Nate and Noah to Romania

How strange it is to be writing on US soil. Noah and I are nearly through our first full month of being back home, and so much has already happened! In order to cover everything that has taken place in our final weeks in Romania as well as our return, the events of the past couple of months will be covered in two installments. This first update will detail our final days in Romania, revolving primarily around Oxygen Youth Camp, and the subsequent update will lay out the story of our arrival in the States and our current path into the next few months of being here. So without further ado, The End of the Beginning: Part I!

The final weeks, or perhaps the entire final month of our time in Romania was something of a blur. As the time of our own youth camp rounded the corner, Noah and I found ourselves in the midst of packing and making final preparations for our youth team’s transition, our departure, and any final pieces that needed sorting out before leaving. We had enjoyed a summer full of spending time with students, attending various camps, and captaining various projects around the church, and there were certainly moments in approaching our own camp that felt quite daunting. However, at the perfect time, we received a word from the Lord that He was preparing to move at Oxygen Camp to the extent of our expectation, and we were encouraged to believe for an incredible move of the Lord on behalf of our students. This, along with the church’s eagerness and encouragement in the lead-up to camp propelled us forward and helped give us the energy and anticipation to join the Lord in what He was preparing to do. We prayed earnestly that the Lord would use this camp as a “pillar moment” for our students, and that He would be setting a new trajectory for each individual and for us as a youth family as we sought to hear His voice and heed His instruction. Finally, August 19th rolled around, and we piled into cars with 24 other students and young adults to set out for Laz, where the Lord would meet us mightily in the days that followed.

We arrived to the camp in Laz with the sun shining and the summer heat making us and our students all the more eager to get organized and set up in our respective cabins. As we unloaded our supplies and everyone settled into their accommodations, we couldn’t help but feel that sort of butterfly-in-the-stomach anticipation to get things rolling for this first camp. We began as most camps often do, with the endlessly invigorating list of camp rules, best practices, and housekeeping notes. Ask our students, and I’m sure they’ll tell you this was their fondest memory of the entire camp experience. Fortunately, things began moving with a little more pace as we sat down to enjoy our first camp meal all together thanks to the talents of Katy and Iulia, who would come through time and time again over the course of the week with amazing meals to keep everyone well fed and energized. Afterward, we divided the students into their respective rosters and team colors to begin the construction of the 2024 Oxygen Youth Camp teams. The students were brilliant, pooling their gifts and talents together to assemble team mascots, flags, and anthems that would collectively put just about any posh modern art museum to shame. We would be continually impressed over the course of the week by the resilience, determination, and competitiveness of our students. Make no mistake, the folks over at Oxygen Youth are, as the kids say, “built different”. Evening soon came, and with it came time for our first camp service. We all huddled into the upper meeting room, where we would receive the first tastes of what the Lord had in store.

From the beginning, it was clear that the Lord was preparing to speak and meet students in a significant way. The theme for the camp was Divine Direction, and our focus for the week was the story of how God set Israel apart for His purposes and met them in mighty ways following their journey out of Egypt. Together as a youth family, we prayed that God would meet us and show how He was setting us apart for his purposes in Oradea and Romania as a whole. We had spent a good amount of time before camp encouraging students to come with expectation that God would meet them, and we were so proud of how they responded from the very first night! Noah opened with a message about dedicating ourselves to the Lord as Israel did at Mount Sinai. Led by the Holy Spirit, Noah encouraged us to set aside anything that was holding us back and lay any sin before God so that we could run after him unhindered. Multiple students responded, and in just the first night, it was clear that God was paving away for a deep encounter with his presence in the days to come. It was such an amazing start to camp and we were so thankful for how the Lord was already speaking! Between the bold responses of our students and the prophetic words that the Holy Spirit spoke through Noah, both for the group and for specific students, excitement was building for how the Lord would meet us over the course of the week. He certainly didn’t disappoint!

Following the first night in which we prepared ourselves to properly meet the Lord, we began to look at how the presence of God came to meet the Israelites. To accompany the Sinai narrative, we examined and discussed how the Holy Spirit moves and meets us today. In the mornings, we met in our breakout groups, discussing the previous night and processing what the Lord had spoken in the previous night sessions before diving into scriptures that prepared us for the upcoming night sessions. It was an excellent time of study, discussion, and reflection that helped us prepare our hearts to take the next step with the Lord. On the morning of the second day, we began to pray that the Lord would come and meet us in the same way He met Israel at Sinai and later the disciples at Pentecost as we sought to partner with Him. While we entered night two with great expectancy, the Lord came ready to meet us in a measure I’m not sure any of us could have anticipated. In worship, Emil, one of our students, led us to bow together on our hands and knees before God in reverence. In that moment, the Holy Spirit absolutely filled the room. For a great deal of time, we simply sat in the sweetness of His presence together, marveling in His goodness and holiness. It was such a sweet and wonderful moment! Eventually we transitioned into the message, and Pastor Ted Ciuciui spoke to us about the role of the Holy Spirit and how He partners with us as believers in Christ. Following Ted’s message, we prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to fill each of us, emboldened by the encounter we had experienced in worship. We knew He was already there, and we simply prayed that He would complete what He had started! The following hour was truly a moment in which Heaven met Earth. As we cried out, it seemed that not one of us was left untouched by the Holy Spirit. It was incredible to watch students receive prayer arm in arm, weep in the sweetness of the Lord’s presence, and lighten as burdens were lifted away in a moment. Truly, the Lord brought a wave of fresh life to us in that room, just as He had at Sinai with Israel, and just as He had in a similar room in Jerusalem with dozens of faithful disciples. As we walked out of the meeting, it was clear to all of us that the Lord had done something significant in each of us individually and as a group. No doubt, this was that “pillar moment” for which we had so desperately prayed, and it was something far greater than we had even known to ask for.

By the time we woke up Wednesday morning, we were already beginning to feel some of the physical camp fatigue, but man, were we juiced up on the Holy Spirit! Morning devotionals began with incredible testimonies from the night before, and by the end, multiple students were sharing words that the Lord had put on their hearts, either for the group or for specific individuals. Many students felt led to pray for one of their fellow peers, and they did so with such boldness and eagerness! It was so cool to see the Holy Spirit immediately beginning to work through the group, and we were so proud of how each of them leaned in, listened, and followed through with obedience! By the time Pastor Ted got up to preach on partnering with the Holy Spirit in power to be an encouragement to the Body of Christ and a hope to the lost, the faith in the room had students on the edge of their seats, ready to see the Spirit move in the room through them! Even despite the difficulties and fatigue from the day, our resilient little group refused to be discouraged or back down. When Pastor Ted’s message concluded, students began to move throughout the room, praying for one another as the Holy Spirit led them. There are few words to describe how proud we were to see each person not only embrace the presence of the Lord and put themselves in His hands, but to surrender to His direction as He led them to build one another up and encourage each other. There was a whole new degree of ownership, boldness, and flourishing in the entire group that only the Holy Spirit could have brought to life. Yet even still, He wasn’t done!

Our final full day at camp was a powerful and fitting end to such a special week. In the final afternoon of competitive team games, there were some injuries sustained (as the camp games coordinator, my lawyer as advised me not to elaborate on the extent of the injuries. No fatalities occurred as a result of said camp games) that put a damper on the rest of the afternoon. However, with that same bold, resilient, faith-filled attitude that was so wonderfully on display in the previous days, students began to come together to pray that God would heal their friends. Together, they prayed fervently for over half an hour, confident that the Lord would bring complete healing… and so He did! The Holy Spirit showed up powerfully, just as He had all week, and by the time dinner was ready, three students were completely healed from injury, several others were deeply touched by the Holy Spirit, and all of us were worshipping and rejoicing together in complete awe. The Spirit of God showed up on a patio as we were grilling burgers as though it were an evening worship service, just as our students believed wholeheartedly and asked that He would. That moment will forever stand as perhaps my fondest and most poignant memory of the entire camp, as it just sums up so well the entire week and all that we experienced together.

Inspired by the encounter with the Lord in the afternoon, our student Paul, who graciously offered up his talents to run sound and media for our camp, suggested that we move the equipment outside in order to have our final night session outdoors. Our final service together took place under the canopy of the night sky, and in the Romanian countryside, the vast array of stars only added to the wonder of the occasion. As we worshipped, students moved throughout the rows of scattered picnic chairs praying for one another, delivering prophetic words, and worshiping with their brothers and sisters arm-in-arm. In closing out our following of Israel through their establishment as God’s people, I had the honor to lead the group in a reflection of Joshua’s journey with the people into the Promised Land. As we recounted the story of how the Lord paved the way for Israel to be rooted and blossom for the sake of His glory, we thought over the course of the past year and our own time of meeting the Lord in our week together. We encouraged our students to go forward in strength and courage, knowing as Joshua did that the Lord went before them into every place they stepped. We concluded the night with a blessing over the youth and a blessing over Katy, Iulia, Iulian, and Marcus as the team that would carry the torch in our absence, and we prayed that the Lord would continue to meet and prosper them as they continued to seek Him and continued to follow His leading. It was a deeply significant moment for all of us, and it was such a wonderful way to end the camp as a family.

We slept very little that final night, and in the morning we packed up and returned home. Over the following two weeks, Noah and I would say many difficult goodbyes. Even though we knew we were set on returning, the thought of leaving a youth and a church family that had become so dear to us, even for a little while, brought a good deal of heaviness. However, we left knowing for certain that the Lord had such amazing things ahead, and the youth were up for the challenge and ready to respond. We were so proud to see them all eagerly laying their hands on people and praying boldly and fervently in the Sunday services, sharing the gospel and praying for healing for strangers and friends alike, and walking in a grace that comes only through dependence on the Holy Spirit. We left feeling peace and confidence knowing that our incredible team of leaders would be just the right people to steward what the Lord had begun and lead these students, both now and in the years to come. Their faithfulness, care, and sensitivity to the Lord has been a blessing to us and to our youth. I write these words with such gratefulness for all of these people and a full belief that we’ve experienced some incredible days, but the best ones are still to come!

Life has been full for Noah and I since returning to the States, but we are incredibly thankful to be home in this season, and we are so excited to be officially on the path to return again to Oradea at the beginning of next year! I will soon be writing and posting part II of this update, which will detail our experience at home so far as well as a look into some of our upcoming plans. To all those in the US, we are so incredibly excited to see you and tell the stories of all the Lord has done in the past year, and to all those in Romania, we miss you immensely, but we look forward to seeing you soon!

Talk soon!

– Nate and Noah