Dear Family and Friends,
My dear husband is playing his guitar and singing praise music as I type this update which makes we want to praise God in this email all the more.
We have been inundated with problems since our last team left and I have not had time to properly give God the glory for the amazing work He did through the team that came over from the Raleigh, NC area.
As you saw a couple of months ago, I sent a photo of the house they came over to put a roofon.There was MUCH work done to include some details like the cross on door of the attic storage area.
We praise The Lord that He held off the rain and the team ended up finishing the roof on the last day. Here is the final product! Nice roof, huh!?!?
The family was so precious and had a cake made to celebrate the team’s hard work. Crina’s father, Ionel, told us the story of how he grew up in a hut with a card board roof and one pair of pants and, with tears in his eyes, how overcome with amazement at how The Lord had provided such a house for him. He kept repeating to us how overwhelmed he was that these foreigners came such a long distance to help him. Each time he said it, it was an awe-filled statement. Of course he now thinks Daniel is the greatest thing since sliced bread (whole wheat, that is!) and I think Daniel’s relationship with him will probably continue for the remainder of our lives!
During our celebration on the last day, something so special happened that the details will forever be etched in mind as one of the most poignant moments during my nine years as a missionary. One of the team members and his wife had purchased a new violin for Ionel’s dad, Crina’s grandfather, because he was once a professional musician playing for weddings and big celebrations. (We all called him grandpa.) He told us it was quite lucrative and continued by explaining how that the attitude towards the Roma because so harsh that a time came during communism when no one sought his talent. When they presented him with the new violin, I felt the warmth pool in my eyes as an enormous toothless grin spread across his worn, leathery skin.
He played with such satisfaction and passion for a time and then Crina’s mother, Mariana, and two of her daughters, began singing praise music as he played. This old icon of folk music cannot read a lick of music but he can play anything that has a tune. They sang a few songs in Romanian and one in their native tongue, Romanii. Daniel and I are excited to hear him play on Sunday when we attend the baptism of Crina’s mother.
God had not forgotten any detail and showed the magnitude of His undying love for an old “gypsy” man that the world had forgotten. When I left that day, he asked for God to bless me and be with me. And He is. He is with and with all of you that have asked him into your hearts as your Savior. Now and forever more. Amen.
Also during the week the team was here, they had the opportunity to meet all four Roma boys that we are sponsoring through our Education Inspiration project. It was such a confirmation to me from the Holy Spirit when I saw them walking down the hill from their village to catch their bus for school all nicely dressed with their backpacks! I pray our ministry will have an impact on them educationally, but, most importantly, I pray we will have an eternal impact on their lives. Please join me in this prayer.
Our last resident of Agape Home left today so the boys will be moving into Agape Home on Sunday night. They will stay during the week and return to their families during the weekends and school breaks. They are all a bit anxious about moving away from home as any young person would be. All four of them are in school to be mechanics and one of the team members left his tools that he used to build a race car. They were all amazed that someone could actually build a race car and we will keep the tools at Agape Home for all of them to use. Alina has spent countless hours this week attending to the details of all our Education Inspiration students. For an average person, it would be quite comical for the tiny details in which they need direction but for children that have grown up in abject poverty in such a remote area, it is absolutely humbling. They need and want Alina’s involvement and we praise The Lord at the relationship of trust they are developing in her. Here they all pictured with our social worker, Alina, in the Town Hall of the village where they live.
The second one from the right, Florin, is fully sponsored now and we have $25 of Gabi’s (far left) monthly needs sponsored and we now need sponsorship for the other two. If you our interested in being a sponsor, please write an email and let me know.
We have a group of 22 people coming from a Christian school in Maryland this Sunday night until next Thursday morning. We ask you to pray for them as they travel from Vienna to Romania on Sunday and for us to godly role models to these teenagers.
I ask you to please pray specifically for me to be healed. Yesterday, after a long walk with our dog, I came into the house and bent over to get a pot out to start dinner. When I turned to put it on the stove, I feel a sharp, stabbing pain in my knee. As y’all probably remember, it is Daniel that has knee problems, not me! I have NEVER had one single issue before and this pain yielded me unable to take even a step for a while. It is still hurting today, not as bad but my walking is quite limited. I am going to wait a few days before seeing a doctor. I really want The Lord to totally heal me from this. As always, thank you for your prayers. We love serving The Lord with you in Romania.
Basking in the Son,
Michelle
