Fouts Family in Romania: January 2007 Update

Changes to the Romania Religious law

Act 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye:
Act 4:20 for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard.

This month we find a new law taking affect and with this new law in Romania we ask that you will pray with us. We are not sure how this is going to affect us yet. The new law states

"Under the new legislation religious denominations can only receive official registration if they have at least 20,000 members, about 0.1 percent of Romania's total population." The law also creates a tiered system of religious communities, with different rights associated with respective levels. The legislation was signed into law by the President of Romania, Traian Basecu. Here is the following excerpt.

The draft law's three-tier system of state recognition is completely inconsistent with fundamental rights as it contravenes the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Enjoying the greatest rights under the proposed new law are the recognized "religious denominations," a category that it is almost impossible for some faiths to join (applicant religious communities for the most preferential status must wait 12 years and show their membership exceeds 0.1% of the population of Romania, or 23,000 adult citizen members persons). Of the 18 currently registered religious groups, approximately one-fourth would fail to meet the proposed numerical threshold.

Religions with fewer than 22,000 members can register as "religious associations" with lesser rights, while religions with fewer than 300 members can only function as "religious groups" which have no legal status.

Religious communities such as Calvary Chapel that are new to Romania and have less then 300 members will be deprived of the rights to purchase property, build houses of worship, to protect their rights in legal proceedings, to own assets or have paid staff or clergy

The Good news is that the EU is already planning on challenging the law in the Constitutional Court and potentially, the European Court of Human rights.

As some of you know we are working currently to have an religious association approved for Calvary Chapel Bistrita. How this will affect us is yet to be determined, but please keep this in prayer.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John.

Joh 15:18 If the world hateth you, ye know that it hath hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
Joh 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Man's religious system has always sought to destroy God's plan for a personal relationship with him. It's been this way since Cain and Abel.

In other news we have been blessed to have Natalie Bridges working with us as a volunteer since June 2006. We had been praying for a year before her arrival for a way to reach into the community of young people here effectively in Bistrita and the Lord provided that with some contacts that have allowed Natalie to teach conversational English to approximately 8-11 Romanian teenagers in an after school social program that provides after school services for 250 kids. She has been teaching them twice a week and developing relationships with these teens. One of the girls that she teaches came to the youth group after being invited during December. She has also been volunteering 3 times a week at the orphanage, working with the disabled children, and has recently been approved to work at the hospital, that should start up in the next couple of weeks.