What an AMAZING month May has been! God has blessed us with a team of 126 college students from FUEL (a college group at Eastview Christian Church) who fund-raised, donated, collected, planned, and worked in order to come over to Tinca, Romania and serve those who have been outcast, abused, broken, and deceived.
The team raised enough money to build 22 outhouses throughout the Gypsy village, built a new house entirely for one of our sponsored families, provided repairs to our other families’ homes, painted the Isaiah Center (inside & outside), built a fence at the center, a playground, put in shelves, held sports camps and vbs, and so much more.
Though we had different obstacles to overcome (Satan was definitely threatened by this team), our God is SO much bigger and He provided a way for everything to happen and BLESSINGS to be poured out not only on the Gypsy village, but on the FMN staff as well. The team was an encouragement to ALL of those around them and God used them to touch MANY lives in the week that they served with us.
On the last day, there were 11 baptisms just from team members alone. Later that night, we showed the Jesus Film to hundreds of people, adults and children. After the film ended and Brandon Grant (the team leader) gave a closing invitation to which many people came forward (ALL were crying) and decided to make Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior. PRAISE THE LORD!
During the film, I was able to sit in my car with one of the mothers who has their children in the Isaiah Center, and she began telling me of how they cannot trust anyone in their village, and they are excluded from ever receiving help or donations, because they do not belong to a certain congregation. She later went on to express that she had been talking to her neighbors all week while the team was working and they had decided that “…this (pointing to the team) must have been what Jesus was talking about.” “They love us and help us no matter who we are or what church we belong to…they just love us.” At that moment I just wanted to give her a huge hug and scream, “That’s it! That’s it! You’ve got it! This is the love of CHRIST!!”
We also had another mother, who has 2 children at the Isaiah Center, give her life to Christ that evening. We have SO many reasons to rejoice and be glad!
We cannot thank the FUEL team enough for their hard work, their dedication, the love that they POURED out upon the unloved, and their prayers! We will prayerfully continue to build now upon the foundation that they have helped us lay amongst the Roma community in Tinca. In one week, they have knocked down and destroyed many walls that kept us from reaching certain families.
May God receive all the GLORY!
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I am so glad that everything worked out the week the team was there. It sounds like they got so much accomplished in such a short time. Keep up the good work. Love to all.
June 5th, 2008 at 5:11 am
Wow, what a nice report. I was blessed to be a part of it all. I pray God will keep blessing and working in the hearts of the Roma people. I am praying God will show me where I go from here. I give Him all the praise, and thank Him for the opportunity to join in what He is doing in Romania.
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
What a PRAISE! It’s so exciting to read how God
worked through the team of 126…amazing stuff!
We are so looking forward to coming in October. God
must be smiling on your ministry Rachel!