Guess?

Ah gee you guessed - it's a bowl of fruit! But what does it represent?...yesterday I had a lovely time of counting my blessings. This bowl of fruit is one of them. I am able to keep the household in fresh fruit and vegetables in the winter. Here in Romania it is considered an extravagance here but it is one of God's blessings!

I picked up 5 loaves of bread at a discounted price just now to put in to the freezer for the Food Bank. I smiled and thought "Now I only need a couple of fish ." The Food Bank is scheduled to open March 7. Please hold this up in prayer.

Casa Alexandru

Casa Alexandru is a small facility that houses young people with various mental disabilities. We try and go once a week and I am buying food once a month. Last week was Play Doh, it was a hit!

Pictured is Vio with a patient. Vio has been a huge blessing to me and always ready to pitch in. She also goes to Mocrea with me and until recently would help with the Widow's Mite deliveries. Vio is now with child, in a high risk pregnancy - please pray for her and her unborn child/children (she may be carrying twins!)

I will not yet let the girls go with me as two of the patients can get violent.

By the way, have you ever tried to get Play Doh out from under your fingernails?????

Elizabeth and Sarah at Mocrea

Last week was a school vacation and both girls wanted to come with me to Mocrea Psychiatric Hospital. I go there once a week and do crafts, play games, sing, serve snacks, and sometimes show a film. I started going around 3 years ago I think, originally to take food for the patients. The situation has vastly improved over these three years. The buildings have all been renovated and several new bathrooms and shower facilities were added and they have plenty of food. We started to go every other week and visit with some of the patients and the program grew!

Cassandra and Ionut had been regulars to go with me for a long time but they have little Caroline to care for and they are in the States for a while. Irene as well as Peter and Christine enjoy coming to Mocrea when they are in the country but right now it seems that no one is here for now! I have been trying to get others to go but I guess visiting a mental hospital is not appealing to many! It is such a blessing to me to know that the visits have made a difference. The administrator said that the patients are less violent and all around happier since we began the program. Vio, the young neighbor who has been helping with the girls and house for the last 5 years, loves to go when she can which is a real help to me. Ideally I need a team of 4-5 so I can get to the locked wards also.

The patients really enjoyed the girls. Many have children and grandchildren that they rarely see if ever. Elizabeth and Sarah did very well and said they would be glad to go whenever they had vacations.

Every week before we leave we pray together. The patients really like this and look forward to this time. Several have asked for bibles so I purchased a small supply to have on hand.

Just to catch you up, nothing earth shaking

This is Elizabeth with Caroline (Ionut and Cassandra's 10 week old daughter). Elizabeth is introducing her to Saturday morning cartoons. Elizabeth really loves babies.

I spoke with Marty Sutton yesterday, a missionary in Bulgaria involved in numerous awesome projects there, and he said he and a friend might be able to come and help with the summer camp for the kids in Vinga. I wanted the camp to be with in the first two weeks in July but those weeks were booked so we now are looking at mid-July.

I want to get out to Minis to photograph the playground there with the new equipment. I was so happy to be able to buy the rest of it. I'll be sure to post the picture here.

There is some interest being expressed in the food bank. In the next two weeks I will need to be talking to stores and bakeries. I pray churches will become interested and want to participate. I think this food bank could really help in unity here. One thing we all should be able to agree on is feeding the poor!

Just an added thought to close - if any of you reading this knew what my living-room used to look like you will know how awesomely blessed we are with the house now. The house had dirt floors and crumbling walls with a ceiling that was what could be best described as very thin particle board also covering up a layer of earth. I had weeds that used to come up under my couch!

This is new...

It is time for me to renew my Visa. I was told last year to request a 5 year Visa so this time I did. Nope - sorry the police won't go for it (so why did this same guy tell me to do it????). No biggie - onward. I got all the documents together, including the recommendation from City Hall to give me my visa. I dutifully faxed them to Bucharest on January 14 to the Ministry of Health. Last year I received the approval back in less than 48 hrs! There are also 6 others requesting their visas and we are all using my fax number. Cassandra was in Bucharest on Wednesday and she took a copy of all of our documents, all seven of us, to the Ministry of Health. The same secretary is there, she is the one who actually does the work and prepares the approval and then hands it to the Minister of Health to sign. Yes, she has 10 folders on her desk, seven of them are ours...HOWEVER there is no Minister of Health so NOBODY can sign for us to get a Visa. The secretary also doesn't know when one might be appointed. Paula Dunn went to the police to ask what possibly could be done - nothing. One guy's is already expired, the Dunn family expire January 31 and I have until February 14. We were all instructed to get out and back in to Romania before our last day on our Visa and pray the matter gets resolved before another 90 days passes. Well the police didn't say "pray" but that is what we will do for sure!

Some excitement about the food bank

Today at church was not exactly a spiritual high - those of you who know the people I minister to can use their imaginations. I realized I left my material for the message at home, which didn't help. While people were still arguing I asked Bogdan what subject he thought I should preach about. He looked over the congregation and said "Love!". HMMM, sounds like 1 Cor. 13 to me, I really just wanted to go back home (I didn't). In the end it was OK, I guess. A couple of people said the message did have an impact so that was good.

Anyhow the exciting part was on the trip home. Bogdan asked if I have heard from the Lord about the food bank yet because he is really excited about it and wants to be involved and his mom also wants to help AND he and his father are going to plant extra potatoes on the grandmother's land so there will be extra to donate to the food bank. This really blessed me!

Food Bank?????

This last week I looked at a building that Irene and Wayne had seen while delivering Widow's Mite food for me. The owner of the building is renovating and adding on to an existing building not far from the center of Arad. The price was 300 Euros, which is quite cheap for a building in good repair in that area.

When I saw it my spirit went YIPPEE. I told the lady that I could not, however, commit to 300 Euros per month. She said I only had to pay 200 Euros until I started to consume utilities. It will have a bath-room and kitchen. I asked the owner if we could feed the homeless there once a week and have a church service for them. She said that would be fine! I was thinking of another ministry that could use the facility.

I was excited about being able to start the food bank this year - it is the biggest part of my vision for the future here! When the girls and I were in California the summer of 2007 I took them to work in Joseph's Storehouse on Saturday morning. Elizabeth was amazed at how they distributed food to the poor and said "Bubba, we have to do this in Romania".

After my initial excitement when I saw the building and tentatively committing to renting it when it is completed next month - I got scared spitless! How on earth am I going to do this project???? I have the funds to get started but very little help. I will need a larger truck for transport of donated food, when I find people and stores willing to donate that is.

I have learned that when God says "Go" He will provide everything needed for the journey. He gives provision for the vision. I need to hear clearly that this is of the Lord for me to do, and is it for now?

My general health is improving but I can no over do. Everything is getting done though!