David M. Howard, Jr.
4/18/03

REPORT ON MY TRIP TO
THE EMANUEL UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA (ROMANIA)
March 10-14, 2003

My daughter Melody and I have just returned from my ninth trip to teach at the Emanuel University of Oradea (EUO) in Oradea, Romania, on March 10-14. I had not gone at all in 2002, due to added duties I had last year as Vice President and Program Chairman of the Evangelical Theological Society, so it was an especially good return, due to a 17-month absence. And, having Melody (age 14) with me made it extra special, as well. I thank my Old Testament colleagues Paul Ferris of Bethel Seminary and Francis Kimmitt of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for going in my place in March and October of last year, respectively. The reports I heard of their teaching were very positive.

Melody and I flew to Hungary on March 5 and spent two days in Budapest before going into Romania, mostly sleeping off jet lag (she slept for 15 hours straight, and I for 12!). We were driven into Romania on Saturday, March 8. I preached in a village church on Sunday morning, to a small, but very friendly group of people in a village named Topa de Cris, about 45 minutes out of town, and then we went to the large Emanuel Baptist Church in Oradea on Sunday evening. This church sponsors the university, and Dr. Paul Negrut, its senior pastor, is also the president of the school. As usual, I was asked to bring greetings, which I was happy to do. I also preached in the weekly chapel at the school on Wednesday.

Teaching
The teaching schedule for the week consisted of 6-7 hours per day, for two classes. The first was a second-year class on the Pentateuch with Literature and Social Work students, mostly women, about 55 in number. They will be taking jobs as teachers and social workers throughout Romania when they are done, and seem to be a sharp group. They were certainly friendly. My other class was the third-year pastoral theology students, about 18 of them, most of whom will take positions as pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and church planters. They were a very serious and motivated group, and we had a good week studying Old Testament Theology together. My translators this week were students in each of these classes, Ioana Oprea and Mihai Nemeti, and they did excellent jobs.

Campus Improvements
Because I had not been in Oradea since 2001, I noticed many changes in the city and on the campus. Most notably on campus, the new chapel building is almost completed, and in fact is being used for chapel now. It is a beautiful building that needs only some interior trim work and exterior landscaping in order to be fully functional. The school'ss long-term site plan includes a separate classroom building with "real" classrooms, a second dormitory, and a new cafeteria building. (Up to now, the classrooms have been converted dormitory rooms, and very inadequate for pedagogical purposes.) I took numerous pictures in Budapest and on the campus this year, and I've posted some of them on the "Romania" page of my Web site, at www.bethel.edu/~dhoward, for anyone interested in viewing them.

My Daughter's Experience
I was so pleased to have Melody with me this time, for many reasons. For one thing, it was a delight to have extended time together, on the trips over and back, in the dorm rooms that we were in, and at many meals together, both alone and with others. These were precious times to a father. It was also a delight to see her get involved with the people and the ministry at Emanuel. John and Ann Lenton had put together a very good schedule of things for her to do and ways in which she could get involved. The Lentons are the English couple who live there year round and help in countless ways in running the school: John is dean of the management school and vice-president for business affairs of the university; Ann is the unofficial dean of women and runs the Cantina (cafeteria), among other things.

Melody went on three different mornings to the Christian social-work agency in town, and seemed really to enjoy these times. They took her down to the state orphanage, where they worked and played with many of the children. These children were all mentally or physically handicapped, and desperately sad cases. One boy - whom Melody wants us to adopt! is blind, but he smiled and hugged, and she said "Dad, he's the cutest little boy!" One or two other children were tied up in straitjackets. The children are simply warehoused and their minimal physical needs met (food, water, toilet), but nothing is done beyond that. The Christians who come to work with them represent about the only real human interaction they have, and Melody's heart went out to them. Melody was invited to a small women's Bible study one night, and she made friends with a few of the students during our stay, as well. She spent one morning visiting classes at the Christian high school in town. Her overall experience was such that she's announced firmly that she's returning with me next year! I thank the Lord for this positive experience for her, and for the adults like John and Ann Lenton, who planned her time and had us in for several wonderful meals, Raelene Soritau, who arranged for several things for her to do, and Simona, her third-year student friend, who took her under her wing and gave her a great experience.

My Vision
My vision for the ministry at Emanuel was rekindled and expanded this time, and I've recommitted to the school that I would return semi-annually for another three years. This was a significant trip for me in this regard, because the school has gone through some difficult personnel changes in the past 2-3 years, and important people in the theology school and Old Testament have left, for various reasons. Partly as a result of this, I've wondered in the last year or so if I could continue coming and have any truly effective ministry. I was pleased to learn this time that a solid core of two Romanians with Ph.D.s in Old Testament is now slotted to be in place by this coming fall, and that my coming will help to solidify the team. In addition, I can function to mentor these two younger men in the years to come. And so, I will continue going back for the foreseeable future.

This represents a decision specifically to stay the course at this one place, which is not the easiest place in which to minister - northwestern Romania is not one of the most glamorous places in the world to travel to - as opposed to teaching on a one-time basis in different parts of the world. I have had several invitations to teach elsewhere - Asia, Africa, other parts of eastern Europe, Latin America - some of these from former students of mine whom I would love to help out, but I will put these on hold until it is clear that my usefulness at Emanuel is over or our family situation changes. I cannot travel twice a year to Emanuel and also to other places with our family at its present stage, with two teenaged daughters and when Jan cannot travel with me.

I love this place and the vision there. One of the highlights of the week for me - if not the highlight - is always the weekly chapel service on Wednesday. I am almost invariably moved to tears to hear the entire student body joining together in enthusiastic singing of beautiful Romanian hymns and choruses, as well as ones familiar to my Western ears. The singing in Romania - at the school and at the church - is like I've never heard anywhere else, and I am always immensely blessed by it. And, to hear students' testimonies, and to hear their fervent prayers - with others chiming in with fervent amins ("amens") every few sentences, is thrilling. I have also posted the most recent video (in English) about the school on my Web site (www.bethel.edu/~dhoward), which can be watched as a streaming video, and some of the singing is caught on that tape.

A Revealing Story
One of the small delights I take in every trip to Romania is the chance to eat the wonderful Romanian bread served at every meal. I always buy a couple of big loaves of it to bring home, and my family enjoys it, too. The bread is an incredible bargain by American standards: a large loaf sells for the equivalent of 40 cents (U.S.); an equivalent loaf of gourmet, specialty bread like this would be close to ten times as much in our local bakery.

I was commenting to one of the students whom I knew pretty well about the wonderful bread, and marveling at how inexpensive it was. His response was brief, matter-of-fact, and not at all self-pitying, but it was a revealing glimpse into how different life is for most Romanians. He quietly said, "Inexpensive for you." The conversation moved on, but that brief comment has been seared into my memory as an illustration of the great gap between us relatively wealthy Westerners and most of the rest of the world. In Romania, one of Europe's poorest countries, where the per-capita income is something like $100.00 (U.S.) per month, 40 cents for a loaf of bread, a staple of each day'ss meals, is not a great bargain, as it was for me; it represents hard-earned money not easily parted with.

The Needs
There are many needs in Romania - as elsewhere, certainly - and many different possibilities for ministry. (If you"re interested in knowing about ways in which to contribute or get involved, I'd be very happy to communicate with you about that.) I'm privileged to be one piece in a very large puzzle. There is a constant stream of volunteers coming through Oradea from the West, who represent other pieces in that puzzle. As an example, I was privileged to meet Rhod Jones and Jim Payne there last week. They are the grounds managers at a Christian conference center in southern England, who have donated a week of their time each year for the past three years to improve the grounds at Emanuel. They have put in a beautiful garden, planted several dozen trees, and, this year, built a most impressive rock garden. Pictures of these are also posted on my Web site.

Thank-yous
I thank Bethel Seminary and Dr. Leland Eliason, Bethel's provost, for releasing me to go to Romania each time. I also thank my colleagues and students who have asked about and prayed about my trips. I thank Alicia Petersen, my teaching assistant, and Scott Strand, Bethel's instructional technology guru, for making the arrangements for showing my lecture videos and giving my final exams to three classes while I was gone. I thank Bethel Seminary's Faculty Cross-Cultural Travel Grant Committee for granting funds that have made this trip possible, along the Emmanuel Foundation Fund in Wheaton, Illinois. I thank Dr. Paul Negrut, President of Emanuel, for his kindnesses and continuing confidence in me, and his assistant, Elijah Soritau, for his many services rendered. I thank John and Ann Lenton for kindnesses too numerous to mention. And, I thank my wife Jan, who "complained" loudly about not being able to go with Melody and me, since she too fell in love with Romania and the school after her visit in 2001, but who wholeheartedly has supported my going and who fervently wishes to return herself as soon as possible.