Pictured: Men of both choruses say their good-byes after morning rehearsal on the final day in Romania.
By Denny Nutter
Sabbath, April 25
Sabbath morning we met in the Seminary chapel for an inspiring combination of rehearsal, meditation on the texts of the music that we were presenting, and personal testimonies. The service concluded like the first time the two choruses had met with each other – the Romanian Men’s Chorus on one side of the chapel and the OAMC on the other. First the Romanian Chorus sang “Soldiers of the Captain” in Romanian, followed by the OAMC singing the same song in English. Then Lou asked the two groups to meet in the middle and exchange our farewells and goodbyes knowing that the next time we would sing together after the concerts Saturday night would be with the heavenly chorus around God’s throne. Many tears were shed and bear hugs exchanged. It was a very emotional time for many of us.
After Sabbath lunch we dressed in our concert attire and boarded the buses for Radio Hall in downtown Bucharest. We were joined once again by the Romanian Brass and the Brasov Symphony Targu Mures State Philharmonic Orchestra (thank you for the correction, Margit). Both concerts were sold out. The acoustics were terrific, the music majestic and spiritually moving. I very much enjoyed the personal exchange with the audience during our entry and during the hymn sing in the round. The audience always seems very pleased and breaks out in spontaneous applause after the second verse of “Nearer, Still Nearer” is sung in Romanian by only the OAMC.
Another high point for me was being with Levis and Paul Dragulin as they met their Romanian grandmother for the very first time just prior to our first concert. I’ll never forget their grins as they hugged her and exclaimed, “Isn’t she beautiful!”
The second concert was moving in more ways than one as we experienced an earthquake of about 5.3 on the Richter scale at 8:20 p.m. We found out the next morning that it had been centered in the region of Vrancea about 145 kilometers northeast of Bucharest.
But that was nothing compared to the moving of the audience by the Holy Spirit that night. It seemed like the audience didn’t want the evening to come to an end. Closing ceremonies and final numbers were a glorious ending to an incredible two-week journey for the OAMC in Romania and the conclusion of most recent chapter fulfilling God’s purpose in changing lives.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Final day starts with rehearsal and fellowship
Final weekend begins with communion service
By Denny Nutter
Friday, April 24
More sightseeing was planned for Friday morning. A private tour was arranged for at Casa Poporului (“People’s House”), the seat of the Romanian Parliament and second largest building in the world next to the Pentagon. It was built and nearly completed by the Nicolae Ceausescu regime as the seat of political and administrative power. After lunch was free time, which some used to catch up on their sleep, laundry or packing for Sunday’s trip home.
After supper, we gathered once again for a rehearsal and a very special communion service. It was a touching sight and a meaningful experience to see Romanian brothers kneeling and washing the feet of their American brothers and vice versa. Lou set a real tone for service by dishing up the water for the basins next to a young Romania teenager, Daniel. Watching them wash each other’s feet at the conclusion of the foot washing service was a beautiful symbol of the fellowship and love we shared with our Romanian brothers during the two weeks together. Two American and two Romanian pastors presented and served the bread and the wine to conclude the evening together.
Exploring Romania
Pictured:Bran Castle, also known as "Dracula's Castle"
By Denny Nutter
Thursday, April 23
Thursday was a “rest and relaxation” day for the chorus members. One bus took half the group to the Bran Castle, commonly known as “Dracula’s Castle.” It was first used in 1378 in defense against the Ottoman Empire, and later became a customs post on the mountain pass between Transylvania and Wallachia. At the close of the tour, chorus members gathered on the upper balcony overlooking the inner courtyard to sing “Soldiers of the Captain” and “Power in the Blood.” The second bus took the remainder of the group into Brasov for shopping.
Early afternoon the two groups reunited and made their way to the Peles Castle, near Sinaia, a summer retreat for the first king of Romania, King Carol I.
By supper time we were back to the Adventist Seminary in Cernica (close to Bucharest) and were able to stay in campus housing since the students were on Spring Break.
A young boy’s prayer
The boy’s father was a big help to OAMC member Eddie Ciobanu with putting up posters all over the city, helping with advertising and other organizational details in cities near Bucharest to promote those concerts, and wrapping up some administrative tasks.
He wrote:
“We got home last night delighted. I'd like to thank you for our time together and to ask for forgiveness because I could not help you more. May the Lord bless you and forgive me.
I was surprised by the prayer my little boy said tonight as he went to bed:
Lord, I thank you for sending us such chorus members. They sang after my own heart. Please help us meet these chorus members again; I love these people so much! Be with us and with them to get to America safely because there are a lot of dangers there...”
Amen.
Better than real – recreating a memory
Pictured: The Radio Hall concert as it would have been seen if the organ repair had not begun.
In spite of pleas from OAMC, the Bucharest Radio Hall organ repair went ahead. That meant the organ was not available for the April 25 concerts.
Thus, a huge white curtain was hung to cover the gaping hole left when the organ's pipes were removed.
Through the magic of computer technology, Ralph merged two photos to show what the concert hall would have looked like with the chorus and the organ pipes.
Ralph explains:
In preparing for our Mission in Romania, it was our goal to provide the best music we could. This required commitment, preparation and lots of rehearsals in both countries. From what I’ve heard of the recordings, the results are wonderful. Lou often says it is “more than the music” and, from the stories we are hearing, many lives were impacted.
Another part of the preparation was in arranging for the halls where we sang. Our final concert was in Radio Hall, Bucharest. The demand was so high that we rearranged our schedule to present two concerts instead of one, and they both filled up. The advance team was making final arrangements at the hall two weeks before the event when we found out the organ was going to be repaired. We unsuccessfully requested a delay. On the night of the concert, there was a white curtain covering the gaping hole where the beautiful organ had been two weeks before. The concert was a wonderful success, but the missing organ was a disappointment.
I had pictures from our original visit to Radio Hall and intentionally took pictures during the concert from the same location. With a little editing, we have a memory of both.
As with so many things in life, it is important to be real, yet pull together the best for our memories of people and our surroundings. I believe God does that for us.
