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May 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

I apologize for not writing you sooner. We arrived in Romania perfectly, without any major holdups or delays! Yea! The ministry house was in great condition and clean....clean was a big deal for me since last time we were greeted by mold and dirt floors. Immediately we began preparing everything for the team that was arriving in two short weeks. God was so faithful by helping us get everything together during one of the busiest times of the year in Romania - Easter. At first it seemed that everywhere we went they were already sold out of whatever we needed. There was one day we could not find chicken anywhere! Slowly we collected all the supplies to make the team as comfortable as possible during their long awaited visit.

The TEAM: The team from Southern California arrived on April 6th. Andrei met them at the airport and drove with them the long eight hours back to Petrosani. They finally arrived in Petrosani around 1:00 a.m. It was such a blessing to welcome them into the almost completed house. It was a visual answer to many of our prayers; finally the ministry house was being used to house teams from the States!

One thing is for sure, the team brought the Californian weather with them. The two weeks before the team arrived, Romania was cold, rainy and occasionally snowy. However, from day one until the team left ten days later the sun was continuously out and you barely needed a sweater. This was a huge blessing since VBS, the all church BBQ, and our Betania visit were all outdoors events. God is so good.

VBS went amazingly well. Kids came out of the woodwork to come and see what the Americans were going to give them. Truly what the kids received was priceless. They received the story of God’s love for them, that He loved them so much He died on the cross for their sins and forgave them. The kids were very attentive while the study was in session. After the study there was a time for questions and answers. WOW! Hands popped up and very thoughtful questions rang throughout the sanctuary. "How did God make the World? Who created Jesus? How did the stone roll away?" Without a doubt the message of God's love and grace went forth.

I was very excited to introduce the team to all the children at Betania orphanage. The kids loved the dads that came on the team. Within ten minutes those dad’s had fifteen children calling them dad. "Hey DAD!", "Hey I want a picture with the dad!" It was a sad, but touching scene. The team shared the same wonderful message of God’s love with the children, played games, and completed fun crafts that even the older boys could not turn down. The highlight of the day was the BBQ dinner with all the children! We all squeezed into their mess hall and ate like kings! There were smiles all around.

The Bible conference was another success. The people who attended were blessed and excited about their God. They are already asking when the next conference will take place.

The Lord really showed me during the teams stay just how much we can rest in Him. More than once I saw huge disasters coming our way. Continuously I would begin to fix it my way (and stress out) and God would simply place all the right people in the right place, food became abundant, and the Lord gave strength to the team members. I did not have to do anything. God’s word being brought forth cannot be hindered...Amen and three Hallelujahs to that!

Prayer for the Popescu Children: In earlier newsletters I wrote about a family of three that came to stay with us in the family program for a few weekends. They are the Popescu children: Adrian, Alin and Ana-Maria. During our first trip back to the orphanage we were immediately informed by all the kids that the Popescu’s had returned to there mother "permanently." As I stated in my previous newsletters the Popescu’s mother is very abusive and forces her children to beg on the streets. I am not sure how permanently they will be staying with their mother since she has had no love for them for many years. We are still unsure why the director was unable to keep them from returning to their mother. They are in the strong hands of God, and in that I rest. Please remember them in your prayers. Andrei and I will continue to keep you up-to-date when we hear anything concerning them.

Community Center Availability: Recently, an English woman, Ann, who works with Humanity At Heart, visited us. Humanity At Heart is a secular humanitarian charity, however she is a Christian and wanted to make our acquaintance. Many years ago, their charity remolded a house in Colonie into a center named the "Joshua Center." Andrei actually worked on the remolding project when he was seventeen years old. Since then, the Joshua Center has been a tutoring center for the children in Colonie. Ann wants the center to be used more like a community center and let us know that we can use the building whenever we need it. My first question was if we could use the building for evangelical purposes. Ann, as a Christian, gave us permission to use the building for VBS, Evangelical Outreaches, Temporary Doctor’s Office, or whatever we have a need for in the future. We are not sure when or how we will take advantage of this new relationship, but we are excited by the opportunities that await us.

"Little" Andries Update: Well, at eighteen weeks of pregnancy my belly has sure popped! For the last three weeks I have began feeling the baby inside me. What a blessing! In about two weeks I will be visiting a doctor here for a check up and hopefully find out the sex of our baby. I am a little nervous of the doctors here so I ask for your prayers!

God bless you all! You will be hearing from us soon!

In His Service, Kelle and Andrei

Prayer Requests:

  • Pray for a safe pregnancy. Pray that Kelle would be healthy while we are in Romania. That there would not be any complications with the pregnancy while overseas.
  • Wisdom with our new opportunities with the Joshua Center.
  • Prayer for our car, she has been really good to us but slowly everything is breaking or falling off. We have always had troubles with the car for the two years we have owned it (like always breaking down five hours out of town and having to push it or sleep in it). Andrei works miracles with cars, and has slowly fixed most of its problems. However, recently she has been given us problems again. Please pray that during our next trip to the states Andrei can work to save money to buy a new (used) car here. We especially need it with the new baby on the way.
  • Pray for my visit to the doctors in a few weeks.
  • Please lift the Popescu children up to the Lord. Pray for their strength and safety.
  • Please pray for Adela Leban, for her Leukemia to subside and for the salvation of her and her family. I will tell you more information in my next newsletter, we are currently working with her family to help pay for medication and bring them to church.
  • Pray for peace in Petrosani and a softening of hearts towards God’s word.

Praise Reports:

  • Safe arrival home!
  • Safe arrival of the team! It truly was a wonderful time fellowship and ministry!