Dead Bones to Life

“As we call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive. We call out to dead hearts, come alive, come alive. Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise. We call out to dry bones, come alive.”

These are the lyrics of a Lauren Dagle song that I’m currently singing in my head as I’m thinking about the city of Craiova, Romania and the ministries of Hope Church Romania. Our host, Raul, is incredible. He followed a call from the Lord out of the northern part of Romania to the Southern part of Romania where the percentage of born again Christians is about 0.7%.

When Raul first moved here, other pastors in the area warned him over and over again about the difficulty of being a missionary in this area. People call the Southern part of Romania a graveyard for missionaries.

Welp. “God put a call on my heart so I went,” claimed Raul.

Now Raul, his family, and many other missionaries here are partnering with God to make the Gospel known in Craiova. There are ministries targeted towards the youth, kids, old people, prisoners, people walking on the street, people in the villages, and so many others. It’s amazing to see.

The first 3 days that I’ve been here, I got to do street evangelism. I LOVED it. I walked up and down the streets of Craiova meeting people and talking to them. We handed out pamphlets and also bags full of essentials like shampoo, and toothbrushes. Each bag and pamphlet with a sticker point people back to Hope Church.

While evangelizing, I found myself having a conversation with an older woman. She told me some about her life and told me she can’t find a job here because in Romania, after the age of 45 you are seen as washed up. I prayed for her on the spot and told her that God sees her as a fountain of life.

I found myself walking into an Orthodox church and entering into a long conversation about theology with a girl around my age. She believes in the same Jesus and desperately wants people to know Him. When I got home, I prayed that she would know that she can go directly to God, that she doesn’t have to go through any building or person first.

I handed some bags to two middle aged women with autism and my friend told them that God loved them. I have no idea if they understood us but they held the bags and just stared at us for a couple minutes with the biggest smiles on their faces.

I had so many sweet interactions, I also had so many people give me the cold shoulder and avoid eye contact with me. Worth it.

I have loved working with this ministry already. I love that this community is full of ministries all over the city where people are puting themselves second and the will of God first. It’s beautiful to see God stirring hearts in a place whee people might assume He has forgotten them. God never forgets people, He knows every hair on our heads.

“Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” -Luke 12:7

In the old testament book of Ezekiel, God directs Ezekiel to prophesy the rebirth of Israel. God gives him a vision of the dry bones of the people of Israel coming back to life. It went a little like this: “This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you all come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin: I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” -Ezekiel 37: 5-6

“So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.” -Ezekiel 37:10

God brings dry bones to life. God promised life to those who reach out for it and I am grateful to be working with a ministry that believes in that truth!