Thursday, December 28, 2017

Jonathan and Kristy's update 09/09/2017

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
9/9/2017

It is harvest time here for us, and our apple and peach trees gave us an abundant amount this year! We got just a few plums, and no pears. We are hoping, praying, and working for an abundant harvest of souls!

I recently had the opportunity to talk about the Gospel to our elderly neighbor. He complained about the other “repenters” (Christians) in the village not getting along with each other. I explained that we shouldn’t judge others, but we should judge ourselves, because we have all sinned and need God’s forgiveness. He agrees, but does not want to accept Christ. Kristy also had the opportunity to talk to him and another neighbor about our Gypsy church, and the other neighbor seemed interested in coming. One of our other neighbors, Silvia, hadn’t walked by our house for a while as she usually does. When I finally saw her the other day, she said she was sick and in the hospital. She actually talked about God, which she never really did before. Maybe the Lord is opening her heart through this sickness. We pray that God’s light will shine through us to those around us as we seek to bring them to Christ.

Ion (Yone) and his mother Marioara (I’m not even going to try to write that pronunciation!), who came to our church many years ago, came back to Romania from France for a few days. Ion is saved. He said he wants to come back to Romania to stay, and obey God and come to church. That was encouraging to hear, and it was good to see them. Please pray that Ion and his family will come back and follow the Lord.

Sara has been slightly more attentive during some of the teen classes, but continues to hang out with people she shouldn’t. A boy was hanging all over her the other day, and last week she was out walking with another teen boy. Please pray that Sara would give her life to the Lord. She has missed church and our school classes a few times. Several teens have been coming to the teen classes, but most of them end up leaving before we’re done. Sometimes that is actually helpful, as they can be very disruptive. Some of the boys were being rude, making vulgar gestures, yelling, and hitting. We need wisdom, grace, and patience in these situations, and appreciate your prayers for this.

After one of our services the other week, Mariana invited us over to her house for a meal. She said she had been wanting to do this for some time, and we were happy to accept her invitation. :o) We enjoyed the food and had wonderful fellowship.

Many children continue to come to the children’s church classes. The other week, I had over 20 of them, and although they weren’t very well-behaved, they were somewhat attentive and knew answers to the lesson questions at the end. That is always encouraging!

I was able to preach to the adults the other week, as my dad was in Armenia on a missions trip. It is always a blessing to talk with our people and encourage each other in the Lord.

The school classes continue to be well-attended. Last week, some kids were outside making lots of noise, banging on doors and windows. It was distracting, and we would appreciate your prayers that this would stop. This week’s school was much better, and the kids were good.

Please continue to pray that God will give us wisdom in each situation, and that we will be a testimony for Him and follow His leading. We continue to be humbled and honored by your support and prayers for us and the Gypsies!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory

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