Hello to all,
My upcoming trip to Romania and Belarus is inching ever closer, so I thought I'd take a moment to update you briefly on all the latest. I'm getting so excited about going and have been wrestling with the various logistics of our trip. This year, I'm acting as trip coordinator, so that means sorting out flights, making sure we can schedule team meetings, coordinating with
our overseas contacts, and anything else that comes up.
The trip will start for half of the team in Minsk, Belarus, where we will lead seminars focused exclusively on Christian education. The people there are so hungry to establish Godly schools for their children as they try to reverse decades of Communistic teaching that pervades their society! We will also interact with the people there that we met last year and simplytry to encourage them through Christian fellowship.
Following four days in Minsk, those in Belarus will fly on to Romania and join the rest of team for seven days of teaching and ministry throughout Romania. We will be teaching many aspects of International Reformation, including education, media, government, and business. Our time there will also allow us to interface with Christian elected officials on the national level! As this is our first foray into Romania after concentrating primarily on the Baltics previously, it will be an interesting time as we see a new culture and see how God makes inroads for us. One of our informal mottos is "divine appointments," and it is amazing to see the paths that God often causes to cross in airports, restaurants, etc. In the past, our team
leader has even come across a former political leader of Lithuania while
waiting in an airport and was able to talk about Reformation (which the
politician fully supported) for the better part of an hour! I know God will
do it again this time!
Of course, the planning for our trip is not without struggles, and there are
some prayer requests. First and foremost, please pray that our Romanian
contact is able to get a visa to travel with us. He is currently living in
the States on a residency visa that restricts return travel to his homeland
for a certain period of time. He has applied for permission to return to
Romania with us but has not received permission yet. As you can imagine,
his participation on the trip is crucial! Secondly, please pray for easy
approval of the visa that our team members need to travel to Belarus. The
political situation in Belarus makes the country somewhat ill-disposed
toward Christians, and we can't get in without visas. Finally, our team is
scattered in different locations this year, and coordinating all of the
travel arrangements will be a challenge. Please pray for smooth flights and
easy travel.
We leave October 27! I'll keep you posted on the latest. My fundraising is
going well and is at about 85-90%! God has been so good, and I thank you
for your support both in finance and prayer. As always, I am happy to
answer any questions you have!
Blessings. More to come...
