Nearing the End!

I can't believe that we have entered our final week of summer camps in Romania! It seems like only yesterday we were writing about the busy summer ahead. Now, as I think back on it all, I'm surprised by how quickly it has passed. I'm also thankful for the strength that God has given us to complete the tasks He has called us to.

After a few days off between teams last week, we headed back to the airport on Friday and Tuesday evenings to pick up Ross E. and his team of 16 from England. Ross has visited Reghin many times, and he always brings an energetic team of college students and young adults with him. This year is no different. There are several team members who have been to Romania in the past – some of them have served with us as many as five times!

In the mornings last week, Ross' wife Allayne led meetings for the women in Apalina. She and some of the girls on the team did a great job teaching about prayer. They also had a great time doing some fun crafts and activities like sewing and painting fingernails with the ladies at the end of each meeting. The others on the team spent time with the children outside while the ladies were inside. The number of children grew each day, starting with six on Monday and growing to over 30 by Friday.

Allayne (left) and Sara P. (right) speaking to the women in Apalina as Adel N. translates (center)

Matt A., Joe and John supervising the kids during the women's meeting

Each afternoon, we had Bible Club in Apalina. The theme of the week was "Jesus is our Rescuer." Each day started with a puppet show interweaved with creative dramas to tell the Bible story and theme for each day. It was great to see the wonder on the children's faces as they watched the stories acted out! After the story, there were games, crafts, and Bible verses to learn. The team did a great job of engaging the kids in each of the activities!

Some of the team dramatizing Jesus calming the storm

Boys making boat crafts

Outside of the ministry opportunities of the week, we also enjoyed spending some time with this team. They have been a big encouragement to us as we continue in our work here. We've had a great time laughing and singing together.  We broke our previous record for the most people in our apartment at one time when we had 11 of the team over for coffee, tea, and dessert. On Saturday morning, we took some of the team members swimming at the Reghin pool. That night we had a Great British Bake-off viewing party on the “big screen” – using a projector in our apartment!

Hosting the group in our apartment for coffee and dessert

The English team singing a song in Peris

Lots of personality in this group!

We thank God for the people that He has called to be a part of the ministry in Reghin this summer. What an encouragement to see others come alongside the work that we live and breathe each day. We also thank God for the many faithful prayer partners that have helped "pray us through" the summer. The team from England will be with us through the weekend, and then Katie and I will finally head off to Greece for our long-awaited honeymoon.

Just a quick request for prayer: out of 15 team members, 12 are currently ill with some type of stomach virus.  Please pray for quick recovery for them and for those of us who are healthy as we try to carry on with the week’s already-scheduled events.

- Paul