2020 in Hindsight

Dear Family, Friends, and Partners in Ministry,

In the past 4 months since my last update, life and ministry in Romania during the pandemic have continued. This week, I'm getting back into a normal rhythm after enjoying a few weeks off in December. Although I didn't travel anywhere, I did spend some quality time with friends here in Sighisoara.

As we begin a new year, I would like to take this opportunity to look back at the past year and share some of the highlights. 

COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania

Of course, the “main story” of the year was how the pandemic has influenced so much of our lives. Here in Romania, we spent 2 months in lockdown in the spring, after which things began to open up (in stages). By August, however, the number of new COVID-19 cases began to surge, with numbers not beginning to fall until late November (after several days with over 10,000 new cases per day). We are currently averaging around 3,600 new cases per day. We avoided a second lockdown, but various restrictions, including an 11:00 PM curfew, are currently in place. 

Our 3 churches have adapted by moving to online services when it wasn’t possible to meet in person. Our child development centers (in Sighisoara at Veritas and in Tigmandru) were closed in the spring and had to operate differently in the fall, while trying to find creative ways to continue ministering to children and their families. There have been a handful of people from our churches and NCM organizations that have been sick with the coronavirus this year, but to my knowledge none had to be hospitalized and all have recovered. 

2020 Beyond COVID

Even though 2020 will be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic, there are other significant accomplishments that I want to highlight.

EuNC-Romania

For the "History & Polity" course, students interviewed
Jon & Margaret Scott and Dorothy Tarrant about the beginnings
of the Church of the Nazarene in Romania in the 1990s.

It’s been a very full year for European Nazarene College’s Romania Learning Center.

• We’ve offered 5 courses since the beginning of 2020. (That’s not counting practicums, internships, 4 directed studies, or the online courses our students took through EuNC’s Digital Campus).
• At the beginning of the year, our classroom in Sighisoara was renovated. Due to restrictions relating to the pandemic, however, we were able to use it for only 2½ courses this year. The rest of our classes moved smoothly to Zoom.
• We received a large donation of several hundred books for our library (that I’m still working on cataloging).
• The most anticipated event of the year was our graduation ceremony in November. Three students completed the Spiritual Formation programme. (Click here to read about the graduation, which we creatively held on Zoom.)

I continue to serve as the Romania Learning Center coordinator. Additionally, I taught two courses for our Learning Center this year (“Introduction to Academic Skills” and “History & Polity of the Church of the Nazarene”), assisted visiting teachers for an additional two courses, and serve as learning center librarian. 

Literature Development

At the end of the summer, the Romanian translation of the current edition of the Church of the Nazarene’s Manual was published – just in time to be used for the course “History and Polity of the Church of the Nazarene.” 

A Personal Note of Thanksgiving

Although it has been an unprecedented year in so many ways, I ended 2020 being thankful for so much:

• I am thankful that despite pandemic restrictions, we were able to offer all planned courses for our EuNC learning center.
• I am thankful that, even though I had to cancel my home assignment in the spring, supporters have continued to give on a regular basis.
• I am grateful for good health for myself and my family.
• I am thankful that the pace of life was a bit slower this year compared to the busyness of previous years.

  

  
  

In July I adopted a kitten. She was one of 4 newborn kittens discovered in a Veritas building during the spring lockdown. She quickly made herself at home in my apartment. One of her favorite activities is sleeping on the warm radiator.

Looking Ahead as We Enter 2021

As we begin this new year, would you join me in praying for the Church of the Nazarene in Romania. Pray especially:

• for the 5 Romanians who are on track to graduate from EuNC this year, and for the 5 Romanians who are on track to be ordained in November 2021.
• that God will lead new students to study at EuNC-Romania.
• for wisdom and health for our pastors and other ministry leaders as they minister in their contexts during the pandemic.

Now that Christmas break is over, I will again be posting Facebook updates regularly (about once a week) at www.facebook.com/jepjonRomania. (I recently wrote a blog tutorial about how you can make sure you don't miss updates from me in the future. Click here to check it out.)

Blessings to you throughout this new year!

Jonathan