hot eggs for breakfast

Dear Friends and Family,

The past month has been full as I continue to integrate into the community here at Word Made Flesh Romania. Walking through my apartment this morning I realized that fall is truly here as my host family shut off the ever-open balcony door leading into the kitchen, pulled out a thick comforter for my bed, and served me with hot eggs, ham, and tea for breakfast. This colder weather is causing me to be more reflective, and I'm finding it hard to believe that just a year ago I was beginning to adjust to life in Moldova not knowing what would be in store a few months down the road.

Life in Galaţi continues to go well. I have stayed busy working on my proposal for a Word Made Flesh community in Moldova as well as planning an exploratory trip to Moldova that we took last week. The purpose of the trip was to visit as many organizations as possible in Moldova that are working among the poor, among vulnerable children, and among victims of human trafficking. In one very full week, we visited a whole range of organizations, from small, grassroots Christian organizations to larger, established organizations such as Save the Children and Amnesty International. Overall, I think we learned a lot about what these different organizations are doing and how Word Made Flesh could potentially find a place in Moldova in the future. Currently I am reflecting on this trip and adding the final details to my proposal.

As a side note, Denis (the boy I lived with this past summer) and Ilie (one of my English students in Moldova) were both baptized this past Sunday during my visit! I praise God for the work He is doing in their lives and the way He is shaping them into men who desire to follow Him. Thank you for the prayers you have prayed for them.

Here in Galaţi, the servant team and I have recently been studying N.T. Wright's The Challenge of Jesus. This study has impressed me as all involved have continued to ask deep questions and to enter into places of true reflection. Please pray for these studies as we are all wrestling with various issues for the first time that have come up in our discussions. Throughout this process it has been a joy for me to see the way God is working in each of our lives, causing us to see that He is much bigger than we had known.

My other daily activities at the center now include English lessons, computer lessons, homework tutoring, hall monitoring as our kids come to brush their teeth and take showers, and soccer games with the group of street kids we have been meeting with. One of our newest and developing activities here in Galaţi is the Job Creation Project. We are working to create places of employment for our children in various areas, from baking to accounting to carpentry. Our first tangible effort in this area is Christmas cards made by the children in our art therapy program. If you are interested in ordering Christmas cards from our community here in Galaţi, please visit http://www.wmfromania.com/Eng/news1.php to place an order. The money you spend on these beautiful cards will benefit our children and help us know how we can continue to use our children's art to help support them in the future. However, please note that orders must be placed by NOVEMBER 1 in order for us to print the necessary cards and have them shipped in time for you to send your Christmas greetings. This only gives you two weeks to order, so please do so now!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1) Please continue to pray for our community here in Galaţi. Ask that we would be diligent in seeking the Lord and living out the ways of His Kingdom. Pray that the poor would be lifted up and honored among us.

2) Pray for our community as we continue to pray about the possibly of expanding into Moldova. We want to be absolutely obedient to the call of God for us as a community, so ask that we might, in intimate relationship with Him, have ears that are open and hearts that are willing.

3) Finally, my personal prayer request is that I would be obedient to what God is calling me to do in the future. As some of you know, I have made the decision to apply for Word Made Flesh Romania staff and will be back in the States for an interview after Christmas. I am not able to share all of the details of what this will look like for me yet, but as for now, please be in prayer for me. I appreciate this especially as the last few months have been a huge time of stretching and growing for me.

I will leave you with a passage of Scripture I read recently: "The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them" (Exodus 2:23-25, NIV). May the same God who heard the groaning of His people and ultimately delivered them also deliver you from that which is enslaving you today. And may you live a life that brings the same freedom to others.

Har şi pace,
John