Thursday, November 17, 2005

Babies, Rehab, Recovery and More

This week we offically started out hospital visits to feed the abandoned babies there. We are so blessed to have this opportunity to love on the babies and to help out the hospital. We are really in the beginning stages of figuring out how this kind of ministry will work, but for now we are happy just to know that when we are there these babies are receiving the love and attention they need. I have to be careful though because after holding them for just a little bit I want to take them home! :)

One of the guys from the street finally made it to the rehab center that he was accepted to. His name is Victor and he is about 27 and has no legs past his knees. He is a great guy who really wanted to get off the street and now he is doing it! Please pray that he will be able to beat his alcohol addiction and find the change in his life that he wants so much. Pray for his encouragement as well- it will be hard work at the rehab center and he will need it :) We are so proud of him though and so glad that we could help him get there.

Anca, the young girl with Hepatitis B is doing so well! She is walking on her own now and has put on weight and looks beautiful! I will put a picture on here of her as soon as I can. We are visiting her at the shelter where she is staying on Wednesdays and this week she asked if we can take her to church with us. Of course we would love it! It seems like she has no interest in running away and living on the street again. Thank you Jesus!

I am now looking for a language school where I can hopefully go for a couple weeks to really focus on language learning. I wish I would have done this before, but better now than never. Please pray that I find the language training I need. I really would like to be able to communicate more clearly with the kids, and I think I need to just get serious and tackle this language!

Thank you all for your encouraging responses to my last update. Your words really meant so much to me and I am thinking about them through my week as I continue to struggle. Last weekend we had a staff retreat that was very encouraging and we even talked about knowing why we are here and how we know that God has called us. It was really good for me, but I still have some frustrations inside myself that I need to work out. But I am learning more and more every day that I am here to be a part of what HE is doing. Its about HIS plans and not my own. :) So, I'm learning...Thank you guys so much for your support! You are a constant encouragment for me! I love you much!

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Update

Please pray for me. I am a little down and questioning my effectiveness here. I think I have hit a hard spot and I am needing to see what God is doing. Being here is enough, I know this, but I am having my doubts and questioning. Thank you for lifting me up :)

DAY CENTER
I had a great day at the Day Center yesterday. Mihaela, the main teacher for the kids, is great with them and we had so much fun singing songs and doing crafts yesterday afternoon. Please pray for Neazi one of the boys there. He is about 12 years old and I can see he is growing up and getting a little tougher and I just want to pray protection over him as many boys around his age stop coming to the Day Center and spend their time in the street. I really like this kid and hope that our friendship will develop.

ROMANIAN
About a month ago i started taking Romanian Lessons once a week from Ema, our base translator. I am really enjoying them and finally learning some things that are helping me to communicate more with the kids. Thank you Ema!

THE STREET
On the street things are basically the same. Oh Wait! We did have some excitement the other day! I brought my guitar on the street and we were singing with some of the kids and since there were so many there, not really anymore than usual, the neighbors got freaked out and called the police! You should have seen my face when they pulled up. I thought they were coming to take me away! :) haha, I know you guy who know me are thinking how silly and paranoid I am :) yeah its true!

You can pray for a situation on the street that has been scaring me. There are some boss guys coming around where we visit the kids and they are possibly hiring the kids to steel things for them. They are always walking around watching the kids and us and its a little weird.

Please pray for a boy named Alex who is 17 years old. He wants to get off the street but is too young to go to rehab. He has a meeting today with the director of our day center to get into another night shelter for a time. He had problems there before so we hope it will work out this time.

We found out that the only homes available in Constanta for pregnant women are government run and have just been closed. Now there is nothing available for women with this need. Please pray for something to develop for them, and for those with a heart for this to step forward!

Please pray for an older woman to take a job as a caregiver for Anca who has Hepatitus B and Coria one of the girls on the street who is pregnant. One of the foundations here has a home in a near-by town where these girls can live and be taken care of but we need a woman who can make it possible. They will be given free room and board and a small salary to care for their basic needs.

As I write this I see that there is so much going on here. We are involved in so many people's lives and this is really amazing. Regardless of my usefulness I am blessed by seeing God moving and working for those in need through so many people here in Constanta. Thank you for reading all this and for having a heart for Romania!

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

You Can Help!

I've been back in Constanta for over a week now. It was great to be back after the seminar ended. I can't tell you how blessed I was to be at that school! God did so much! But now to put it into practice :)

There is a lot happening in the street ministry and a lot of opportunities to get to know other people are coming up. Right now I just want to let you know about some needs that we have. I hope you will be able to pray for these things and even consider how you can be a part of bringing them about! :)

*The girls home we are building is quite an endevour. We are having trouble finding the right people at the right price to do the work and because of the way that the companies are set up it is an incredibly complicated process. We need prayer for this so that we can finish the house, but I had a thought that maybe a church, maybe my church :) or some people who are trained in plumbing and construction would want to come to Romania themselves and use their gifts to build this home for our girls in need. What do you think? Spread the word! I know there are some guys out there who would love this kind of experience! :)

*One of the girls on the street, Corea is 5 months pregnant and wants to get off the street. We are having a hard time finding a place for her to go. This is horrible as it is getting sooooo cold and she has been sick. We really need God to open a door for her and quickly! Pray that other organizations will work with us to find a place for Corea for the rest of her pregnancy. I am now seeing a huge need for a home for other young women like her who find themselves pregnant and have no where to go. Pray that God will send other people with a heart for this ministry and that a house will be openned in the future to reach out to these young mothers. This is a huge request and so important!

Thank you so much for your prayers and for keeping up with what we are doing here in Constanta! If you ever have something to share with me regarding these things or want to get involved yourself please let me know! May God be with your and be your peace!
"All that is not the love of God has no meaning for me. I can truthfully say that I have no interest in anything but the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. If God wants it to, my life will be useful through my word and witness. If He wants it to, my life will bear fruit through my prayers and sacrifices. But the usefulness of my life is His concern, not mine. It would be indecent of me to worry about that."
- Dominique Voillaume
(From "The Signature of Jesus" by Brennan Manning)