Ministry Mission
MIDDLESEX TWP — Romania is not foreign territory for Marcia Semple.
The retired Mars School District teacher has made 17 trips to the country since 1998. This month, Semple will make it 18 as she leads a group of 11 parishioners from Glade Run Presbyterian Church, 1091 Pittsburgh Road, on a mission trip to the Eastern European country.
The trip is a multigenerational one. The youngest traveler is Mia Ola, at 14, and Semple is the oldest parishioner, at 74.
Others taking the trip include Pastor Greg Wiest, Claire Wiest, Gloria Dillner, Reid Marburger, Samantha Bartley, Sarah Bartley, Erin Neff, Judy Kurtzrock and Melissa Ola.
The group departed the U.S. on Wednesday and will return Aug. 6.
Semple first became interested in traveling to Romania through John Gunden, a praise leader from Michigan. The two met in 1996 on a mission trip to Mexico. Gunden had mentioned his previous mission work in Romania.
“He said he was going to take a team over there in 1998,” Semple said. “I said, 'Give me a call and I'll see what God wants me to do.' In 1998, I felt a call to go over to Romania.”
She began her mission work through the local orphanages. While holding infants at a hospital, Semple said she felt connected. In 2000, she returned with a small team from Glade Run. They volunteered and served with the Bucium orphanage.
“Once you meet some of these children, you really do feel connected,” she said.
The next year, in 2001, Semple partnered with Gunden again. The two, along with their respective teams, hosted a girls' camp for Bucium.
“It was a Christian camp and a sports camp,” Semple said. “We did sports, crafts and other camp-related activities. I got attached to the children. Their stories were unbelievable. It got me hooked and I would keep going back to them.”
When the young Romanian children asked why Semple continued to return, the answer was simple.
“I would point at them and say it was because of them,” Semple said.
She continued to work with the local orphanages and kept producing the Bucium camp until the stock market crash in 2009.
“Our economy dropped and the money going to Romania dropped,” Semple explained. “The camps had to be canceled, but I was still determined to keep going over there.”
Then, she heard about Farm of Hope, run by Pastor Tenil in Iasi, Romania. The Farm of Hope is for young boys who were abandoned or on the streets. The farm provides stability and a homelike atmosphere. Semple explained there are still grown men that reside on the farm, for fear of moving back to a city.“It's a beautiful working farm,” Semple said. “If Pastor Tenil hears the situation of a young man, he'll bring them in. They have chores to do, animals to take care of, and he's their spiritual father as well. He makes sure they know there is another eternal life we look forward to.”After the stock market rebounded, Semple began raising money for children in the orphanages and the Farm of Hope. Last year, Semple raised enough money to give each person on the farm $250, which they used on “simple things of life,” including shampoo, soap, food, a new pair of shoes or rent money for when they enter back into society.Semple called the monetary donations “gifts of love.”Now, gearing up for her 18th trip, Semple is excited for new people to visit the country she holds dear.“When you go on mission trips, you have to feel this call to do this work for God,” Semple said. “Slowly but surely, people started stepping forward and had an interest.”Pastor Wiest was inspired to complete a mission in Romania because of Semple, an elder at the church. A moment he's looking forward to is seeing Pastor Tenil again, who has made appearances at Glade Run Church.“To see in person the place that Marcia has been going to is important,” Wiest said. “We're just excited to go. We're excited to share Christ with the people we come in contact with. We want to be an encouragement to Pastor Tenil, the Farm of Hope and his parishioners.”Mia Ola, the youngest traveler, is an avid fan of studying other cultures. Mia said she was inspired by the pictures and stories Semple showed during her presentation of the Romania trip to the church.“The pictures were really cool, inspiring,” Mia said. “I have never been outside of the United States, so I'm excited to get a different perspective of how to see the world. I'm looking forward to learning about the culture.”One of her most anticipated moments will be meeting Pastor Tenil.“The way that Marcia talks about him and everything he's done is awesome,” said Mia, who was confirmed last year. “It will be really cool to actually meet him and see everything that happened in person.”Mia, just as Wiest and Semple, is looking forward to a successful mission trip.“I'm excited to share this experience with other people,” she said.
