“To live in community is to discover and love the secret of what is unique in ourselves. This is how we become free. Then we no longer live according to the desires of others, or by an image of ourselves; we become free, free to love others as they are and not as we would like them to be” (Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, p. 42).
Dear Friends and Family,
I am writing this letter with thoughts of you, knowing that I will be coming to the States in just a few short days and will have the opportunity to see many of you. I fly out of Chişinău early Saturday morning (today is April 15) to Nashville and will be sharing about the past few months in Moldova at Rolling Hills Community Church on Sunday afternoon. I will then be speaking to a group from Vineyard Columbus on Thursday evening, April 29. And on May 2 my parents and I will be hosting an open house at their home in Bexley. I am looking forward to the time to reconnect with you all and to share some stories from the road we have traveled as a community over the past three months.
About a month ago we connected with an organization in Moldova called the Ark Foundation, an NGO that organizes activities and camps with socially vulnerable children. We met the director of this organization through a local church and have since entered into a parternship relationship with Ark as volunteers. Because Word Made Flesh is not yet an officially registered organization in Moldova, we do not have permission to organize activities in state-run institutions. Through our partnership with Ark, however, we’ve been able to obtain this permission and are now volunteering at the same school where I taught English three years ago during my first year in Moldova.
Each week, we spend our afternoons helping a class of 4th graders with their homework, playing games, doing art, singing and just getting to know them. These children come from socially vulnerable families and either live permanently at the boarding school or go home to stay with their parents or relatives only on the weekend. From our time with these kids over the past few weeks, I think we can all say that we have been reminded of the way that God’s heart is broken for these children and of the way God desires healing and wholeness for each one. Our prayer each day is that through relationship with these kids, we would be drawn closer to the heart of God and to a clearer vision for the future of WMF in Moldova.
On Thursdays, on the other hand, our team goes in two different directions as we continue exploring and seeking to learn about the current situation in Moldova. Magda, Rachel and Annie have begun volunteering at the Grace House, a transitional living facility for teenage girls who have graduated from state-run orphanages. They have been giving guitar lessons, teaching English and just getting to know these girls. Adriana and I have been spending our Thursdays in Văratic, a small village an hour’s bus ride from Chişinău. We volunteer at a day center for children from this village run by Youth for Christ. We’ve organized games, music and art activities and have been able to share a meal with these kids each week as we get to know them better. It is becoming increasingly clear to us that these children and their families really are in dire need as many of the adults from this village have been forced to move abroad in search of a living. The children have been left behind in the care of grandparents or of other relatives or friends.
Please continue to pray with us as we seek to understand more clearly the direction in which God is leading us in Moldova. Ultimately, the relationships we build with these children are what will lead us to our long-term place of service. As we get to know them and discover the places in them that are crying out for healing, we will better understand how to respond.
Thank you all for your continued support of our new community in Moldova. These past few months have been full of both joys and trials, but we have been constantly aware of the hand of God leading us each day. Especially as we think about the way we found the Ark Foundation and the way in which we were led back to the school where I already have a lot of established relationships, we are overwhelmed. I look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks and being able to share these stories in a more personal way.
With love,
John Koon
THOUGHTS FOR PRAYER
1) Ask that God would make Love and Hope known to the children at the boarding school, the village and the Grace House.
2) Pray for continued love, patience and acceptance among our staff members.
3) Pray for continued wisdom as we begin to think about our involvement this summer and into the future.
A view of Văratic, the village where Adriana and I volunteer on Thursdays.