*Repost from old blog 9/16/2021
Month 1 of the World Race is done and sadly so is my time in Romania. But now we are in our second country, Albania. But I want to share a bit about the people of Romania from what I got to see from the one week that I was out in the city.
Like most people, I try to find similarities between myself and the people I meet. It was no different when I came to Romania. Of course, differences are a good thing but looking for similarities is just natural. One of the first things I noticed about the culture here in Romania is their views on religion.
Christianity in Romania has been around since at least the 4th century when at least part of the modern-day country was ruled by the Roman Empire. Christianity here mainly comes in the form of Eastern Orthodoxy. With a small population of Catholics and Evangelicals. There is also a small population of Muslims in Romania.
I didn’t go to an Orthodox Service while I was there but one of my squadmates did and she said they never even touched a Bible the entire service. Also, one of the Romanians we worked with at Hope Church told us about when he visited an Orthodox monastery and he asked to see a Bible and they didn’t have one. They only had works written by saints but not an actual Bible. So Bible illiteracy even among the people who go to church in Romania is rampant.
The beautiful roof of the inside of an Orthodox Church.
The older generation in Romania much like the older generation in the US tends to be the most religious group in the country. Whether that is just out of tradition or out of a genuine relationship with the Lord, they are the ones that go to church the most.
The younger generation, Millennials and Gen Z here in Romania are similar to those in the US in that they aren’t very religious and see Christianity as something that their parents did that has a lot of rules and it’s not relevant to their lives. Some still go to church because that’s what they’ve always done and some have a genuine relationship with Jesus. A decent amount of the younger generation is into new age and witchcraft like the young people in the US.
The big difference between Romania and the US is that unlike the people in the US the people in Romania aren’t really that afraid to talk about Jesus. Maybe it’s just me knowing I was leaving Romania in a few days and I’ll never have to see them again but it felt easier to approach a random Romanian and start talking about Jesus than it is an American. But definitely not easy. Romanians are usually willing to talk and are willing to at least listen even if they aren’t accepting Jesus. Which makes it easier to plant the seeds on, hopefully, fertile ground. That can last long after we leave.
Romania was an amazing place and I hope that I’ll be able to go back there one day.
