Romania Update - 6.3.2008

“Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.” -Jude 1:2

Hello everyone! Well this month has been an adventure to say the least!

I appreciate your prayers. As many of you know, I am praying about moving to a new city to continue my ministry work. I have been so blessed to be able to visit a few cities this month working along side Calvary Chapel missionaries.

I was blessed to be able to attend the Calvary Chapel Romania Conference. Three of my pastors from home actually came out for the conference, Pastor Brian Broderson and Pastor Ken Sutton from CC Costa Mesa and Pastor John LaBelle from CC WestGrove. It was a blessed time of refreshment and fellowship.

I traveled with Pastor John LaBelle and a missionary couple, Jenny and Marius to a city called Slobozia to see the work that they are doing there. We had a great time, and I was able to spend some time with the youth in the city at a Bible study, they were full of so many questions about the Lord and His Word. We also spent some time with them in the city another night just fellowshipping. Jenny and I also visited the orphanage in the city to inquire about working there as there are no ministries working in that orphanage at this time. Slobozia is one of the cities I am praying about moving to.

The other city I am praying about moving to is Oradea. There is a Calvary ministry here called Pathway to Joy. They are a great ministry and are working in the hospital with the abandoned babies, in an orphanage with kids 5-20 and in a few gypsy villages in the area. I have been so blessed to work alongside a team that came here to Oradea from Tennessee. We had a VBS in one of the gypsy villages, helped work in a church they are building in another gypsy village, worked in the hospital, visited the orphanage a few times and participated in a mentoring program that Pathway to Joy has for the children from the orphanage. This week I have been helping Karen the missionary I am staying with organize her office and parts of her home. The administrative part in me has loved being able to do this!

I hope to make my decision this month where I will be moving to. I will let you all know as soon as I do.

Prayer requests:
1. Which city to move to
2. An apartment when I do decide where I will be living
3. The youth of Slobozia
4. Jenny and Marius – Missionaries in Slobozia
5. Pathway to Joy Ministries in Oradea (Karen and Cornel Bucur and their family)
6. The orphans here in Oradea
7. The hospital work with the abandoned children here in Oradea
8. The work with the gypsies in the area.
9. As always, that the Lord will continue to guide me and use me for His work and that I would be a blessing to all I come into contact with.

I hope you are all blessed. Thank you for your encouragement and prayers this past month.

Love,
Rachel

Rachel's Photo Site
How to Support Rachel

The Lord blessed me the other day with these verses that I wanted to share:

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

~Isaiah 58:6-11

Too many good pics to use just a couple! What a blessing this past month has been.

Pics 1-4: Tinca Gypsy Village, playing with the kids and helping work in the new church building
Pics 5-8: Sabolciu Gypsy Village, VBS
Pics 9-13: Working with CC Team from Tennessee in Oradea in the orphanage, hospital and mentoring group.
Pics 14-17: Slobozia with Pastor John LaBelle, and missionaries Jenny and Marius. Spending time with the youth.
Pics 18-23: Calvary Chapel Romania Conference
Pic 19: Pastor John and Jenny in Slobozia
Pic 20: Orphan Mentoring Group in Oradea

Rachel's Romania Update - 4.27.2008

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
~ 1 Corinthians 15:58

Paște Fericit!

Happy Easter! Today is Easter Sunday in Romania. Romania goes by the Orthodox Calendar so they have a different Easter than we do in the States. It has been a beautiful warm day here in Romania. I wanted to write you today, to wish you a happy Easter and because the first week in May I will be attending a conference here in Romania for Calvary Chapels. I am really looking forward to this time, two of my pastors, Pastor Ken Sutton from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, and Pastor John LaBelle from Calvary Chapel WestGrove are going to be flying out. It should be a good time of fellowship and refreshment.

This past month has been busy! It has been full of joys and some hardship. After much prayer and talking with my Pastors at home and with my accountability partner, I feel the Lord is going to be moving me out of Bucharest. This decision comes with some sadness as I have developed some wonderful relationships here in Bucharest, and love the babies at the hospital as well as Florinel who I have been teaching English to. But there have been some circumstances here that I do not feel I should continue to be involved with.

There are 3 ministries here in Romania who would like me to come and work with them. I have worked with 2 of them in the past and the third would actually be to pioneer a ministry. I am praying that the Lord will lead me to where He has for me to go next. I will meet even more ministries at the conference next week. I am really looking forward to the future with hope and excitement. I have a wonderful support system of pastors at home who have really encouraged me to make this move and I feel the peace of the Lord in this decision. I will let you all know where I will be moving to prayerfully in the next few weeks. I do not plan on making a decision until after the conference.

I do want to share with you the wonderful times I did have this past month. My work in the hospital, was great. I have really enjoyed being able to talk to some of the mothers who are in the hospital staying with their children while I am working with the abandoned children. It is refreshing to meet some who have such compassion for the abandoned babies. One mother spent over a half an hour crying with me about little Florica. She couldn’t believe that anyone could abandon her, and her heart broke that Florica is basically living in the hospital alone. The mothers are always amazed that someone from America would come to Romania just to love these abandoned babies…it really gave me an opportunity to share practically the love of Christ and to be a light.

I have also enjoyed the relationships I have made with some of ROCK’s staff. Especially the three woman who work in the hospital with me, Laura, Lily and Martha. Their love for the Lord and for the babies is an inspiration to me. We have spent time in prayer for one another and in fellowship together. They are some of the hardest working women I have ever met in my life!

I was also able to develop a relationship with a young lady, Karla who came to live with us. She is 23, single and pregnant. I have to admit I am thankful she decided to keep her baby. There are many, many women here in Romania who have abortions, many are encouraged to do so by their doctors. Please keep Karla in your prayers, as she is unsure how she will be able to care for a child and work. Pray that she will make Jesus the Lord of her life and that He will guide her and provide for her so that she will be able to be a good mom.

Please keep me in your prayers especially over this next month as I will be moving to a new ministry. Pray that the Lord will lead me and guide me as He has been so faithful to do in the past. I also ask that you pray that my time with my Pastors will be fruitful and refreshing. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers over the past few months. I know that the difficult times I went through this past month would have been very hard for me had I not had your prayers to support me. The Lord is so good!

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
- 2 Corinthians 13:14

In His love,
Rachel

Missionary Update - 4.5.2008

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
James 1:27

Buna! Hello everyone!

I write to you with such a happy heart, completely overwhelmed by all that the Lord has blessed me with.

This past month has flown by. I made my move to Bucharest and am enjoying my new apartment with my roommate Nann (who is the also the founder of ROCK Ministries). I have been incredibly busy, but have loved every minute of it. The Romanians here call me Rahela. I love it! It’s fun to have a Romanian name and I think it sounds so pretty.

I have been working in a children’s hospital here in town. ROCK works with children who are abandoned, orphaned or who do not have parents who come and visit them in the hospital. We bathe the children, help feed them, change them and play with them. Right now the majority of our children have cerebral palsy. I have really been enjoying interacting with the children. I am also teaching one of our foster boys, Florinel English. He’s 8 years old and very smart!

For the past 10 days we have had a team with us from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara. Nann is training me to become the Outreach Team Coordinator. We had a great time with the team. They helped us in the hospital, put on a VBS for our foster kids and spent time with many of the foster children one on one. It was a blessed time. It was great for me as well to spend time with the team. I was really blessed by them. It was also a great way for me to learn the city a little more as I have only been for less than a month. It was fun getting used to the subway and the bus system. I was also blessed to lead 2 devotionals while the team was here.

Nann and I were talking the other day about starting a ministry with our church, working with the elderly. This was something that was on my heart before I even moved here, so please keep this in prayer for us.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. The Lord is so good and I am so blessed to be used by Him. I love my time here and I am so excited to see all that He has in store for me.


Prayer requests:
1. Teaching English, and possible teaching other foster kids as well.
2. Working in the hospital with the children.
3. Health and safety.
4. Driving in Bucharest (it is CRAZY here!)
5. Possibly starting a ministry working with the elderly here.
6. Dorina and Laura in Timisoara.
7. ROCK Ministries

I attached some pictures. I hope you are all good!

In Him,
Rachel

Rachel's Romania Update - 2.26.2008

“And in that day you will say: Praise the LORD, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.’”
-Isaiah 12:4-5

Well February is coming to an end. My time in Timisoara is now over as well. I finished my language training and took an overnight train, 8.5 hours here to Bucharest. I am in the process of getting things organized and will start working in the hospital soon! I am very excited to get to work.

My last month of language training went very well. It was also a great time of fellowship with my teachers Dorina and Laura, as well as Laura’s whole family. I am truly blessed that the Lord brought them into my life. Their friendships mean a lot to me and I pray that I have been and will continue to be an example and blessing to them as well.

I also had the opportunity to spend time with my Romanian cousin, Julia. She came to my city this time and we spent the day together walking around town and talking about life, family and the Lord. It was very nice. We were both so happy to have another day together. Please keep Julia and her family in your prayers as her mother just passed away a couple of weeks ago, she was a wonderful woman.

The weather is finally warming up here Romania. Today it was about 60 out! Yea for spring! I spent today walking around the city...well my part of the city. I never would have thought I would end up living in such a big city. Bucharest reminds me of New York with all the tall buildings, cars and people people everywhere! I really enjoyed my walk today and seeing so many people out on the street. This city is huge! There are about 2 million people living here. It is actually the 6th largest city in the EU by population within city limits. In case you are interested in reading up on Bucharest here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucharest

Please continue to keep my health in your prayers. I’m still coughing! But I’m hoping the change in the weather will help clear that all up. Also please remember to keep Dorina, Laura and her family as well as Julia and her family in your prayers. The Lord is so good and so faithful! I am so blessed to be here, and really I feel so “at home” here in Romania. I look forward to my time with the kids and to learning more of the language as I interact with people. I’m excited to see the new things the Lord is going to do.

May the Lord bless you all! Thank you for your continued support and prayers!

Rachel

Missionary Update Letter - 2.1.2008

“As cold water to a weary soul, So is good news from a far country.”
Proverbs 25:25

Hello everyone! January has flown by and here we are in February! January was a month full of surprises and blessings! The Lord has opened up so many doors for me since I have arrived here. I just want to share a couple of highlights.

With some encouragement from one of the language teachers here, I looked into finding my Romanian family, of whom, no one in my family at home knows. I was able to actually find a cousin of mine, Julia, and praise the Lord she only lived an hour away! So my Romanian friend Dorina and I went to visit her and some of my other cousins. She even took me to see the house my great grand father built before he immigrated to the United States in 1914. So cool! It was great to be able to share with Julia and every family member I met, that I was here in Romania as a missionary and how the Lord has given me such a love for this country and the people here. I still keep in contact with Julia and hope that the Lord will continue to use me in this new relationship.

I have since met other family members even in America I didn’t know about through some pictures I had posted on the web. The Lord is really opening up doors for me to share what He has done in my heart and what it is that I am doing here in Romania. Please pray for my family members here in Romania and those in the States.

My language training has been going great..the Lord is really blessing me with speed of learning. After speaking with Nan”n in Bucharest we decided I should stay here in Timisoara for February before returning to Bucharest to begin my work with the children. Most missionaries here study the language for a year and I have met several couples here at the school who have been in Romania for 3 years and are still coming for classes! But 3 months is all that I will give to classes...I cannot wait to work with the babies!

A few prayer requests...
Please keep Aristrita, a baby ROCK Ministries works with in your prayers. Nann will prayerfully be bringing her to the states this month to get some much needed surgery. The Lord has really been opening up the doors for this to happen, please pray that He will continue to lead the way.
Please also keep where I will be living in Bucharest in your prayers. Nann and I will be living together but we have not looked for a place yet. Please pray that the Lord will provide the right place, for the right price, in the right location, with the right landlords!
Please also pray for my last month here in Timisoara. I am so thankful for the relationships the Lord has brought my way. My language teacher Laura, her husband Robert and their 5 children have ”adopted” me into their family. They only have one daughter, so I am the new official ”big sister”. I have spent Christmas and New Years and even a birthday for one of their sons with them...we have ”family meals” together, and the Lord has really opened up communication between us about Him. He has blessed me with so much this month, it is wonderful to be able to share all He has done. Please keep Laura and her family in your prayers as well.

Thank you for all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for my health...I can’t seem to completely get over this cold!

I pray you are all doing great...

Blessings,
Rachel