I've had great news to tell....I finally have all my permits, as does Shauna, our teacher. It is wonderful and such a relief in my life. I can't believe the weight lifted with that.
But the weekend just after I got the green card (a few weeks ago), Andy's computer crashed (really major bummer) and we had to send it back to the states. It should be coming back with a team coming in this afternoon. But he has had the majority of time with my computer, needing to rebuild some financial reports and other things.
Today he is out of town, in the South of Moldova so I have had good time to accomplish some things on the computer!
So, I thank you for all your prayers in this realm. It is such a relief and we feel we have now stopped running in circles and can accomplish something here.
Tuesday we met 2 women at a Rehab center who were trafficked. One was kept within Moldova and the other trafficked to Turkey. Both will come live in the Home of Hope when it is opened. As I visited with them I realized that the stories they share are so horrifying and only God can deliver them from this past. I can't share their names or specifics of their stories, but I can ask you to begin to pray for them.
One of the women returned to Moldova pregnant and refused to have an abortion when the doctors here said she should. She is due to deliver in the next few weeks. Pray that all goes well. This was the other realization I had. We will not only have a home for women, but also for a few small children. Pray that God will help us to help these mothers learn to raise their children and that we can give them the help they need while they care for their babies. (Another woman waits in a mother/child hospital for us to open the home).
Pray as the staff begins to come together to meet and we begin to train them. Pray that we can be as one in purpose.
Pray also for upcoming teams that we have coming in. As I write, we have a team at the airport in Germany, getting ready to board the plane to Moldova. This is a women's team that will do cleaning at the House of Hope (it is nearly finished) and will do ministry in other parts of the country also.
The first of May we have a team from Montana that will come and do a church construction project but there is also a Christian counselor on the team that will do training with the Home of Hope staff.
Pray also for interns. We have several coming this summer. We feel like it is part of what God has asked of us: to pour into those that will be the next generation of workers. Pray that God gives us wisdom and that their experience is positive and good for them and for us.
Pray for Sara...She was an intern with us in 2005 and now is returning as a Missionary Associate. She will be here next week and we are so excited that she is coming back to serve with us in Moldova. She is an awesome young woman.
Pray for God's leading for Andy and I. It is so easy to be busy here! It is so easy to run doing nothing but doing a lot. We want to run "in such a way as to get the prize". We want to do the things that really matter and build long term impact in this country. As I write this, I think that the Apostle Paul wrote the same, "I do not beat the air aimlessly". We don't want to be beating the air aimlessly, but are really asking God for his direction for us and for Moldova. Pray that He grant us the wisdom to do what is right.
God is so good and his timing is always right. There are other things today that I rejoice in the Lord for (besides Andy is getting his computer back), but I can't go into all of them. I just see that the Lord's timing is right and we don't need to be ahead of him or behind him, but wait for him to act at the perfect time. It isn't always easy when we are in the midst of the trials. I had a lot of sleepless nights waiting for my permits and uneasy days, but God is here and He is in the midst of all.
Blessings to you today,
Nancy
