Dear Family and Friends,
Today marked the last solar eclipse of this millennium and, of all places, Romania was the best place on the planet to watch it (according to the astronomers). Pastor Bulzan invited me and other missionaries from the church to celebrate the event with his family and friends. What a scream it was to watch all of us with our Ninja Turtle type glasses trying to peer through the clouds! The clouds here in Oradea finally broke about half way through the eclipse and we got a great view of it. The sky did darken around us but not enough to get excited about (I was hoping to see bats start flying). 
The foundation paperwork is FINALLY on its way to the Romanian government. After being properly scolded by the attorney for selecting a name that was “too Christian” (he only has connections with the Minister of Labor where I am sure to get approval….Christian foundations must be approved by the Minister of Religion and that is more difficult and time consuming), I now have the bank account for “New Life for Children”. The program with children that are considered juvenile delinquents will still be called “House of Grace” but we will legally operate as the above name. Praise God….this process is almost complete!!
Another huge praise is that one of my email recipients in Columbia is making a $1,000 contribution to the ministry we have with abandoned babies. I am ecstatic at the receipt of this news! I had no clue how I would pay Esti’s salary for the next few months (I only had one month covered) but I knew God would provide…..and He did! Each day, Esti is amazed at the wonderful work we are watching happen. Her first assignment is to find the legal route of getting the babies out of the hospital. She begins work on September 1st!
Now that Allie is gone, a young woman visiting from Florida for three months will be assuming responsibility for the 8 babies that we work closely with at the hospital. Her name is Abby and she is staying with my pastors/friends, John and Suzie. My goal for her is to make all the babies fat by the time I return in one month!! And, because of the fuss that I have raised about the need for more help, another foundation here has hired a young woman to work with the same 8 babies! I thank God for providing these young women to provide care for His babies!!!
I have received confirmation that Bobby Snyder from California will be joining me for my visit to Charleston. I met Bobby here while he was leading the construction of a new Christian group home. He has graciously agreed to return to Romania and help me with the renovation/construction of the property that I will be given. While we are in Charleston, we will meet with my pastor to discuss a possible construction missions team collaborating with Bobby’s team to renovate the property! I am tooooooooooooo excited about all that is happening!
I have recently discussed with others I have a burden/prayer request that will require a copious amount of help to complete. The young people here are certainly showing signs of revival but there are still a vast number that have had no exposure to the fun side of Christianity. I want to do a New Year’s Eve bash that would house 4,000 people with the goal being to have God bring 2,000 young people into His kingdom. I discussed this with Pastor Bulzan and he didn’t breathe for a few seconds. I went on to explain that we could have ten young Christian bands playing intermittently for 24 hours. After he regained his composure, he politely explained that it would be difficult to find a place to house so many people. I assured him that I was told by many people that the local Sport’s Hall could house such an event. Upon pondering this notion (and realizing I wasn’t going to leave until we had discussed it thoroughly), he told me that if I could get the sponsorship for such an event, he would endorse it as a church event. Please pray that if this is to happen, God will slap me across the face with a clear plan. And, anyone that would like to take part in planning this event, please write me!!
Because I must leave at 7:30 a.m. in the morning to catch a train to Budapest, I am doing my final packing today. Y’all please pray for me as I tie up ends here and try to get everything done for the next month! It really breaks my heart that I have to spend the night in London on my flight over. Poor me, I guess I will have to sacrifice my time by seeing “Phantom of the Opera” or something equally torturous *big sigh here* (Thanks for the birthday money, Daddy….yes, I did save it.)
Because of traveling and readjusting to life, I will not be able to check my email until Saturday. I ask that you kindly not write until after that time. (I am currently receiving about 30 emails per day and it is difficult to catch up when I travel!) Thanks for understanding!!
I just received a phone call from, Marius, a young Romanian friend here. He just got accepted to a college in the US!!! However, he needs to raise $700 for his airfare and be in the US by August 31st. I am a strong advocate of higher education and if any of you feel burdened to help this young man advance his education, please let me know. Marius is an awesome young Christian man that I mentored last year and I am excited to see how God is working in His life.
May God bless each of you and pour His blessings on your life! I will see many of you VERY soon!!!!
Basking in the Son,
Michelle
Posted on August 11th, 1999 by Michelle
Filed under: Michelle's Journal