We're so happy to be home and are trying to get rested up for Thanksgiving. We are so blessed and have even more to be thankful for after our time in Romania.
Friday, we had our last Christmas party with Tim and Rodica, who work with FMN, and their family. They both helped us for all of the other parties, and it was their turn to be served! Their kids were so excited as they had waited all week for this! We served them lunch and then the kids did the drama for them. Tim read from the bible the story of the birth of Christ which he had done at all the other parties, in the Gypsy language. They loved it! They loved it even more when Santa showed up! He brought lots of presents which is always fun.
After the party, we went to take them back to their home in Tinca. We were able to deliver a few of the family portraits we had done at the parties. It was such a blessing to see them open up their gift, and have so much pride with their family portrait. More than likely, they've never had a formal portrait, and for them, this is a special gift. When Maria's grandfather saw their family portrait for the first time, he kissed it several times and then put it up to the wall to see how it would look when it was hung. When Anna, her husband and son saw their family portrait, they too seemed to be so proud of their family and their portrait. Kim and I both noticed that Anna had softened in her looks and in her actions since the last time we saw her last January and last November, and that has come from the love and support that she and her family have been shown by Rachel, FMN and many teams. Rachel had told us that when they showed the Jesus film right out in the middle of the village in the summer, Anna was in her car with her and she told Rachel that they hear a lot about Jesus, but watching Rachel and the team that was there the week they showed the film, Anna said she and her neighbors talked and they think this is what Jesus was talking about. She gets it! She wants it! But life in this culture beats them down, but through continued love and support, she has changed so much, and we pray that she and many others will accept Christ, and learn a different way of life, a life in Christ.
For the children and families in Tinca, life is hard. The poverty is unimaginable for most to even understand. The abuse, neglect and abandonment effects almost every family in the village, and this life is all they know as generation after generation have lived this way. Because of the former communist rule and the prejudice against the Roma (Gypsy) people, they merely survive and are considered outcasts, unworthy of love, and even some say they have no souls. It is hard to find work, even if there is a job opening because of the prejudice that exists. In these conditions, how can they even see a ray of hope for change? It is only through love, humanitarian efforts, encouragement and example that this can happen.
We are so thankful for Rachel's heart for the Roma people. She shines His light with all she meets, and it is obvious that God's will for Rachel is to be right where she's at, to love these people, where they are and as they are. Family sponsorship helps to provide the basic necessities for the families, and also allows an open door for Rachel to minister to them. Through the Isaiah Center, child sponsorship provides food, shelter, clothing and medicine for the children in the center. Rachel, Tim, Rodica, and many teams allow these children to see and feel the love they deserve, from us, and from their Father in Heaven. It is through the love and support that they receive, we hope and pray, that they will be the start of a new generation, one with faith and hope, that will be the turning point of a positive change in this culture. We pray too, that as they grow, they will be shining for Jesus in their village, and ministering to others, just as they have been loved and ministered to through FMN and the Isaiah Center.
After our time in the village, we went back to the center and put up the Christmas tree! The kids loved it, and Rachel was just like one of those little kids. She is so excited about their first Christmas at the center. The kids helped to decorate the tree and were in awe when we turned out the lights to see the twinkling white lights on the tree. Abel said to Rachel, "all we need is snow." What a blessing to share this day and the week with all of them!
Through the group fund raising we did for our trip, through many who "adopted" a child for Christmas purchasing gifts or donating money to purchase gifts, and by many who made monetary donations so we could come to Romania, we were not only able to give the gift of the Christmas tree and decorations, but we were able to leave a monetary donation that will provide Christmas for the kids at the center, a refrigerator for Tim and Rodica as they have five children and no refrigerator! It will be a great Christmas gift. Some of the floors are being redone at the center and the money will help to purchase some of the flooring as well. The monetary donation will also be used to purchase reprints of the family portraits and the pictures of the kids with Santa for all of the families we celebrated with.
Please continue to pray for Rachel, for FMN, and for God to send others to work with FMN. A prayer request is for a Romanian social worker to be found and hired to work with FMN, to work with the children and families, and also one that will know the ins and outs of the laws in Romania, as they can be confusing and can be misinterpreted. This is an important position that needs to be filled, so please join us in praying for God to send the one He has for this job.
Please consider partnering with FMN through family and/or child sponsorship, or by a monthly donation to fund the ministry.
The Isaiah Center is in need of socks, for boys and girls, for 9 months and up. In Romania, you can only buy a pair at a time, not in packages like we have here. When the kids are brought to the center in the morning, the first thing that happens is they are bathed and dressed in clean clothes. The clothes them come to the center in are kept separately because of the possibility of lice, which is very typical to have in their living conditions. When it's time to go home for the night, they are dressed in clean, but not as nice of clothes, because the clothes never make it back to the center. As it gets colder, the kids need socks to go home in, and also for when they are at the center. Please consider donating packages of socks that can be taken over by mission teams traveling to Romania. Call or email and we can pick them up (Lois' cell 502/291-7718, or email to lois.wadsworth@yahoo.com)
Rachel would like to build on to the center, an area for storage of the donations of clothes and medical items she receives. For now, space is limited for donations, and the add on storage room will help to keep things more organized and more easily accessible when needed. Consider making a monetary donation towards the building of the storage room.
We'll close for now, and again thank you all for your love, support and prayers. We thank Rachel and Iza for letting us stay with them in their apartment and making us feel right at home. It was a great week!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Kim, Missy and Lois
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