The summer in Brasov was warm and opened up the opportunity for some of the children on the cancer floor of the hospital to play outside a little bit. The children loved it! They played in the yard and on a small playground. I was able to get to know the children, parents and play therapist on a more personal level with the relaxed atmosphere and had many good conversations. I often play Romanian worship music from my phone while I am with the children and they have become so accustomed to it that the children often request it and have begun hum along! One mom, whose son has kidney problems, asked the play therapist why I like that kind of music when we are 'the same religion.' She was very perplexed and had not heard this type of music before. When I approached her about it later that day, I was able to explain why I listen to it and what it means to speak and hear from the Lord, to know Him as the Son of God. Please pray that God would continue to speak directly into her life that she would know Him personally.
We have a very young boy, Victor, who is also in the hospital for several months for leukemia treatment. He is living at the hospital during this time and is there without his family. After the first few days as a patient, Victor suddenly decided that he was not going to walk anymore partly because of an IV in his foot. Instead, he whined and cried every time he wanted something and also refused to eat or speak. After much prayer, working with him and gently pushing him to participate in activities, Victor began eating once again, walking quickly and playing. He smiled for the first time after three weeks! He is now talking on and on, humming to himself and listening actively when someone talks to him about Jesus. Pray that the truth would dwell in his heart and in his mind through this time in the hospital and also when he returns home following treatment.
A new friend from the America, Mindy, came to visit and help me with our family center children for a week. She was such a wonderful help and a joy! She brought much needed encouragement and refreshment with her and the children bonded to her quickly. She helped our youngest children with the obstacle courses and ziplines at the new Adventure Park in Brasov. The children loved the time and they are eager to return! I was able to spend quite a bit of one on one time with one of our family center boys who was filled with so many questions about life and God's heart. It was nice to be able to share with him while walking around Adventure Park and cheering the others on who were not so afraid of heights :)
Adventure Park was our last big outing together as a group. The children are being so well cared for and our pastor and his family in Brasov have taken a larger role in working directly with the children as the Lord moved me to Bistrita (about 5 hours north of Brasov) at the end of the summer. God has proven Himself so faithful to me during this time of difficult transition. He continues to open up many opportunities for me here – things that I have been longing for and praying about for a long time. I feel as if He literally has me in His hands even more as I learn to walk more by faith rather than sight.
I am eagerly looking forward to helping at the local hospital with the children here in Bistrita. They have a large play room and also a room of abandoned babies. I met those that I will be volunteering with and received a small tour already. I am waiting for final approval and scheduling and then I'll be all set! In the meantime, I've been able to get settled in my apartment which included buying a whole new kitchen including the sink – all of which were not included! But it is a very wonderful one bedroom apartment with a courtyard and nice neighbors. I've also been able to help a friend with an afterschool program she works with and work with the New Beginnings social worker. I've been itching to get back into more social work and counseling and will be able to do so now! I am assisting her with the family center parent support group, counseling and mentoring with some of the children as well as other activities to help better meet the needs of New Beginnings family centers. The Lord is also providing for me to help her with visits to centers for children with special needs and to a local gypsy village in need of the gospel.
The Lord has amazingly paired me with a friend and fellow missionary as well as the social worker to help with outreach in this gypsy village. There are several young girls ages 9 to 13 who are now attending the girls Bible study where they are starting the book ''Healed and Set Free'' and they are eager for more activities with us.
Last Sunday we took the girls with us to pick apples near the forest and have a picnic. It was so much fun!!! The girls primarily attend the Orthodox church in the village but are very hungry for Bible teaching and to know the Lord. I was able to share a story with them a true story amazing miracles the Lord has done for missionary friends of mine including saving their lives from death, and the girls were so excited as if they had not heard these things before. They begged for more stories from us! Please pray that the Lord will minister to these girls and bless the study, that they would know the Lord and see His healing in their lives.
This Saturday we will be sharing the Romanian children's version of the Jesus video in their village. A friend will be sharing the gospel message and we are praying for further opportunities for evangelism and discipleship in this place. The people are excited and eager and a Romanian friend has been praying for the Lord to work in this village for a long time. The Lord is working and we are glad to see His hand move! Please pray for this event, for God to prepare hearts to receive Him and for strengthened relations and favor with the people.
Lastly, a friend and I are beginning to make evangelistic gift baskets for our neighbors, those in the village and those that need to be ministered to by the Lord. Gift giving in this capacity is unusual for Romania especially when nothing is expected in return for the gift. The Lord has already provided an abundance of apples from a friend's property so we can provide families with canned preserves and applesauce during the winter months! We would like to include a copy of the Bible in Romanian as well as other practical things that these families may need. They will be nicely packaged in a laundry tub for washing clothes. We are seeing the Lord open the door for this ministry and are praying that this basket will be a means of blessing for people as well as provide an opportunity to meet with families and speak with them about the Lord in areas where they can be easily connected with the church. If you would like to help with this project, please let me know!
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and gentle leading in all things! We serve a great and mighty God. I am so pleased to have you be an extension of His hands and feet as you pray for these ministries and God's work in my own life. ''How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.'' Isaiah 52:7
Current Needs and Prayer Requests:
* Love and grace for all things Romanian, including a fuller understanding of lanugage and culture in order to better serve and communicate fluently
* Open hearts and minds to receive the gospel in the village, girls' study and my neighbors
* The Jesus Video being shared Saturday night in the village
* Increased finances for: 1) personal monthly support 2) evangelism baskets 3) a prosthetic leg for one of the 12 year old girls from the village. The current leg she has was a donation from Germany several years ago but it has now broken. She attends the girls' Bible study and it would be a strong testament to her village of God's love.
