Last week, we celebrated my 27th birthday! I have never gotten to celebrate my birthday with Paul, so it was very special to be able to spend the day with him and to get very, very spoiled! I woke up in an empty bed... he was already in the kitchen making birthday pancakes! And in spite of his very busy day at work and also in spite of him being sick(!), he made the whole day special with homemade hamburgers, chocolate cake from scratch, and some very fun presents! I also got to celebrate with Attila, Adel and Kaleb, who blessed me with birthday orchids, a beautiful scarf, and one very chocolately, chocolate cake! These people know me well! :)
Chocolate cake!!!
Besides all the celebrating, we had a great week in the mission. After years of dreaming and praying and planning, Attila was finally able to purchase a Volkswagon Transporter from Germany for the ministry with funds from some of our partners. This is a dream he has had since the first time I met him back in 2008. It is so good to see dreams coming true in just the right time as the transportation needs of our community continue to grow. The minibus will also help free up Paul and Attila from some of the driving they do; now they can make monthly trips to the prison instead of weekly!
Children's ministry is also in full swing! I've finally completed the library database of all the materials we have. One of my goals this week is to start our wish list! We've come up with a four-year curriculum plan that will move our children through the stories of the Bible. Now that I know what materials we have, I can start filling in the gaps. We are praying for resources and materials to complete our curriculum, and while we have access to some Biblical materials through international ministries with offices here in Romania, we are praying for financial partners to make it all possible. Pray with us! This past week, Paul and I visited the Hungarian and Romanian children's meetings in Apalina. This week's lesson was about Day 2 of Creation, when God separated the water and sky.
Here is a precious little one gluing "clouds" onto our Creation banner at the Hungarian meeting!
Here is Paul "making it rain" during a science experiment at the Romanian meeting!
We have settled in to the school year routine and are enjoying life together. While we were able to support each other emotionally via Skype during the past two years, we are learning what an amazing blessing it is to be here physically to help each other in work and in life! Partnering with Paul on this journey and seeing how he skillfully and patiently handles all kinds of situations--no matter how difficult, time-consuming or inconvenient--makes me love him more and more each day. Now that we've moved into fall, it's fun to be able to share a new season together too! The air has turned crisp and cool and we've already attended our first harvest festival! The neighbors downstairs brought up a crate of fresh apples from their garden, and today I plan to bust out my baking hat again and get to work on some apple cake, apple turnovers, apple--well, you name it!
Delicious!!
Thank you all for your love, prayers and support. We are praying for you, too!
-Katie
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