1. Gabi, Samuel, Josef, Laura, Karen

2. Katie, Daniel, Ciprian, Simon, Joe

3. Gabor, Maurice, Scott, Kati, Paula

4. Liam, Larry, Gerry, Lynette, Melanie

5. Norbi, Nolan, Jan, Margarit, Iulia

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November 23, 2007 - Friday -  It isn’t always easy to celebrate an American holiday in another country…but it is fun to try. A group of missionaries and associates from the Arad county area gathered last evening for a Thanksgiving celebration…probably 50 people or so in all. We Americans were outnumbered by the British, Swedish and Romanians…but we don’t mind. They like our American food! :-)

We had all of the “fixins”…turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls, corn, green beans, and of course the desserts. Two of our friends found turkeys in the store but another friend purchased them fresh (still living), hauled them home in the back seat of her car, and had a neighbor “prepare” them for cooking. (Phew, glad this wasn’t me!) The decorative paper plates, napkins and cranberry sauce all came from the States. However, the pumpkin pie came directly from the pumpkin.

We began by purchasing 16 pounds of pumpkin at the market near our home. I told the man that we love to eat pumpkin…he looked at me very strangely. Generally, pumpkin is fed to the pigs here. (If the shoe fits…) Around 10am we began the long process of dicing the pumpkin (the skin is much harder on the pumpkins here), steaming it, removing the skin, and pureeing. We then made the pie crusts and the filling. You also need to know that our oven is only big enough for one pie at a time, and it only has two temperatures--off and burnt. So, it took several hours to bake 3 pies and the apple crisp. We finished up around 3pm…and rested for a few minutes before we began making mashed potatoes for the group (Scott peeled a lot of potatoes!). I kept thinking about how easy it is to make pies when all you have to do is dump the pumpkin out of a can and put the filling in a store-bought pie shell. :-) On the other hand, Stephen, Lydia and I had a great time in the kitchen together!

Several of our friends here (Romanian) have never tried pumpkin pie. From what I was told last evening, the British nor the Swedes use pumpkin either, at least in this way. So, I have a few more pies to make today to share with more of our friends. People always ask what we would call a traditional American food…everyone thinks it is hamburgers, hot dogs or peanut butter. Okay, I can go along with the peanut butter, but I believe we must also add pumpkin pie!

I could certainly use your continued prayers regarding my English club. Wow! It is going very well…but this week I had 28 students in my first hour and 10 in the second hour. They must be having fun…they keep coming back. I only have 4 more weeks in this session so I will probably leave things as they are. However, I need wisdom in how to help them learn best especially when I have so many different levels in one class. And I desire creativity to enhance their learning! So, please pray for me…and Lydia! By the way, I made pumpkin bread for the kids this week in class…they loved it! :-)

If we haven’t said so before, we will say it again. We are so thankful for each and every one of you! Without your financial support, we would not have the opportunity for ministry and relationship building here in Romania. And without your prayers, the opportunities might go without fruit. Thank you to you…and thank you to our Father in Heaven!

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November 20, 2007 - Tuesday - We're back home today! I (Scott) boarded a 6:00am train last Wednesday (Nov. 13) from Arad to Budapest to participate in meetings of the European Leadership Team (ELT). The rest of the family joined me in Budapest on Friday where we all participated in the bi-annual Church Leaders Conference (CLC) for all of our work in Europe. It was a great gathering, and our colleague, Larry Winckles, has posted daily reports HERE. Several highlights stand out for me:

• Pastor Doug Newton taught from a comparison of the two temple cleansings (John 2:13-17 and Matthew 21:12-13); it was outstanding. From his exposition we saw God's desire to make us all, individually and corporately, a powerful house of prayer through radical cleansing, radical restoration, and radical delegation.

• We had an excellent delegation of 14 attending from Romania! In addition to several from our church here in Arad and our Visa missionaries from Sighisoara, we were very pleased to have two Romanian pastors attend, one from Bucuresti (the house church we've mentioned in previous posts) and one from Blaj (central Romania), who are interested in learning more about the Free Methodist Church in Romania and Europe. God touched and spoke in special ways to many in our delegation.

• On Saturday and Monday mornings we had regional gatherings, one of which was the Carpathian region. I've had oversight of this region since January, but this was the first time to have leaders from this three-country region all together in one place at the same time. As I looked around the room at our leaders representing Slovakia (1 missionary family), Hungary (2 fellowships), and Romania (4 ministry locations), it helped crystallize in my mind the team and wider ministry role that God has placed in my care.

• God helped me teach a workshop on the role of intentional relationships in developing disciples and leaders. Feedback was positive :-)

• The many one-on-one conversations with leaders from all over Europe.

• The diversity of languages and cultures all worshipping the same Lord Jesus (15 countries and 13 different languages participating)!

Thanks so much for staying in touch with and praying for our ministry! Scott

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November 11, 2007 - Monday - Beginning Wednesday this week I (Scott) will be in Budapest, Hungary, for meetings of the European Leadership Team (ELT) to discuss issues affecting our church's overall work in Europe. Then beginning Friday evening and continuing through Monday evening we will participate in our Europe-wide Church Leaders Conference. We are expecting over 80 of our European leaders from 13 different countries to attend. Fifteen of those will be from our ministry contacts here in Romania! Please keep these meetings and gatherings in prayer, that God would advance His Kingdom purposes in these days. For updates on the happenings of the conference, please check the website of our colleague, Larry Winckles, or the European Free Methodist Church site. Scott

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New Shalom Nov 10 2007