Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Jonathan and Kristy's update 06/12/2017

NEXT GENERATION PREPARATION
„But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” I Corinthians 1:27
06/12/2017
 
It often seems as though we are having little impact on the people here. As I have been reading through Acts, it is amazing how thousands of people were getting saved and baptized, and people were turning to the Lord every day, giving their lives to Him and being changed. Although we certainly desire this and pray for it for our Gypsies, we are very grateful to the Lord for every victory, great or small. Thank you for praying for us, and I hope you are encouraged to read some of the victories we’ve experienced these past weeks!
 
The first encouragement was from two of our church ladies, Gina and Mariana. Our church neighborhood is quite muddy and dusty, so the church floors need to be swept every week. Normally we do it when we get to church. However, one week, Mariana and Gina took the initiative to not only sweep but also mop the auditorium floor. It was a small gesture, yet it was a blessing and encouragement to us!
 
We had our last English class with the children at Casa Rafa (Cossa Roffa). Though they can be a handful, it is exciting to see them learn, and be able to freely share Christ with them also. We look forward to starting classes again when the next school year starts!
 
Speaking of school, we are planning to start weekly school classes with the children in the church neighborhood again. They have been asking about it, so I’m glad they are looking forward to it! Please be in prayer for our school classes, that children will come, and especially that they will learn to read and write. Please pray for wisdom for us as well.
 
A few teens have been coming to the teen classes, but unfortunately, they haven’t been very attentive. Even if they’re not well-behaved, it’s still encouraging to me if they are learning. The last teen class was a little better, and we pray that the teens will come and their attention will improve so they will learn from God’s Word.
 
The children’s classes are generally well-attended, at least at one point or another! Usually, several will come at the beginning, more will come in during the class, some will leave, etc. I am so often reminded of the phrase from the Bible: “sheep without a shepherd.” They have no direction in life and just do whatever they feel like doing. A couple weeks ago, the children were quite rude and obnoxious, yelling, swearing, and being loud. For most of our church services, it is necessary for someone to stand guard outside because of these children. Please continue to pray that the Lord will work in the children’s hearts.
 
We praise the Lord that our fence is finished! We are obligated by law to have a fence around our property, so it’s good to be legal now :o) and it does make us feel safer. Thank you for your prayers for our safety.
 
It was a blessing to have Adi (Oddy) and Lusi (Lucy) come to church again recently. We hope they will continue to come faithfully. It was also a blessing to preach to the adults while my dad was on a missions trip in Armenia. We are always glad for the opportunities the Lord gives to share His Word.
 
Thank you for all of your prayers for us and the Gypsies. It is a blessing to have you supporting us!
 
In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory