To Everything There Is A Season

Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Ecc 3:2 a time to plant,

Ecc 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

Ecc 3:5 a time to embrace,

Saturday evening, July 24th in temperatures nearing 105 degrees we bid our dear friends Lanny, Whitney and Andrew good bye until the "next time"!

It has been an incredible month. God always uses this team to bless Galati is a special way. If I'm not mistaken, with the exception of Sundays, Lanny was on the tennis court each morning by 8:00 a.m. Hitting the balls with whoever was there or playing tennis with anyone who felt up to the challenge! He made friends with a young boy named Costel that lives in our apartment building, naturally it was the game of tennis that brought them together. Lanny took the opportunity to share the gospel several times this summer while he was on the red clay courts. He is well known around the courts from his previous visits here and the tennis players always look forward to his return.

Whitney just finished her first year in college! We are hoping that her schedule will allow her to continue to return. Everyone here loves Whitney. She has a dynamic personality, beautiful smile and the love of Jesus shines from her face. She spent her summer teaching the girls at the Children's Home how to speak English, playing volley ball, attending youth meetings at the local Baptist Church, attending the young ladies Bible study group in my home and those are only some of the things I am aware of.

Andrew who is a computer whiz, spent much of his time setting up a much needed web page. What a great job he turned out!

In addition to the things mentioned above, Lanny, Whitney and Andrew spent time on the streets of the city with us, pounding the pavement looking for people to visit. They are not afraid to "Share Jesus Without Fear", hand out gospel tracts, prayer walk or whatever you ask of them. Cameron, you are a great team!

During these 4 short weeks you were here, you planted many seeds, we have indeed wept together as well as laughed and last night we embraced until the next time.

Continue to bless others and be blessed. We love you. Randy and Teresa

Work in Zone 12

Lanny posts again!

http://iveneverownedabox.blogspot.com/2009/07/zone-12.html

Or click on the link on the right of this page.

Using Your God Given Gift

Whitney teaching English at Betesda, the Girl's Home


Rom 12:6 So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have;
Rom 12:7 if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach;


Wow, it's already July 21st. Where has the summer gone? What have you done during your summer vacation? Have you enjoyed your time away from school and study? Here is the clincher....did you use you God given talents to make a difference in someone's life this summer?

Whitney Lake and her Father Lanny take 4 weeks of their summer vacation to come to Romania to help those less fortunate and lost in darkness and hopelessness. Whitney is a college student and is considering a career as a teacher. The girls at Betesda have been blessed by her talent/gift of teaching these past weeks. Whitney has made learning English a fun adventure for them. At the same time Whitney has been helping the girls learn to speak English, she has been a shinning example of the love of Jesus Christ.

Whitney and Lanny, who has assisted in the English lessons, are true servants for the Lord. They give sacrifically out of a heart of love. As a result, they have made an impact on the lives of countless Romanians of all ages. After they leave to return home, people stop Randy and me of the street and ask us "When are Whitney and Lanny coming back?"

Are you using the gifts God has given you, or are you letting them go to waste? Consider using your gifts for the Glory of God. You will bless many people in the process and you will be blessed beyond measure.

Thank you Lanny and Whitney for everything you do.

Gheorghe

photo by Lanny
Last night we were able to make connections with Gheorghe (Troy‘s blog May 4). Costel, Lanny and I had been missing that connection recently with the exception of finding him when he was too busy to stop what he was doing and study the Bible with us. Troy has had at least two Bible studies with him, I was at one where Gheorghe asked many questions regarding his life and what God thought about the way his life was going. Last night was no exception, we started the study with the first lesson in the people who knew Jesus booklet, and soon had moved on into a much more personal look at how God was wanting us personally to live the life that God had given us.
Shortly after Costel had done an excellent and painstaken illustration of what a gift was, we move into the area of family relations. Gheorghe’s father is a drunk, and has been in that condition for 20 years. Gheorghe said that there is no peace in the home because of his fathers drinking. He had several questions regarding the Bible and God concerning his father. My first thought was God has turn that man over to his own desires, so I asked my trusty Bible search engine where that verse was, I got the answer in only a few seconds, Lanny said Romans 1.
(24) So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. (25) Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.
We would say “He let the pig woller in the mud.” That is the point of this blog, if you are a child og God, God will correct you. If you are not a child of God and refuse to listen to His instruction, the 10 commandments
(see 1 Tim 1:8-10), He will let you have your sin and become like Gheorghe fathers a sinner (drunk) who looks and acts like the sin (drunkard, see Gal 5:20). Be very aware, they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Gal 5:21



1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

43 Days and Counting!

But who's counting anyway? Grandpa Randy and Nanny Teresa, that's who! In case you haven't guessed, this is Emma Marie, our Granddaughter. Forty-three days from now will be the first time we get to hold her. Needless to say, we are a bit excited.

We arrived in Romania April 7th, 2008. The last time we saw most of our family and friends was in January, 2008. Today's date is Monday, July 20, 2009, so you see, it's been a spell since we were with our family and friends back home.

Randy and I were called to do God's work. The call was so evident to us and we wanted to be obedient to the Lord. We knew that God had a plan for our lives, in faith we would follow Him where His plan would lead. God's plans separated us from the ones we loved.

Do you remember the plan God had for his son Jesus? When Jesus was just 30 years old, in obedience to his Father he left his home and family that he loved to begin his ministry. When you are called to God's work and you follow in obedience, that call will lead you sometimes far away and separate you from your loved ones.

There is comfort to be found in answering the call and going wherever it may lead. It is true the journey may take you a great distance from your family and a brand new granddaughter, friends and a very special church back home. BUT all the distance in the world can never separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. He is our constant companion through every joy, victory, sorrow whatever we experience, He is there. We are never alone.

Yes, Randy and I get lonesome for our family and friends back home. However, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have been called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
God has been faithful, His mercies are new each morning. We have learned to lean on Jesus.

Rom 8:35 Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death?