We have another update for you today, to let you know what we've been up to so far during this fall ministry season, and to announce that we will be travelling to Canada VERY SOON in the months of November and December of this year to re-connect with family, friends, and supporters!! We can't wait to see you!!
We will be hosting an Appreciation and Information evening in WINNIPEG on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2nd, 2019. More information to come, but please mark your calendars!!
If you'd like to join our Facebook Group for more regular updates, request to join HERE.
Ministry Update:
The summer ministry season wound down toward the end of August. Jerry spent much of the summer mentoring and managing the Summer Team Volunteers who keep PdF up and running all summer by working on the construction team, on the housekeeping team, and in the kitchen. These volunteers worked SO hard and it was a pleasure to work alongside them this summer. We said goodbye to many of the volunteers over the course of the last few weeks of August as they headed home to other cities in Romania, Germany, Austria and the UK.
Since the end of summer Jerry has finally had some breathing room and time to tackle some of the items on the mile-long to-do list that's been building up since last winter. He's been spending long days working in his office returning emails, working on schedules, adjusting the Bible School application form and process, planning for snowboard instructor training for this coming winter, booking teachers for next year's Spring Bible School and corresponding with potential volunteer staff for the R.A. (Resident Assistant) positions open for the upcoming Bible School in the spring.
One HUGE praise item is that we already have 3 students who have applied to come to Bible School next spring and we have one confirmed female RA!! We're so excited about this and thankful to God for providing so far! We are confident He will continue to provide.
Jerry has also been helping out with some of the groups who have come to PdF this fall for retreats and conferences. He has helped with running the ropes course, the big zipline, and led team building activities for school groups and companies who bring their employees for team building training. It's been a busy fall so far!
In addition to all the other tasks on Jerry's plate, fall is the season when he sets aside time for Romanian language learning. Because of scheduling conflicts Jerry won't be travelling to Bucharest this year to take another 2-week language course like he did last year. Instead, he has secured an online tutor from the same language school who will do two online lessons per week for the fall season with Jerry via Skype. This means his language learning can be more flexible and that he won't be away from Chrissie and the girls for an extended period of time. Thankfully, Jerry enjoys being in his little office - he's spending lots of time in there lately!!
Another reason Jerry isn't able to take the two-week language course he did last year is because we have made plans to travel to Canada for a visit in November and December of this year! We will be heading to Vancouver and Winnipeg to re-connect with family, friends, and supporters for about 1 1/2 months before returning to Romania at the beginning of January for the busy winter ski and snowboard camp season. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible while we are in Canada in just a few short months!
Family Update:
Our family has certainly welcomed fall after a very busy spring and summer. We said goodbye to Mary in August (she stayed with us for one and a half months this summer to help with the kids) and we had a few quiet weeks as a family before the beginning of school. During this time we took a few days away from PdF during the first week of September and drove a few hours to the Sighisoara area to visit a few fortified churches in Viscri and Archita and to see the old city of Sighisoara.
We also wanted to re-connect with a few of the gypsy families Jerry met during the Bible School this year in the town of Archita. We ended up getting stranded in a rainstorm at one of the family's homes as we were bringing them some bags of food and they showed so much kindness and hospitality to us, wrapping us in towels and starting a fire in their little soba (an old wood stove), giving us flowers from their garden and some homemade plum jam. Please pray for Georgiana, her husband Istvan and their little ones Maia and Iosif. They live in a tiny one room house with his parents with no indoor heating or plumbing, and it was such a joy to visit them, hear about their life, and pray with them. We plan to visit them again soon!
We also drove over the Transfagarasan highway for the first time (a huge bucket-list item for us!) and visited Bucharest for a fun day of swimming at a water park there (and a quick visit to Ikea, of course!).
The girls began a new year of school on the 17th of September and they have had a great first few weeks. They are attending a new school this year in a different village and they are enjoying their new teachers and classmates. They wear uniforms every day, which is fun for them, and they are settling well into their new routine. Attending this school means very early mornings and a lot more driving for Chrissie, thanks to the extensive construction project happening on the only road between PdF and the village where the girls' new school is located, but having the girls in this new loving and nurturing environment has been so worth it. They're excited to go to school each morning and always have smiles on their faces when we pick them up at the end of the day.
Miriam's teacher is Gabriela and Eden's teacher is Alina. Please pray for these two women as they work hard to teach the students all year, for wisdom and guidance as they lead. We are so thankful for both Gabriela and Alina!
We've also adopted a stray kitten who the girls affectionately called "Kenny" before we took him to the vet and learned that "he" was actually a "she" whose name is now "Kenna". She lives outside and enjoys eating the scraps from our plates, playing with the girls, and catching mice. It's been fun for all of us to have a pet again.
The girls have also enjoyed spending time with Rachel from the USA once per week this fall. She is one of the Bible School students from last year who has stayed at PdF to work as a volunteer for one year. She is working 60% as a babysitter/nanny for the families at PdF and 40% on the housekeeping team. This has been a challenging role for her, and Chrissie has been working with her a lot each week in a mentorship role as Rachel adjusts to working with families from 4 different cultures. She has lots of questions and Chrissie is helping her navigate some challenging situations. Chrissie is also responsible for making Rachel's schedule each week and serving as the point-person for Rachel's job with the families. Rachel has already been a big help to the overwhelmed moms at PdF and it's been great having her help in our family.
We've also continued leading worship at church as often as we are able (usually around once a month), and we've continued to be involved with the church plant in Rasnov, Izvorul Vietii helping with leading worship whenever we can.
Needs and Prayer Requests
We are so thankful for each and every one of you who is financially supporting us and our ministry here in Romania. Looking down the road at the remainder of 2018 and 2019, we have a few financial needs that are upcoming.
Our current Romanian Visas expire in November and so we will be responsible for renewing them before we return for our visit to Canada. The costs associated with this will likely be more than $1000 CAD.
We need to rent a car and car seats for some of the Vancouver portion of our trip to Canada this year, which will cost between $600-$800 CAD.
In addition to our family's needs, Chrissie has continued her relationship with Dana from Rasnov and her two daughters, Alexia and Adina. Dana is really struggling right now with many personal and financial problems and it's sometimes hard to know the best way to help her. Currently, she needs money for her children's school fees (300 lei) and at least 200 lei for eyeglasses for herself. After many years of searching for a job, Dana was hired by a factory in Brasov but has been unable to work now for several weeks because her eyesight is too bad to see the parts she was assembling. She has lost her job until she can get glasses, but the cost is far too high for her.
The door to Dana's apartment no longer functions properly so they have had many things stolen from them recently. Jerry has been tasked with fixing her door this week and we will try to help replace some of the stolen items, mainly the children's shoes and coats.
We plan to take her to the city to get an eye exam and glasses as soon as we can, and Chrissie will be in contact with the teachers at school regarding the fees, in hopes that the children will still be allowed to go to school even though the fees for books and supplies haven't been paid. If you would like to help in any way with the financial burden Dana is facing, please send Chrissie an email (chrissiebaker@hotmail.com). Dana needs about $165 Canadian dollars in total for these needs. Please pray for Dana and her girls, to continue depending on God through their struggles and for wisdom to make good decisions for herself and her daughters.
Please pray with us:
- to praise and thank God for His provision for us to be able to return to Canada for a visit this year!- that He would continue to provide for other costs that arise regarding our trip to Canada.
- that our time in Canada would be restorative and restful, and be a time of relationship building with family, friends, and supporters.
- that the VISA renewal process would be resolved before we return to Canada for our visit, and not too expensive. And that the Romanian government would offer us a long VISA this time (at least 5 years).
- to praise and thank God for providing a wonderful school for our children where they are loved, where they are safe, and where they are cared for each day.
- that God would continue to sustain Gabriela and Alina, our children's teachers, and give them wisdom and strength to teach our girls each day.
- that God would use this fall season to give us rest and lot of preparation time for the busy ministry seasons ahead.
- that God would bring a male R.A. for Bible School who is perfectly suited for the position, and is able to lead worship from the guitar or piano.
- that God would continue to draw new students to PdF for the Spring Bible School in 2019; that He would be preparing the group of students even now.
If you'd like to join our Facebook Group for more regular updates, request to join HERE.
If you'd like to become a member of our Prayer Network and receive more regular prayer requests via email or Facebook Messenger, please send Jerry an email (jerry.baker@pdf.ro).
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