Well, it is Friday afternoon of our sixth week. We have finished all of our reading sessions and the only thing left is for us to have our last party with our readers and to give them their certificates. Today has been a difficult day for some of us. Saying goodbye to new friends that we you have spent hours talking to over the last six weeks is a very difficult thing to do. Some tears have already been shed and I am certain there will be more tonight. However, as we go we will continue to pray for our new friends and plan to keep up with them over the internet. We want to petition you to continue to pray for our readers. Pray that the seeds that we have planted will be watered and that God will make them grow.
We thank you for all of your prayers and support and look forward to seeing you again soon!
Some of Paul's words......
"We are workers together with God. So we beg you: Don't let the grace that you received from God be for nothing. God says, 'I heard you at the right time, and I gave you help on the day of salvation'. Isaiah 49:8
I tell you that the "right time" is now. The "day of salvation" is now.
2 Corinthians 6:1-2
La revedere!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Greg
I have this suspicion that when I see most of you, you're going to ask me, "How was you're trip?" Thank you for asking, but I'm not sure exactly what I'll say. I am already struggling with how to explain the scope of this journey. Maybe the same feelings that Jonah had when he returned from his little adventure and his friends and family asked him, "How was your trip to Ninevah, Jonah?" Now, I'm definitely not saying that I am having a comparable adventure to Jonah's, but maybe some similar inexplicable feelings.
You might say, "Well, give us an example of what happened." OK, without betraying the confidence that some readers have placed with me, there is one person who's had an amazingly difficult road to travel. Before every session, I pray for every reader and ask that God will give me His Spirit so that I say only what God wants me to say and to be quiet and listen when God wants me to shut up. This person told me that they feel trapped in their life right now and that in our reading sessions, they feel a peace that they can't find anywhere else. I told them that God sent me here because God wants them to know that He cares about them.
Many people could easily explain that the reason this person feels peace is that I am merely listening to them. We are sharing our lives with each other and this is therapeutic for them. I can easily see the logic behind this way of thinking, but I am giving you only ONE example! There are MANY more examples that prove to me that God wanted us to be here in Romania at this exact time. Something happens everyday that reaffirms to me that God is blessing this project. The timing is perfect, the place is perfect, we and the readers are perfectly matched. We could never have planned these things ourselves. My plans come out OK, at best. In fact, my timing, if anything, is usually really terrible! I believe that God is using my poor timing to prove to me how great His timing is. Since giving up on my plans, His plans are working out very well.
Thanks for all of your prayers! I fully believe that God has answered them. We've had a few struggles, but prayers have made everything to work out well!
" 'The heavens are higher than the earth. In the same way, My ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.' The Lord, Himself, said these things." Isaiah 55:9
You might say, "Well, give us an example of what happened." OK, without betraying the confidence that some readers have placed with me, there is one person who's had an amazingly difficult road to travel. Before every session, I pray for every reader and ask that God will give me His Spirit so that I say only what God wants me to say and to be quiet and listen when God wants me to shut up. This person told me that they feel trapped in their life right now and that in our reading sessions, they feel a peace that they can't find anywhere else. I told them that God sent me here because God wants them to know that He cares about them.
Many people could easily explain that the reason this person feels peace is that I am merely listening to them. We are sharing our lives with each other and this is therapeutic for them. I can easily see the logic behind this way of thinking, but I am giving you only ONE example! There are MANY more examples that prove to me that God wanted us to be here in Romania at this exact time. Something happens everyday that reaffirms to me that God is blessing this project. The timing is perfect, the place is perfect, we and the readers are perfectly matched. We could never have planned these things ourselves. My plans come out OK, at best. In fact, my timing, if anything, is usually really terrible! I believe that God is using my poor timing to prove to me how great His timing is. Since giving up on my plans, His plans are working out very well.
Thanks for all of your prayers! I fully believe that God has answered them. We've had a few struggles, but prayers have made everything to work out well!
" 'The heavens are higher than the earth. In the same way, My ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.' The Lord, Himself, said these things." Isaiah 55:9
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Danny
Buna ziua! This is week 5, which means we only have 2 weeks left. Our time here is flying by! It is amazing to see God working in the relationships that we are building with our readers, and it is very difficult to think about how little time we have left with them. At this point in our trip, we are all beginning to see that we are leaving soon and we are trying to spend as much time with everyone as we can.
In other news, I was given the opportunity to preach, on Sunday morning, and as I was speaking, I could feel the Spirit guiding me and speaking through me. It was a very emotional experience, and one that I will never forget. It was actually a little overwhelming to know that God was actually using me in that moment to speak to the congregation, and I had to pause several times and take a deep breath because I had tears welling up in my eyes. Like I said, I will never forget that experience. Sam got up with me in front of the church and quoted the Golden Rule. Afterwards, I asked him if he like helping me with my sermon, and he said, "Yes! I always wanted to preach, and I was wondering when I would ever get to!"
After church, we had a large group over for lunch at our apartment, and then Andrea, one of the local Christians, took us to a stand that sells "Original American Donuts". They were certainly original, and they were donuts, but they were not like any donuts I've ever had in America! Anyway, I have a reader waiting for me, so I will close this post by asking you to all continue praying for us and our readers. Have a wonderful day!
In other news, I was given the opportunity to preach, on Sunday morning, and as I was speaking, I could feel the Spirit guiding me and speaking through me. It was a very emotional experience, and one that I will never forget. It was actually a little overwhelming to know that God was actually using me in that moment to speak to the congregation, and I had to pause several times and take a deep breath because I had tears welling up in my eyes. Like I said, I will never forget that experience. Sam got up with me in front of the church and quoted the Golden Rule. Afterwards, I asked him if he like helping me with my sermon, and he said, "Yes! I always wanted to preach, and I was wondering when I would ever get to!"
After church, we had a large group over for lunch at our apartment, and then Andrea, one of the local Christians, took us to a stand that sells "Original American Donuts". They were certainly original, and they were donuts, but they were not like any donuts I've ever had in America! Anyway, I have a reader waiting for me, so I will close this post by asking you to all continue praying for us and our readers. Have a wonderful day!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
CYNDI: A typical day
I thought you might be interested to know what a typical day is like on our project.
6:30-8:00 a.m. Get up, get ready for the day, breakfast, etc.
8:10-8:30 a.m. Team devotional time
8:40-8:55 a.m. Walk to church building
9:00-1:00 p.m. Reading Sessions (any time we have free we shop for food, communicate online, and entertain Sam and Claire)
12:00 Cyndi heads home to cook lunch
1:00-3:00 p.m. Lunch, rest, take care of housework and clothes cleaning, etc. (oh, and, entertain Sam and Claire)
3:30-8:00 p.m. Reading Sessions (any time we have free we shop for food, communicate online, and, of course, entertain Sam and Claire)
6:00 p.m. Kristen heads home to cook dinner and get the kids ready for bed
8:30-9:30 p.m. Dinner, clean-up, etc. (and don't forget to entertain Sam and Claire)
9:30-11:00 p.m. Finish up laundry and chores, prepare for devotional time, etc. (and now we must...entertain Danny, Kristen, Greg and me...heeheehee)
11:00 p.m. Fall into the bed for some well needed rest
As we go about our work each day, we hope that we can live out the spirit of Philippians 2, and it starts like this:
"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Philippians 2:1-4
6:30-8:00 a.m. Get up, get ready for the day, breakfast, etc.
8:10-8:30 a.m. Team devotional time
8:40-8:55 a.m. Walk to church building
9:00-1:00 p.m. Reading Sessions (any time we have free we shop for food, communicate online, and entertain Sam and Claire)
12:00 Cyndi heads home to cook lunch
1:00-3:00 p.m. Lunch, rest, take care of housework and clothes cleaning, etc. (oh, and, entertain Sam and Claire)
3:30-8:00 p.m. Reading Sessions (any time we have free we shop for food, communicate online, and, of course, entertain Sam and Claire)
6:00 p.m. Kristen heads home to cook dinner and get the kids ready for bed
8:30-9:30 p.m. Dinner, clean-up, etc. (and don't forget to entertain Sam and Claire)
9:30-11:00 p.m. Finish up laundry and chores, prepare for devotional time, etc. (and now we must...entertain Danny, Kristen, Greg and me...heeheehee)
11:00 p.m. Fall into the bed for some well needed rest
As we go about our work each day, we hope that we can live out the spirit of Philippians 2, and it starts like this:
"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Philippians 2:1-4
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Party Time! ---Kristen
We are in the middle of week three here in Constanta and things are continuing to go well. We now have 22 readers and still have time to pick up new readers and make it through most of the book of Luke. Last friday we had our first party and it was a big hit! We celebrated the fourth of July, roasted hotdogs, had watermelon and played games. At the end of the party we played a firework show on the internet and sang the national anthem for them. Ten of our readers came to the party and some of them brought guests. Several of the church members came to the party as well. Please continue to pray for all of our readers and for the church here. We pray daily that God will fill us with His spirit and that Jesus will shine brightly in our lives. Also, don't forget to pray for Danny as he prepares the sermon for this Sunday. It is so encouraging knowing that we have such a wonderful family back home praying for us. There is no telling how many times your prayers intervened just when we needed it the most! Thank you all so much!
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