Pictures

Pictures are worth a thousand words!



Ladies Bible Study made scarves before they started. They loved them.



Block Party Skits



Children sitting on Bro. John's Parachute



Jesus loves the little children...all the children of the world



Karen, Dawn, Kathy, Linda, and Mary ready to start the day leaving the hotel



The "heartbeat" of our team were the young people! Thanks Rebekah, Hillary, Paul and Mario!




The "B Team" Puppets performing at Sunday services in village of Biou. Under the "whispers" of our puppet leader, Judy McCrory, we performed two numbers using the puppets we had brought to Mana Church and a piece of fleece from the lap blankets as our stage!



Small room...warm hearts! Can you believe that Boiu church actually expanded their room in September!



Did we mention the MUD! and more mud, and no sidewalks, and sloping hills, and rain, and more mud! But smiles of joy as we go to minister! It was good that Judy had bright pink in case she slide into the ditch because the water was very muddy too!



Did we mention how tennis shoes slide in Mud like ice? We were praising God for Daylight Savings Time at 7:30 PM...so we didn't have to return home in the dark.



Karen Brown's shoes! How beautiful are the feet....

Summary Update

April 10th:
Wow, what a couple of good nights sleep can do after a mission journey! Hope all the team members are recovering.

We had a long but uneventful trip home...which for travelers is very good. Thank goodness we weren't flying American Airlines.

I cannot possibily share all the wonderful things that happened on this journey...but, again here are a few.

Sunday, April 6th
Before the service even started on Sunday, our team noticed some children that had been invited to church the day before were already there on the front rows. Dawn Kirby started looking for ways to share with them before the service started. All she needed was a translator and using her plan of salvation tool was off and running!


Our Creative Arts group were amazing that morning. With very little practice, they were helping to lead part of the worship service with the Romanian Worship Team! How great is that?

Then Bro. John preached another great message. So many were taking notes and really listening to his words. The pastor told us later that we were "the wind beneath their wings". We knew that we had given them a spark to become more evangelistic and we pray that they will continue until we return next year.

Our wonderful cooks, Viorica and Nella, once again provided a wonderful meal and a miracle! We invited a few extras and had 29 for Sunday lunch. The food multiplied - and some of the team didn't go for the third healping! - and we had a great time of fellowship and sharing. .
Here's the group which includes the pastor and his financee, Dolcemina; Hans (missions leader)and his wife Alina; Jill and Sorin, director of Casa Vietii, and daughter Jadyn; Mia, counselor at Casa Vietii and translator; and Chris and Mirjam, YWAM Missionaries in Constanza
Sunday afternoon we prepared to split into two group and go out to Soard and Boiu villages for their church services. These are 2 of the 5 mission churches planted by Mana in the last 10 years. Like Mana, they are mainly for the gypsy community in the villages. The main religion in Romania is Romanian Orthrodox. It is a big step for a gypsy to break from many of their generational traditions and from the Orthrodox church.

Four of us went to Boiu. I had left my camera at Casa Vietii, but we do have some pictures we would love to share. After raining all week, the mud was tremendous. Our van had to park at the bottom of a hill and we walked through the village, across the bridge, and up a sloping hill to the church. Our hosts had boots...we had tennis shoes. Needless to say, we had an experience that we will not forget walking through the mud. When I say hill and slope in the same sentence...it was sliding on a hill which had a steep slope down to a watery ditch. After the horses and other animals had been through, plus all the trash had washed into the ditch...we did not want to take any chances of sliding down the slippery slope.

After we arrived at the little church for the 5PM Sunday service, people were crowded into a very small space, but were so warm and kind to us. We performed a puppet show using a piece of material for our stage; shared the gospel and taught the congregation how to use a "flipper-flapper" (see Child Evangelism store) to share their faith with others; and had several pray to receive Christ. During the message from the leader, Stelica, we were moved by his knowledge of God's Word even though he was still continuing his 8 years of schooling required before you can attend higher education schools. We all started praying around 7:15pm that God would not let it get dark until we got back down the hill to our vehicle!

When Stelica completed his message, we were also touched that when they passed the offering, so many put money in although they were some of the poorest of all. God will bless this little church and these people through the teaching of His Word.

We said our goodbyes and slowly made it down the slippery hill. We did rather well until Karen Brown and Stelica, who was helping her, slide down! It was funny even if it was messy. Pictures to follow at a later date!

Hans helped us take off our muddy shoes before we got back into his van...and Karen had to sit on Judy McCrory's plastic poncho! But all the way back we talked about the Spirit of the Lord ministering to us through this little church and how much we enjoyed participating in their service.

Time to pack and get ready to leave on Monday.


Monday, April 7:
We boarded our faithful vans on Monday morning, saying by to many of our friends who had come out to meet us, for the long ride to Bucharest. It was an opportunity for many to actually see some of the beautiful mountains and countryside since it was dark when they arrived before.

After a short stop in Sinaia, a small resort town in the Carpathian Mtns, for lunch, we safely arrived at our hotel. Remember the IMB missionaries we met in Sighisoara? Well, their names are Wes and Tamara Banks - and Wes was able to come over to the hotel and meet with Bro. John and some of the team. http://www.imbromania.ro/Banks%20family.htm

Wes and Tamara have a heart to work with the gypsies in Romania and are praying about re-locating to Sighisoara. Wouldn't it be great to work with them when we return next year. We had a sweet time of prayer for Wes and his family and he prayed for us. Keep praying for them as they seek God's guidance on this decision.

After a nice dinner at the hotel, "most of us" got up with a 3AM wake-up call! After a little extra prodding for some that did not hear the phone ring????...we all made it to the airport in plenty of time.

Team members were still looking for people to witness to in the airports. Kathy Mendenhall started sharing with a young man named Faces (fas-e) from Ethiopia traveling to Washington, DC. He was very interested and after receiving a 4-spiritual laws tract, he read through each page and even the prayer. Later he told Bro. John he would like for our team to come to Ethiopia and share with others there! Never know where WBC may go next.

We were so thankful to reach Huntsville and our families around 5:45pm on Tuesday.

Brother John has the final counts, but we handed out over 2000 gospel tracts in the Romanian language, distributed 500 copies of the gospel of John in the Romanian Gypsy Dialect, provided 500 salvation bracelets with scripture in Romanian, had over 40 trained in "Sharing Without Fear" (44 went out from Mana Church on Saturday to share in the streets!) and over 180 prayed to receive Christ.

Check next week and I will try and add additional pictures. Thanks again for all your prayers! bg

Last Note

Sunday Evening, April 6th

Sorry, but this will be a short and sweet note because we have had such a full day and evening that I do not have time to write.

Today's morning service was wonderful...even though it was 3 hours! The puppets, the singing, the skits...and Bro. John's message were great.

At lunch we had dinner for 29. Pastor Pilu and his soon-to-be-wife joined us with Hans and his wife, a couple from holland and others.

This evening we split into two groups...one to Soard and one to Boiu. The mud in Boiu was so thick that we could barely walk. Especially up the hill...we only had one not make it down without a spill!!

Tomorrow we leave at 8:30AM for Bucharest...with a lunch stop in Sinia, a beautiful resort town in the mountains.

Please pray for our flights. we will leave the hotel on Tuesday morning at 3:30AM...our flight leave at 6AM. We will arrive in Huntsville at 5:35PM.

Everyone is doing great...so pray for our continued safety and health and we travel home.

love to all
Barbara

Still Raining...but God is Amazing!

Saturday, April 5:Yes, it is still rainy and cold, but the Lord has not let anything stop us from sharing His Word and seeing people enter into eternal life in heaven.

FRIDAY: I didn't get to a computer yesterday so this will be a double entry. We started Friday morning in prayer and devotions with the Sighi Team at Mana Church. Bro. John did a great job teaching about "How To Share Jesus Without Fear". Pastor Pilu was very pleased and it was such an encouragement to Hans, the Missions Leader at Mana. Hans is German and married to Alina, who is Romanian. They were both with YWAM and now work with the church.

Then, we attended a wedding of Viorica and Emil Mihai, a couple who have been together for 37 years but have never legally married. Many couples do not get legally married here because the Biblical view of marriage has not always been honored and cost of the marriage fee. Although it is only about $45, most people only live on $200 a month. Pastor Pilu has promoted marriages and even started a "marriage fund" to help couples to get legally married.

The church and the Mihai family could not believe that we would take out time to attend the wedding and dinner. Bro. John explained to them about Jesus attending the wedding in Cana and why it was important to Jesus and to us.

What was even more special was Bro. John being allowed to participate in the blessing ceremony and prayer for Viorica and Emil.

After the wedding we started prayer walking and sharing with those in the city and the Citadel. Part of the team decided to walk to the top of the hill at the Citadel. It is a German church and as they walked in they asked permission to sing. Paul and Rebekah led some singing and Bro. John decided to open the Bible and preach! After a while, a lady came and told them they could not preach like this in the church! But, it was not before one of the ladies listening prayed to receive Christ!

The other team was prayer walking and someone heard Dawn Kirby's southern accent and asked where she was from. What a surprise to find out they were IMB missionaries serving in Bucharest! They had been there for 9 months but had come to Sighisoara because of their desire to minister to the gypsy community in Sighisoara. Can you believe it! They are from Jonesboro, Georgia. Wes and Tamara Banks with their two boys. Please pray for them as they seek God to open the doors for them to transfer to Sighisoara if that is God's will. There are very few IMB missionaries in Romania, but those that are here have a passion for the country.

At 6:00 PM, after pizza from Quattro Amicii, our favorite, we went back to Mana Church for the start of the Youth Festival. Wow, the church was full. As I mentioned before, in Romania, teens are up to 14. Fifteen to early 20's are call youth. The Youth Worship Team started the service with some wonderful praise and worship.


Bro. John continued his study on sharing Jesus and it was amazing how well he and Pastor Pilu worked together as a team. They looked like real brothers with their facial expressions and voice tones.

It was encouraging to see all the youth and leaders taking notes from Bro. John's teaching. They were very still and Bro. John made it interesting by allowing them to be interactive. Again, the Pasotr was very pleased to see his church responding to this seminar.

Of course, when our Creative Arts Team started teaching about the skits and puppets...everybody really had a great time. Pastor Pilu did not seem very excited
about the puppets and skits when we were first making plans to come. We would joke with him because he continued to think only children would be attracted to this.

After the training, his thoughts were very different!! It was so fun to see him translate Rebekah's instructions. He was doing all the motions and it was so funny!


We did the skit and then had their group to try it. Amazing how quickly they were able to pick up all the instructions just by watching. We even got some ideas watching how they did "Sin Box"! The funniest part was when "Jesus" actually picked-up the lady in the sin box and took her out!! It was very good.


Just when we didn't think we could top that, we had the puppets. How fun. We all laughed and clapped together and it was fun to be with other Christian brothers and sisters even though we did not speak the same language. The Holy Spirit joined our hearts to glorify God.





SATURDAY: Big day with the Youth Festival. More training and block parties...please continue to pray for our health and safety. Hopefully we will have another update tomorrow. Bro. John will be preaching on Sunday morning at Mana Church.

Thanks for being our Home Team

Barbara

Now We Know!

Thursday, April 3rd: Well, we had a full day of experience on Wednesday so now we know a lot better where to go, what to say and not to say, and the excitement of sharing Christ in Sighisoara! So, here are a few more details from yesterday.

The Evangelistic Team loved going to the market. Several prayed to receive Christ and many wanted prayer. Bro. John was sharing with a gentleman and before he could even ask him if he wanted to receive Christ...the man said, "yes, I want this". Bro. John thought he might not completely understand so he continued to finish his remarks, and the man said, "YES, I want this!" Praise God.

Rebekah Clements had been walking around sharing with several people and noticed that she had a lady that would follow her from person to person. When Rebekah was leaving the lady came to her and started thanking her and making motions with her hands that her heart belonged to Jesus. Not sure what she was saying, but she went away with joy!

The Pastor was pleased with how our team members went out into the crowds and told people about the free coffee and tea so they could hear about Christ and receive a gift. That is why they gave away more coffee and tea than ever before!

Another amazing event occurred yesterday also. On Monday, I helped Jill Mihai, the Director of Casa Vietii, (House of Life), put up 25 small posters in town and two of the villages about the Football (soccer) Tournament on Wednesday at 2:00. By Wednesday, it was cold and had been drizzling all day so we were concerned that they would not come out for the tournament. Usually they have 5-7 teams. Yesterday, they had 12 Teams and all their friends...about 100! Wow, God is so good and sometimes we are so foolish to doubt His ability. Bro. John shared the gospel and 12 boys raised their hands that they wanted to receive Christ.

They were amazed at Bro John's parachute game and the puppets were great...along with the Sin Box Skit. Everyone returned with lots of stories and were ready to eat a wonderful meal prepared for us by Viorica and Nella.

Thursday Events: After another wonderful breakfast at the hotel and singing Happy Birthday to Mario Vega for his 18th birthday...we started Prayer Walking to the church to meet the rest of the team from Mana Church.

Today included two block parties. So far, we hear they are going fantastic! Lots of kids and young people coming out to watch the events. They are doing puppets, skits, sharing Christ, and advancing God's Kingdom! Can't wait to hear some stories tonight.

The Ladies Team had 12 ladies from the village of Soard come for the day. We made lap blankets and scarves then shared four different lessons with them. They became very creative with their designs which was unusual because during Communist time they were no allowed to be very creative. It was fun seeing them trying to make their items really unique.

Karen Brown taught a study on Moms in Touch. This is an international program to help moms learn a method of praying for their children, their schools, and the children in the community. One of the ladies has never prayed out loud before because she wanted to pray in her gypsy language and she had been told she could not do this. TODAY, she prayed out loud for the first time in her gypsy language!


After lunch, we want to be sure they all know the Lord, but we also wanted them to start sharing with others more. We made salvation bracelets and told them if they could explain it back to us that we wanted to give them two more to share with someone else. They couldn't wait to show us what they had learned and the ones that were having a hard time remembering what some of the colors meant they were helped by the others and encouraged so they could have their additional bracelets.

Then Dawn Kirby shared about Christ and the Cross with her "paper-tearing" pictures. They were surprised to see how folding and tearing paper could tell the story of the Cross and the thieves on each side. Dawn explained that just as the thieves had a choice to choose to believe or not that each person has to choose. One thief went that day to heaven with Jesus, one did not. Several ladies shared some of their experiences with us too.

One fun part was Kathy Mendenhall showing them a game that we all played several times and laughed together. They sang one of their songs in the gypsy language and wanted Kathy to dance with one of the other ladies! I believe they all thought Kathy was part gypsy anyway!! We do have some secret video we will try to share later!!

It was a great time together and they were all hugging and kissing us when they were leaving. We look forward to seeing many of our new sisters again.

Well...tonight, it's off to the circus. Yes, the circus starts tonight and you can imagine that Bro. John could not wait to set up puppets and skits outside. Everyone will be getting an extra treat when they come to the circus...they may find Christ. I'm sure we will have more stories from the circus.

Tomorrow we will be attending a wedding and the Youth Festival starts officially. We all look forward to meeting the others coming from another gypsy village.

Please pray for our health...several have runny noses and scratchy throats from a day of cold and rain...but no one is giving in to it. So pray for good rest tonight and healing for all of us.

blessings
Barbara

Day One...April 2

It was go great to see our team coming with all their luggage to Hera Hotel. They were tired but their spirits were still high at 12:30 am!! Everyone was laughing that we were all scared that the NATO Summit would cause us problems when really it worked to our benefit. The roads did not have much traffic, the airport was empty, and changing the flight to Frankfurt gave the team some great seats!

We quickly assigned rooms...divided out luggage...and were off to sleep a few hours before 7:30 breakfast. Breakfast was great!! A very nice buffet with lots of variety and a great devotion time with all of the team.

We all walked to Casa Vietii, "House of Life" to drop off some materials for the sewing and ladies team...then on to the church to meet and pray with Mana Church Team. We were told that so many times other teams come and ride everywhere so we are trying to walk like they do sometimes! We will all be in good shape.

What an awesome God we have that we can meet others that do not even know much of our language and join to advance the kingdom of God! We made introductions and Bro. John and Pastor Pilu shared our purpose and goals. After a time of prayer...it was off we go!

The Evangelistic Team went first to the Wednesday Market to offer tea and coffee and a devotion paper. This gave them an opportunity to share about Christ also with those that had some time to stop. Mana Church said they have never given out so much coffee before! And we have lots of testimonies to share later...after i hear some of them.

The Ladies/Sewing Team had 10 Roma (gypsy) ladies from the village of Boiu. We made lap blankets and scarfs, had lunch and then shared in Bible study and testimony in the afternoon. We were humbled that they want us to pray for them even when they can not understand our language. They see us as someone God has blessed and they want us to bless them through our prayers. We brought over 400 copies of the Gospel of John printed in the Romanian Roma language. They were excited to take these back with them because it is usually a verbal language that is not in print. The booklets were a gift to us from Morningside Baptist Church in Huntsville who had paid to have 4000 copies printed and provides them to those that will carry them to the Roma community in Romania. The best thing is that the 4 Spiritual Laws print on the back cover!

The Football (soccer) tournament was a great success even with some rain. The puppets performed and Bro. John had a chance to pull out his famous parachute. Not sure of the numbers yet, but they had many raise their hand to receive Christ. Will let you know the number when I get more details.

Viorica and Nella have worked all day preparing dinner for us tonight. The team will be ready to eat when they arrive. We still have to sort through some of the luggage tonight and will have a full day tomorrow in several locations.

We know you are praying and we depend on our "Home Team" to keep us going. Pray for an early bedtime tonight and good rest. Kathy M can use some extra prayers for her health...doing okay, just not up to par...but, in true spirit of WBC Missions, has not given in!!

More details about today when i hear about them tonight. And some pictures.

because He lives,
barbara

They have arrived

April 1st: The team has arrived at the Bucharest airport about 20 minutes late and the last commercial flight before they closed the airport for 3 days. President Bush arrived about 45 minutes later on Air Force One!

ALL the luggage arrived also. I talked to several team members and all seemed well...tired but excited to be in Romania. They are now traveling to Sighisoara and should arrive between 11-12PM here or 3-4PM CST. The hotel is awaiting their arrival. Here is the website: http://www.pensiunea-hera.ro/en/index.php?mn=home

The building in the back has seven rooms and we have rented the whole building. We will also have breakfast here each morning then on to Mana Church to have prayer and assignments with the Sighi Team.

It is raining here and turning cold. Please pray for everyone to get a good night's sleep in spite of the late arrival and for better weather. Two of the evangelistic events are outside tomorrow. I will not be writing any more tonight because I will wait for the team to arrive at Hera.

Ciao
Barbara

Waiting for the Team

April 1st - I was awake at 5AM Sighi time to check on the flights and be sure the Washington Flight left for Frankfurt. Yea! it left thirty minutes late, but will arrive on time. They should arrive within the next 45 minutes. They have a 2.5 hour layover and then on to Bucharest!

This picture was taken from my plane...but as they say "you get the picture!"

The drivers left over an hour ago for the Bucharest airport. Pray for their safety and no delays. More updates later. Keep praying.

We start early Wednesday morning meeting with the Sighisoara Team at 9AM then a coffee and tea outreach at the mid-week market, the ladies sewing/Bible study with ladies from Boiu village, and the afternoon a big football (soccer) tournament that we have been advertising! Pray for energy and good rest tonight.