-Philippians 4:6-7
Hello everyone! Well with the end of February comes the end of my first month back in Romania, and the end of my time in Oradea. I actually am leaving for Brasov this evening. This month has been a time of goodbyes and a time of fellowship with my dear friends here. I visited the hospital and say goodbye to my little ones and give some gifts for them I had bought when I was in the states. It has also been a time of watching the Lord work and prepare the way for me to move to Brasov.
I want to share a little story with you, to give God the glory for what He has done this past month. In Romania it can be difficult to find an apartment because of the way things are set up here. Basically, if you find a place that you like, you need to write up a contract right away or it will be snatched up by someone else. Landlords don’t wait until the 1st or the 15th of the month, they expect you to take it right then and there. This has proved a little difficult for me this past month, in that Oradea is 10 hours by train from Brasov. The other “difficult” part in this situation was that Brasov is so much more expensive than Oradea. My friend Sarah who I will be working with in Brasov, did not think that I would be able to find a place for under 300 euro even for a studio! (I was paying 140 euro here in Oradea for my studio.) The entire month we spent calling agencies and looking for a place, only to find the places either more than I could afford, they were already taken, or they were so far away I would have to travel by bus over 40 minutes to get to the hospital. I told Sarah that 300 euro was just too much and that the Lord would have to provide something for less than that.
Well this past Sunday came, and knowing that I would be moving today, I was starting to say to the Lord, “Ok Lord, I leave in a week and I don’t have anything yet!” He reminded me of the verse above and that He has taken care of me thus far. So I did my best to not be anxious and to trust in Him. On Monday afternoon Sarah calls me all excited that she has found the perfect place for me, that it is everything I wrote I wanted and that it is 280 euro. This seemed like a bit much for a studio, even though she said it was really large and only a 5 minute walk to the hospital and a 20 minute walk to the center of town (PERFECT LOCATION!), so she sent me some pictures and I realized that it wasn’t a studio apartment at all but a 1 bedroom! The Landlord was so nice and agreed to not show the place to anyone else until I saw it the next morning. So I took a night train out to Brasov that night to go see the apartment. The place is beautiful and big enough for me to have guests come over and even stay over (You’re all invited!). It is a great ministry apartment. I spoke with the Landlord to see if she would come down in price (knowing that 1 bedroom apartments like this, in this area can go for 400 euro!) and she said she would take it down to 270 euro, and I wouldn’t have to pay for my gas until May! Which is perfect cause Brasov is in the mountains and by May it will be warmer and my heating will be significantly less! The apartment is also fully furnished!
The next testament to the fact that this apartment was a gift from the Lord came when the Landlord asked me if I was ok with her writing a different amount on the lease for rent than what I was actually paying. You see in Romania, pretty much everyone who rents writes a different amount on their lease because taxes for the landlords are 60% of the rent. So they will for instance write 100 euro rent when you are really paying 300 euro. Well I believe that we are supposed to be above reproach and to obey the laws of the land, and so I told her that I was not comfortable doing this, knowing very well that she may decide to not give me the place, she made a couple of comments and huffed and puffed and then said OK! This was truly a miracle and another confirmation that the Lord was in control.
Even though my rent is now almost double what I was paying Oradea, I know that the Lord will provide. He already provided the ‘impossible’ by giving me such a great apartment in the perfect location at an unbelievable price in that city! It has been great to see Him work. I know that sometimes we don’t really ‘feel’ God in our lives or we wonder if He cares about the little things in life, but I want to assure all of you that He does! That He loves us, and even cares about where we will live!
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
-Matthew 6:25-33
So I leave tonight for Brasov. I’m so excited and blessed. The Lord’s hand has been on this move every step of the way. I was able to visit the hospital I will be working at when I took my trip out to get the apartment, and I met a lot of wonderful missionaries and volunteers I will be working with. Sarah also let me know about other organizations in town I can volunteer with if I wanted to. It is so great to know that Sarah was encouraging me to work with other organizations and that she just wanted me to do the Lord’s will. What a blessing!
I know this update has been a bit longer than I usually write, but I was so excited to share with you all how the Lord has provided for me.
Prayer Requests:
1. That the Lord will go before me in the work He has for me to be a part of in Brasov
2. That the Lord will continue to provide for all my needs
3. That I will be a light and an example to everyone I come in contact with
4. For the work in the hospital and the dear little ones I will be working with
I will send pics of my apartment next month! May the Lord bless you all!
Grace and Peace,
Rachel
Mia, Maria and Marinela. The girls I used to work with at the hospital. I will miss them!
Kevin and I
Levi and I
Ioana and I
Kevin and I
The “Missionettes” Sue, Kelly and I in Budapest, Hungary. We had to make a trip there to get pages in our passports at the US Embassy for our Romanian Visas. It’s only 4 hours away! We also were able to go to Calvary Chapel Budapest while we were there, it was amazing!
Kelly and I. I was so blessed to be able to stay with Kelly this month while I was in Oradea. She was a great hostess, and is a good friend here. I’ll miss her a lot!
