June 17, 2011

Colossians 1:3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.

The time has come once again for our blog update. The summer has begun and we have hit the ground with our feet already in motion! It is a wonderful blessing to be busy in the work of the Lord. We also know that without you all and your support this ministry would not be possible. We praise the Lord for using people like you to support, pray, and sustain this work.

Ghijasa de Jos
Our summer program has begun. We kicked off the summer program at the school in Ghijasa de Jos, by organizing a clean up day with the councilman of the village and our students. Some of our students were not too happy about helping, but others were a great help.Those who helped were rewarded with an ice cream treat after their efforts. Jody was busy beginning her preschool program for the 7 students in the village that are looking forward to going into kindergarten in the fall. She has coordinated her efforts with the director of the schools. She uses Bible verses and songs in the classroom. We continue to visit weekly and prepare the students for our summer VBS coming in July. Please continue to pray for the children of this village, and the cooperation of the parents and councilman. We have had some more opposition from the local authorities and are waiting the mayor's decision as to our permission to continue to use the school building. We thank you for praying about these important issues. The battle is the Lord's.

Camp Projects
On our last blog, you saw some pictures of the beginning of painting on the multi-purpose room The first coat of paint has been finished, and we look forward to finishing the trim work, staining, painting and flooring before the fall.

We are also very happy to report that cabin C is now useable for the camp. Robert and William were able to finish the electricity, the interior of the walls, install the carpet, and furnish the cabin this month.There only remains some exterior trim work for this cabin to be finished.

The fence project was pushed forward due to finding out that somebody had broken into the camp camper. With the Lord's great blessing, the help of our neighbors and friends, , William, Jody and Miriam were able to basically finish most of the fence project except for a few block that remain to be laid.

you all for your prayers and we praise the Lord for the safety He provided during these projects. Robert did have a scare when he stepped onto a very rusty nail that entered about an inch into his foot. After getting a fever and beginning to feel pretty ill, Jody was able to convince him to get a tetnus vaccine. She was able to purchase the vaccine from the pharmacy and adminster it to Robert that night. He is all well, and back to work. We are so thankful for the Lord's provision in this all.

If you will notice on our projects column on this blog, we have updated the projects that we need to complete this year. Thank you for your continued prayers concerning these projects and our safety during this time.

Windsor's Fair Haven
This month we were able to kick off the summer camp season with hosting our first summer camp family retreat of 2011 this month. The church group was from a German/Romanian church near Sibiu. There were about 20 in the group, (children not included in the picture) It was exciting and encouraging to see Windsor's Fair Haven used for the purpose the Lord has established for it. The group was able to study, sing, fellowship, and rest during this time. As a thank you, they sang to us in Romanian and English.

Ighisu Vechi
We continue to be encouraged to see the Lord leading our neighbors to come to church with us. Our woodman, and good friend, Ilie, has now been faithfully attending church with us on Sundays. Through working on the fence project, our neighbor, Laurintiu, has also been attending church. He doesn't come as regularly, but these steps are very encouraging for us to see. Jody continues to read the Bible to Lenuta. Seeing Lenuta share with Laurintiu how God is working in her life is such a blessing. Please continue to pray especially for Ilie, as he is encounter problems in the village because he is attending church with us.

Last, but not least, we were blessed to have the Vale family visit us for the last two weeks. The Vales, Mike and Margie are Miriam's parents and her sister, Marah. Miriam is William's girlfriend that will be staying with us through the summer. The Vales helped on many projects

their two weeks here. We pray that God will bless them for their sacrifice, time, and effort. Here are a few pictures of some projects. They are returning home tomorrow.