Romania
It was early Saturday morning.
ITMI Director, Steve Evers was in Oradea, Romania, the home town of ITMI Romanian partners, Adi and Ema Ban, located just 8 miles from Romania's Hungarian border.
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The elegant city's history goes back to the Ottoman empire, but most of what remains today was redesigned by Viennese engineer Franz Anton Hildebrandt and rebuilt in the 18th century. Hildebrandt used an Austrian architectural style called Secession which gave the city its richly decorated facades of pale pink, blue, green and white.
Cut in two by the Crisu Recede River, the city is known for its architecture.
It Started Out as a Quick Trip to Union Square
Steve, Adi and two of his sons, Andy and Thomas were set to leave the Bans home city, Oradea around 10am to travel to Poroshkovo, Ukraine.
Steve and the Ban's youngest son, Thomas and one of the Bans' nephews went to the recently renovated Union Square to capture some aerial video footage of the unique and charming city before departing.
The old buildings faces had been lifted and the square newly paved. A water fountain graced the center of the plaza, and floral arrangements offered lovely pops of color against the backdrop of the neutral colored buildings, adding a quaint charm.
It was a windy day in Oradea. Steve worked hard to control the remote controlled aerial camera with which he was taking video. But the wind won the heated match, stranding the camera atop the roof of the Greek Orthodox Biserica cu Luna, or Church of the Moon.
The late Baroque Church is named for the half-gold, half-black sphere in the clock mechanism that reproduces the phases of the moon.
Greek Orthodox Biserica cu Luna, or Church of the Moon near Union Square.
This is a glimpse of the inside.
The Adventure Begins
The camera could not be coaxed from the roof, nor retrieved.
The fire department was called, but declined to help because there was no where their truck would fit. They suggested we contact a “utilitarian mountain climber” and somebody provided a cell phone number.
Ionut answered our call.
He had just return from a hiking expedition, and his gear was still in the car. He was very open and helpful.
Ionut, Oradea's Utilitarian Climber, retrieves the aerial camera from the church's roof.
As he was finishing retrieving the device, Adi said “God is good. Thank you, Lord!”
He looked at Adi, a bit surprised, and said, “Do you really believe in this things?”
“Of course I do,” I said. “It is the only hope we have in this lost world.”
And just like that, the Spirit had created the opening for Adi share the Good News with Ionut.
Adi recounted, "In those moments I realized the Lord turned a barrier into an opportunity: our departure for Poroshkovo was delayed for Ionut to hear the Good News! What a wonderful and compassionate God we serve!"
So, where's the video?
Here it is. Enjoy!
Steve Evers has advocated for and served the ITMI partners as ITMI Director since 2001. Approximately once a year, Steve visits with ITMI partners in their countries and brings stories back to encourage supporters. Steve enjoys photography and mechanics, (both hobbies that have greatly benefited ITMI partners!) Prior to becoming ITMI's Director, Steve served on the Board of Directors for 4 years. Steve lives in Arizona with his wife, Darlene.
