An Update from Missionary Christina Semon

Dear Friends,

Glory to God for all things! My utmost appreciation for your prayers and support!

Your prayers have not been in vain as trials and struggles are prevalent in the missionary field. I have relocated to a new parish in the town called Orhei to better serve my youth ministry. Most of the youth were on summer vacation and those young people that were around had wonderful and exciting experiences at summer religious camps and pilgrimages. The Metropolia of Bucovia and Moldova of Romania invited us to participate in these spiritual events and one could see their love for their neighboring brothers and sisters.

Now that school has started in Orhei, the amount of activity for the body of the church will increase at the local parish church called Saint Basil. Through the blessing of Fr. Sergiu Aga, parish priest of St. Basil, I am currently developing an English program for all ages and a knitting activity with young ladies at the half-way house called “Toward Independence” run by Diaconia- the social outreach department of the Bessarabian Orthodox Church. We have already initiated these activities which are improving as time goes by and we are eager to provide more ways of feeding the souls of the youth.

It is true that ministry work can take time; but if you yourself don’t watch your soul, you can spiritually dry up. To avoid this danger, and better equip me as a missionary, I have enrolled in the Masters’ Program in the Theological Department at Alexander Ioan Cuza University in Iasi, Romania. This theological education can enable me to have credentials that will be of benefit in the mission field and life in general. Also, in the near future, we are looking forward to planting little seeds through inaugurating a catechism class for children and a church youth group to educate and build leadership within the youth of today.

I wish all of you a happy ecclesiastical new year and good strength in following Christ!

In Christ,

Christina Semon

A Helping Hand: An Update from OCMC Missionary Christina Semon

My travels back to Romania went without problems, thanks be to God. My fellow Missionaries, Floyd and Ancuta Frantz, were hosting me for several of the days that I was in Cluj. On the schedule for Palm Sunday was a food/clothing drive for the Protection of Theotokos Family Center (PTFC) at Holy Annunciation Romanian Orthodox Church which is located near the Center. We parked the van in the courtyard of the parish. . The priest came out before the service to ask how we were doing and blessed us to have a van full of goodies for our mothers and babies of the Center. At our location in front of the church, people of all ages came to the van to give their donations. We caught peoples’ attention with our presence in the neighborhood. It was humbling and yet wonderful to see the grandmothers and the elderly bring in a bag of flour or cooking oil to us. That was all they could afford to give. Many of the elderly are barely able to survive on the low pensions that they receive, but they came to us to sacrificially give and participate with the Center in this effort. I learned something very special from this event. Once we acknowledged people’s gifts with a ‘thank you’, many of them responded by saying, “May God receive.” In other words, they are saying that they do not deserve the credit; but rather that the credit belongs to God.

This is an example of the community taking responsibility for their own people. The priest of the parish started a relationship with the PTFC. His heart was touched by the services offered to the mothers and their babies. Through his leadership, he was able to gather and encourage his parishioners to participate in taking care of their people.

OCMC’s goal is to help local churches be the Church to its own people. The PTFC has been receiving boxes of generous clothing donations from many parishes in the USA. Through their prayers and holy action, which enable these shipments, seeds of Christ’s love are being planted in the fertile soil of Romania. The director of the PTFC, OCMC Missionary Ancuta Frantz, said that she did not expect such a strong response. There have not been many parishes that have jumped to action like this parish in the history of the PTFC. The outcome was a full van loaded with food and clothing essentials for the PTFC to assist the mothers and their babies that God has brought to them.

Glory to God for all things!

Paschal Greetings to the Moldovan Elderly: An Update from Missionary Christina Semon

The youth of St. John Maximovich Social/Youth Center were focused on feeding the elderly. They collected old paper that people had around their homes. They turned in all the paper to a paper company which was recycling it and, in return, they received money. They did not use this money to take a special excursion for themselves but instead used it reached out to the sick and poor elderly in town during the Great Feast of Pascha. They made food bags for 10 elderly and they would have done more bags but that it was all they could do.

As I got to hear this beautiful news, I asked the question of how the elderly would get these bags. The youth said that they would ride their bicycles to their houses. I thought that would be a big challenge since they were carrying eggs! So I offered my car to assist with the deliveries which would not have been possible without the blessing of my support team in allowing me to have this transportation. The kids were excited about this offer of mine. We loaded the car and left to greet and visit the elderly from the church, especially those who were not well enough to make it to church.

As the driver, I could see from the car some of their facial expressions of joy and appreciation that the kids remember them this Pascha. The poor elderly gave a simple joy which truly made an impression on the youth on the day before Pascha.

My Next Assignment to The Republic of Moldova: An Update from Missionary Christina Semon

Following the completion of my first term in Romania, God has opened the door for me to serve next in The Republic of Moldova. My second term of missionary service will draw upon the experiences and skills I have acquired in the last two years of my life and ministry among the Romanians. Along with my co-workers and my future Moldovan ‘family’, Fr. Ioan and Preoteasa Michaela Cristea who will host me in their home in Leova, I look forward to entering a new culture, building new relationships, and sharing in this blessing to help build a parish youth program. As a team we will be helping to strengthen the spiritual foundation of the Church there.

Fr. Ioan expressed to me the need for help in establishing this ministry. We are now collaborating with him in this vital mission to raise up leaders who will assist in the organization and direction of this program for the Moldovan youth. Please consider joining with me on the front lines through increased prayer and financial support for the continuation of my missionary service in a land where our Orthodox brothers and sisters are calling for help, and the devastating effects of Communism are still greatly felt.

Thank you to those parishes across the United States that I have been honored to visit during the past two months as I prepared for my new assignment. I am strengthened by your love and encouragement, and will return to the mission field before Holy Week to begin life in Moldova. Please visit my webpage at http://csemon.ocmc.org to see photos taken on my journey and read more about my experience as an OCMC Missionary as they get posted.

Three Holy Hierarchs Update from OCMC Missionary Christina Semon

The Holy Three Hierarchs
January 30, 2011

Dear Support Team,


My sincere greetings as we celebrate together the remembrance of the Holy Three Hierarchs. My friends, here we are already closing the first term of our missionary service. It is customary for OCMC Missionaries to come home after their assignment, and to return to OCMC for debriefing before touching base with family and friends. It is time for reviewing what I have learned from my first assignment so that I may apply it to my next assignment. Final consideration is being given to bridging my life experience in Romania with her eastern neighbor, The Republic of Moldova.

I have already begun to wrap up my ministry work in Romania while exploring this next field assignment. I am grateful to have been able to work alongside dedicated colleagues to gain from their experience in the organization of special activities, especially for the St. Dimitrie Program, in occupational therapy. My co-workers and good friends, OCMC Missionaries Floyd and Ancuta Frantz, have been guiding, teaching, and supporting me since I set foot in Romania, and even challenging me to answer all I feel the Lord is calling me to do. They are generously offering to continue working with me even while serving in my next assignment. To further help in this transition, I have been examining all I have learned thus far as a missionary so that I can build bridges to my next field of service.


The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) has initiated the process for reviewing and approving my 2nd term in The Republic of Moldova. It is new territory for missions; therefore the final stage is set for welcoming Father David Rucker, the Associate Director of OCMC, for a visit to the Metropolis Seat in the capitol city of Chisinau. Floyd Frantz and I have, on several occasions, journeyed to Moldova to see the outcome of Floyd's efforts with an anti-alcohol program, and to meet his network of friends in the Republic of Moldova. This Republic is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Communism ruled for 70 years until August 27th 1991 and, to this day, it still maintains a strong influence. There is a weak infrastructure of the Church in regard to youth ministry which impacts the current generation, and may affect who knows how many future generations to come. The needs of the Church are many, but especially needful is the development of spirituality among the faithful and youth ministry. My work experience in Romania could, by God's grace, be an effective and useful contribution in serving her Sister Church in Moldova. Also, this presents an opportunity to collaborate internationally, by possibly bringing together youth from Romania with youth in the Republic of Moldova and, if God wills, even from as far away as America to share and build friendship in the Body of Christ.


After just sharing with you the ministry prospects for serving in the Republic of Moldova, I will now bring us back to good old home. I will be coming home on February 18th, 2011 and departing on April 15th, 2011. I will be facing the normal side effects of reverse culture shock, but there is a wonderful blessing to reconnect with family and the support team. I value my communication with the support team because it reminds me that I am not alone on the field and that people’s prayers carry me through the challenges in my ministry and life, day by day. Your participation is important for me in this missionary service because the Lord works through us as we labor together in service. It is neat to share stories and updates on the front line where I am serving in the field. I also rejoice in your assistance in providing humanitarian aid for the Protection of the Theotokos Family Center (PTFC) to help clothe the children and mothers. I greatly appreciate my support team’s prayers and financial assistance more than you may realize. We now know that our relationship will have potential to grow deeper because the Lord has opened up a gate on the narrow path for us to enter into a new area for missionary work.


In conclusion, O Holy Three Hierarchs, please pray for us! These three great Hierarchs were known for many things, especially their leadership and labors for the Church. They appeared to the faithful to tell them that they were all equal in standing before God. They had harmony with each other because everything they did was united to Christ, the Head. Our friendship as well was given by the Lord to unite us in order to work for the Holy Spirit in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Jesus Christ is the focus and force which is driving us to continue together, to do good deeds as these saints have shown us in their lives. Please pray with me as I continue to work on this last stage of preparation for prayerfully considering the Republic of Moldova for our next missionary journey. May God’s will be done!


Love in Christ and God’s help in all things,


Christina Semon
OCMC Missionary to Romania

Christina Semon: Beginning my Second Year in Romania

Dear Supporters,

Doamne ajuta! (May God help us!)

First I want to acknowledge that I would not be here another year if it was not for our communication through prayer, and God's love and mercy for us. Through your sacrifices and offerings my ministry can progress and adapt more into the Romanian life. I am touched in my heart through your participation with me, especially those supporters who have committed to monthly donations to make it possible.

After Pascha my goals had slightly changed their focus, as learning about the culture and doing ministry are now on par with each other. What this means is that I decreased my language lessons to three days a week and increased my ministry work.

In my first year in Romania, I was learning and assisting with minimal responsibility at the Protection of the Theotokos Family Center (PTFC). It was crucial to remain free from any heavy responsibilities because I wanted to focus on learning the language and local customs so that I could understand Romanians by actively integrating into their way of life. But this takes a life time as well. I am trying to do the best I can. Now that I have entered my second year of my first term, I have moved to the St. Dimitrie Program while still offering some service to duty at the PTFC. This program is a daytime social services and addictions counseling center targeting the homeless and impoverished in and around Cluj-Napoca. It is also very involved in doing trainings for other archdioceses so that they can start similar programs.

Even though I don’t have a background in social work, God put me in an area where there was a need. Through the help of my supporters, I bought a used car in August 2009, and I have been furthering my services to the St. Dimitrie Program by using it for driving to various hospitals, a prison, and even to the local mall to pick up food packages for the poor. I also travel with staff members to conduct group meetings and informational groups. In the midst of this driving, I am organizing recreational activities at a tuberculosis recovery hospital for the patients that come to the 12 Step group meetings. I like what I am doing, and I am using every bit of the language skills that I have acquired during my first year. I am humbled when I interact with Romanians because I still have so much to learn about both the culture and the language. I hope to keep the attitude of a student as long as I am in the missionary field, and throughout my life.

Usually, the toughest part for me is to get patients motivated to participate in the activities. We play ping-pong, croquet and badminton, and mount icons. I was told by Floyd Frantz, the Director of the St. Dimitrie Program and Missionary Field Team Leader, that a very good thing is to get them to laugh and smile. Many of the patients have problems that we cannot solve. We can, however, help them along the way as they solve their problems on their own. We do this by providing positive activities, including involvement with the local Church and the priests. This gives them a new sense of hope and strength as they strive to help themselves while working on their recovery from addiction or alcoholism.

Through the grace of God and your prayers, I hope to continue my second year as a servant of Christ in my missionary ministry. I am praying to the Holy Trinity and Mother of God for guidance about what will happen next, after I finish my first 2-year term. Please pray for this with me from now on, and that especially when it comes down to the moment of decision making, I will be attentive to my heart and hear God's communication within me to chose the journey that would lead me to an even closer relationship with Him.

In Christ,

Christina Semon
OCMC Missionary to Romania

Fraudulent E-mail Sent in Christina Semon's Name

A fraudulent e-mail has been sent in OCMC Missionary Christina Semon’s name stating that she is stranded in the United Kingdom. Please be assured Christina is safe and sound in Romania and doing quite well. Please do not respond to this e-mail in any way. This was a computer virus which infected her personal computer in Romania. Thank you for your continued prayers for Christina, for the OCMC, and for the people of Romania.

My Closer Look at Great Lent and Pascha in Romania

by Christina Semon

During this Great Lent I was faced with new struggles; yet, at the same time, I was given new ways to take on the pains. Living in Romania, I would like to share with you more of my Great Lent and Pascha experiences.


I had a tremendous spiritual blessing in that a monk who I became acquainted with shared with me some spiritual advice when I needed it the most. He suggested I ask myself reflection questions during my day to day life. From this suggestion I received a lot of encouragement to try the best I can during Great Lent. To provide me with spiritual reading, he also surprised me by having borrowed books written in English to share with me. I found it very beneficial to do some spiritual reading each night. I could feel how much he cares about the work of the soul and his gift warmed my heart.


I also want to share with you the importance and frequency of the Healing Service, called Maslu, in the liturgical life of the Romania Orthodox Church. In the US, I was not used to the healing service. In America, Holy Unction was something I participated in only once or twice during the year. However, here, there is a maslu service once a week in almost every parish that I know of in Cluj. I personally had to warm up to this service because the priest reads seven Gospels and then all the prayers that follow after each of the Gospels. On top of that, at first I could not fully participate in the service because of my minimal understanding of the language. Now, however, through the grace of God, my language skills have been enhanced and I can understand most of the Gospels.

As my ability with the language continues to develop I have become able to participate more and more in the healing service with my heart, mind, and soul. The significance of the healing service for me is unity and a sense of community with the faithful that come to participate. During the week, if I was sad and suffering from many things, participating in this service helped me to know that I was not alone. Others were also suffering. They wanted to receive healing, and so did I. Each of us, petitioning God for healing, came together with all our problems, pains, and struggles, and we gave them to Christ. The Gospels that the priest reads out loud as the faithful gather around him to make contact with his vestments are words of life. They are regenerated strength for our needs and struggles.


Another conflict for me was how to balance my prayer life with my work life. For me, attending services during Great Lent is very important. However, even while I was able to participate in the maslu service, I found my work schedule often prohibited me from attending many of the services during the week. So, I remembered, as the Fathers of the Church have said, we can pray while we do our work. This spiritual advice was what I tried to put into practice in order to bring balance to my life. It was not an easy thing and I did not do a good job. But, I did what I was capable of with my prayer life at home and also while doing my ministry work; and God took over when I could not sustain.

Another experience that I found to be a significant help during Great Lent was the sharing of Lenten food and recipes amongst my friends. Most of my friends, at one point or another, talked to me about Lenten recipes. They told me how tasty their food was and how healthy it was for their bodies. God also provided these friends for me because they feed me on their leftovers! In God’s providence, most of the time someone came and gave me food when I didn’t have any food prepared for myself. I was blessed by their openness, encouragement, and love which carried me through, one day to the next, as we all were preparing together to meet the Resurrected Christ.

As Pascha approached, I learned that Romanians start to clean up their apartments. But, not only do they clean, they also begin to prepare food for Pascha. They do all of this labor while continuing to work at their jobs. For me it became very busy very quickly. I panicked because I did not expect the chaos of getting the material things ready for Pascha while at the same time my ministry work also increased. All of this chaos paralyzed me from making good decisions on how to balance my time. As a result, it seemed to me I was walking through water with a heavy dense fog during Holy Week. My life line to get me through the week was that I knew that Christ will be victorious over death and His light will shine on all.

I began preparing for my trip to the Twelve Apostles Skete where I would celebrate Pascha. My material preparation was finished and I had to accept that I had done the best that I could under the circumstances. Now, I began waiting for the Light of Christ to shine so that His Light would evaporate the fog. As soon as I entered my car and started driving, I could feel all of the chaos decreasing within me and the anticipation of Christ’s Resurrection increasing.

The thing that impressed me the most at the Paschal Liturgy was receiving the Light of Christ from the priest monk. Everybody had candles in their hands waiting for the single flame that changes the darkness into light. We all receive from this single flame the same exact flame with our candles, signifying the Light of Christ. His Light encompassed us so that with His Divine Light destroyed our darkness. In the Pascha baskets of the faithful, people had brought lanterns to carry the flame home. They were taking the light home so that it would be the first light to enter in their houses. I was grateful that my soul and body participated in the Paschal Liturgy to receive strength and healing to walk with the Resurrected Christ in my day to day life.


Christ is Risen!
Indeed He is Risen!
Hristos a inviat!
Adevarat a inviat!

Ending the Year in Romania and Beginning a New One

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the Lord!

I would like to share with you some events that took place at the end of 2009. I ask for your forgiveness for not updating you sooner, and ask your continued prayers that do indeed help me in many situations.

First Annual Romanian Benefit Dinner for the St. Dimitrie Program and the Protection of the Theotokos Family Center

A little piece of history was made for both programs in December. That event was a benefit dinner, which was held at a local Romanian restaurant in Cluj-Napoca. We were expecting sixty-five people to attend but because of the wintery weather that day about forty showed up. Since many Romanians have not been to such an event, it was compared to attending a Romanian wedding, with entertainment during the dinner provided by a group of talented young men singing Christmas carols. Staff members from each program were the two presenters of the night, using PowerPoint presentations to show pictures of both programs’ services.

We enjoyed a Lenten fish dinner, where I sat next to a husband and wife who were visiting Romania. They also spoke English, and I was able to talk with them during the dinner about the programs.

By the end of the night, I felt that members of both staffs were happy with the outcome of their first benefit dinner. There were many positive things that happened, and there were some things that we look forward to improving. If God blesses it, we hope to continue and, next year, plan the Second Annual Dinner.

Romanian Colinda (Christmas Caroling)

On Christmas Eve, many Romanians go Christmas caroling to family, friends, neighbors, hospitals and businesses. My language teacher told me to be ready because many people would say, "Christina, come caroling!" She said I would have a list of people to carol to, but I didn’t take her too seriously because I thought I did not know that many people. Her advice was helpful, as this did come true.

The woman I live with and I were home for Christmas Eve, and she said that she wanted me to experience a Romanian Christmas and not be alone. That was very thoughtful of her, and as we spoke, I thought of giving something to my neighbors who are nice people; they make me feel like I belong to the community, and we talk to each other as we pass one another in the stairways and on the sidewalk. I thought banana bread would be a nice gift, and after baking eight loaves, we went Christmas caroling to the neighbors.

This opportunity to offer a little something made my heart and soul fill with joy. It is easy to feel isolated when you don’t have many friends or family nearby. But I thank God that He gave me the strength to give to others, and to develop friendships here.

Later that evening after we got back from caroling in our apartment building, we had Christmas carolers at our door who were a part of the St. Dimitrie Program staff. We offered them juice and desserts and talked for a little while. Then they asked us if we wanted to join them in caroling to the other staff members to continue the caroling. And when we went to each apartment, the others decided to also come caroling. On every table were sodas, fruit juices, sweets, and some prepared food to share with the guests. It was half past midnight when I got back home, and on the streets were many other people still Christmas caroling.

I had another experience and opportunity to go Christmas caroling to several hospitals located in downtown Cluj with the parish of St. John the Theologian, where I regularly attend services. Our group was big, around 12-18 people. Most of the hospitals looked the same in the interior and exterior. In each, we entered a long hallway and sang three Romanian Christmas carols. I hummed along as the others sang, and little by little, the patients who could get out of their beds came to the hallway to listen. And while we were singing, our priest and two others went into all the patients’ rooms to give a little gift, an icon and fruit, before we quickly would go to the next level and do the same thing over again. On one hospital floor, a man expressed through words and tears the joy he felt by others coming to rejoice with them the birth of Jesus Christ.

Nativity 2009 Clothing Drive Boxes Arrived

On Saturday January 2, 2010, I received a phone call from the driver of a large van who let me know that our boxes would arrive the next day. It was a nice gift for the New Year, and my heart leaped for joy. For two months I told myself that the shipment is in God’s hands and He will take care of what should happen with them. So, at 6:30 in the morning, I was helping unload the van. The total number of boxes was forty-six!

On Monday morning, we put our heads together to come up with a plan to organize the boxes. We worked as a team, opening one box at a time, making sure to write down where each box was from as we sorted the items into piles. Now we have all items sorted and put into big plastic bags to keep them organized and to easily move them around. And, they are now also ready to be distributed for use by children and their mothers to help keep them warm.

I wish everyone a blessed Lent, and hope to write again about what Great Lent looks like to a missionary in Romania.

In Christ,

Christina