Prayer Requests

Since we've been back (over two weeks now) we've resumed many of our normal activities. Going to the orphanage and hanging out with the kids (they just started school this week), going to the baby hospital and time with the transition graduates. Our programs will be starting up again around October and there are many things to pray for.

Pray for staff unity in all we do. One way satan loves to attack us is through disunity. Also pray for the financial hardships H2H is going through. Romania has increased taxes by 5% and now has 24% sales tax. This plus lower donations due to economic hardship in the US has made funding a bit tricky.

Us with Catalina

Pray for the visa situation of our interns. We currently have three interns, Krysten, Shannon and Dorothy. Krysten has already used up her visitors visa (the passport stamp for 90 days) so she currently is an illegal alien. The problem is because they are changing the volunteer visa laws so they do not want to accept any new applicants. Costel and Jen and busy trying to resolve these issues, hopefully even today.

Vali

Pray for the talks we have with orphanage directors and teachers. Our programs are at their mercy, pray for favor and acceptance of our school classes. Pray for good relationships and open doors.

Vio, Catalina, Nicu and Georgiana

Pray for our the planning of our school programming. This year Mark is going to teach math, computers and English language. Rebecca is going to teach science and a social survival/cooking class. We have a staff partner (Mariana and Sanda respectively) and we have begun planning the syllabus for the year. Pray for wisdom and direction.

Rebecca and Matlida playing war

Pray for confidence in our responsibilities. Many of us on staff have either never taught before or are teaching different things this year. Pray for our teaching abilities and that we wouldn't doubt the fact that God will give us the strength and words to speak. Pray also for us as we will be teaching in Romanian, some for the first time, others for the first time on their own. Pray that God helps us to remember what we have learned and opens our minds to the language.

Mark with some cute baby girls

Pray for the kids. That they would be eager to come to our classes and learn. That we could establish good relationships with them that will lead to discussions about our personal savior, Jesus Christ. Pray that those who have made a decision to accept Christ would grow in their relationship with him this year.

Another baby girl

Pray for our involvement with the youth this year. We are going to have some youth group type activities. They will vary on spiritual depth according to the kids and what we feel we are allowed to do. Pray that these groups are meaningful and impact the kids lives positively and increase their desire to know God.

Nicusor

Pray for the new moms group-first steps that will be started. Two new babies are due soon in the H2H family. Pray for the parents to learn how to instruct their kids in a Christ like manner. Also pray for the babies in the hospital. Many have colds and some nurses do not allow us to go in the infant room. Pray for health and good development.

Baby boy

Pray for safety. We will be doing a lot of traveling this year. We are moving out to Snagov (girls transition house- no girls program this year) and will be working around us, in Rosiori and at the boys transition house. Pray for traveling mercies, and the cars to stay in working order. Pray also for our health, spiritual health, and emotional well being. Pray that this year will be another year where we see God moving and changing the lives of these precious kids.

Thank-you for all your prayers, it is only through prayer and by God's strength that we are able to do this ministry!

One Year Update

It is hard to believe that we've been serving God in Romania for a whole year already. It has been a great year, not without trials and hardships, but full of rewards and confirmations from God that this is what He has called us to do. When we arrived in Romania a year ago we entered into a whole new world; a new culture, new language, different customs and a different way of life. As we got used to the new surroundings we started studying the Romanian language, taking a course for six months from a private professor. It was difficult getting used to new pronunciation and grammar, but God was with us and through much studying we gained a basic proficiency. It was very exciting to be able to understand the people around us and to be able to communicate with them for the first time.


After finishing language lessons we helped in all three areas of our ministry here: the baby hospital, orphanage, and transition house ministries. When babies are abandoned due to poverty or the parents inability to care for them, they go to the baby hospital. There we fed, changed, held and played with the babies, helping them to develop normally. It is so great to walk into a room and see all of the smiling babies who are eager to be picked up and cuddled. When the babies are old enough they go to state run orphanages, where we also helped out. At the orphanages we worked on relationship building with the kids through playing games and teaching classes. Gaining their trust is crucial to sharing the good news about Jesus with them, and we made some great friendships. We also helped out with the young adults in the transition programs, those that age out of the orphanages. We served as models of Christ to them and helped teach them life and job skills.


Summer ministry was our busiest yet most rewarding time of the year. We helped run several camps where we took kids from all of the orphanages we work with to different camp locations. We sang songs, performed skits, had small group times, played games, made crafts, and spent time getting to know the kids better. It is amazing how close we became with some of the kids in such a short amount of time. The kids were very receptive and open to the gospel and many accepted Christ into their hearts. It was such a joy and an honor to lead prayers and to hear the voices following along, praise God! There was also a backpacking trip in the mountains for older boys and two pampering camps for older girls. We heard many of the kids' life stories and built great new relationships. We feel like God used this summer to confirm to us that this is where He wants us. We are excited to see what he has in store for us in the coming year.


We are so thankful that you are part of our ministry through your support and prayers. You can follow along with what we're doing on our blog which we update regularly. If you're not on our e-mail list please send us an e-mail to get our periodic updates. We would love for you to come to Romania as short term trips are an important part of our ministry. Contact us or H2H about coming on a trip here to model the love of Christ to these kids. Please continue to pray as this is what God uses to fuel our ministry. Thank You!

Friends Week

Our second week home we spent lots of time with our friends after spending the first week with family. It was a packed week but it was great to see so many of our friends at one time.

At the Jasperse's place we had fun playing games and playing with the kids, just like Tuesday nights before we came to Romania. Mark came the closest ever to winning Settlers of Katan before Kayleen pulled out a surprise win. Terri made strawberry-rhubarb crisp which was delicious.

Lexi enjoyed chainsawing Rebecca with Sam's new toy. We went to a garage sale that was a fundraiser for some friends who are coming back to Romania.

We had lunch with the Allen's and then toured Extol to say hi to old co-workers.

After dinner with Beth we played Wii with her son Kyle, who loved to play super slice.

We also enjoyed dinner at Bryan & Miranda's place, and went out to BD's Grill with friends Matt & Heather.

Binder Park Zoo was a fun day with lots of friends. Lexi wondered if the animals would bite her, and Precious was excited to see a cow. Sam had fun petting goats and we all enjoyed feeding the giraffes and seeing the animals on the African Safari.

We also enjoyed a picnic with our lifegroup at Hagar Park.

Sunday we spoke at Evergreen Ministries where Mark's sister & brother-in-law came to see us again before we left.

Evergreen will be supporting our ministry starting this fall. Quite a few of our friends go there, like the whole Jasperse clan.

At Evergreen with friends Tim and Terri

At the airport with Rebecca's parents

We left in the afternoon on Monday and arrived safe and sound in Romania a little more than a day later. We had a great time on our vacation, it was great to see our family and friends again. We are so thankful for the support we feel and for the prayers on our behalf. We look forward to seeing everyone again when we return next time.