“Blessed are those…who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on his law day and night. They are like a tree planted by streams of water…” (Psalm 1:1-3, TNIV, read to me at my covenant ceremony on June 23, where I committed the next 3.5 years of my life to the WMF community).
Dear Friends and Family,
As I write this letter, I am just a day away from my departure to the US for a 3.5 weeklong vacation and work trip. The first few days of my trip will be spent in New York City with my old college coterie as we celebrate the marriage of two dear friends, Matt and Erica. After the festivities and a weekend of delving into the intricacies of Manhattan, I look forward to seeing many of you in Columbus, Toledo, Denver, Atlanta and Nashville. As I anticipate my time with you, I am reminded of the vitality of your prayers, encouragement and financial partnership in the work God is doing among us here in Romania. I am packing my bags with a grateful heart, eager to share stories with each of you that come from the richness of the past year.
I have enjoyed my time in an unusual way this past month at the Valley House here in Galati. The children have been coming each day for either 4 or 5 hours, so we have much more intentional and regular time to spend with them than we do during the school year. One of the highlights for me has been my time with the youngest group of children first thing in the morning. After changing their clothes and brushing their teeth, they come into the day room and each quietly set out reading the book of their choice. Captivated, they spend 30 minutes or so reading before we have time for prayer and the next planned activity. It is not unusual to hear the kids begging us to let them continue reading longer because they enjoy it so much.
Another highlight from the last month was a music club I led with some of the older children. Each afternoon, we spent an hour exploring things like the master composers of the Baroque period and the operatic fury of 19th century Romanticism. But beyond the pure acquisition of academic knowledge, my hope for the children participating in my club was that they might grow a little bit in their own emotional awareness and in their ability to express what they are feeling–through music, dance, art or word. I experimented with several simple music therapy activities and felt like the kids really enjoyed and benefitted from them. I hope to continue to grow in my understanding of how music can play a healing role in the lives of our children.
Preparations for the new Word Made Flesh Moldova field are going well. Two weeks ago (I write on July 13), I took a short trip to Moldova in order to visit our future staff member, Adriana, and to meet with several other organizations as we continue to explore the possibilities of where WMF might find its place in Moldova. During one meeting with the director of another organization that works with children, I asked about the process we will have to go through in order for WMF to become a registered non-profit in Moldova. Although overwhelmed by many of the logistical details passed on to me, I was encouraged by this man’s desire to help us. He even offered to connect us with a lawyer who will be able to guide us through this process. I will be making another trip to Moldova after I return from the States in August in order to meet with this lawyer. Please pray for me and the rest of our team during this time as I tend to feel drained and burdened by this type of administrative work.
A park in Chişinău, Moldova
In other Moldova news, Rachel, who has been on WMF staff in Romania for almost 7 years, just left last week for a 6-month sabbatical before she returns to live and serve in Moldova. We are excited to see the ways in which God restores and heals her through this time of intentional rest. Meanwhile, Iosif, Magda, Adriana and I continue to meet and to pray about our future work in Moldova. I have been encouraged to see the ways in which God is uniting us in our vision and especially through the honesty and openness that we are beginning to experience among us. We realize that the health of our relationships as staff is of utmost importance before we can begin to enter more deeply into relationship with children in Moldova.
Thank you for your continued interest in and support of this ministry. May you know the depth of God’s love for you today.
Grace and peace,
John
PRAYER REQUESTS
1) Pray for our time at camp the first week of September. We will be going to the same place again in the mountains in central Romania with all of the children who come to the Day Center. Ask that the Holy Spirit would already be preparing the children for this time in which they will grow in their knowledge of God and in their relationships with the rest of the community.
2) Continue praying for the beginning of WMF Moldova. As mentioned above, our two main focuses right now are on team-building as staff and on necessary administrative details. Ask that we would be filled by God with energy, patience and vision.
3) Finally, pray for the children as their summer vacation draws to an end. Ask that they would continue growing and learning as they hold on to every moment of these last days of summer freedom. Pray that they would be drawn more deeply into the healing and loving embrace of God.