I stood in our worship time for my last Sunday morning in Romania with tears running down my face, overwhelmed by the grace, the love, the presence of God. Because of Him, this year has been fruitful and I am amazed. Thank you God. what a beauty it is to recognize God's love in Heaven, experience it as those whose lives are His reflect it back to Him, and watch how it draws us together with a power all its own. This love between us, is what a man without God must see. And this love, is one of the greatest fulfillments in all of life. It is the love of God in human expression, made possible because of its origin...God Himself. "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

This week we went into schools with a message of loving one another and how to put this love into action. The kids enjoyed it and so did we! We wrote Easter curriculum, had an excellent seminar with teachers from various churches in Bucharest yesterday and somewhere in there I managed to pack for NY and enjoy time with beautiful friends. It was a special final week.

I am deeply grateful for the expressions of friendship, love and gratitude in this last week. Kidz Romania staff, volunteers, Bucharest International Church and every friend who has touched my life this year are gifts from God. Multumesc din inima mea. O sa vedem in viitor! Slujim impreuna cu Isus chiar ca suntem departe. Sunteti o familia mare si binecuvintata. Multumesc pentru dragostea voastra ca m-am simtsit in acest an si in aceasta ultima saptamana. Fiti binecuvintati in Domnul. Ne auzim! :)

As for my faith family in NY and in C-Love, thank you with all my heart for your prayers and support this year. you made it possible. I love and appreciate you. I am excited to see you and serve closely again. May we always and forever follow the plans of God regardless of what they may be. May we KNOW what he is saying and doing with eyes that are fixed on him so that we can join him in this faith adventure. And when we feel we cannot, may we call to mind the person, the power the passion of Christ and recognize that He can. "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor 12:9. Eyes on Him...period. Thank you for being such a part of this work of God in Romania with your hearts. I missed you.

And to all those who were praying in different parts of the USA and the world, how can I thank you? God knows my heart rejoices over you and that we can continue God's work as we love him until the end, knowing that the "end" is only the beginning of eternity with Him. Thank you.

I am returning to Calvary's Love in JC NY to serve as Children's Pastor with an amazing church family and NY district. As God has led me there I know that He will design the future. I'm just following! Looking forward to all God desires in every part of the world. Thank you. Bless you.

"I came to Bucharest with a prayer in my heart for God to use my life while studying here. I desired to find a church family and a place to serve. Working with the children at Bucharest International Church is an answer to those prayers." -Noemi

"I struggled to understand love growing up. My family did not show me the love of God and I wanted something more. When I committed my life to Jesus, God gave me so much love to give away. All I want to do is show children everywhere the deep love of God. I know this makes a difference forever." -Sanda

"I want my parents to know God and sometimes it is hard being the only one in my family who wants to live for Him. I am praying for them and I want to serve God in any way I can." -Isa

This is just a glimpse of the heart within the children's ministry team in our church family (Bucharest International Church). In a year of much change and growth, God brought us all together for a divine purpose. As we prayed, fellowshipped, shared our hearts and learned new things together, God helped us grow as a team.

I have been inspired and encouraged by each girl who serves the children here. Sanda reaches orphans and at-risk youth all week long and then ministers with a heart full of patience and compassion in our kids church. Noemi's gift for music and singing helped the children use their talents this Christmas in our church family and in outreach. Her love for them shines through everything she does. Diana gives hours of time to organize, plan, and help in many areas faithfully serving Christ by serving people. She is a true friend to many. Lidia blesses us with her creative mind, engaging the kids in art. Olia serves the nursery team and children faithfully and with all her heart. Antonia's sweet spirit is caring and welcoming for the young preschoolers and babies. Her desire to impact her world for Jesus reaches both to babies at church and to her colleagues at work. Isa's willingness to serve and be involved is a strength to the team. Cristina's helpful hands, talent for art and great English skills have bailed me out many times!! And Mari! She is coming back to us next month and we can't wait! Her gift and love for children is a treasure and a blessing. They KNOW she loves them and they flock to her. Flori, Vera, Vio, Alina, Rami...can the kids be any more blessed? These girls are amazing!

"My brother David has been rejected many times at school and in other groups." Aida told us one Sunday. "He doesn't have any friends and my family always struggles with this. Since coming to the kids group here, he has finally found a place to belong. He feels acceptance, love and security. I am so thankful for this group and for Bucharest International Church. This is so special for him." Aida and her mother have thanked us many times. Kids without fathers, some with single dads, and others just looking for belonging like David have found it in our church family. And that is exactly how it should be.

The leaders are a source of love and encouragement. Our pastor believes in our team and in building a spiritual foundation in the lives of this generation. His example and constant support are a strength. We know the seeds of God's Truth that we sow into these young lives will produce fruit long after we have left them. "the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever." 1 Peter 1:24-25.

I came to Bucharest International Church one year ago, hoping to bring some blessing to someone along the way. Instead I was myself enriched and blessed as I found a family in Christ and a purpose greater than me. My heart says "thank you."

"We used to take all the sheep from the village up the mountainside and let them graze while we took our turn tending them. Our whole family would go, carrying our food on our backs." My new friend, Catalina (pictured here), reminisced about her summers in the mountains as she dug into a delicious piece of Romanian cream cake. "While we were up there, we would milk the sheep and make white cheese. That was our's to keep when we went back to the village. After two weeks we would return to the valley and the neighbors would take their turn with the sheep. We all kind of worked together. We made the cheese into large balls, placed them in a barrel with salt and added water so we could keep it throughout the entire year." Her eyes sparkled as she spoke of life in the mountains where she hopes to return someday. She told me how they walked 3 Km every morning to reach the animals, tend them and work the land, returning at dusk. Then they enjoyed a meal around 9 pm and played late into the night as everyone spent time together.

In late fall I met Catalina at a small fair where she was selling scarves and jewelery. We connected instantly and she offered me her number so we could get together. She came to my house for a Christmas movie night along with some girls from church and was happy to make new friends. Last Sunday, the day she taught me how to make sheep cheese :), Catalina came to church with me for the first time. Our church family warmly welcomed her, and the message was very fitting. We spent the afternoon walking, drinking tea, giving Rachelle an education on mountain life and discussing a relationship with Jesus. What a privilege and what a wonderful girl.

In September I sat next to a new girl in church one Sunday. Afterward we began talking and I discovered she had only been to our church once. "Why did you decide to come today by yourself?" I asked her.

"Something just made me feel like I should come." Corina confessed. "I have been busy with so many other things and my boyfriend does not want to come to church." She is a beautiful young lawyer juggling many demands and relationships. That Friday she came to a young adults night with me and loved it. The next Sunday she was back in church. God was working in her. To my disappointment, she left for three months to visit family in the U.S. but I continued to pray for her. She attended church there and realized her need for a personal relationship with her Maker. A few weeks ago she returned to Romania and came directly to church. "I just want to live for God and his will" she told me with joy in her eyes. I knew her shining eyes were a reflection of a changed heart. We rejoiced together. She has been coming every Sunday.

Please pray for Catalina and Corina. I plan to meet with them and some other girls to pray and talk more about God on a regular basis. We may join a small group with some other more mature women in the faith. Every person on the planet has a need to know their Maker. And God is so eager to be known. He has done everything to make it possible. May we help them find the way.

We munched on sandwiches and covrige (Romanian pretzels) while practicing puppet songs and driving through snowy Bucharest on the way to our special Christmas outreach. Our Kidz Romania team was busy with four Christmas programs in the northern part of the country where 1000 kids would gather to receive Operation Christmas Child presents from Samaritan's Purse and our team would share the message of hope in Jesus. If you have ever participated with this beautiful outreach called Operation Christmas Child please know that it is a GREAT blessing! What an incredible opportunity it gives the national church to share about God's love and what joy it brings to so many! Thank you from the children of Romania for giving!

Back in Bucharest something else very special was about to happen. For weeks our kids at Bucharest International Church had been praying for those who don't know Christ in a personal way. They prayed for friends, families and children in our city. They made special angel crafts to give away in our church's outreach and prepared songs about Jesus' birth. Sunday morning they ministered beautifully in our church with songs and verses, each bearing a star that read "I am a messenger of hope." Truly that is what they are. Our church family encouraged them with applause, smiles and hugs. They were beaming.

After church we packed into two Kidz Romania (STL) cars with teens and kids from our class and headed for a needy neighborhood where kids were eagerly awaiting our arrival. Getting the van over the icy descent leading into the neighborhood was quite a feat, involving a few guys pushing, lots of mud, ice, snow and luckily a successful entrance! As soon as the Kidz Romania red van pulled up, the kids began to gather with smiles and excited chatter. We shared songs, prayer and passed out a gift sack to each child. Our church class kids helped pass out bags and sing their special songs. Because we did not have a place to meet indoors, we kept the program short but left them with hugs and kisses.

We headed across town to "The Field of Love," which I wrote about in a previous blog post. It is a field where a few Gypsy families live and a small church has started. We packed into the one- room cement building with wooden benches and a few instruments and shared the love of Christmas with the families who had gathered. In those moments the space, the building, our ipod music for the program that would not work :), the differences of Gypsy culture, did not matter. The only truth that mattered was the message of Christ coming to Earth for us. Because he came in selfless love he could teach us how to know God and how to live in that kind of freedom from self. He could teach the world the joy that comes in knowing him. We prayed with the children and passed out gift bags to each one.

As we packed up, a leader in the church told me of a family with 13 children who could not attend and another with 8. We began to plan how we could visit them personally in their homes and maybe bring them gifts as well. They are not a part of the church but live nearby and would love a special visit. We will visit them in the near future...blog to follow! :) On the way back, the kids from our class were asking about doing the same thing next year. We talked about the joy found in serving others and we knew that our kids would not soon forget this day.

What a life lesson in fact. Serving those around us, even in our own homes, is the kind of selfless love that Christ showed us. Giving freely, covering another's weakness with compassion and forgiveness, seeking the chance to encourage. This is not mere goodwill, it is the will of God for us and God's Son does possess enough love to accomplish it. If we are living with Him, and He in us, we can see as he sees, do as he does, and so others will know that this is beyond human kindness but this is the love of God (1 Corinthians 13).

Thanks to such a great team from Bucharest International Church that helped make this wonderful day possible. Dumnezeu sa va binecuvinteze! And thank you for praying for us! God bless you!

Bucharest rush hour Traffic Mentality:

Problem 1: My lane is backed up.

Solution 1: I will drive in the on-coming traffic lane until i meet a car coming toward me at which time I will proceed to pull onto the sidewalk so that he can pass, and then resume driving in the on-coming traffic lane.

Problem 2: I am in a hurry.

Solution 2: I will find a small space between the cars in their respective lanes and squeeze my vehicle into said space, creating my own lane and cutting off all those waiting in the correct traffic lanes.

Problem 3: The traffic light is not working.

Solution 3: I will hurl my car into the sea of other cars in the 4 way intersection near a major construction zone and hope I make it out the other side!

Problem 4: The car in front of me is not moving fast enough.

Solution 4: I will beep my horn even though the driver ahead of me is blocked by traffic because beeping my horn will certainly make everything better.
(DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT ABIDE BY SAID RUSH HOUR MENTALITY)

I'm looking for answers.

I'm looking for hope.

I'm here in your world.

Do you see? Will you share?

Will you stop? Do you care?

I'm looking for answers.

I'm looking for hope.

I'm here in your world.

Right here in your world.

They called it the "Field of Love" but it bore the marks of pain, poverty and perversity. Amidst the bustle of Bucharest and its 2.5 million inhabitants, lies a field not yet developed and seemingly vacant. However a few small shanty houses line the edge of the field where a gypsy community has made its home. A two room house with dirt floors and an outdoor wash basin for bathing and cooking house a family of twelve. Theft, violence, abuse and the strain of poverty raise the children while parents sit idly by.

"Two years ago my pastor wanted to begin reaching this community but no one wanted to go," our Romanian friend Robert told us Friday night. "I understand this life because this was my past before knowing Jesus. I went and just offered help. I listened to them, worked among them and prayed for them. They appreciated me but would not listen to me. They did not trust me and did not want to change." His wife nodded her head as he told us the story. His four year old daughter, Ruth, snuggled in my lap as we bounced along the roads of Bucharest (yes bounced is the appropriate word).

"They called it the 'Field of Love' but that hopeless place was far from love. We kept praying and building relationships to show them we could be trusted and that our love was real. We wanted them to see God through us. Eventually, people started to listen, to accept the truth of God's Word with a desire to be changed by it. It was incredible to see the change."

His wife broke in, "Yes, and with the help of our pastor we built a small church building right on the field for them. They have meetings regularly now and they are growing to be more like Jesus." I love hearing stories like these. As Ruth happily sucked on her lollipop, I laid my chin on the top of her head. "This is how children should feel, safe and genuinely loved," I thought.

Seven children from this neighborhood came with us to camp this summer. We were thrilled but they kept to themselves and would not mix with the other Romanian children. They were the only gypsies in the camp and despite our efforts, the other children did not play with them either. I began connecting with the eldest, Denisa (pictured above), giving her special attention and spending time with her. What I discovered was a beautiful heart and a passionate young teenager.

"I want to be a missionary in Israel," she told me as we walked around the playground. "I think about it all the time and I pray for the people there who do not know God. Sometimes I feel such love for them that I cry at night when I am praying for them." I was so moved by the passion of this thirteen year old girl I could have cried right there in front of her. I knew that she and her nine siblings were from the "Field of Love" and that God had deeply transformed her life. We prayed together at the altar and as I looked into her eyes I told her, "Denisa, keep nurturing this dream God has planted in your heart. You are special to Him and He wants you to remain so close always."

The next month we visited her neighborhood again and packed the little church with children eager to participate in our kids program. Denisa and I embraced at the end and she took me by the hand to see her house. We stepped in the doorway to find her mother at the stove, a large pot steaming beneath her busy hands. Next to her stood a couch where her disabled brother sat and a cabinet, bench and chair lined the opposite wall. Denisa's aunt grabbed my hand in greeting and kissed each cheek. "Denisa is a special girl," she told me. "Her heart really loves God and she is very smart. We are proud of her. My sister has so many children and it is so difficult. I try to help her but we need God's help. " We listened as they told us more and then asked if we could pray together. Joining hands and bowing heads, we stood on the dirt floor of this gypsy home and met with God.

Robert called us this week about Denisa. "She is married now. Her parents arranged a marriage for her with a man from another country in Europe. She is gone." The words rang in my mind all day, "She is gone." I bowed my heart before God and asked, "Lord, where is she? What is her life now? She was only thirteen!" Maybe her parents thought they couldn't give her a chance here. I am not sure but my heart is heavy for her.

TIME...it's what we don't have the luxury to buy or redeem or change. I didn't know that my time with Denisa was to end this soon yet she did experience the love of God and she knew it for herself. He goes with her when I do not. He is the most valuable gift we can give.

Please pray for Denisa and her husband. Pray also for her siblings who still live in the "Field of Love." Pray that by God's power alone, that place may be transformed by the only One who knows and gives true love. There is no other way...