-19 wave had already started. Again, nothing. At the end of March 2021, it was still unthinkable to hold an Annual Conference for the two countries. But a few days ago, I returned from Romania.

My wife and I visited the churches there. For her it was the first visit to this country. For me, places and people were familiar. And yet, how much has changed since my last visit! And how much more beautiful and motivating it is to sit together at a table and exchange with each other than to only see and hear each other digitally on a screen. Being able to meet physically makes everything different.

One community took over the running of an orphanage last year after social services had threatened to close and distribute the orphans because the home had been so poorly run. We have witnessed the joy and gratitude of the children and teenagers who for the first time feel truly loved and valued. They came to church on Sunday, even though a year ago they said they would never believe in God.

In a Roma community a few years ago, I stood with the Connexio board on a piece of land they had newly bought. They dreamed of building a community center with a church hall there. Now we have entered the shell of the building and marveled at how much has already become possible. And since the beginning of July, the UMC in the nearby city has been able to take over the hotel in which they had previously rented a worship room. They will continue to run it on their own as a community center and small hotel. A long-standing vision has come true. It is wonderful to see what God is creating in and with committed Christians! Everything can become different.

Bishop Patrick Streiff