April 2012 Prayer Letter

April 2012

Dear Friends,

Spring is officially springing here in Galati.  As I write the sun is shining, temperatures are rising and the children are playing outside.  We had a long, hard winter this year.  Maybe you read about it since it made international news.  Dozens of people died due to the cold temperatures or because they were trapped under loads of snow.  The snow got so deep in the countryside that some houses only had the roofs left uncovered.  It was rough.  Ana and I had it a bit better.  Our biggest problem was our heating system freezing up and/or being unable to keep up with the cold temperatures.  Our bedroom was the coldest spot with temperatures dropping into the 40s at night.  Brrrrrr!

But, as I started to say above, now the world is waking up again and warming up and everyone seems to have new hope and energy.  The children are looking forward to Easter vacation (two weeks off from school) and we adults are looking forward to Easter itself.  We’ve already started rehearsals with the kids for our planned Easter program for the children’s parents and families.  Please pray that Jesus will be glorified in all we plan and do.  Pray that this Easter (April 15th here in Romania) will be a day filled with joy and celebration.

This month Lau and Vali return to the center from their time of sabbatical.  They’ve been back in Galati for a short time alreay, but now they will be returning to the community and taking back up their responsibilities.  Please pray for a good transition back for them and for the community.  Pray that we will be able to receive them well and be attentive to their needs.

As most of you know, I didn’t send out a paper prayer letter last month.  I did, however, send out a prayer letter.  I sent it by email.  As I mentioned a couple months back I’m going to a new schedule of one paper letter followed by one email letter, alternating each month.  Like I said, most of you already know this.  However, if you did not get an email letter from me last month but wish you had you can send me an email (paul.rase@wordmadeflesh.org) and I’ll be glad to add you to my list.  I’ll be sending out another email around May 1st or so.

Please continue to pray for Ana and me, especially for our time with Eleni and Florin.  All is going well, really well actually, but I know how important it is to pray.  We will be spending part of the Easter vacation in Brasov with Ana’s sister and her family.  We’re really looking forward to having some rest and fun with our teens.  Please pray that it will be a great time.

Happy Easter!

Love,

Paul and Ana