October 8, 2016 Update

The month of September has been a good one; we began the month with a team retreat to Bulgaria. There we were able to spend more time with one another outside of the context of ministry and Brad was giving some teaching about the importance of unity and building good relationships with one another. This, he was saying, is critical for the people of God because disunity is the main way that the devil attacks the church. It was a beneficial time.

The school year began on September 15, so ever since then the routine of going to Chiselet for the Kindergarten has begun again. You can see some photos by following this link: Chiselet Kids Program Photos.

I can see that the people in Chiselet have been really glad for my involvement there, they’re glad for my willingness to come and to serve. I can see a lot of ways that the ministry there can grow and I want to see what my part is in helping them grow. Certainly Chiselet has some material needs to be filled, so I want to look into providing more resources for the ministry, especially the kindergarten-- puzzles, books, educational games-- things that are not in large supply there. It’s nice to be in contact again with the same kids each week, especially since the Summer felt like I was always here and then there, never consistently in the same place.

When the year began I had my own plans in mind about what I might do in Calarasi, how long I would stay, yet didn’t know specifically what I would be doing or what to expect. I have seen the realization of involvement with the Kindergarten, and teenage girls in the area, and it has been good. Over the course of the last two years or so God has begun to show me some ministry needs besides Romania including local ministries in the U.S. that reach out to many different internationals. I know he has directed me to continue my education, which I have been doing through Moody Bible Institute, and I plan to continue towards that goal in the coming years.

The reason I bring all this up is before coming here I had it in mind to come to Romania for about a year and over the course of that year be praying for the Lord’s direction. I knew that he could guide me to stay in Romania or lead me elsewhere. There were people who advised me to continue my education because of that possibility of life taking us in many directions, and having more education would be beneficial toward being prepared for more of life and not just one setting. I don’t know where God is guiding at this point, but I’ve seen some events take place in my life that will require some sorting through from home. I spent months of prayer over this question of when to come home, and for several reasons, including my finances and my family being together for Thanksgiving, I chose to return in November.

I have been communicating with Brad and Nora about all these things in the process as well and was looking for the wisdom and advice of people who are mentors to me, so it wasn't an isolated choice. I would appreciate your continued prayers regarding future direction for me and how I can continue being a blessing to the work that's going on here.

July and August 2016 Update

    July was a full month with three trips, to Arad for a friend’s graduation, to Tirana, Albania, for a missions trip with Illyricum Movement, and a trip to Baia Mare with my friend Lydia whom I know from Chinese Christian Church of Milwaukee (CCCM), and a family from Betel Romanian Church in Chicago. These trips were a time of encouragement for me because I got to be involved in ministry in other contexts, and it was a change of pace and a change of scenery for me. All three trips provided some welcomed mountain scenery and in Albania I got to go to a baptism/beach day in the Adriatic Sea with members from Disciple’s church.

    I was also encouraged to connect with people from Woodridge Community Church (in New Berlin, WI), and some people that Pastor Chu from CCCM visited earlier in the year. The purpose of my Albania trip was to be a part of the kids’ camp that took place at Disciple’s Church.

    While in Baia Mare I had the opportunity my abilities in Romanian in a new light. I found myself translating for my friend Lydia, and the Tamasan family expressed to me their surprise at how well I do in the language and their appreciation for the work I am doing here in Calarasi. We were holding an English camp and a VBS in two separate villages. I got to see how good Lydia is at multi-cultural situations, and how not being able to speak the language didn’t stop her from diving right in. That’s good because she’s planning to go into tribal missions through New Tribes and her ability to connect with people despite the language gap and learn phrases from them will be important for her. Seeing the close friendship between Lydia and the Tamasan family was also really awesome to me.

    I enjoyed my time leading the girls ministry in Roseti with Zoica. I didn’t know what to expect, certainly I felt a little overwhelmed beforehand about taking on this responsibility, but with God’s help I made it through and enjoyed connecting with the girls in a new way. When Amber came back we threw her a surprise party since I could see how much the girls missed her while she was away.

    The end of July and most of August were kind of a series of  miscellaneous ministry events, which is pretty typical for OH Summers. There were teams from Vienna, Norway, a camping trip with the youth ministries in the area (Chiselet, Oltenita, Chirnogi, Roseti, Calarasi, Bogata), a trip to the Black Sea with kids from Caramidari and the visiting team from Norway, and now the entire OH team is nearly done with a much needed two week vacation.

    For me vacation means I indulging my nerdy side. I got a break from people and constant events, so I took advantage of the time to study for my College Writing course that just begun and to work on learning Mandarin Chinese. I’ve also gotten to sleep in every day, so it has been great! As for learning Chinese, I began some months ago, maybe March or April, but wasn’t able to find a good method until more recently. When learning Romanian I was able to depend a lot on reading and writing, but with Chinese it’s important to work on hearing and speaking first, adding reading and writing later. The reason for this is that you have a separate character for each word and focusing on that loses the overall patterns of speech, bogs you down and makes the process discouraging. I’ve found that Spotify actually has a lot of audible lessons in many languages, and that forming basic conversations with a native speaker helps tremendously.

    I have ample opportunity to use Chinese since there’s a pretty special Taiwanese guy I keep in touch with who can tell me if I’m saying things correctly and teach me new vocabulary. Last week I talked to his family through a video call and they were surprised that I could say a few things to them and I felt pretty pleased to understand a few words from their conversation such as you, yours, I, mine, that, thank you, no, dad, mom, brother, sister, and want. But mostly I rely on translation.

    In the coming month I’m looking forward to a trip that some of the OH staff are taking to Bulgaria, and then schools here will begin. I plan to continue my involvement in the Chiselet After-School program and Kindergarten. I have some extra money that was given me so I want to buy materials for the Kindergarten. They don’t have many story books, games, craft supplies or activities for the younger kids, so I want get them good materials for the future.

    Since it looks like my time here is coming to a close I want to focus on giving the kids something that is more difficult for the locals to offer such as English classes, arts, crafts and such activities. This works because I come just two days each week and Alina teaches them the other three days, so my involvement would offer a variety that the kids aren’t normally receiving. The kindergarten class can vary from one to fifteen kids, from my experience, so I never know what to expect, but I’ve found it’s extremely helpful to do a lot of preparation beforehand.

    I ask you to pray that God will lead me in his perfect will because the unexpected happens frequently and the plans I make for the future seem always to need adjustment or to be put aside entirely. Much has happened that was unexpected this year, and I want His guidance to be evident, and I want to follow that guidance with confidence. I know God will lead me because He is faithful and He has never failed to guide me. Also pray for the ministries that are beginning this Fall, that this will be a very blessed time, that I will be able to pace myself well, not take on too much while also not wasting my time. Pray also for the people that God brings across my paths, that they will see Christ’s love and care reflected through his people, that they will know our Lord and how good he is to those who love him.

June 23 Update

I left off in my last post by describing some of what my Summer will consist. Here I will also share with you some photos of the Kindergarten and After-School Program in Chiselet as well as some scenes of Romania, etc. if you follow this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/k94okb3ncq4fvnx/AAC_ZTL-NwOOZ6SAGo4HOHAua

In addition to leading a girls' ministry in Roseti I will be taking three trips in the month of July. The first will be to Arad and through other parts of Romania for four days. This will be for the graduation of a colleague/friend here at Outstretched Hands. I will be traveling with her, her family, and my roommate. We will get the opportunity to see some of Romania's scenic sights in this trip, so I'm looking forward to that.

I will be taking a trip to Albania for a week to join a ministry called Illyricum Movement that my church, Waukesha City Church, and my parents' church, Woodridge Community Church, have ties with. I will be helping with a kids' camp, so it is similar to what I do here in Romania during the Summer, but I don't know any of their language. I'm looking forward to make connections with the people there and hopefully that will also be a good opportunity to tell my home church a little more about the ministry there from another perspective, even if they may have heard about it before. This will increase my expenses between air travel, hotel, and food, but I think it's worth it.

I am planning also to visit Northern Romania because a friend of mine who is studying at New Tribes Bible Institute and whom I met at Chinese Christian Church of Milwaukee will be in the Baia Mare area with friends of hers from Bethel Romanian Baptist Church in Chicago. I will probably spend a week there and be involved with one or two VBSs they will be conducting. I would also like on this trip to make a stop in Arad to connect with a pastor there that I heard about through an older gentleman that I met at the Chinese church. The nice thing about traveling by bus in Romania is it doesn't cost much, and for this trip most other expenses or arrangements such as food and lodging will be handled by the family from Bethel church.

I can't say I know what to expect for these trips, but July will be pretty busy for me with all of that and leading the girls' ministry in Roseti. I really want to use these opportunities to network with other believers who are involved serving the Lord through missions. You can keep these things in your prayers as well, that God will work, that I will be an encouragement to others, that these travels will be an encouragement to me as well, and I will be able to pace myself well between all these things.

June 22 Update

Tension. That's one word that in part describes my Romanian abilities. Sometimes I surprise myself by doing something I didn't know I could do, like teaching a kindergarten, yet other times I feel a little lost with the language, especially during a long sermon or with those who don't speak clearly. Usually I understand what's happening around me, but then I might miss that one, all important word or expression upon which the meaning of the sentence or conversation hinges. Situations where my native language is almost useless are mentally exhausting, and yet I enjoy them. Listening closely becomes key, then, to understanding my surroundings or the conversations and atmosphere around me. I think this is the reason I sometimes lose energy faster than expected.

Probably most beneficial to my language growth has been my times in Chiselet because there I use a lot less English than where I live in Calarasi. Each week I have been staying in Chiselet for two days to teach at the kindergarten in the church's after-school program, and also spending another morning of the week to sit in on the kindergarten class at the Hope Centre here in town to observe what happens there. In Chiselet the only times I use English is with a couple of people who practice their English with me or when practicing English with the kids. I seem to have a differnt personality while in Chiselet because I listen to what's happening around me rather than interacting as much.

Many have asked if I have been teaching the kids about the Bible or sharing the Gospel with them. The answer is both yes and no. Usually there are others who are presenting the Bible teaching each day, but I will typically have my kindergarten class pray together before we begin the lesson. Also, teaching the kids to speak kindly and to treat each other well are a practical side of biblical teaching. These kids still need to learn what it looks like to live out the will of God in our lives, that is how to love each other, how to respect each other, and how to be obedient. Yes, we're helping them gain an education, but central to all that we do is Christ.

Summer season has just begun for us here at Outstretched Hands because school here in Romania has just finished. So no more kindergarten until the Fall, but rather Summertime events and activities such as tent events, and kids clubs. Summer is also the busy season for Short Term Missions, so we have a lot more visitors this time of year.

This Summer the lady who normally leads several girls' ministries in the villages is visiting her family in Pennsylvania for two months, so I'll be leading the girls' minsitry in Roseti while she's away. Teaching the kindergarten has been a preparation for this, I now have the experience of preparing lessons in another language, finding resources, activities or whatever is necessary to prepare a beneficial time for those to whom I minister. I will not be going to Roseti by myself, but will be accompanied by someone who is bi-lingual, not so much for translation as to have someone there who will fill in the blanks of my understanding. This, I feel, is important especially for teenage girls since they have more complex issues to sort through than a five year old from the kindergarten. 

Please be praying for this ministry as it will certainly stretch and challenge me. I'm thankful for the opportunity as well because it's the kind of challenge that will require me to be curious about the language, to keep asking questions, and keep studying to be able to express the ideas I want to communicate.

I will have to write a secone part to this update, but for now this will do. When I write the other one, I will provide you with some pictures as well so you can have something visual to refer to.

About (some of) those with whom I work

Kirsty, my Irish friend who busks, draws, and teaches children

Recently some of the team members of Outstretched Hands took a trip to northern Romania for the wedding of Eci and Roxana Biro. This was a very nice time for me personally because I got to travel through the mountains and see some old cities where you can see more of the history of this country.

Typically when I write I tell you about the people we reach out to as a team, so I thought today I would write more about some of those with whom I work here in Romania, or have worked with in the past.

This picture on the left is of me with my friend Kirsty. She came just for the wedding, but I know her from my last two trips to Romania. She is not only a good friend that I keep in touch with, but also very multi-talented. I would say that many of her interests line up with my own, so it's helpful having someone with whom I can talk about art, someone with whom to brainstorm about teaching the kindergartners in Chiselet, etc. Not to mention she's just loads of fun. She is leaving today, so who knows when I'll see her next, but I was happy to spend a few days with her.

Ghiuler and Mirela

Here is a photo of Ghiuler and Mirela. Ghiuler is from the neighborhood of Caramidari and her testimony is a rather fantastic one. When the O.H. team first began to know her she wouldn't smile, she wouldn't talk or open up, she wouldn't let you hug her, etc. She was sent to beg on the streets, her family would beat her, etc. After the passing of years she is an entirely different person. She knows Christ now, she lives in Chiselet and hosts me each week for two days in her room and makes sure I have food and am comfortable. She's a very good hostess, and she's very sweet. She still hasn't learned to read much, but she is a transformed young lady.

Mirela is a lady who studied in Bucharest for a degree (I can't remember for what off-hand), but God brought her back to her own village of Chiselet. There she takes part in leading worship in the church, she leads a girls' meeting each week with teenage girls from the village, and she pours her heart out through the week serving the kids who come to the church for homework. She coaches with homework, gives them showers and clean clothing when they come covered in dirt, etc. She is a joy to be around. Be praying for her because she has chronic pain that makes it harder to work or to get through the day. There is a possibility that this could be fixed with a surgery, but we still don't know that for certain.

This is Chrystal, my roommate. She is from California and is a nurse. She is very involved here and is working to begin a medical cabinet here in town along with some other nurses and a doctor who are on the O.H. team. She is a really cool person to know and I feel that I'm learning a lot from her. She's also really fun to travel with because she is an adventurer and explores new places. So when the Common Joe would want to go sit at a restaurant or shop at the mall, Chrystal is the one who walks down another road and discovers it on her own. She also knows how to separate from the crowd a little way and enjoy a scene in silence just looking around and listening. She also has a big heart for God, a big heart to serve people with her medical knowledge, and she urges me to be competitive when playing any kind of a game, which is not my norm.

In short, these are some of the many people with whom I interact regularly and it's a joy to be here with them.

April 2016 Update

I want to begin today's update with a big thank you to all of you who have had any part in my coming here. Thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement, and practical assistance. I couldn't be here without all the people who have taken a part in this mission with me.

Coming to Romania again has been a big blessing for me, although I also felt the pain of saying goodbye before I came here. I have also missed being near to some of the people with whom I've recenlty built good relationships at Waukesha City Church where I attend, and at Chinese Christian Church of Milwaukee where I've been going to a Bible study each week. I enjoy thoroughly being with the people here, speaking the Romanian language and eating Romanian fare all the time.

Towards the end of March I was able to take part in the Pro-Life March here in Calarasi and also in Oltenita, a town about an hour away. The actual events were just a few hours on two separate days, but I spent the week prior making posters and banners for the event. I couldn't have done it without the help of some local girls who came and helped me paint through the week. Actually, these girls are local high school girls and most of them are not really involved in the ministry here and don't really speak English. So I was realizing how big a blessing it is to have prior experience here, to know of people I can ask out of the blue to help me with a project, and do it all in another language.

There were probably about 200 people present at the march in Calarasi and possibly closer to 500 at the one in Oltenita. Many of those present in Oltenita were Orthodox priests, so it's encouraging to see people coming together to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

A challenge for me has actually been the language because often I search for the words to express a thought and can't find the Romanian vocabulary to do so. If I have to talk about an object that and don't know what it's called, or if I want to express some deeper thoughts that go beyond typical conversation it becomes doubly difficult to speak easily. I also have times where I don't understand people because of slang or speaking really fast. Sermons are long and are littered with new vocabulary, so even if I understand the idea of the message, I will lose a lot of information due to the language gap. This is just evidence that I need to challenge myself with Romanian, continue asking how to say things, ask what some word means, continue studying in my free time, and putting myself in situations where I am forced to use the language.

I had my brother with me for the last week and a half. He visited me after finishing staffing the Bible School of the Nations through YWAM in Tanzania for the last eight months. It was a pleasure to have him here, to spend time with him, etc. This also gave me the experience of translating between Romanian and English. I'm not a good translator, but this way there was some understanding rather than none. Officially, translating is hard work and I now have a deeper respect for those who do it regularly for meetings, church services, visiting teams, etc.

There were many benefits to having my brother here with me. I learned a few Swahili words from him, heard about the things God is doing in Tanzania and Zanzibar, received a few gifts that he bought me, and most importantly I got to see some of the ways his relationship with Christ has grown. My friendship with my baby brother is such a blessing. He also got to experience the team that was visiting from Norway consisting mostly of Philipino students from a Bible school in Oslo. One of the girls on that team told us that when she found out that we're brother and sister she cried because she doesn't have a good relationship with her brother and he's been in and out of jail. So we prayed with her that God will bring her brother to himself and restore the relationship between this brother and sister.

In two weeks Outstretched Hands will be holding a Pro-Life conference, so be praying that it goes well, that awareness of this issue will grow, that the peoples' mindset toward this issue will change, and that people will begin to value the lives of the unborn.

I am finding opportunities to be involved in the lives of young girls in the area who need one on one relationships with someone who can challenge them and who has a good relationship with Christ. They need the encouragement to make their faith their own, to make their walk with God personal and not let it consist soley in more and more church meetings, etc. So please also be praying for that, that I will have wisdom and be able to speak into their lives in spite of not always having the words I want to speak to them on the tip of my tongue.

Pray also for me that I will understand God's direction on my life in the following months. Often the decisions we make today become formative for our lives in the long run, so pray that I will understand clearly where and with whom he would have me be.

Back in Romania: March 9

I've now been in Romania for about a week and I have really been enjoying my time here. I have not jumped into ministry right away, but it was suggested that I start up again slowly and ease into ministry. This is nice for me because this gives me the chance to catch up with people I've not seen in over a year and a half.

Sometime soon I will be having a talk with the director of Outstretched Hands of Romania, Brad Hayes, and we'll be talking about what my role and responsibilites will be in the ministry during my time here. We talked briefly about this the other day, but since it was his day off we didn't go into much detail. What I can tell you at this point is that I will probably have some responsibilities regarding supplies and I will have the opportunity to give some art lessons to kids. I will largely be working in other locations besides Calarasi and the neighborhood of Caramidari.

So this week I've been catching up with people and yesterday that meant visiting the Hope Centre in Caramidari. I am really amazed by how many of the kids remember me, which also means they were all asking me to draw their portraits as I have done in the past. I think I drew the faces of six kids and then the face of one of the team members who volunteers at the Hope Centre. There were others who wanted to be drawn, but it takes awhile to draw each portrait and eventually it was time to send the kids home.

I want to ask for your prayers that God will give direction about how to spend my time here, how to be most effective, and that he would allow me to bless others. I also want to ask you to pray that God will give me direction for my life in the bigger picture, where he is directing my life in the distant future. Also, pray for good relationships with the team members, clear communication and unity. Pray for some of the girls I know here, Bianca, Ana, and Ghiuler in particular. I'm thanking God as well for two very good roommates, Chrystal and Kelsey. Here in Romania it is already Spring, so this has really contributed to me having a good mood. I love walking down the road and smelling the flowers and seeing the villagers getting their gardens ready. It's the simple things in life, you know?