Life For Romania

Discipling Nations in the Classroom

2011-05-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

After a long time of praying and thinking about how to further my education I decided to apply to become a teacher here in Romania. Through a very long process of gathering the right papers and documents I was accepted into a certificate program that will enable me to teach English to 1st through 10th graders here in Romania. My goal was to get some experience in the Romanian educational system, get some training in teaching, and to obtain some recognized accreditation for teaching here in Romania (which will be helpful for working with the children here).

For the practical phase of this course I have been doing classroom observations in one of the high schools here in Constanta and it has been a very good experience! I was disappointed not to be observing a primary school classroom but spending time at the high school has been so inspiring! I was so impressed by the ability and knowledge of many of the students and the values of the teacher who is mentoring me. I was reminded that high school is such an important time in a young person's life. They can be influenced for good or bad and there is such an opportunity to make a difference in their lives during this time. And good teachers have such a special opportunity to do this.

But the situation for schools and teachers in Romania is not an easy one. There is very little money available and if you are a teacher you are not making very much at all. So many struggle to make ends meet but still they are there day after day investing in young lives! I admire you teachers so much! Today I was with a friend of mine, Andreea, who is a teacher in a small city about an hour and a half from Constanta. Most of the students are coming from poorer families and the school doesn't seem to have very much in the way of resources either. They seem to have a good team of teachers, but still the challenges are there. Many of the students are not motivated to learn and I can see that they are in need of discipline, role models, and someone to listen to them and believe in them.

My friend is pouring out all that she can every day to share hope with these young people and to do whatever she can to motivate them to learn. They need more than just English but lessons about how to live. This is what we call "discipling nations". This is what Jesus commanded his disciples to do when he left the earth to go back to the Father. He said, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and to teaching them to do everything I have comanded." Jesus taught us how to live and the world so desperately needs to know. My friend loves the Lord and she loves her students. Every day she is doing her best to teach them what Jesus taught her and I am so impressed! But she is fighting an up hill battle and I want to ask you to pray for her, and for other teachers who are giving so much to the young people of Romania. They need our support and encouragement and wisdom from God. Many people long to see the educational system changed here in Romania and I am praying that God's people will be a part of this.

We can also pray for this next generation that is growing up with all kinds of negative influences. Pray that each one of us will be a support and model for the young people around us and that they will be raised up to make a difference in this world! May they come to know their Father God, through Jesus, and His purpose for their lives and then really live life as it was meant to be: Loving God and their neighbors as themselves. This will change society. This will change a nation!

A chance for life- A story about Ramona and her baby

2011-01-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

Today was an incredible day. One that I never would have expected. Over 8 years ago when I was visiting Constanta for the first time and working with street children, I met a girl named Ramona. She came regularly to the soup kitchen ministry that YWAM organized weekly and she was a sweet little girl. The next time I visited Romania in 2004 I got to know Ramona and her sister better and learned more about the challenges they faced in their families and that dangers that surrounded them everyday at home and on the street. They were coming to YWAM's Day Center regularly but it was clear that they needed more care and a safe place to live. So the dream was born for a Girls Shelter that would offer these sweet girls a home and stability.

Unfortunately before the Girls Shelter was available, Ramona and her sister stopped coming to the Day Center and also left their home. For years they survived on and off the street and in abandoned buildings and centers for street children. Our street ministry continued to meet them on the street and kept up the relationships until they started coming to a Bible Study for the homeless. For a few more years Ramona was invested in, as a special group of young people who wanted to know God and see some changes in their lives.

About 4 months ago we found out that Ramona and her sister were both pregnant. Immediately we started working on their legal papers and got them to the doctor for a check up. There was a lot of excitement at first and then the girls stopped showing up for appointments. While I was in the States for the holidays I found out that Ramona had given birth at 7 and 1/2 months. Our YWAM staff went to visit her in the hospital and then I heard nothing more about her or the baby. Had she kept the baby or had she abandoned her?

When I got back to Romania at the beginning of the year we went to Ramona and she told us that she had left the baby at the hospital. The place she was staying it was not terrible but she didn't want to bring the baby there, with so many people staying there and coming in a out. They didn't have a kitchen or indoor plumbing. It was just a room of an abandoned building they had cleaned up and made into a home. In a way I could understand Ramona. But how could she just leave her baby?

We went to hospital to visit the baby and on our third visit we made it in to see her. The baby girl was precious, but so alone. She needed her mother. We tried to think of families that might want to adopt her, or solutions through foster parents, and we prayed. Then the most wonderful door opened. A family was willing to take Ramona and her baby on and help them get on their feet. When I heard about this, I have to admit, I was doubtful. Would Ramona even be open for this?

When we shared with Ramona the possibility of her having a place to staff with her baby she was so excited! I was shocked! (In a good way ;) ) So we had a meeting with the family and Ramona and her boyfriend, the father of the baby. They were all so pleased with the situation. Ramona would have a chance for a new life and her little baby would no longer be stuck, alone in the hospital.

Finally, today I went to hospital first to find out what was the process for a mother to declare her baby and take her home. I was sent to the social worker in charge of abandoned babies and I started to get a little nervous. What if they wouldn't let her pick up the baby??? Trust, Leah, trust. After talking with the social worker, I knew what we had to do. We returned to the hospital a couple hours later with a very excited mother and father.

The social worker was waiting for us and gave us the go ahead. We headed to the room where the baby was and then began the one of the greatest moments of my time here in Romania. Ramona was so excited to see the baby. It had been two months since she gave birth and she had forgotten what the baby looked like. Both her and the father were all smiles at the sight of their precious baby. And it seemed to me that the baby knew exactly who these two people were. I just can't express the incredible feeling that I had, just seeing this baby, once abandoned, back in the arms of her parents. And the joy that was on Ramona's face was overwhelming. Mother and daughter were together again. It was just the way it should be.

My base leader said I was flying after our time in the hospital. And it was true. I had always wanted to adopt and everything about taking in a child without a family, touches my heart so much. But today, seeing this sweet baby girl back with her mother, who was so overjoyed to have her back, was a brand new feeling. It was redemption! Lives being given back and a chance for a new future. It was amazing...

And now comes the hard part. Ramona is now with the family and is already having a hard time. The house is beautiful. She has everything she needs. But everything she knows is not there and she wants to go back. So I ask you to pray. To pray for her to have the strength to stay and be the mother that she is called to be. Pray that the family will have the wisdom to know how to help her adjust. And pray that both mother and baby will adjust into this brand new life.

YWAM Romania National Conference

2010-10-12T00:58:00.000-07:00

In September our base hosted YWAM Romania’s National Conference. I now have a whole new appreciation for those who organize conferences and events! J But it was really wonderful to serve YWAM Romania staff and to have these days together here in Constanta. We had a special time of sharing and saying goodbye to our very dear friend and National leader Beatrice Simion who died in August two weeks after a terrible car accident. It was a really emotional time but so good to share it together with so many who were impacted by her life.

The conference speaker was a man from Germany who encouraged us to embrace the “Jesus anointing” of Isaiah 61 and to continue to reach out to the broken and needy that Jesus loves so much and longs to restore. It was a great and very needed message to hear! We also had a time of prayer for new ministry initiatives. I was really encouraged to receive prayer for Kids Club and whatever God has in mind for the future with kids ministry.

These national event are always such a blessing and bring such a sense of family as we seek the Lord together. In October we will have a special prayer meeting to seek God for a national vision for YWAM Romania. I can't wait to see how God moves as He unites His people more and more...

Another blessing that came from having the conference in Constanta was having our friends from the cafe ministry join us. I could see that God used the speaker's words to confirm what He is doing in many of their lives. I am so glad they were able to be blessed in this way through the conference. Keep praying for God to raise up His people from Romania to go to the lost! They are truly called to be a light to the nations!

Please pray :)

2010-09-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

"Ask of God, not deliverance from your pains, but strength to bear resolutely, for the love of Him, all that he should please, and as long as He shall please. Such prayers, indeed, are a little hard to nature, but most acceptable to God, and sweet to those that love Him. Love sweetens pains; and when one loves God, one... suffers for His sake with joy and courage."

I'm sorry I can't remember where I read this quote but I had it written down on a piece of paper and I wanted to share it. Please pray for this family we know that is still living on the streets. The Child Protection has done nothing and the baby is now sick. The weather is getting colder and we need to continue to pray for action- either that the mother will take the room the has been offered to her or that the Child Protection will place the children in foster families. Please, please pray for action. And for protection for the kids. Its been such a long time waiting for something to happen. There has been good news and possibilities for the older girls but for the small ones we continue to pray. Thank you!

I like it! See the beauty all around!

2010-07-31T05:23:00.000-07:00

These days I am learning about faithfulness and perseverance. There have been a lot of situations going on in my life and in ministry that just haven't come to final resolution and I am having to learn to live in the tension of "waiting". But as I wait on the Lord, I am finding that there are so many wonderful things to enjoy, and as I choose daily to see the beauty all around me, in all of the routine or the uncertainty, my perspective starts to change and life becomes much more lovely. I am also challenged to accept and learn to "like" the things that are frustrating for me. And the miracle of it all is that its not just positive thinking because I know that I have a God who does indeed work all things together for good, and uses trials and hard things to produce good fruit in my heart and life. Even in the unknown, even in the waiting times, He is working out His plan. So I need to learn to trust Him and enjoy the ride :)

Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, James 1:2-4

Beautiful picture of the old Casino here in Constanta (Photo by Michelle Pritzl)

Our beautiful Black Sea (Photo by Michelle Pritzl)

YWAM Conferences in Timisoara, Romania

2010-05-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

This April our whole base traveled about 14 hours across the beautiful country of Romania to attend two YWAM conferences in the famous city of Timisoara. Timisoara was the birth place of the revolution in 1989 that resulted in the fall of Communism here in Romania. It is a beautiful city, rich with culture and history.

The first conference we attended was a training week called EQUIP, organized and run by Youth With A Mission's University of the Nations. The goal of the week was to equip YWAM staff with the skills and spiritual direction to continue to bear fruit in all our ministries across Central Europe. During the week I attended two training seminars: one on how to run a dynamic Discipleship Training School, and one on ministering to Children at Risk. Both were very helpful for me, especially the one on Children at Risk as I have had no formal training in this area and yet I have been working with Children at Risk for 4 1/2 years now! Better late than never I guess ;)

The overarching theme of EQUIP was "digging wells" which symbolized our need to seek God for new ways to minister here in Central Europe. Many ministries have been started and stopped in the region for all kinds of reasons and we spent the week thinking and praying over these things and listening to the Lord for new direction. It was an inspiring week for me but it didn't stop there. After EQUIP we had our second conference to celebrate YWAM's 50th anniversary!

I absolutely love YWAM gatherings! They are the kind of meetings that make you want to stay in YWAM and in missions. Being together with other missionaries from around the region you realize that you aren't alone. We are just a small part of something amazing that God is doing in the world and when we come together to seek Him this is so much more evident. For me these gatherings are also like one big family reunion! I am so blessed to have gotten to know so many people working with YWAM in our region and it is so encouraging to be able to spend time together once a year at these events.

During the 50th Anniversary we were able to look back on the past 50 years of YWAM history. Al Akimoff, one the very first YWAM missionaries, shared stories about the passion for Jesus that YWAMers first had. They weren't afraid to smuggle Bibles into closed countries, they spent time in jails, they loved the lost so much that they were ready to leave everything to share the Gospel with them. Al also shared where many of our YWAM traditions came from, like living in community and where "Love Feasts" began. For me these stories were sooo inspiring and for all of us, I think they challenged our hearts to go back to our First Love, Jesus, and fan into flame our passion for Him and for the lost. It was so good!

We also had some powerful times of worship and celebration, thanking the Lord for all He has done in our lives and in our mission for the past 50 years. This whole year is our Jubilee year! Let's celebrate!!!

Kids Club Praise!

2010-02-20T07:03:00.000-08:00

Praise the Lord, oh my soul and all that is with in me praise His holy name! His greatness no one can fathom!

Kids Club last summer
This update is a testimony to God's faithfulness. I have been reaching out with YWAM teams in a poor neighborhood here in Constanta for about three years. We went there a few times every summer to share with the kids Bible stories, songs, games and crafts. It was clear that the Lord had given us an open door to reaching out to these kids that had few adults investing in them and even fewer Christians. When the Discipleship Training School started last summer I asked if I could invite some of the students to join me every week for Kids Club in this neighborhood. This was the first time we went regularly and I ended up being joined by 5-7 students every week! The students loved the kids so much and God used them to get Kid Club going in a wonderful way.

What to do next without a team???
After the DTS I wanted to continue the kids club but was a little concerned on who would be coming with me. All our wonderful students had gone home and I wasn't sure how to go on from there. I had a couple from YWAM Norway pray for me and they asked specifically that the Lord would provide two or three people with whom I could form a team and together we would be able to work together to reach out to this neighborhood. Well to be honest, I appreciated the prayer but didn't have too much expectation of how God would answer their prayers. All glory to God because He, in His faithfulness had something wonderful in mind!

God provides!!!
I can't remember but it could have been the next week that a couple from another YWAM base here in Romania came to our base to visit. They had been out of the country and were seeking God for what to do next. They have been trained by YWAM for kids ministry and worked with gyspy kids in Sighisoara for years. After their first visit to Kids Club they could see immediately what we were lacking and how we could improve the club and said that they would be willing to help me! Without any delay, the Lord has done exactly as we prayed, two more people to form a team with! They will be here for three months- enough time to lay a strong foundation for the ministry and for me to learn all I can from them. God is faithful!

Tony and Ionela
The couple's name is Tony and Ionela. They are a wonderful blessing to work with and to have as a new addition for our YWAM community. They are also helping with the other children's ministries at the base as well as serving practically in different areas! God is faithful! Not only are Tony and Ionela on the kids club team but we have also been joined by one of the DTS students who is from Constanta, George, and three other friends from Constanta, Irina, Ticu and Rebecca! The Lord provided even more than two or three but five! And others are willing to come and join us too from time to time!

A room to meet in
Another praise is that we have gone to the school where we hold Kids Club in the court yard and spoken with the director about using one of their rooms to meet in during the colder months. He was very open, saying that if it was for the kids then we had to do it! This Tuesday we will go to speak with him more and present an official request from YWAM. Pray for our meeting with him to go well and that we will indeed receive a room where we can hold the club. Since January we have continued to hold the club outside which has many challenges!

Connected with one of the teachers
I was also so excited when I found out that three of the kids that come to club are in the class of another Christian girl whom I know from Campus Crusade. Two of these children we have been praying for specifically because of their difficult behavior. It is no accident that our friend is their teacher and that we are reaching out to them at the same time. I believe that God is setting up something wonderful for their lives and I am so encouraged to see God's sovereign hand bringing it all together!

Pray with us!!!
Please join us in prayer for the lives of these little ones to be touched and changed. Pray that they will come to know Jesus and to become lights in their families. And pray for our team to know how to show Jesus to them through our words, actions and prayers.

Thanks so much for reading!!!

Wrapping up in Serbia

2010-01-19T00:59:00.000-08:00

On our last night in Serbia we invited all the friends we had made in Serbia to a local tea house to spend some last moments together and to say goodbye. We had so many young people show up! It was awesome to see all the friendships the Lord had provided for us during our time in Uzice. These young people were so open for relationships and I believe hungry for truth and to know God more. Pray for the young people in Serbia to come to know the fullness of life in relationship with Jesus!

This was a young guy I met while visiting an art school in Uzice. We were handing out flyers for our concerts and I ended up talking to this guy for quite a while about art. He was amazingly talented and showed me some of his work. Unfortunately I didn't see him again while we were in Uzice, except for that final night at the tea house. He just happened to be there also so I was so glad to see him one last time!

Beta, from Romania who is serving on the YWAM Uzice team, and two of the girls from our English Club. Such sweet girls!

Honorary Freedom Fighter membership cards! This is the gang that many of the kids are in that supports the local football team. A few of the guys we met and spent time with are leaders of the group. Peter has a great heart to see the young people using their influence for good and not for violence. We are praying for him to be used to influence his peers and to be protected from those who do not appreciate his desire for non-violence.

Sharing stories, life and testimonies.

These kids were great! If only we had more time to hang out with them! It was sad to say goodbye!

My pastor from Constanta came with Rune our base leader to see the work in Uzice and to pick up our team and bring us back to Romania. Here the guys are having great discussions with Peter about faith and life.

Our final High School English Club! These young people were amazing and it was clear that they loved having us with them. Unfortunately just as we start to know them more its time to go! I hope I will be able to see some of them again some day and continue the relationships. The YWAM team in Uzice will continue to put on English Club every week. Soon they will have another DTS team from Cluj, Romania to help them as well!

This was our last sports day with the kids from the orphanage! We are glad that the YWAM team in Uzice will continue to meet with them weekly. They are really special kids!

One day we planned to bless Uzice by cleaning up the garbage at their main tourist site, an old fortress overlooking the city. But by the time we were ready to go it was pouring rain! So just a few of us went out that day to pick up garbage- but we had a great time! And these two precious kids were the best helpers. The boy is Benny, the son of the pastor in Sombor that we worked with, and the girl is Ivanica, who has been coming to the church activities regularly. They both came to visit us for Thanksgiving and they are great kids. I loved hanging out with them.

So much garbage!!! But we cleaned up most of it! And the kids had a great time finding all kinds of things in the mess! :)

Thanksgiving in Uzice

2009-11-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

Some of our friends from Sombor came to visit us and helped us to put on a huge Thanksgiving dinner for our Serbian friends! It was an amazing night and they loved the food! Some of it was a bit strange for Serbians but they still liked it :) We shared about Thanksgiving as a time of coming together and thanking God for His goodness to us.

Spending time with kids at the orphanage

2009-11-30T10:10:00.000-08:00

Singing "Baby Shark"- this was their favorite song! :)

Thursday nights we had two hours to spend with the kids at a local orphanage. We had a great time singing songs, playing games and doing creative projects. The kids were so sweet! Many of them have learning disabilities or other kinds of disabilities. It was so good to love them, encourage them and spend time with them in a fun and creative way.

Making friendship bracelets!

Musical chairs is always a big hit!

Concerts at Cafe in Uzice

2009-11-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

Our team had a great opportunity to put on two concerts at a local cafe as an outreach event. While some of us played music the rest of the team talked with people who came to watch us play. Both nights were great!

Uzice, Serbia

2009-11-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

Beautiful city of Uzice in the South of Serbia. This is the view from an old fortress right outside the city. We came here to pray for the city.

The city has about 60,000 people in it but it feels even smaller because it is so easy to meet people and get to know them. The people here are so open and friendly. Such big hearts!

This is the river that runs through the city. In this picture it is rainy but most of our days in Uzice were beautiful and sunny!

This is the "Orange House". This is the house that the YWAM missionaries here bought for teams to stay in. It is about 10 minutes drive from the center of Uzice. It is a beautiful home and has been a big blessing for our team.

This is some of our team waiting for the mysterious bus. I say mysterious because we never really knew when it would come!

Sombor, Serbia

2009-11-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

Our first week in Sombor was so special! Our team ran an English Club and cafe ministry almost every night so we were able to build some great friendships with the people who came, many who had had no previous contact with the church. The cafe is in the bottom of the church building so it was ideal for introducing people to the church and to invite them for church a couple days before we left. There we were able to do a powerful drama called "Lifehouse" and to share a testimony, song and encouragement from the word. We also ran a kids club while the kids had a break from school. It was a busy first week but so encouraging. The best news came the day we left, that one of the guys we had been sharing with prayed to recieve the Lord in his life in a personal way. That was a huge encouragement for our team and for the church we were serving with. We made such good friends in Sombor that five of them came to visit us at the end of our trip in the south of Serbia! Thank you God for a great experience in Sombor!

Kids club at church in Sombor, Serbia

English Club and Conversation at church cafe

Our team, missionaries from the church and Serbian young people giving us a tearful goodbye as we head out for the South of Serbia.

Serbia outreach and lessons for life

2009-11-30T08:51:00.000-08:00

Finally I am posting something about our outreach to Serbia! We are leaving in just three days but its never too late to post some pictures highlighting our time here. We have been amazed by the beauty of this country and the openness and friendliness of the people. We have met so many wonderful people and have enjoyed sharing our lives and faith with them and pray that the Lord will grow the seeds that have been planted in their hearts and that they will spring up to eternal life in Jesus. We have served in three different locations here in Serbia and also took a short trip to Bosnia to visit and pray at war memorials in Sarajevo and Srebrenica. Our trip has been full of challenges and blessings and as our outreach comes to a close I realize that the work has only begun and that so much more will come from our time here, not only in the lives of the people here but also in our hearts and lives as God has stretched and grown our team in many ways.

Personally God has shown me so much about humility, brokenness and the radical power of what Jesus chose to do in going to the cross. This world is so broken and fragmented, each person choosing what side he will be on and what he will fight for. In this area of the world, where for centuries there has been a cycle of killing and oppression, the only way out is through the humility and brokenness of the Cross. When the Jews were waiting for the Messiah to come they had hoped he would come with a sword to bring vindication for the Jews who were suffering under the oppression of the Roman Empire. But instead he came humbly as a suffering servant and telling us to love our enemies. He had every right to destroy His enemies but he choose to love them, to give his life for them, to forgive them- it is His broken body that brings real peace to the nations. His example is the only way to healing and new life...

Our prayer here in Serbia is that the real Jesus would be seen clearly. Not the Jesus that is associated with the killing of Muslims in Bosnia or the Jesus of an irrelevant and ancient faith of the past, but Jesus the Lamb that was slain for the salvation of the world. The humble, suffering and serving King who died to make peace between us and the Father and us and one another. Jesus prayed that we would be one even as He and the Father are one. It is still his heart. He died for this and I pray that this will become reality in our lives and in Serbia and the surrounding Balkan nations. May His healing come to the nations and to our hearts as we walk in His steps. God give us grace and mercy to make this a reality in our lives.

May we all see the real Jesus and see how He is the way to peace for every nation and every life.

Love Feast

2009-09-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Love feast is a special dinner we have in DTS to show our love and appreciation for the students and to celebrate God's goodness and love towards us. Its so fun to dress up and decorate the base to make it a special time for everyone. We shared funny stories and after dinner the students put on a funny comedy show, impersonating all of the staff! It was hilarious! They did a great job and even wrote a song about DTS. These students are awesome! We love them so much!

DTS outreach in Medgidia

2009-09-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

After about three weeks of teaching we broke the DTS students up into two teams and sent them out to two different locations outside of Constanta. My team was sent to Medgidia, a city about an hour away from Constanta. We worked with a Pentecostal church there that is reaching out to different villages all over the area. We visited, shared with and prayed for families and widows, prayed for people in the hospital, did children's ministry and shared a testimony and preaching in the church. We also visited the tiniest church I have ever seen! Just big enough for about 12 seats. It was inspiring to be a part of the ministry there and to experience the small beginings of a village church. I really enjoyed spending the week with the students, getting to know them better and serving with them. They are great!

Back to DTS!

2009-09-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

The first week of teaching with the DTS was on "Hearing the voice of God". Our good friend, and one of YWAM Romania's national leaders, Helga, was our teacher. This is my fourth DTS and it is actually the first time I have heard a whole week on the subject. I loved it! The students and staff all got to shre different experiences of when we first heard God's voice and at the end of the week we spent time praying for different students all together. Some people recieved words for each students, others got pictures of what they felt God was saying to them and others recieved scripture. It was a very encouraging time and a great way to put hearing God's voice into practice.

Here we have the whole school with some staff and Helga. A great first week of teaching!

Reaching out to Kids through Art

2009-09-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Rewind a little bit to before the DTS started...
In June Michelle Rogers Pritzl from the States, a high school art teacher with a passion to help children in need through art, came to work with us for two weeks. She had the kids at our day center and at another christian group home here in Constanta painting self portraits of themselves as grown ups with different professions, making bracelets, creating boxes out of paper mache and more. The kids loved the different activities and we hope to work with her again next year!

Michelle is in the left corner and here we are waiting for the bus with some of the kids from Project Romania Rescue. Great kids!

Making boxes at the Day Center

At the end of the two weeks with Michelle we had an art exhibition/celebration with the kids art at our Cafe. It was a great time and we were so proud of the kids! They each got to share about what they wanted to be when they grew up- hairdressers, flight attendents, firefighters and soccer players to name a few!

DTS Update August 2009

2009-08-09T08:15:00.001-07:00

On July 14th we began our Discipleship Training School here at YWAM Constanta, Romania. We have 12 wonderful students from all over the world- Azerbaijan, Hong Kong, Moldova, Canada, Romania and the U.S. Our first week was all about getting to know the base, YWAM and each other. The second week we had a great teaching on Hearing God's Voice and in the third week it was all about different worldviews and the Kingdom of God! Last week we enjoyed experiencing the Father's loves through the topic of the Father heart of God. Awesome teaching and a great first month of the DTS!

Every week the students are able to join in our local ministries. Below you can see some pictures from a neighborhood kids club we have been doing every week at a local school next to a very poor neighborhood. The kids are so much fun and its awesome to see the DTS students reaching out to them and putting on a great kids club every week!

This coming week we will be on a week long outreach to some of the surrounding cities and villages, reaching out to turkish and gypsy families. We are excited to see what lies ahead and share this amazing LOVE that HE has put in our hearts!

Teacher for A Day

2009-01-17T04:31:00.000-08:00

Another fun experience I had this fall was substitute teaching for a friend. She is an English teacher at a local private school and she had to miss a few days so the school let me come in her place. It was a great experience and I fell in love with the kids pretty quick :) Most of the kids are from other nations or have one parent that is Romanian and the other from another nation, such as Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Turkey, South Korea, America, Holland... very international! The school is run by Lebanese directors and so there is a lot of Arab influence. Most children learn Arabic as well as Romanian and English. It is great to see the positive impact that my friend is making with the kids and to realize what a special ministry being a teacher is.

This is a pretty cheesy picture, but its me trying to be as teacher-y as possible :)

Strange things one may run into in Constanta

2009-01-17T04:27:00.000-08:00

I happened upon this interesting discovery close to Christmas so I am assuming it is part of someone's holiday preparations, but why it was left out on the street like this, I just don't know. Yum... ;)

Believe it or Not!

2009-01-17T04:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, folks- you may be shocked to hear but this photo documents my very first-ever Big Mac experience! Yum...Mc Donalds is waaay better in Romania :)

Church Ministry to Turkish Preschoolers

2009-01-17T03:57:00.000-08:00

Last fall I had the very great pleasure of visiting a ministry that my church here in Constanta has been running for Turkish children. They are running a preschool and offer homework help and other social services for many children from around Constanta who otherwise would not have such opportunities. The teacher there Adriana does a wonderful job and has seen much fruit in the lives of her students over the past 15 years that she has been working in this area. It was an inspiration and a blessings to join in for the few days I was there- and man, the kids are adorable! :)

New Staff at YWAM Constanta

2009-01-17T03:50:00.000-08:00

A few months ago YWAM Constanta was blessed to have a new couple join us as staff, Mela and Calin Pescaru. They were actually staff in my DTS in Cluj back in 2006 and its great to have them with us now in Constanta. At our base we have a tradition of surrounding new staff and "praying them in"- asking for God to lead and bless their time serving with us in Constanta. We are excited to see what plans God has for Mela and Calin in the coming years!

Randomness in Romania

2009-01-05T10:51:00.000-08:00

WOO for bowling at the new mall in Constanta- yeah I get out...once in a while! Good staff bonding time :)

Classic scene one can find walking through the parks of Romania :) I love these guys!

YES! Korean food in Romania! Its a miracle! Thank you Kyoung Soon!
Kyoung soon was visiting us on her outreach with her CDTS from YWAM Chatel- man I loved that team! Miss you guys!

Sometimes we get exciting loads of donations to sort through . Actually this load was given to us by another ministry in Cluj, Romania and we received lots of clothes for the kids at our Day Center and more! God provides- clothes and fun :)

Rune our base director lets the donations take him back to the 80's...looking good Rune!

Yeah YWAM Constanta :)

2009-01-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

This is our ad for YWAM's Go-Manual- a directory of all YWAM bases in the world. We are doing our best to get the word out on our upcoming DTS in July. Tell your friends and come join us!

Let's Get Practical!

2009-01-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Here's just a peek into what practical duties are like at YWAM Constanta. I am so thankful for such awesome people to work with. They have such serving and loving hearts! Thank you team, you are the best!

Kids Club in the Old City

2009-01-05T10:10:00.000-08:00

The Kids Club that we have been helping out with for the past two summers is going strong! This is the first fall that it has continued to run and it will stay going through the year. It is lead by a wonderful lady named Lorraine who is a missionary from England and another missionary from Nigeria named Matthew. The club is a part of church plant among the Turkish families of the Old City. I was blessed to be a part of the fun this fall! The club has moved into the home of a lady who is also hosting the church plant Bible studies once a week. Its so encouraging to see things happening in the Old City as it has been an area of prayer-focus and involvement for our base for some years now. God is faithful! Please pray for this church plant and for those who are serving to make it possible!

Jazz Night at the Cafe

2009-01-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

Having our new staff Martin Axelsson around has been so fun! Since he got here we've been working on different music nights in the cafe and in October we had our first ever, Jazz night. A friend from church, Silviu Doroftei, joined us on electric guitar and we covered songs from Billie Holliday, Nora Jones and Michael Buble...okay maybe it wasn't strictly jazz- but jazz-esque if you will! It was an exciting night- with a bit of ruckus from some neighborhood kids, but all in all a fun night and singing those songs was like a dream come true for me! I hope we do it again soon :)

Jolie's Photo Exhibition at the Cafe

2009-01-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

We had a special night at the cafe for Jolie and her friend Linda to share more of their photography. Jolie had brought with her photos she had recently taken in China as part of her photography school with YWAM. Linda had pictures from a mission trip to Africa- all beautiful and inspiring. We also displayed pictures of Romania Jolie had taken and she showed a slide show of photos from her time in China. It was a great night full of inspiration and a clear heart for the nations. Once again, thank you Jolie!

Photography and Dreams Come True

2009-01-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

Jolie and Linda at the Kids Photo Exhibition at New Wine Cafe

Also in October my good friend Jolie Watts and her friend Linda Stahl came to visit and serve in Constanta through photography. I first met Jolie in 2004 when I was leading a short-term mission team from Simpson University working with YWAM and Jolie was a student in the DTS that was being held at the base here in Constanta. She is also from Oregon so since 2004 we've been meeting up and hanging out whenever I've been in the States. After completing YWAM's photography school in Kona, Hawaii Jolie decided to come back to Romania to fulfill one of her dreams of serving the street kids in Constanta that she had worked with during her DTS. And what a blessing she was! She raised money to buy disposable cameras for each child at the Day Center and taught them the basics of photography before sending them home to photograph people and things at home that were important to them.

Once we got the pictures back each child presented their pictures to the group and then on the last day of the week we had a photo exposition of each child's favorite photo and a celebration in the coffee house. The photos the kids took were great. Mostly of little brother and sisters, cousins and parents. Some of fancy cars in the neighborhood and others of pets- but all creative and unique from each child's perspective and ability. A local photographer also got involved by printing the pictures at discount and offering lessons for the children showing the post potential. Amazing eh?! Jolie also took gorgeous portraits of the kids and of the families as well. She has a gift and she is using it to bless others! Thank you Jolie for blessings us!

Jolie teaches the Day Center kids about taking pictures

Exciting! Everyone receives their own disposable camera!

Sharing photos with the rest of the Day Center kids

Jolie the proud teacher and her students ;)

Photo Exhibition and fun at New Wine Cafe

The local photographer joined us for the event as well as staff and friends

And of course we had to sing! Andreea, friend & volunteer to the left, Martin- staff, and me

Day Center Kids Go to Mc Donalds

2009-01-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

October was a crazy month at the Day Center. After rushing to get papers filled for the Day Center's legal approvals, the passing of our educator's husband, and meeting with the kids for a couple of days at our base while the Day Center was being repainted and repaired, we needed a break! The kids also had a week off from the Day Center during the repairs and to encourage them to continue to do their homework while they were at home they were offered a reward of going to Mc Donalds for their usual daily meal. A very exciting treat for a kid!

Well it ended up that not everyone did their homework, but Nuti ("Nutsi") our social worker had an idea and told the kids that each one who had earned the right to go to Mc Donalds could take another child with him, but would be responsible for helping him get his homework done the next week. Each child chose another until almost everyone would be going to Mc Donalds- except Ferdi...who had not been behaving very well and everyone knew it. "Should we leave Ferdi here kids?" Nuti asked the kids. Their immediate reaction was not very positive but after a few seconds they were all in agreement- YES, Ferdi would come to Mc Donalds too! And that is how all the kids ended up going to Mc Donalds. I have to say it was a example of grace and the best part was seeing the kids extend it to one another.

And needless to say, we had a great time!

October 2008 Freedom Project Comes to Romania

2008-12-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Freedom Project Shares it's Passion to End Human Trafficking

Last October we were honored to be visited by Ro Potter and Ange Miracle, members of The Freedom Project, a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness on the of human trafficking. In a few short days they made presentations for our YWAM staff, church, Day Center kids, street people, students at the cafe, and for 100 high school students at one of the best public high schools in Constanta. Their message was openly received and we are excited by the possibility of local action being taken to fight human trafficking in Romania and Eastern Europe. Not only were we blessed by their presentations but Ro and Ange were a lot of fun to have around and we look forward to the possibility of working together with them in the future.

Check it out: www.freedomprojectinternational.org

Challenging students at New Wine Cafe to get involved

Intercession with YWAM staff for issues surrounding the topic of Human Trafficking

Sharing with a class of English students at a local High School in Constanta

About 100 students came together in this auditorium to hear about human trafficking

Concert at the Cafe

2008-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a friend from New Zealand, Peter Woolston, play for the students at our cafe here in Constanta. He put on a great show and we so enjoyed having him with us at the base. He also put on a special little concert for the kids from our Day Center. He was amazing with them and I loved seeing the kids smiling and moving to the music. Thank you Peter for your great music, special ministry and blessing us so much! :)
Check him out:
www.peterwoolston.com

We also have a great team serving with us right now from YWAM Chatel, Switzerland's Crossroads DTS. they've been helping us out in the cafe, with the kids and reaching out in the city. We love having them here!

The First Day of School :)

2008-09-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I had the great honor of taking one of the little boys from our Day Center ministry to his first day of school! The first day of school here in Romania is no small event. Parents bring their kids to school all dressed up in their uniforms and carrying flowers for their teachers. At each school an assembly is held outside of the school where the principal speaks, a policeman, and an Orthodox priest! The kids get to meet their teachers and get acclimated to the classroom while the parents stand around the room listening to the teacher's introduction to the school year and making sure that their children are settled. The little boy I brought was adorable! He couldn't sit still for more than a minute but he was happy to be in class and I am praying that he adjusts quickly to the school environment. I knew a lot of the kids at his school from the kids program that we do down in their neighborhood and it was great to see them there with their parents. It was a special experience to be in a primary school for the first time and to be there for the first day.

YWAM ROMANIA FAMILY- National Conference

2008-09-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month almost everyone working with Youth With A Mission Romania came together for 4 days of worship, prayer, seeking God, teaching, encouragement and fellowship. We came from all 7 YWAM bases in Romania and were joined by many friends who are no longer working with YWAM but still part of the family :) The conference was held at the Medias base and we packed it out with over 70 people. It was such an awesome time, hearing from God, joining together and celebrating what God is doing in this nation and in our lives. The teaching was especially impacting and I was so encouraged by the leadership of YWAM Romania. They were really open about the good things and the hard things of being in missions. Their faithfulness is such an example for me and has helped me to see that none of us are alone in our struggles or in our joys. And through it all, GOD is good and He is worth it all. I am SOOOO happy to be a part of YWAM Romania- such a special family we have!
Worship School Students from Targu Mures!!!

Targu Mures Discipleship Training School students!

Dear Friends and YWAM colleagues!!! Irene, Claudia, Marta, Lidgia :)

Sarah, Marta and Beta...you girls are the best!

So many great people! Thank you Lord for YWAM Romania!

Mela, my DTS one-on-one and new Constanta staff and Rune, our base leader!

Martin Axelsson, another new Constanta staff playing an original song at a special recital for all of us aspiring song writers :)

Enjoying the recital! There were so many song writers!

Helga teaching on Thankfulness :) I love you Helga!

Florin, Medias base leader teaching on how to stay in mission longterm.

All the new staff that have joined YWAM this year :)

A little time for vacation :)

2008-09-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Birthday Party for Friends in Constanta

Visiting with YWAM friends in the beautiful "Old City" of Bucuresti

I had no idea Targu Mures was so gorgeous!!

L & L together again! Did you say "Lee-il?

Leisl at the top of the clock tower in Sighisoara

View from the Clock tower in Sighisoara

The week before last, I was soooo blessed to have one of my best friends from university come to visit me here in Romania- for the third time! She is such a fantastic friend! It was so good to spend time, catching up on our lives and all the adventures we have experienced since we last saw each other a year ago. We hung out for some days here in Constanta and then headed up to Transylvania, spending some nights in the adorable ad ancient city of Sighisoara. After roaming the streets, seeing the sights and visiting some friends, we made our way to Targu Mures, another gorgeous Romanian city just an hours drive away. We stayed with another wonderful friend and also visited another YWAM base there. But before we knew it, it was time to get moving and we headed back to Bucuresti for a night with more YWAM friends and a tour of the older area of the capital city. It was a great mini-vacation and I am realizing more and more just how blessed I am with so many friendships all over the world and all over Romania. God is good! :)

Summer Camp with the Day Center

2008-08-21T04:12:00.000-07:00

This month my roommate Sarah’s sister, brought a team from her church in Frisco, TX to run a week long camp for our Day Center kids. The week was wild, with great devotionals and activities from the team and the humor and antics of the kids. The team made a lasting impact on many of the kids and their example of love and patience was amazing. The camp was held in village outside of Suceava in the North of Romania near the Moldovan boarder. We were in the middle of peaceful farm land, with a huge grassy lawn for playing soccer- the kids are crazy about soccer! For me, some of my most special times were when I was able to lead the kids in their praise and worship times. These kids don’t do anything without passion- they play hard, fight hard J and worship with the same intensity. For me it was a special gift to join together three things that I love, kids, music and worshipping God. I hope to continue ministering through music with my kids, this fall at the Day Center.

New Wine Cafe

2008-08-21T04:04:00.000-07:00

This is the first summer that New Wine Café has been open, and it has proved to be a great success! Even with many students returning to their villages for the summer holiday, we have still had a group coming for the different café events and especially for the Friday night discussion groups. For a few months now we have been partnering with the pastor of the local church where I attend. He has a great heart for discipling the students and leads the discussion groups, challenging the students to think about their lives, their desires and what God’s desires are for their lives. We have really enjoyed working with him and look forward to what is in store for the future of the New Wine Café!

That's Andi, my pastor in the blue shirt, leading a discussion about dreams for our futures. This was a really special night with so many hopes and testimonies of dreams-come-true being shared.

Old CIty Kids Club!!!

2008-08-21T03:57:00.001-07:00

Woo Hoo! This summer we have continued with one of my most favorite outreaches- to the children from poor families in the Old City of Constanta. We are again joining a church planting effort from one of the local churches here, Good News Church, and also this summer, we have been blessed to be joined by some Romanian young people from a local children’s evangelism organization. Spending time with these children is such a huge source of joy! They love the “kids club” and we are believing that God is touching them in a special way during this time!

Slide Show :)

2008-08-21T03:54:00.001-07:00

Summer Teams

2008-08-21T03:38:00.000-07:00

Summers in Constanta can be a bit crazy, but in the midst of the craziness we find ourselves as YWAM Constanta so blessed by the young people that come to work with us from all around the world. We have had American, Canadian, Dutch, English, Norweigen, New Zealander, and Romanian guests visiting us this summer and more nationalities are on their way! Some come as individuals, others with their families, some on YWAM teams, and others from churches- but however they come, they have each brought with them a spirit of joy and service, encouraging our staff and sharing their gifts with those we minister too! The teams have been spending lots of time at the beach with the children from our Day Center, praying and interceding for our base, ministry and for the city, put on programs for the kids club in the old city, and joined with our street team and café ministries! Such a blessing each one has been! Thank you to each one!

UniQuip- Training for YWAM School Staff

2008-08-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

After my week in Cluj I returned to Constanta for two days, sang in the Café with friend, Martin Axelsson from Sweden, hung out with friends from Constanta and then took off again with a group from our base for Kiev, Ukraine. This time, for training for YWAM school leaders and staff. If you aren’t too familiar with Youth With A Mission, you might not know that the Discipleship Training Schools and other YWAM schools are all part of the University of the Nations. Not long after the start of YWAM, the Lord spoke to the leaders about providing further training for young people, equipping them with skills for serving in all areas of society.

The training seminar we attended was held by leaders of the University of the Nations, to better equip and encourage those who are running these schools. There were staff from YWAM School of Biblical Studies in Sweden, and Ukraine, DTS staff from all over Europe, and other YWAM staff that just wanted to learn more about the UofN and the heart and focus of YWAM schools. Personally I was SOOOO happy to be at this conference! The example of leadership that was shown was amazing and hearing all the background and what YWAM schools are meant to be, finally gave me firm ground to stand on as I look towards staffing future DTS and YWAM schools.

Vishal Mangalwadi on Development vs. Poverty

2008-08-21T03:06:00.000-07:00

And if you didn’t think I had done enough running around, after the conference in Slovakia I returned to the YWAM base where I did my Discipleship Training School in 2006. I spent just over a week in Cluj-Napoca, Romania with YWAM Medias’ School of Biblical Christian Worldview, video-tapping the teachings of Dr. Vishal Mangalwadi, an Indian community development worker and scholar who has written many books and spoken around the world on the issues concerning development of the nations and Christian Biblical Worldview. I loved Vishal’s teachings and soaking in the wealth of information and perspective that seemed to bubble out of him. He also discussed the roots and causes of poverty and how the Cross is our hope of redemption from all results of sin, including poverty. It was a powerful, challenging and important teaching. There is much more I could say about this man but I will let you check it out for yourself: www.vishalmangalwadi.com

Freedom Project- Against Human Trafficking

2008-08-21T03:01:00.000-07:00

Another special aspect of the conference in Slovakia was attendance of a tenacious young woman who has stepped out as YWAM’s voice against Human Trafficking. Ro, came to Slovakia with Al Akimoff and his team from YWAM Salem, Oregon, and shared in a special focus group and also with the whole conference about the issue of Human trafficking, and opened our eyes to just how relevant an issue it is for us here in Centeral Europe.

Even more eye opening for me was learning that a large percentage of trafficked girls are coming from Romania. In fact, even in the documentary Ro used to expose us to the situations that many young girls experience was based on the lives of girls from Romania and Moldova. Ro has been working state-side to bring awareness on these issues on and around Human Trafficking and is now working to see movements started in our region of the world. Many of us from Romania took a special interest in this project and will be praying about how to take action. Ro, along with a team, is planning to come to Romania this fall to visit YWAM bases, churches, café’s and student groups to share about the issue of Human Trafficking and to motive and inspire people to action.

To learn more about the Freedom project, you can check out the official website:

www.thefreedomproject-ywam.com

YWAM Conference in Slovakia

2008-08-21T02:36:00.000-07:00

After David’s wedding and our time in Budapest, we continued on towards Slovakia to meet up about 70 other YWAMers from all over Central Europe. This event is held every two years somewhere in Central Europe and is a chance for more of our YWAM family to connect, spend time together, encourage one another and see what God is doing and saying concerning our region of the world.

I met up with many friends from Romania, as well as friends from Bosnia, and Hungary, and got to know new friends from other parts of Central Europe. It was a spiritually refreshing time and a time of looking back at our YWAM history and God’s original working in us from the beginning.

Al Akimoff, who has been with YWAM since its very early days, shared with us many stories of how God worked in Eastern and Central Europe and encouraged us to go back to those roots of faith and obedience to God. The spirit and attitude of each speaker was so humble and honest- another refreshing aspect of the weekend together. I am so thankful to our YWAM Central Europe leaders for organizing such a great event for our staff to be encouraged to continue in what the Lord has called us to.

Wedding In Budapest

2008-08-21T02:28:00.000-07:00

In May almost all of our staff traveled together to Budapest for the Wedding of one of our staff, David McDowell. He married a lovely Hungarian girl named Krisztina who he had met in Budapest last September. It was a really nice wedding and we had a wonderful time in Budapest seeing the sights together and enjoying some team building time together. David and Krisztina, joined us for the summer in Constanta, but just this Friday left for Hungary to continue their ministry and new life together there. Thank you David and Krisztina for being with us and God bless you in your new life in

Hungary

Also while we were in Budapest we were blessed by some dear missionaries, Andy and Phyllis, who have been running a Christian Library in the city. They donated to our base boxes of books to use in our base library in Constanta. These are great resources and we are so thankful!

Support Raising Seminar in Iasi

2008-08-21T02:19:00.000-07:00

Soon after I returned from Bosnia and the DTS ended, I headed up to the North of Romania with two other of our staff for a Support Raising Seminar. Long-time Norwegian YWAM Leader Terje Konradsen, taught for the week on the importance of relationship based support, communicating your vision, building budgets and developing support raising strategies. All very helpful for the life of a YWAM missionary. The seminar was attended by about 30 YWAMers from all over Romania. It was a great time of being together, being challenged and growing together, and supporting one another. In fact, at the end of the seminar we were challenged by the leadership to pray about making commitments to support another YWAM Romania missionary for one year. Many people were blessed and are continuing to be blessed through this lesson of generosity.

2008-08-18T02:08:00.000-07:00

In April I traveled with Heather, one of my YWAM Constanta colleagues, to Medias, right in the middle of Romania. There we spent a week with YWAM Medias' Discipleship Training School. We came to hear our dear friend Don Stephen's share his powerful teaching on Worldviews and the Kingdom of God. Although I have had the opportunity to hear his teaching before, in never grows old. In fact I think the more I hear about the Kingdom, the more my eyes are open to it, and its implications becoming more and more alive in my heart and mind. It was such an encouraging week!

We were also able to spend time with and get to know the DTS students and to pray with them as they prepared to leave for outreach to Macedonia. These were some very special students, ready to serve and to be used by the Lord. Their team was led by a great lady and one of my friends, Beta Mereu. It was a blessing to be around these guys!

We had a special time of intercession led by a friend, Clay, who was traveling with Don as he taught in DTS's around Central Europe. I had met Clay in Bosnia on my first outreach there, where he had been serving in missions along side Don and YWAM Sarajevo. It was so great to see Clay again and to pray for Bosnia. I miss it so much!

When Don shares about the Kingdom, he comes alive!

2008-08-18T01:57:00.000-07:00

In April and May I had the opportunity to practice sharing my music in public at our New Wine Cafe! The first time was really nerve racking but the more I do it, the more free I feel to share what God has given me and now its much more fun! I look forward to September when another musician friend will join us here in Constanta!

Apologies!!!

2008-08-18T00:03:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and fellow bloggers!
I am so sorry for neglecting my blog for such a long time. As usual, the summer has been full of activity and I have lacked the discipline to sit myself down and create updates for all of you to enjoy. Please forgive me! I hope to make it up to you this week by filling you in on all that has taken place since my last update. Thank you for your patience with me!
Grace and peace,
Leah

Back from Outreach!!!

2008-04-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

Since my last update we have finished our two month outreach in Bosnia, returned to Romania after about 41 hours of traveling, spent a week debriefing and evaluating the entire school, and graduated our four students that completed the entire Discipleship Training School! So much has happened! It was such an encouragement to reflect on all that God accomplished during the outreach and the school, in and through our students and staff. We saw so much growth in the students, each one take big steps forward in their walks with the Lord and in life. Three of them have plans to continue in missions, one planning to return to Bosnia for a season, and the other two planning to do a counseling school to equip them for future ministry. One student will be attending university in the near future and our local student will continue on here in Constanta serving with us and through his own business. We look forward to see how God continues his work in each one and where he takes them in the future.

Special Graduation Dinner for our students at the local Turkish Restaurant. Yum!!!

Handing out DTS diplomas to the students! They made it through DTS...Yeah!!! :)

Peter and his DTS dimploma! What a guy! We will miss you Peppy!

Adin made me a diploma too for being his outreach leader! SO sweet!

Chrissy was my one-on-one for this school. We would meet together every week during the lecture phase to talk about what God was doing in her life and how things were going. She became a good friend and grew so much in this school. We are so proud of her! Good job my little mountain goat! :)

All of our wonderful students: Chrissy, Adin, Leo, Peter and Cosmina. Thank you guys for making this DTS possible! We are so excited for what the Lord has done in your lives and where is taking you!

Friendship in Bosnia

2008-04-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

Spending time with my Bosnian Friends

Friendship was such a key theme during our time in Bosnia. We were blessed with so many opportunities to meet and get to know people, young and old, Christian and Muslim. Our desire was that through our relationships with people we would be able to communicate the love of Jesus and hope in Him and I am trusting that this was exactly what the Lord was doing through our team on this outreach. Bosnians are incredibly relational people. You can see this so easily by visiting one of Sarajevo’s many café’s in the middle of the day. Cafes are packed, especially with young people, talking and sipping coffee for hours. It is not just going out for them. It’s a way of life and what better way is there to reach people in this kind of culture than to join them? In light of this, a good part of our time was spent with young people, hanging out, drinking coffee and talking, sharing, and hearing their stories.

Through talking with many of our friends, I have seen that they have an interest in spiritual things but fail to see the connection between the spiritual and the natural- how God really has anything to do with their day to day lives. They don’t understand that God wants to be our friend. It’s a blasphemous thought for many Muslims, but for us who know Him, it is life. God cares enough to know us. He is longing to spend time with us, to hear our stories and for us to listen to Him and all that he longs to tell us. Genuine friendship reflects His character and communicates volumes about His love. This is was my second time in Bosnia and again I am impressed with the fact that we must love people into the Kingdom and that our lives are our tools for Gospel message. God is using us to help people make this connection between the spiritual and the natural and to show them who He is and what He is like, and to invited them to their own relationship with Him.

Also we were blessed to be able to share with many Muslim children through our English Clubs on Saturdays and celebrated this with a carnival for them and those from the neighborhood. This was a great time of fun and blessing. We even had professional clowns making balloons and painting faces with us! My highlight was sing with the kids for their parents "Yes I love my Jesus deep down in my heart!" They loved this song and even though they may not understand completely, the words and the joy they experienced singing it are still the same and hopefully are watering the seeds that have been planted in their hearts and will bear fruit in time. It was a great carnival!

Thank you so much for being a part of our outreach in Bosnia through your prayers and giving! Please continue to pray for this amazing country and for the precious people there- that God will continue to work in our friends’ hearts, revealing Himself and working through His people as they share Jesus and His love with those around them J

Girls reaching out at the cafe

Last Week in Bosnia!

2008-03-08T02:45:00.000-08:00

Well, our outreach is coming to a close! We have had a great time enjoying friendships with so many people, doing practical work for a local church, enjoying their youth, finishing up our kids English club (tonight we will celebrate with a carnival!) and more! This is a short post but I will get more pictures and stories from our time up here soon! For now, just want to thank you for your prayers and support! I will be back in Constanta next Thursday!

(Pictures above are: Sarajevo, Making picture frames at a Saturday English Club, Turkish Area "Old Town" in Sarajevo, Singing with English Club, and Chrissy from our team at Sunday school with kids of some missionary couples we have been working with and getting to know!)

New Friends...Praying for Healing

2008-02-07T06:11:00.000-08:00

It’s been over two weeks since we arrived here in Sarajevo. Though we have not been as busy as I would have liked to be, we are enjoying meeting different young people and missionaries in the city. The past few days spent helping out practically at a local church, passing out flyers for an upcoming seminar on relationships that will be held at the center where we are working, and visiting university students and discussing faith and spirituality with them! There are many, many students in Sarajevo, all working very heard this time of year to pass their exams that are being given this month. Campus Crusade is a student ministry that has been working here in Sarajevo for over 5 years. They regularly go to the universities to meet students, share with them and invite them out to coffee to build relationship and share the Gospel with them. This Thursday they took us with them to be a model for this kind of outreach. For me it was great to see how open they are about their faith and how open the students were to share their ideas of God and spirituality.

While talking with some of the students I realized that many of them are very wounded, from the affects of the war that was here in the 90’s and also from broken families and all kinds of painful situations. One of the young guys we talked to said that he didn’t believe in God because he had just experienced too many terrible things, as he pointed out the many scares on his face and head. How could a God allow all of that to happen? There is such a big need here for people to experience the healing power of God in their lives. Not just for their physical lives but for their hearts. They have experienced so much pain and suffering, and this, along with all the different religious influences of the region have painted a very different picture of God than the one we know. My prayer is that the believers here and our team as well, would have the opportunity to paint new pictures for those we meet of God’s true character- through our lives, through our words and through our love.

I shared a little bit with two guys about how God longs to heal us, to touch us in the places where we are hurting and to set us free from the things that we do just to cover up the pain we feel. Their response was, “Sounds like a nice commercial for Mc Donald’s”-too good to be true I guess. But it is true and it is the Good News that we need to keep on sharing. Please keep praying with us for healing for this nation and for this Good News to be spread to each and every heart…

We made it to Bosnia!

2008-01-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

Our students at the center in Sarajevo!!-->

Today is Thursday, our fifth full day in Bosnia. We are still getting adjusted and finding out about different ministry possibilities here in the city, but we have been warmly welcomed by a missionary couple that is hosting us and by all of the friends that I had the privilege to meet last spring when I was here. I am so happy to be back in this beautiful city and to see these wonderful people again! There are actually two missionary couples hosting us, Tom and Kristie Trowbridge, who I worked with last time and a new couple working with them, Larry and Jill Couch. They are running the community center ministry here in Sarajevo and we will be helping them out with all of the happenings at the center for our two months here.

Besides helping with the community center we hope to join up with some of the other ministries going on in the city, being a blessing wherever we can! Some other ministry opportunities include: serving at the International Church here, at a church for Roma (Gypsy) people, English clubs for children, building relationships with young people through sportsJ, student ministries and hopefully visiting a local orphanage. Pray for the Lord to lead us to the right ministries at the right times and to be a blessings and help to the local ministries in their outreach to Sarajevo! And pray for the relationships we are building with the young people. May God use us to love on the people here that he loves so much!

Thank you for your prayers and support! It is great to see God's provision for this trip and I am excited to see what He will do in this time! Okay, this is all for now....keep posted for more info!

Team Building in Budapest!

2008-01-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a great time at YWAM Budapest, Hungary enjoying a week of teaching on team building and outreach preparation. Nic and Marion Barella, an American/English couple who are on staff with YWAM Budapest, were our teachers and they did a great job helping us to reflect on our different gifts and passions and then challenging us to think about how we can use all of these gifts together on outreach in Bosnia. It was a very helpful week full of discoveries about one another and some practical information on how to prepare for the next two months. We discovered that many of us have hearts for people in need and I am sure that this is not by mistake J I am eager to see how this gifting will come out and be used as we serve in Bosnia.

<--- There you can see us doing a fun team building activity. Trying to get all six of us on one piece of paper! Good times! :)

Discipleship Training School...creativity

2007-12-29T05:51:00.000-08:00

Arts and Creativity… If you remember, the special focus of this discipleship training school has been on creativity and in November we had the opportunity to travel to the West of Romania to visit some local artist to see first hand how God is using creativity in their lives. We first visited a Romanian sculptor named Liviu Moran, www.liviumocan.com and had the privelge of seeing his studio with all kinds of sculptures, finished and in progress. I was so inspired by his spiritual depth and how his art truly flowed out of his relationship with God. His art is now all over the world, reflecting the glory of God and a message of life coming out of death. He is currently working on a project that will bring some of his work to the States as well. You can learn more about Liviu at his website.

That same week, Heidi Schmidt, a musician and missionary from Colorado who has been serving in Romania for the past 7 years, came and shared with us her testimony and music. This was also such an encouraging experience to see how God is using her gifts and talents to shine his light and life in this world. She is making an impact in Romania through her music and has been invited to sing all over the country. Check out “Heidi Schmidt” on www.youtube.com to see her sing. You can google her too but most of the articles are in Romanian!

New Beginnings at YWAM Constanta!!!

2007-11-10T11:04:00.000-08:00

Discipleship Training School- Oct. 2007

I am excited to share with you that Sunday night, Oct. 14th was the beginning of my second experience as a Discipleship Training Staff, and the start of a powerful adventure into the heart of God for our five new students from four different nations! This is our Discipleship Training School- three months of teaching on God's character, nature, heart for missions, etc. and 2 and a half months of practically applying all that has been learned by reaching our to the nations with the love of Jesus! Our students are: Chrissy, 19, from USA; Cosmina, 24, from Romania; Adin, 20, from Romania; Leo, 31, from Norway; and Peter, 18, from Canada. They are a great bunch of people and I am really enjoying getting to know them and have great expectations for the aweseom things God has in store for their lives!

In the classroom with Tony Hedricks

Our other great beginning here at YWAM Constanta, was the official grand opening of NEW WINE CAFE, our students/youth outreach ministry! God has been more than faithful to provide all that was needed to get the cafe up and running and our YWAM staff team really pulled together to get everything done by October 19th, opening night. The evening was kicked off with a live performance by our talented YWAM staff and student, Eugen Petcaru and Leo Chaparian. The evening was full with friends from YWAM, Campus Crusade for Christ with their friends, and young people coming in off the street. It was great to have so many people there, sharing together and having a good time. We are privileged to be the ONLY place in Constanta like this- a coffee house where students are wanted, welcomed and loved with the Love of God!!!!

Training and Outreach in BUDAPEST, Hungary!!!

2007-09-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

Two weeks ago I set out for Budapest, Hungary with my Discipleship Training Staff team from Constanta, Romania, for a week of training and evangelism. We joined up with the staff team from YWAM Budapest- enjoying sharing our experiences in working with discipleship schools, learning how to better work together as a team, and praying for God to move in our schools to reach the lost and see His Kingdom come in Budapest.

During our time in Budapest we also had the amazing blessing of reaching out to the city with the Catholic church. Two years of preparation had gone into this week long "City Mission" outreach to the people of Budapest and all over the city you could find Christians sharing the Gospel through music, art, preaching, scripture reading, liturgy, clowning, face painting, and conversation.

Our team from YWAM Constanta, and Terry Williams from YWAM Budapest had an awesome week working along-side "New Jerusalem" a charismatic Catholic church in Budapest. I was a butterfly for the week, painting kids faces and some adults too! Terry was the clown standing next to me in the picture to the left and we had a great time shining the love of Jesus on the people we met.

The rest of my team had many conversations with people about the Lord and we even met some Romanians that we could share with in Romanian! It was an awesome time of seeing how God moves when his people are in unity. Some people responded to altar calls that were given and a lot of precious seed was sown into the hearts of the people. Keep praying that the believers in Budapest will feel free to continue to share about our Saviour and the new life we have in him. God is moving in that city!!!

Thank you for being a part of what the Lord is doing in Eastern Europe through your prayers and finances!!! Stay tuned for more on what the Lord is doing in Romania :)

To the States and Back Again!

2007-09-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

I was homein the States in June and July and had a great time. I was so blessed to be able to visit my grandparents and aunt, uncle and cousins in Florida, then went to Colorado to see another aunt and uncle and more cousins, and then went to Oregon with a side trip to California! Yeah I was all over the place but it was so good to catch up with people after being gone for almost 2 years! I wish I had more time to share about my time at home, but that will have to wait for the time being. I just want to catch you up really quickly on some of the recent happenings around here.

Now I am back in Romania and for the past month our ministry team here at YWAM Constanta has been hosting outreach teams. We had a total of 8 teams, but I was only here for two of them- one from England and another mostly from South Korea. Its been great and they have really helped us with reaching out to some of the kids here in Constanta. We've been focusing on two poorer neighborhoods here in the city and it has been such a joy to bring life and hope to these communities through loving on the kids. It is one of my favorite things!!!

There are pictures of my time at home that you can see through my flickr link to the left and below you can see pictures of the kids outreaches we've been doing. I was also able last month to see one of the girls from our Day Center ministry get baptised! Praise God for the fruit he is bringing in the lives of the kids there! And also at the elderly people's ministry run by the local church I have been attending- Good New Church. (The older men in white below are from their ministry!) Thank you for your prayers and support! You guys are a part of this awesome work that the Lord is doing here in Constanta, Romania!

Friends in Sarajevo

2007-06-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some dear friends we made while in Sarajevo! Don Stephens- working with YWAM Sarajevo, Veska from my team, Lorraine- my team, Ahmed- my adopted Bosnian Brother, Mario- my team, Aldin- Bosnian friend of Don's, and Alan who sounds like he could be American but is really Bosnian and really cool :)

Back in Constanta

2007-06-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

Back in Constanta … Leah Lewis serving with YWAM Friends in Sarajevo
Hey all! I am back Constanta, Romania after an amazing, stretching and eye-opening outreach that I have to say was completely arranged by our good and loving Father in heaven. He put together my team in such a way that we had many different life-experiences to share and gifts to use in serving, and God met us up with just the right people so that we were a blessing, naturally through who we were. So thank you God for blessing us with so many awesome opportunities to love people and to serve, and thank you folks out there who have all contributed financially and through prayer to make this trip possible. It was awesome!

Our last month of outreach was spent in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia working with an American couple who have a community center called Nova Nada, “New Hope”. Through this community center and through friends we were able to build friendships with many different people- young people, older people, Muslims, Christians, and mentally and physically disabled people. These friendships have taught me so much about loving people into the Kingdom of God. The love that God put in our hearts for the people in Sarajevo is so strong and we are going to miss everyone there so much. We are praying that the seeds we sowed into each life will bear fruit in time and that the love we showed each one will remind them of the incredible love that God our Father has for them. Already we have had word that one of our dear friends there has accepted Jesus as his Savior!!!! May many more follow!

Back here in Constanta, we will be spending the week finishing up the Discipleship Training School with debriefing and evaluation on the school as a whole. As DTS staff I have been so blessed to see God grow the students in such an amazing way and to see their passion for serving God grow more and more. Please keep the students in your prayers and many of them are looking for their next step in life. Specifically I would like you to pray for Mario and Veska, the two Bulgarian students who were on outreach team. Pray for God’s provision for both of them and for his leading. These are two very special people and I am going to miss them so much!

As for me, I will be heading to AMERICA as soon as the school finishes! June 16th I will arrive in Florida to spend time with family and get some much needed rest. Then I am on to Denver for more family visiting and finally July 3rd I will be in my hometown, Ashland, Oregon until the 28th of July to reconnect with my church, friends and family there. The 12-15th of July I will be in Redding, CA visiting college friends. Please let me know if you want to meet up during my time home. I would love to see as many people as possible as it has been almost 2 years since I was last in the States!

Fundraising update…Praise God for his provision during outreach! The cost was much less than we expected and I still have enough money to finish the DTS and get me to the airport and on my way home. So far I have had two families decide to join my support team with their monthly support and this is such a blessing! Please pray for me as I seek out opportunities to share all that God is doing here in Constanta and in all of the Balkan while I am in the States. I am praying that God will continue to add to my support team and that together we will be able to make a difference in the lives of the people here in Constanta and in all of the Balkan- loving them into the Kingdom and helping them to grow into givers of hope and life. Please remember that you are a part what God is doing here. Through your prayers, encouragement, gifts and love, you are making a difference. Thank you so much!

Resident at Pazaric Home for the disabled in Bosnia
http://www.zavodpazaric.ba-/ orphanage website

Blog: http://leahinromania.blogspot.com/
YWAM Constanta Blog: http://www.ywamconstanta.blogspot.com/

Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia!

2007-05-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! This past month I have been on a crazy adventure, serving the Lord, learning soooooooo much and experiencing so many new things! As you know, I am leading a YWAM Discipleship Training School outreach team of three students: Mario from Bulgaria, Veska Also from Bulgaria and Lorraine from England. We started off in Sophia, Bulgaria where Mario and Veska are from. There we met with some of their friends and did some team prep. for our outreach. Then we had a change of plans and ended up going to Kratovo, Macedonia for a week where I had been for my DTS outreach last fall. It was so good to reconnect with people and to encourage the growing church there. We also met with two young guys, who gave their lives to Jesus just few days after we left Macedonia. It was so cool to see God working in their lives, showing them the truth. Macedonia was a huge blessing for us!

After Macedonia we went to Nis, Serbia where we had all kinds of opportunities to serve: in an orphanage for teenagers, at a public pre-school for gypsy kids, in a village with kids and young people where they have no church, visiting elderly ladies who needed encouragement, in the local churches, and visiting families! Lots of variety for just two and a half weeks of being there. It was so interesting to learn about Serbia and the issues they are dealing with. There is such a big need there for encouragement and hope...Pray for this nation!

And now we are are in Sarajevo, Bosnia...my favorite place so far. The whole country is full of gorgeous mountains and green green trees!! The river Drina is the most amazing green blue color I have ever seen in a river! This place is really breath-taking. The great missionary couple we are working with here, Tom and Kristie Trowbridge drove us up into the mountains around the city and see where the 84 Olymplic games were held, (most all of the sites now destroyed from the war).

There is really too much to say about this place for this short update, but i can tell you that I am so glad God has brought our team here. Our prayer is to bring hope, life and light in Jesus to the people here and we need your prayers. We will be working with Tom and Kristie's ministry center, which reaches out through all kinds of creative activities: english classes, community nights, worship nights for seekers and more...with the intention of building relationships with people where we can share the hope of Jesus. A lot of missionaries here deal with division and so we need prayers for unity and love. This is a Muslim nation and in Sarajevo alone there are 150 mosques. A new one is built every month.

Our good friend from YWAM, Don Stevens lives here and has been introducing us to his friends, some, young muslim guys that are quickly becoming part of our team family. Pray for God to use us in this place and for him to continue to work in the lives of the people we met in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia.

For those of you interested in supporting me for this outreach I am still in need of about $800. You can send a check to His Hands Foundation, 1045 N. Main St., Ashland, OR 97520...Thank you so much for your prayers and support! Oh and keep in mind that I will be in the States June 16 through July 28th! Blessings to you all!

Outreach to Bucharest

2007-03-06T02:05:00.000-08:00

This past week was AMAZING! Last week, we traveled with our team of four to the capital of Romania where we had the opportunity to share our lives and love with some very special ladies at a girls home in a village outside of the city (the same place where I was with my DTS for a week), Teen Challenge- a ministry to young people living in the street and those struggling with addictions, Calvary Chapel's neighborhood kids outreach, Stepping Forward ministry to orphans, and the YWAM National Office. We had a very full week but were so encouraged to see God using us to bring his hope, life and love to everyone we met.

My team was made up of Sarah Buchkosky, my closest friend here in Romania (also from the States) and myself, leading, and two people who are greatly impacting my life: Veska and Mario from Bulgaria. These two grew up together in an orphanage and have powerful testimonies of God's grace and changing power. Their hearts for others are amazing and it was such a blessing to see them sharing with the people we ministered two. God has such amazing purposes and plans for these too and I am blessed to have them on my team again as we go to Bosnia and Serbia for our big outreach.

Please pray for us as we continue to grow in the Lord and in the gifts that God has given us. And praise God for using this past week in Bucharest!!

Discipleship Training School

2007-02-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

I LOVE DTS!!! It is such a blessing to be staff for the Discipleship Training School here in Constanta! We have just finished our fourth week and I can hardly believe it! We have a group of 6 students and 6 staff for this school and it is going very well. The students are sooo special, coming from Romania, Bulgaria, America and England! The youngest is 19 years and the oldest is 55 so it is quite a mix of people and cultures. It is amazing to see the Lord working in their lives, healing them and letting his truth soak deeper and deeper into their souls. It is really an honor to be here with them and to be an encouragement for them along the way.

And of course they are not the only ones being changed during this school. The Lord is touching my heart as well, encouraging me to use the gifts he has given me with boldness and to continue learning what is means to serve WITH him in ministry. I am so blessed to be here right now.

We are currently planning a week long outreach for the week of Feb.26 to March 3rd. We will be reaching out here in Romania and look forward to being a blessing wherever we go.

During the week days the students have been joining in with different local ministries reaching out to street people, older people, children at the Day Center, with the poor families and to the youth of Constanta through a film club held here at our base! So lot of great stuff is going on and we can really thank God for this. He is blessing us in so many ways and drawing us closer to him.

Thank you for praying for us during this time! And be blessed with the Love of the FATHER!!!

Christmas was Sensational!

2007-01-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

With only a few days to bring things together, it was amazing to see how well things went for our Christmas Dinner with the street kids. God really blessed us with an amazing time with our friends from the street. We had 7 people serving and setting up and 12 people from the street come. It was much smaller than we had expected but with the amount of staff we had, it was perfect.

Our staff team was made up of two members of the YWAM street team: Therese from Norway and Dave from the U.S., Lorraine from England, who is a missionary serving her in Constanta through our local church “Good News Church”, Irina from Constanta, who used to translate for the street team, Cristi from Constanta, who helps out with the other street project in town and attends our church, and me and Leisl, my friend from home. Irina’s church opened their doors to us last minute, so in their small, but cozy church we had our dinner.

It was such a special time to share together, knowing that many of the kids would have sat all day on the street getting high had they not been invited to the dinner. We sang Christmas carols and ate Sarmale, the traditional Romanian Christmas meal. Dave shared about Jesus and his power to change our lives and talked for a long time afterwards with a teenage girl who we had never met before. She was really interested in what Dave was talking about and we hope to see her again to keep up the relationship and see her grow in knowing Jesus.

Thank you so much to those who donated money to make this dinner a reality! I hope this will become a new tradition here in Constanta and that it will grow! Thank you Lord for blessing our Christmas day!

Christmas Eve with Friends

2007-01-02T07:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve we spent the evening at my base leader’s home with his family, friends and some other YWAMers spending the holidays here in Constanta. It was so nice to be together with so many of us being so far from home and family. We ate the BEST traditional Norweigen Christmas food, as my base leader is Norweigen and so is another of our staff members. Such good food! I think next year I should go to Norway and get some more! J After dinner Andreas, their 8 year old son, read us the Christmas story from Luke in Romanian and we spent the rest of the evening enjoying each other’s company. A very nice Christmas Eve!

Visiting Families for Christmas

2007-01-02T04:07:00.000-08:00

The Thursday before Christmas we had the opportunity to visit the poor families I had been visiting with the street team before DTS. Again it was wonderful to see the families after such a long time and to see the great job that, Dan, a Romanian YWAM staff member, is doing now leading this project to reach out to families in need (The project is actually now a church-planting effort, in cooperation with a local church here in Constanta- Good News Church). We took Christmas presents to the children and extra food to the parents, and sang a couple of Christmas carols, wishing them a Merry Christmas and inviting them to church on Christmas Eve. It was quite a marathon run, visiting nine families in one afternoon, but it was fun and hopefully we were a blessing!

Leisl's Visiting!!!

2007-01-02T03:59:00.000-08:00

December 16th, my dear friend Leisl Wehmueller, my best friend from college, came to visit me for the holidays! It has been such a blessing spending time with her, catching up, sharing what God is doing in our lives and serving together through the different holiday events that have been going on. She has such an awesome heart to serve and it it sooo fun to be with her, even though she has been sick a lot! Thank you God for good friends! January 8th she will say “adios” and go back to Spain where she will be teaching English for the next year. Yeah Leisl!

Girls Home Close to Completion

2007-01-02T03:47:00.000-08:00

Many of the guys at our base have been working very hard to finish up the renovations for our girls home. The construction is mostly complete and now we look forward to the addition of the kitchen furniture and appliances. Please keep praying for staff members as we are unable to make the home available until we have two more ladies who can stay with the girls a couple nights a week each. When we have a team of ladies together we will open the home with one of the girls who is now attending our Day Center. We will receive more girls into the home as our staff and facilities can accommodate them with the appropriate skills and services. Our desire is to provide emotional, spiritual, educational and vocational support for girls coming from abusive homes, helping them to succeed in life. My plan is to be one of the staff that will stay a couple of nights at the girls home every week. I will keep you posted on how things come along with this project!

Back on the Street!

2007-01-02T03:39:00.000-08:00

My second week back in Constanta I had the chance to go out again with YWAM’s street team to visit my friends living on the streets. It was so great to see their reactions as they realized that I was actually back in Constanta, and also for me to realize how much they love and missed me while I was gone for DTS. It’s actually a pretty humbling realization. These people have so little, and yet they give so much love- to me- who in the grand scheme of things really doesn’t do much for them. It is my desire to give them value through loving them with God’s love, but at the same time they are giving so much value to my life by loving me. Yep, it’s pretty amazing.

Its Official! I am YWAM staff!

2006-12-29T07:21:00.000-08:00

A couple Fridays ago in our base staff meeting here in Constanta, Romania, following our base tradition, I was “prayed in” as an official Youth With A Mission staff member. One of my leaders said that I was being “promoted” after all of my hard work as a volunteer, kind of like if I was in an army. :) It was a really special time, hearing all of my friends’ prayers for me and realizing that God has blessed me with a very special family to serve with here in Constanta. So, my long time dream of being YWAM staff is now a reality. I am committing the next two years of my life to serve here in Constanta. I can’t wait to see all that God does!

Interested in a DTS???

2006-12-13T02:58:00.000-08:00

Just to let you all know, we are starting a Discipleship Training School January 14th here in Constanta, Romania, and we are still accepting students! Please email me if you are interested! The school consists 12 weeks of teaching on the character of God, worship, spiritual warfare, the holy spirit, the Father heart of God, missions...and much more, and 10 weeks of outreach in Turkey and Bulgaria or Serbia and Bosnia. This is an awesome time to grow in your relationship with the Lord and to discover how he wants to use your life to touch the nations. Its not too late to apply so pray and contact me quickly!!! tortillaleah@hotmail.com

Back from Macedonia and DTS is over!

2006-12-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hey all! Last week I got back from Macedonia and I must say that the trip went really well. We had some great opportunities to love and encourage the people and to see God work in their lives. The majority of our time there was spent with people from a tiny two year old church plant. Some of the members had stopped coming and it was our joy to be able to encourage them to get back into fellowship and to pursue the call that God has on their lives. We met so many wonderful people and I miss them already!

After we arrived back in Cluj we spent the week in school evaluations, packing and saying good bye. We had a very nice graduation dinner and received our diploma for finishing Youth With A Mission's Discipleship Training School! Praise the Lord I am official now! I could hardly believe that my DTS was over! It was sad to say good bye to the friends I have made in these past few months but my excitement for what is to come has been keeping me going!

After DTS I went with a good friend from the school to Budapest, Hungary to see the sights and take some days off to relax before heading back to Constanta. The city is GORGEOUS and we had a great time! I even got to spend time at the YWAM base there and with a friend who works with them, joining the team for an English club outreach and a prayer time. It was a big blessing for me and was great to see what a beautiful YWAM family I am now a part of! Praise God for all he is doing through YWAM :)

Now I am back in Cluj for the night and will be taking the train tomorrow to go back to Constanta where I will have a month of rest and renewal before rejoining the base there as fulltime staff for the next two years! This next season of life will be very different for me as I won't be working with the street children's ministry, the families, or the Day Center. Instead I will be staff for the January DTS (the same kind of school I just finished), leading worship, leading a small group, living with and discipling students, and leading the outreach to Bosnia and Serbia, Lord willing! So this is a big change. And, next to this, a couple nights a week I will be staying at the Girls Home that should finally be openning in January as well, beginning with just two girls from the Day Center. Your prayers will be needed!!!

I hope to be in the States in May for two months to see family and friends and do fundraising. So that is the story with me. Thank you for all your love and support and for checking my blog even when I had no updates! Sorry for that! Blessings!

Macedonia!!!

2006-10-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

We made it to Macedonia! After over 24 hours of traveling by train and bus we made it to the beautiful city of Kratovo, Macedonia in the North Eastern part of the country. I love it! And I am excited to see how God will use my team here. We will be working with YWAMers who are planting a church here, the first Christian church in this city. It is an awesome work and there is a lot of opportunity to encourage people in this place. We will be sharing testimonies, doing dramas and dances, reaching out to the youth by hanging out with them and playing music with them. Practically we will probably be painting a bridge in the town and cleaning up garbabge as well. May we be a blessing to all we meet!

Thank you for your prayers! More info to come later!

The Baptism

2006-10-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

This was one of the most special moments of my life. Who would have known that something with only 4 hours of planning would be so amazing and powerful?! All of the students and many of the staff gathered together in the living room of one of the couples where we had one of the best church experiences that I have had in a long time. Bob shared about baptism from Jesus' example and after that the four of us students getting baptized shared why we felt led to do this. Three of us had been baptized as young children and wanted to make the stand again as an adult. For me, the realization of recieving Jesus' righteousness in place of my sin, hit me so hard that I wanted to recieve that in all its fullness through the symbol of baptism.

When Bob took my hands and said "are you willing from today forward, to renounce the world, the flesh, the devil and all the works of darkness, and walk in newness of life? Are you willig to give and recieve council from godly people that you respect?" it was as if I was saying my vows to get married. And actually that was exactly the kind of thing that I was doing! I had such a revelation of how I was chosing Jesus again, taking his name and identity through identifying with his death and rising again to life as I went in and out of the water. It was awesome! One of the most beautiful experiences of my life, even if it was in a bathroom, in someone's bath tub :)

These past months have been a huge growing experience and blessing for me. Tough times, fun times and powerful times. Thank you Lord for drawing me nearer to your heart!

Next up....MACEDONIA!!!

The end of the lecture phase has come!

2006-10-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

The past three months we have had some amazing teachers visit us at our school in Cluj, Romania. In the first picture is Graham Powell, a New Zealander coming to us from Canada and bringing with him his testimony of deliverance from strongholds. During the week that Graham was teaching I experienced some deliverence myself from certain fears. It was a powerful week and I learned so much about how to fight the spiritual battles that we find ourselves in every day, that we many times don't realize.

In the picture to your left is Bob a Menonite Pastor from Pennsylvia. God used him to communicate the heart ministry and has resparked my interest in the Old Testament and in Jewish tradition as it points to Jesus. Bob is such a wise guy! Also through his teaching God revealed to me some amazing things about grace and how I can't work to maintain my salvation. Jesus died for my past sins, the sins I commit today and the ones I will commit tomorrow. Such AMAZING grace! Its hard to explain without writing a novel, but God really touched me through Bob's words, so much so that me and some other students decided that we wanted Bob to baptize us--that night!

A week with the ladies

2006-10-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a very special experience spending time with some very special ladies. The girls from my DTS all went together to a village outside of Bucharest. There we visited a home for young ladies from age 22-26, who had all grown up in orphanages and had either ended up on the streets or without any other place to go.

We spent time talking with the girls, getting to know them, cutting hair, painting nails and sharing our lives and our faith with them. My eyes were openned to the need among girls like these, especially with discipleship, encouragement in finding vocations, and in support in every area.

One Year in Romania!!!

2006-09-13T04:50:00.000-07:00

Today is my one year anniversary of coming here to Romania! This is amazing! I can hardly believe that it has been a whole year. God has done SOOO much and I am sooo thankful for everything I have experienced here. It has been such a growing year. So...A BIG THANK YOU to all the people out there who have been praying for me, writing me emails, encouraging me and supporting me financially to be here! I couldn't be here without you! Thank you for letting God use you in such a big way!

Discipleship Training School!

2006-09-03T02:43:00.000-07:00

My crazy fellow students in DTS!!!

Hello there! I am here in Cluj, Romania, over halfway through with the lecture phase of my YWAM Discipleship Training School. The point of the school is to know God in a deeper way and then to go out and make him known in mission. This time has really been whipping me into shape. There have been lots of challenges, but my heart is learning new things about God, living with people and healing some hurts in my life, and all of this is going to have such an impact on how I continue in ministry.

I am missing Constanta so much! I miss the kids, the families, the base, my friends...the sea :) But I am getting to know some wonderful people here in Cluj, and as time goes on I am seeing more and more that this is just the place where I am to be right now. We have one more month of lectures and then we will be off to outreach. My outreach team is planning to go to Macedonia. We are in desperate need of money for this to happen, but of course that is no problem for God. Yesterday we just recieved news that the YWAM base in Tyler, Texas raised $2,000 for all of us students to help pay off our lecture phase. So awesome! So God is providing for us. I am learning to trust him, even when the food is running low and things don't look too good. It is such a good stretch for me.

Well this is all for now. I just wanted to say hello and let you know what I've been up to. If you haven't recieved my latest newsletter please let me know and I can email it to you. Love to you all!

Leah

Neighborhood Outreach

2006-07-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday we had such a great time reaching out to some children from poor families in a neighborhood where we have been visiting street kids. A couple of weeks ago we were going about our normal routine, visiting some of our street kids and one of the families where they come from, when about 15 little kids from the neighborhood came out of nowhere, jumping up and down, so excited to see us! So we decided we should take the opportunity and reach out to this neightborhood.

Since we have a team serving with us from Norway we decided to make a special night of it. Wednesday morning we started off with a short prayer walk around the neighborhood, told the kids we'd be back later that evening for a kids program. The team organized the activities and by the end of the night we had had an amazing time, singing, watching dances and dramas about Zacheus and The Good Samaritan, playing soccer and basket ball, drawing with sidewalk chalk, face painting and loving on the most beautiful little kids! Man, it was one of the greatest nights of the past few months! Thank you Lord for working it all out!

This Wednesday we will go again to spend time with the kids, telling them about Jesus and his love for them and playing games. Most of the kids are from poor families and some of them don't go to school. It is a great opportunity to bring light and joy into their lives and to share with them the Father's love! These kids are so open and teachable, it is amazing. A little group of them came up to me that night and wanted to pray! I didn't even have to initiate a thing. So God is openning up some unexpected doors...very cool! Please pray for the Lord to lead us as we consider continuing reaching out there this summer. Multumesc! (Thank you!)

I'm still alive :)

2006-06-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hello! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! Wow, so much has been happening. Just a quick run down...

We finished our Alpha Bible study course with the street kids and families that we have been ministering too. The attendence really dwindled by the end but not without fruit! God did such a work in one of the girls, Nadia, and she told us at the last meeting how life has changed for her, in the way she acts and sees things. Its so encouraging to see and we pray that she continues to hunger for more of God. Besides Nadia, we also have seen a big change in the lives of a couple named Dodo and Mirela. They have been coming the most consistently and it is amazing to see how much especially Dodo loves being there and learning about God. He said that the only things he would change about our bible study would be that we could pray and worship God more! So, God's moving in hearts and we are enjoying seeing this happen and praying that God will direct us to facilitate more opportunities for them to grow.

Lately with the street team we have been praying about where the Lord will be taking the street ministry next. Our leader will leave to work with training schools in Sept. and so there is a big question of how things will continue after that. From July 10th to around the middle of August we will have a break from the street ministry while people are out the coutry fundraising and visiting their families. I won't be going home but I will be hanging out with some VERY special visitors from the 17th of July through the 25th! Yep, my parents are coming!!! Yeah! So I am looking forward to enjoying a bit of a break with them.

I am still waiting on the Lord for direction for what to do after my commitment here is up in September. I would definitely appreciate your prayers. Thank you so much for keeping up with blog even though I am a terrible updater ;) Love to all!
Leah

Pictures from the flood outreach!!!

2006-05-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, how many people get to eat lunch with the Romanian Army???? Yeah, we are cool!
Unload 4 TONS of sauces donated by Samaritan's Purse. Thank you Samaritan's Purse!!!
Sorting through food donations!!! So exciting! L-R Maria from Romania, Peter from Reno, Sarah from Minnesota, Corina from Romania, Elena-Project director, David- Elena's son.

Flood Relief

2006-05-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I had the most amazing opportunity to join four other YWAM staff members from my base in a four day outreach to flood victims in a village about 3 hours from Constanta. As many of you have probably heard, all over Romania villages have been flooded, destroying people's homes and farms. Hunderds of people have been displaced, living in temporary camps set up by the government as they await new homes and a chance to rebuild their lives.

For the four days that we were there, we came along side a couple who has been working with the mayor of this particular village, Chiselet, and the military. They have created their own organization called Fundatia Betania (Bethany Foundation). This amazing couple had helped flood victims last year and had been in Chiselet for two weeks before we got there, working mostly by themselves to coordinate food and clothing donations for the flood victims and visiting the families to bring them hope and encouragement in the Lord.

Our team got to help with sorting clothes, unloading food donations, washing dishes, digging trenches in the rain and doing activities with the kids in the camp. It was amazing for me to experience this kind of thing that I usually only see on television. These people had lost everything and were so in need of hope. Knowing that I could do something practical to help them and then to also be able to love on their kids was so great. And man were those kids cute! I hope that I will be able to go back again soon.

These camps of displaced people are such needy places for the hope and love of Jesus. The couple that is leading Fundatia Betania are praying for a special tent from the government and for a team of missionaries to live in the camps of displaced people and be able to reach each group-- men, women, and children. Please pray for the flood victims and for God's work in their lives. My hope is that though this hardship, God will rebuild their lives with him as the foundation. I think we all need to come to the realization that nothing in our lives is secure. We can't trust in our homes, our jobs or our situations, because in one moment they can all be taken away. What we can trust in though is our Creator! God is our only sure thing and we can trust him when all else fails. I hope that these people will be able to see this and place their hope in Him who never fails.

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

(Isaiah 54:10)

PRAISE GOD

2006-05-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

Yeah! Another praise report! Every Thursday we visit poor families and lately we have been struggling as most of us are here with our main focus on reaching street kids and don't feel so equipped for working with families. But working with families is such a need here and we believe that God put these families in our lives so we have not given up! In fact we felt to pray this week specifically for the families and that God would lead us in how we should continue.

God answered our prayers by telling us that we just needed to use what he had given us and to not give up. And today God showed us that he is SO in our family ministry and he is working! Peter, a guy from Reno, has joined our team and today we switched places from our usual ministry schedule. I went to the Girls Home to work on the restoration and he went to the families to share his testimony of healing. And God used his testimony in such a powerful way!

With the family of Nadia, a girl that has been coming to our Bible study and has really been growing in her understanding of the Lord, Peter shared his testimony and also what it meant to accept Jesus into your life. The WHOLE family (everyone that was there) ended up praying the sinner's prayer with the team!!! So awesome! Praise God! They all want to come to church on Sunday. Please pray that God will provide some Romanians to help start a Bible study in this family's house so that they can be discipled and grow in their understanding of their new life in Jesus! Yeah!!! God is so good!

God is sooo good!

2006-05-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Great news! The young man that I asked you to pray for last time called the family and apologized! If you remember, this 23 year old guy from the street was living with a family from Wales and the other day he ran away with over $2000 worth of media equipment. It came as such a shock because he was doing so great with the family up until then. So we prayed and prayed that this young man would be convicted and come back to the family to make things right. And God heard our prayers! He called the other night to apologize to the family and of course they forgave him right away! He was so amazed to hear this and now the family is praying about what to do next. They are not sure if they will take him into their home again or not. But they care about him a lot and still want to help him. Please pray for this family to have wisdom in this situation and pray for this young man as he is facing some serious issues that he needs to deal with. Thank you for your prayers! They are powerful!

URGENT PRAYER NEED!

2006-04-28T04:07:00.000-07:00

Please pray right now for one of the young men from the street. We'll call him "Oli". He has been living with a family here from Wales, who have come here to open a home for boys over 18 from the street. He just ran away today with a lot of the family's belongings. This is so sad! He was doing so well and really enjoying being a part of the family. Please pray for him to come back to the family and to return the stolen things. God has SUCH great plans for this young man and we love him so much, but the lifestyle of the street has such a hold on him. Please pray pray pray!!! Thank you!

So much to say!

2006-04-28T03:16:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was Easter for us here in Romania. Because Romania is Orthodox Christian we celebrate Easter according to the Eastern Orthodox calendar. It was amazing to see how much a part of the culture the celebration of Easter is. Because most of the population is Orthodox, everyone celebrates this Holy day and not just with Easter bunnies and candies like in the States but by going to church and proclaiming that Jesus is risen indeed! The week before and after Easter Sunday, people greet each other saying “Hristos a inviat!" (Christ has risen!) and then the expected response is, "Adeverat a inviat!" (He is truly risen!) I pray that these words will really come to life in the people's hearts. I was able to experience other beautiful traditions for Easter but I just don't have the time to write about it now! So sorry!

The week before Easter, I went to the west of Romania in Timisoara to attend a week of language school with 5 others from my base. We had a great time exploring this GORGEOUS city and learning more of the Romanian language. The focus of my classes was mainly on learning grammar rules and this has proved to help me the most in my reading of Romanian and has increased my vocabulary! Praise God! So things are moving along! :) Thank you to those who have given money to make that trip possible! It was such a blessing and help for my langauge learning.

So much has been happened these past few weeks but I will have to write more about it later. Today I am going to Brasov with Sarah from my base to recruit students for our upcoming Discipleship Training School in January. We will be doing this at a huge Christian Youth Conference where there will be over 3,000 people! Pray that we are able to share with the right students and be an encouragement in their lives to go farther in their walk with Jesus.

Well, this is all for now! Blessings to you all!

Elisa and this COMING SUNDAY!!!

2006-04-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

I had a GREAT time with Elisa Rosenlund. She came to join our ministry from my home church in Ashland, Oregon. Thank you Elisa for coming all this way to join us! I hope God uses this experience in your life! :) She arrived here on April 21st and just left yesterday. During her time here I was really reminded of the support I have from my hope. It means sooo much to me to have them praying for me and believing in the ministry I am a part of. Thank you guys so much for being who you are.

One more thing... if you have not recieved my latest newletter and would like to do so, please email me and let me know! tortillaleah@hotmail.com or daughtershalom@yahoo.com

My BIGGEST prayer request is for this coming Sunday! We are having a special day for the Street Kids bible study and we need as many people praying as possible. We will be taking the kids to the country, having a BBQ and teaching them about the Holy Spirit. We are really asking God to move and to change these kids lives. Pray they they come and pray that they get touched by God in a big way! Thanks guys!!!!

Hard things...

2006-03-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

Such hard things were witnessed today. We went to the house of Simona, Ramona and Superman (that’s really his name). Outside of the house was their father, raving mad or raving drunk, I am not sure what. He was upset because he couldn’t walk and none of his kids had come home with any money. He was throwing food at them and swinging this stick at them violently. They laughed at him for the most part but Ramona started crying after being there for a while. It was too much for her and I guess from what Therese said, she has been abused the most. We went inside their house—I mean, their room where the family lives and it was so dirty. Mud on the floor, two beds up against dirt-stained, corroded and molding walls. No insulation, water or electricity. The mom was screaming at her youngest son, a five year old, who was outside, walking by himself, completely soaked from the rain when we arrived. I can imagine the nightmare that it must have been and still is to grow up there.

The parents themselves seem to have endured an extremely hard life. They are desperate and therefore have become almost like animals in their fight for survival, taking out their frustrations on their children. It was so hard to see. It is so hard to know that this is happening in so many families and there is so little that I can physically do to change the situations. I am so thankful to have met the parents of the girls and to understand more where they are coming from. I was SO happy to see them all in church today. Even Felicia who stole my money was there. We had some talks about it and she apologized. I just hope she really learned something out of the situation.

Oti, from the Alpha group was also in church and that was great to see. He is connecting today with some guys from the Christian group home where he stayed for a few years. They are mostly guys from our church and just the kind of people he needs to be around right now. Praise God for that. And he is also meeting with someone about a possible job today. God is good and answering our prayers. Please continue to fight in prayer for these dear ones-- for Simona, Ramona, Felicia and Oti. May evil no longer rule in their life, but may they find new life in knowing Jesus.

You can also pray for Ionut, the five year old brother of Ramona and Simona. I’m not sure why the child protection services have not taken him away from his parents. Pray that we will have wisdom in looking into the situation further and that this little boy will be protected and cared for as long as he is at home. Thank you for joining with me, in praying for the healing of Constanta.

Our First Street Kids Bible Study!!!

2006-03-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

YEAH! Man God is so cool! And so GOOD! We had about nine boys from the street come to our first meeting for the Alpha Bible Course that we are going to be holding for the next 11 weeks. It is mostly for the older street kids (in their 20's ) and those that have been coming to church or have expressed interest in wanting to know God better. The night was just an introduction night, but from some of the things that were said by the guys there, it really meant a lot that we were having something like this for them.

There were two guys there that I really want to ask you to pray for: Oti and Gelu. I think they are the most serious about knowing God and wanting to get out of the street as well. I was thinking last night that kids from the street are sort of on a "ladder" on their way out of the street. Some are at the bottom and have a long way to go and others are farther up the ladder and are almost out, but need help to get the rest of the way. I think these guys are near the top and now that they want to know God, I know that Satan is going to try REALLY hard to knock them down again.

So PLEASE pray for Oti and Gelu. They are great boys and I know that God can really do miracles in their lives, but it won't happen without a fight. Pray for their protection, for them to find jobs, for the different people who could possibly take them into a half-way house, and for them to know Jesus as never before. That they would know him as their very best friend, as the LOVING father they never had, as their Savior, as their HEALER from the hurts in their lives, and their DELIVERER from the darkness of street life. Thanks so much for all your prayers. You guys are the best!!!

The Girls

2006-03-01T04:51:00.000-08:00

Felicia (13 years) Alexandria, Marcela (14), Simona
Sisters: Simona (14 years), Ramona (15 years)

If you remember me telling you before, I came to Romania with a specific heart for some of the young girls here who had been coming to our Day Center. I think I also mentioned that three of them are no longer coming to the Day Center and our attempts to have a home for them to keep them off the street have been coming along very slowly. Simona, Ramona and Felicia are the names of these girls and I am writing this update to ask you to begin interceeding for these girls if you have not already. The longer I am here the more I learn about these girls and how hard they are becoming the more time they spend living in the street.

The other day I met Ramona on the street with a young man wearing a whole lot of make-up. I had heard that her and Simona were living with a transvestite, so I suspect that this is the guy. It was good to actually have met him but it was upsetting for me to see more of the reality of where these girls are at. They are experiencing SOOO much in the street. They have been abused by their families and have run to the streets for "protection" but we know that there is no protection there.

Yesterday I heard that Simona and Ramona came to the Day Center, but weren't allowed to stay. I am not sure what the situation is exactly with them and the Day Center but I do know that it is a difficult one as the girls have had many chances to be in the Day Center, but for some reason have done something to lose their place there. I can't say that I agree with the decisions that the Day Center has made concerning them, but since I don't know the situation fully I can't really judge things. I just want to ask for prayer for these girls because we are losing them to the darkness of street life more and more every day.

I had another wake up call Sunday in church, when I had all of my money stolen from Felicia while she was putting her head in my lap while she was tired and "not feeling well." I had prayed that morning specifically for her and hoped that she would be at church, and she was! I sat with her most of the service, loving on her, hugging her and praying that God would let her know his love for her. But everything she said to me was a lie and all she could do in response to my care for her was to steal from me, feeling no remorse for it at all. I wasn't mad at her, but rather so sad because I was so naive to think that some hugs and kind words are enough to change Felicia's life. Its not enough. These girls are hard. They have been hurt and have learned how to survive no matter the cost, even if it means hurting the people who show them love. Its tough to realize for me.

Maybe you are thinking I am pretty foolish and I think you are correct. I have a lot to learn about reaching these girls. Pray for me please and for all of these things. I know that God can reach the hardest heart and he LOVES these girls. He won't give up on them and I don't want to either, but sometimes I am discouraged and start thinking that there is nothing I can do. Pray for wisdom, pray for staff to come, pray for the girls. Mostly pray for the girls. They need it sooo much.

Thank you friends for joining me in this...blessings to you.

Making History

2006-02-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

Daniel Mercado- Project Romania Rescue, Cristi- PRR,
Heather & Alec Chalmers-Faru Chruch, Chris Klop-
YWAM, Therese Wiik- YWAM, Me- YWAM, "Vinci"-
Catholic Org., Irina- YWAM, Mirjam- YWAM (missing-
Tica & Adrian- Casa Sami)

Friday night was a night in history. In our apartment we joined with all of the Christian Street Children Workers in Constanta for a night of fellowship, food and just a chance to get to know eachother better and share about our desire to work together to see the lives of the street kids in Constanta changed. Up until now we have been helping eachother here and there and have had good relationships. My team leader Chris has been meeting with the leader of two of the organizations for prayer, but we felt that God wanted to see more in our city and we needed to be united with others who are all reaching for the same goal.

Everyone was into the meeting and they suggested meeting regularly which was our hope. Man, God is so cool. One of the directors said something that I think sums up the whole idea of meeting together: "Maybe if we keep meeting like this, about 2 years from now we will look back on Februrary 24th, 2006 and say, that was the day when all of our separate teams became one team." We all have our separate organizations and projects but being able to see ourselves as one team or all, fighting for the street kids of Constanta, is going to make a huge difference.

Something NEW!!!

2006-02-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

Street Kid Alpha Group
Yeah! We are finally getting a Bible Study for the people from the street that are either coming to church or seem to want to know more about God. And it just so happened that our pastor's wife is in charge of Alpha, a program for people to get to know God, for all of Romania. So it was natural for us to decide to do an Alpha program with the Street people. If you aren't familiar with Alpha, it is an 11 week series of basic teaching from the Bible about Jesus and having faith in him for salvation and how to grow in knowing him. The people who come eat together, hear the teaching together and then discuss the teaching afterwards.

We hope that the kids will really be into it and really have a hunger to know God more. The greatest thing about this group is that our street ministry team is actually not leading it, but a young couple from our church is and the husband used to be a street kid himself. They are perfect for this and are really excited. Their names are Ion and Cocoa. And another young man, Cristi, who was also on the street for a while is also helping. We are so excited to be working with Romanians and especially Romanians with such a special heart for these people.

We will begin the group next Friday. This Friday night however we will be getting together with all of the Christians here in Constanta who are working with street kids. Our desire is to be more connected with one another, being more of a support to one another and being in unity as we all share God's heart for these people. We will have our team, the director of a boys home and the director of a girls home here in Constanta, a couple who just moved here recently from Wales to open a half-way house for guys over 18 on the street, the director from a day time drop in center for street kids, and the director of a large Catholic organization that has a Day Center, a boys and girls home, and other services to help street people. There are so many wonderful people serving in this city and it will be great to be together and get to know eachother better. I hope all is well with all of you. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog and for praying. Blessings to you all!

He hears our prayers...

2006-02-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

Today I was SOOO encouraged. I came into our staff prayer meeting this morning to find them all praying prayers of faith and hope for our girls home. And after we prayed one of the leaders of the base told us that they are sending out requests to businesses for support and sponsorships for the girls home. So things are moving again! After the prayer meeting we had our first base staff work day, where we worked on cleaning up the base and the girls home. I was in the girls home sweeping and getting completely covered in cement dust. It was so great! I was just so happy to be able to be a part of doing something to get this girls home to happen!

The staff at our base is really working to see the renovation of this house completed and we are seeking out the staff that we need to run it. Again if anyone out there has a heart to serve through construction and those sort of things, or if you are interested in sponsoring the girls home OR STAFFING it, please don't wait any longer! Let us know! :)

Please pray for all of this and for the girls. The girls that are in mind for it are really in need. Three of them are basically on the street and experiencing all kinds of things no 13 years olds should ever have to experience. They are hurting and in desperate need of a safe place and of unconditional love. Please keep the girls in your prayers. And please pray for me as I continue to seek out the best ways that I can help them in this girls home project.

Oh yes...I had a WONDERFUL time with Leisl! Being with her for the week was an incredible blessing and I am so thankful for her friendship to me! She also brought with her tons of clothes for the street kids from her mom's classroom of elementary school kids (thank you Sue and kids!) and from a lady at her church. AMAZING! They gave such nice clothes too, they are really a blessing. Thank you to all you who gave and thank you Leisl for blessing my life so much!!

...the other thing Leisl brought to me was the laptop I am now typing on! What a crazy blessing! Thank you Grandad Lewis, Aunt Libbey, Mom and Dad and Grandad Billings and anybody else who contributed that I don't know about! This beautiful little machine is such a huge help to me!

Okie dokie, this is all for now...man there is always so much to say! :) Until next time- let Jesus love you :)

Jesus was a drunk man dying in the street today...

2006-02-07T13:35:00.000-08:00

We were on our way to the base today when we saw a man lying flat on his back in the middle of the sidewalk. Nobody was going over to him. We stopped to look and see if he was okay and another man was coming to see what was wrong. Then more people came and people got on their cell phones, trying to get help for this cold and miserable man. It seemed like he was a homeless man, probably living somewhere on the street in that area. He had no desire to leave his place on the ground, but his side was hurting and his head was burning up. I felt so helpless, but so encouraged to see so many people stop and help. But what this man really needed was hope. He fought as the medics finally came and put him in the ambulance. I suspect he wanted to stay there and die. He said his name was Vacile and he was 49 years old though he looked much older. Our church here in Constanta has a special ministry for the homeless elderly and hopefully they will be able to find this man once he is out of the hospital. Please pray for this and for Vacile to find hope again...

And if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, just about 30 minutes after we (Leisl and I- my best buddy visiting from the States) had gone into the Day Center, another old man was found dead, flat on his back right on the sidewalk there. Just a few meters from our front gate. What happened I don't know,and who he was I haven't a clue- just a nicely dressed old man going for a walk I guess. Its times like these that my heart hurts and I remember that my God's heart hurts so much more. Suffering was not what he intended. May he use it though to continually teach my heart compassion and mercy for those in need, and move me to love, not only in words but in ACTION and in truth. Good night friends...may your hearts be stired.

Thanks for Praying...

2006-01-21T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have been at this internet cafe for hours now so this will be quick! :) Thank you for praying for our needs here! Unfortunately Nadia got the money for her abortion and had it Friday, the same day we went to see her to talk about seeing a doctor with her. Its tough for me because I was really hoping to see God work a miracle for this baby's life, but I know God knows better and also, it was Nadia's choice. But we will still be seeing Nadia and hopefully our relationship will grow. She also has a serious arm injury that is not healing properly so maybe we can help her with that and be a blessing to her large family of 12!

Tomorrow we get to see Vacile at church and I hope to give him a New Testament and talk to him more about knowing Jesus. I'm waiting to see what God will do with this guy and with the other kids who have been coming to church. Its so cool that they come and I am so glad that our church allows them to come there. Pray for God's Spirit to continually show up in our services!

Well, I am super excited because my best friend Leisl is coming all the way from Visalia, California to visit me on the first of February! She is coming at the perfect time as I am having to say good bye to my two closest friends here in Constanta. She is also bringing me a laptop that my family is giving me! Thank you Jesus! So hopefully my updates will be more frequent and I can get more pictures out to let you guys see what all is going on here. Please pray for her safe trip and for our time together to be blessed! I can't wait!

Well friends...you are amazing and I have to tell you that my time here has been blessed because of your love and support, packages, emails, and prayers. I miss you and hope to hear from you when you have the chance.
La revedere! (Good bye) :)

A New Beginning...

2006-01-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

Last week we began our new year of ministry. It was awesome to be back on the street with the kids again. I was SOOO happy to see them and to see that they had done alright while our team was away. Some of the kids, including my little princesses, Elena and Angelica, have gone to another city, but most of the kids are still hanging in there as always.

The Day Center is doing well. It was also great to be with the kids there and they seem to be doing well. The outreach team from Ireland has two team members there a day so they are taking care of the special activities and for now it seems like one of the teachers is taking care of the Bible lessons which I had been doing when it was my day. I'm relieved about this because for some reason I get so freaked out about doing Bible lessons. It is so difficult keeping the kids attention in the first place and then when you have to take time for translation you really loose them. So I guess I will tackle this Bible lesson challange another time in the future. For now I am hanging out and helping with the kids and get this- TRANSLATING!

No joke! The other day the teacher who speaks no English asked ME to translate what the kids were saying to the outreach team! I totally laughed at her because I am SOO not that good at Romanian. But I guess that kind of kicked off my year...as far as language goes, its sink or swim! In the day center they lost their aid that did the translating for outreach teams and in our street team we also lost our translator and only Romanian! So, Therese, who speaks a good deal of Romanian and I are the only ones to translate now. Its crazy. Please pray for me to get better and quickly!

Now for some serious prayer requests:

*NADIA* We know this girl, about 23 years old, and she has come to us asking for help with an abortion. She some time last year she was in a horrible accident where a wall fell on her and her baby girl, killing the baby girl and injuring Nadia. I am not sure if this accident had anything to do with this, but she is telling us that due to some surgeries she had in the past and her physical condition now, if she tries to give birth she could die. She has no money for the abortion and that is why she is asking us for help. We are really praying about how to respond to this situation as there seems to be no easy answer. Please pray for God to give us wisdom and to do a miracle in this girl's life and in the life of her baby.

*Eugenia* This woman, has had a very hard life. I won't go into her story for time-sake but she needs to pay a very high water bill as soon as possible and our team is trying to go about drawing papers for an agreement to give her a loan. We need prayer for this to go well and to take care of this is the appropriate way. We also need prayer for the money that we will need in order to give her the loan. This is going to be a huge blessing for this woman and a gigantic burden lifted off her shoulders.

*Vasile* Sunday at church a bunch of street kids came and stayed, listening to the whole message which was a simple, straight-forward, passionate message of salvation and God's love! It was the PERFECT message for street kids and as a result one of the guys from the street, Vasile, prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior! Awesome! Please pray for this young man to grow in the Lord and that we would be able to take the right steps to disciple him. We are seeing more and more that we need to start a Bible study for these guys on the street. Pray for this as well!

*More Workers* And as always we are praying for God to call more and more people with different gifts to Constanta for this ministry. We now REALLY need a Romanian or at least someone who speaks fluent Romanian. And we are also praying for a nurse/medical assistant to join our team too, but we can use anyone with a heart for this ministry! We will be losing Cressida at the end of this month (And I will be saying good-bye to a very dear friend!) and sometime in Februrary we will be having a man from Sweden joining us. He has a big heart for intercession and that will be a huge blessing for us. So God provides in his timing, but I am reminded that we need to continually seek God's face for these needs. He is our good Daddy who provides for us. Amin!

Thank you so much for your prayers and LOVE! I hope you are all doing well and I will give you more updates soon!

Brasov...The most beautiful city yet!

2006-01-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture over looking the beautiful city of Brasov. Here I stayed with a friend who had been on outreach in Constanta and this is where we sent our New Years. It was amazing!