Missions News: Outreaches

It was 5:30 in the morning when missionary Colin Gruetzmacher received a text message:  "Hey, it's Faith Week.  You have half an hour to pack.  It may be cold where you are going." 

Within a few hours, he and fellow missionary Hayley Bullen (above) were on a plane from the United Kingdom to Romania, and soon found themselves on the streets of Bucharest, Romania completely alone – with no accommodations, no agenda, and little more than an emergency contact in hand.  Welcome to "Faith Week."

What is Faith Week?  Colin explains: "It is a concept that originated when Jesus sent out the seventy-two in pairs, telling them not to carry anything with them, but to just go and proclaim the Kingdom wherever they went."  During Faith Week, Youth With A Mission ("YWAM") missionaries are sent alone or with another misssionary to a surprise location with nothing prearranged, with the goal of hearing God's voice and doing what He asks them to do.

Fath Week for Colin and Hayley took place in Bucharest, Romania.  They arrived without any accomodations or plans at the Piata Romana, the busiest traffic interesection in central Bucharest (left). 

"It was a very intimidating place to be dropped off," Colin recalls.  "And neither of us had any idea where we would sleep."  The first night they managed to find accomodations at a hostel, and by the second night they had made contact with a Calvary Chapel church that provided them with beds and showers for the remainder of their stay.

After securing a place to sleep, they focused on just trying “to do things for God," but this did not work out very well:  "We started to hand out pizza," Colin recalls.  "But I guess people in Bucharest are not very keen to take free food on the streets."

Colin and Hayley realized that they just needed to slow things down, and "wait" on God for direction.  "Sometimes it is more important to just listen and do what God says," explains Colin, "rather than to try to fit an outreach to meet your own expectations of what it will be."

This led Colin and Hayley in a number of unexpected directions over the next few days – from meeting the head of a Christian denomination to playing music for kids in a local hospital.  Colin and Hayley helped local missionaries walk gypsy kids to school, and walked the streets of Bucharest themselves, praying for Romania and looking for opportunities to share the gospel.  On several occasions they were chased away by authorities for “loitering.”  "We learned that you can't sit anywhere in Romania that there is not an actual seat," Colin explains.

One day they found themselves in a park, where Colin (left) attracted a crowd with his ukulele: "If you ever want a good evangelism tool, or a conversation starter, get yourself a ukulele," Colin reports.  "It is pure happiness and joy," and easily "the best evangelism tool ever."

Later in the week, they were led to visit a street address someone had given them.  As they walked to the address, they became concerned because they were walking through an increasingly dangerous “slum” area of town.  However, when they arrived, they realized that they were at the Assemblies of God Bible College in Romania, and they ended up meeting with the head of the College and denomination. 

“When he agreed to meet us, I think he thought we would be like 50,” recalls Colin with laughter.  It must have been a curious encounter indeed between these two young missionaries with little more than the clothes on their back and the man who was the head of the Assemblies of God in Romania. "It was like the donkey speaking to the prophet," Colin recalls. "Speak for yourself," quips Hayley.

Despite the differences in their ages, backgrounds, and organizations, the three servants of Christ were still able to make a connection.  “He explained the vision of the Bible College to train young leaders,” says Colin. “And we expressed our hope that he would send young Romanians to the U.K. for an upcoming Olympic outreach we were planning.”  After the meeting, Colin and Hayley walked through the Bible College praying for safety, since the campus does not have enough money to pay the local “mafia” for protection.

Sadly, just a few days after their adventure had begun, Colin and Hayley were back at the Piata Romana, climbing into a taxi cab and headed back to the airport.  “Faith Week” was over, but the memories and the lessons would remain:  "It was terrifying, exciting, and freeing,” Colin summarizes. “It always astonishes me how easy it is to hear God's voice when you really have to."

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YWAM England

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