Mission and Trinity

I am getting close on finishing the comp paper. Finally! Mission is the motor that has driven me so far, it was my hidden mountain - my own exploration worth a life time. However, arriving there I realize there is something else - a even larger mystery, the hidden treasure -the Trinity. God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God. (Grudem) .

Ever since Willingen 1952 mission rediscovered its Trintarian focus: mission is not ours, it is not something that I can do for God, rather is God's and God's alone. People are being called by the triune God in the love-relationship with Him, while we Christians are joining our God in His mission. John Piper describes this as : "within the triune Godhead (Father, Son, and holy Spirit), God has been uppermost in His own affections for all eternity. Therefore, God has been supremely happy in the fellowship of the trinity." (Desiring God, p.33).

I am thrilled by dipping into Trinity: relation, perichoresis and love. However, above all, “To know this God, who both condescends to share all that we are and makes us share in all that He is in Jesus Christ, is to be lifted up in His Spirit to share in God’s own self-knowing and self-loving until we are enabled to apprehend Him in some real measure in Himself beyond anything that we are capable of in ourselves. It is to be lifted out of ourselves, as it were, into God, until we know Him and love Him and enjoy Him in His eternal Reality as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in such a way that the Trinity enters into the fundamental fabric of our thinking of Him and constitutes the basic grammar of our worship and knowledge of the One God”(Thomas F. Torrance, The Ground and Grammar of Theology, 155).

Lord, help me to understand what I can understand from Trinity... it will probably remain a mystery... but... help me....

Celebrating love, we celebrate the nativity...
Christ was born defying the darkness,
Embodying the light.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND
A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

With love,
George, Nicoleta,
Joshua, Timeea and George Jr.
DUMITRASCU

Reflections on Thomas Cranmer's "The Book of Common Prayer"

Last week I had a personal half-day retreat by reading the Thomas Cranmer’s prayers, daily and night offices enlisted in the “The Book of Common Prayer”.
One of the fist challenges that I had was to silence my heart and, as I was in the middle of different papers and projects, stretching to meet deadlines, such thing was not easy. My mind was overflowing with words and daily activities flashes, but I wanted to approach the spiritual exercise with silence, focusing on God. Gradually, as I continued to wait upon God, I came to understand that the issue of silence –ie, absence of words– is more than taking a break, or just not speaking. It was a matter of surrender, letting go the wordiness of the heart and trying to set myself in a position were I could hear my own heart and God’s very words to me.
Starting to focus on “The Book of Common Prayer”, I sought to be driven to contemplate God through the words that I was reading. I was impressed by the multitude of prayers, for every occasion and every moment of the day and the depth of feelings expressed. Many of Cranmer’s prayers were a very good reflection of my own very inner feelings. In the same time, I realized that I am learning to pray things I would probably never have thought to say on my own.
Thomas Cranmer prayed: “And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days”. I have reflected for while about the awareness of God’s mercy in my prayer life. Recollecting the memories of my long prayer lists did not help. This is an important place were I need to improve: awareness by giving myself to His service, in holiness, in righteousness… this is more than challenging. Yes, surprisingly written prayers are helping.
Paradoxically, written common prayers have helped in finding my own individuality and defining myself before God. This could be a paradox for all spiritual disciplines; what at first looks like a straightjacket turns out to be a set of wings.
I was also impressed by the various occasions when the Lord’s Prayer is mentioned. Reading and re-reading it, focusing on many aspects of this prayer it kindled my prayer life in another important way. It not only tought me what I should pray about, but also frees me to find my own voice in the choir of the generations of the Christians who prayed this prayer. Indeed, the Lord’s Prayer may sometimes look rigid, but it is the rigidity of a backbone; it allows me to run to God.
The retrat was done - Praise the Lord, the wonderful Father! I had a real adventure: I've discovered more of Him and more of me. Thank you, Thomas Cranmer.

One year in Canada

Dear friends and family!

Greetings and blessings from Vancouver, Canada! Few weeks ago we have celebrated one year since we arrived in Vancouver. We are looking back with mixed feelings. It was difficult yet challenging, however the year passed and we all feel a little older.

We are all fine for the moment, we praise the Lord the besides some seasonal illnesses we are adjusting well and we feel like the most difficult part has already passed. We are still foreigners in a foreign place. This feeling is even more accentuated as we are still looking for a home church. In the pas period we have preferred to involve ourselves in the Romanian churches in Vancouver Mainland area but we gave up after few serious but painful experiences. We have witnessed difficult bitter situations and church divisions that have somehow convinced us to invest ourselves in a growing ministry. For the moment, I (George) am involved mainly in planting a new church in Maple Ridge, BC and only secondarily in Romanian congregations.

As regarding Lumjie and her family, the Albanians that we were writing about six months ago, they are living now very close to our place, in the same building complex. It is a joy to meet them time to time and speak Albanian. It helps them as they are now frequently going to church and also helps us, as we plan not to forget speaking Albanian.

Nicoleta is working now in a part-time job. From her small income, she is practically supporting the entire family’s living costs. All the children are fine, Timeea is now in the third grade and Joshua in the sixth grade. This summer we spend a lot of time trying to get them read and write in Romanian—we are trying to provide an Romanian parallel education as they are tempted to forget Romanian very easily. George jr. is also speaking a mixed Romanian, is quite funny to hear him...

My studies are going further as well. I am now in the second year at Regent and due to the fact that I have done a lot of classes in the spring semester I hope to be able to finish the Master degree a year earlier that we have planned. I am looking forward to start the new semester— it definitely won’t be easy as I will have a lot of speciality classes and the final comprehensive paper coming up.

What will happen next? The short answer is just that we do not know… yet. There is a comfort in the feeling that the future is God’s. I would probably love to continue studying, however, we pray that the Lord will open us a vision so that we will be able to understand what he wants us to do. I still have on my heart ministry toward Romanians and the call to the mission field. As time passes and we are tempted to worry as there are no final answers yet, but we remember that we need to daily lay our burden to Christ. We know that in God’s time he will provide a vision for us in such a manner that we will be able to invest ourselves in something worthy and valuable for His Kingdom.

Please pray with us:
1. That the Lord will continue to work in Romanian churches in Vancouver mainland besides the obvious difficulties and splits.
2. That the Lord will provide in His time a vision for our family for ministry.
3. That the Lord will continue to provide financial resources so that we will be able to support our living costs.
4. That the Lord will bless us all with strength and courage as we continue to work and study. We need His power and His grace.


With love in Christ,
George, Nicoleta, Joshua, Timeea and George-Philip
DUMITRASCU

... so we've got introduced to Canada!

January 12, 2006

Dear friends and family,

Greetings to everyone from Vancouver, Canada. Happy New Year in 2006! May that the Lord will have mercy on us and bless us this year!
We are writing now at about five months since we have arrived in Vancouver. We are glad that the Lord has been with us so far, we have greatly enjoyed His help in everything that we have been through. Although it has been only five months, it seems like an year since we have left the ministry in Bacau, Romania and moved to Canada to continue my studies with Regent College in Vancouver. We have generally passed the cultural shock and we are continuing to adapt to the new place. The society that we encounter here seems unusual materialistic and multicultural for us, it was especially difficult to get around the city ant freeways. We have already moved a second time (when in Canada, do as Canadians do...) to another apartment, subsidized from the local government. Joshua and Timeea are doing well in English, quite integrated now in their school but missing very much Romania and their friends there. George Philip is now two years old, he speaks a lot now and all the rest of us spoils him, he is still home with us.

I have finished the first semester here at Regent and I have registered for the second one. Being student at Regent is not easy as teachers are quite demanding. I enjoy accessing few of the most famous theological libraries in Canada, a real delight but also and important help in my studies. As we have no lodging financial support we are constantly searching for jobs. Nicoleta finally got one these days; she is assisting adults in difficulties with a non-for-profit organization. We are also involved in Grace Romanian Baptist Church in Vancouver, were Theo Pope is pastoring.

One of the surprises that we have encountered here is meeting with some Albanians. For the first time after 2001, we were able to have a longer conversation in Albanian. We have managed to connect with an ex-singer from Kosovo, Lumjie and her husband and six children. We have realized that there are an important number of Albanian refugees from Kosovo and Albanian immigrants from Albania living in Vancouver. It also looks like there is no ministry aiming to the Albanians so we felt like we should continue to develop a deeper relationship with Lumjie, her family and some friend families living in Vancouver. We certainly hope that the Lord will work in their family so they all could be saved.

We expect great things from God this year! Entrusting in His hand and waiting that He should point the way that we are to move we are confident that He will do great things. Please pray with us that we would be lead by Him in this New Year 2006.

Please continue to pray:
- That in our family the Lord will continue to provide enough strength for providing to our children, for studies and for a complete integration of the children in the schooling system.
- That the Lord will continue to work with Lumjie, her family, and the ministry among other Albanians in Vancouver.
- That He will give us a vision and a hope for the future.

With love in Christ,
George, Nicoleta and Joshua, Timeea and George-Philip DUMITRAŞCU