Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers this past month! We finally have two 24 hour workers and a full-time social worker to help us at the new center in Ghimbav. The children have enjoyed a great summer, and are doing well with all of the adjustments. After spending a week at the Black Sea, Amanda took them to another camp in Bistrita where they spent quality time in the mountains and had some great Bible lessons. George’s sister and her husband and two brothers also came to visit and I was able to take them and our kids and Meda to the Black Sea for a few days while George continued to work and have a break from everyone. There is hardly a moment in our lives when we are not with kids, kids, kids!!! : )
School starts for our kids next week and we are getting excited. We had been praying again about this year and how we were going to find tutors and homeschool. I found out about some scholarships being offered at the American missionary school which is very expensive. The Lord provided in a miraculous way, the school granted a huge scholarship and I will be helping as a teacher’s aid three mornings a week. This is an amazing blessing and a burden that has been graciously lifted from me….Thank you Lord!
We have some news that is difficult to share. One of the girls, Niko, will be transferred to another center soon. We have asked for prayer for her many times and we believe that God is working in her life. Unfortunately, there came a point where a decision had to be made that considered what is best, not just for Niko, but for all of the children and workers as well. There were several dangerous incidents that couldn’t be ignored and though it is heartbreaking to have to send a child away, we believe that this is the right thing to do. Niko is almost 17 years old and will be placed in a home with other girls her age. George has had several meetings with lawyers, directors, and social workers at the Department of Child Protection and they have agreed to help us in her case. The center is not far from us so we can continue to visit her and be her friends. It has a program which prepares the girls to enter the adult world, how to handle money, get a job, live on their own, etc. Please pray for Niko, she suffers greatly and has so many wounds in her heart. This is a very sad situation and we are so sorry for her.
Please pray for George and I that we can be a comfort and encouragement to each other. So often, we try to do this work in our own strength and we get tired, stressed, and discouraged. We need to ‘walk in the Spirit’ and give our worries to Jesus every day. May we also learn to ‘rejoice in the Lord always’!!
“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16,17
With Love in Christ, George` and Rebekah
