Dear friends,
For Easter this year I am spending three weeks in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Nebraska hoping to see many of you. It's been great to have a break from Servant Teams so that I can travel. And it also means a slower pace of life for me while I'm in Romania, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I've had some time to work in our flower garden at the Community Center which is something I find relaxing and enjoyable.
I've also had some time for reflection and thinking about the future, as well as appreciating the past. As always, our community in Galati continues to grow and change. I was reminded by two other staff members at different times in the last 24 hours that exactly one year from now (April 2006) our community will have grown exponentially! Currently, we have two single American staff (myself included), two married couples and one WMF child, 2-year-old Simeon Klepac. By next spring we will FIVE married couples and FIVE children between the ages of 6 months and 4-years old. Wow. And this is only the American staff.
In the past few months our Romanian staff has made covenant commitments which is another change and brings a deeper meaning to our service together in community. A covenant commitment means verbalizing their calling and making a commitment to continue serving for a certain period of time (two or three years).
When I step back and look at the dedication and sacrifice of these dear friends who I now consider like family, I am amazed. The transformation of the Drop-In Center from an old run-down house into a functional center for so many activities (basketball, homework, wood-working, art, music, meals, showers, laundry), the opening of the Boys' Home where two boys have found a loving family, and all the children who are flourishing and growing in relationship with our staff – none of this would have happened without dedicated national Romanian staff who have been tirelessly laboring for the past seven years.
All our Romanian staff are in their twenties and could have gone after high paying jobs or work that didn't require so much of them. But instead they have chosen to follow a call to serve among the poor in their own community, often suffering personal hardship, and being misunderstood by their Romanian peers who are swept up in the tide of materialism that has flooded this country.
We began covenant commitments in November 2004 with Vali Stefan and Nina Sinca, followed by Bela Ispas and Laurentiu Archip in March 2005. In April, we hope to hold a covenant ceremony for Mihaela Bacnasu and Magda Clopotel. At this time, these are the Romanian staff ready to make such a commitment. Please pray for them as they count the cost of their call and solemnly dedicate their lives to serving Jesus among the poor. Also, please consider adopting one of them as a national missionary that you can support through prayer and finance if God puts that on your heart. You've already met Nina in some of my past prayer letters. If you'd like to know more about the others just let me know.
Here's a sketch of my itinerary for March and April travels:
March 24-April 1: Easter with my family in New Hampshire
April 2-5: Time in Massachusetts at Byfield Parish Church and Gordon College
April 6-10: Board meeting at Word Made Flesh headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska
April 11-14: My 25 th birthday! (April 11 th) which will probably be at least a three-day celebration with my family in New Hampshire. J
April 15 th: Back to Romania to celebrate Easter again on May 1 (Eastern Orthodox Easter falls a month later on the calendar this year)
Thank you as always for your faithful love, prayers and support.
Peace and grace to each one,
Rachel