- Wednesday, December 23rd - going to our sister Calvary Chapel in Ciorani, a village over an hour away by car, to celebrate the birth of our Lord with them.
- Thursday, December 24th - will be doing Christmas programs for the kids in our School Ministry from 1:00 to 2:30 and for the neighborhood kids from 3:30 to 5:00 and in the evening we will do some caroling in the neighborhood around our church.
- Friday, December 25th - we will have a Christmas service at 11:00 then after we will have a love meal and later watch the movie "The Nativity Story".
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas Happenings
Here's what is happening at CC Bucuresti this Christmas holiday:
Christmas Caroling at the Metro (Subway)
Here's some video of the caroling our church did last night, at the Unirii metro stop here in Bucureşti.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Visit to States & Finances
Lord willing I will be in the States this coming February and March. I am still in the planning stages so I will let you know more as I get things figured out. I really wanted to come back this last spring but I did not have peace about it. Even now, the only reason I can come back is because a good friend of mine is taking care of my ticket to fly to the States. For the rest of my needs and expenses for traveling around America I trust that God will provide. If any of you would like me to come and visit you please let me know but realize that time and money will limit what I can do. But as far as is possible I hope to see my family and as many friends as possible while I am back.
While in the States the door has open for me to do my gospel workshop in a few places. I am really looking forward to doing it and I hope that even more opportunities open for me.
Finances
As far as finances are concerned things have been pretty tight this year, especially the second half of the year. I know the economic crisis has affected not only me but also most of the missionaries around the world and I'm sure a lot of you reading this email have been impacted as well. I used most of my savings this past half year to make up for the lack of support. So now that I've used most of my savings up I have to look to increase my support for the coming year.
In addition to raising more support I am also trying to raise money so I can replace my tech tools as they are over 5 years old now. I want to buy a new desktop computer, a new laptop and a new HD video camera if the Lord provides for them.
Another thing I want to raise money for is to promote the http://despreisus.ro/ website here in Romania. Some possibilities include putting ads in magazines, placing posters in a variety of places, banners for use with special events, brochures to hand out, and t-shirts to use with outreach activities.
In the email I sent yesterday I mentioned the possibility of me starting a business here in Romania in the coming year. If this would be of interest to you please email me so we can discuss it.
As I look to this next year and what ministry and life holds for me I would really appreciate your prayers in regards to all the things I have mentioned. If you have a desire to support me financially in the coming year or want to help me in some way during my trip to the States please email me and I will let you know how you can do that.
In closing, I want to thank all of you who have prayed for me, encouraged me, supported me financially, and helped me in a variety of other ways as well. Know that anything that was, is or will be accomplished for the kingdom of God through my ministry that you will receive a share of the rewards that Jesus will give on that great and glorious day in His eternal kingdom.
To Him be the glory forever and ever,
William
Links
Email: godswillromania@gmail.com
Blog: http://godswillromania.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dulcewill/
Personal website: http://godswill.ro/
While in the States the door has open for me to do my gospel workshop in a few places. I am really looking forward to doing it and I hope that even more opportunities open for me.
Finances
As far as finances are concerned things have been pretty tight this year, especially the second half of the year. I know the economic crisis has affected not only me but also most of the missionaries around the world and I'm sure a lot of you reading this email have been impacted as well. I used most of my savings this past half year to make up for the lack of support. So now that I've used most of my savings up I have to look to increase my support for the coming year.
In addition to raising more support I am also trying to raise money so I can replace my tech tools as they are over 5 years old now. I want to buy a new desktop computer, a new laptop and a new HD video camera if the Lord provides for them.
Another thing I want to raise money for is to promote the http://despreisus.ro/ website here in Romania. Some possibilities include putting ads in magazines, placing posters in a variety of places, banners for use with special events, brochures to hand out, and t-shirts to use with outreach activities.
In the email I sent yesterday I mentioned the possibility of me starting a business here in Romania in the coming year. If this would be of interest to you please email me so we can discuss it.
As I look to this next year and what ministry and life holds for me I would really appreciate your prayers in regards to all the things I have mentioned. If you have a desire to support me financially in the coming year or want to help me in some way during my trip to the States please email me and I will let you know how you can do that.
In closing, I want to thank all of you who have prayed for me, encouraged me, supported me financially, and helped me in a variety of other ways as well. Know that anything that was, is or will be accomplished for the kingdom of God through my ministry that you will receive a share of the rewards that Jesus will give on that great and glorious day in His eternal kingdom.
To Him be the glory forever and ever,
William
Links
Email: godswillromania@gmail.com
Blog: http://godswillromania.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dulcewill/
Personal website: http://godswill.ro/
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Coming Year
This past year our church here in Bucharest focused on the gospel and I can see that God has worked a lot in many of the lives of those that are a part of our church. We are a very small church of around 20, with a real solid core group of 10. Our church has gone through a lot the past few years but I think we are finally going forwards on a solid foundation of the gospel. I have hopeful expectation that God will use our little church to reach many people in the coming year. We know if He does not move not much of real substance will happen but from the work He has been doing in us I think He is getting us ready for something. So with that in mind, if we do start seeing more people come to repentance and faith in Jesus I think I will become involved in helping to develop a one-on-one discipleship ministry for our church.
When the young man from our church finishes Bible School and comes back home this coming September I will hand back to him the youth group and the evangelism ministry which will allow me to focus more time on other things.
As I look to the future there are two main things that I think will take more of my time in the coming year, the despreisus.ro
The other thing I need to deal with in the coming year is my visa situation here in Romania. Because of changes in the laws a few years ago I can not get a visa through our religious association so my choices are rather limited. One of the best options for me is to start a business as they make it pretty easy for Americans to starts businesses here. I can get a 5 year visa if I do this but I will have to pay about $700 minimum a year in taxes if they don't change their minimum tax laws which they are suppose to get rid of as they are very unpopular here. I have always dreamed about starting a business here to get really good books on the gospel translated and published here in Romania as well as other media related things. So maybe God is working in this so that I can develop more gospel oriented resources and maybe provide some finances through the profits to do other things and to supplement my support. We shall see, time will tell.
I will be adding videos to Vimeo of the things we do as a church over the Christmas holiday so be sure and check it occasionally if you are interested in seeing what we have been doing. Today I added three Christmas carols we sung yesterday at church. I will embed them on the blog so you can see them.
Calvary Chapel Bucuresti, December 20, 2009
When the young man from our church finishes Bible School and comes back home this coming September I will hand back to him the youth group and the evangelism ministry which will allow me to focus more time on other things.
As I look to the future there are two main things that I think will take more of my time in the coming year, the despreisus.ro
website and doing the gospel workshops. I think these two things will work hand-in-hand with each other. As the site develops I think it will open doors for me to do my gospel workshop in churches throughout Romania. My vision is to do the workshop in a few cities where I know some people and develop relationships with some Christian leaders outside of Calvary Chapel. Then once I establish a good reputation I will pursue doing the workshop in as many cities as possible. The ideal thing would be to have the workshop in the largest churches in the cities and have them open up the workshop to all the other churches in their cities.
I am not under any illusion that this will be easy. In fact, it will take a miracle of God for this to happen. But since what I am doing in the workshop is calling believers to take a hold of the gospel and live their lives according to it I think God will move. So I am determined to go forward in faith that I will see this vision become a reality. Not because I am anyone special but because it is about the gospel and the one whom the gospel points to. If I fail, I fail, but it is a great vision and worthy of stepping out in faith and seeing what God will do. The other thing I need to deal with in the coming year is my visa situation here in Romania. Because of changes in the laws a few years ago I can not get a visa through our religious association so my choices are rather limited. One of the best options for me is to start a business as they make it pretty easy for Americans to starts businesses here. I can get a 5 year visa if I do this but I will have to pay about $700 minimum a year in taxes if they don't change their minimum tax laws which they are suppose to get rid of as they are very unpopular here. I have always dreamed about starting a business here to get really good books on the gospel translated and published here in Romania as well as other media related things. So maybe God is working in this so that I can develop more gospel oriented resources and maybe provide some finances through the profits to do other things and to supplement my support. We shall see, time will tell.
I will be adding videos to Vimeo of the things we do as a church over the Christmas holiday so be sure and check it occasionally if you are interested in seeing what we have been doing. Today I added three Christmas carols we sung yesterday at church. I will embed them on the blog so you can see them.
Calvary Chapel Bucuresti, December 20, 2009In the third of three post I will share with you about my plans to visit the States this coming year and also about my financial situation and needs in the coming year. Until then. May His peace be with you, William
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Another Year in Romania
In October I celebrated 12 years of serving the Lord here in Romania. It has been quite an adventure and nothing like what I expected! I came over to work with young orphans but ended up eventually planting a church and later helping to start a Bible school. Through it all God has been faithful and in my weakness He has used me as He has willed. On the mission field your weaknesses are made more obvious and it is very humbling. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. My life has been made far more richer for having come to Romania.
This Past Year
Now in regards to what has been going on this year my responsibilities at the church have increased as I took over the youth group and our street evangelism ministry in September. One of the young guys from our church is going to Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe in Hungary and during the summer he was back and started these ministries so when he went back to school in the fall I took them over. There are only three boys that come but I am really enjoying my time with them. We spent the first three months looking at the gospel and now we are studying what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
So my main responsibilities for the church are as follows: on Sundays I open our service with a Bible reading and prayer and at the end of the service I do the announcements. In between I video the sermons and later that day I edit the video and put it online. Since my Romanian is not so good during the service while I am videoing I spend a lot of the time praying for everyone in our church and for our church. Tuesdays we meet as a staff to pray and fast and focus on ministries of our church. On Wednesdays I host and lead our home fellowship so I spend time cleaning my apartment and going and buying drinks and snacks beforehand. On Thursdays I host the youth group at my place. And Fridays I lead those who show up on sharing the gospel in parks and places where ! people h ang out. In addition, on the third Sunday of the month I invite everyone over to my place to watch a movie.
In addition to these things I help coordinate our monthly meetings of all the Calvary Chapel pastors here in Romania, as well as organize workshops we do in order to better equip the people coming to our churches. In November I did two evangelism workshops, one in the south and the other in the north. We do this to make it so people don't have to travel so far. I also video the workshops we do and put them online for those who can't make it. I don't do all the workshops myself as I try to get all the pastors involved in what we do.
Developing Romanian Gospel Website
I am also continuing to develop my Romanian gospel website called despreisus.ro (about Jesus). Also related to this is the making of a variety of videos for use with the site, for our church here and for outreach in general. The development of the site is going way slower than I expected but it is coming step by step. One of the challenges is getting enough people willing to translate and do other stuff for the site. But God is using the site already even though I have not tried to promote it yet. Once I am happy with the home page and that the blog is up and running then I will do a lot more to promote the site. In the last 5 months there have been 623 unique visitors and 830 visits from people from 49 cities here in Romania. In addition to these stats I have 111 videos on Vimeo that are being watched around 300 to 400 times a week though this figure can vary quite a bit. On YouTube I have 19 videos that have been watch 42,482 times since I added them. I also have added a few of my gospel oriented videos on three Romanian social networks and video sites and they had been viewed 9,978 times. I have videos also on despreisus but do not have a way yet to know how many times they are being watch.
Another thing I have been working on is updating the teaching materials and powerpoints for the gospel workshop I do. I still have a few Calvary Chapels here in Romania to do this workshop at but after that my vision is to do it in as many other churches as possible outside of Calvary Chapel.
So this gives you a good idea of the main things that have been happening here in Romania with me. Thanks to all those who have prayed for me and supported me financially to be able to serve the Lord here in Romania.
I am on Facebook so if you are as well please add me as a friend: http://www.facebook.com/dulcewill
In the second of three posts I will share what I think the future holds for me and my ministry. Until then God bless.
This Past Year
Now in regards to what has been going on this year my responsibilities at the church have increased as I took over the youth group and our street evangelism ministry in September. One of the young guys from our church is going to Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe in Hungary and during the summer he was back and started these ministries so when he went back to school in the fall I took them over. There are only three boys that come but I am really enjoying my time with them. We spent the first three months looking at the gospel and now we are studying what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
(to enlarge click on photo)
So my main responsibilities for the church are as follows: on Sundays I open our service with a Bible reading and prayer and at the end of the service I do the announcements. In between I video the sermons and later that day I edit the video and put it online. Since my Romanian is not so good during the service while I am videoing I spend a lot of the time praying for everyone in our church and for our church. Tuesdays we meet as a staff to pray and fast and focus on ministries of our church. On Wednesdays I host and lead our home fellowship so I spend time cleaning my apartment and going and buying drinks and snacks beforehand. On Thursdays I host the youth group at my place. And Fridays I lead those who show up on sharing the gospel in parks and places where ! people h ang out. In addition, on the third Sunday of the month I invite everyone over to my place to watch a movie.
In addition to these things I help coordinate our monthly meetings of all the Calvary Chapel pastors here in Romania, as well as organize workshops we do in order to better equip the people coming to our churches. In November I did two evangelism workshops, one in the south and the other in the north. We do this to make it so people don't have to travel so far. I also video the workshops we do and put them online for those who can't make it. I don't do all the workshops myself as I try to get all the pastors involved in what we do.
Evangelism Workshop, Bucuresti, November 20-21, 2009
Developing Romanian Gospel Website
I am also continuing to develop my Romanian gospel website called despreisus.ro (about Jesus). Also related to this is the making of a variety of videos for use with the site, for our church here and for outreach in general. The development of the site is going way slower than I expected but it is coming step by step. One of the challenges is getting enough people willing to translate and do other stuff for the site. But God is using the site already even though I have not tried to promote it yet. Once I am happy with the home page and that the blog is up and running then I will do a lot more to promote the site. In the last 5 months there have been 623 unique visitors and 830 visits from people from 49 cities here in Romania. In addition to these stats I have 111 videos on Vimeo that are being watched around 300 to 400 times a week though this figure can vary quite a bit. On YouTube I have 19 videos that have been watch 42,482 times since I added them. I also have added a few of my gospel oriented videos on three Romanian social networks and video sites and they had been viewed 9,978 times. I have videos also on despreisus but do not have a way yet to know how many times they are being watch.
Another thing I have been working on is updating the teaching materials and powerpoints for the gospel workshop I do. I still have a few Calvary Chapels here in Romania to do this workshop at but after that my vision is to do it in as many other churches as possible outside of Calvary Chapel.
So this gives you a good idea of the main things that have been happening here in Romania with me. Thanks to all those who have prayed for me and supported me financially to be able to serve the Lord here in Romania.
I am on Facebook so if you are as well please add me as a friend: http://www.facebook.com/dulcewill
In the second of three posts I will share what I think the future holds for me and my ministry. Until then God bless.
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