A New Classroom, A New Small Group....

Hello to all,

It has been quite an eventful month here in Moldova. The most recent news is that my parents arrived on Friday for a visit! So far, they have been a part of one of my private English lessons, helped scrape paint in a classroom we recently obtained, took some boys from the orphanage out for pizza, went to my church here, and helped with my small group Bible study. They have a whole week left with me here in Moldova, so I’m sure you will all be anxious to ask them for stories when they return!

The most exciting thing for me this past month has been the beginning of a small group Bible study with the four boys that I have been spending the most time with from the orphanage. We have completed two out of four studies on the person of Jesus as presented in the New Testament gospel accounts. At each study, I have the boys write down their thoughts and opinions about Jesus before we look at the text in order for them to see how those thoughts compare with what they discover the Scriptures say about Him. We are using Intervarsity’s manuscript study method to look at the text each week, which involves interacting with the text through a series of observations, questions, answers, and application. I am also having the boys interact with Scripture through physically underlining, drawing arrows, circling key words, etc. as they discover for themselves what the Bible says. I’ve been finding that the boys are very interested in this method and are very talkative at each study as, in their lives in general, they are rarely asked to form an opinion about something or are allowed to investigate a topic for themselves. I am praying that the Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus to them through the Scriptures in a way that will impact them and change their lives. Additionally, praise God that I have a translator from my church here in Chisinau who is helping me with this small group. She is an Intervarsity staff worker here with a huge heart for this type of small group investigative Bible study. However, she and I both would like to find a native Romanian-speaking guy to take interest in this group and to begin to invest in these boys, especially knowing that I will not be here forever. Please pray that God would bring the person He has chosen for this task.

My English class at the orphanage is going well. Consistent attendance has been a problem lately, but I do have a handful of students who are serious about studying English and are progressing rapidly. A recent highlight was our study of fruit vocabulary and a mock market we had, where the students were able to play the role of buyer/seller and to bargain for fruit in English. Additionally, Liz Gregory has been doing a fantastic job of teaching art to a class of second graders at the orphanage. I’ve been able to attend her classes in order to help out, and I am amazed at how much the kids enjoy art. They have already learned all of the colors and numbers 1-10 in English as Liz is creatively combining her art lessons with English. Liz and I both agree that it is so important for these kids to learn to be creative and to learn that each of them has a voice that matters from an early age, and we believe that art is a way to accomplish that. Our hope is that what they learn through expressing themselves through art empowers them to be creative individuals and members of society in the future.

As I mentioned in my last email, we recently had a round-circle anti-trafficking talk for 9th grade girls at the orphanage. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend as I was in Romania, but Liz and others have told me that it went incredibly well. The girls were open to talking about the issues and learned much from the people from Winrock International who were there leading the discussion. And because of its success, the orphanage director would like Winrock volunteers to come back to do similar discussions with some of the younger girls in the near future.

Another big project over the past month has been putting together sponsorship packets for CERI for unsponsored kids at orphanages throughout Moldova. Liz and I, along with two CERI staff members, spent a few days a couple of weeks ago traveling around Moldova and finding out the stories of as many unsponsored kids as possible. It was eye-opening to hear the stories of these kids and to find out about their family situations. As we work on completing these sponsorship packets, we are including in each a picture of the child, a bio, and a few sentences about his or her family and life situation. Our prayer is that each of them would find someone who is willing to invest in them financially, spiritually, and as a mentor.

Finally, Liz and I recently obtained use of a room at the orphanage for English, art, and Bible study. It is a very old, unused room that is in terrible condition, so we are in the process of cleaning it up, repainting, redecorating, and maybe even bringing in some new furniture to create an environment that will be comfortable and welcoming for the kids to learn and spend time in. Our hope is that this will not be a typical classroom environment, but will be a place where the kids feel comfortable to be themselves, that inspires creativity, and that ultimately gives us a place to build relationships with each one of them.

As many of you know, I spent a few days in Romania several weeks ago when the status of my living permit situation was very uncertain and when I thought I had to leave the country. There, I was able to observe a wonderful organization called Word Made Flesh, which works with street children in Galati, a city on the Moldovan border. Please see my blog (http://moldova-john.blogspot.com) for a more detailed description of my time there. And as far as my living situation goes, praise God that I finally did receive my living permit! After much stress and hassle, I was quite happy earlier this week when I was able to pick it up from immigration.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1) Pray that God would continue to reveal Himself to the boys in my small group and to draw them to Himself. Also pray that God would bring a local guy who would like to invest himself in mentoring these guys.

2) Pray that my English and art students would learn that they are uniquely created in God’s image, that they have a voice that matters, and that they might learn through creativity and expression.

3) Pray that God would prepare the classroom we are working on to be a place where these kids will learn about Him, where we will build relationships with them, and that will foster creativity and growth. Also pray for the physical labor on the room and the movement of furniture that will have to be made.

4) Finally, pray for continued energy and vision as this semester is pushing half-way over. There are only a couple months left to continue teaching formal English classes at the orphanage until summer, so pray that God would do great things in this time. Also pray for vision for the summer and what my role with these kids will look like then.

Thank you all, as always, for your prayers, emails, and support.

Har şi pace,

John