Facts

• Over 22 million people live in Romania (twice the number who live in our home state of Ohio).

• Geographic area is slightly smaller than the state of Oregon (Oregon has about 2 million residents).

• Romania was freed from Communism and dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in December, 1989.

• Romanians are eager to join the European Union and are working towards being approved in 2007.

• Spiritually, 87% the population claims some connection with the Romanian Orthodox Church while Protestants (primarily Baptist and Pentecostal) comprise 6% of the population. Romania is culturally "Christian," but only a small percentage of its people are living an active, living relationship with Jesus Christ.

We live in the city of Arad in western Romania, not far from the Hungarian border. Arad is not a huge city, but it is not small either. Approximately 190,000 people call Arad home, and the surrounding county is home to another 230,000.

Arad used to be called "Little Vienna" because the buildings and architectural styles of downtown resembled those of Vienna, Austria. Forty-five years of Communism stripped the city of much of its former beauty, but citizens and the government are working hard to restore their city's beauty. The restored City Hall is just one example.

To see more of Arad, go to the city's official website (click here). Or, just type "Arad Romania" into your favorite search engine and see what you find!