Praise & A Call to Prayer

Praise the Lord with us that God has provided over and above our needs to finish out our camps and other summer ministries strong! It is such a blessing as we have had two weeks to run without the support or help of teams and have divided out kids from next weeks camp into this week and the last week to make it all work. God has shown once again that all things are possible as each child in our county will have the opportunity to be with us in camp this summer!

Please pray as well... Behind the scenes of all the great things God is doing and the busy summer activity... many of us who work here in Romania on a full time basis are weary both physically and spiritually. We are so encouraged in many ways by what God is doing, but need prayers as well. It is clear that we need God not just to work in our kids lives, but in our own lives and in every aspect of our ministry.

We are struggling with the decrease in the value of the dollar. It has gone from 3.3 lei for each dollar when I first arrived in Romania to only 2.2 lei to the dollar this summer. I am no economics major, but basically this has placed a big hurt on our budget and funding for living. We also have entered the EU which means things are getting more expensive and salaries are going up around the country. We need to begin to pay our staff a more competitive salary that allows them to live in this changing economy... with the drop in the dollar this is even more difficult. Pray that God will provide a way to meet this needed increase in our budget as the falling dollar cuts what we have to work with on an ongoing basis.

Pray that we will be a unified staff... that we will work together to be a light to the community that God has called us to... It is difficult to work to protect kids that are being hurt, while also maintaining a good working relationship and being a light to those who allow these things to happen to them. It is a challenge to love them and see that they are not beleivers and can not be expected to act like they are or see these kids through God's eyes.

Pray that our board and our leadership in Romania will seek God's face for the direction, leadership, ways to parent, ways to be a light, ways to build up an isolated and tired staff and many other things as we continue on in this ministry that God has called us to.

We don't know how He will provide the sponsors we still need to care for the kids He has given us... We don't know the best way to handle every parenting decision or mentoring decision that needs to be made in regards to the over 40 kids and teens in our care... We don't know the best direction to take and how to best use all of our gifts and talents to bring the most fruit in this minsitry... We don't know who God has for us as a shepherd for the staff or a financial/accounting administrator... We don't know many things.

We know God is in control and that all things that He wills are possible even when we don't know... who... how... when... why... and all the other questions. We know that He hasn't brought us this far to leave us... We know He has a plan for us... plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future. And not only for us, but for this ministry and these children. Pray that we will trust His plan even when we can't see it right now. Pray that as this verse goes on to say... you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Pray that we will seek God with all our hearts. Our hearts are heavy at times for this ministry, they are weary from the busyness of ministry, for many of our Western staff, their hearts are lonely as well. Pray that even with these sometimes heavy, weary and lonely hearts that we will seek Him with all that we have... even when it seems like very little.

It is just another reason that God asks us to, "Be still and know that I AM GOD." He is the only way that anything good comes from any of us and from this minsitry. To GOD be the Glory through the hard times and the blessings!