Today is the day that my group from North Greenville University arrives. We will be saturating the city of Braila, which is a 20 minute drive from Galati, with prayer-walking and some street evangelism trying to make contacts and find people who are interested in studying the Bible with us. Please pray for the 10 students, 2 professors, myself, my supervisor, Troy, and others who will be joining us in this effort.
I will do my best to update you all as much as possible with pictures and stories from the upcoming weeks. Also, hop over to Troy's blog here for probably more updates than you will get from me.
Thank-you for your consistent prayers and support. I appreciate you all more than you know.
Once I get a few minutes, I will give a run-down of my time in Poland. I will say for the moment, though, that it was excellent.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
To get a better understanding of how my new job will work and what I'm getting myself into, check out my supervisor, Troy's blog: http://seekandsave1.blogspot.com/ .
I'm in Warsaw, Poland with my friend and it has been a beautiful day. I have officially decided that the Munich airport (in Germany), where I had a 3 hour layover, is one of my favorites so far. So calm and clean and easy to navigate. I have always been a proponent of "if you haven't left the airport, you haven't been there" and I stuck to my guns today. I didn't leave the Munich airport, but I was tempted to be a fake and buy a souveneir from the airport that I didn't leave. I abstained, and I'm proud of myself.
Kaylin took me to the pottery shop today where I indulged probably more than I should have. Fortunately, I was able to have what I bought shipped straight to the States, so I don't have to worry about getting it to Romania and then from Romania back to the States in a while.
Warsaw is much cleaner than Bucharest and I like what I've seen so far. I am glad, though, that I'm not trying to learn Polish. For example "drzwi" is pronounced "dgvee" and means doors. Who'da thunk? I'm just trying to figure out how on earth you pronounce a word that has four consonants and one vowell AT THE END OF THE WORD. I think I'll stick with Romanian for now....
I'm in Warsaw, Poland with my friend and it has been a beautiful day. I have officially decided that the Munich airport (in Germany), where I had a 3 hour layover, is one of my favorites so far. So calm and clean and easy to navigate. I have always been a proponent of "if you haven't left the airport, you haven't been there" and I stuck to my guns today. I didn't leave the Munich airport, but I was tempted to be a fake and buy a souveneir from the airport that I didn't leave. I abstained, and I'm proud of myself.
Kaylin took me to the pottery shop today where I indulged probably more than I should have. Fortunately, I was able to have what I bought shipped straight to the States, so I don't have to worry about getting it to Romania and then from Romania back to the States in a while.
Warsaw is much cleaner than Bucharest and I like what I've seen so far. I am glad, though, that I'm not trying to learn Polish. For example "drzwi" is pronounced "dgvee" and means doors. Who'da thunk? I'm just trying to figure out how on earth you pronounce a word that has four consonants and one vowell AT THE END OF THE WORD. I think I'll stick with Romanian for now....
Monday, April 27, 2009
I'm kicking myself.....again
for not taking any pictures on my trip to Galati last week. I should have taken pictures in my new city. But I have over a year to take pictures of my new city, so you should all forgive me please.
I had a very successful trip to Galati last week. The Lord provided for me to be with the girls to help look for an apartment for all of us to move into and He proved Faithful again. We found a great apartment for a good price. I won't have my own room, but that's ok. I prefer to share space than to have a whole apartment all to myself!
Tomorrow I'm off to Poland for a ladies' retreat and to visit a friend that I was in training with. I'm excited for a new stamp in my passport, going shopping for Polish pottery, and to see a new place. But I'm most excited for the fellowship that I will get to have with my sweet friend and others who work with us.
Ok, so to make up for not taking any pictures in Galati, here are some pictures of my last trip to the mountains.....
a village house
the mountain that still has snow on top of it in April
I tried to be creative
And again, I tried to be creative
the view from "Dracula's Castle" really he only stayed at this one for one night...
Where babies come from. That's right, ever seen a Stork's nest?
The walk up to Dracula's Castle
A pretty creek
Just a view of the countryside
I took this one from a moving car. I like it.
The gorge.
The lake that was still frozen in April.
Entering the gorge.
I had a very successful trip to Galati last week. The Lord provided for me to be with the girls to help look for an apartment for all of us to move into and He proved Faithful again. We found a great apartment for a good price. I won't have my own room, but that's ok. I prefer to share space than to have a whole apartment all to myself!
Tomorrow I'm off to Poland for a ladies' retreat and to visit a friend that I was in training with. I'm excited for a new stamp in my passport, going shopping for Polish pottery, and to see a new place. But I'm most excited for the fellowship that I will get to have with my sweet friend and others who work with us.
Ok, so to make up for not taking any pictures in Galati, here are some pictures of my last trip to the mountains.....
a village house
the mountain that still has snow on top of it in April
I tried to be creative
And again, I tried to be creative
the view from "Dracula's Castle" really he only stayed at this one for one night...
Where babies come from. That's right, ever seen a Stork's nest?
The walk up to Dracula's Castle
A pretty creek
Just a view of the countryside
I took this one from a moving car. I like it.
The gorge.
The lake that was still frozen in April.
Entering the gorge.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
My New Assignment
Well I've kept you waiting long enough.
I first want to thank all of you for your fervent prayers for me. The Lord has certainly had His hand in my life so strongly since I have been here in Romania. He brought me through the Winter and Holiday Season, and has now given me the gift of witnessing the "pop" of Spring. He has allowed me to see some really beautiful places in Romania, and I can't wait to see more.
But for now, He has opened the door wide and is directing me to move to the city of Galati in the Eastern part of the country. I went there in January and fell in love with the ministry that is taking place there. There is a very gifted team there that has been working for about four years at trying to get a Cell church started. Well, it's finally really taking off and starting to slowly snowball, and there is opportunity for me to fit in and serve there.
For more details about what's going on out there you can click here. Basically I will be involved in evangelism and discipleship and my goal will be to get one good group running and training and discipling of a leader out of that group to start another group that will all be part of the cell church.
Thank you again for your prayers in this. I know that the Lord has great things planned for me in Galati. I'm going out there tomorrow (Monday) morning for a couple of days. I will help the girls I'm moving in with to look for an apartment as well as to get some thing settled for a group that is coming for 3 weeks who will be working in a city close to Galati. I'll be back in Bucharest on Wednesday to pack up my things and get ready to move. I will then be leaving to attend a retreat in Poland for about a week and as soon as I get back I will move to Galati.
Once I'm moved, I will be living with four sisters who have had to learn to lean on eachother. This will be a welcome change from living alone for the last six months. I know that there will be challenging days, but I also know that I will learn a lot. Click here to read about one of these sisters. I am humbled that the Lord has given me the opportunity to provide a little bit extra support to them.
Thank you again for your prayers and for keeping up with me. I appreciate all of you so much and want you to know that your prayers have meant the world to me. It seems my adventure is just beginning.
I first want to thank all of you for your fervent prayers for me. The Lord has certainly had His hand in my life so strongly since I have been here in Romania. He brought me through the Winter and Holiday Season, and has now given me the gift of witnessing the "pop" of Spring. He has allowed me to see some really beautiful places in Romania, and I can't wait to see more.
But for now, He has opened the door wide and is directing me to move to the city of Galati in the Eastern part of the country. I went there in January and fell in love with the ministry that is taking place there. There is a very gifted team there that has been working for about four years at trying to get a Cell church started. Well, it's finally really taking off and starting to slowly snowball, and there is opportunity for me to fit in and serve there.
For more details about what's going on out there you can click here. Basically I will be involved in evangelism and discipleship and my goal will be to get one good group running and training and discipling of a leader out of that group to start another group that will all be part of the cell church.
Thank you again for your prayers in this. I know that the Lord has great things planned for me in Galati. I'm going out there tomorrow (Monday) morning for a couple of days. I will help the girls I'm moving in with to look for an apartment as well as to get some thing settled for a group that is coming for 3 weeks who will be working in a city close to Galati. I'll be back in Bucharest on Wednesday to pack up my things and get ready to move. I will then be leaving to attend a retreat in Poland for about a week and as soon as I get back I will move to Galati.
Once I'm moved, I will be living with four sisters who have had to learn to lean on eachother. This will be a welcome change from living alone for the last six months. I know that there will be challenging days, but I also know that I will learn a lot. Click here to read about one of these sisters. I am humbled that the Lord has given me the opportunity to provide a little bit extra support to them.
Thank you again for your prayers and for keeping up with me. I appreciate all of you so much and want you to know that your prayers have meant the world to me. It seems my adventure is just beginning.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Snippets
I apologize in advance for the potential length of this post....I have several random snippets to share with you and I just haven't sat down to type in quite a while. I don't know why....
Snippet #1: A few weeks ago, I got in a taxi at 7:30 in the morning to go to the post office and pick something up that required identification. The taxi driver was quite chipper. He showed me a picture of his dog and told me how he loves to play. He told me jokes and made up songs and was singing the whole way. He was very nice and very happy for that time in the morning. Then he told me he had not yet had his first cup of coffee and I thought, "If he's like this without his first cup of coffee, I wonder what he's like once he's had his first cup of coffee..."
Snippet #2: A couple of weeks after that, I had the opportunity to go to the Opera. Someone had bought tickets and couldn't go, so I got a free ticket and went with a sweet lady that also works here. When we got there, there were several nice cars and bodyguards and media everywhere. We didn't know what was going on or who was there. Turns out it was the 60th birthday of the Crown Princess of Romania and that evening was a special opera performance just for her. The whole Royal Family of Romania were there. They do not hold any political power, they are social Royals, like the British Royal family, but clearly not as famous. However, the performance made it clear that Romanians love their Royalty. They were in exile somewhere (Sweden maybe?) during Communism, and I don't think they have moved back to Romania after that. I think they just come for major holidays and occasions. Who knows, though. Now I can say that I went to the opera with the Royal Family of Romania. It was quite an experience.
Snippet #3: Since I last wrote, we put the veteran family that was here in Romania for 14 years on the plane. They don't plan to come back for various reasons. Please pray for their health, their family, and the unknown as they don't know where they will end up settling once their stateside assignment time is over.
Snippet #4: I know I left you all on a cliffhanger at my last post about what my new assignment will be. I will update you as soon as all of the details are worked out. That will be by this weekend hopefully. Please pray that as we sit down with supervisors this week that we would be of one mind and be able to make purposeful plans for this ministry that I will be involved in.
Snippet #5: This week I have been in the city of Bacau with a sweet family that has lived here 5 years. They have 2 kids, a 7 year old boy and an 11 year old girl. The parents went to a pastors' and wives' conference one night so I got to stay with their kids. Their son is just a constant ball of energy. He is so much fun. Their daughter is a sweet girl who is so helpful and is so caring. I have had so much fun getting to know their family and just spending time with them. Yesterday they took me up into the mountains to a place called Lacul Rosu (The Red Lake). There is a small lake there and several little shops where you can buy souveneirs. The little lake is still frozen, but there are sections where the ice is real thin and cracking. We drove through a gorge in the mountain alongside of a river to get there. It was so beautiful. I will post pictures in another post soon. This trip reminded me again that I serve the most amazing Artist who is the Creator of the Universe...He can carve rocks with water and glorify Himself with our enjoyment of them.
Snippet #6: Please pray for the next few days. All of my colleagues are getting together in the mountains for a few days of retreat and fellowship. We will have a speaker and a worship leader from the States who are coming to minister to us. Please pray that this would be a wonderful time of renewal and fellowship for everyone.
Snippet #7: As everyone in the Western World celebrated Holy Week and Easter last week, in the Orthodox world Palm Sunday was this past Sunday. We are now in Holy Week as to the Orthodox calendar. The Evangelicals here also celebrate this week. It has come to my mind that regardless of when we celebrate Christ's death and Resurrection, the greatest Sacrifice of all time, it happened. Truly truly He is Risen!
Snippet #1: A few weeks ago, I got in a taxi at 7:30 in the morning to go to the post office and pick something up that required identification. The taxi driver was quite chipper. He showed me a picture of his dog and told me how he loves to play. He told me jokes and made up songs and was singing the whole way. He was very nice and very happy for that time in the morning. Then he told me he had not yet had his first cup of coffee and I thought, "If he's like this without his first cup of coffee, I wonder what he's like once he's had his first cup of coffee..."
Snippet #2: A couple of weeks after that, I had the opportunity to go to the Opera. Someone had bought tickets and couldn't go, so I got a free ticket and went with a sweet lady that also works here. When we got there, there were several nice cars and bodyguards and media everywhere. We didn't know what was going on or who was there. Turns out it was the 60th birthday of the Crown Princess of Romania and that evening was a special opera performance just for her. The whole Royal Family of Romania were there. They do not hold any political power, they are social Royals, like the British Royal family, but clearly not as famous. However, the performance made it clear that Romanians love their Royalty. They were in exile somewhere (Sweden maybe?) during Communism, and I don't think they have moved back to Romania after that. I think they just come for major holidays and occasions. Who knows, though. Now I can say that I went to the opera with the Royal Family of Romania. It was quite an experience.
Snippet #3: Since I last wrote, we put the veteran family that was here in Romania for 14 years on the plane. They don't plan to come back for various reasons. Please pray for their health, their family, and the unknown as they don't know where they will end up settling once their stateside assignment time is over.
Snippet #4: I know I left you all on a cliffhanger at my last post about what my new assignment will be. I will update you as soon as all of the details are worked out. That will be by this weekend hopefully. Please pray that as we sit down with supervisors this week that we would be of one mind and be able to make purposeful plans for this ministry that I will be involved in.
Snippet #5: This week I have been in the city of Bacau with a sweet family that has lived here 5 years. They have 2 kids, a 7 year old boy and an 11 year old girl. The parents went to a pastors' and wives' conference one night so I got to stay with their kids. Their son is just a constant ball of energy. He is so much fun. Their daughter is a sweet girl who is so helpful and is so caring. I have had so much fun getting to know their family and just spending time with them. Yesterday they took me up into the mountains to a place called Lacul Rosu (The Red Lake). There is a small lake there and several little shops where you can buy souveneirs. The little lake is still frozen, but there are sections where the ice is real thin and cracking. We drove through a gorge in the mountain alongside of a river to get there. It was so beautiful. I will post pictures in another post soon. This trip reminded me again that I serve the most amazing Artist who is the Creator of the Universe...He can carve rocks with water and glorify Himself with our enjoyment of them.
Snippet #6: Please pray for the next few days. All of my colleagues are getting together in the mountains for a few days of retreat and fellowship. We will have a speaker and a worship leader from the States who are coming to minister to us. Please pray that this would be a wonderful time of renewal and fellowship for everyone.
Snippet #7: As everyone in the Western World celebrated Holy Week and Easter last week, in the Orthodox world Palm Sunday was this past Sunday. We are now in Holy Week as to the Orthodox calendar. The Evangelicals here also celebrate this week. It has come to my mind that regardless of when we celebrate Christ's death and Resurrection, the greatest Sacrifice of all time, it happened. Truly truly He is Risen!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
It's time I be up front with you...
I don't even know where to start.
Some nights I have been awake sobbing into my pillow for hours. On these nights I have been lied to by the Devil himself that I am all alone. It has only been when I have truly turned to the comfort of the One who says "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" that I have been able to calm down and rest in His grace. Each time, His promises are loud and clear in my heart, I lean on them and trust Him, and He fulfills them.
Some days I have asked what on earth I am doing here. Since arriving, many circumstances have led me to asking myself, and God, this question. Sometimes it is a sense of lack of purpose here. Other days it is an intense longing to be with dear family and friends again. Each time, though, He has said, "Be still and know that I am God." I have no choice but to trust Him.
I have been able to meet some great people and observe a couple of ministries, but since being in Bucharest, I have not become attached to any one thing in particular. This has left me very discouraged at times, but again, I have had no choice but to trust Him and His perfect plan, even though I don't know what tomorrow may hold. I know that this has all been a part of His plan for me here. I have had many opportunities to grow in my walk with Jesus. I believe He has purposed these past five and a half months for this exact reason. He becomes More to me every single day.
I believe that what I am about to share with you has been in His purpose all along for me to come to this place of complete dependence on Him.
In prayer and seeking purpose for my time here in Romania, I have wondered if I was too hasty in taking this job simply because the Lord had made it crystal clear that He had placed Romania on my heart before I even started the Journeyman process. There has been a twinge of doubt. But this last weekend, the Lord again faithfully confirmed that He has me here for a purpose. He has opened the door for me to participate in an amazing ministry that is going on here in Romania. Ever since experiencing just a taste of this ministry back in January, I have been drawn to it. I really fell in love with what is being done, and cannot wait to get started.
I will give more details as time goes on, but please keep me in your prayers. I feel I have a new energy and a confirmed purpose here in Romania. Who knew even a week ago that I would not have a doubt that I am right where He wants me.
I'm about to make this post twice as long, but I can't leave you without sharing some pictures of my recent trip to the mountains. I went back to the town of Sinaia, and this time got to tour the castle there. I went with 2 American girls (one who lives here in Bucharest and one who was visiting from the States) and 2 Romanian girls who are sisters.
A monastery...
On the way to the castle...
Yep, a castle...
A mural painted on the walls inside the courtyard...
...And what you've all bee waiting for, the castle in all her glory!
Some nights I have been awake sobbing into my pillow for hours. On these nights I have been lied to by the Devil himself that I am all alone. It has only been when I have truly turned to the comfort of the One who says "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" that I have been able to calm down and rest in His grace. Each time, His promises are loud and clear in my heart, I lean on them and trust Him, and He fulfills them.
Some days I have asked what on earth I am doing here. Since arriving, many circumstances have led me to asking myself, and God, this question. Sometimes it is a sense of lack of purpose here. Other days it is an intense longing to be with dear family and friends again. Each time, though, He has said, "Be still and know that I am God." I have no choice but to trust Him.
I have been able to meet some great people and observe a couple of ministries, but since being in Bucharest, I have not become attached to any one thing in particular. This has left me very discouraged at times, but again, I have had no choice but to trust Him and His perfect plan, even though I don't know what tomorrow may hold. I know that this has all been a part of His plan for me here. I have had many opportunities to grow in my walk with Jesus. I believe He has purposed these past five and a half months for this exact reason. He becomes More to me every single day.
I believe that what I am about to share with you has been in His purpose all along for me to come to this place of complete dependence on Him.
In prayer and seeking purpose for my time here in Romania, I have wondered if I was too hasty in taking this job simply because the Lord had made it crystal clear that He had placed Romania on my heart before I even started the Journeyman process. There has been a twinge of doubt. But this last weekend, the Lord again faithfully confirmed that He has me here for a purpose. He has opened the door for me to participate in an amazing ministry that is going on here in Romania. Ever since experiencing just a taste of this ministry back in January, I have been drawn to it. I really fell in love with what is being done, and cannot wait to get started.
I will give more details as time goes on, but please keep me in your prayers. I feel I have a new energy and a confirmed purpose here in Romania. Who knew even a week ago that I would not have a doubt that I am right where He wants me.
I'm about to make this post twice as long, but I can't leave you without sharing some pictures of my recent trip to the mountains. I went back to the town of Sinaia, and this time got to tour the castle there. I went with 2 American girls (one who lives here in Bucharest and one who was visiting from the States) and 2 Romanian girls who are sisters.
A monastery...
On the way to the castle...
Yep, a castle...
A mural painted on the walls inside the courtyard...
...And what you've all bee waiting for, the castle in all her glory!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Update...
What can I say?
I have not had too much going on the last couple of weeks that has been worth reporting. I was sick for about a week and am now better. The weather was bad the week I was sick, so it wasn't too miserable to stay home. Besides, being sick really throws me off my groove, so it's taken me a while to get back on track here. Hopefully next week I will have more to report.
I guess mostly I want to thank you all for your continued prayers. I will get details about the ski retreat I asked you to pray for and update you on that as soon as I can.
Please pray specifically for a couple of things over this month. Two families who have been here in Bucharest for many years are packing up their homes and following the Lord back to the States. Please pray for the transition for these families. One of them is the family of my supervisor since I got here. Pray for their kids as they transition back to life in the States and back into the school system there. Much of the reasons that both of these families are making the transition back is health-related. Please pray that the Lord will place them in the care of qualified physicians who will be able to help them along back to restored health.
Please also pray for a family that lives in another part of the country who will be leaving this Summer. They also have children, so pray for their transition back to the States, as well.
Please pray for each of these families that the Lord would guide them to the life He has for them back in the States. Pray that He will restore them physically, emotionally, and spiritually upon their return as they need.
I have had several good weeks without any major meltdowns. This is a good thing for me. I am thankful for the Lord's constant provision of comfort from His Word. Only He gets me through every minute of every day. I have learned that utter and total abandonment to dependence on Him is the only way I am ever going to make it. But you know, it's a relief to know that He can handle it and I don't have to.
I know this is like a bunch of random statements, but I really just wanted to type my heart to you tonight. Thank you again for your faithful and fervent prayers for me. Now that Spring is coming, I plan to get out and take more pictures so that you all can see more of where I live, so stay tuned!
I have not had too much going on the last couple of weeks that has been worth reporting. I was sick for about a week and am now better. The weather was bad the week I was sick, so it wasn't too miserable to stay home. Besides, being sick really throws me off my groove, so it's taken me a while to get back on track here. Hopefully next week I will have more to report.
I guess mostly I want to thank you all for your continued prayers. I will get details about the ski retreat I asked you to pray for and update you on that as soon as I can.
Please pray specifically for a couple of things over this month. Two families who have been here in Bucharest for many years are packing up their homes and following the Lord back to the States. Please pray for the transition for these families. One of them is the family of my supervisor since I got here. Pray for their kids as they transition back to life in the States and back into the school system there. Much of the reasons that both of these families are making the transition back is health-related. Please pray that the Lord will place them in the care of qualified physicians who will be able to help them along back to restored health.
Please also pray for a family that lives in another part of the country who will be leaving this Summer. They also have children, so pray for their transition back to the States, as well.
Please pray for each of these families that the Lord would guide them to the life He has for them back in the States. Pray that He will restore them physically, emotionally, and spiritually upon their return as they need.
I have had several good weeks without any major meltdowns. This is a good thing for me. I am thankful for the Lord's constant provision of comfort from His Word. Only He gets me through every minute of every day. I have learned that utter and total abandonment to dependence on Him is the only way I am ever going to make it. But you know, it's a relief to know that He can handle it and I don't have to.
I know this is like a bunch of random statements, but I really just wanted to type my heart to you tonight. Thank you again for your faithful and fervent prayers for me. Now that Spring is coming, I plan to get out and take more pictures so that you all can see more of where I live, so stay tuned!
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