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News from Romania
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Slowly we drove through the dirt road high street on our way to a village I had not visited for 10 years. Cutus was a life changing experience then. It was a very poor gipsy village and most people, especially the children had no idea what time or day it was. Then we had to drive round the field of what can only be described as ram-shackled houses or tents, each housing large families with no electricity or running water. Children recognised the car and knew it was time for church so they came pouring out and followed us to a meeting place where we conducted a kids worship time. I shall never forget it.
Today Ovi Starlici the pastor of the work we support in Halchiu just outside Brasov, Romania tells me things have changed and so they have. There is now a church building in the village and most houses are more permanent and have electricity, together with 5 euro a month satellite dishes. Nothing changes the world over I decide as we drive around it.
The most encouraging thing though is that Ovi tells me that he regularly sees some of those children now grown up with jobs in Brasov and they remember those times. They now have children of their own and are taking them to church as they recognise the part God played in changing their life.
As you can tell from that brief description Julie and I recently visited Ovi and his wife Carmen in Romania. They are one of our compassion partners and as a ministry we have supported them both financially and spiritually for 10 years this year. It has been a privilege to get to know them closely and spend time with them. We now have a close friendship and enjoy our times together. We know that this makes a big difference to them as we share and discuss the next steps in their journey.
Their church is growing all the time and people are hearing about them and walking in from other villages on a Sunday for the service. Many of those are not Christians but they are drawn by the friendly atmosphere. On this visit we sat and discussed at length what we could do to put up the building on the land we had helped to buy and which you can see in the adjoining photos. There are still some obstacles over blueprints and legal issues not to mention the 60,000 euros it will take but we are not giving up and they desperately need the space with new people coming regularly. If you feel at all moved to contribute to this endeavour then do contact us and we will get it to them.
We had a great time ministering at the Sunday morning service and it was great to meet familiar faces of families we have known for some years. They are a faithful congregation and Ovi is doing a wonderful job pastoring them.
I had hoped to also report back about my latest trip to Pakistan, planned for early this month. Unfortunately my friend Dr Will Pantin was unable to get a visa to head up the conference due to a dispute between the American and Pakistani authorities This problem has even affected diplomats and visas are taking nearly two months to get approved. As a result we had to cancel the meetings and there are plans to reschedule for late May if his visa comes through.
Such is the nature of stepping out and going into all the world as we have been commissioned to do but I would not wish it any other way. We have to put our trust in the Lord and keep our prayer life strong. We value your prayers for this time in Pakistan as the situation is still volatile.
I look forward to my next newsletter in June. In the meantime you can also view this months article by going to the website at www.livingworduk.org/inspiration.
Blessings
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Tony Sheard
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Cutus village in the rain
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New building land Halchiu
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