Ministry News From Summer in Romania

 
Summer Ministry!We had team of 11 here from July 22 – Aug. 2, they represented 4 churches from Alberta and BC.  We did VBS in 4 more villages and saw around 200 children attend.    We had a great time playing games like “Where’s Waldo”, doing crafts and hearing about God’s Everlasting Love through skits & bible stories. We enjoyed hearing messages and testimonies from the team that came from Canada and seeing the impact these messages had on the children and youth.   One of the team members on this trip was a distant relative of Gloria’s – Thanks for coming along and sharing God’s word Josh Arnold – great to meet you. And of course we loved the Canada vs Romania soccer game!

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Vern & Tamas have been busy at the camp preparing the ground & pouring cement for the retaining wall by the existing building.  Work has begun on the “Old Farm House”  - windows & doors have been removed and they are getting the inside walls ready for stucco.  This is going to be an excellent building for staff to live on the property. It's important for us to get this done soon as the camp is getting busier and busier with work and groups.

Camp Falcon Rock was rented to two groups this summer through the Hungarian Baptist Convention. It was great to hear the laughter of children at the camp and to see lives impacted by God using this place already. The groups meant a lot of work for Gloria & Tunde as they had to clean and wash bed linen and get the camp turned around.

We have a lot of building projects on the go right now. Please pray with us that the permits for the water, sewage & cabins will arrive soon so that we can have more camps next summer. If we are able to get these projects done then we will be able to publicly open the doors of Camp Falcon Rock and run our own programs next summer!

We are looking forward to having our children with us this fall.  Nathan, Stacey, Cache & Mabel arrive here on Sept. 3. They will be in the village with us until the 11th then Nathan & Stacey go off touring to Greece & Italy.  Cache & Mabel will hang out with Papa & Grammie until Sept 30 when we will fly with them to Denmark to meet up with their mom & dad.  We are looking forward to spending time with our family in Denmark—we haven’t been there since 1995 so will be fun to reconnect.
 
Nathan & Stacey fly home on Oct. 6 & we fly back to Romania on Oct. 7.  We have a few days to get ready for Michael, Katrina & Jack who will arrive on Oct. 12.  They will be here in the village for one week then they are off touring also.  Darn, they said they are not leaving Jack with us!!!!!  September & October will be busy months but so looking forward to showing our kids the village life & meeting all our friends here in Szentkiraly.

We were able to pick Blackberries at the camp – a new experience for us.  They are sure yummy but very nasty to pick, we have the scratches to prove it.  Gloria was able to make some jam, syrup, muffins and a very yummy blackberry cobbler.

It is amazing that we now live in a country that moves a little slower than Central Alberta, but the time goes by just as fast.  Wasn’t it just May!?!  Ecc.3:1 says everything has its time.  When we look back and see the teens, the children and the leadership here this verse makes a lot of sense. You can see it in the response of the people that are eager to hear the good news as well as it in the love that is shared with these children and adults. 
 
Thanks everyone for allowing us to be witnesses to God’s Love for Romania.
 
      What do workers gain from their toil?  I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.  He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil-this is the gift of God.  I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it.  God does it so that people will fear him.  Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.  Ecclesiastes 3:9-15
 

Till next time –
Vern & Gloria