Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me. (Is. 49:15-16)
Dear Friends, Family and Community,
I apologize for not writing almost anything for so long. I need to learn how to be consistent regarding my monthly prayer letters. Many things have happened in my life in the last six months.
I finished my first year of university studying journalism. It has been a good year of knowing and making relationships with many new people. Thank you for your faithful prayers which God has used in my life to strengthen me. I have felt them clearly during this year of running back and forth between the day center and school, dividing my time between them in order to fulfill all of my responsibilities.
As many of you already know, some of the women with whom I serve Jesus among the poor and I started a ministry called "Young Mothers." We met during this year with four young women between the ages of 17 and 22. We tried to respond to their needs, both spiritual and material. And we found that the closer we became the more their wounds began to surface as well as our own. Their pain revealed my pain. Their brokenness, in a very real sense, sought out and found my brokenness.
We saw a lot of pain. We saw pain caused by attachment disorder, sexual abuse, and the simple fact that they were not ready to be mothers, either because they lacked resources or because they lacked a good example for being a parent. This ministry is changing shape for now. We have stopped meeting with the mothers. Instead, we have started to pray for them, praying specifically for guidance and vision. I confess that my heart is broken and I feel helpless.
Please continue to pray for these young mothers, that God will bring light into their lives and freedom from the lies they have heard. And above all pray that these girls will meet Jesus. Only He can heal their wounds – He the redeemer of their souls. It is going to be a long process of healing, a painful process, but nothing else matters when the Spirit of God is poured into every single part of their body and spirit. He will bring healing and true life.
Please pray especially for Lenuta, a 17-year-old girl and mother of three children. She lost her second child, a baby girl named Andreea of only 11 months, to pneumonia several months ago. The Child Protection Department has recently removed Lenuta and her remaining two children from the home they were living in and has placed them in a protected living situation. Unfortunately, I don't have many expectations that anything will change because soon she will turn 18. As an adult, she will be free to leave this protected center and return to her boyfriend's house (with or without her children), a house in which she has been mistreated over and over again. Please pray, as well, for God's Spirit to surround me now as all of the members of her boyfriend's family are angry with me and have already threatened me several times. Pray that I will have trust in God now, when I fear and when I am hurt.
And for those who don't know yet, I got engaged to Paul Rase on the 1st of August. He is such a wonderful man – wise and faithful, a true man of God. Paul and I have known each other for almost five years. We are planning to get married on the 21st of March next year (all of you are invited!). Pray for us as we get closer to one another and as our wounds are being revealed. Please pray that God's love will keep us and that His Spirit will unify our spirits. Pray for vision and, more than anything, that God will be the center for our relationship.
Also, several of us are making plans to travel to Sierra Leone, Africa this coming January. David and Lenuta Chronic, Magda Clopotel, Fani Ursachescu and I want to visit the Word Made Flesh community located there. They are serving Jesus among war victims. Pray for protection and that God will open our eyes to see Him among those who are suffering. We want to see! We want to see through the eyes of Jesus. Pray also that God will provide all we need for this trip. He who has all the resources will provide all for us.
Before I close this letter, I want to share some of the experiences in which I have seen clearly the Spirit of God moving:
While my heart was crying out for mercy and God's grace to be multiplied, I prayed "Lord, teach me to pray!" My eyes were blurry; my words felt empty. Lord, teach me to pray! He sent Florentina, a 13-year-old girl that I met on the street while she was begging. She started coming to the day center and every single day she took me aside and asked me to pray with her. Each time I felt awkward and incapable, but she would pray with simple words and faith. For two or three weeks, every single day, God used her to teach me to pray.
My body was weak. I was tired and sick. I couldn't see through the "fog." Lord! Father! He sent Daniela (a 15-year-old) to teach me about faith. She saw that I was sick and her first reaction was, "Ana are you sick? Let me pray for your healing." She prayed and the next day I felt as good as new.
Today I asked Cristi how he was feeling because I saw a huge smile on his face. He responded, "I'm happy." I asked him why he was happy. "I just took a shower." I marveled at his simple joy and, at the same time, I was ashamed that I so rarely find joy in the little things of life.
Thank you again for all of your prayers and support. I confess that I cannot do this alone. Knowing that you are with me, and with us, both encourages and sustains me.
Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you. (Is. 46:4)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
Ana Maxim