Treasures for Troubles started under the direction of the Holy Spirit on Oct 15, 2012 after a Monday night Bible Study at Bethel Romanian Pentecostal Church in Windsor, ON, Canada. Marius Petean, a young man from church, had a dream of God wanting to do something great among the youth in North America, and as he was telling us, Ruth had the revelation it was a mission organization. We prayed on the spot and we asked God for a name. The Bible opened to Mathew 6:21 and the name Treasures for Troubles came out of it. We also knew that we had to go on a missions trip. We decided to go to Haiti because God put it on Ruth’s heart to go there since the spring of 2012. Over the next couple of weeks, we found the Mission of Hope Haiti campus, and we built a partnership with them which continues to this day!
Treasures for Troubles is a Romanian youth organization who’s aim is to inspire Romanian youth to live missionally for Jesus Christ, strengthen unity, and motivate a new generation to step into kingdom leadership.
We organize a Haiti mission trip each year that brings together youth from all over North America for the purpose of introducing them to the heart of God for the impoverished, the forsaken and the forgotten.
God has given us a vision for Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and an assignment to mobilize the Romanian youth of America to invest a week of their time for a deeper experience with Him, His people, and also with those who are not yet His.
If you feel God’s tug on your heart about there being more to life than what you are experiencing right now, we invite you to come with us on a journey of finding out who God called you to be, why you’re here, and how you can offer Christ to a world without Him.
Under great spiritual leadership, and in an environment that fosters both team unity and personal devotion, you will experience Jesus in a deeper way so, out of your overflow, you may minister to those who are in pain and perishing.
We invite you to share this journey with us, and with others, so that Haiti will be a cornerstone in your life, and also in those lives who God touches through you.
We can’t wait to see what God will do on the next missions trip!
Ruth is a youth leader with a passion for bringing youth together for awesome, kingdom purposes. She has served the youth at Bethel Church in Windsor, Canada for 8 years, as youth choir and youth leader. She has a heart for the unity and direction of the Romanian youth and seeks to strengthen community and inspire and propel the young at heart to use their talents for the Lord. Along with a core group of people, Ruth began Treasures for Troubles in 2012.
Oti Maidaniuc is a youth leader at First Romanian Pentecostal Church in Romulus, MI (more commonly known as Middlebelt). He has a passion for keeping the youth united and of one mind in Christ in the Detroit metro area. This was evidenced by the huge involvement he had for the youth choir in the Detroit Romanian Pentecostal Convention. He's been to Haiti twice and loved getting outside the box and seeing God move in other cultures around the world. In his spare time Oti likes to spend time with friends, catch up on reading and relax.
Priscila served alongside missionaries in rural Kenya on multiple trips between 2009-2013 with Global Hope Network International. She also served in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship during college in prayer and women's ministry. Priscila joined the T4T team in 2015 and has proved to be an invaluable addition to the team through missions mindset training in both formal and informal ways. She has a big heart for orphans & widows and seeing their physical and spiritual needs met.
Flaviu & Amy are leaders at Betezda church in Troy, MI. God worked mightily in Flaviu’s life and as a result he has a heart for prodigal sons. A godly husband and wife team, they support the youth and led teams in Haiti from 2015 to present.
Jon and Raluca are missionaries and youth leaders at Betezda church in Troy, MI. They studied to be missionaries at CRST (Centru Roman de Studii Transculturale) in Megidia, Romania and also served as missionaries in Afghanistan, India, and Nepal. They have an incredible passion for missions, especially long term missions, and have led our teams in Haiti from 2014-2016. Since February 2017, John & Raluca have been serving as long term missionaries among the refugees in Greece.
Chris is a leader at Betania church in Windsor, Canada and former youth leader at Philadelphia church in Kitchener, ON. Chris interned with Mission of Hope for 4 months in 2014 and has an incredible heart for Haiti and reaching the Haitian people with God’s love.
Liviu & Diana Maghear serve the youth at Alleluia Romanian Church in Dearborn, MI. They are gifted singers and they praise God using their talents on the Alleluia worship team. Diana was active with the Speranta group from Romania as both soloist and back-up vocal, and she has participated in many evangelistic crusades across Romania, Europe and North America. Liviu & Diana first came to Hait in 2016 and their heart was deeply touched by the extreme poverty and general neglect of the children there. They were leaders on the 2017 trip and continue to bring a very caring flavour to the team. We are honoured to serve with them!
Danny & Diana Blindu currently serve at Alleluia Romanian Church in Dearborn, MI. They have a huge heart for missions and have both served as staff on Mercy Ships in southeast Asia for a year. God has blessed them with a little daughter in 2017, but the fire of missions still burns and they plan to return to the mission field in the next 5 years. We were blessed by their presence by their presence on the Haiti 2016 & 2017 mission trips, and we look forward to maintaining our friendship and relationship with them even when they move to Orange County, CA in the fall of 2017!
Ema is a passionate young adult, on fire for the mission to help others understand the love of Christ. During her undergraduate studies at Wayne State University, she was active in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship leading small group bible studies and participating on the leadership team. While pursuing her doctorate in Optometry, she had the opportunity to invest in the global community by bringing glasses and the gospel of truth to locals on 3 medical mission trips. During her residency she was privileged to help develop and initiate a volunteer eye clinic through Henry Ford Optimeyes that continues to provide free services to the Metro Detroit area. Ema is currently an optometrist at Henry Ford Optimeyes and continues to aim at helping people see clearly both physically and spiritually.
Peter Pop serves at Bethesda Romanian Church in Troy, MI where he is involved in the music ministry, serving diligently with the youth in the band. Peter also felt a deep compassion towards those in need and hurting, thus he answered God's calling for medicine by becoming a certified Physician Assistant. God continued to work on his heart, so Peter joined the Haiti 2017 team and proved to be a valuable addition to the mobile medical clinic. We are excited to have him, and we look forward to collaborating with him in the future!
Liana Potocean serves at Bethel Romanian Church in Windsor, Canada. She is involved in youth choir and band and has also participated in 3 of the 5 Haiti mission trips in the last 5 years. She is licensed dental assistant and worked as part of the dental team in 2017. We are excited to partner with Liana for the dental portion and are excited we get to work alongside her for future mission trips!
Rachael Zegrean is currently a student at the University of Windsor majoring in English, French & Education. She is heavily involved in Bethel church in Windsor, being a soloist for the youth choir and band. She has a heart for missions and seeing children impacted by the gospel and love of Christ. Past mission trips for her include Haiti, India and Mexico, with her being a leader for the Mexico trip. Rachael has been the main fundraising coordinator for Treasures for Troubles, organizing volleyball tournaments for the past 4 years that have provided funds for the various projects that T4T has undertaken since its inception.
