Jonathan and Kristy's update 10/09/2017

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

10/09/2017

It seems like this is the time for hurricanes around the world! A couple weeks ago, we had a violent storm come through our area, and we later found out it was a hurricane. We were very fortunate to not have any damage to our house, as many people lost parts of their roofs. A large portion of our fence was damaged, but thankfully, we were able to repair it ourselves. Our shed and our old outhouse (which we were planning to take down) were destroyed, so Ion (Yone), Mariana’s husband, and their son, Alin (Ah-leen), came to take them away with their horse and wagon. At least they will be able to use some of that wood this winter. We are hoping to get a new shed built soon. God has ways of getting people to think about him (hurricanes are one of them!), and the storm gave me the opportunity to witness to our neighbor again. We are very grateful that the Lord kept us safe! Thank you for your prayers for our safety. You may never know sometimes how much we need them! See the attached pictures of some of the damage from the storm, and one of the two rainbows that appeared afterwards, reminding us of God’s promises! You can also visit Kristy's blog to see more pictures and videos: During the Storm and After the Storm.

We had a guest pastor preach at our church a few weeks ago, as he and his wife were in the area. He went around talking to all the Gypsies before the service and telling them to come. We did have several visitors come, and Pastor Remus (Remm-oos) gave a great salvation message. Please continue to pray that the Lord would work in the hearts of the Gypsies here.

Marioara, who is unsaved, came back from France again and said that she never wants to go back. They would like to all move back to Romania, get jobs, and come to church! Please pray that the Lord would work out the details of this. Ion’s (her son) little boy has to be on medication that they are not sure they can get in Romania, so that is a major issue for them. We would love to have them back in our church and serving the Lord!

Sara has been slightly more attentive during some of the teen classes, and we have had several young people come to the teen classes. Last week, two boys, Mario and Dani, were being quite rude and obnoxious before the service. We couldn’t even let them in because they were being so disruptive. Thankfully, the Lord still allows His Word to be heard despite a lot of distractions. We pray His Word will bring forth fruit in the hearts of those that hear it.

Our coworkers, the Freels, are in the US for 3 months so we have a lot more responsibilities in their absence. One issue is that there is not really anyone to guard the building outside during the services to try to keep things relatively quiet. Please pray that the Lord would give us quietness during our services so that His Word can be preached freely.

We had our last school class with the Gypsy children in our church neighborhood and are now planning to start up English classes again at Casa Roffa (Cossa Roffa). We will also be teaching Rebeca and David English every week too. We are grateful for these opportunities to build relationships and share Christ with these children.

We have some exciting news: we are expecting a new addition to our family in March! We would appreciate your prayers for Kristy and our little one during this time.

“Thank you” doesn’t seem adequate to express our gratefulness for your care, support, and prayers for us. We need God’s wisdom, grace, and strength in every moment, and appreciate so much your part in our ministry!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory