August was a very full month. Besides loving and enjoying, singing and praying over our precious orphans, there were other things going on.
The Tompi’s, Robert and Alina and I traveled to his mother and sister’s village in Bahnea to minister once again.
This is my birthday month! I was blessed to have loving parents and many, many happy birthdays growing up. We could always choose what we wanted for our birthday meal, and since I was born in the hot, dog-days of August, my favorite place to go to celebrate was to Musquash Lake for a cook-out. It was just two or three miles from our humble little home in Codyville, ME, and getting to swim and splash in the cool lake was ‘the cherry on the (birthday) cake’. ????
Continue reading the "August, 2016 – Lead Me to a Mountain" »
I have been in Brasov in my little flat on Str. Frasinului in Noua (section of Brasov) for a little over a month now. It is ‘home’ to me – and with people whom I love – especially my precious orphans at Albina (Orphanage) and Barza Mica (Orphanage). Sadly we ‘lost’ precious little Ionela at Albina. I miss her terribly. But if you had ever seen the condition of her life, you would rejoice with me that the Lord took her Home.
As I write this post from Romania, I have to tell you that there is something a little strange about not being in my own country on the Fourth of July. I experienced this back in 2000 when I worked with Gujarati Indians in Loughborough, England. It just felt odd. And it does this time around, too.
Continue reading the "July, 2016 – God Bless America – (please!)" »
I am delighted to be writing this update from ‘the other land that I love’! I left Boston June 23, and arrived in Brasov (Romania) on the evening of the 24th. As usual, Ovi picked me up in Bucharest. The two and one half hour ride is always one of great conversation, catching up on the past few months. He had liters upon liters of water already for me in my flat, milk and butter in the fridge, and ‘tons’ of fresh veggies and fruits waiting for me. He is such a blessing to Love From Above!
The Bible is full of examples of fathers. Good ones, not so good ones, ones filled with wisdom, ones who ‘struggled’ with wisdom, and plenty of other types. No matter who our father is (was) Ephesians 6.2 tells us to honor our father (and mother) – and it was also the first commandment with a promise. It was easy to honor my father. I was one who was blessed to have a ‘good one’ – and one who was filled with wisdom.
Joyous news! A single donor contributed not only the final third of the funds to finish installing the plumbing for our Gypsy Church, Canaan in the village of Halchiu, but also the entire amount to have the whole heating system installed. Can you say with me – ‘Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!’?
Everyone thinks that their dog is the ‘best’. But I, truly, had the best dog – for about 11 years. He was a beautiful smooth-haired Chow-Chow, and his name was Johann Sebastian Bachie. My boys were quite taken a-back by his name, but since they couldn’t seem to come up with anything else, Bachie, it was.
Remember ‘my’ little AnaMaria who walks on her tippy toes, couldn’t speak at 3 years old, and who would run and jump into my arms every time she saw me? And remember I wanted her to speak so badly that if she could, I wanted her first word to be ‘Isus’ (Jesus)? And she DID learn to say ‘Isus’ – and says so much more now after having been moved to a different orphanage.
In Deuteronomy 22, it says several times to not ignore your neighbors’ needs. In the NASB, it uses the words, ‘pay no attention to them’. And in the Message it says, ‘don’t look the other way’. Oh, how many times we been tempted to make believe we didn’t see a need perhaps because we didn’t have the time to tend to it, or the money, or frankly, just didn’t care – and we looked the other way.
Continue reading the "April, 2016 – Don’t Look the Other Way" »
