Our Moldova Missions Team

Our Team Leaders - Sharon and Ron	Andy and Nancy Raatz - A/G Missionaries to Moldova
Wendell & Patty McClung - A/G Missionaries to Lithuania	David and Jan H.
Brianon and Reva	Craig and Courtney
Jim	Steve and David F.
Jerry and Ruth	John and Carol

Click this picture to see a lot of photos from today.

Good Bye Bubieci

Today, we worked once again at the future church at Bubieci.  We gained good ground in our work, and we gained good ground on developing relationships with the Bubieci church.  The teamwork was amazing, from the youngest children to the oldest adults.  We were not quite to the point of pouring cement, but it is setup up so with not to much further work, cement can be poured.  Click the picture on the left to see a lot of photos for the day.

The church gave us another wonderful lunch.  After lunch, we all (Moldovans and Americans) gathered around Sasha (sp?) the pastor and prayed for him and the church there.  Prayer time was very powerful, and we know that God has good plans for them.  We are excited to see the finished church.  We then continued to work until quitting time which was at 3:30 today.  There were a lot of tearful good-byes, hugs, and kisses.  We truely developed good relationships with them.

Today, was our last work day in Moldova.  After we got back to the Pentecostal Union, we got cleaned up and dressed up for a very nice dinner at a fine restaurant.  It was a good night.

After we got back from dinner, we once again played cards.  We also celebrated Brianon’s 18th birthday, and Sharon’s birthday.  Happy birthday Brianon and Sharon.

The day was filled with good things, and it is good to settle down for a good nice sleep.

Click the picture above for a lot of photos from today.

Click this picture to see Sundays photos

A Worshipful Sunday

This morning our team went to a small church in Bubieci. This small church is out growing the small building they currently use; so the service was outside. All of the pews were placed down a sloping driveway. In addition to that, the building is being sold and they may have to be out any day. After service we took a tour of their new church site. We will be doing some cement work there on Friday and Saturday. The task looks impossible; but with God, all things are possible. See the pictures from the site.
David Huff preached at the service. He gave a very good message about the value of children in the Kingdom of God. This message goes counter to the culture here in Moldova. As an addition to the message, Brianon played the guitar and sang a special piece of music. She also gave her testimony which reinforced David’s message. Craig and Courtney then gave their testimonies. They all did such an awesome job.
It is wonderful to engage in worship with another culture. We didn’t know the words, and even the songs we should know, we couldn’t remember the words, but the atmosphere of worship and the presence of God were so real.
After we viewed the site of their new church, we headed back to the Pentecostal Union to eat lunch and get ready for the next service. We were to attend a communion service at the Orhei church. Again, the service was so filled with the presence of God. It was a small congregation but we are believing that the church will fill up when it is completed. David Huff again preached, but a different message about Jesus working in us, and we are to do the things He did. Carol and I (John) gave our testimonies and Brianon played a special song. It was a very good experience to give our testimonies using an interpreter. We were kind of nervous, but were well received by the team and congregation. Our interpreter has been our driver that was mentioned the other day. We are all developing a great relationship with George (pronounced Yourgi, I had this wrong on a previos post). He is full of history and information on his country and we could sit for hours listening to his stories. At the first service we had the pleasure of meeting George’s wife and little girl who is five months old. Her name is Arriana Belinda. Make sure you trill the rr in Arriana.
When service was over, we went to a restaurant and had some good food and fellowship. The conversations between the members of the team are starting to change as relationships are developed. Things are becomming more transparent between us; and the wall are coming down. We are now settling down for a fun game of cards, and have a great night sleep.