Nate and Noah to Romania

Hey Alexa, play “End of August” by Noah Kahn.

Our students went back to school here in this first week of September, and just like that, the serendipitous parade of summer days has faded back into the brisk rhythm and cozy anticipation as the ‘ber months come into view. As goes the trend, summer was busy with its own litany of spontaneous hangouts and enjoyments, as well as those deeply significant moments which have a way of catapulting you joyfully and optimistically into shorter days and the closing months of another year. The feeling I come again to as the summer ends is one of gratitude – a profound sense of thankfulness to God for moments that brought our youth and church family closer together, moments where His brilliant love and power were woven together and on full display, and moments of His incredible provision. And so then, a summary: Summer 2026 in Oradea (and all over, really).

A Prayer Answered: God Provided a Car!
In the early going of July, as my American brothers and sisters celebrated the anniversary of American independence, this American was blessed with a chance at greater personal independence as the purchase of a car was finalized. Back in December, I set out to raise the necessary funds to buy a used car for both personal and ministry use. Within two weeks, the radical generosity of so many gracious and wonderful people had covered the full goal. As the year began, so too did the quest to find a vehicle that would meet all of the day-to-day needs. Finally, with the help of a new friend from Timisoara, I was able to purchase a 2014 Hyundai xi35 (an earlier iteration of the Tuscon). The vehicle has been brilliantly serviced and maintained, and the man running the pre-purchase inspection marveled at the condition and the mileage (less than 96,000 kilometers/60,000 miles)! The Lord truly provided the perfect vehicle right as the summer really began to kick off – it has the space, the fuel economy, and the durability to be a true blessing and game changer for years to come. We have by this time thoroughly christened the vehicle with a multi-hour voyage into the mountains to prepare for the youth camp, and it has allowed for several students to receive rides to or from youth events. Thank you so much to everyone who gave and prayed toward this goal!

Camp Season: This Year’s Trifecta
Each summer bears forth a different variety of camps both to serve in and to attend, and each year has had it’s own unique feeling and flavor given the assortment of camps. This year focused around a “big three”, if you will – Salem Kid’s Camp, Oxygen Youth Camp, and Barnabas’ Youth and Young Adults Retreat. Each one was such a blast and a blessing to be a part of, and they all helped make this summer special and memorable!

Camp 1 – Salem Kid’s Camp: One of the continuing fixtures for me in each camp season besides our own youth camp has been the church’s Kid’s Camp. This camp is always such a distinct joy for several reasons. Obviously, the kids are just massive bundles of energy and giddiness, and they don’t need an excuse to have fun – but if you give them one, good things will happen! My role has historically been that of the games leader and part-time skit actor, which makes my job a whole lot of goofy fun! Additionally, it is amazing to get to support Calin as he and Laura run these camps; working with your mentors just makes it that much more special. Not only that, but kid’s camp (and kid’s ministry as a whole) is often a place in which our youth will find an opportunity to serve, and it is wonderful having them there as well. This year’s theme centered around worship and joy in the Lord, and there was no shortage of either! Perhaps the greatest moment came at the end when the leaders and youth took time to pray for the kids individually, and many of them opened up earnestly and honestly about what they needed prayer for, including physical ailments, several of which were miraculously healed in prayer! The whole experience was such a blast, and it was an incredible way to open up the summer camp season.

Camp 2 – Oxygen Youth Camp: This camp is always the closest to my heart and is the one in which I am always the most deeply involved. This year’s camp was different for us: it took place in a new location, this time in the mountains of Albac, and it was actually the smallest youth camp we’ve done in terms of attendance, with about 18 of us total. This did not change our excitement or expectation level – in fact, we as a youth team prayed that the Lord would use the intimacy of the camp to pull us together and ignite our hearts for Him with greater intensity. The theme of the camp was “Înflăcărat” – Hearts on Fire, and the Lord certainly delivered our our prayers for newly and freshly ignited passion! Our days started with the Psalms and morning prayer all together, and this was a special (and perhaps slightly sleepy) way to begin the day in faith for what God was going to do. Morning sessions were greatly impactful, holding several excellent discussions and providing students with practical opportunities to encourage one another. My favorite morning session was Thursday’s, and in it, we spent time practicing gratitude in prayer before the Lord, followed by moments of gratitude in which we grouped up in twos and threes and shared with each other what we most respected and appreciated about one another. The students didn’t want to stop for lunch, and several of them spent the afternoon’s hour of free time continuing the exercise! The night sessions, as is often the case, were the highlight of camp. Watching the students worship with abandon in the little mountain chapel together, take in the Word of God earnestly and respond passionately, and continuously take steps of faith was something that so blessed my heart. Such moments never get old, and seeing students progress in their journey with the Lord year after year is something I treasure so greatly. Over the course of the four nights, we saw three students be miraculously healed – one from chronic knee pain, one from a chronic back and knee injury, and one from an injured finger sustained earlier in the camp. One of our students was received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for the first time, and several came forward to receive new refreshing and power in the Spirit. Several students shared prophetic words, and all of them prayed earnestly for one another. There were several nights where there was so much joy in the response that worship would go an hour or more late! Truly, the Lord brought us closer together and closer to His heart and answered our prayers so beautifully. These camps are always one of the great highlights of my year, and I am so thankful for how God met us in this one!

Camp 3 – Barnabas “Rooted, Refreshed, Ready” Retreat: This camp, or retreat, as it came to be, was a week after the Oxygen Youth Camp, and it was such a welcome time of refreshing and refilling. Targeted specifically to high school students and young adults who actively serve, our friends at Barnabas saw the need for such a retreat, and it was a massive blessing. To be able to escape the camp in Laz (a place which has become almost a second home to us here) for four days with some dear friends to relax and seek the Lord together was something I so needed to close out the summer. It is nice to have places in which I can step momentarily out of the “youth pastor” role and simply be present, and these moments with our Barnabas friends always serve as special and necessary times for that. Especially with the theme of the retreat being centered around that idea, I found that I was able to draw strength from the messages, times of worship, moments of prayer, and intentional conversations. It was the perfect close to an excellent camp season!

Day-to-Day Life in the Summer: Joyful moments and little memories
Something that I love about our youth is that they always desire to be around the church. Especially in the summer, someone always seems to be planning a hangout around here. As the World Cup played out in the early months of the summer, often I would find students gathered in the couch room of the church taking in a match together. It seemed that there was constantly a group coming to play volleyball or soccer in the field behind the church, or if the evening was too hot, play board games or video games together in the church building. Given the greater degree of availability in the summer, my weekly calendar would often be full of meetings with individual students to discuss life and their personal walk over the course of the days. Truth be told, it will be quite the adjustment to not have our youth so often at the church now that school is in full swing! In a day and age in Romania where it is getting harder and harder to get youth to engage in church life, I am so thankful that our students take joy in being together and in being around the church grounds. It truly is a wonderful blessing!

Bonus Round: First big labor project!
Given the extreme heat of the summer (we’ve had several-week stretches in which the weather has been at or nearly at 40 degrees Celsius – over 100 degrees Fahrenheit!), not a lot of manual labor work is done until the closing weeks of summer. That said, leading up to the school year and the reality that 400 kids will be running through the church campus each day, we set out with Ted to contain the storage and materials area behind the church by building a temporary fence. Not only that, but finally, after years of waiting, we have begun purging the area of old materials! An area that has been a continual eyesore and thorn in our sides is finally being tamed and brought to order, and it has been deeply exciting to see efforts and resources centered on bringing this about! It continues to be a work in progress, but we are thrilled at the progress that has been made!

As I recount all of these things, I am again so grateful for how God has moved in each area, as well as for the prayers that spurred these works on! Thank you for continuing to follow along with the work that is being done here, for continuing to pray, and for continuing in generosity! As we go into the Fall, here are some specific areas that can be lifted up in prayer:

Evaluation and proceeding of the ministry: As a new school year begins, this is the time at which the ministry calendar sort of resets. That being said, these autumn months are a time of evaluation, reflection, and pivoting as we discern where the Lord is taking things going forward. One of the things that has been on my heart is a greater involvement of parents and young couples in the church within the ministry. As we seek to grow and improve, give students greater access to mentorship opportunities and resources, provide greater support to the team, and follow God’s vision for the youth, pray that the next steps become clear, and that the Lord would bring about fellow laborers to add in and join us in expanding the capacity of the ministry!

Personal next steps for our team and our students: God has moved in significant ways this summer, and one of the things we have focused on coming out of summer is taking next steps and following up on what God has done. Youth will continue in this vein in the coming weeks, focusing on how to hear the voice of God and respond in obedience to His call and vision for our lives. Pray that the Lord would speak to each student and each member of our team clearly, and that we all would receive the grace and strength from His presence to follow in obedience!

Questions regarding my future in Romania: As mentioned in the previous update, I am currently sorting through what it means to root myself in a deeper and more long-term way here in Oradea, and that process comes with no shortage of questions. The Lord has already been faithful to begin showing pieces of what that could look like going forward, but much of this process has been a trust exercise with Him. I would love if you would be praying with me that God would make clear the next steps in the language, in the ministry, in my living situation and day-to-day rhythms, in personal relationships, and in His ultimate purposes and vision for me here!

Thank you for all your support! If you made it to the end of this update, you have a share in the work of the Kingdom in this place, and I ask that you would continue to pray into and believe for wonderful things in this portion of the world! I am so thankful to get to live out this adventure with fellow brothers and sisters all around the globe, and I am so glad that you are a part of it! Glory to God!

Blessings in the dawn of the autumn season,
– Nathan