I just received this update from Cristi, the pastor we worked with in Romania. As you all know, the family there became very dear to me. Since they are your brothers and sisters as well, and since the body must support one another, I'm posting the letter with their prayer and financial needs. God is sooo good. Please keep this fellowship in your constant prayers. They're serving the kingdom in BIG ways! We were only there for a month, but Cristi has been serving the community of Razboieni long before we came, and as you'll read, ministry certainly did not cease after we departed in May.
Love and light,
Kate
From Cristi:
Dear brothers and sisters,
There are a couple of verses in the Bible that seem to describe so beautifully what we are trying to accomplish in Razboieni. Romans 10:14,15 says this:
“How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!””
As you might know, Razboieni is not the neighborhood you would want to live in. As you walk closer to it, you see more and more gypsies, bad boys, fights, cars playing loud gipsy music, old ladies cursing, children arguing and swearing. It would be worldly fair to say that you want to keep as far as possible from this side of the city of Pitesti.
BUT, being a follower of Christ changes your perspectives to 180 degrees. You read these verses and you realize that the people from Razboieni MUST hear the Good News. ALL OF THEM! Children, parents, grandparents, orphans, gypsies, sick, healthy, they MUST be given a chance.
If we don’t persevere in what we were sent to do, then we only did half of our job there. Because not all of them heard that Jesus loves them and wants them desperately and wants to give them a chance. Not every child in Razboieni heard that there is perfect love found in Christ, despite the tough life that they are going through.
I personally used to think that all the neighborhood knew about our program in Razboieni. Until the other day, when we went to pass out flyers for the beginning of the program this school year. I was amazed to see that maybe more than half of the neighborhood didn’t have a clue that we have a children club every Sunday. How can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? That’s when I realized that God wants us to do soooo much more in Razboieni.
They will hear, because we are sent!
Last year, God allowed us to experience these verses so abundantly. Three little girls where dedicated to God by their moms and by our Church, one of the moms is going to be baptized soon; we were able to pass out sandwiches for every child every school day during the whole year; we had a camp with 30 children and 6 pare1nts from Razboieni. And this is just the beginning!
Who knows what He has in store for us this year? We are starting the program TOMORROW! We are not ready for it…GOD IS! We passed out 200 flyers and we are praying for a lot of children to show up.
We know that you have been supporting us in prayer all along. And we need prayer now.
First of all, we would like to share a blessing that God already gave us for this year. The kindergarten’s principle changed. The former one wasn’t very supportive about us using their space. There was no possibility for us to use the space when one of them wasn’t there. So we used to depend on a lady to come and open for us. This involved some restrictions for us. We weren’t able to have extra-meetings with the children during the week anytime we wanted. The new principle is willing to discuss a way to have full access in the building anytime, without depending on somebody. She is open to talk options with us and to support us.
Here are some prayer reasons for the beginning of this year:
· For the moment, we don’t have any budget for this year. We need money for the rent and for the materials we need for the games and lessons. We want to make things more dynamic this year – doing more skits, pantomimes, games, in order to help the children understand the Biblical ideas better. Pray that God would provide every little thing. We know He will :).
Specifically, we need 300$ every month for the rent, and 200$/month for ministry expenses. We haven’t paid our September rent and we still don’t have any money to pay it.
If God gives you the passion to support us with any amount of money, we are sure that it will help us cover our needs. God already has the money in store for us. If you want to give you the church bank account.
Pray for the first program. It needs to be the best so far :). Pray for the children and parents that are going to come, for them to be touched, for the seed to be planted on good soil.
· Pray for the team. We want to pour more of God in us, so that we can pour more of God’s love in the people’s hearts. Pray for health, strength, peace, willingness to serve. Pray that we won’t be affected by satan’s attacks, as they will be many.
In Christ,
Living Hope Family.
