Friday, May 12, 2017

Jonathan and Kristy's update 05/09/2017

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
05/09/2017
 
Spring has finally sprung here in Mosnita (Moesh-neetsa)! We are so grateful for warmer days, and although it is still rainy, we have been enjoying more outdoor time. Being out more means more opportunities to connect with our neighbors, and we hope that we will be good witnesses to them and be able to win them to Christ.
 
Although the children have been learning somewhat at our English classes at Casa Rafa (Cossa Roffa), they haven’t been terribly attentive or well-behaved. But at least they haven’t been complaining about the class recently! Often when they would see us come in, they would moan, “English . . .” with sad faces. They do seem to have a desire to learn; we just hope they put that desire to good use.
 
On Palm Sunday, there were quite a lot of distractions in our church neighborhood. Many were drunk, so there was lots of yelling and fighting. The police came, the swat team came, and there were even a few ambulances. Life is never dull with the Gypsies! We pray that God will do a mighty work in this neighborhood for His glory!
 
Speaking of life not being dull, the other week, the field across the street from us was on fire. It wasn’t terribly close to us, but the wind was blowing strongly, and the fire was spreading. I had to call the fire department, and thankfully, they put out the fire. I’ve attached a picture of the fire with the fire truck on its way. We praise the Lord for keeping us safe.
 
Thankfully, Easter Sunday was the quietest Easter we’ve ever experienced here. Normally Easter is even more of a celebration (and more noisy!) than Palm Sunday, but we were grateful for the quiet.
 
We have been having new teens come to the teen classes off and on. This past Sunday, they were somewhat more attentive than normal. Several of the older children often want to come to the teen class. If they are almost 11 (the youngest age for the teen class), I normally let them, if they’re well-behaved. Unfortunately, many of them are not well-behaved, and they scream and yell outside, as well as bang on the windows and doors along with some of the other kids. As if this would make us want them in the teen class! These disruptions are a pain and a distraction for our services, and we would appreciate your prayers that they would stop, and that we would have wisdom in these situations.
 
There were two services recently where no adults came. I don’t ever remember this happening before. Please pray for faithfulness and obedience in those that are saved. We were thrilled that Adi (Oddy) and Lusi (Lucy) came to one of our services recently. We continue to pray that they will come and grow.
 
We are hoping to have our fence finished this week. I have attached a picture of part of it that is finished.
 
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