Glimpse of Romania

We traveled again to Gherla, Romania, this last weekend. The trip takes between four and six hours, depending on traffic and stops, so we had lots of time to take pictures. We see shepherds with their flocks here in Hungary, too, but we wanted to show you this picture from Romania.

Horse-drawn wagons are not uncommon in Hungary, especially in the countryside, but we seem to see more of them in Romania. The part of Romania we traveled in, Transylvania, was for several hundred years part of Hungary, so there are a lot of similarities between the two countries. More than ten percent of the population consider themselves Hungarian and still speak the language. We ate some traditional Romanian food over the weekend and it was very close to Hungarian food.

There are some definite differences, though. Romania is a poorer country than Hungary. They have yet to recover from the severe poverty they suffered under Ceausescu and the Communists and the recent world economic situation has set them back in their recovery. Also, Romania's main religion is Eastern Orthodox while Hungary is mostly Roman Catholic and Reformed. The Orthodox Church has a very powerful hold on the people and the government in Romania.

Please pray for Romania, that God will bring revival to the churches and that a great wave of evangelism will spread throughout the country. Pray also for the Open Bible Church in Gherla, that God will provide for them the pastor they need and that these dear people will continue to grow in the Lord.