CLC was one of the first missions to operate on a regular basis in Romania after the 1989 revolution and the end of 42 years of communist rule. While it was a time of incredible freedom, which we did not even dare to dream of before, it was also a time of complex economic, social and political upheaval and the conditions gave rise to widespread corruption and the subsequent collapse of the Romanian industry and economy.
CLC Romania grew and developed despite the difficult conditions and, while thousands of companies closed down over the intervening years and with about a quarter of the population moving to other countries, we survived while swimming against the tide — without illegal commerce and paying all the taxes.
We praise God that we are still here with two bookshops, a warehouse and a small publishing house. In a sense it is a miracle, and when people seem surprised that we are still able to operate, we can only reply, ‘We are here because God kept us’.
Related reading
-
The Digital Age’ by Neil Wardrope (2016)
It was my personal wakeup moment that we needed to grasp the opportunities and challenges of the digital age. The young Romanian was encouraged to build a website platform, not only for Romania, but also for many CLC teams around the world. The outcome, to date, is a website that operates in 18 countries in 8 different languages, with the ability to share data between them.
-
Resurrecting Publishing in Romania
Then God opened doors for us and gave us opportunities for a new start. A publisher suggested that CLC got involved in a bilingual co-edition of a beautiful Bible for children. At that time we did not have either the ‘know-how’ or the resources for it, but we accepted it as a challenge and as an opportunity...
Ronela Micula
Ronela is CLC Romania's National Director