Heading out…

Hey ya’ll…

Haven’t written in 2 days….it’s been extremely busy having to close the conference and say our goodbyes.

Alot has gone but it’s really late and I don’t have the strength to go into it all now but I will.

All I can say to you is that I am overwhelmed at God’s goodness and that this has been and will continue to be life changing.

We leave early in the morning for a 7 hours drive to Sigasora which is home to Dracula’s Castle and then to Bukarest in which we will have 2 days to chill, debrief, and site see before we come home.

I will write when we get to Bukarest and provide with you with pictures, events, and even a SOUNDTRACK of all that went on this week.

Good night!

Chow~Miriam

Half your age plus 7

…is the conversation that circulates the Mac table tonight here in Romania….”it’s the universal age equation” an explaination of it from the wise Chris Briley….

The Mac table….ah now there’s a topic to talk about….what exactly is the purpose of this table?

Mmmm…let’s construct a list of the intellectual and spiritual ways this table has be of great service this week…

1. Morning prayer and meditation

2. Scripture memorization 

3. Father I Adore You in a round as our morning worship time

4. Daily Communion

5. And closing with Praise Reports

Below is a pic of us is spiritual action….

Just to give you insight into our special times together….Of coarse I’m teasing…

Anyways….It was another great day today….tomorrow (Thursday) is the last full day of the conference and Friday morning we have a morning session. 

Had the privilege of giving a talk in main session tonight…don’t ever do it much at all…gave a talk tonight on mentoring/raising up the next generation ….from the perspective of what the Romanians brought to the table today in our breakout sessions and feeling God press to address some of them….scarey…but I must say that it was quite a sobering experience tonight to really feel that I did nothing…yes I prepared (with the help of our incredible team to help me process out thoughts!) but He gave the power and He can only do that….humbling….again reminded that I can’t do anything…without Him…anything having spiritual and influential power….period. 

Feeling weird….feeling that I grew up tonight…

Marking night for me…

~Miriam

To read more….Go to the Recreaza Blog click here.

Riches I need not nor man’s empty praise…

….was a lyric in the hymn “Be Thou My Vision” that I have been listening to the past 2 days…it’s stirred up my spirit…love it….random I know but that’s me…

Anyways….Day 5…It was a beautiful night and day….

It was a long day, I will admit….Casey and I spoke this morning about Private Worship to the entire group and this afternoon Elliot and I did 2 sessions on Authority and Structure In The Church…personally, I have and am learning so much through communicating this stuff but as we listened to so many questions and situations that they are in  I got overwhelmed…I love problem solving and getting my hands in the dirt with people and process but this was overwhelming….

Tonight’s service was awesome! A sweet spirit and God just moved…..awestruck I was…

Set List was….

• Not To Us
• Mighty To Save
• Lead Me To The Cross
• Stronger

Awestruck at the presence of God and understanding that there is absolutely no substitute for it. The songs we sing, the church we build are just tools to facilitate the presence of God but they are not the presence of God. The weight of my responsibility to worship privately has rested on my heart all day….

A simple prayer really for my heart as a worship leader…

Father,

May I not save my most significant worship moments for the platform but only for those to be revealed to me when I am with You only.

Love you all!

Chow for now!

~Miriam

P.S. Davis won the iTunes music battle yesterday for those of you that are wondering (thought I would help Davis’ confidence a little)

Ohhh and stay tuned…nice little blog surprise tomorrow or the next day :)

First Day of Conference

After 2 1/2 days of catching up on rest, site seeing, getting to know the culture and eating GOOD food….and I thought I was going to lose weight on a “mission” trip…heck no! I will for sure come back 5-10lbs heavier

Anyways….after these past 2 days we settled our minds and centered our hearts to focus on the mission at hand for this week. Got up this morning and spent some time talking to God about tonight being our first full night of worship with leaders of a lot of churches in all of Romania. I just sensed God’s love and peace all day…even in the logistics and in our team dynamics….I could feel Him. 

All day we just got ready for tonight….the kick off of our worship conference. Had rehearsal, hung up signs, cleaned the chuch, prepped for communion and in the middle of that… had a music therapy session with Davis, Casey, and Phil as they took turns contesting who could play the most beautiful song in their iTunes ….it was amazing!!! I LOVE OUR TEAM!!

5:00 was registration and dinner with the Romanians and then into to a night of worship and communion to set the tone and heart for the week. I wept! I am finding healing, breath, and restoration in places that I didn’t know I needed on many different levels on this trip.

Conference Day 1 Set List:

• Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
• Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone
• Hosanna
• It Is You

Came upstairs and watched a message from Francis Chan that just rocked my world….still processing it…processing many things in heart, mind, and spirit. Good times.

Love you all!

Chow for now~Miriam

Camelot or bust….out my pizants!

Hello friends!!

Another incredible day here in Timesora, Romania! Day 3, Sunday….This morning we lead worship here at the VOX with Marta, the worship leader here, during both of their services. Our worship set was Give Us Clean Hands (1/2 in Romanian  and 1/2 in English), Mighty To Save (1/2 in Romanian and 1/2 in English), and 2 other Romanian songs. I cried during the entire first service. Yes, it was awesome to hear the songs in a different language but it was the language and worship of the heart that rang out! The language of praise and adoration to our God…there is no language barrier when it comes to that! I was a mess!

Davis, Brad, Casey, Phil, Marta, me, and Elliot rehearsing before the services at the VOX Church.

Our team leading worship at the VOX Church.

 After church, Adi and Jili, the Pastors at the VOX took us out to eat to a restaraunt called Camelot….oh shoooooot!! We got our grub on!! It was amazing! Just picture yourself in Medieval times. They served all the food on a slab….pork, pig, steak, duck, liver, sausage, potatoes, french fries, fruit, and cabbage and you just dig in with your hands. So bibs and all…we got busy! We were stuffed! Friends, Food, Laughter and Romania….doesn’t get much better than that. Below is a sneak peek. 

A slab of heaven!

After lunch we came back and had some team time to prepare for the week to come. Had some cool starter conversations for our Breakout Sessions and awesome prayer time, communion, worship on the roof and closed the evening out with a brisk walk to McDonald’s, where we saw the largest Romanian dog ever! Why a dog gotta be Romanian? Are there Romanian dogs? Focus Miriam…..

Tomorrow is the start of a busy week….our first full day of the conference. Keep the prayers coming.

Lots of love from Romania!

Chow!~Miriam

First blog…first time out of the USA

So we have arrived in Timesora, Romania! First order of business…let me introduce you to the team….April Carter: Logistics Coordinator and Groups Director for Browns Bridge Community Church, Shae Sweeney: Service Programming Coordinator for Browns Bridge Community Church, Davis Harwell: Phenomenal Musician, Phil Stax: Man of MANY Talents, Elliot Moon: Music Director for Browns Bridge Community Church, Chris Briley: Production Manager for Browns Bridge Community Church and his wife, Kelly, Casey Darnell: Michael Jackson Wanna Be, and Brad Long: Best guitar player ever. They are amazing people and have enjoyed getting to know them so much. Rich in spirit, laughter, and talent!

The Team (minus Chris and Kelly)

So the scoop thus far…the first 2 days are days to rest and site see before the conference begins…sooo…

Day 1: Took 16 hours to get here with the combination of 2 flights and a slight lay over. And no, sleep did not happen as much as I thought it was going to. Got off the plane and loaded up in a van, which I thought my trip was going to end early by getting killed. Got to the church…beautiful! Met Audi, the pastor…unpacked….ate our first Romanian dinner which nothing short of starch (French Fries and Bread…that’s it) and then off to bed for a 13 hour sleep. I got homesick as I was laying there and shed a few tears because I missed Dustin and all of you that are dear to me.

Day 2: Got up before everyone else. Around 8:30am here….um it would be 2:30am in Ga. Had my first taste of Romanian Coffee which kicked my butt and then when on the roof and journaled for a while. Our place overlooks the entire city!! From a distance straight ahead you can see the top of the cathedral where the Revolution started. To the right is a soccer field, to my left are apartments and down below is this beautiful cemetery! About 10:30am we took off to the city. 

This place is amazing! Not in the least bit culture shocked…oddly, feeling a bit at home. I think I am 1/2 European or something but my soul is drinking every bit of it up.

We went to the Cathedral where the Revolution began. To hear the story of how the people revolted and millions gather in front of the Cathedral yelling “Freedom!!” Across the yard from it was the opera house where the first killing was at the start of the Revolution….there were bullet holes all over the buildings. The scene was much like the one on Mary Poppins where pigeons covered the courtyard…and there, my friends is where I caught my first pigeon!! Haaa! Pic is included. Then we ate some good Romanian Shwarmaz and came back to have our first rehearsal. We learned a bit of Mighty To Save in Romanian…it was awesome! Marta, the romanian worship leader there….sang a song called “Heart of Praise” and I wept through the entire rehearsal. I didn’t even understand the words but I understood the language of the heart in it.

Afterwards, we ate dinner and then took a field trip through the cemetery. 

It was an incredible day! A feast for the soul!

To read more and see more pics…. go to our Team blog!   

Freedom Square where the Revolution Started (The Cathedral)

Shae, Gabe, and I loving on the pigeon.