UPDATE: Thank you again for praying over us, and we are currently in Albania doing debrief / training before the next phase of ministry. The past couple weeks in Romania have been very busy, but I wanted to share a little bit of what took place there!

ALSO- THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT. Because of the long upload speeds for photos and the desire to write more blog posts to tell about my ministry, I am not going to post any pictures on my blog posts. The pictures will be paired with corresponding social media posts on my Instagram and Facebook feeds that link to this blog. You will need to be friends with me on Facebook or Instagram in order to view photos from the trip. This will dramatically improve efficiency and allow my social media / WR blog to be kept in sync. Facebook: Brett Haas Instagram: brett_navigator

Two weeks after being quarantined, some of us were officially cleared to start ministry on August 28. Woo-hoo! And so, the ministry began in Craiova. We partnered with Hope Church, which is helping reach this city with the Gospel and establish a healthy presence of discipleship there.

If I was asked what a powerful moment was, I would definitely say the first night that we were out in the city. After interceding for Craiova with the church throughout the day and passing out Bible pamphlets in a neighborhood east of the city, we had dinner together. Suddenly, this massive thunderstorm hit us, and lightning streaked accross the sky. The thunder claps were so intense and the lightning bolts so close that it was crazy to comprehend. We were in awe of the phenomenon in nature. And as I think about it, the Holy Spirit is just like that lightning bolt. Lightning is powerful, disruptive, yet changes the landscape. I am praying that just like the lightning that hit the city that night, that the Lord will continue to pour out His spirit upon the City! Jesus changes lives- plain and simple. And just like the lightning bolt, He can make a grand entrance and things will never be the same.

We were split into two main groups during the first week of ministry, and each group alternated between evangelism and intercession with the church. During intercession, we prayed over the city and often placed our hands on a map over Craiova as we prayed. We had multiple prayer points and I invite you to lift up Craiova as well. The area that we worked in has a significant presence of witchcraft; so we prayed for eyes to be opened and for people to know the truth of the Gospel. Meanwhile, YWAM (Youth with a Mission) is also working in this area, and we got to partner with them. They have become close friends of mine, and one of them is seeking to reach Muslims in the Balkans region. Praise the Lord!

For the evangelism portion, we specifically reached out to youth and began conversations with them. For the times that evangelism took place, I went to the theater in Craiova. The theater is a central meeting point, and many people love to hang out there. The university is also close by, and we prayed over it as well. We made a lot of relationships with the skateboarders who love to ride there. We had some neat conversations, and I realized that they are a very close knit community and know each other well. Please pray for them- and that the connections will facilitate the Gospel being made known in their community in the future.

Craiova also had some tasty places to eat and relax together. One such place was the "Maestro" restaurant, which served delicious pretzels. They attract long lines which snake out towards the street, which is saying something. Their food was amazing, and we joked that we had to pay the "Maestro toll" in order to walk to church and back. Those pretzels were simply irrestiable. We also got to visit a number of coffee shops and build relationships there. Some of our favorites included 5 to Go, Smart Cup, and Bad Habits. All of which have a neat history, and getting to know the owners was fantastic.

To top it off, some of us went to a play next to the theater. The play was in Romanian, and I could not understand much of what happened. But nevertheless, it was still a delight as it took place. 

As a squad, we continued to press in together. We had a meeting where we talked about what it taking place, and we are realizing that the Lord is refining us and bringing up a significant amount of stuff from under the surface in people's lives. This is not an easy process, and a lot of us have stuff from our past that is difficult to reckon with. Yet the Lord delights in bringing this stuff to him, and we have also been very intentional with creating an atmosphere of unity in the squad. But in order to achieve unity, problems that can cause disunity must be examined and navigated. This is oftentimes not an easy process, but it is a fruitful one. Meanwhile, our ministry host gave us multiple teachings. These included what roles evangelists, missionaries, and pastors serve, qualities of leadership from Nehemiah 1-6, and the vision of reaching Craiova / surrounding regions with the Gospel. 

Thank you for continuing to pray over us, and please feel free to reach out. Stay tuned for another update on ministry in Romania!