Celebrations

Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of one of the women in the Home of Hope. She turned 31. It wasn't anything huge--a few roses and a birthday cake after lunch. When I gave her the roses and then we began to sing "La Multi Ani" (Moldova's Happy Birthday song) she put her head down and began to sob. The other women in our home also began to cry.

I wondered when the last time was that anyone celebrated any of them. When was the last time their birthdays were acknowledged in any way? Was this woman a child the last time she was even given a cake for her birthday?

I pray that all of these little things of love and concern will change the hearts of the women in the home. That God will speak to them of His great love.

A week ago some workers with a partner organization were in the home. They commented on the peace that they feel when they walk into the home. One said, "I wish I could stay here for a week. There is such peace here." This peace is something new to her.

This is something that so many prayed for before we opened. We had multiple groups in the home, bathing it in prayer. People continue to pray. We want the Home of Hope to be something different, not just another shelter, but a place where the presence of God dwells.

Please understand that every day and every moment in the home is not like we are skipping around fields of daisies. There are intense moments of anger or fear in the lives of the women.

Pray with us today that God would continue to fill the lives of the women with a sense of peace and that they would understand that when they submit to Him, He brings "the peace that passes all understanding." Pray for an incredible and supernatural healing in their lives and spirits.

Pray also for some staffing issues we have at the home. I need to hire for one more spot, and it needs to be the right person. Pray that God opens that person up to us and brings us together.

Thanks for your prayers for this ministry. God is doing such amazing things.

Blessings,
Nancy

Challenges

Andy & I just returned from India where we attended Project Rescue Leadership meetings. It is always good to meet with the other leadership and to know we are not alone.

The trip was long. We spent a lot of time in airports. To get to India the flights are always overnight so we missed 2 nights of sleep out of the last five. That is travel. I'm blessed that we live in a day that we can make trips like this and do it within a few days.

Our house of hope in Moldova always has challenges. A few weeks ago I wrote about meeting with a partner organization that wants us to take in a young girl who was sold by an aunt in her home village. We are willing to take her. While I was gone, someone from the state came to the home demanding how things would be at Home of Hope if we took her. Understand that this girl has no place to go, but they are making her transition to our home difficult. We are willing to work with them, but not on their secular terms. We will maintain as a Christian organization.

Please pray today for this girl. Her Social Worker from her village is a Christian and has been praying for her. It looked like God's answer for her life had come, but Satan does not want to see her redeemed. He is fighting all the harder to see that she does not change. He is using the broken Moldovan system to try to keep her from coming to a place of safety for the first time in her life. This situation shows the reality of the verse "we do not fight against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in the evil realm."

I do not want to give names of these girls any longer. They need to be protected in all ways. God knows their names. Please pray for this one, this situation, and ask God to smooth out the difficult path so that she can come into the Home of Hope. Ask God to break the powers that would hold her in darkness.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

understanding

We continue to move forward in the ministry at the Home of Hope, but there is so much more that needs to be in place. Yesterday I told someone that we are in the start up phase of this ministry, meaning we are putting in a lot of capital without a lot of return at this point. We are realizing each day that there is more to do, more to put in place, more to understand.

We need to know laws. We need to know how we can work with minors. We need to know how to lead the women to healing. I realize all of this comes with time and God is bringing the work together, but it is a slow process.

Please pray for us. Pray that God gives each member of the team wisdom to deal with the area in which they have responsibility. Pray that we have understanding, patience and grace for the women. Pray that the women come to an understanding of who God is in their lives.

Pray also for Andy and me. I write this as we sit at the Chisinau airport waiting to board a flight to Turkey and from Turkey we fly to India. We are going for Project Rescue leadership meetings this week. The girls are home with wonderful missionary associates, but we still hate to leave them. Pray for protection as we travel. Pray for peace and safety for the girls at home. And pray that we will learn from those who have done this work now for many more years than we have.

The Hand of God

I've been so blessed with seeing the Hand of God in the ministry we are doing. He continues to move ahead of us.

At the end of December it was clear that we needed a Christian counselor and social worker in the Home of Hope. These are not always easy to find in Moldova and it is not something we can just put a "help wanted" sign out for. But in the same week I was told about a social worker and a counselor. I met them the next week and hired them both. It is key that they work well together, and they work amazingly together. They came just as we needed them and at the right time.

Today we met with a partner organization about taking in a girl that they have. We talked with two other organizations who have been helping her. When we were done the social worker from the state came to us and said that she too is a Christian and she has been praying that God would give this girl the right situation and somehow take her from her pain. Tears ran down her face as she saw our home as an answer to her prayers.

Andy has been in the states speaking at some churches. It has been a good time for him, but we all miss him. He'll be back next week. Pray for safe travels for him yet while he is there and a safe return to us in Moldova.

Pray also for Elena and Oxana, the counselor and social worker, as they begin to learn their new jobs and find their place in the ministry.

Pray also for the new women we are taking into the home. God cares for each of them.

A year

Today I realized that it is one year since I last talked to my mom. It was Sunday morning for her and Sunday afternoon for me. We talked about my visit the next week, made plans for our schedule together. We talked about the great sale prices that she found the day before and said she'd go pick up some skirts and pants for me too after church that day. I don't remember what else we talked about, but we were excited for me visit the following week.

That week following the conversation we had a guest and no internet most of the week. Saturday we had internet again and Sunday I tried to call again, only getting the answering machine, wondering where she could be. A few hours later my brother called saying she'd had a stroke. I boarded the plane knowing she was home with Jesus.

So this week is the anniversary of my mom's death in this world, but her advancement to Heaven. I love that my mom is in heaven. Each time I hear that someone has died, I see my mom greeting them and sitting down to talk with them. I see her free of pain and grief and I see her worshiping Jesus--live and in person.

But I also miss her so much. Today I was talking about the Home of Hope with a friend and I thought, "I'd love to call mom, tell her what I'm learning, ask her to pray." The girls do something cute or learn something new and I want to tell her what is happening with them. I want her to see Elissa playing the violin or all of them at the piano (she couldn't sing, but loved music). I want to call her for recipes. I want her to meet my dog. She loved dogs.

There is a lot on my plate here this week. Much is happening at the Home of Hope. Andy is traveling. But what I asked in prayer for this week is for myself, for my siblings (there are 6 of us), for my children, my nieces and my nephews, who will all once again grieve this week for the loss of Mom and Grandma.

An update on my dad is that he has needed greater medical care as he is now unable to walk or move himself (he only has movement of his right arm so he can still feed himself). Last week he was moved to a nursing home and is doing okay, but on most days he doesn't remember that my mom died.

Thanks for your prayers. I'm blessed by those praying for us. It truly is our strength for the work we do.

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.

Julia

I know I've been way too long since I've posted. I cracked my computer case and had to send it back to the states with someone for repair (it affected the DVD drive) and then wait for it to be brought back with a team coming...Thankfully the computer is under warranty...

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a girl named Julia. She is Moldovan and had gone to the states as an exchange student, was placed with a Christian family and found Jesus in her time there. She was preparing to come back to Moldova and found our website and contacted me. She simply asked, "are there Christian churches in Moldova?"

I, by no means, take this as a condemnation of the church here. The church is doing much to evangelize, but it is such a small population of believers. It shows me that this country still needs to be reached in such a major way.

The other day Julia and I met to have lunch. Her dad came to the street to meet me. He asked what the purpose of my meeting with her and what time I'd have her back home. I think I understood a bit of a boy who takes a girl on a date and gets grilled by her dad. Then that afternoon Andy and I had to go meet her dad and tell him what we are doing in Moldova, who we are and such.

Julia went the last 2 days to Moldovan youth camp with us with a team that is here from Rapid City, SD. She has loved it. She is hearing, for the first time, the gospel and worship in her language. Tomorrow she is going with the team to do the sight seeing and she will translate. She is so happy to have found Christians (and, yes, her American host family is excited too).

But her dad does not understand. Could you pray for him and his wife? They are both very brilliant people. Both professors at the university here and both wondering why we, as Americans, care for their daughter. They think she was brainwashed in the states, but we know she was transformed by the power of God.

Pray for wisdom in this situation. Wisdom for us as we talk with her father. Wisdom for her as she responds to him and her step-mom. Pray for understanding for her father and that his eyes would be opened to the truth of the gospel.

And please continue to pray that Julia can get rooted in Christ in her homeland. It is exciting to see what God has done in her life. Pray that His work continues in her.

Family Needs

I've written before on this blog that my dad has Alzheimer's. Of course, this disease, like many, really can't be totally diagnosed until after the person's death. There were things in his health that weren't quite adding up, so my sister took him last week to see a neurologist. He was re-diagnosed or better diagnosed with something called "progressive supra-nuclear palsy", for short PSP.

PSP is largely shown by the person falling down a lot and the ability of the eyes to move is diminished in time. This is the major way doctors often diagnose it--the patient has lost the ability to track anything with his/her eyes. Dementia is also a part of this. It is rare and so not well known.

Anyway, what does all this have to do with anything? Well, it explains why most people with Alzheimer's lose their mind, but my dad still knew so many things, but is losing his body quickly. It doesn't make things easier with him and it doesn't change my understanding of the slow degeneration of Alzheimer's and the difficulty in a family. Much of this has mirrored Alzheimer's, which is why the previous diagnosis was given. He still does have dementia. He can't add or subtract. He can't do so much of what he could do a few years ago. He has a hard time with conversation. And his body is so very unreliable.

So today I ask you to pray for my siblings who need to look into his care. My dad, since early January, has been in a Memory Care home. The women who care for him there are good and kind to him, but it is not the level of health care that he needs. Now my siblings need to make the decision to move him to a more skilled nursing home. This is hard for everyone. But his physical body needs skilled and individual care.

I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters in the area near my dad and it is tough for all of them. Please pray that God guides them and helps them and they can know that He is leading them and giving them peace as they make these decisions about dad's future care.

Thanks.

open their eyes

For some time I've been praying that the Lord would supernaturally open the eyes of girls about to be trafficked to the truth of their situation.

Today a young, incredibly beautiful Moldavian woman told me about how she was lured to a job. It looked so great and she was at an "informational meeting" when she looked around and realized the room was filled with just young beautiful women and the "job interview" type questions, had nothing to do with jobs. And she said, "it was if God opened her eyes to the truth of what was happening there" and she ran from the meeting and did not return.

So, yes, pray that God would open the eyes of girls who are in the process of talking to traffickers. Pray that God would show them the truth of what would be in their lives. And pray that they will turn the other direction.

On another note--if you are not getting the links of the last blog, sorry. For some reason they show up if I look at my husband's computer, but not if I look at the blog on my computer. But they are you tube links and one is called "Jacob's Well Moldova" and the other is called "Moldova Babes".

Blessings,
Nancy

These are videos made my Neighborhood A/G, Helena, Montana. One concerns the need for clean water. Please pray as we undertake this project of bringing clean water to wells in Moldova. We are thankful for Neighborhood for the vision to help with this project. The other is a fun video of the women working hard. We are thankful for women who pray and for women who work.

No sight to the end

This week was a great week and a hard week for life in Moldova and dealing with the issue of trafficking.

The great week comes because I've found a project manager. She is Oxana, 27 years old and an amazing young woman of God. We are so excited to work together. The Home of Hope is coming along so wonderfully and it will not be long until the work is done and we are ready to open. God is bringing together a great group of women to work in the home and we are blessed.

The hard week is that last night I found out that Moldova is going to be moved down to a level 3 on the TIP report this coming week. See http://state.gov/g/tip/ for more information on the TIP report. This is basically a way to monitor if governments are taking action to change the issue of trafficking in their country, if the corruption at the border and with the police is ended. It isn't in Moldova.

The other day someone was asking if this was just the first Home of Hope in Moldova. I said it is really depends on how things change and my prayer is that it will change and women will stop being trafficked.

And then I heard about the change in the Tip Report, corruption still abounds and people lack hope. Just this week I've talked to at least 3 young Moldovans who only feel like they can make it if they leave the country to work. So this is sad.

Please continue to pray for Moldova. Pray for Hope in Moldova. Jesus is the only hope. Pray for myself and for Oxana as we begin to prepare the Home of Hope and the staff to open for ministry. Pray that we'd continue to follow God's leading in this.

Blessings to you,
Nancy

May Prayer

May is here with all its showers and flowers. It is finally a beautiful sunny day in Moldova.

A few short prayer requests today. First, we have a team here doing construction but also on the team is a Christian Counselor who will be doing some training for those working with the Home of Hope. Please pray for the training for this week. Pray for open hearts to hear and learn. Pray that the women who do the work will be knit together for the cause of the trafficked woman.

Pray also for the team as they work on a church project--for safety and good work.

Interns--we have several interns here this summer. We believe in interns because it is a chance for them to see what God is doing in another part of the world. BUT it is always extra work. Pray that God would help us as we try to steer them in the right direction when they come!

Teacher--We have a teacher committed to coming to teach the girls next year, but she is yet trying to get her budget raised. She is discouraged and unsure what to do. Please pray for God's provision for her in this. If she doesn't make it, I will be teaching the girls again next year. It is not the worst thing, but I have a lot of ideas of what God has for the coming years and it is hard for me to do anything besides teach the girls if I need to do that. SO pray for Corrina. Shauna has been such a great blessing to us this year, both in freeing me up, but also in having someone else in the girls' lives. We'd love to see Corrina make it here in July.

Thanks for your prayers.

Nancy

Great News that waits

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

Home again

It is good to be home. The girls and I are all jet lagged. Andy is just tired because he has stayed up too late with us these first few nights, but tonight he went to bed. It is nearly 11 p.m. and the girls are happily playing Barbies like it is the afternoon!

I got back into the country without problem.

Someone we know talked to a Christian brother who works at the airport, who talked to someone at passport control. I was standing in the long line ready to wait my turn when a passport guard came out and said, "Nancy Raatz? Is there a Nancy Raatz here?" I raised my hand and he told me to come to the front of the line. He said, "Miss, do you know you have a problem?" "Yes, I do." "Do you know you need a permit to live here?" "Yes, it has been in process for 8 months now." He stamped the passports and gave them back to me. I thanked him and went on to the baggage claim.

That is the hand of God.

But there are always prayer needs.

We continue to pray for my permit and Shauna's permit. They continue to be delayed, but they are in process. Now we are told that the person who needs to sign them is out of the city. Last week I talked with a pastor who said to me, "Sometimes there are roads that are difficult, but we must walk them." I don't know why we have had such problems with these permits. I do know it is warfare and I do know it has been difficult, and I am thankful for all those who have prayed. But I do know that this is just a road that we have had to walk. I pray that soon things may be resolved and we can forget this stage of trial!

Please pray also for Alex & Mary. They have come to do an internship with us. Mary is South Korean and new laws make her have to get a visa before she comes into the country. They sit in Romania (working with ministries there while they wait) waiting for her visa to come through and then we must start the process for their permits to stay here. Please keep them in your prayers.

And pray for our team mates here. Troy, Heidi and Shauna have all been facing difficult personal situations. They are adjusting well to Moldova, but have other challenges in their lives and they need God's peace.

Please continue to pray for me and my family. We are doing well. It is hard to believe it has almost been a month since my mom passed away. Some days are okay and some are so hard. Please pray for God to continue to carry us through this time.

Pray also as we work to establish the Home of Hope in Moldova. I have one wonderful woman, Tatiana, that has such a heart for this ministry and has women she knows who are waiting for the home to be finished. We are within a few months. I went today and it looks so beautiful. Walls are done and we are just waiting to put the floors in now. I believe God is doing such a great work here and women will be touched. Pray for the work and the women we will touch and the women who will work with us to touch the others.

Blessings to you today.

Continuing

Life continues on. Somehow it always does after death.

Andy made it back to Moldova and is working on my work permit so then we can get my living permit. He says at this point the word he gets is that I can get into the country but they may give me grief at the airport. Pray we don't, BUT if we do, I'm instructing my girls that they can be free to break out into tears LOUDLY at any times. Moldovans hate to hear kids cry.

We made it through dividing my mom's things and have packed up a lot of it. I think that was the hardest part. So now we just try to deal with her "not being here."

I've enjoyed visiting every day with my dad. I know the time with him is limited too. So it is nice being able to see him daily. He is doing okay too. Yesterday he said, "I don't know what I'd do without the Lord."

Time to help my sister make dinner. Fajitas tonight and it will be delicious.

Sunlight

Today the sun is shining brightly, but it is so cold outside and a blustery wind is blowing. Today in my heart the sun tries to break through the blustery cold....

It is a week since my mom's beautiful funeral, if a funeral can be beautiful. I'm told the pain of grief will last, but ebb and flow within my heart as the tide. Yesterday was not a good day, but a very empty & painful one.

But in the midst of the pain, I do want to say that I'm so thankful.

I'm thankful for a friend, Garry, who was called 2 days before my mom died to pray for our family. He did not know why, but he began to pray obediently and has been praying for us since.

I'm thankful for an incredible God who spoke to my dad the morning of my mom's death and said, "today I'm taking your lovely wife to come home with me." Dad didn't want to lose her, but if God said it, he was willing to let her go.

I'm thankful for the many people from the churches around here where my siblings attend that showed their love by bringing breakfast, lunch and dinner to us for over a week. We didn't have to think about what to cook, but just needed to look in the fridge and pull out what was necessary.

I'm thankful for friends who have written such kind words of encouragement to us and who have just been there to talk and to listen when needed.

I'm thankful that my family could be here with me. That the girls were here to mourn their grandma and especially that Andy could be here to walk through this with me.

I'm thankful for my sister and brother-in-law who have given us a place to stay while we are here.

I'm thankful for the great trip I had with my mom and sister last summer and for the times my mom was able to come to Moldova.

But most of all, I'm thankful for 41 years and 2 months to know my mom. I'm thankful for the godly woman she was. I'm thankful that she taught me to pray and love Scripture. I'm thankful for her love and I'm thankful that she wasn't perfect (except in giving birthday parties!) I'm thankful for phone conversations, even when I was so many miles away and I'm thankful for rapid air travel.

Please continue to pray for us. The rough road is not over. The girls are doing well, but I know they will have moments of ebb and flow too. I know that Lauren's memories of her grandma will become distant and that will bother her. These things are normal.

Pray for Andy as he returns to Moldova on Sunday and then tries to figure out our situation with the living permit issues. This is still in the air and as we try to find out what to do, it is different from each person we talk to about it.

Pray for my family as a whole as we continue to go through my mom's things and deal with what to keep and what to save.

Thanks.

At the feet of Jesus

My mom went to be with Jesus Sunday evening. My best friend from High School said she thinks about that person now sitting at the feet of Jesus. It has been a hard day and we are still grieving her loss. But it is good to be with my family.

Andy and the girls will follow in a day or so. Please pray for our family and pray for all of those coming for the funeral. Many will be flying in over the next days.

I'm really jet lagged right now so I can't type any more.

Nancy

Sadness

I just had a call from my brother a short time ago. My mom had a very serious stroke this morning. She is breathing but not responsive at all.

As you can see from the former post from this morning, I am leaving already in the morning. But my heart is heavy and we are all mourning. The girls feel the great loss of their grandma. I feel the loss of the loss of my mother. She is an amazing woman.

Pray for Andy and the girls as they stay here.

Pray for my mom. Only a miracle will raise her up.

Pray for me as I travel that all goes without delays and I can get there tomorrow evening.

This and That

My titles are very compelling, I know. I always struggled in titling my stories in school. Guess nothing has changed.

Tomorrow (Monday) I'm leaving on jet plane. I'll be back in just under 2 weeks. I'm going to Minnesota to see my parents. So very glad that I have this opportunity. I sit this morning with the same feelings I had before going to India. I hate leaving the girls and Andy. They will be fine without me, but I'm fine.

Every friend we have here has asked how they can help when I am gone. I have told them to check with Andy. Why is it that when the mom leaves everyone asks the mom, but when the dad leaves, no one asks? I have complete confidence in Andy, but I will miss them all.

My emotions are so mixed because I'm glad I can see my dad again, glad I have time to visit with my mom. We'll celebrate my parents 54th anniversary as an entire family and have a few other fun family functions. I'm so glad I get to go and then I also hate leaving. Mixed emotions.

Our living permits are still in limbo. Please continue to pray for this. Andy has his permit, but Shauna, our teacher and I don't have ours yet. Andy and our lawyer meeting with the boss of immigration on Tuesday morning. Please pray for that meeting. This has been such a crazy thing, but we are hanging on through it all.

Thanks for your prayers.

Tuesday Update

Just a short update to say that I am feeling better today and the girls are all staying healthy.

Pastor Jeff was delayed in his arrival, but will be in this afternoon and Andy will leave to the conference after picking Jeff up from the airport.

Thanks for all your prayers for our family and our needs here.

We are back

I get back from a trip and have too much to do, thinking all the time that I need to get back and say how things went. So, now a week later, I'm finally there, ready to write!

The trip to India was good. I learned a lot and came away with a lot of ideas for implementing in Moldova. The girls did fine and so did Andy & I. We all missed one another and they were happy to have us arrive home. They'd made paper ringed streamers which were hung through the hallway and welcome home cards awaited also.

I know many of you have been reading and praying about our need for staff at the Home of Hope in Moldova. On Monday, when I returned, I had a call from a young lady who I'd been told about, but had not met. She is interested and God has moved her heart about the trafficking issue. We had a wonderful meeting together talking and sharing dreams and callings from God. I can see us moving together in this. She is incredibly sharp and willing to work wherever the need is, so I thank God for this connection.

This past Wednesday Shauna, our teacher, and I were called into immigration. Basically, they were going to deny our permits, but our lawyer convinced them to wait until the boss gets back from vacation this week. The boss has said that he will grant them to us. (Andy has his permit, but we are still waiting for our permit). So I ask you to pray for this in the coming week.

Monday evening Pastor Jeff Anderson from Rapid City, SD arrives for the week for the Molodva's Pentecostal Union pastor's conference. Please pray that this is a great week for Andy, Jeff and others to encourage the pastors and also to help them to grow in their vision and leadership. Pray also that Pastor Jeff and his staff member traveling with him have a safe and uneventful time in travel to Moldova.

And lastly if you will pray for our health. I feel like we've had a very healthy winter, but last week Andy had a bug and the same bug bit me today so right now I'm in bed feeling very tired, but unable to sleep. Pray that God keeps the girls healthy this week. I keep thinking that 2 years ago I ended up with a mattress on my floor for all 3 girls the week of the pastor's conference as they were all sick at the same time.

God is good through all that we do and he is keeping us in his hand. We thank him for his mercies that are new with each day. Blessings to you today.

To Travel

On Saturday Andy and I leave for a week in India. We will have 4 days of training on a new curriculum for aftercare for women trafficked in prostitution. After this we will have 2 days of Project Rescue Leadership meetings.

The kids will be well taken care. They don't get upset about us going and are looking forward to time with their favorite baby sitter, Daniela, and time with "Uncle Troy & Aunt Heidi", fellow missionaries on the field (and their 15 year old daughter). I am the one who always struggles with the leaving. I am the one who dreads saying good-bye.

When we entered into missions and attended our first School of Missions we gave our children into the hands of college age MK's and were told "now is the time to learn to trust. Over and over you need to put them into the hands of God and trust him for their care." I think of this every time I leave the kids. I am again learning to trust God for their care for the next week.

Please keep us in your prayers over the next week. Pray for the girls at home. Their safety and their peace. Pray for us as we travel. Our safety and our peace.

And pray that this week would be a great week of God speaking to our hearts about the future of this ministry to women in Moldova and that he would guide us and help us as we go.

Blessings to you today.

Prayer for the New Year

We are now 4 days into the New Year. Here that means it is very cold and icy, but we are glad to have a warm roof over our heads!

I have a few things to ask you to pray for as we start this year.

1. Our living permits are still in waiting. We were told to wait until January and that is here, but now the offices are closed to we are waiting. Pray that now they come through without problem.

2. House of Hope staffing. I need to find the right people work in this home, especially the director. Please pray for that.

3. Continue to pray for my parents. My dad has moved into the care home and it is hard on both of my parents to be apart even when it was so hard for my mom when they were together. Continue to pray that God's peace would reign over them in this time of transition and great change in their lives.

Have a wonderful New Year.

Family Time

We had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. This week we are just enjoying time as a family and at home. It is a nice time. As I look out our village, the trees are covered in hoarfrost and the thick fog covers all the houses. But it is beautiful to be inside and relaxing.

Please pray this week for my family. My dad will be moved to a Alzheimer's care unit on the 2nd of January. This is a hard for the whole family but especially my mom. So please be in prayer all of the family. My dad has been told, but he really doesn't remember or understand at this point.

Thanks for your prayers.

My Day

In Romanian a birthday is referred to as "Your Day". Today is My Day.

Someone asked if the girls were excited for Christmas. Not until tomorrow. They have to get past my birthday on the 16th each year and then they can be excited for Christmas.

With a December birthday people always wonder if the celebration gets lost in the Christmas celebration. Never. Not with Elissa, Natalie and Lauren. The youngest two woke me up bounding on my bed, sang "Happy Birthday" and snuggled nicely. Elissa presented me with a card first thing when she got up.

We had a nice day and their dad helped buy the nice gifts that they presented me this evening. It was a lot of un. So tomorrow, since it won't be my day any longer, we'll try to get Christmas shaping up around here.

New Beds

A week ago the container was released. I have been busy unpacking for the last week, putting things in place. The first night we had our bed set up and Elissa just slept on her bed on the floor. Natalie and Lauren got theirs the next day. We have been sleeping wonderfully ever since.

I could do a commercial for Simmons Beauty Rest. I haven't slept well for years and had constant sore backs, but no more. Before the new mattresses Andy said, "we never need to set an alarm any longer". True. We'd wake at 5 and get up at 6 with ease. Today we definitely know we have to start setting an alarm because we overslept again. Oops.

Thanks Frank and Robin for the blessing of the discount to make these affordable for us!

Our Christmas tree was also in the container so now that is up and we'll finish decorating it in the next few days.

So these little joys in life are wonderful. But please continue to keep our family in prayer. There are still many roadblocks ahead in our life here. We know we are called here and that God will make the way.

Besides the container and permits there are many other little things and the girls are happy to be back, but they also miss life and church in America in a way they have not before. So they are still working to adjust.

The other day a friend from Finland wrote these words, "It is a new day - though here in the north so dark with rarely any ray of light on the horizon for weeks now - and truly comforting to know that His grace is sufficient."

I feel like these words are true to our lives, although we do not have the physical darkness of December in the far north, we have had a darkness in the battles of the spirit. But it is comforting to know, as Marja wrote, that His grace is sufficient for each new day. There is a beauty and peace in knowing we serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords who watches out for us and cares for all our needs.

Be blessed today.

Thanksgiving day

Our table will be spread with Ocean Spray Cranberries, which I found yesterday. We have fresh sweet potatoes, which someone graciously brought us from the states. There will be potatoes and dressing, gravy and beans and a skinny village turkey who gave his life for us yesterday. His lack of size will be supplemented with roast chicken. Even without the Butterball it is STILL very much Thanksgiving Day.

So many forget the thankfulness of the day and only focus on the turkey. And the tradition of America is a great meal set on the table this day in November.

But today amidst the craziness of our lives, I'm glad for a day to stop and give thanks. We have so much to be thankful for today.

First is God's great gift of salvation through his Son, Jesus. That is amazing. I'm thankful for His Holy Spirit who intercedes for us when we don't have the words to do so and comforts us with a peace that passes all understanding.

I'm thankful that God called me to Moldova and gives me the great privilege of serving Him here.

I'm thankful for a wonderful husband and three wonderful girls who also love to live and serve in Moldova.

I'm thankful for Shauna, who has given this year to teach our girls, freeing my time.

I'm thankful for all of those who have given to build the Home of Hope and I'm thankful for Misha, Victor, Valentin and the rest of the crew over there that are doing such a beautiful job constructing the home. They give of their time (even if it is a job) so willingly and stay in the home, even still, when the heat is not quite yet in!

I'm thankful for each one who supports us in giving and in prayer.

I'm thankful for our health and our strength for each new day.

God has blessed us so much and it is good to stop and Thank him for all the blessings, even if the turkey has exercised a bit too much in his life to make him fat and tender, I'm thankful that we found one just to say we could taste it today!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Tired of the Battle

Right now we are exhausted. Since returning to Moldova in August we have had one battle after another.

Our container is still not released in Ukraine. It is a waste of time to tell all that has gone on, but the fight with it continues and the shipping company there continues to make problems, although they had promised that the container would be released on Monday.

The problems continue to rise and we are really lost about what to do.

Please intercede for us. We are just lost about this and we are exhausted in the battle.

We want to just get this stuff done and be able to concentrate on the work we came here to do.

Family Matters

Please pray this week for my family in Minnesota.

Some of you know my dad has Alzheimer's. His disease is affecting his physical body faster than the deterioration of his mind. His care is becoming a 24/7 job that my mom just cannot manage alone. The wear on my mom's physical and emotional being is also very evident.

I'm very blessed to be the youngest of 6 children. Four of my siblings all live within a 20 minute radius of my parents. They have been meeting and this week they are going to talk to my parents about how they are going to need to make a change in their living situation. They just can't manage on their own any longer.

It is tough because my dad needs care, but his mind is still enough there that a memory care facility isn't right for him. My mom could still live many years easily on her own and so isn't quite ready for assisted living. But something has to happen that they can both deal with. They'll be married 54 years in March and to talk of splitting them up isn't easy either.

This week my brothers will talk with my dad and a nurse will evaluate him. They will also need to talk with my mom. The holidays are going to be very tough for my family there.

I ask you to pray for my family, the Horns, this week.

And I know you wonder how I'm doing. I'm okay with all of this. I have been dealing with this in a different way and maybe processing longer than the rest because I've been away so. I also knew last year that it was most likely my last year with my dad and that I'd be leaving him maybe for the last time when I boarded the plane in August. So, I'd been dealing with this for some time. But, yes, it is still hard to be slowly losing my dad.

I know that the weeks ahead are going to be hard for all those involved. Please pray for wisdom in words, grace and dignity in actions and peace in the storm as we cross one of these hurdles that is always a difficulty in life.

Thanks for your prayers, once again.

Blessings.

Peace in the midst

Today the rain is falling. It is cold and seems that it could easily turn to snow. I just want to stay indoors! On Sunday morning the wind blew and it kept knocking out our power as I tried to get ready for Church. It would go off and on, off and on. This is the time of unexpected weather!

Our lives continue to hold the unexpected also. We still don't have permits in hand, but we've been told to relax and they will happen. So we are relaxing and we'll see what happens in early December.

And our container with our shipment is in port, has been paid by the company we work with all the way from the US to our fair city, but the trucking company in Ukraine is trying to extort money from us.

Yes, we can say these are spiritual battles and they are. But sometimes I think they are more battles to help us grow in Christ and to help us be formed spiritually. Things don't work right in this part of the world. The governments are corrupt. Our government here is more authoritarian. (No matter what your politics, be thankful for the checks and balances in America). So because of these things, there is a battle.

I think the battle is far beyond only our family. Yes, it is a huge frustration, but anyone who has lived overseas knows that the governments and systems overseas don't operate like in America and people that are corrupt routinely get away with it and get rich doing so. The battle is a spiritual battle not just for our family, but for the very soul of this country.

So please pray that we can quickly resolve the issue with the shipment. But also pray for a spiritual break through here in Moldova and for other countries that are held by such power of darkness.

I thank you also for your prayers because I do feel God's peace on my life in this time.

Found my friend

These last weeks have been extremely difficult. The stress of not knowing and wondering what we need to do has been huge. We are not all the way through this yet, as we still don't have documents, but we are assured they will come and so we wait.

Last Friday we were having coffee at our favorite cafe' and I found my friend, Nastia. I have written about her in the past. Many have prayed for her and written to ask how she is. Well, I couldn't find her. Several times I'd called her cell phone, but it was always off. This usually means someone has left that number. Nothing helped me to find her.

So in the restaurant Elissa says to me, "Mom, is that Nastia?" The woman was going down the stairs to leave the restaurant and I could not see her face. So I ran after the woman and said, "Nastia?" She turned and we had a happy reunion.

It is a long story of what has happened to her life in the past 1 1/2 years, but she is married to a Greek, has a beautiful baby girl and lives here and in Romania. It was just wonderful to see her, meet her husband and baby. They were leaving the country again that day, but she will be back in a few weeks and we will meet intentionally at that time. I'm so glad to have an answer to her where abouts. Thanks for your continued to prayers for her.

No Ground Gained

Thanks to all of you who have been standing with us in prayer for our living permits.

We had a meeting today with the man who can grant or not grant our permits.

The meeting today did not go well. Still no permits. The man was not favorable to our cause, although he knows it well. He really didn't care about our problem.

We are not done exhausting our options. We asked for a document from this man stating the quota and he gave it to us for last year. Andy met with David Franz, from the US Embassy, immediately after the meeting and showed him the document and they will use it for diplomatic leverage because there are many who want to work in America and he has given 10,000 this year already to Moldovans. Maybe it will help. We don't know.

Phillip Cameroon, (AG from Alabama) who operates Stella's House transitional housing here has a great relationship with several people in the government. He comes on Wednesday or Thursday and Andy is going to see if he can do anything for us.

Keep praying. We have until October 31 and then we have to decide where to go! But we are praying until then. We know God can work a miracle in this situation and we do need it today.

We do not want to leave our home or our work here. We have so much to do in the next months and we need God to do something big. Please pray for a miracle!

Blessings,
Nancy

No Permits Yet

Some have e-mailed us and asked what is happening with our permits. We are still waiting. Andy is going to try to meet with some people this week and we keep pressing on. Pray that these meetings are blessed and that God opens the way for us.

Thanks to all who are praying and please continue to pray for us.

Blessings

A New Understanding

This wait and fight for the living permits definitely has given me a new understanding of others who have gone through this! We are not the first and only and it is not just limited to Moldova. It is a stress of missions that I didn't understand until now.

These next weeks are crucial. We need permits by the 31st of the month and it would be nice if they were even before that time.

This month we have a lot of teams helping us with the construction on the Home of Hope. Teams always add a lot more work to life here and added stress, (although we LOVE the work they do!) But this time I don't even notice the stress of that because this whole "Will I be here in 3 weeks?" is a greater stress. The other day Elissa said, "I don't want to spend Christmas somewhere else!" Three months of exile is a long time for kids!

Please continue to pray and believe with us that the heart of the one saying we cannot have the permit will be changed. Please pray also for peace in our hearts and pray that God would just make a mighty way before us so that the work that is happening now will not be stopped because of this.

We would also like to ask that if any can fast and pray with us on this, that they'd let us know. If you fast a meal or fast a day. Jesus said, "these come out only with prayer and fasting" and I do believe this is a great spiritual battle at this moment.

Thanks for your prayers.

living permit woes

There are 3 parts to our living permits. We rejoiced that the first was granted. Now the man in charge says he won't do the 2nd part. If he does not do the 2nd or 3rd parts, we have to leave.

This office continues to make up the rules as they go and ask for off the wall information from us.

Would you please pray that these permits are finished THIS WEEK? We need a miracle. What this process does is take our mental energy and exhaust us. It leaves us with depleted energy for the task we need to do and pulls from us for what we need to do.

We love this country. We hate these processes and we hate the corruption that has caused it.

So as you pray for these permits for us today, pray not just for us and the immediate. Pray also for those that are to come needing this. Not just those with AGWM, but all personnel here. Pray that the process is simplified and can be done quickly.

But pray fervently that we can get the permits and be done with it.

Thanks.

Lord of the Harvest

This week I've been feeling overwhelmed, largely because we need some workers. I need a director for the Home of Hope. Andy needs office personnel. We need someone that can work in our home and stay with our children when they are done with school in the day.

The woman I had asked to be director of Home of Hope turned me down. I'm okay with that. I still think she'd be great, but she doesn't feel like it can be in her life at this time. But it leaves me wondering who can be the Moldavian director for this home with a passion for the lost, a passion for hurting women and a passion for victims of trafficking.

Andy needs someone that can work with teams in translating, organize things, translating materials and do work in the office.

We need someone in our home that it is not just about the money they make, but it is about being with our family and helping the children. (This also helps the children with language and culture).

We need people that don't just see all of these as jobs, but as places of ministry in their lives. The verse that continually comes to my mind is "pray ye the Lord of the Harvest that He would send laborers into the field".

Many other issues surround this but I know that we just need God to make the way and call the right people to work with us and get these great ministries off the ground.

Thanks again for your prayers. I'm always blessed and amazed when friends write and say, "I read your blog. I'm praying for you in such and such an area." Thanks for blessing me and the work here in this way.

The Power to Pray Part 2

I just wrote asking for prayer for our living permits. Our lawyer stated that the only power we had was to pray. And what a mighty power that is! He just called saying the first (and most difficult) of the permits was granted this morning. Yesterday throughout the entire day of working on this he was told we would NOT be given the permits.

Praise God who does all things well.

The Power to Pray

Once again I come to you with this urgent prayer for our living permits. All of our papers are in the hands of the man who grants or denies our living permits. He is the gatekeeper of Moldova! He has the power to give or deny our right to stay in Moldova.
He says there is a quota, but this is not true and he uses this excuse at the end of the year to deny the permits.

Will you please keep us in prayer in the next days that the permits are granted and we are able to stay? If they are denied we must leave the country for 3 months. This isn't the worst thing in the world except that everything we are doing would stop. The greatest things this means to us is that the House of Hope could not be open in January and that would be terrible.

So please pray for this urgent situation. Our lawyer who has worked this process through for us has said many times, "the only thing we have the power to do is pray." We know that this is a great power.

Thanks.

More than one way

There is an old saying, "there is more than one way to skin a cat". Our garbage still has not been taken away, but some kind neighbor decided to light our stinking garbage on fire today! It definitely dropped the pile of garbage down. Andy and I were gone looking at the HoH project and Elissa called saying, "Our garbage is on fire!" So she and our friend, Natasha, took the hose and put the fire out. The fire did drop the garbage down by quite a bit and it doesn't seem to stink so badly now as we continue to wait for garbage pick up.

On another note, I talked this week with another lady about working at the HoH. I am just so amazed by God because I really didn't know if Tanya would want to work in this but I knew that she has a heart for women and I knew that God put her on my heart to talk to about this. So she is totally with us and is going to live in the home with the women. We have 2 women now who will be full time staff living at the home. It is so awesome the way God is bringing this together.

Another answered prayer is that Natalie is sleeping really well now all through the night every night since I blogged and asked for prayer. God is so good.

Thanks for all your prayers for Moldova.

Garbage Stinks

Have you ever realized how badly garbage can smell outside your home if it is not picked up for 4 weeks and in those weeks you have 100 degree weather? We have a new realization of this.

I don't understand how things work here, but I do know we are supposed to have garbage pick up every 2 weeks. I think it has been about 4 weeks now since it has been picked up. The guy who is the head of garbage pick up in our area just doesn't do his job and for whatever reason, the mayor cannot get rid of him. We have tried to call and say, "when will garbage be taken?" The mayor says we can write a letter of complaint. Oh great. We'd really just like the stinking garbage gone from in front of our house.

Would you pray with us that the garbage issue in our area would be resolved? It is not just in our home, but our entire community.

Missions creates an interesting life. We never know what will next happen and what is not going to go right. Right now I'm glad for battery back up because the power just went out in our house! But we do know that God is here and He is leading us and guiding us and that makes for a very exciting life. He is doing great things in the country of Moldova.

Blessings on your day.

Two Requests

Today I ask you to pray for 2 very different things.

The first is for Natalie. She is our non-sleeper, but she, like everyone else in the world, needs sleep! The last few nights she has awakened at 3 or 4 in the morning and can't go back to sleep. She is afraid (she doesn't know of what) and she can't go back to sleep. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would send Natalie her sleep and rest. Pray that the peace of God would cover her all night and that she'd be able to get the sleep she needs.

The next prayer request I have for you today is for the director for the Home of Hope in Moldova. There is a wonderful woman that God has put on my heart for this ministry. She would be an incredible director. When Andy was here in March, he talked to her about this and she has been praying about it. Today I went and talked more with her about this and she has been praying, but doesn't know what God is saying. In the end she told me that really, she is very afraid. (As I was in entering into this!) Will you pray for Floarea that God would continue to lead her and that she would not give in to the fear? I want her to know that God is calling her, and not just me! But we also need to have someone that has the abilities to do the job and I do think that she can do this job well.

Have a great day. Enjoy the beautiful weather of September.

Florida Trip

Joyous Day

Today was a crazy Moldova day. We were all just ready to come home and not go out again. And then the internet man showed up, installed our modem and we have internet!

So we came home, made dinner and didn't go out again!

Now I'm not writing from in front of a friend's house, but from my couch. It is a beautiful thing and I need to go put my daughter to bed.

Living permits

I write again from the car, outside the home of friends. We have hope that the internet will be in our home today. Hopefully it works!

This morning we went to a public clinic had our blood drawn for HIV tests & blood type and x-rays for TB. This is all for our living permits in the country.

Please keep this as a matter of important prayer. The internet is one thing and it isn't major, but Living permits are major. We need them to stay in the country. There is one man that has the power to grant them or deny them. If they are denied, we must leave the country the 1st of November. But we are believing this will not happen. We need these for our family AND for Shauna, our teacher.

Yesterday we heard that the permits of 2 young women with another mission group were denied. The man who grants them said the quota is filled. But in reality there is no quota. He makes that up. So pray that this does not happen for us.

Pray that the paperwork we brought with us is correct and needed and that they won't come up with some other paperwork that we need to bring them.

Pray that the permits are granted quickly in the next few weeks and this stress can be done.

Thanks for your continued prayer.

I'm sitting in a hot car outside the home of friends. Still no internet at the house so I haven't updated here yet. Usually it is a matter of send and receive when we come here. Usually I go inside and drink iced tea while I pick up, but our friends are not home!

We are blessed to be back in Moldova. Thanks for your prayer as we traveled. We made it without any problems, but it was a long day of travel. We are fully turned around with our body clocks and keeping quite busy.

We are blessed to have Shauna here, our teacher for the girls this year. They started school yesterday and she is doing so well with them. Lauren was so excited to start Kindergarten with her and Natalie 2nd grade. Elissa is just taking it as it comes. Shauna is living with us for now and she really is wonderful to have along.

A few quick prayer requests. In the next week I'll be meeting with ladies who may work with me and the House of Hope. Please pray that these meetings are God-lead. My Romanian is better than I expected already and all of these will be done in Romanian and without interpretor, so pray for that. But also pray that we'd be of one mind and if they are to work with us, they'd know that from God.

Also, please pray that our internet situation can get remedied quickly. We don't have anything at the house. We live a bit out of the city and the phone company needs only to add something to the line but they just have to get out to get it done. Two weeks ago they said that would be two weeks and it still is not here! So please pray that this moves along. It is not just a matter of e-mail and sitting outside the home of friends, but so much of the work we do now is via internet. Please pray for this.

Thanks for keeping in touch with our prayer needs via this blog. Thanks for praying.

Sweet sleep

This is a very short note to say that we are 4 days until we leave and we are excited about it. Even with the excitement comes nerves for all of us. It is showing in the little girls, Lauren and Natalie, with bad dreams at night. This is not normal for them.

Will you pray that they can sleep well for the next nights? Pray that they have sweet sleep in the next nights so that they are ready to travel the long road to Moldova. Thanks.

Two Weeks

We are down to the wire. Two weeks from today we leave. That is exciting. I feel like that very old song "All my bags are packed. I'm ready to go..." If you don't know that song, you weren't alive in the 70's. I remember singing it in 5th grade singing time when Mrs. Nelson would play her guitar and we'd sing.

We've had a great week of vacation at the cottage of generous friends in Florida. We've played in the water, built bears at Build a Bear, saw a dolphin show and ate way too much food. It has been so good to vacation with the girls and just have time as a family to relax and have fun together.

I cannot explain how stressful the last few months have been in trying to pack, but it was not just packing a house, but sorting and storing. In missions it is always an issue that everything touched has to be decided on for the long haul. Do we keep this for storage? Do we give it to Goodwill? Do we ship it to Moldova? Where do I need it? A million decisions and I hope I've made them correctly. Everything is pretty much ready to go. We have just a very few things to deal with when we return from vacation and there is always the last bag to pack.

Please keep us in prayer these last two weeks as we say goodbye to family. My dad's health is not good and I feel this could be a final farewell. Pray that the times are special and meaningful for all of us.

Our teacher for the next year, Shauna, is traveling with us on the 31st. She will be such a blessing to our family. Pray for her as she makes her first trip overseas and really leaves home for the first time. Pray for her parents as they see her go. She is a great young woman and I think this will be a wonderful year for her and our family.

Thanks for your prayers.