Fundraising update: I am currently at $16,152! My last fundraiser was very successful and I’m now only $465 from being fully funded. I’ll post a video below that shows the results of my mullet fundraiser, I’m now sporting a new interesting haircut. I can’t thank all my supporters enough, I would not be here if it wasn’t for you. God has taken care of me and revealed that I am again, exactly where He wants me to be. Thank you for your continued prayer and for reading my blogs. I love being able to update you all on what God is doing in these countries through my team. My email is [email protected] if you have any questions or just want to chat! Thank you all so much for reading! Keep your prayers coming for me and my team as we are now in Asia!
Business up front, party in the back…
In my last blog, I gave you an update on ministry here in Romania. If you didn’t get a chance to read it you can find it here: http://johnhopkins.theworldrace.org/post/month-8-already. In the time since then, we have been doing some last minute preparations for the parents that will be coming in for the Parent Vision Trip (PVT). This is a unique opportunity where racers get to invite their parents to come to a foreign country for about a week and do ministry alongside them. I was excited for the chance for my parents to come see me in Romania!
Before I get to the PVT stuff, just wanted to share that our team had the chance to work with a missionary couple for the past few days leading up to PVT. Everyday, they have a kids program at their house where we get to teach Bible stories, English lessons, and play games with them. Most of these kids have never even heard of Jesus before but they love to listen as we teach them. After lessons our team got to work with the honey bees they had at their house! They use these bees as part of their sustainability as missionaries. They sell the honey when it’s in season and he also breeds queens to sell to other beekeepers. Here I am at work!
Ok, now to PVT! Here are a couple pictures right when they got off the bus!
Here is a picture of us all together!
The first day of ministry we got to go around a local neighborhood and evangelize to people on the street. This was the first time ever that I have done this kind of ministry with my parents so I wasn’t sure exactly how it would go. Those nerves went away really quick as soon as we started talking to people. My parents jumped right in like they have been doing it with me for the last 8 months. It was so awesome to see that. One lady that really touched our hearts was Lilly. As soon as we approached her she invited us inside her gate to talk. We told her who we were and why we were here. She was very responsive and started telling us about all the hard times she was having with health, family, etc. She said it was really hard to see Jesus and know that He was with her during those times. We prayed with her and told her that Jesus is with us even during our darkest times and we as believers have to have faith, even when it seems like all is lost. We talked for almost an hour and loved her and encouraged her. She was in tears by the end of it and said she knows that God sent us there for a reason. My mom ended up giving her a bracelet that a lady from their church in Tyler gave to her and said to give it to somebody that needs prayer and touched your life. It was a simple way to let her know wee are going to keep praying for her. She absolutely loved it! Here are some pictures of our meeting with her.
Here is my mom after giving her the bracelet. You could say she was a little excited…
As we were leaving we invited her to a worship session we were having in the park and she came and brought us peaches! The hospitality of the people here is so awesome to see. After we left we stopped by a group of people on the street and gave them some children’s stories and prayed with them.
The next day we went out of town about 20 minutes to do home visits and deliver food bags to people in need in the community. The one lady that stood out was named Eugenia. She had some health issues she has been dealing with for a long time, she also told us she came home one day and found her 13-year-old son dead after he hung himself in their garden at home. She even showed us the newspaper clipping with his picture. She has been through a lot of turmoil and dark times but through it all, she told us she has never lost her faith in Jesus. It was such an encouragement to hear and overwhelming at the same time. I can only hope I would act the same way. Here we all are together!
The next day we went out and passed out Bibles door to door and to people on the street. After, we went to the local park and did some evangelism to the people there. Most people here say they are Christians but have no idea what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. It can be difficult at times because they can be closed to the idea of Jesus coming to earth to save them, that’s a hard concept for them to grasp. Some even just change the subject after a while and get bored, but that doesn’t stop us from trying.
To finish off the trip, they gave us the day to go explore some castles! The countryside of Romania was beautiful.
The castle in the picture is called Peles castle, we also went to Bran’s castle, also known as “Dracula’s” castle. I put it in quotes because it really isn’t. It’s all just for tourism but it was still cool to see.
That about wraps up Romania! I’m writing to you now from Siem Reap, Cambodia. We got here about 3 days ago and are debriefing with the rest of the squad and resting for a few days before we head out for ministry. This month my team and I are working with a missionary couple doing vacation bible school with the local children! I’m very excited and can’t wait to update you all soon! Thank you so much for reading and for everything you are doing back home to support me. God bless you all.
