Online Journal - May 2006 Archive

 

May 31, 2006 - Wednesday - Today I traveled with the team from Roberts Wesleyan College to a remote village of Roma (Gypsy) people. Our location was about 3½ hours drive north of Arad and very close to the Hungarian border. All of the people in the village speak Hungarian, but many also understand (and some speak) Romanian. This church was founded about 6 years ago when a couple of Roma men--who were being discipled by a longtime missionary here named Jackie Ramsey--felt called by God to return to their home village to share Christ. Jackie sent them off with her blessing, and a few days later they called and said, "We have 22 new Christians here; what should we do with them?" A church was born!

 

Jackie shared many stories with me about this church and village, too many to repeat here. The level of poverty was certainly beyond anything I have experienced to this point in my life. But the people were wonderful! Yes, they have sin problems and dysfunctions of all types in their community, but so do we here in "civilized" Arad. But their worship was no less genuine (and they can sing!), their need for Christ no less significant, their potential for total life transformation no less possible. In fact, I commented as we drove away from their muddy street, "The original context of the gospel of Christ seems much closer here." Pray for Jesus' work among the Gypsy population of Romania! (The last picture on the right side of this article is their church building).  Scott

 

May 22, 2006 – Monday – Let’s see how much I can get written before the battery on my computer runs out. The electricity is out currently. This is almost a weekly occurrence. Sometimes it is out for a few minutes…sometimes for an hour or more.

 

To catch you up on our Visa saga…we finally took the final piece of paper to the police station two weeks ago. The lady behind the window assured us that this was all that was necessary and then told us to wait another month. :-)  We have been advised by other missionaries here to visit the police station every week as the Visas may come in sooner. (Okay…I can see you smirking along with me! :-) So, we went this afternoon to see...and the verdict is: "You're too early. They will come in 30 days." Oh well, it was a good try. We'll go again next Monday.

 

I have had the opportunity to visit one of the hospitals here in Arad a couple of times. I went with another missionary who has already developed a relationship with the hospital staff which made it easier for me to go. We spent several hours playing with and feeding the babies who have been left at the hospital by their parents. Last week after my visit, we learned that ABC news has recently run some stories on Romanian hospitals and the population of abandoned and disabled children. We too were horrified as we watched the video segments, especially since one of the hospitals is in a city just an hour south of us (Timişoara). However, Scott and I would like to caution people about making judgments about hospital staff based on these videos alone. The resources that hospital personnel are given are limited at best. This is an incredible social, political, and financial problem in this country that needs prayer and healthy intervention. Please pray for the children, their caregivers, their parents, and the politicians that need to find a healthy solution for the sake of these dear children.

 

Scott has been helping a team of firefighters from the UK with construction of a new house for Oaza. He spent a couple of days this past week hauling brick and mortar by hand and hopes to go again this week for several days.

 

 

 

A ministry team of ten young ladies from Roberts Wesleyan College arrived last Thursday in Arad. They will be working with Oaza for several days and with another ministry here in Arad. On Saturday, I accompanied them on a daytrip with the children of Oaza. We visited a zoo in Oradea (very different from a zoo in the States) and swam at Băile Felix, a hot spa. We had a wonderful time, but I was exhausted trying to communicate with the little Romanian I know. The Roberts team has truly wonderful ladies who are giving their love and attention to the children.

 

We are supposed to begin our summer language study program next week but we still have no vehicle to get to Timişoara. Please pray that the Lord shows us the way as this class is very important to us and our learning of the language.

 

Stephen and Lydia are slowly winding down their school year. These past four months have been very difficult for them in making a transition from a completely teacher driven public school system to a teacher/self-driven approach. Stephen is especially struggling in math. We may have to pay for an extension in this course for the summer.

 

We continue in our adjustments to new culture, new home, new language, new church, but now we also have to adjust to saying goodbye to new friends. A young man, Dusty, who arrived the same weekend we did in January, and has been working with Oaza, left last week as his volunteer assignment was completed. We appreciated Dusty and his ministry! This week we say goodbye to a couple, Mike and Carla Marble (daughters Hannah and Becca), who have been here as house parents for Oaza since last August. We have so much appreciated their friendship and support as we have walked through adjustments together. We will miss them greatly!

 

I’ll end with a word of praise. You know the saying, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” You also know the verse, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Our family was quite discouraged that the sale of our home fell through last month, especially when we have to make an American house payment on less salary. As this month has worn on, I haven’t been sure from where the money for food was going to come. (We have been very thankful for the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese sent to us by several of you! J ) Then, God used a bad situation to provide for us. We received a check, small but adequate, from the earnest money the potential buyer had to surrender for breaking the sale contract. This was money we would not have had if we had no contract to be broken. I know that sounds strange but it is the reality of the situation. God is taking care of us while we wait for his timing and plan! Now I’m wondering what He has in store for this next month! J I can’t wait to see!

Always thankful for your emails, notes, and gifts…most of all your prayers!  With love…Paula

 May 7, 2006 – Sunday – Just when you think you have your ducks in order…someone decides to throw some bread to send them scambling… Early Tuesday morning our family headed out to a medical clinic here in Arad to obtain health certificates. We learned from another missionary in town that the police would require health certificates as part of our Visa paperwork. This process was painless and turned out to be a blessing in helping us find some of Scott’s prescription medicine for his migraines at a much reduced price. On Wednesday morning, Scott and I went to the Police station with all of our paperwork in hand. We had decided to go it alone but the Lord provided time for one of our dear friends, Casius, to be at the station to help us. The process basically went like this…stood in line, knocked on the window, waited, talked/listened, Scott went to pay the tax, I had to take a taxi home to get the children, filled out papers, stood in line, knocked on the window, waited, waited, re-organize our papers, knocked on the window, waited, get our pictures taken, purchase other papers, knocked on window, waited, went home. This was about a four-hour process but we were so happy when we arrived home. The whole process had been completed in one morning. Well…so we thought. Friday morning our landlord came by and told us the police needed a document from him. So, we walked down to the police station (we estimated about a six-mile walk round trip), turned in this paper and then learned that we need another letter from someone else. This weekend we have been working on getting this letter with plans to go back to the police station on Monday morning. They assured us that this was all that was necessary…I think I’ll wait and see. :-) They told us it will be 3-4 weeks to receive our Visas. Pray!

 

We are happy to report that the same place we took the Romanian culture class, Areopagus, will be giving us language lessons over the summer (our tutor will be gone this summer). It will be a one-hour drive three times a week but we are happy to have this opportunity to continue our language study. (We just need our Visas to be able to register our vehicle so we can actually drive.)

 

Lydia and I very much enjoy our time assisting the children’s Bible study teachers…this week it was on Friday. I didn’t understand much that was being said but the children are so kind and inclusive.

 

Scott was asked to perform his first baby dedication on Saturday. It was a pleasure and a blessing to us to be a part of this spiritual moment in this family’s life. They are wonderful people and good friends. After the dedication and time of prayer, they served goodies…wonderful breads (this is terrible for our waistlines) and a delicious chocolate filled pastry. How they stay thin here we just don’t know… :-)

 

 

Your emails, letters, and love packages mean so much to us. Thank you! They help us remember that we are not alone in God’s work.

 

We’ve had a couple of situations the past couple of weeks where God has allowed us to be used at just the right time. Please pray that we can faithfully be God’s instruments of help and healing. We pray that God will continue to use us where we can be of help to His work. Paula

 

May 1, 2006 – Monday- May Day – Today is May 1st which is a holiday here in Romania. It is similar to our Labor Day in the States. We are told that it is celebrated by all former communist countries as it was a communist holiday. We were to go to the country with the teens from the church today for hiking and a picnic but it rained so those plans were changed. (We ended up gathering at one of the Oaza family homes and grilled mici (say MEECH; it is a mixture of ground pork, beef and sometimes sheep) and pui (say POOH-ee; chicken). I helped peel pounds and pounds of potatoes for fries. Scott and Stephen also played a rousing game of football (no, not American football but soccer). In the States on a holiday, the streets and stores are very busy. Not so in Romania…at least Arad. The streets are very, very quiet and most of the stores are closed.

 

Last Sunday, April 23, was Easter here (by the Orthodox calendar). The children and teens had special songs and a skit to present to the congregation. They did a great job with it! :-) We then went to one of the Oaza houses to help with the Easter meal. (The house parents were very ill, as most of the children have been as well.) We had lamb, chicken and ham along with mashed potatoes, creamed spinach gravy, bean casserole, and some “angel” eggs…I brought these. (This is a tradition of our families to have “angel” eggs…you know, deviled eggs…for Easter.) All of us had some of the lamb. Scott and Stephen loved it…Lydia and I just can’t get past it being a lamb, though Lydia did like the flavor. :-) The desserts were very creative and delicious as well!

 

At the end of last week, Scott and I took a class in Timisoara (where the 1989 Romanian revolution began, about an hour drive from Arad) on understanding Romanian culture. The class was presented by a Christian organization called Areopagus. It was well done (most of the instructors were English-speaking Romanians), and we learned a lot as well as confirmed some of our own observations. A couple of the things we learned:

1. Romanians (in general) are very concerned about maintaining relationships. Relationships are a priority for them in everyday life and business. An example would be in the area of hiring someone to paint your home. In the States, we focus more on the business aspect…how much will it cost me to have this job done? In Romania, the question of cost comes after coffee and spending time talking about your families, etc. This is not bad, it is just very different for we Americans. Knowing this will help us in our interactions with the community.

2. According to the seminar, Romanians (in general) feel that they have little control over their own lives. For centuries, Romanians have dealt with invaders from every direction. Their territory has been taken from them and given to them without any say of their own, for the most part. For 66 years, there was a Monarchy system (the king came from Germany, not Romania). Then after WWII, communism took control. This brings new meaning and challenge to having faith that “With God all things are possible.”

3. Romania has one of the highest rates of missionary attrition, meaning…many, many missionaries come to Romania and then leave. Reasons? Many. Does this discourage us? No, but it does make us keenly aware that we must stay close to God, be wise in our interactions with people, take our time and not push others or ourselves, and that YOUR PRAYERS are incredibly important to what God wants to accomplish in us and through us in Romania. We’ve always said we cannot do this without your prayers and support.

On Saturday we were privileged to have Norbert and Hajnalka, leaders in the Budapest FM Church, stay with us. Norbert shared God’s Word with the church on Sunday. We so much enjoyed their company and are happy to have more friends!

 

We must report praise to God and an answer to all of our prayers (see our March and April prayer letters)! Late last week we received the letter from Bucharest that will allow us to proceed toward the next step in the process to obtain our resident visas. See how God is using you and your prayers! Tomorrow, Scott will go to the police station and see what things they will require of us in order to receive our visas. Please pray that we will have positive interactions with the police not only to obtain our visas but so we may have a good reputation and report with them.

Thank you for taking the time to think about us, read this blog, and pray for us. We are so thankful for you! Paula