Well, today was our last full day in Romania. We have had an absolutely fantastic time... This morning, both our team and the Romanian staff commented on how blessed we were to experience such unity, teamwork, and camaraderie during our short time together. We will always remember and cherish our dear brothers and sisters in Christ. We are also very thankful for the abundance of spiritual fruit reaped during our time at the orphanages.
We had our last lunch at the ministry center, and Mama Maria ended a terrific week of culinary success with musaka. It is a tantalizing combination of scalloped potatoes, herbs, cheese, and ground beef...all piping hot out of the oven. Awesome.
New prayer requests: please pray for stamina and strength tomorrow as we fly back to Texas via Amsterdam and Detroit. It will truly be a marathon and we anticipate quite a bit of down-time in Michigan. May we be patient, gracious, and have a great time...for the last time as a team.
Thank YOU for your involvement in this whole process. It has been such a comfort knowing that the prayers of the saints are going before us as we prepared for each day. The success of this trip can be attributed to the hard work of the team, your faithful support, and (most importantly) the power and strength of our great God.
Pa (bye)!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Day 5-6: Encouragement
Hello everyone! I apologize for not blogging yesterday. A lot has been going on these last few days. Aside from playing "duck, duck, goose" in Romanian, eating platefuls of sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls; awesome!), and playing football (i.e., soccer) with (far better) 10-11 year olds, we have really been making an effort to encourage one another to help us work through our physical weariness and fatigue.
Yesterday we were encouraged with huge fruit at our afternoon orphanage. Our staff guide Florina told us that for the first time in over ten years, the kids asked the staff questions about Jesus (not the other way around)! After hearing our five-minute skit about Jesus saying "let the little children come to me," the kids were curious, allowing Florina to lead them in a great conversation about faith in Jesus (not just intellectual belief in God). Praise the Lord! Your prayers are yielding fruit.
Tonight we were encouraged by visiting a Romanian church's college small group. It was a terrific time of fellowship, eclairs, prayer, laughter, and...well, eclairs (they were really good). We realized that there are Christians across the globe that are facing the same challenges as we do: community outreach, alcohol, and balancing the responsibilities of school, work, and church.
Thank you for encouraging us with YOUR PRAYERS.
Yesterday we were encouraged with huge fruit at our afternoon orphanage. Our staff guide Florina told us that for the first time in over ten years, the kids asked the staff questions about Jesus (not the other way around)! After hearing our five-minute skit about Jesus saying "let the little children come to me," the kids were curious, allowing Florina to lead them in a great conversation about faith in Jesus (not just intellectual belief in God). Praise the Lord! Your prayers are yielding fruit.
Tonight we were encouraged by visiting a Romanian church's college small group. It was a terrific time of fellowship, eclairs, prayer, laughter, and...well, eclairs (they were really good). We realized that there are Christians across the globe that are facing the same challenges as we do: community outreach, alcohol, and balancing the responsibilities of school, work, and church.
Thank you for encouraging us with YOUR PRAYERS.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Day 4: A Greater Understanding
Today was a very different day for our team. Flexibility was in high demand as we were switched multiple times in our orphanage assignments, eventually splitting up into three separate groups throughout the course of the day. Through it all, however, I believe that the team WAS strengthened. One team member put it something like this: "The Lord knew who needed to be at each orphanage. This group would be better here, while that group would be more effective there." We've gained new understandings of each team member's strengths and unique gifts they bring to the table. Tomorrow we'll be able to put it all together with our first full-team orphanage visit. I'm really anticipating a big performance. Please pray, however, that we DO NOT RELY ON OUR STRENGTH, BUT SOLELY ON THE LORD'S. All depends on Him. Very little is actually accomplished by us.
Tonight was the worship night for Children to Love. We sang praises to our God in English and broken Romanian, and several members of the group shared their testimony. I pray that our testimonies would be an encouragement to the Romanian staff (that what they're doing matters), would open new doors for witnessing (several children were present at the worship night), and (most of all) that people would be saved. I hope you will pray these things as well.
Tonight was the worship night for Children to Love. We sang praises to our God in English and broken Romanian, and several members of the group shared their testimony. I pray that our testimonies would be an encouragement to the Romanian staff (that what they're doing matters), would open new doors for witnessing (several children were present at the worship night), and (most of all) that people would be saved. I hope you will pray these things as well.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Day 3: A Cultural Orientation
Today was a long, tiring, but definitely rewarding day. In the morning, our team went on a scavenger hunt in a busy marketplace. We were charged with finding and buying a variety of items (a nail, a chocolate bar, a bag of maggots, etc.) for under 10 Lei (about 3 U.S. dollars) at the marketplace in under 1 hour. It was a great time to experience the real Bucharest culture and to actually see/do what a typical Romanian would see/do on any given day.
After a brief lunch under "the golden arches," it was off to the orphanages. It was absolutely mind-boggling to see how excited these children were just to see us. They wanted to talk to us even though both parties knew a conversation wouldn't really be possible. Tonight we talked about trust and the idea of having faith that God can use seeds planted in a 5 minute skit to bring about significant change over time. We must trust that He will do it, even when we do not immediately see fruit or get to reap it in person (although this could certainly happen). Thank you for your prayers. They are certainly helping. Please pray for GOOD REST tonight and help in PROCESSING the concepts and truths God is revealing to us.
After a brief lunch under "the golden arches," it was off to the orphanages. It was absolutely mind-boggling to see how excited these children were just to see us. They wanted to talk to us even though both parties knew a conversation wouldn't really be possible. Tonight we talked about trust and the idea of having faith that God can use seeds planted in a 5 minute skit to bring about significant change over time. We must trust that He will do it, even when we do not immediately see fruit or get to reap it in person (although this could certainly happen). Thank you for your prayers. They are certainly helping. Please pray for GOOD REST tonight and help in PROCESSING the concepts and truths God is revealing to us.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Days 1-2: Great Start; Greater Things To Come
Bună, and greetings from sunny Bucharest! We have indeed arrived safely in Romania after a smooth flight via Amsterdam (all 11 hours of it!). Today we had a wonderful day of sight-seeing, visiting castles in the heart of a snow-covered forest and taking a breathtaking gondola ride up the side of a mountain! We spent the day with two members of the Children to Love International staff, and we are already so grateful for their extraordinary friendliness, extensive Romanian knowledge, and awe-inspiring passion for the Lord. We are already feeling very comfortable with them and even more comfortable with our McKinney team. Great bonding!
A few things to pray about: first, please pray that we will take the time to soak in as much information from the Romanian staff as possible. Also, we start our first orphanage visits tomorrow (we start at 7:15 A.M.). Please pray that we are physically (i.e., enough sleep; jet lag adjustment) and spiritually prepared (i.e., being intentional about carving out time for prayer and Bible reading) in entering this very important mission. May we start the trip well!
Last order of business: if you have not been receiving e-mail updates from Erin Frazier (McKinney Students Student Ministries Administrative Assistant), please send Curt Sparkman (our College Pastor here on the trip) an e-mail at curt@mckinneystudents.com.
Thank the Lord for His answers to prayer! May God continue to bless your prayers.
A few things to pray about: first, please pray that we will take the time to soak in as much information from the Romanian staff as possible. Also, we start our first orphanage visits tomorrow (we start at 7:15 A.M.). Please pray that we are physically (i.e., enough sleep; jet lag adjustment) and spiritually prepared (i.e., being intentional about carving out time for prayer and Bible reading) in entering this very important mission. May we start the trip well!
Last order of business: if you have not been receiving e-mail updates from Erin Frazier (McKinney Students Student Ministries Administrative Assistant), please send Curt Sparkman (our College Pastor here on the trip) an e-mail at curt@mckinneystudents.com.
Thank the Lord for His answers to prayer! May God continue to bless your prayers.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Pre-Trip Thoughts
Hello!
If you're here, first of all, THANK YOU for your partnership in this Romania mission! I'm guessing you are a friend or family member of someone on the trip, so let me start off by saying that your support and prayers have ALREADY made such a difference...before we've even left the U.S. Thank you, thank you, and please keep it up!
The pre-trip process is flying by! Our college pastor Curt has gone over packing lists, warned about cultural faux pas, and prepared us for the red-tape and logistics of international travel. Right now, we are all trying to juggle the demands of school, our mission trip responsibilities, and our excitement about the trip which gets closer each day.
What an exciting time! Please pray for wisdom in balancing all of these tasks. May we be physically prepared to travel to Bucharest AND spiritually poised and alert for our week abroad.
I'll be sure and keep you all updated along the way!
If you're here, first of all, THANK YOU for your partnership in this Romania mission! I'm guessing you are a friend or family member of someone on the trip, so let me start off by saying that your support and prayers have ALREADY made such a difference...before we've even left the U.S. Thank you, thank you, and please keep it up!
The pre-trip process is flying by! Our college pastor Curt has gone over packing lists, warned about cultural faux pas, and prepared us for the red-tape and logistics of international travel. Right now, we are all trying to juggle the demands of school, our mission trip responsibilities, and our excitement about the trip which gets closer each day.
What an exciting time! Please pray for wisdom in balancing all of these tasks. May we be physically prepared to travel to Bucharest AND spiritually poised and alert for our week abroad.
I'll be sure and keep you all updated along the way!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
