Hi friends!
It's been a few months since we last shared an update and we're here today with our Fall 2024 Update to let you know how the summer was, and what we've been up to so far this fall here in Brasov.
Oh, AND ALSO to let you know that we're headed to Winnipeg in just a few short weeks for the month of December and we hope to see you! We're planning to host a little get-together on January 2nd in the evening in Winnipeg, so save the date for that! We'd love to see you there!
Ministry Update
Jerry started in his new position, Outreach Pastor, at Calvary Chapel Brasov in September. It's a transition we were all looking forward to and it's been a great fall season as he's begun settling into his new role.
As with any transition there's a learning curve, and this fall season has been one of testing the waters, experimenting with new ideas, and beginning to implement some new ministry activities.
Jerry has taken on 3 Sundays a month of worship leading this fall, which has been a big commitment, and on the Sundays he's not leading he's usually playing the cajon (box drum) to back up one of the other leaders.
He's also introduced a worship and prayer night once a month, called WOW night. It's an opportunity for people to hear testimonies, worship, pray together and in small groups, and celebrate what God is doing.
Along with pastor Nicu, the lead pastor of the church, and a few others, he's leading a youth after school ministry once a month in the local village of Budila with FFR (Firm Foundations Romania). Several of the FFR staff and some of the youth attend the church, and it's a great opportunity to serve a community where there is no church.
Since Jerry was commissioned into his new role as Outreach Pastor, he's joined the church board of Elders and met with the other Elders regularly to discuss the church ministry, pray together, and encourage one another.
Chrissie has continued to lead the pre-teen/teen Sunday school group, which is growing. The youth seem eager to learn, are engaged in the Bible study and are looking for more. We are hoping to launch a youth program in the new year for ages 10 to 16, since there are quite a few families at church with kids in that age range. Please pray with us as we consider how to do this with wisdom, and that it would be a place of fellowship, support, and growth for the youth, and a place where they can invite their friends.
In 2025 Chrissie will also work with Silvana to reignite the Women's ministry at the church, as the women haven't been meeting for the last few years outside of Sunday services. We hope to start a once-a-month women's meeting, and we're praying for wisdom and guidance for this too.
All in all, our experience at Calvary Chapel Brasov so far has been very positive. Nicu and Silvana, the pastor and his wife, have been so encouraging and positive, and we're very grateful for the relationship we're building with them and their heart for the people of Brasov and seeing them come to know Jesus. It's truly a privilege to serve alongside Nicu and Silvana and we're looking forward to continuing to serve with them in 2025.
Jerry has continued to study toward his Masters this fall and has completed one of the program outcomes already on the topic of spiritual formation.
Since we'll be in Winnipeg soon, if you'd like to meet with us or hear more about the ministry of Calvary Chapel Brasov, please email Jerry at jerryabaker@hotmail.com or send him a message at +40746234466 on WhatsApp.
Please do plan to come to our event we plan to host on January 2. We'll send more details about that soon!
Family Update
We last updated you mid-July, at the very beginning of our summer travels. Since Jerry's sabbatical time continued until the end of August we decided to travel as much as we could this summer to spend quality time together as a family, and have as many memorable experiences together as possible.
We were invited to attend an Altogether Week (family camp) at Capernwray Hall in the north of England, and we had SUCH a great week! The girls made amazing friends with 4 other girls from Scotland and Northern Ireland, and we got to know so many wonderful families from the UK. It was a blessed week of rest, play, prayer, time in God's word, and lots and lots of tea.
The kids participated in in the kids/pre-teen program each day with Bible lessons, discussions, crafts and activities, and we joined in with most of the family activities too. The adults spent a few hours each day together in study of the Psalms, which was exactly what our souls needed.
The girls are already begging to go back again next year!
After our time at Capernwray we rode the train to London for a couple days and then rode on to Paris, which was a ghost town thanks to the Olympics. We visited a few free museums with the kids, but mostly just explored, walked as much as possible, and enjoyed our time together.
Miriam turned 12 while we were in Paris so we cashed in all our travel points we've been saving for years for some Disneyland passes and spent the day at Disneyland Paris. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us, and we had an absolute blast (and we walked about 30,000 steps in one day!!). It's a birthday Miriam won't soon forget.
We returned home to Romania for a short time before packing up the car and driving to Croatia, to our favourite camping spot by the seaside. Camping in a tent in almost 40 degree weather was a big challenge for us, but it was lovely to be back in Croatia again spending slow days by the sea and working on our paddle boarding skills.
After our time in Croatia we hopped back in the car and headed to Italy, to a ministry centre called Fermata in the heart of Tuscany, where we spent 9 days resting, spending time together in Tuscan villages eating gelato and sightseeing, and going through debrief counselling with a professional counsellor.
Because Fermata is designed for missionaries and people in full time ministry, the counselling is geared toward helping missionaries in transition work through challenges and experience healing. We found it so healing and helpful for us, although it wasn't easy. We're very grateful to the staff at Fermata for hosting us, and we'd like to return there someday.
We also enjoyed taking short day trips to Pisa to see the leaning tower, to Florence, Lucca, Lari and other nearby towns and villages - Tuscany is breathtakingly beautiful and we enjoyed it so much.
After driving back to Romania we had about a week to get the kids ready to start school for the year.
They've had a good start to the school year, although Miriam's was a little rocky due to some class changes and restructuring. She's settled into her new class now and is working hard on her school work with lots of homework each week.
Miriam has continued to play tennis this year, twice a week, in group lessons with several other girls her age.
Eden has started a modern ballet class with a couple friends from school and church and she's enjoying it a lot.
Chrissie had a hysterectomy at the beginning of October as an intervention for the health issues she's been experiencing over the last several years. We're very grateful for a wonderful doctor who provides excellent care, and she's been recovering very well with minimal pain.
The transition to Jerry's new position has been relatively seamless and we are SO grateful for what a positive experience it's been for our family. Although the fall has been busy with ministry, kids activities and sports, school, and everything else we have not felt overwhelmed or stressed, and we have truly enjoyed serving the church members and working alongside Nicu and Silvana.
We're all REALLY looking forward to our trip to Winnipeg in December, and spending Christmas with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, and we're also looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible.
Financial Update
Jerry's position at the church is unpaid - like many churches here, Calvary Chapel Brasov is not self-supporting and relies on donations from other churches and ministries in North America to cover the cost of the ministry. We're grateful to be able to contribute to the ministry here, and we're thankful to God and to all our financial supporters and our home church in Canada, Riverwood Church Community, for providing financial support for a salary for Jerry so he's able to volunteer at the church.
With a change in ministry situation has also come some big changes behind the scenes with the Great Commission Foundation and how we raise support for Jerry's salary. We have not increased the amount of support we've raised in the last 8 years, and in fact the level of support currently raised for Jerry's salary is less than where we started 8 years ago.
We are praying for God to provide the money for our visas ($2700 Canadian dollars) as well as to help us cover the cost of our travel back to Winnipeg this December.
If you or anyone you know would like to partner with us in what God is doing here in Brasov, Romania, please feel free to reach out to Jerry (jerryabaker@hotmail.com) or Chrissie (chrissiebaker@hotmail.com), or make an online donation here (The Great Commission Foundation will be updating this page soon with our new ministry information).
We appreciate you all so much, and although this last season of our life has been a challenging one we know we aren't alone. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your financial support, your prayer support, and your friendship!
Prayer Requests
Thank you for partnering with us in prayer. Please pray...
- and thank God for his provision for our family, and for leading us as we've entered into this new season.
- and praise God for our health! We are so grateful for good medical care here and the ways our physical health has been improving.
- for our children to continue thriving and for God's will to be done in their lives as they learn how to seek Him.
- for wisdom and guidance as we pursue permanent residency here in Romania.
- for safety and health during our travel to and time in Canada this winter.
- for Jerry's studies, that God would use his educational program to equip him for his new role.
- for financial provision for our visa costs.
- for financial provision for our travel costs to Canada.
- for Nicu and Silvana as they lead Calvary Chapel Brasov, for wisdom and guidance, and for God to continue growing the ministry of the church to reach those who don't know Jesus.
