Dear Friends,
I trust that this letter finds you well. Here in Galati we have moved into summer. The weather has been in the ’90’s, and the kids just had their last day of school. It is nice to reflect on how much the kids have grown, learned and developed over the past year. Although they are all progressing, many of our kids find themselves behind in various subjects. So, we are trying to plan some fun activities to help them improve over the summer. But they won’t only be studying. Because we are able to have more time with the kids during summer break, we will do various clubs like basketball, sewing and film-making. We’ll also be able to have more consistent Bible studies and times of worship. As in years past, we will have Friday outings to museums, parks and the swimming pool. And we plan to have camp in the mountains at the end of the summer. We pray that God will use our time and energy to help each child to grow in their relationship with God and to become the people He is calling them to be.
A few days ago, I participated in a round-table discussion with NGO’s, education directors, school principles, city council members and doctors. We were discussing child development. While there were many ideas about how to collaborate better, I was fascinated by where the discussion went. One city council member said that we needed to focus on the “three ‘R’s,'” which I always to took to mean “reading, writing and arithmetic.” In Romanian, those words don’t start with “R” but neither do they in English, so I didn’t think too much about it. But then she said that the” 3 R’s” really equal the ten commandments. Now I was totally confused, until she spelled it out for me: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility. A school principle then said, “Yes, it is an inner, spiritual problem, and children need a spiritual or religious response.” Romania’s education was atheistic for the past 50 years and the country is mainly only nominally Christian, so I was surprised that these leaders were identifying the spiritual as the fundamental response to children. I have been to many meetings like this one but was happy to see an opening to what we have been stressing for so many years: holistic ministry to children. Please do pray that God would continue to open the hearts of these community leaders and that He would be free to work redemptively and to respond to the needs of the children.
I also would ask you to continue to pray as our community transitions over the next few months. As I have mentioned, we have three weddings in our community this year, which will change the dynamics of our relationships. We also have a group of three of our staff preparing to leave for Moldova in January. As we walk together, pray that God would refresh and renew His vision in us, that He would give us grace for one another in the midst of many changes, and that we will all continue to look to Him for our sustenance and direction.
Personally, I would also ask for you to pray for me as I work on the third year of a masters degree. I have lots of reading and a couple of essays to write, and it is sometimes hard to find time to give to this. In addition, please pray for Lenutsa and me to protect time for one another and for our marriage to deepen.
As always, I want to tell you that your prayers and support are essential for our being here. Thank you for your fidelity to us.
Yours in Christ,
david and lenutsa
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david chronic
regional coordinator Africa/Europe
www.wordmadeflesh.org
www.cuvantulintrupat.com