The LORD'S Day in Romania, Part 2

So we got right at an hour between services to rest and blog and then we sped off (same driver) to Emanuel Baptist.  We met Doru there and he asked for two more songs, not together - separate.

We saw Lessa Wilson in the hallway.  I kid you not.  Her twin sister lives in Oradea.  Actually, she was our interpreter for the evening.  It's a small world (after all).

Speaking of which, I ran into another couple after the service that wanted to send their regards to Pastor Weems.  It seems that he stayed at their flat in Cluj, or trashed their flat in Cluj, or something like that.  So there you go.

The orchestra played a recessional after the service

We were blessed to enjoy more music from the men's choir, from a visiting orchestra, and a beautiful solo, not to mention more great congregational hymns of which we even knew one or two.

Doru went easy on Ed, asking for a few words of greeting and a brief summary of our trip so far.  Piece of cake for the colonel.

For our first song we elected to do a new one that we've learned for Croatia, Oh the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus.  It is a beautiful song that Kim plays on the piano and features Kelsie.  Did I mention that the church was probably 80% full?  Kim was nervous about using a different keyboard but she did great.

For our last song we decided to do It Is Well acapella style.  Since we had done it that morning at the village church we knew that people would recognize it.  When Doru motioned for us to go sing again I asked him to tell the congregation to feel free to sing with us.  He in turn asked us to sing the Doxology again.  Fair enough.  Indeed they did know the song and it was a real blessing to hear them sing with us.

Doru was the preacher last night and even though a little may have been lost in translation, the Word was boldly proclaimed as only Doru can do it.  Did I mention he's a master storyteller?  He brings that same dynamic speaking ability to the pulpit.

Outside Emanuel Baptist
after the service

After church, shaking hands, speaking really bad Romanian - you get the picture- time for another meal with Doru at Emanuel.  We are all thinking, "Please, not more food.  We can't eat another big meal like we had for lunch."  Seriously, there are four courses at every meal so you truly have to pace yourself (that's English pace).  Doru was kind enough to say that it wouldn't be a big meal, just a normal meal.  Good news.

Appetizers

To keep it short, I'll just say that we had plenty to eat.  The appetizer plate was very similar to the one at lunch and could have been a meal by itself.  We also had a very traditional Romanian dish called sarmale.  It is a sausage roll wrapped in cabbage.  For dessert, fruit and cake.  And the lemonade.  Have we mentioned the lemonade yet?  It is fabulous.

Sarmale

So that's about it for a normal Sunday in Oradea, Romania.  I'll add photos and maybe a video clip or two later.

Pace

Randy



My turn to add thoughts to our Lord's day experience yesterday evening.  The "short" afternoon was a nice respite from the activities of the day.  A time to recharge my batteries, blog, and catch-up on my facebook feed.  :)  


At 4:30 we were picked up and taken to Emanuel Baptist Church.  It was great to return to the church; it felt comfortable and welcoming.  I truly enjoyed the orchestra and the singing....the music is so good there.  I have mentioned the acoustics in the building, right???  Wow, it's simply a blessing to sit and listen regardless of the language.


We sang a total of 3 songs this time.  It went well and was a blessing just to participate and see the look on people's faces when they recognized "It is Well". People joined in with us on the chorus and it was just awesome.   Loved being a part of their service and the message was so good.  Doru preached from I Peter about the "fear of God".  It was refreshing and energizing to my soul and spirit.  I loved the day, it was long, yes, we ate a lot, yes, but oh my goodness, it was so good for all of us.


After service,  supper was again delightful.  We had an authentically "Romanian", dish, "Sarmale" - stuffed cabbage leaves with fresh made sausage.  Oh, and we had CAKE for dessert.  Cakes are a true work of art in Romania.  They go to extreme measures to make it LOOK better than it tastes.  Fancy icing, 4 or 5 layers of different colors.  It tasted very good, just not as sweet as American cakes.  Dustin said he would really like to just have a super sweet, chocolate cake, oh and it would have to be really moist, too.  :)


The boys did great.  They were even willing to try some new foods, regardless of the fact they didn't think they would like it at all.  It was a proud momma moment.


The Lord's day is truly about the Lord here, at least with the people we were with yesterday.


Kim