Greetings from Cluj-Napoca! A group of five of us arrived here about two hours ago to join Justin. Joining me on the journey were Claudiu and Anca Murtaza, Sorina Vintilla, and Costica Dumitru. Sorina and Costica are from Pitesti and Claudiu and Anca were there to celebrate the wedding. As I mentioned in my earlier blog post, the wedding of Marius and Bianca Motreanu was held at the Pitesti church on Saturday evening.
It was a beautiful ceremony attended by about 75 friends and family. A wedding reception was held on Saturday night. For those of you reading this from other parts of the world, it is hard to describe a Romanian wedding reception. They are complex affairs with four-course meals served late into the night and early into the morning. The Motreanu reception lasted until about 4:00 a.m. on Sunday - so I am told. I gave up after about two hours and returned to my room.
I have spent many a restless night in a Romanian hotel listening to a wedding reception downstairs. It felt good to know that I was paying someone back and keeping the other fellow up last night! There may be some pictures floating around on the Internet of an American preacher being taught a Romanian folk dance. Let's just say that no one will mistake me for a native Romanian!
It was a beautiful evening and certainly a joyous occasion to watch two Christians commit their lives together before God. I continue to pray that more Romanian Christians will marry. I have firmly believed for years that the growth of the church in Romania depends on that very thing.
We left Pitesti at 7:00 a.m. (Romania time) and stopped to worship with the church in Sibiu. A group from Ovilla, Texas was worshipping there also. They have just concluded a week-long VBS. What a thrill to meet fellow short-term workers from the States!
The group of workers will meet this afternoon to plan our week. We're so excited about the possibilities of the week! Please pray that we are able to find open hearts.
I cannot close without sharing the further travel travails of Justin. As I mentioned yesterday, his wife Emily was not able to travel with him due to an illness with their little boy. Justin arrived on Saturday, as scheduled, but without luggage. His bags were nowhere to be found! After I arrived in Cluj, we were able to make a phone call and he was notified that his luggage was found...in Ghana, West Africa!!! Hopefully, it will arrive here in Cluj on Tuesday. If I didn't know better, I would think that Justin had been infected with the Bob Swain Travel Virus, a rare but troublesome disorder that is probably afflicting Bob's fellow travelers in Costa Rica right now.
Thanks to all for your prayers and concern. Drop us a line when you can! It is a real inspiration to hear from home.
Until tomorrow...
Marty
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