Soarta mea este în mâna Ta

Dear Friends and Family,

I cannot believe how quickly the past month has gone by. Many things have happened, and I remain glad that it is God who is in control and who is at work! Thank you for your interest in Moldova, your support, and your continual encouragement.

The small group that I have been leading with four boys from the orphanage has been going well. Although the orphanage’s spring break and occasional weekend trips to visit relatives have prevented the boys from coming every week, the discussions that have occurred have been quite good. As I wrote in my last email, we have been looking at the person of Jesus in the gospels and have been asking God to show us who the Scriptures say He really is. I have been amazed by the observations the boys have made and by the maturity of their comments. This past Sunday, we studied the story of the prodigal son from Luke’s gospel, and after two solid hours (which seemed like only a few minutes!) the discussion was still strong. I really do believe that God is drawing them to Himself, so please continue to pray in this way. The relationship that I have with each of these boys continues to grow. I spend almost all of my time on Saturdays and Sundays with them, so I have been able to learn more and more about their lives and to try to share what I can of mine. I continue to study Romanian often as I have lessons three times a week, and so I feel like I am starting to be able to add depth to my conversations with these boys as my comfort level with the language increases each day. This is a huge answer to prayer.

My English class at the orphanage continues to go well. My biggest struggle is knowing how to teach a class with some students who are quite advanced and others who are beginners. Fortunately, Liz and Amelia (both here from Rolling Hills, my church in Nashville) have offered their time twice a week to give special attention to the beginners so I am able to focus on more advanced things with the others. Even so, within the advanced group, there remains quite a variety of knowledge levels and learning paces, so it is difficult to know how best to conduct class. I am doing my best to continually review thoroughly so ensure that everyone is caught up and to also introduce new material on a regular basis so the most advanced students stay challenged. Additionally, Liz’s second grade art students are doing well! They have so far learned colors, numbers, and shapes in English and are in each class challenged to be creative and innovative on their own. Thus, Liz is doing a great job of fostering in these kids the creativity and initiative that will enable them to be successful in the future.

My private English students are doing well also. I’ve been giving my Romanian teacher English lessons twice a week, and I have been so encouraged by the conversations we are able to have in our lessons. She is an extremely inquisitive and thoughtful person, wanting to talk about all sorts of subjects, from politics to cultural issues to faith. We’ve had many good conversations about the Bible as she has been reading on her own and attending church services when she can. Her curiosity is unquenchable, so please pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to work in her life.

The work and repairs on the classroom that Liz and I obtained at the orphanage are going well. We’ve hit several bumps along the way, but I think we are finally making good progress. The walls and floor have all been re-painted, the unusable furniture thrown away, new desks, chairs, and rugs purchased, and holes in the walls repaired. This week Liz has started adding her artistic touch to the walls with creative design. Hopefully within a week, we will have a wonderful new classroom where we envision students learning English, art, Bible, or simply just talking and hanging out in a place that is safe and comfortable.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1) As mentioned above, continue to pray for my relationships with the boys in my small group and with all of my English students. Ask God to deepen these relationships and to reveal Himself to each person.

2) Please begin to pray toward the future direction of CERI’s ministry to these children in Moldova. As Moldova looks toward joining the European Union, it is also beginning to make plans to shut down orphanages and to move to a foster care system in the place of institutional care. Ultimately, living with a healthy family is better for a child than living in a state-run institution; however, a foster care system in Moldova is essentially non-existent. This means that if the orphanage is shut down, many of the children will be forced to move into homes with unsafe relatives and unlivable conditions or will be forced onto the street. At CERI we are talking about the ways that this organization can be involved most effectively at this crucial time for Moldova’s children. CERI is always working very hard to place children into good families where they will be well-cared for, but the overwhelming need is almost impossible to meet in only this way. We are also beginning to discuss plans for a community center that will be built in Chişinău. This will be similar to the Grace House that CERI had been working on previously and will provide services such as healthy meals, tutoring, life-skills training, job placement services for older children, and many other things that we are currently envisioning. Please begin to pray with us toward this end as we are still in the dreaming phase of what such a community center could look like. This Sunday, April 1, some CERI representatives from the States will be here as we have a large brainstorming meeting and will then begin to take action. Please pray for our meeting that day! Also, please pray this prayer for each of the children here in Moldova, “Soarta mea este în mâna Ta” (“My times are in Your hands” (Psalm 31:15, NIV), or literally from Romanian “My destiny is in Your hand.”). As frightening as the current circumstances may seem for these children, we can confidently entrust the future of each one into the hands of a gracious Father.

Har şi pace,

John