Dear family and
Friends,
As I am writing this letter, I am aware that most of you
are so busy you do not lack reading materials, but we wanted to give praise to
God for all He's done lately. In the last letter we didn't have pictures, in
this one we'll let the pictures speak more than words.
Almost
four years ago we received a call from an elderly widow, trapped by her
loneliness, depression, and a desperate desire to talk to someone. She had found
in a brochure the name of our foundation as "Friends of the Lord Jesus," and in
her traditional, ritual driven faith, she was outraged that anyone could claim
to be Friends with the Most High!
Our phone conversation was short, but she agreed for me to visit at
her apartment, and when I did she talked without stopping for hours and hours.
She was a sharp minded lady, who in her younger days worked as a nurse alongside
some of the best surgeons in the Military Hospital in town. That was the
beginning of a friendship that changed Mrs. Marcela's view of us, of our Gypsy
girls who became her care givers, changed her view of Jesus, which changed her
life for eternity.
Her niece who
will inherited Mrs. Marcela's earthly possessions lives in Germany, but for us
and the girls, for the time God allowed us to have her with us, she was family.
Mrs. Marcela made a promise to the girls, that she would welcome them into
heaven with flowers when they will arrive, and that is enough reward for any
Christian care giver. May God encourage all of you who pray and care for the
elderly. Our Lord is a God of surprises!
We don't want to leave you with only one story... June has been
the month of weddings here. For one couple, we were invited by the bride,
Ioana having been one of the girls we met at the House of Hope, when we first
arrived in Sibiu. We've often commented about the orphanage stigma on the girls,
but this is an exception, and we rejoice seeing God's fingerprint in Ioana's
life and His provision for a wonderful husband.
The other couple has a different story. We met them through a
relative of the bride. Natalia was raised in the church. She was dating Ieronim,
who was an "outsider." Her family was pressing them to stop the relationship.
They felt comfortable to come and talk to us, and while counseling them, Ieronim
gave his life to Christ. It was such genuine, powerful work of the Spirit in him
that he started to challenge Natalia to a life of prayer and holy living... and
they realized that she was not saved, so he led her to Christ. This happened
several years ago, and this month we celebrated their wedding with their loved
ones and the church family.
June is not over yet, but
tomorrow morning we are leaving for camp with a junior high group from
Orlat. We heard from parents that in their excitement, some kids packed
their bags a few days ago. Too bad we can't say the same thing. It's past 11 at
night and we are not yet done... so I have to keep this short. Please pray
for safety, for the fruit of the Spirit to abound, for lasting fruit in these
children's lives.
May you be
blessed for every blessing that we can extend here because of your prayers and
giving, for the glory of God.
In His love,
Voicu,
Ana and John
(Tavi is with his family for the summer)