Lost & Found

Remember when you were little and lost something at school. You simply went to the lost and found and hopefully your lost sweat shirt, pen, mitten was there. Don't you wish it were all still so easy?

Last time I wrote we'd just gotten back from the states and things here were a mess. We cried, "Lord, we need your help!" But all looked impossible. We'd lost a bag on the flight. We'd lost a dog at our home (our missionary associate's). We'd lost a girl at the Home of Hope. She'd run away too. All of these looked like impossibilities. We couldn't just go to the lost and found and claim our missing item.

But that night we prayed together as a family. "Lord, you know we've come home and there are lots of messes here. Please help us find our bag. Help us find Lola. Help the women and girls at the Home of Hope. All are impossible, but with you, nothing is impossible."

Our bag wasn't a normal lost bag. One bag had been tagged twice. This bag had no tag. But a day later, it arrived by a different route. It had our name on it and so it came to us.

Starting last Thursday I started to get calls from the girl who had left the Home. Can I come for English? We'd love to have you come. Can I meet you on Monday? I'd love to meet you.

So today she came to meet us at the Home of Hope. Very humbly she asked if she could return to the home. She'd obey the rules, not only that she wants to obey the rules. She saw this is family. Here is peace. Please let her return. She's returned. The excitement was so much in me I forgot to get bread on the way home for our lunch with the pastors.

Then we came home and started our pastor's group and the phone rang, a fellow missionary in Moldova. "We found Lola at the kids' bus stop!!! Sara has come to get her!" Sara came to our house with Lola. Lola was skinny, muddy and miserable looking, but she was back. Even our small dog (Lola's sister, we bought from the same litter) was dancing in joy at Lola's return.

In my last post I also said that I was having major difficulties with staff, but they are understanding their roles and becoming such a blessing. They are seeing how God can use them in this work and each fitting in their place. Plus I need more and I see God beginning to respond to that. I have several who have come and want to help out at the Home.

God specializes in impossibilities. Things that look absolutely impossible to us are things that God specializes in. Thank Him for that today.

It's a new year

So with the New Year comes resolve to eat less, exercise more, communicate better. And thanks should be given in this new year for all those who hold this ministry in constant prayer.

I saw some of my blog followers in church one Sunday when we were in America. (Thanks John & JoAnn for coming to our service at Life Church. It was great to see you.) They asked if we were having visa problems because we were in the states again. No, we do not have visa problems. That is for those in Russia (pray for our Russian M's who need visas). 2008 was a strange year. My mom died, so a trip back for all. Then I went back to visit with my dad and another family trip for Christmas and The World Missions Summit.

TWMS is a missions conference for Chi Alpha Students (A/G Christian University Churches). Andy and I spent a week in Cincinnati with other Eurasia missionaries talking about "give a year, pray about a lifetime." It was great connecting with students who are interested in missions.

We were blessed to be able to tie this conference in with Christmas holidays and seeing all our family. Leaving was bitter/sweet. We were so ready to get home to Moldova. But it was hard to say good bye to my dad. We are praying for his home-going. He has lived a good life and is ready to be home with Jesus. His condition will never get better and now we would love to see his suffering end.

We came home to a lot of craziness. When we checked our bags in Minneapolis, one bag was double tagged, so one bag was not tagged at all. It did have our address on it (always put an address on your bags). We had little hope that we'd ever see that bag again, but the next day it came to the airport via a different route--absolutely amazing.

When we came into our house, Sara, the Missionary Associate working with us, said that the night before someone had opened our gate and all the dogs had gotten out (we have a German Shepherd & miniature schnauzer and she has a sister to the schnauzer). Britta, our German Shepherd, was near by and came right away. After some searching, Gracie, our small dog was found, but Lola, Sara's dog, is still missing. Such sad news.

We were in our house about 2 hours when a call came from the House of Hope and 2 of the residents were having a terrible fight. Andy went to try to deal with it (it was now after 10 p.m.) and he didn't return until about midnight. I spent a good portion of Thursday at the House of Hope and with the staff.

So, I have requests for prayer.

We are still praying that Lola would show up once again. It is very hard for Sara and our girls.

Please be in prayer for the House of Hope. There are so many needs there. These girls that live there are such hurting girls. It is terribly stressful for the staff. Before Christmas one of the girls left the home, then she returned and then she left again. The other two girls are fighting horribly. They don't know how to react normally to anything in life and they don't know how to communicate without angry words.

We need to pray that God will really give healing to their lives and emotions. We want to see something miraculous in their lives. One of the girls has already had a miraculous healing in her body.

Pray for our staff. They are tired and discouraged. We need to add more staff and I need to pray for God to show us some new people to hire. I also need a Christian psychologist or counselor and this is not easy to find. Finding Christians willing to work with trafficked women is hard. It is not because they think these women are awful, it is just very hard and exhausting work.

Finally, at the World Missions Summit I talked with some young women looking to come to teach our girls for the next two years. We really need someone who would be willing to give a year or two and be here by August. This means she needs to apply now and start raising her funds immediately. Please pray that we can get a teacher to commit within the next month. I could not do what I do with the House of Hope without a teacher for the girls.

Thanks for your faithful prayer for this ministry and our ministry in Moldova.

Hearts Changing

Today was a great day at the Home of Hope. I needed that. This has truly been the most difficult thing I've ever undertaken in my life and I really don't feel up to the task most days.

We sat and just talked with the women today, asked them their dreams and prayed together.

Here are a few things you can pray for:

1. Dina--Her twin sister,Lilia is still abroad in a brothel. Lilia's daughter is here with Dina. Today Dina asked that we pray her sister returns. We told her we'd welcome her to the Home too.

2. Aliona--She wants to be able to learn Russian. She has never had the opportunity for any schooling and she is very happy to learn Russian and English. She asked that she can learn the alphabet and reading quickly. Aliona has many deep wounds both physically and mentally from being trafficked. Pray God brings her healing in body, mind and soul.

3. Irina--Right now we are in a huge battle for Irina. She is hearing other voices, outside the home (real voices) telling her to leave. Last week was very discouraging for her. I can't say more here, only that we need a break through and miracle in her life.

I also want to ask for prayer for us personally as a family. We'll head back to the states this Saturday for Christmas and the World Missions Summit. Pray for protection for us as we travel, for all bags to arrive and no complications as we go. Pray also because my dad's health is declining rapidly and I pray for a good time with him for all of us. I'm sure they will be final memories for all of us.

Thanks for being so faithful in prayer.

Blessings to you in this Christmas season.

Family

One of the hardest parts of the issue of trafficking is the rejection that the girls get from their families, if they have them, when they return.

Ira wanted so badly to see her family. She misses them terribly and hasn't seen them in so long. We finally worked out that today she would be taken to see her family. Some of our staff accompanied her to her village. It is in a part of Moldova that is very difficult for Americans to go, so I did not go.

When she got there she was told that her dad was at work. This was hard to believe because she'd called ahead and she knew he would be home. Her mother wasn't at her home and when they finally found her mom and step dad, her step dad began yelling at her, condemning what she'd been.

She hadn't eaten breakfast at the Home this morning, thinking her family would have a big meal prepared when she got home. Not only was there not a big meal, but she wasn't even welcomed. She came back this evening so incredibly sad.

Please pray for Ira tonight. Pray that she finds and accepts the Love that is greater than all. Pray that she'd see the care in the home as God's love for her. Pray that she understands He is a father unlike any she has ever known. Pray for peace.

Pray also for Tanya, one of the workers in the home. For several months now she has had a problem with her neck. Would you join me in praying that God would bring healing and relief to her neck?

Thanks.

Blessings,
Nancy

Peace, Peace

This afternoon I stopped by at the House of Hope for a short time. All was peace there. I had a fun visit with the women there and left feeling so blessed to be doing this work.

Sara, who works also with Home of Hope, went there this evening along with my daughter, Elissa and Corrina, our teacher, ready to do English classes with the children and they walked into a storm. The first major fight among our women in the home. Blessed Sara sat with each of the women, talked with them and then told them we'll deal with it tomorrow in full. Sleep and we'll talk about it in the morning.

Please pray for wisdom for us tomorrow as we deal with this conflict. Pray for peace in the midst of the storm and for God to continue to work in this situation. God is working in the lives of the women, but conflict happens and we'll deal with it.

Stigma

Stigma. It is a short word with a lot of meaning. Every former prostitute feels it. Every trafficked woman knows what it is. When people know who these women are and what they have been, they suddenly have an invisible scarlet "A" covering them.

We'd like to think that as Christians we are above it, but the truth is, we are not really sure if we can love some people, their ideas or positions. We put a stigma on them.

So it is in the Home of Hope. Staff come in excited to minister for God, but that stigma exists. They are not sure if they can really love the women fully. Can they really deal with someone who has lived such an awful life even if it was not their choice?

And they in turn are stigmatized by other believers for working with such women. Shouldn't they just be left alone?

"Christ's love compels us" (2 Cor 5:14) Please pray for our staff at home of hope. As they are fighting through issues they thought they'd resolved. They are fighting through issues of stigma. They are fighting through issues of love.

Philippians 1:9 says, "This is my prayer for you, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight."

I'm praying for the staff at the Home of Hope that their love may abound. That Christ's love would compel them and give them a love for the women and children that they can not have within themselves.

This is tough work and we thought all the first difficulties would be with the women entering the home, but we now realize there is a lot for the staff to overcome. The staff is made up of some amazing and called women. God will use them. Please pray that God continues to fill them with His love and compel them to his service.

Friends

This week is emotional for our entire family. We have been blessed by great friendships in Moldova. In particular is a family, the Dommerholts, who are Dutch and have been in Moldova 4 years. This coming Friday, October 14, they leave Moldova for good. They have done the work they came to do and we are all sad to see them go.

They have 3 daughters, just the ages of our daughters. We connected when they first came to Moldova 4 years ago. Having 6 girls who all are paired has only made for wonderful fellowship. The girls play and adults visit. We have shared many meals, enjoyed cups of coffee, had times of prayer,and played numerous games together. They have called the same Moldovan church "home" as we have these past years and I can't count the number of times the girls have spent the night at our home. Our families have truly connected.

So this week one girl after another comes to us in tears, mourning the leaving of their friend. This morning in church as Fulco and Jeanine shared about their time in Moldova, the reality hit me that they leave this week.

This is a request of a more personal nature, but please pray that the peace of God would be over all of us and that the God of all comfort would comfort the girls, especially, this week as we say goodbye to the Dommerholt family.

Adjusting

We are all adjusting to life and work at the Home of Hope. I still feel I'm so blessed with a great staff. They have stepped up to touch these women.

Today I ask you once again to pray for them. They are tired. Adjusting is never easy. We are learning to communicate with the girls and they do not always know how to communicate with us.

Ask God's continued blessing and renewal on their lives. They are working hard, but this work can be discouraging.

In the months before the home opened, we had different groups that walked through the home and one thing that was said many times is, "Today I prayed for peace over this house, over these beds."

Tonight I sat with one of the women in the home after a rough day. We talked about some pretty tough things and as we talked I felt such a peace in that room and I was grateful for all those who'd prayed for peace in the home. God does care for and love these women. His peace is resting upon the home.

Where things are

Thanks for your prayers as we've begun the real work at the Home of Hope. Please keep us in your prayers in the next few days, specifically tomorrow.

We have two women and three children in the home right now. One woman, who was supposed to come into the home this week, ended up in the hospital. We took her 2 children rather than them being put into an orphanage.

As I sat with the women today, they are so sad, so needy. And we have so much to do. Please pray for wisdom for us. Up to this point we've had a lot of theory. But now we have the practical and we need to figure out quickly how to begin to help these women.

There are a myriad of little details to work out, like getting the kids to their the kindergarten each day. And there are a lot of big details to work out.

Please just keep us in prayer this week as the home and staff come together. Please pray for wisdom for us in all we do.

Thanks.

Listen to our hearts

I drove to the short term shelter again today with Elena, our project manager. Today two women were ready to go with us. With little fanfare we met them and they loaded into the car with us to head home. For Elena and me it was an emotional time.

As we drove home we talked. One of the girls speaks only Russian, so Elena translated when they asked me questions. Mostly they talked together with Elena.

We took them to the home, showed them around, welcomed them to our home--their new home.

A song has been in my heart this afternoon and evening. It is a song I sang several times many years ago. It is early Steven Curtis Chapman.

"How do you explain? How do you describe?
A love that goes from east to west and runs as deep as it is wide
You know all our hopes Lord, you know all our fears
And words cannot express the love we feel
But we long for You to hear
So listen to our hearts.
Hear our spirits sing.
A song of praise that flows
from those you have redeemed.
We will use the words we know
to tell you what an awesome God you are,
but words are not enough
to tell you of our love
so listen to our hearts."

This sums up how I feel today and how so many who have prayed, feel. We don't have the words to express, but I'm so grateful to the Lord for leading us in this work. Yes, the work has only begun, but God is leading us.

Please pray for Aliona and her daughter Sabrina and pray for Irina as they settle into the home this week. Pray for Deanna who will join us with her daughters next week. And praise God for the work he has done.

Keep Praying

I'd posted that Monday we'd take our first women into the Home of Hope. So yesterday we went to the other shelter and we met the Social Workers, but the women were not there. The youngest girl had left of Friday and hadn't returned all weekend (she came back while we were there). The others had other reasons.

All of these women were raised in state orphanages. All have been trafficked and all have never learned that they can trust anyone. We are in a battle for the lives and souls of these women. They are scared. Leaving where they are now to come to another place is another breaking in their lives. This is the reality of women we'll take.

We've had many groups in the House of Hope who have just taken time to walk the house and pray. One thing I've heard over and over is that people are praying for God's peace to rest on the home and on the women who come into the home.

Would you pray that God's peace would rest on these three women, even now? We've asked that they could come today (Tuesday) and just share in a meal with us at the Home, then go back to the shelter. Ask for God to calm their hearts and draw them into this place of safety.

As we prayed yesterday God spoke to Sara that this is the first healthy decision they have ever made in their lives. Growing up in government orphanages, they never had the chance to make their own decisions. When they did finally make their first decision, it caused them to be trafficked. Now they have the chance to make a decision that can change their lives for the good of their lives. Please pray as they make this decision this week.

Thanks for your prayers.

Wednesday morning went as a Home of Hope staff to a short term shelter and met with the first women who will come to our home next Monday. We talked first with the social workers who manage these women's cases, then we met with the women. Three women will come to the Home on Monday. We met with two of them. They also have three children that will come with them.

Both of the women we talked with today spoke Russian so I was out of the conversation, but I sat in amazement at the staff God has put together. Rodica is such an amazing woman. She asked them (I was told later) their dreams for life and said that we are here to help them reach their dreams. We are not here as an end in their lives, but to help them move to what their lives can be. Elena told them they could know that we are a family and they will be a part of this family. And Sara told them they are not alone. We will help them learn to raise their children.

We began to dream about games to play and being "Auntie"--"Tante" to some little girls who have had no one to love them. We began to see these women that sat so scared, so lost as women that God has called us to show His love and healing.

After the meeting we talked about how God has so much more ahead. So often we think we are here to do just one thing and God leads us to another. We built a Home for women to find healing from the scares of trafficking and we are also building a bridge to the women who work in the short term shelter. It is not a place that is faith based, but there are lovely women that work there and care about these young women who are trafficked and friendships are forming with these women also.

Pleae pray for the coming week. Pray for a smooth transition for these women. Many who have walked through the home have prayed for the peace of God to be over the home and in the home. Continue to pray for this. Pray for the children who will come. They are 2, 5, & 6 years old. They need to know God's love in their lives too. Pray for God's continued leading and guiding in all that happens in the coming week

Soon

This past Thursday we met as a Home of Hope staff with staff of another group that takes in trafficked women on a short term basis. They had 3 women to refer to us. Next week we'll go to their shelter, meet the women and then arrange for when they will come to the Home of Hope.

The first women is 27, a twin and has one daughter and also is the caretaker for her niece, daughter of her twin. She was trafficked with her twin sister, who is still abroad.

The second woman is 22 and has a two year old. She is one of several in her family who was trafficked.

The third is 17 and was trafficked within Moldova.

Please pray for us as we begin to work in the next week with these women and children. The need is so great and we need God to lead us in a mighty way. We need His hand upon us and we need to show these women His hope.

As I've been in the home I've been praying that the peace of God would envelope those who enter and live there. I pray that they would see who He is. The work won't be easy, but we do want to see lives changed and we believe we will.

Thanks for praying with us in this time.

Close to tears

Today and yesterday have been very emotional days for me. The reality that the dream I've carried for so many years is so close is just overwhelming me. We were able to open and we unpack the container today and set up house. It is amazing to see the place looking like a home. How blessed we are!

Rodica and Tatiana were there marveling at the beauty of the American furnishings, bedding and dishes. Things were fitting into place and incredibly wonderful.

The Home of Hope is that much closer to being a home!

Last week I also hired a Project Manager. She is an incredible, talented and bright young woman who is a recent university graduate. I can't say enough at how blessed I feel to be working with her. Please pray for Elena as we lead this ministry together.

Sara is a fellow A/G Worker here with us. She came to work with something that fell through before she arrived, but through much prayer and searching she feels like she will also serve with us at the Home of Hope. She will do life education skills training and help on the planning team for the Home.

Thanks for your prayers each step of the way with this. I feel that God has brought each thing together at just His right time.

Now please pray for the ladies who will come into the home. Our target date is October 1 to have everything ready to go. Please pray that God will bring the right women to us to begin the work.

I also ask you to pray for several important meetings we'll have next week in forming partnerships with other NGO's that work with the issues of trafficking in Moldova. Many are not sure of us as evangelicals and we pray that we can build a bridge to them, that they will see that we are safe to work alongside.

We are so blessed.

Nancy

Prayer and Praise

I don't know if I said, but I went to the states for 1 1/2 weeks to see my dad. It was so good to have time with him. He is getting to where he can hardly walk and if he is too tired, he can't get words out either. But it was so good to see him and spend time with him each day. One day he said, "I'm so thrilled you came." Me too.

The container is on its way! We were promised it by the end of this week, but now it looks like early next week. Pray for a smooth entry for it into the country.

Yesterday I talked with a very sharp young woman who is a recent university graduate, beautiful Christian and great leader. She has agreed to be the Home of Hope director, working with me to lead this and represent it to the NGO (non-governmental community) in Moldova. Will you please pray for Elena? I'm not such a tough boss, but I believe it is a ministry in which Satan does not want to see go forward and so tries to discourage. We have a lot to learn together and plan and I'm excited about starting with her next week.

Our teacher for this year arrived on Monday evening (same flight as me into the country). Please pray for Corrina as she makes adjustments to Moldova and the culture here, missing friends and loved ones at home. She is ready to get started and has other ministries she wants to do here too. This is such a blessing for us to have someone her to teach the girls. It allows me to do some ministry and also gives the girls someone else to be a part of their lives.

And pray for a teacher for the last two years of our term. We need to find someone that will commit and begin to raise his/her funds to come next year. We'd love to find someone who would come for the next two years.

Thanks for your prayers. It is truly the power behind what we do.

Blessings.

Alive and well

I'm sure I'm about the worst blogger out there. Andy went on and did something to my account in July, resetting my password, then I had to reset it so I'd remember it and I forgot it. Well, I've reset again and hopefully I will keep it this time so I can get on to this blog.

Please forgive me and I'll try to make things better.

The container--it is finally in Romania and we are working to get it to Moldova. Please pray that it comes through without huge costs.

Please pray as this means we are just weeks away from getting the home together and running. God continues to meet the financial needs. We know they will always be there, and he is meeting them through those who give. But we also have the need for wisdom as we run this ministry. It is a ministry, not just another organization trying to help women. Continue to pray for us as we minister.

Pray for a Moldovan director. I know God has the right woman out there. Ask God to bring our hearts together on this.

This week I'm in the states, spending time with my dad. He has a disease that is progressive. The left side of his body barely moves now and soon he will be bound to a wheel chair. But I feel blessed to be here this week, running him to doctor appointments and just sitting in his room and being with him. Please continue to pray for my family as we deal with this.

And that means you can also pray for Andy, Mr. Mom this week, as he is with the girls. And the girls missing me.

I have to get out the door to take my dad to the dentist. So thanks for your prayers.

Two ladies

Today I walked around the Home of Hope with Rodica and Tanya. They are the two women who will work in the Home of Hope and really have great hearts for the ministry. It was so awesome to stand with them in the backyard and dream of the beautiful garden that will be there next year at this time. To think of what we'll do and make in the kitchen and the LIFE that will happen at the home.

Please pray today for Rodica and Tanya.

Rodica is in her early 40's,is married and has 2 grown children and one little caboose. Her son is studying abroad and wants to come back to Moldova when he is finished. Her daughter was just married to a Moldovan who immigrated when he was small so she will leave the country. But Rodica is excited to have a place of ministry.

Tanya is 40 and single. She has such a heart for ministering to women.

I think so much of both of these women. Both have invested so much in ministry already and they are excited to do minister to these women. Please keep them in your prayers in the weeks ahead.

The way things go

Still delays with the container and House of Hope...That is they way things go in Moldova. Nothing is ever simple.

Please just pray for us and the House of Hope in the next months. I know that we are in a battle and just when I think the battle is done, it starts up again. There is always something to stop the progress.

It is not just the container, but also personnel. I have 2 great ladies that will work in the home. I have 3 or 4 others who will volunteer. But I still don't have someone who can champion this, someone who can be the Moldovan face of it. I thought I had someone, and in May she had said she would serve in that capacity, but a few days ago she decided that she would not do the job.

Please pray against discouragement. Please pray that women will be committed to doing this work. We need people who are willing to fight for the lives of these women.

We've had a great summer so far in training the workers. They see the work ahead and are ready to help the women.

Container

We were blessed when Gwen, in Minnesota, felt led to put together a container of furnishings for the Home of Hope. She raised money and worked hard to get it together. The container is shipped and now we wait for it to come.

It was supposed to be in port in Romania last week, but didn't come so we called. There is some kind of strike in Turkey, preventing what needs to be off-loaded there before it can come to the port in Romania, just south of Moldova.

Will you pray that the container somehow can come on? We are waiting, waiting. The home is ready, just waiting for furnishings and then we can fill the home with women.

Thanks.

Almost reality

A few weeks ago on a Saturday morning, I received a phone call from a lady who had worked the night shift at Moldova's Christian radio station. I have never met her, but somehow she knew that we were in the process of a Home for Women who had been trafficked and during her shift a woman had called, who had escaped in Odessa, Ukraine and had no place to go. Could we help her?

I talked to Tanya, one of the women who will work in the Home, and she went to work on finding her a place to stay until the Home is open. We placed her temporarily in a rehab center which we work with closely.

Right now we are waiting for the cabinets to be put in the house and the furnishings to arrive by container from the states. They should be here within a few weeks. We are so close.

This has been the biggest step of faith Andy and I have ever taken in life and in ministry. Some would say the biggest step was moving with 3 daughters to Moldova, but really that was just obedience and we love it here. It is not hard. But building this home daily is a challenge to our faith.

We have seen God move again and again to give us the funds we need to continue the work on the home. The work has never had to stop. Building costs in Moldova have sky-rocketed this past year and thus the costs of putting this home up far exceeded what we'd planned. But again and again God has moved on people & churches to give, to work, to help. God has done marvelous things.

And now we are so close and knowing that we are still short of the costs to totally finish. We need to pay for lights and curtain rods, rugs and railings, a garage door, stove and oven and kitchen sink.

So today I'm asking you to please pray and believe with us for these funds to complete and finish the home. The burden is great and yet, we see God move time and again.

Pray for the operational funds to continue to come in. It is a fearful thing that people will say, "well, the home is up" and then there are no funds to run it. But we are believing God for this too.

Pray for partnerships with those that will make this self-sustaining. We met with a Western man who does business in Moldova and wants to talk with us about starting a project in the home that is more than just small crafts, but something to actually fund the home's expenses.

Pray for the staff that has come together to make this ministry a reality--for Tanya, Rodica, Oxana, Maria, Natasha and Xena. Some of these will be paid staff and some will be volunteers, but they all have a heart to see the women healed.

Pray for the women who will come into the Home. That God would help and heal them and they would find freedom and new life in Christ.

Thanks for your prayers today.