Nate and Noah to Romania

Fall is my absolute favorite season. The weather cools, life seems to slow just a bit, and, God bless, the American football season is in full swing. For as great as all those things are, the specific events surrounding autumn 2025 have made these past two months, October in particular, an absolute dream. As October comes to a close and the taste of winter begins to present itself more and more convincingly, I find myself sitting in moments of sheer disbelief that we serve a God so gracious as to allow this life to be as beautiful as it is. Truly, in the everyday moments as well as the extraordinary, the Lord’s faithfulness and brilliance have appeared everywhere, and that fact certainly makes this post a very fun one to write!

To speak to the general day-to-day goings on, Noah and I find our responsibilities around the church changing shape around this time of year. The checklist of summer projects gives way to the singular mission of cutting and preparing wood for the heating of the church, and then, of course, doing the regimented work of actually heating the church each day. We were surprised by a particularly early and especially chilly cold front to open the month of October, which in turn resulted in us lighting the flame of the furnace a month earlier than expected. On the other side of things, youth continues on, and this work does not see quite as much change as our more labor-focused responsibilities. We have continued to meet each Thursday for the standard youth service, and we also meet every other Friday to enjoy Refresh Nights, where the youth can gather together for community events and relationship building. The youth continue to grow with impressive hunger and eagerness, and in the month of September, we embarked on a message series focused on spiritual warfare and the importance of living our Christian life with awareness and preparedness to take on every battle. I continue to be so proud of our students as they take larger strides and greater responsibility in their walk with Christ. While there are many ways that this growth and progress has presented itself, there was perhaps no greater display than several of our students choosing to be baptized earlier this month.

Following this summer’s youth camp, we had nine youth students who made the decision to be water baptized. This is a tremendous step of faith in and of itself, but in Romania, cultural dynamics give this decision an added layer of weight and pressure. Many Romanians are traditionally baptized by the Orthodox Church as infants, and the self-made choice to be baptized later in life can be met with great resistance and even scorn in some denominational circles. To Romanians, baptism represents a deeply significant, decisive lifestyle change and greater devotion to Christ and the Church, and I have found that it is a step taken with a higher sense of reverence here than in the United States. That being said, these students made this choice knowing that there was real gravity to it, and they did so with excitement and fervor. It was such a joy to walk with them in the month and a half between the initial commitment and the day itself, as we held a weekend baptism class and the students spent several weeks preparing to give their testimonies before the church during the ceremony. Their eagerness and joy all throughout the process made it clear that they understood the step that they were taking and were ready to run into it wholeheartedly. When the day of the ceremony came, the church auditorium was packed with friends and family members, along with regular church congregants, all ready to celebrate the occasion together. It was absolutely incredible to watch each student walk boldly onto the stage and declare the stories of God’s work in their life without reservation. I doubt there is any way I could have felt more proud watching each of them, and it was such a special honor to personally baptize each of them along with pastors Ted and Calin. Certainly, this occasion marked a new level of maturity and commitment for each one who was baptized, and it felt emblematic of the youth ministry as a whole. Each student has, in their own ways, grown in obedience and surrender to the Lord, and great fruit has been produced in each of their lives. It is incredible to think, especially on occasions such as this one, that the best days still lie ahead for these youth in their journey with the Lord, and I absolutely cannot wait to see all that God has in store for them!

As if the month of October was not marked as a time of incredible significance already, another wonderful event brought about an added dimension of sweetness and joy to this season. On October 24, Denis and Ashley, two of my wonderful friends, were married.

The anticipation for this day had been building for some time. Back in March of this year, Noah and I gleefully assisted Denis in preparing his proposal of marriage to Ashley, which set the stage for this tremendous occasion. In what came as an incredibly pleasant and happy surprise, Denis asked me to be his Best Man. Since that time, many an hour of preparation, planning, and celebration took place, including a weekend trip to Sibiu and the surrounding mountains early in the month with the other groomsmen. The months following March had a distinct wonder to them in this regard. Over the past two years, Denis has come to be perhaps my greatest friend in Romania, and to see the favor and blessing of God play out and develop in his life leading up to his marriage to Ashley has been a joy to witness.

The day itself was just incredible. It was my and Noah’s first time at a Romanian wedding, and there was no better one to be our first! Since Ashley and the Hurrelbrink family are half American, some elements of the celebration felt very familiar, and some were quite new and fun to experience as well! It was amazing to be with Denis through the first half of the day before the ceremony, and from the afternoon on, everything was one brilliant, vibrant blur! The presence of the Holy Spirit sat so sweetly in the midst of the ceremony as Pastor Ted gave the sermon, which was followed by a beautiful moment of worship. Once the deed was done and the two were officially pronounced husband and wife, a grand reception ensued that lasted into the night, which, led by Calin and his wife Laura, included games, speeches, a multi-course meal, and hours of wonderful discussion and celebrating with the family and friends of the couple, several of whom we see regularly at SALEM and Oxygen Youth! When the evening eventually came to a close and we all sent Denis and Ashley off, I was overcome by an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness to the Lord, both for His faithfulness to me in providing such wonderful people to walk through life with, and also for His faithfulness to Denis and Ashley. There is no doubt that their life together will be deeply blessed and incredibly fruitful!

Autumn has provided a handful of really excellent weeks here. It’s mind-boggling to think that we’re hurtling into the final two months of the year! As winter comes upon us, there are, as always, a few specific points I would love to offer up as opportunities to join with me in prayer for going forward:

Next steps for Oxygen Youth: Since beginning a little over two years ago, the focus of Oxygen Youth has been primarily centered around establishing and discipling a core group of students, most of whom have been a part of SALEM for some time. Now, we collectively are beginning to look further. These students are mature in their faith and are ready to take the next steps in being mobilized to reach their friends and peers, and our focus going into 2026 is shifting heavily towards outreach and teaching our students to be disciplers themselves. Pray with us as we prepare students for the next phase in their Christian walk: that they would be bold, passionate for the lost, and equipped for the work of the Kingdom!

Upcoming Oxygen Events: As part of this expanding vision, we are in the process of planning several outreach events to help get our youth involved in the community and in evangelism. We are also looking to organize our first Oxygen Youth Winter Retreat, and all of these events require significant planning and organization. Pray that these events would come together as we connect and partner with other organizations and ministries in the city, sort out logistics, and assess costs for these different events. Additionally, pray that the events themselves would be impactful and fruitful, both for our students and for the city of Oradea!

Thinking big picture in Romania: In the coming months, I will be approaching the halfway point of this “second phase” of ministry in Romania. While there is still good and substantial time ahead, I have begun praying and having intentional conversations with leaders, both from Mannahouse and SALEM, about what the next steps may be following the end of this two-year commitment. Additionally, I recently began a private tutorship for Romanian language learning and am thinking through the possibility of buying a vehicle. Please be praying that the Lord would bring clarity going forward and that these “next steps” would be met with success!

It has been a wild, wonderful whirlwind six months! Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support that have helped pave the way for every camp, outreach, service, event, and life moment! The Lord continues to bless every effort, and I believe He has even more incredible times and works ahead as we partner to reach the youth and the city of Oradea! May His Kingdom come, and may we continue to believe for it!

Much love,

– Nathan