International Women’s Day 2023, Romania Style

Women’s conferences are not exclusive to America. All over the world and in different languages and contexts, women meet together, fellowship, and learn from each other. In large conference centers and tiny auditoriums, relationships are created. It’s in our DNA.

International Women’s Day 2023 was March 8, and in Oradea, Romania, a ladies conference  was organized to celebrate it. Hosted by Claudia Bagosi, Pam Risner and Candra Barnett, the theme was “Bloom Where You Are Planted” and Shelby Barker was the speaker. Most of the ladies were from Agape Church in Oradea or had been invited by their ladies.

Pam explained that, “Just like in the U.S. there are lots of mommas in Romania with young kids who are in the ‘thick’ of child rearing, and we wanted to encourage them. We also challenged ladies to invite guests, especially those who might not attend church or are unbelievers. There were about 40 Romanian women in attendance, and they seemed to have a very positive response.” 

The conference began with worship, followed by a time of teaching from Shelby then a delicious meal and painting craft. Shelby says, “I discussed what blooming is – the pinnacle of growth and flourishing – and I asked if there can be blooms in seasons of chaos instead of peace.  Sometimes we question where God has planted us (family, location, hard times, job, etc.) but I told them we are planted in certain places and times for our good or the good of others, all for the glory of God to do five things: Bless, Encourage, Challenge, Comfort, and Be an example.

“He has put me here for a reason regardless of whether I see it now or not. We have an enemy who doesn’t want us to thrive, and he is working all the time, so it’s important to take root downward and deeply in Jesus and bear fruit upward. Then I gave them six action points: 

Embrace the challenge, Lean into Him and the process, Be in the Word, Pray, praise and fast, Listen for His voice, and Share your faith.

“Finally, I asked them what their legacy would be. I told them they may think their lives don’t matter very much or have an effect on anyone, but think about this: A legacy is built on one lesson at a time, one small moment at a time, doing the right thing for the right reason for an impact lasting long after you are gone.” 

This time of encouragement included an emphasis on prayer, and the ladies broke into groups to pray for each other.  

After the conference concluded the ministry team women mentioned above attended Good Soil training, which teaches discipleship principles. Eli Semedo facilitated the training that  Roma pastors and leaders also attended. For both groups, it was a conference that emphasized worship, time in the Word, and encouragement to be part of building relationships through discipling other believers.