To snow or not to snow...and other bits from our week

Before I begin telling you about the week's events,  I wanted to share something that Katie and I have recently found funny.  When we arrived back in Romania in early January, there had been a lot of snow and cold weather.  We were able to enjoy a few days of the snow, but soon after, the temperatures began to warm up and the snow just became yucky ice and mud.  We check the weather each day in order to see what the "projected temperature" is going to be, and we are always looking to see if there will be more snow.  It's become a joke to us that each time we check, the snow is always forecast for "next week" or "tomorrow", but we haven't seen a bit of that snow.  Well, today, there was no chance of snow...and you know what...it snowed!  It only lasted about 15 minutes, but we just couldn't believe it.  Now we're hoping that some of the snow "next week" will really happen!

Ok, sorry to start off side-tracked already.  There were some really exciting things that happened this week.  As a part of our winter Bible training, I have two groups of "students" that I am working with 

in a mentor/discipleship relationship.  One of our goals with these groups is to serve together during the year.  On Sunday, I was able to take my group from Apalina to share in the village home church in Filpisu Mic.  It was so great to see these two guys sharing and being a part of the ministry there.  We sang together, shared testimonies, and enjoyed the fellowship with the two dear ladies in that church.  I think those ladies were really excited to have some special guests, too.  During the ride to and from Filpisu Mic, there was also a great conversation about the Bible.  The kinds of questions that these guys are asking really shows how much their faith means to them.  They want to know and understand everything! It was a great reminder to me that we need to always strive to be this way...always wanting to know more...craving knowledge and understanding from God.

Most recent photo from a church service in Apalina

I want to mention another big event that happened this week, even though Katie and I were not directly involved.  On Monday afternoon, Attila took a group of 13 men from our church in Apalina to minister in another church during their week of evangelism services.  This was the first time that many of these men had gone out to serve in another church.  We are so excited to see their enthusiasm for serving, and we're proud of one of the first 'mission trips' our church members have taken!  It's a big step forward in discipleship.

As for other ministry news, we are finally starting English classes!  Katie has been ready for some time now, but we have had some trouble finding a place to have the classes.  This week we were finally able to confirm a location and time that will work.  We will begin on Wednesday evening at 5:00 and we'll have two classes (a beginner class and an advanced class).  It was such an encouragement to call everyone and hear how excited they were about our classes.  We are praying that it will be a good time of making connections and sharing with our community here in Reghin.

After-school is on a break this week for the mid-term.  On Friday, I had a meeting with the teachers to talk about the second half of the year.  I think we all needed a little reminder about why we do what we do.  It was good to talk with them about their ideas for how we can better reach the kids of Apalina. I'm looking forward to going back to school in a week!

I think I'll just end with an update on the weather.  Since I started writing this entry (yesterday evening), we've had a good deal more snow!  I know, I know...I can't believe it,  But it turns out that this time, the weather on my phone was right!

-Paul