June 2012
Dear Friends,
Today is our first day back at the center after our week away on retreat in the mountains. Thank you for your prayers. We had a great week together. It was amazing to worship together singing songs from Romania, Moldova and also Sierra Leone. Our theme for the retreat was “reconciliation” and spent time contemplating it from many aspects. We talked about how our reconciliation with God effects our reconciliation with people. We talked about reconciliation with our first love (Jesus), reconciliation with yourself, reconciliation with society and more. We also had lots of time to play together. It was so good to laugh and get to know each other better. All in all, it was a great time. Thank you so much for your prayers.
I have two prayer requests this month. The first is for Ana and me as we prepare for our time of sabbatical. We’ll be spending the month of June to slowly transition out of our responsibilities before beginning our leave on July 1st. Please pray that this transition will go well. Pray that those taking over our responsibilities, especially those who will stay with Eleni and Florin, will be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit for the work He has for them in this season. Pray that Ana and I will remain “present” until we actually leave rather than “checking out” early. Pray especially for Eleni and Florin, that our time away will not have any negative effects on the healing and growth God is doing in them. Pray that He will continue to heal and work in our absence.
Secondly, I simply want to share with you about our financial situation at the center. While my personal support is still doing well (I haven’t had to skip a month of salary yet), the support for the Romania ministry in general has not been keeping up with the expenses we have. There’s no need for me to go into all the details, but I did want to let you know there is a need, in particular for the salaries of the Romanian workers, should the Lord put it on your heart to help out. Please feel free to let me know if you want to contribute. I’ve thought for some time that I would love to help the Romanian staff members connect with folks that will receive their letters, commit to pray for them and possibly support them financially. Having experienced this kind of support for years, I know what an incredible encouragement it is. As always, ask the Lord what He would have you do and then listen to Him. There’s no safer place for us to be.
Love,
Paul and Ana