Dear Friends,
I wanted to give you an update this month on what has been happening in our community over the summer. But first, some of you may have received an announcement that we are holding and Open House in Omaha on the 30th of September. For logistical reasons, we've had to change the plan. The Open House will be on Saturday, the 23rd of September at the Word Made Flesh office (1013 Leavenworth Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68102) from 12:00 till 5:00 p.m. We hope to be able to see you and visit with you there…
In June we had a team from England come out to install the electrical system in the attic space that we have been renovating. They did a great job. Since then we have been trying to finish it up so that we can use the space as a computer room, a play space for the young children, and a guest room.
While the team was with us, we invited the boys living on the streets to sleep over at the Casa “la Vale” (the Community Center) for a few nights. We did an intensive program with them, focusing on the theme of Moses: slavery, deliverance, wilderness and Promised Land. It was a good time but rather exhausting – most of us ended up with a bad flu. Though it was a struggle to be off of drugs for so many days, the boys enjoyed their time. During one of our sessions, I told the boys that I prayed for them to get ear infections, tooth infections and colds because they don't do drugs when they have head problems. They sort of laughed, until they too came down with tooth aches and colds after the week at the Center.
One boy actually came down with tuberculosis and pleuropneumonia. In our counseling sessions, we had actually been talking about how an illness like this would be a gift for him. He has been in the hospital for one month and still has one to go. This is the longest that he has been drug free for two years. He keeps telling me that he is now in the “wilderness.” I keep reminding him of the Promised Land. The plan is to take him into the Casa “Lazar” (the Boys' Home) when he is released from the hospital. Please pray for him.
In July we held two weeks of camps: one for the school children and one for their parents. Two of the children that come to the Casa “la Vale” are always brought to and fro by their mother or their older sisters. Seeing them each day has, in a way, brought them into our community, so we invited them to camp. Sadly, just three days before we were to leave, one of the girls was hit by a speeding taxi in the market. She was hit in the hip, flipped up and broke the windshield. I was quite devastated when her parents came to our door with the news. We prayed that the injury wouldn't keep her from camp. The day before we departed, we visited her in the hospital and were delighted to see her running around, smiling, and looking ready to go home. Thankfully, she was able to spend the week at camp with us.
The theme for the children's camp was Joseph: God using all the bad for good. We sang, played games, swam in the river, made up skits, hiked, created art projects, ate, and slept. All of the smiles helped me forget the ride to camp in which we ran out of plastic bags for the kids to vomit in. One girl who normally has problems with motion sickness sat in the front playing with what I thought was silly-puddy. But then I recalled that we don't have silly-puddy in Romania, so I asked her where she got it. She pointed to the ash tray and I realized that it was some stiff, used chewing gum. I gave her the disgusting look to make her understand that it was dirty. She just smiled back and said, “Well, I didn't chew it!”
As always, camp brought us together, helped us know one another better, and reminded us what we are here for.
The children departed on the bus that brought the parents. This was the first year of doing camp for the parents, so we were a bit nervous. We were also a bit disappointed that 3 parents dropped out at the last minute, leaving only four. But we soon realized that the four that came were in the perfect place for what we had planned. Lenutsa did the Bible lessons on the Return of the Prodigal Son. The parents were very open and simply excited to be there. They loved to learn songs and to worship. They loved the crafts. They loved the games, the hikes and the river. It was a blessing for us to see them enjoying life. Each asked that we continue to help them to know God and to meet with them more frequently. This was our prayer going into the camp. We now are praying that this core of four would be a nucleus around which other parents will become part of.
After camp, Lenutsa and I took a week of vacation on the seaside, reading and relaxing. Now we are preparing for the fall: new children at the Center, school preparations, an open house for teachers, supporters and neighbors. We have also been looking at land to purchase in order to develop a job creation project. We have found a few possible plots and are praying for the funding to come in. Please pray with us.
We will be in England in mid-September and then off to Omaha. We hope to see you there.
Yours,
david and lenutsa