This is a picture from this morning, taken near our church...There is so much more snow now! It just keeps coming down!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
YIPPEE SNOW!!!
This is a picture from this morning, taken near our church...There is so much more snow now! It just keeps coming down!
Snow and Simona!
Its actually snowing!!!!!!!! I woke up this morning to the whole city covered in snow! I knew it was getting colder here but I was not expecting snow! It is BEAUTIFUL! During church it continued and now there is a thick blanket of this "zapada" everywhere. Now I feel like Christmas is coming! Church was great, though I didn't understand a word. One of the families that we have been visiting came to church with us today and three boys from the street as well. It was great to see them all there.
And then at the end of the service, God sent me the best Christmas present...SIMONA! Simona is the girl that has been on my heart the most since I was here last, but when I got here I found out that she was no longer part of our ministries (She is about 13 and is from a very abusive home, spending a lot of time on the street and in other unhealthy living situations). I saw her sister and boyfriend but never Simona. For THREE WHOLE MONTHS I have been here and never saw her once. But today we had a very happy reunion and let me tell you it was wonderful! :) SO thank you Jesus for this very special gift of being able to see Simona. If you guys can keep praying for her that she would start coming to church again and that Jesus would continue to draw her close. This is a special girl and I know that God can do miracles in her.
Have a beautiful day my friends...Thank you for being a part of my life!!!
And then at the end of the service, God sent me the best Christmas present...SIMONA! Simona is the girl that has been on my heart the most since I was here last, but when I got here I found out that she was no longer part of our ministries (She is about 13 and is from a very abusive home, spending a lot of time on the street and in other unhealthy living situations). I saw her sister and boyfriend but never Simona. For THREE WHOLE MONTHS I have been here and never saw her once. But today we had a very happy reunion and let me tell you it was wonderful! :) SO thank you Jesus for this very special gift of being able to see Simona. If you guys can keep praying for her that she would start coming to church again and that Jesus would continue to draw her close. This is a special girl and I know that God can do miracles in her.
Have a beautiful day my friends...Thank you for being a part of my life!!!
Saturday, December 17, 2005
CRACIUN FERICIT!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Hello there!
Well I've just finished my first three months here! Yippee!! And I am about to have my first Christmas away from home...but I'll tell you a secret- I think it will be one of the best Christmas' ever! :) I am missing my family lots but Romanians have so many special traditions for Christmas and being with my friend's family in her village is just going to be so different, that I can only expect it to be quite special! We are going to go caroling in the village with her youth group and eat sarmale and mamalica, which is the tradtional Christmas meal that EVERYONE eats, and I must say that it is one of my FAVORITE things to eat! Its stuffed cabbage and something like grits. I can't wait!
This week was so busy and I was pretty stressed for most of it but we had some pretty special times. Our street team took some hot cocoa and cookies and small gifts to the kids on the street. We say Christmas songs with them and Chris shared about how Jesus coming to earth is the reason we celebrate Christmas. It went pretty good over all and we had some great times with the kids.
Remember Elena that got beat up? Well, she's been asking me for a jacket for a long time and was pretty mad when I didn't bring her one. But this week we brought her one that was warm and good for the rain and man you should have seen this girl! She was SO happy! And it was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen! I will put a pic on here soon of this! And just to let you know, I think things calmed down with this kids regarding her getting beat up. Thank you for your prayers!
Do you remember Anca? She is still on the street but she hasn't been using glue and this is so great! She seems to be doing pretty good. Praise God! Despite our disappointment with her returning to the street we are happy to keep our relationship with her. She is so much fun! We have this joke about calling eachother "Miss", well "Domnisoara" and she likes to make fun of the way I say things. It is really funny! And we pretend that we are going to Discos and dance around on the street. Man, some of the kids we visit are sooo fun and they really bless my life!
Yesterday we had a big Christmas celebration at the Day Center. All the kids were dressed up like shepherds and their parents were there and they did a little program, sing songs and reading prophecies about Jesus. It was awesome! They were so stinking cute! And it was great to have the families there, many of whom our street team has been visiting. I think that God really wants to work in these families and we are looking more towards that for next year. We will see what God does!
Thank you so much for your prayers for me and for them! I know that my last updates were pretty sad, and they are the reality but I am trying to see more of the good stuff and just praise God for that. I am thankful for the simple things. Being friends with tall these kids is really a blessing and I am going to miss them over our break!
Dumnezeu sa te binecuvanteze! God bless you!!!!!!!!
Well I've just finished my first three months here! Yippee!! And I am about to have my first Christmas away from home...but I'll tell you a secret- I think it will be one of the best Christmas' ever! :) I am missing my family lots but Romanians have so many special traditions for Christmas and being with my friend's family in her village is just going to be so different, that I can only expect it to be quite special! We are going to go caroling in the village with her youth group and eat sarmale and mamalica, which is the tradtional Christmas meal that EVERYONE eats, and I must say that it is one of my FAVORITE things to eat! Its stuffed cabbage and something like grits. I can't wait!
This week was so busy and I was pretty stressed for most of it but we had some pretty special times. Our street team took some hot cocoa and cookies and small gifts to the kids on the street. We say Christmas songs with them and Chris shared about how Jesus coming to earth is the reason we celebrate Christmas. It went pretty good over all and we had some great times with the kids.
Remember Elena that got beat up? Well, she's been asking me for a jacket for a long time and was pretty mad when I didn't bring her one. But this week we brought her one that was warm and good for the rain and man you should have seen this girl! She was SO happy! And it was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen! I will put a pic on here soon of this! And just to let you know, I think things calmed down with this kids regarding her getting beat up. Thank you for your prayers!
Do you remember Anca? She is still on the street but she hasn't been using glue and this is so great! She seems to be doing pretty good. Praise God! Despite our disappointment with her returning to the street we are happy to keep our relationship with her. She is so much fun! We have this joke about calling eachother "Miss", well "Domnisoara" and she likes to make fun of the way I say things. It is really funny! And we pretend that we are going to Discos and dance around on the street. Man, some of the kids we visit are sooo fun and they really bless my life!
Yesterday we had a big Christmas celebration at the Day Center. All the kids were dressed up like shepherds and their parents were there and they did a little program, sing songs and reading prophecies about Jesus. It was awesome! They were so stinking cute! And it was great to have the families there, many of whom our street team has been visiting. I think that God really wants to work in these families and we are looking more towards that for next year. We will see what God does!
Thank you so much for your prayers for me and for them! I know that my last updates were pretty sad, and they are the reality but I am trying to see more of the good stuff and just praise God for that. I am thankful for the simple things. Being friends with tall these kids is really a blessing and I am going to miss them over our break!
Dumnezeu sa te binecuvanteze! God bless you!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Good Stuff...
Hi there! I just wanted to clarify about the girls home...I said "I seem to be the only one here with a vision for it," and I want to make sure it is clear that the staff here really wants to see the girls home happening but we are lacking people who feel called to this specific ministry. Since I came here to Romania with this ministry in mind, I see myself as the "only one with vision for this," but there are many, many people who want to see the girls home happen. They are working hard to restore the house that was donated to the base for this purpose and they are looking forward to seeing this as it is a very needed ministry, but the process is a bit slow due to the lack of people with a specific heart to carry this project further. I hope this is making sense to you guys. I just don't want you to think that I think I am the only person who wants the girls home to happen. This is not at all the case! Okay....maybe I made you are more confused now! :) Sorry!
This week a team from Ireland arrived and I will be helping to host them while they are here for the next two months. Can you believe they are ALL Americans????? They are a great bunch and I look forward to getting to know them. This week we are also having some special programs on the street for Christmas and will be giving gifts and treats to the kids and families we work with. Please pray for this and that when we share about Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas the kids will be touched. Okay...I will write more later! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!
This week a team from Ireland arrived and I will be helping to host them while they are here for the next two months. Can you believe they are ALL Americans????? They are a great bunch and I look forward to getting to know them. This week we are also having some special programs on the street for Christmas and will be giving gifts and treats to the kids and families we work with. Please pray for this and that when we share about Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas the kids will be touched. Okay...I will write more later! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Lots of Needs
The past two times I have been out on the street with our team have been really hard. There are immense needs and my heart is broken about this and I am kind of questioning God about this and knowing that I need to get some perspective concerning the suffering that I am faced with here. I know it is not so bad as other places but it is still hard, especially because the people that are suffering have become my friends.
Pray for Anca, she is a girl who is almost 18 and our team got her to come off the street because she was going to die very soon from Hepatitus B if she did not. She stayed in a shelter for more than a month and a half, but just last night we met her on the street. She has lost her chance to be in the shelter now and doesn't even want to go back. If she starts drinking or using glue her health with deteriorate very quickly. She wants to be in the street because of her boyfriend and probably because of the freedom she has there. Costel and her really love each other and want to be together but they are keeping each other in the street. Please pray for God to work in these two. They are so precious and it is hard to see them living this life that will eventually kill them.
Last night we also met with Elena, one of my favorite girls on the street. She is 16, but she seems just like a little girl to me. She shakes from using too much glue, and last night she was badly beaten. From what I have heard some guys from the neighborhood make some sport of beating the kids in the street and that is what they did to Elena. Its aweful and now the boys that we minister to there in the street are ready for revenge and had a knife and 2x4's ready for action. Its a bit scary and so sad. I am seeing more and more what the reality of the street really is and I guess it is hitting me a bit hard. But I want to be strong here and not let all these bad things destroy my hope for the kids.
You can also pray for Daniel and Adrian, two guys from the street who we were helping to get to a rehab center. Neither one of them made it there after some problems, but we hope that its just a matter of timing and eventually they will make it there. As a team we need a lot of wisdom in knowing how much to help and how much to leave up to the kids. But we want to keep these guys in prayer so that they will keep thinking of leaving the street and not give up. We also hope our relationships with them will stay strong.
I could go on and on about each kid and the needs that they have but I think this is enough for now. There are broader needs, such as for the girls home to be completed and for God to call the right people with a vision for this work. I have been thinking a lot about my involvement with this as it seems I am the only one here with a vision for this. What does God want me to do? How can I be a part of this and what will that mean for my future? So, I could use prayer for this, and prayer that the house at least will be finished soon! It is taking so long and there is such a need for a safe place for girls in the night.
Please pray for Eugenia, an old woman with an incredibly big heart who we visit regularly. She is having a huge financial problem and is not sure what she can do. She is desperate and needs an answer soon about what to do.
Wow, I've given you enough stuff to pray for an hour! :) no, but I hope this isn't too much. These are some of the needs and I am so blessed to know that people back home and everywhere can be lifting these things up. Lastly, please pray for my language learning. I am looking into going to a language school for a week or so, but it is very expensive and very far away so I am not sure what I will do. I am learning more and more every day but it would be helpful to take some time out to focus just on language, and then I will be so happy because I will be able to speak with the people we are working with! yeah!
In just a couple weeks our base will take a holiday for about three weeks for Christmas and the new year. I will be traveling to visit friends and have Christmas with my roommate in her family's gypsy village. I am really looking forward to it and also to some rest and time away.
Pray for Anca, she is a girl who is almost 18 and our team got her to come off the street because she was going to die very soon from Hepatitus B if she did not. She stayed in a shelter for more than a month and a half, but just last night we met her on the street. She has lost her chance to be in the shelter now and doesn't even want to go back. If she starts drinking or using glue her health with deteriorate very quickly. She wants to be in the street because of her boyfriend and probably because of the freedom she has there. Costel and her really love each other and want to be together but they are keeping each other in the street. Please pray for God to work in these two. They are so precious and it is hard to see them living this life that will eventually kill them.
Last night we also met with Elena, one of my favorite girls on the street. She is 16, but she seems just like a little girl to me. She shakes from using too much glue, and last night she was badly beaten. From what I have heard some guys from the neighborhood make some sport of beating the kids in the street and that is what they did to Elena. Its aweful and now the boys that we minister to there in the street are ready for revenge and had a knife and 2x4's ready for action. Its a bit scary and so sad. I am seeing more and more what the reality of the street really is and I guess it is hitting me a bit hard. But I want to be strong here and not let all these bad things destroy my hope for the kids.
You can also pray for Daniel and Adrian, two guys from the street who we were helping to get to a rehab center. Neither one of them made it there after some problems, but we hope that its just a matter of timing and eventually they will make it there. As a team we need a lot of wisdom in knowing how much to help and how much to leave up to the kids. But we want to keep these guys in prayer so that they will keep thinking of leaving the street and not give up. We also hope our relationships with them will stay strong.
I could go on and on about each kid and the needs that they have but I think this is enough for now. There are broader needs, such as for the girls home to be completed and for God to call the right people with a vision for this work. I have been thinking a lot about my involvement with this as it seems I am the only one here with a vision for this. What does God want me to do? How can I be a part of this and what will that mean for my future? So, I could use prayer for this, and prayer that the house at least will be finished soon! It is taking so long and there is such a need for a safe place for girls in the night.
Please pray for Eugenia, an old woman with an incredibly big heart who we visit regularly. She is having a huge financial problem and is not sure what she can do. She is desperate and needs an answer soon about what to do.
Wow, I've given you enough stuff to pray for an hour! :) no, but I hope this isn't too much. These are some of the needs and I am so blessed to know that people back home and everywhere can be lifting these things up. Lastly, please pray for my language learning. I am looking into going to a language school for a week or so, but it is very expensive and very far away so I am not sure what I will do. I am learning more and more every day but it would be helpful to take some time out to focus just on language, and then I will be so happy because I will be able to speak with the people we are working with! yeah!
In just a couple weeks our base will take a holiday for about three weeks for Christmas and the new year. I will be traveling to visit friends and have Christmas with my roommate in her family's gypsy village. I am really looking forward to it and also to some rest and time away.
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