Jonathan and Kristy's update 06/06/2018

06/06/2018

We are blessed to remember each month that as we share the latest happenings with you, you are praying for us! We are doing well, and thank the Lord for the good health He has given to us.

Lord-willing, we will go to Bucuresti next week to get Marci’s report of birth abroad and passport from the US Embassy. Please pray for safety in our travels, and for everything to go smoothly.

The number of teens coming to the teen classes has decreased slightly, but thankfully, it seems like those missing are mostly just the ones who were least interested in listening. The ones that are coming now are generally more attentive, and it has been a huge blessing to be able to share God’s truths with them while they are actually listening! This is such a positive change! Some teens have been coming on Tuesdays too, when we are all in the adult service. Ramon has come a few times, but doesn’t seem as interested as he was before. A couple weeks ago, I taught about the Holy Spirit’s work, and how He convicts and speaks to those who are God’s children. He reminds us of God’s truths. I asked the teens if they had experienced that. Of course, only those who are saved would say, “Yes.” However, Sara said she had never experienced the Holy Spirit speaking to her, although she had made a profession of faith a few years ago. This week, someone said something about her wanting to be saved, so please pray that God would work in Sara’s heart. And please keep praying for the teens!

When Ramon’s father died, his father’s cousin, Ion (Yone), came to the village. He claims to be saved, though he smokes and drinks, and he has been coming to our services. Unfortunately, he usually asks for money when he comes. He seems to be planning to stay in the village. It’s good that he comes to the services, and we pray that the Lord will work in his life. Lusi has come a couple times. Please pray that she will be faithful to the Lord. While Ion from France was here, he got Mariana’s son, Alin (Ah-leen), to come to a couple of the services. Alin was saved and baptized years ago, but has not been living for the Lord. It was great to have him in the services, and we pray that God will convict Alin and that he will repent and live for the Lord.

While my dad was in Armenia for a couple weeks on a missions trip, I preached for the adults. Mariana’s unsaved husband, Ion, came. We continue to pray for Ion’s salvation.

After 4 years of praying that God would provide a vehicle for us, He has answered that prayer! We have been borrowing my parents’ car when it was available, but it was becoming more and more clear how much we really needed a car of our own, especially with two children. Our landlords from the apartment where my family lived for our first 2 years in Romania were selling their 2003 Volkswagon Sharan. After much saving, and being reimbursed by the insurance company for Marci’s birth, we had enough to get it. They are dear friends of ours, as well as brothers in Christ, so we were so glad to be able to get it from them. Praise the Lord!

Thank you for your prayers for us and our Gypsies! It is encouraging to know you care!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, Cory, and Marci
P.S. Attached is a picture of our new van, as well as a picture of some of the teens and me doing some special music.

Jonathan and Kristy's update 5/09/2018

5/9/2018

It is encouraging to be able to share the latest happenings with you, and know that you care and are praying for us and our work! We are all doing well, and God does work through your prayers, so please keep praying!

After putting in all the proper paperwork, we were finally able to get Marci’s Romanian birth certificate. Our next step is to find a good flight to Bucuresti to go to the Embassy there and get her American passport and report of birth abroad. Thank you for your continued prayers for safe travels, friendly and helpful people to deal with, and that all would go smoothly.

A good friend of ours, Walter Stevens, who is a Gypsy evangelist from the States, came a few weeks ago. We had special services with him, and we also had a Bible study done in the Gypsy language (Rromanes) for those in the Gypsy neighborhood who know Rromanes. Most of the Gypsies we are currently working with no longer know their language, so everything is normally done in Romanian. The Bible study done in Rromanes was a special treat, and we had a good number of unsaved people come and hear the Gospel. Afterwards, we spoke very directly to Gicu (Jee-cu) and Ion (Yone), Mariana’s unsaved husband, about their need to be saved. Unfortunately, they did not want to make a decision for Christ, so please keep praying for their salvation. After the Bible study, one of the elderly neighbors who was very sick wanted us to come. He was bedridden and could barely speak, but after having the Gospel explained to him, he said he wanted to receive Christ as his Savior. A few days later, he told us how he now has peace in his heart where there was once fear. We were rejoicing that he put his trust in Christ to save him! God took him home to heaven a little over one week later.

There have been a good number of teens coming to the teen classes at church. There have been a couple of services where they were pretty quiet and attentive. It was a very pleasant surprise! What a blessing it is to be able to actually communicate God’s truths to them! The father of one of the teen boys, Ramon, just had a heart attack and died. I’m not sure whether Ramon will stay in the area or not (I’m not sure where his mother is), but please pray that God will work in his life.

Lusi, Gina’s daughter-in-law, came recently to church again. Please pray that she will come faithfully and grow spiritually. Ion (Yone), a young man who got saved in our church years ago, came back to Romania from France for a visit. Please pray that he and his family would come back to Romania and come to church. This is their desire, but there are some details to be worked out that we know God can take care of. It has been encouraging to have him in our services while he is here.

We are grateful for your prayers for us and our Gypsies! It is a blessing to know you are behind us!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, Cory, and Marci

P.S. Enjoy the picture of Cory playing his accordion, and some teens that came to our service recently.

Jonathan and Kristy's update 04/09/2018

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

4/09/2018

We are so glad that spring has finally arrived! :o) We missed the sunshine, and are reminded by its warmth of God’s light that shines in our hearts. Thank you for praying for us as we seek to be lights for Him to those around us!

Our most exciting news is the birth of our newest family member, Marci Jo Heisey! She was born on March 19th, weighing 7.1 pounds, and measuring 20 inches long. Baby and Mother are doing well. We are in the process of trying to get the birth certificate, after which we will need to go to the American Embassy in Bucuresti to get her passport and report of birth abroad. After that, we begin the process of getting her Romanian residence permit/visa. The latter is normally a very unpleasant and difficult experience, so we would appreciate your prayers for us as we get all of these documents! Please pray that God would give us wisdom, safe travels, friendly and helpful people to deal with, and that all would go smoothly.

We were so blessed to have Kristy’s parents with us for a week and a half right after Marci was born. Grandpa and Grandma were a big help, and we greatly enjoyed our time together. The grandfathers did a baby dedication for our two children, which was very special. We were sad to see the grandparents leave, and Cory is especially missing them being here. Leaving family can be one of the hardest sacrifices missionaries make, but in the end, it will all be worth it! We will all be together one day in heaven, and we wouldn’t trade God’s blessings and peace for anything else!

We continue to see family members come to our weekly in-home Bible studies. Mariana’s two children, Lola and Alin (Ah-leen), who made a profession of faith years ago and were baptized, have come to the Bible studies, and we pray that God would turn their hearts back to Him.

A number of teens have been coming to the teen classes. We often have a game/activity afterwards, and thankfully, it hasn’t been too chaotic. A couple weeks ago, the teens were very quiet and attentive. Hopefully we’ll see more of those kinds of weeks! I continue to share the Gospel with them as directly as I can. Rebeca also came to the teen class last week. Please pray that more young people would be saved, and that those that are saved would live for the Lord. I have been able to have somewhat normal conversations with a few of the teens, which is an improvement from barely being able to say, “Hi” without them either yelling or ignoring me. Mariana says that they are worse than people who live in the jungle! I think she’s right! :o) But we’re grateful for improvements!

We celebrated our Easter this past Sunday. Gina and Mariana made sarmale (sar-mahl-eh [cabbage rolls]) and chicken salad for us in exchange for some American desserts my mom made for them. Gypsies make the best sarmale, and we thoroughly enjoyed them!

Thank you for praying for us and our ministry, and for your support as we give God’s Word to the Gypsies in Romania!

In His service,

Jonathan, Kristy, Cory, and Marci
P.S. Enjoy the family picture, and also a picture of a recent teen activity!

Jonathan and Kristy's update 3/6/2018

3/06/2018

Thank you for your prayers for us these past weeks. We are all doing well. We had our coldest weather this past week, as it got down to -2 F. Thankfully, this week is supposed to be warmer, with no more below-freezing temperatures.

Our Tuesday night Bible studies continue to go very well. I’ve been doing some special music sometimes for them, and we’ve been enjoying the fellowship and opportunities for discipleship and spiritual growth. We’ve been discussing a lot about the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ beliefs through our studies, and there are so many verses that show that a lot of their beliefs are false. Gina’s daughter is studying with the Jehovah’s Witnesses (she doesn’t live in the country), so Gina appreciates having these verses to give to her daughter and hopefully help her see the truth. Lusi (Lucy) attended our last Bible study, which was great. She learns spiritual truths quickly, and we pray that she will come faithfully and grow in the Lord.

The teens have been pretty awful. There have been a lot of them coming, but most of the time, one or more people are talking or laughing through the whole class. There is just no order in the class, and we often have to send some of them out. Thankfully, this last Sunday, it went very well. There were few distractions, so that was a wonderful blessing. We played a game afterwards and I’ve never seen them play so well. Normally fighting breaks out after about 5 seconds of a game! :o) It was a very pleasant surprise, and I hope it happens again! The attached picture is from one of our teen classes. The picture only shows about half the teens that were there.

Mariana, one of our faithful ladies in the church, has been told she has to move very soon; probably in the next few days. The person who owns the property their house is on wants to build on it or sell it. I think part of their property is also on state-owned land, and the street is supposed to be where part of their house is. Please pray that God would provide a place for them close to the church.

The school classes with the children have been well-attended, and slowly but surely, the children are learning. It is exciting to see them grasp things!

We would appreciate your prayers as we get ready for Baby’s arrival! Thank you for your interest and prayers for us and our ministry, and for helping to give God’s Word to the Gypsies in Romania!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update 02/09/2018

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

2/09/2018

After 3 months of extra responsibilities with our co-workers gone, we are so grateful they have returned from furlough! We decided to have a week where we kept things at a slower pace and relaxed a bit. It was a blessing to be able to get some refreshing times after all the busy-ness! We are now battling colds that are going around, and Cory seems to have gotten the worst of it. On our week off, we decided to take some sessions at a therapeutic salt room in the city to try to boost our immune systems. This gave us an opportunity to witness to a mother who brought her little boy there. It is important to remember that even if you’re not a missionary, God still wants you to share His good news with those around you! Please pray that we would be healthy so that we can do the work God has called us to do. We would appreciate your prayers for Kristy and the baby also, who is due March 20th!

A few weeks ago, we decided to start having our Tuesday night services at some of the houses of the ladies that come to church. Their church attendance was less and less, so we decided to take the church to them. :o) They were very happy to have us study the Bible in their homes, and we have been enjoying these times of fellowship and discipleship. This allows us to make a fire in just one room at the church building for the children’s classes on Tuesdays. These continue to be well-attended, and often some of the teens like to sit in the children’s classes on Tuesdays. Ion (Yone), Mariana’s husband, has been staying at the church to help keep an eye on things during the children’s class. Usually the kids are much better behaved with him around, so that has been a blessing! Please keep praying that Ion will be saved!

English classes at Casa Rafa (Cossa Roffa) are starting up again next week, so we appreciate your prayers for our English classes. Kristy has been teaching English to David, Gina’s grandson, Rebeca, Gina’s niece, and a neighbor girl every Saturday. We are grateful for the chance to reach out to these children too, and pray that God will work in their lives through us.

Some of the teen classes these past few weeks have been quite full. The other week, there were about 20 teens! We had to switch rooms with the children’s class, as that room is bigger and could fit all of us. They were quite a rowdy bunch, and it was hard to get a word in with all their talking and loudness, but after several of them left, it quieted down a bit. I pray that God will work in the hearts of these young people. I don’t know what their purpose is in coming. It often seems they come just to cause a ruckus and make fun. In any case, they are being exposed to God’s Word, and He can make that seed sown to grow.

Thank you for your interest and prayers for our ministry, and for helping to spread God’s Word to the Gypsies in Romania!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update 1/08/2018

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

1/08/2018

We had a wonderful holiday season as we particularly remembered the miraculous birth of our Savior! My parents were in the States for a week with my oldest brother and his family for Christmas, so we spent the day by ourselves, and read the passage in the Bible about Jesus’ birth. Though some do not celebrate Christmas because of its origins, I think it is still a good idea to take time and be reminded of the wonders and blessings of Christ’s birth, no matter what day it is!

There was a week or two recently when no teens showed up at church, but other weeks, we had a bunch of them come. To my amazement, one week, one of the boys who is usually terribly behaved was perfect! I didn’t hear a peep out of him the whole service. A few weeks ago, Sara was hanging out with a guy, but Mariana told us that she isn’t with him anymore. Sara came to church this past Sunday, and was very attentive and even asking questions about the lesson. Please keep praying that she will live for the Lord!

The children have been coming to the children’s classes also. This past Tuesday, there were about 20 of them!

With my parents in the States, I had the opportunity to preach a few times. It is always nice to be able to fellowship with some of the adults. We were very glad to see Lusi (Lucy), Gina’s daughter-in-law, come to one of the services recently!

The Gypsies often ask us for things, telling us how poor they are, and our hearts often want to help them. You can see in the attached pictures how “poor” they are. That is in quotes for a reason. We got to talking to some of them, and realized that most (if not all) of them have larger incomes than ours. Just with scrap metal, some of them can make over $100 in a day. Even without that, if a few of them in a household are working a job, they make more than we do. An average household there spends $900 just on cigarettes every month, and probably quite a bit on alcohol! It is no wonder that their shacks look the way they do if they spend almost their whole salary on cigarettes and beer. Anyway, I guess we are ministering to the well-off Gypsies in Romania, and we should be asking them for stuff! ;o) Sometimes I wonder what their reaction would be if I would do that!

A new year is a time to be reminded of the blessings of God in our lives, and to evaluate our goals for the future. Our main goal and focus is to serve and please the Lord in all we do. We know that God has us here ministering to the Gypsies at this time. It can be very disappointing to see just a few saved through our ministry, and many of those have turned away from God. It can also be frustrating when we teach the children and teens the basic truths of salvation month after month, and after years, they still don’t know what to respond when we ask them what sin is! It certainly is a blessing when one of them grasps a spiritual truth! We often feel like Jeremiah, who was called to preach to the rebellious Israelites. God knew they wouldn’t listen, but Jeremiah continued preaching to them, because that was what God wanted. We plan to keep on serving the Gypsies here as long as God wants us to. We do appreciate your prayers for us, and for the Gypsies to be saved and live for the Lord! As we reflect on God’s goodness and mercy to us this past year, we realize that you are a huge part of it! Thank you for your prayers and part in our ministry, and for helping to spread God’s Word to the Gypsies in Romania!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

Jonathan and Kristy's update 12/06/2017

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

12/06/2017

We had our first snow fall just a few days ago! It is definitely winter here, and this seems to reflect the state of our Gypsies’ hearts. Please pray with us that God will melt the hearts of ice.

There have been a number of teens coming to the teen classes at church. They are often quite a handful (many times they are worse than the children! And I don’t mind telling them so either! Not that it helps anything!). We certainly appreciate your prayers for wisdom and grace in dealing with the teens. Sara continues to hang out with the wrong crowd, but we just keep trying to encourage her to do right. It has been a blessing to be able to talk to some of the teen guys about spiritual things.

There is a German missionary family who helps with a boys’ home here, and they visited our services. They have a real heart and burden for children. It was a blessing to have their 2 girls in our teen class. It’s amazing how well the Word gets communicated when the audience is well-behaved and listening! :o) We had a good time of fellowship with them.

We are continuing our English classes at Casa Rafa (Cossa Roffa). Sometimes the kids are quite naughty (probably if they have eaten chocolate or sweets before English class!), and other times they are good. One week with the older class that I teach, almost all of the children gave me their completed English papers that I handed out. They wanted me to have something to help me remember them. :o) Those are special times that are few and far between, but I will take them anytime! Kristy has also been teaching English to Gina’s grandson and niece, as well as the daughter of one of our neighbors.

We are planning to have at least a few weeks of school (reading and writing) for some of the children in our Gypsy neighborhood who don’t go to school. Our goal is not just to teach them to read so that they can read the Bible, but also to reach their hearts for Christ.

With the Christmas season coming, we pray that people will be more open and receptive to the Gospel. It is our desire to be God’s witnesses to these Gypsies, and we are so grateful for your prayers and support that allow us to do that!

In His service,

Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory
P.S. Just as an FYI for those sending checks in December, CMC (Central Missionary Clearinghouse, which handles our support) needs to receive any checks before December 15th. So, if you want a check to process before the end of the year (for tax purposes), that is helpful to know.

http://cmcmissions.org/