Friday, July 2, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Being AMAZED in Romania!
There are so many things to be thankful for. Our safety, restored health and God's spirit moving are only a few. Yesterday we spent traveling to Timisoara to visit the city where Daniel and Mariana live and have their other church called The Rock. We stopped along the way to tour a castle (built when Hungary ruled this section of the country). Today was filled with seeing the city, visiting the Esther Foundation (a pregnancy care center where Mariana serves as a board member) and souvenir shopping. Oh yeah, the guys also got to go fishing with Radu this morning...Radu is an interesting, funny and VERY hardworking Romanian man we have had the pleasure of working with these 2 weeks. Tonight we went to church at The Rock for their weekly Thursday night service. It was a tremendous time of testimony and singing and hearing God's Word preached by Daniel. As Mariana said, these last 2 weeks have been an example what it means to be part of the body of Christ - people from 4 different countries, different denominations, languages and cultures working in harmony together with a common goal of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has truly been a blessing (for Americans and Romanians alike). And, as the young Romanian pastor, Gabi, said...it is going to take time for the churches to grow in the 2 villages where we have been working but seeds have been planted and the gospel has been shared. Lord willing more work will be done!
There is much more to share, but that will wait for pictures and presentations in our churches, so hopefully you can come hear a presentation about these past 2 weeks and be encouraged with us! Due to our traveling schedule this may be the last post until we are home and then I will try to post once more. Sorry for the lack of pictures from the past few days...if you want to see them please ask any team member and/or come to our respective churches when the presentations are given. Please continue to pray for us and our safety in traveling on the ground and in the air and for colds to be completely cleared up before flying and also for the Romanian people and their salvation and the work that will continue. We thank you sincerely for your part in supporting our team.
Rachel
There is much more to share, but that will wait for pictures and presentations in our churches, so hopefully you can come hear a presentation about these past 2 weeks and be encouraged with us! Due to our traveling schedule this may be the last post until we are home and then I will try to post once more. Sorry for the lack of pictures from the past few days...if you want to see them please ask any team member and/or come to our respective churches when the presentations are given. Please continue to pray for us and our safety in traveling on the ground and in the air and for colds to be completely cleared up before flying and also for the Romanian people and their salvation and the work that will continue. We thank you sincerely for your part in supporting our team.
Rachel
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Fun in Hungary!
Here are some pictures of us teaching English here in Hungary!
Today was our third day teaching English here at the camp and it is amazing how quickly the kids are catching on to the English language. So far we have covered a variety of topics like colors, numbers, and shapes and the kids are just eating it all up - they are so excited about learning English that they often arrive to class up to 10 minutes early! One of the most enjoyable parts of teaching English has been spending time with the kids and having them attempt to teach us Hungarian. The kids love to say words and then have us try to repeat them - and then they laugh and laugh when we attempt to say it. So far I think I have managed to learn approximately 7 Hungarian words! It is going to be interesting to see how much the kids and I can learn before this week is over!
Jenna
praise in Hungary
Last night around 40 kids went up front to accept Jesus as personal saviour!!!!! It was a great experience to see. That is what makes it worth all the fundraising and working out details and worrying if money will be there for everyone. That one moment where you KNOW it was worth anything you put into it plus much more. It is really exciting to see God once again working in Hungary. Great things are going on here.
Baseball has been great. We have 36 kids! Much more than last year and much more than I expected. Fortunately there were some extra gloves yet from the past two years so every kid was able to get one. Yesterday we split them up into 4 teams and played our first games this morning. My team is of course the phillies!!! It went well. Especially for many of the kids never having played on a real field and not knowing any rules from the start. There also are almost as many girls playing as boys this year. I will try to get some baseball pictures on later tonight if I can. Right now we have an afternoon baseball sessions and are going to play some games again. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Continue to pray that we can impact these kids lives and that any who still may not know Christ would come to by the end of the week.
Baseball has been great. We have 36 kids! Much more than last year and much more than I expected. Fortunately there were some extra gloves yet from the past two years so every kid was able to get one. Yesterday we split them up into 4 teams and played our first games this morning. My team is of course the phillies!!! It went well. Especially for many of the kids never having played on a real field and not knowing any rules from the start. There also are almost as many girls playing as boys this year. I will try to get some baseball pictures on later tonight if I can. Right now we have an afternoon baseball sessions and are going to play some games again. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Continue to pray that we can impact these kids lives and that any who still may not know Christ would come to by the end of the week.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
From Hungary
It was the second day of teaching kids English today in Hungary.
They seem to know most of the basics, like colors, greetings, and some numbers.
Most of them are very friendly and i already love them, they're hilarious.
What they love most is playing games. They got SOO excited when they got to
play a memory game.
Tonight, at the group meeting, there was a puppet show and the kids all really liked that. Hentesh gave the message and a LOT of kids went up front and accepted Christ. I really liked seeing some of the kids in the English class i help teach, go up front.
Everyone seems happy with their classes and no one seems to be too homesick yet. Bob's vocabulary is starting to become famous...Justin is spreading it around the world ( through facebook, of course ) --- Jinkers..
This week is already going by fast and hopefully, the last three days go well.
---Krista
Romania
Hi from Romania! Yesterday the VBS team walked all around the town of Livezile looking for children to invite. We managed to find a few and invited them to the town park the next day. Today we went back and initially there were 6 boys who came. They all played soccer for awhile and then 5 of them sat down to talk with Gabi about his guitar. Two more left but the other three boys remained. They sang VBS songs with us and Lili shared a message with them. They seemed to really enjoy it and participated well. They especially loved the games and toys. We were able to give them each a small gift also. Before we left, they asked when the church services there would start and Gabi showed them the church building and explained about finishing it first and then services could begin. We were really excited that some children came as this was the first VBS in this town. So even though the turnout was small, God showed us how much it is needed just by their desire to come back and to come to weekly services also!
The construction team has continued to work hard at Vinju-Mare. Yesterday and today they were able to finish digging the ditch, lay the pipe, and hook up the water. So the church now has running water! They are finishing filling the ditch back in and laying the tile across the driveway where they had dug it up. They also have been installing new drywall and painting the church inside and out. It really has made a big improvement and looks good. They have worked very hard on both the church sites in Vinju-Mare and Livezile.
Thank you all for praying for us! Please continue to pray for our group. The flu is going through Romania and almost all of our group has fallen ill to it at sometime. Some are getting bad colds, some have a bad stomach bug, and some have fever, headaches & body aches. It seems to be very draining physically. However, even through it, God is still working because no more than 1 or 2 of us has been sick at a time so it has not stopped us from doing what needs to be done. Thankfully, it is also fast moving so no one is sick for long. But please continue to pray for all of our health and safety as tomorrow we travel north to a new location. And continue to pray for the people we have made contact with in Romania so that God's word will keep growing in their hearts.
~Michele
The construction team has continued to work hard at Vinju-Mare. Yesterday and today they were able to finish digging the ditch, lay the pipe, and hook up the water. So the church now has running water! They are finishing filling the ditch back in and laying the tile across the driveway where they had dug it up. They also have been installing new drywall and painting the church inside and out. It really has made a big improvement and looks good. They have worked very hard on both the church sites in Vinju-Mare and Livezile.
Thank you all for praying for us! Please continue to pray for our group. The flu is going through Romania and almost all of our group has fallen ill to it at sometime. Some are getting bad colds, some have a bad stomach bug, and some have fever, headaches & body aches. It seems to be very draining physically. However, even through it, God is still working because no more than 1 or 2 of us has been sick at a time so it has not stopped us from doing what needs to be done. Thankfully, it is also fast moving so no one is sick for long. But please continue to pray for all of our health and safety as tomorrow we travel north to a new location. And continue to pray for the people we have made contact with in Romania so that God's word will keep growing in their hearts.
~Michele
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Buna ziue from Romania! Today was a very relaxing day, although a few of us are feeling the effects of changing time zones and diets. It seems the Lord is providing the landscape with rain, only when we have absolutely nothing planned! When we need to be outside, the rain stops! We did some last minute cleaning in the house of worship in Vinju Mare, just in time to use it for it's intended use. Only a few neighbors came to worship with us, but it was a great hour of prayer, song, and praise. We then went to Livesile, not only to show the progress that was made to those who hadn't seen it yet, but also in the hopes of finding children playing on the streets. We only saw older kids, but we said a prayer and all went back to the hotel for a delicious rabbit and potato dinner. It is amazing what the Lord has done so far during this trip! We are actually looking forward to getting our hands dirty again tomorrow!
Camp Starts
Today is the first official day of camp here. There is 85 campers registered. That is more then normal. The average for kids the past few years was around 70. Justin and I are excited to teach the kids how to play baseball. All of the girls will be helping teach English and Bob will once again be helping this week with work around the campgrounds. We are all ready for the camp week to get into full swing. It will be such a blessing getting to know the kids and just doing different things with them. What these kids hear this week will hopefully be life changing for them. We may never see or hear from these kids ever again but I will be praying for them as they grow up and become young adults. May the messages that they hear this week be a stepping stone for them to be able to spread the gospel to their families and friends. Our goal this week is to have every kid accept Christ into their heart and spread the gospel to everyone.
Mike
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Last work day in Hungary
Hello everyone! Today was our last day to work on the campus before the campers get here. I am really looking forward to next week as always. Not because it will not be "working", but because working with the kids over here is such an amazing experience. It is one of the highlights of my year.
The past month or maybe even more Hungary has gotten a lot of rain. The northeast part of the country has had it the worst and has had a lot of major flooding. Word of life had a group of kids here from one of those towns this week to just let me do something fun and get them away. Many of them lost their homes and basically everything they had. They told the kids when they were here they were going to give 30 kids from that town what they call full scholarships to camp for a week. Meaning they could come to camp for free. The next day the camp director, Laci, got a phone call from a teacher from that town. She was being told by all these kids that they had said this and been told they would even send a bus to pick them up. It was so unbelievable to her she had to call to see if it was true. She still had trouble even after talking to him. It is just cool to see that even through such disaster God is working and good can come out of it.
Another praise item would be the camp here sent out emails asking people for $60 donations to send a camper to camp for a week. They need for about 150 kids and in just one day had half of them already. What a great thing to see happen. What a great thing for the people at this camp to be able to see God work and bless them. They are a great staff and group of people who really have a heart for kids and God. If anyone reading this would want to send a kid to camp you could email me at redskinsjf@lycos.com .I can tell you that what they get for $60 is a great great value. Well possibly eternal value.
Anyway, I have talked enough now and Bob just came to my room to give me some pictures to put on my computer. I will try to get some more up tonight or tomorrow. Thank you so much for your prayers and interest in our trips. I can't wait to report what is happening when the kids are here.
-justin
The past month or maybe even more Hungary has gotten a lot of rain. The northeast part of the country has had it the worst and has had a lot of major flooding. Word of life had a group of kids here from one of those towns this week to just let me do something fun and get them away. Many of them lost their homes and basically everything they had. They told the kids when they were here they were going to give 30 kids from that town what they call full scholarships to camp for a week. Meaning they could come to camp for free. The next day the camp director, Laci, got a phone call from a teacher from that town. She was being told by all these kids that they had said this and been told they would even send a bus to pick them up. It was so unbelievable to her she had to call to see if it was true. She still had trouble even after talking to him. It is just cool to see that even through such disaster God is working and good can come out of it.
Another praise item would be the camp here sent out emails asking people for $60 donations to send a camper to camp for a week. They need for about 150 kids and in just one day had half of them already. What a great thing to see happen. What a great thing for the people at this camp to be able to see God work and bless them. They are a great staff and group of people who really have a heart for kids and God. If anyone reading this would want to send a kid to camp you could email me at redskinsjf@lycos.com .I can tell you that what they get for $60 is a great great value. Well possibly eternal value.
Anyway, I have talked enough now and Bob just came to my room to give me some pictures to put on my computer. I will try to get some more up tonight or tomorrow. Thank you so much for your prayers and interest in our trips. I can't wait to report what is happening when the kids are here.
-justin
God is good! Romanian drivers, not so much . . .
We're wrapping up our first week in Romania. I have to admit that when we left, I was most worried about the flights, but they went fine. It was the Romanian roads I should have been worried about! If you know someone who wants to have a more active prayer life, we'll bring them along next time and let them drive. They'll be praying in languages they don't even know! I know some of you have the prayer beads hanging from the mirror in your car; that may have helped us, but I'm pretty sure I would've had them ground into a fine powder by the time we got to our motel the first day!
All that aside, things have been going great. God has a way of putting together the exact team He needs, and we've always had someone who knows exactly how to do what we need to get done. We've got some who are great with the kids, and some who are great with construction. We've got everyone from Ashley, who is everyone's little sister, to Pearl, who is like everyone's grandmother.
We've also had a tremendous amount of help from the people here, though! Many of you met Danial and Mariana when they visited the states. There's Corina, who is shy, but loves to be very helpful for us. She's a little shy about her English, which is actually very good! Alexia is from France and has been in Romania since the beginning of this month. You never see her without a smile on her face. Jeoron and Meireke (I probably spelled those wrong; they're pronounced "yoo-ROON" and "mah-REE-kah") are from Holland and have been living in Timisoara to learn the language, but are planning on ministering in this area. Their two kids, Stan and Micah, have also been around the job site. Radu (say, "rah-DOO") is the one Pastor Danial refers to as his "little bear", but that's not true. He's definitely more of an ursa major! He's very large and very talented with our construction projects. Gabi is the missionary here, and his brother, Beni has also been helping us. Beni is in university now and wants to minister to children at one of his other brothers' church in Austria. Lili (Lilly) is also from Timisoara and volunteers at Mariana's Esther Foundation ministry. She's very quiet and shy at first, but very kind and friendly. She also took on big responsibilities with the VBS team, since she is the most fluent speaker of Romanian on that team.
I am, once again, in awe of God's ability to put the right people in the right places at the right time!
Napte buna (Good night),
David
(P.S.: Wish Tom a happy birthday today, however you are able!)
All that aside, things have been going great. God has a way of putting together the exact team He needs, and we've always had someone who knows exactly how to do what we need to get done. We've got some who are great with the kids, and some who are great with construction. We've got everyone from Ashley, who is everyone's little sister, to Pearl, who is like everyone's grandmother.
We've also had a tremendous amount of help from the people here, though! Many of you met Danial and Mariana when they visited the states. There's Corina, who is shy, but loves to be very helpful for us. She's a little shy about her English, which is actually very good! Alexia is from France and has been in Romania since the beginning of this month. You never see her without a smile on her face. Jeoron and Meireke (I probably spelled those wrong; they're pronounced "yoo-ROON" and "mah-REE-kah") are from Holland and have been living in Timisoara to learn the language, but are planning on ministering in this area. Their two kids, Stan and Micah, have also been around the job site. Radu (say, "rah-DOO") is the one Pastor Danial refers to as his "little bear", but that's not true. He's definitely more of an ursa major! He's very large and very talented with our construction projects. Gabi is the missionary here, and his brother, Beni has also been helping us. Beni is in university now and wants to minister to children at one of his other brothers' church in Austria. Lili (Lilly) is also from Timisoara and volunteers at Mariana's Esther Foundation ministry. She's very quiet and shy at first, but very kind and friendly. She also took on big responsibilities with the VBS team, since she is the most fluent speaker of Romanian on that team.
I am, once again, in awe of God's ability to put the right people in the right places at the right time!
Napte buna (Good night),
David
(P.S.: Wish Tom a happy birthday today, however you are able!)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
My first time in Hungary
Hello from Hungary,
We have been very busy the last couple of days with many different projects to do. The first day I started scraping the shower stalls and then did a little painting. The second day I realized that I didn't want to work with the girls so I went and helped the men (the real workers of the group). We also had a great trip into Budapest on Wednesday. The city is amazing during the day and even more spectacular at night. The pictures that I was able to take turned out great. It is really different being in a foreign city and having to adapt to the culture, language, and currency. It can be hard to buy items when you can't figure out the price or even ask someone how much something cost. Overall the week has been going by so quickly but I am enjoying my first ever trip here. We still have a lot of work that needs to be completed, but I think that we will get everything done as long as we have every one's cooperation. I am really looking forward to next week when the kids arrive and we can start playing some baseball. Hopefully this won't be my only trip here. It has been a very rewarding time so far and will be even more rewarding when the kids accept Christ. Please keep us in your prayers as we still prepare for camp next week.
Mike
Bob from Hungary
Hello to all the individuals that are praying for us. We had lots of rain here a couple days and still managed to get plenty of work done. Yesterday was nice so we all went into Budapest and took in culture and food, mostly food as always.
Today was a fun work day. Our jobs included placing pole platforms for the children to jump on and off, hung a cargo net at least 4 meters wide and 5 meters high, and put a line of tire swings up to swing from tire to tire. We had to test our work just to make sure it did work. Also finished was the float line in the pond to limit distance for the smaller children and placed diving platforms for the floating and tug-of-war games.
Justin had been a great leader for the group. All our members like him. As a group we all hope you all have a special blessing for being with this group in this ongoing project. Since we are here we get a double blessing, one from the kids here and one from our supporters from home.
a friend in Christ
.........bob
Today was a fun work day. Our jobs included placing pole platforms for the children to jump on and off, hung a cargo net at least 4 meters wide and 5 meters high, and put a line of tire swings up to swing from tire to tire. We had to test our work just to make sure it did work. Also finished was the float line in the pond to limit distance for the smaller children and placed diving platforms for the floating and tug-of-war games.
Justin had been a great leader for the group. All our members like him. As a group we all hope you all have a special blessing for being with this group in this ongoing project. Since we are here we get a double blessing, one from the kids here and one from our supporters from home.
a friend in Christ
.........bob
Romania Thursday June 24
Today began with beautiful cool weather, about 18 degrees, slowly getting warmer. We split into two groups again, one group holding Bible school at Vanju Mare, the other going to Levezila to finish a concrete drainage project and paint the interior walls and trim.
The Bible school was once again more than expected, with 48 children showing up for the program this morning. The people working here in Vanju Mare didn't really even have space for so many on the small lot where the church sits, but they did a fine job of presenting the program regardless of such small problems. The plan to show a movie tomorrow night needed to be changed due to not being able to get a loudspeaker hooked up. No worries. It seems that so far, we have been led in the exact right direction on everything we attempt to accomplish from day to day.
The people who went to Levezila today poured concrete and have probably by this time finished the painting of the interior of the room to be used for church services. Plans are now not to attempt a service there this Sunday due to the large amount of work still needing to be done to the building, work which we don't have the time and resources to attempt. An exterior wall is cracked and subsiding, and will probably need to be completely rebuilt before the building is ready for use. Pray for the money and workers needed to complete this job to arrive in the near future, because Levezila has no evangelical influence whatsoever apart from this.
Thank you all for praying for us here, and please continue to pray, especially for the children's parents, that they would look at what we're doing with open eyes.
From Vanju Mare,
Kenny
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
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