Now about last week...we had our normal activities, but I wanted to write about some special times we had with our boss, Attila (plus a little story about another Attila, but more on that when I get back to Sunday).
This week we celebrated Attila's birthday. Now for those of you who don't already know, Katie and I actually met on Attila's birthday in 2010. This means that we also celebrated 4 years of knowing each other this week. Attila loves to take credit for this! :) We started off the celebration week by bringing him a vanilla pastry on Monday morning to our weekly meeting. As much as he gives Katie a hard time about celebrating special days, he really loved his vanilla treat!
One of the church members from Apalina approached me a week before Attila's birthday and asked me what we were going to do. We decided to try and surprise him on the day of his birthday. On the Sunday before his birthday, when he wasn't at the Apalina service, we shared the plans for the surprise with the church. We were to all meet around 5:30 on Wednesday for the big surprise. We also got together some money and bought some food, drinks, and even had Adel make a cake. On Wednesdays there is a church service in Reghin at 5:00 and another in Gornesti at 7:00, so I knew we didn't have a lot of time to get him there. I wrote him a message asking him to come help with something, but at 6:10, he still hadn't responded or arrived. Finally, around 6:25, he pulled in to the church, and we were able to celebrate with him. I think it was as fun for the church members as it was for Attila. We had a great time of fellowship and sharing, even after Attila left for his next meeting.
Some of the women preparing sandwiches before Attila arrived for his surprise.
There's the birthday boy in the middle
On Friday, Katie and I had a double date with Attila and Adel. Not long ago, we discovered a bowling alley in Targu Mures, so we decided to check it out. We had a great time, and we were the only people there. It's a good thing, though, because there were only two lanes! Afterward, we went to a great restaurant, and Attila was able to order his favorite, a steak! We are thankful that we also got to enjoy the benefits of Attila's birthday!
It's dark...but that's us at our little bowling alley!
Before I finish, I just wanted to share an update of our creation mural in Apalina. The kids are really loving it, and they seem to be learning a lot about the world God created.
This week we added feathers and sea shells.
Now, I mentioned another Attila. His name is Attila Moldovan, and he is the children's ministry leader in Glodeni. We were able to go to his children's meeting on Sunday afternoon, and we just loved it! We have been at camp with Attila for the last several years, so it was no surprise to us that he was doing a great job. The kids were able to share so much about what they had learned from the last week. Attila also did a great job of preparing, and the story was so well presented. We really enjoyed being with them for the afternoon.
Children's meeting in Glodeni.
This week, I'm headed out of town to visit some churches with Attila. We are going to share our ministry with these churches in the hope that some people will feel called to come and join us in the ministry here, whether it be for two months or two years. We are excited about this opportunity to see people from Romania coming to serve in their own country. Please pray for us and for those who will hear God speaking to them.
-Paul
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