Crăciun Fericit! (email update)

Dear Friends and Family,

As I write this letter from my bedroom back in Columbus, Ohio, it is strange to be in this setting writing about and reflecting on the last three months in Moldova. I left Moldova a few days ago as my 90-day visa expired and am now waiting until after the new year to return to the country with a new living permit that I am in the process of obtaining. Please pray that my re-entry into the country would go smoothly! However, in the meantime, I am glad to be back home for the Christmas season to see friends and family, and God has also given me the opportunity to attend Intervarsity's Urbana Missions Conference held in St. Louis December 27-31. I am incredibly excited to go to this conference to see what God has in store. You can read more about this event at http://www.urbana.org/.

Over the last month, Chisinau, Moldova has in many ways really begun to feel like home for me. I finally fell into a regular schedule of teaching, meeting with kids, and going to events at church (I was even able to play my cello during communion two Sundays ago!). And I've been spending time with people from church getting to know them and have especially become good friends with the youth pastor. This is a huge answer to prayer for me. I hope to be a source of encouragement to him as I think he has huge potential as a leader and man of God in Moldova. My English lessons and classes are going well. At the orphanage, it has been a struggle lately as about half of my students are progressing rapidly while the other half (mostly the youngest students) are not able to keep such a pace. So, in January when I return, I will be teaching two different classes at the orphanage, one for the younger students and one for older students who are serious about learning quickly. My private students are also doing quite well, and I continue to see positive relationships developing with each of them.

Beginning in January, Jamey (the other American who is serving with me) and I will begin meeting with small groups of students at the orphanage in order to have an informal time of talking, mentoring, Bible study, or whatever. I tried, over the past month, to incorporate spiritual journals into my English class, which turned out to not work well at all. Jamey and I are thinking that a separate time, set aside with the specific purpose of talking about real issues in the kids' lives, will be more productive and fruitful. Pray for this time, that the students might be truly interested, and that nothing would hinder God's purpose in this new venture.

The biggest development over the past month has been several meetings with an organization called Winrock International ( http://www.winrock.org.md/index.php?l=en). This organization is working on many issues in Moldova including human trafficking. From these meetings, I've gained several ideas and resources for addressing this issue at the orphanage where I'm working. I now have several video resources that will be useful to show the students in order to inform them of the realities in the world as well as to spark discussion and dialogue. Additionally, I hope to continue to promote the values of education, creativity, resourcefulness, etc. through my English class and in other settings with the students as these are attitudes that will help them in the future as they transition out of the orphanage. I especially think that creativity and hope for their own lives and country are essential. Often girls look to work abroad because they have no hope for themselves in Moldova and very quickly find themselves in terrible situations. Through the use of the arts, critical thinking, the Bible, and other means, I hope to challenge the idea that there is no hope for Moldova and to encourage the kids to begin thinking outside of the box for ways they can make an impact on their world.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1) Pray for my time at Urbana, that God would re-new my vision for the rest of my time in Moldova and that He would show me more of His heart for missions and for Moldova.

2) Pray for the kids at the orphanage over winter break. The holidays can be a lonely time for them, especially for the ones who do not have any relatives at all. Ask God to take care of them and to reveal Himself to them in a special way this season.

3) Pray for the changes in my English class as well as the small groups we will be starting. Ask God to continue to give me and Jamey insight into His plan for the orphanage and our role in it.

4) Pray for continually strengthened relationships with the kids. There is a handful of kids that I have been spending quite a bit of time with, especially on the weekends, and I hope to see these relationships continue to grow. Ask God to reveal more and more of Jesus to them and to allow me to somehow be a mentor and positive influence on their lives.

5) Pray for my own walk with God, that I might be refreshed and renewed over Christmas. Ask God to return me to Moldova full of boldness and a fresh sense of His heart for the people there.

Thank you all, as always, for your support. May the Spirit of Jesus be especially present in all of your hearts and lives this season.

Crăciun Fericit! (Merry Christmas!)

John