Jonathan and Kristy's update 11/8/16

Oops... I guess it's been a little while since I posted our prayer letters!  I will be catching up with them over the next few days.  Stay tuned!

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

11/8/2016

It is so encouraging to remember that through the blessings and trials of the work here, there are people all over the world praying for us. When we don’t see God working in our Gypsies (but we know He is), it is refreshing to think that people are praying for them. Thank you for your prayers!

It was encouraging to see Lusi come to church a few times. Adi also came the other week! Praise the Lord! Thank you for praying for them.

I was able to preach to the adults a couple weeks ago, and also at a fellow missionary’s church in the city. The message was on Christ’s suffering and crucifixion. It is humbling to be reminded of the great sacrifice He made for us. May we always be ready to follow Him, even if it means suffering!

There have been a pretty good number of children coming to the children’s classes. Many continue to leave after a short while, and although that is a disruption, it is encouraging to see those that stay and want to learn. Sometimes it surprises me when they know so many answers to questions at the end of a lesson, even hard questions! How exciting to see them learning from God’s Word!

One of the teen boys that was coming to the school classes, Angelo, started coming to our teen classes. We praise the Lord for this! Sara continues to come as well, although she has been hanging out with some teen girls in the neighborhood that are not a good influence for her. Please pray that Sara would “walk with the wise” and stay away from those that draw her away from the Lord. The teens seem to enjoy talking and goofing around after the church service (what else is new?!). :o) Romica (Rome-eeka), an older teen boy, came for the first time in a while towards the end of one of our teen classes. It was good to be able to talk to him, and I hope he will keep coming. Rebeca came to church a couple weeks ago, and was friendly with us, which was nice. She asked for prayer that she would get back to God. This was an answer to prayer! Unfortunately, she has not been to church since. Please pray that Rebeca will obey the Lord and stay close to Him.

The children at our English classes at Casa Rafa have been doing very well. It’s encouraging to see them learning and remembering the things they’ve learned! Please pray that we would have wisdom as we teach, and as we minister to the children and teens.

We had our last school class for a few months, and it was good to see the faithful ones come and put their brains to work. We decided to stop the school classes during these cold months, as we use all three rooms in the church building for school, and we are short on time and fire wood to start fires every week for that. We are grateful for all that they have learned!

It was a blessing to have my sister and brother-in-law, Joanna and Bruce White, and their family come from Germany for a visit for a few days. It is always wonderful to spend time with family!

There have been quite a number of thefts in our area recently. We are grateful that the Lord has protected us. We have a small, temporary chainlink fence around just part of our property, and we would ask you to please pray with us that the Lord would allow us to have a proper fence built for our property.Everyone here has a fence around their property, and we believe  it is a good safety measure.

We appreciate all your prayers for us and the Lord’s work here. May God bless you as you serve Him and take part in this ministry to the Gypsies!

In His service,

Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update 10/9/2016

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

10/9/2016

 

Sometimes it amazes me how much gets packed into one month of our lives. Thank you for your part in God’s work among the Romanian Gypsies!

 

The most difficult age for people to live for the Lord seems to be the teen years. Very few teens have been coming to our services, but we are grateful for those that come! It seems whenever I see a group of them and go over to talk to them or invite them to church, they disperse. It’s almost comical, although it’s sad at the same time. Sara continues to come faithfully, so that is encouraging. Two girls came who hadn’t come for a while. Although they didn’t really pay attention, I’m glad they came. We heard that Rebeca is in a relationship with an older guy who is known for being a “bad boy.” This guy already has a wife and child, but he apparently likes Rebeca. We believe this is the reason for Rebeca’s distance, and for her ignoring us. Please pray that the Lord would get ahold of her heart.

 

After being beaten by her “man” and harassed by the neighbors, Ica (Eeka) decided she had had enough. She went back to her home village. However, she returned after a few weeks, saying that she felt bad for her man, Marcel (March-ell). The two are not married, so in that sense, it was better that she had left. Now that she is back, she is dealing with the typical issues of being made fun of for getting baptized and becoming a “repenter,” as well as children throwing rocks and bricks at their house. Thankfully, she is feeling a little better, but please pray for strength and steadfastness for Ica as she deals with oppression from the unsaved. Please also pray that Marcel would receive Christ as his Savior. We have talked at length with Marcel about the Gospel and know that the Lord is working.

 

The children continue to amaze, and disappoint us. Often, most of the children leave the children’s class at church before the lesson even starts. Thankfully, the ones who stay are usually very attentive, and answer review questions at the end of the lessons. After one of the classes, a few of the girls wanted to sing a Christian chorus that they knew. The children often want to help hold the songs we sing, or help with the lesson pictures. It’s great when they are involved (as long as they behave :o) ), as they tend to not leave! During my lesson about Jesus being condemned to death, three of the girls were very tender hearing about His suffering. They were anxious to hear the rest of the story of how He was crucified. The next week when I taught about the crucifixion, they were not quite as thrilled, but it was good to see them thinking somewhat seriously about the lesson. Please continue to pray that the Lord would work in the hearts of the children!

 

Lusi did come to one of the services recently, but Adi (Oddy) has not. Gina, Adi’s mother, said to pray for Adi and Lusi that they will think about the Lord.

 

The school classes have had fewer attending recently, but it’s often easier to handle fewer of them. It is so exciting seeing them learn the letters, and to see some of them reading! What an amazing gift God has given us to be able to read His Word!

 

We appreciate all your prayers for us and the Lord’s work here. May God bless you as you serve Him and take part in this ministry to the Gypsies!

 

In His service,

Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update September 8, 2016

9/8/2016

The last few weeks have been typical of Gypsy ministry with ups and downs. We are grateful for each day the Lord gives us to serve!

Thank you for praying for the children’s classes. They continue to be well-attended, though often some leave before the class is over. Dani (Donny) left the other week with some other boys, but Codru came and he was actually very good. Last Sunday, there were a ton of kids, and they were pretty good for as many as there were. We hope God will continue to teach them His truths through us.

Around 22 children have been coming to the weekly school times. Although they were a little more hyper during class this week and there were some interruptions, they have been very well-behaved overall. We thank the Lord for all that they are learning, and ask you to please pray with us that they will learn well. Reading is the most important focus in our school times, as we want them to be able to read the Word of God. We also do writing and numbers with them too.

A few weeks ago, we got a call from our neighbors (who are believers) that a group from a church in Germany was staying with them for a few days, and was interested in doing a program with the Gypsy children. So, we had some songs, games, and a Biblical lesson in the church neighborhood, and we enjoyed seeing this group’s willingness to serve. Some of those from the group came to church with us the following Sunday and gave some encouraging testimonies.

We had a good time at the baby dedication for Adi (Oddy) and Lusi’s little boy. In the end, close to 100 people came. A Romanian pastor friend of ours preached, and their family and ours did some special music. Praise the Lord for Adi and Lusi’s testimony to raise their son for Him!

The other week when we went to the church building to do school with the children, we started talking to Ica (Eeka), who recently got saved. She was not feeling well, and explained in tears that she ran out of medicines, and didn’t have any money even for food, much less medicine. She did not ask us for anything though, which is rare for the Gypsies. Thankfully, we and our co-workers were able to get some of her medicines. The Lord has allowed a lot of trials in her life. We were planning a baptism for this week (on Tuesday), so we talked with her about getting baptized, as well as to Sara, Adi, and Lusi. Adi and Lusi didn’t think they wanted to get baptized at this time, Sara was not sure, but Ica indicated that she wanted to. My sister, Larisa, made sure of her salvation at camp recently, so she wanted to get baptized. When the day of the baptism came, it was encouraging to see Adi come to the service, although he didn’t want to get baptized. Lusi didn’t come, Sara did not want to get baptized, and Ica was feeling terrible, so she was at home. I was rather discouraged that it seemed no one except Larisa was getting baptized, but also very glad that she was getting baptized! When we walked to the baptistry (which was next to the church) to do the baptism, Ica started walking over with us. She began crying, and we thought she just was feeling terrible, and she probably was, but she just said that she really wanted to get baptized! Praise the Lord! You can see the attached pictures of the baptism. It was good to see Rebeca come to that service. There were probably at least 100 onlookers to witness 2 of God’s children showing their salvation testimony and their desire to follow Him!

Thank you for your prayers for us and the Lord’s work here. May the Lord bless your part in this ministry to the Gypsies!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update 8/9/2016

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

8/9/2016

Believe it or not, one of the most difficult things when writing a prayer letter is figuring out how to start it! :o) I will start by thanking you for your support and prayers for us. We can see God at work through the prayers of His people.

After weeks of preparing and solidifying details, our school classes with the Gypsy children have officially begun! For our first week, the kids were amazingly well-behaved. There wasn’t a lot of learning, as we were basically trying to figure out how much each child knows. Their ages are from 5-13, and the levels of knowledge range from reading well to not even knowing how to hold a pencil. I have a greater appreciation for one-room school houses, although thankfully, we are able to divide them up a bit, as there are 3 of us teaching. When we came out of the church building after school to go home, someone had stuffed cucumbers and other junk up the exhaust pipes of the cars. There were some guys sitting around who I was pretty sure did it, but I simply reprimanded them for just sitting around, seeing someone do something to the cars, and not even saying anything to us. We could have died from fumes or from an accident because of what was done to the cars. The other weeks of school so far have gone pretty smoothly (and no more cucumbers in the exhaust pipes!), and it is exciting to see the children’s enthusiasm as they learn and participate.

Cory loves children, and enjoys the ones that come to our church. He does need to learn good character judgment though! :o) The children’s classes are normally very well-attended. Often, however, some kids will leave after several minutes of coming, which we try to discourage. Fortunately, those that want to stay are usually better behaved. Speaking of behavior, I felt I needed to “put feet to my prayers” regarding the children’s behavior. So, I mixed up some essential oils with water in a spray bottle and now I spray all around the children’s room before class. I felt that if the Lord has given me tools to use, I should use them. They seem to help A LOT!

Dani (Donny), Mariana’s grandson who is 10, has been coming very faithfully. He used to come to church and leave after a few minutes. I was flabbergasted when he stayed for my whole lesson, even after his little sister and brother left. I was even more floored that he was pretty good and knew answers to the lesson questions at the end! On the other hand, Codru is a boy that is known as probably the worst child in the village. A year ago or so, he was kicked in the head by a horse, and we hoped that would sober him up and help him be better behaved. Unfortunately, he is probably worse, and was diagnosed as having mental/emotional problems. He killed a pig by beating it with a stick just because. He comes to our school classes, and has been very well-behaved! Please pray that Dani and Codru will receive Christ as their Savior, and be well-behaved.

Several adult visitors have come to the services in the past weeks. There are 2 children who are handicapped in the Gypsy neighborhood: Marin (Mah-reen), who is about 13 years old and in a wheelchair, and his sister, Bea (Bay-ah), who can walk with some difficulty. Their parents came to church the other week, which was encouraging. Marin can talk a little, and indicated that he wanted to get saved. After hearing an explanation of the Gospel, he seemed to understand. We didn’t want to rush a prayer or decision, but when a general question was asked during another later service: “Have you received Christ as your Savior?” Marin answered that he did.

Lusi and Adi (Oddy) are planning to have a dedication for their baby boy, Emanuel, in a couple weeks. This will be held at the local town hall, as we are expecting a lot of people. Please be in prayer for this event, that people would respond to the Gospel, and that Adi and Lusi would live for the Lord as they raise their son. Lusi has been coming to church with Emanuel, but Adi has not.

It is a blessing to see the faithful few young people coming to the services. Mirela (Meer-ella) has left the village, I believe to live with her mother, but Sara continues to come faithfully. Please pray that Sara will get baptized soon. Last Sunday, another boy, Tica (Teek-ah), came also. He was listening and understanding the Word. At one point probably a year ago, he made a profession of faith, but has not lived it. Please pray that the Lord will work on Tica’s heart. Rebeca has not been coming, and has been distant and cold towards us. Please pray that Rebeca will follow the Lord.

Thank you for your interest and prayers for us and the Lord’s work here. It is encouraging to know you are praying for us and our Gypsies!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update 7/9/2016

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

7/9/2016

The past month was a busy, eventful one, and we are blessed to know that you are praying for us and our Gypsies!

We continue to have young people coming to the teen classes and learning from God’s Word. It is exciting to be able to encourage those that are saved, and to share the Gospel with those that are not. Rebeca came once a few weeks ago, but has not been in church since. Please pray for Rebeca’s spiritual growth. One of the girls who has been coming, Mirela (Meer-ella), lived with a foster family for a few years but is now living with her father in our village. The foster family is a family of believers, and it is evident that Mirela learned much and was positively influenced by this family. Never underestimate the impact you can have on someone’s life!

We visited Lusi and Adi (Oddy) and their new baby boy the other week. They seem to be doing well, but Adi has not been to church for several weeks. Please pray for Adi to come to church faithfully. Adi offered to sell us a car, but it was not what we needed, as it was not registered in Romania. Please pray that the Lord would provide a good vehicle for us.

A few weeks ago, there was a holiday called “Ruga” in the village. This is usually a big holiday (and another excuse to party and drink), and unfortunately, many people missed the church service that night. Still, we have been having several visitors to the church services, and pray that God’s Word will work in the hearts of those who hear it!

This week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday was our Summer Bible School program for the children in the village. Around 30 children came each night as we sang, played games, and shared God’s Word with them. We would appreciate your prayers for spiritual fruits from the Bible School week. Please enjoy the attached picture of some of the children that came.

The children have been somewhat less destructive lately, especially since we no longer need the generator for light in the summer months, so the kids aren’t messing with it. Meeting outside for church services is also helpful, as the children don’t bother the cars when people are outside watching things. The other week, one of the little girls left the children’s class to go somewhere with her mother, and for some reason, all but 3 of the children left with her. So many times, I am reminded of Christ’s words when seeing the Gypsy people: they are truly like sheep without a shepherd. They often just go with whatever they feel like doing, or with whatever those around them are doing. They have no clear direction in their lives. It is our prayer that the Good Shepherd will lead them and rule in their lives!

We would ask you to please pray for the start of our school classes for the Gypsy children. We are hoping to start them up soon, and need wisdom and the Lord’s strength in this new work.

Thank you for praying for us and the Lord’s work here. It is encouraging to have you behind us!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update 6/9/2016

Oops... I somehow missed posting this from last month.

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

6/9/2016

Do any of your church services begin by hearing a loud argument about horses? You are fortunate if they don’t! Sadly, this happened right before one of our services . . . with one of the church ladies and another lady in the village. In many ways, the Gypsies are just like children. That is not meant to be mean or degrading, but it helps to understand a lot of their actions. We would appreciate your prayers for spiritual maturity in those that are saved.

After a few weeks of not having any teen classes, we have started them up again. The reason we didn’t have them was that the teens just didn’t want to come. The Gypsies are a very feelings-based people, and usually, if they don’t feel like doing something, they don’t do it. If they don’t feel like coming to church, they usually won’t come (that’s not true of the few faithful ones in our church, just in general). Some of the older children in our children’s class are now old enough to come to the teen class. They seem to be enjoying it, and they like singing lots of songs afterwards. We actually start the teen class from age 11, and one of the reasons we start it so young is that in the Gypsy culture, most young people get married, or just run off with someone, around age 12 or 13. Our hope is that keeping these older children involved in church will help them to live for the Lord and make wise decisions in their lives. We’ve basically just had a few of the older children from the children’s class coming to the teen class, but a few others have come also.

The other week after a church service, we were able to visit with a few of the teens who haven’t been to church for a while. It was good to see them, and we continue to pray that the Lord will work on the hearts of the Gypsy teens.

The children are up to their usual shenanigans. Occasionally, we have a service where we’re not bothered by them too much, and it’s definitely better when the adults meet outside for the service and can keep an eye on things. The other day when no one was at the church, the kids found a key, and it happened to fit into the church door keyhole. They actually opened the church door, and the key broke off into the lock. Thankfully, it was able to be fixed. There is basically no respect from the children, and they are often left to their own devices most of the day (and night). These Gypsy families are broken, and are in need of God’s salvation!

It was a blessing to have my sister, Joanna White, and her family here from Germany for a few days. We greatly enjoyed our visit with them. As missionaries, time with relatives is rare and precious!

A few weeks ago, we had a Romanian hospital experience. Cory had a fever and ended up having a febrile seizure. We called the ambulance and they took him to the hospital. After much observation and many tests, everything seemed basically normal, and we were able to go home. Thankfully, Cory is fine now. Romanian hospital rooms usually have at least 6 beds. Fortunately, our room only had one little girl other than us, and a boy and his mom were admitted to our room a few hours before we left the hospital. We were expected to bring our own plate for food, and our own cup for water. We were slightly unprepared!

This past Sunday, I preached at the church of some missionary friends of ours that we go to on Sunday mornings. I also preached our evening service. After our services with the adults, we usually have a time of questions if anyone has them. It is encouraging to hear some of these questions, and to see the people’s desire to learn! Thank you for praying for some of our ladies. Lusi had her baby: a healthy baby boy! They are recovering at home.

English classes are coming to a close, as the school year ends soon. It’s been surprising to see all that the kids have learned and remember. We are thinking about starting up a few school classes every week for the children who don’t go to school, and would appreciate your prayers for our literacy ministry.

Thank you for praying for us and our Gypsies. It is a blessing to have you behind us as the Lord uses us here!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update 5/9/16

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

 5/9/2016

Screaming, yelling, banging, and door slamming are not common sounds during church services - unless you are working with the Gypsies! Between unruly and destructive children, drunks and dogs coming to the church services, and members sharing their hearts during prayer request times, there is never a dull moment here. We are honored and blessed (and at times, overwhelmed) that God has called us to minister to the Gypsy people here in Romania. We often feel inadequate to effectively reach them, but where we are lacking, the Lord gives grace. We can do all things through Him!

To give you an idea of how to better pray for us and for these destructive children we deal with, after one of our services, we heard something on my parents’ car while we were driving. It sounded like something was stuck on the wheel and hitting the road, but when I looked, I couldn’t see anything. Finally, I looked underneath the car, and wrapped around the underside of the car was a wire. It looked like it was wrapped around about 60 times, and it took a while to get it off! These children often run after the cars as we leave, or run in front of the cars, hit them, throw things at them, or try to open the doors. They throw rocks onto the tin roof of the church building, which makes quite a racket! We would appreciate your prayers for these children, and for us to have wisdom and patience with them.

We are so grateful to have my parents back and to have them helping to bear some of the loads of the ministry. Our Gypsy people were overjoyed to have them back, and we all prepared a surprise for them at the suggestion of our church people. A few weeks after my parents left, some of the ladies in the church talked about how we really should paint the adults’ room and hall, and make things look a bit nicer. We decided to take up some special offerings to do some much-needed work on our little church house, and the Lord blessed with some record giving! Our Gypsies do not tithe yet, so this was encouraging to see. We painted the hall and adults’ room, and put some linoleum in the adults’ room . . . without telling my parents. :-) They were pleasantly surprised when they returned, and it seemed like our church people enjoyed participating in the surprise. They not only gave, but also helped paint and clean things up just in time for May 1st, Romanian Easter Sunday. Attached is a picture of the adults' room.

Thank you for your prayers for Cory’s residence permit. After weeks of delays, we now have it in our hands!

Thank you also for praying for the teens in Mosnita (Moesh-neesta). Some of the faithful, saved children coming to our children’s classes have reached the age where they can come to the “teen” class (which is actually for young people 11 years old and up). Sara, one of the girls, expressed an interest in having the teen class, so on Sunday, we had our first teen class in several weeks! The temptations and pull of the world and bad influences seem so strong at this age. Please pray that these young people will stay faithful to the Lord and to church especially as they become teenagers.

It has been neat to come in contact on Facebook with several children (who are now grown) from our ministry when we had our church in the city, and also from our ministry in Maguri (Muh-goor). Some of them still seem to have a heart for the Lord, and that is very encouraging. Please pray for us to have wisdom as we minister to them through the internet. Many of them are out of the country, but the Lord is working in their lives.

We have been able to have some of our church services (with the adults anyway) outside, when the weather permits. This was helpful for Ica (Eeka) the one week, as her leg was bothering her, so she just sat outside the church fence by her house and listened to the service. Many of our ladies have health problems, and I’m sure they would appreciate your prayers. Lusi’s pregnancy has not been the easiest, Gina’s foot often bothers her from a previous accident, Aurica (Ow-reeka) has terrible asthma and heart problems, and Mariana has a bad back. Please pray that the Lord would keep us in good health also. We are very grateful for the good health He allows us to have.

Thank you for praying for us as we minister to the Gypsies here. It is a blessing to have you behind us as the Lord uses us here!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory