pastmoldmin

Past Moldovan Minutes--
What Happened Last Two Months

January, 2004

MOLDOVAN MINUTES #1--2004

A New Year has begun for the Moldovan Team. We had a great Christmas and New Years and opportunities to show love to many Moldovan friends. We were able to provide Christmas gift bags through several churches to children that would not have received anything. We got to see the joy on their faces and the parents also and God through the local church got the Glory. Harriet’s mom was able to see where we live and enjoyed meeting so many wonderful Christian brothers and sisters in Moldova.
Since our last newsletter (sent to you in November by snail mail), we have started meeting with our new Moldovan Facilitation Team for the Alliance for SCP.

The team consists of l-r, Ribca’s-Igor, Tanya & Marina, Belov’s—Sasha, Luda, & Phillip, Caldwell’s, Owens’-Jeff, Robin, & Paulina, and Diana Munteanu (beside Sam)

We are working on team development, prayer, and then will concentrate on research and training. We meet every Tuesday so remember us on this day.

Sam takes either Igor or Sasha to various opportunities that he has for training within the Pentecostal or Baptist Unions. Diana is our interpreter and also works on evangelism in the village where Igor is a church planter. Jeff and Robin are concentrating on cultural acquisition and language as well as home-schooling Paulina. This takes most of their time. We will begin meeting for Bible Study today with just the Owens for building of our relationships and World Team requirements.
As we work in this culture it is so helpful to have input from Nationals. When we listen to them and plan activities together then we don’t make as many mistakes. Sometimes we wonder who is helping who. We are including our Purpose and Vision statement for your information. As you can tell it was written by a Western, Sam. The next step is to refine it with National input. Perhaps then some of the big words will be replaced with meaning.

Purpose:
We desire to glorify God by working together with Moldovans and expatriate missionaries to establish a church planting movement in Moldova that will result in a church in each neighborhood and with the potential to reach neighboring areas, including Central Asia.
Vision:
The Resident Missionary Team in Moldova is a facilitative ministry. This means helping nationals see their role in filling Moldova with churches. There are several interrelated functions in facilitation for church planting movements; research; vision casting; mobilization for prayer; training; mentoring; and systematic execution of church planting. The Resident Missionary Team is responsible to facilitate a common vision for a church in each neighborhood; encouraging and nurturing the saturation church planting vision and assisting strategies on a country-wide basis. The team seeks to work synergistically and apostolically with the entire evangelical body of believers in Moldova.
Needs:
We are presently helping to fund our national workers out of our own support money. One of them has established relationships in America with a partnering church so his funds come through them, but the other couple and single are paid from Sam and Harriet’s own support money. If you would like to partner with these nationals who potentially will become the trainers in Moldova, then you can be a part of that. They each need about $200/month, so 10 supporters at $20/mon. for each would do it. Do you want to be a part of this exciting ministry to saturate Moldova with the gospel?

Prayer:
1. Pray for barriers of language and communication and acceptance for us with others that we relate.
2. Pray for our time together as a couple not to be interrupted as often as it is now. Often we do not have time to talk without the doorbell ringing, the phone ringing, or guests being here.
3. Pray for our team to relate and understand each other well and develop good relationships.
4. Pray for us to hear God well and do only as He directs that we will not plan and then ask His blessings, but will hear His voice clearly.
5. Pray that we would grow deeper in our understanding and application of the Gospel Message.
6. Pray for Harriet's back pain to be completely healed so that she can function in the winter weather. (One week of pain so far)
7. Pray for Vacilly as he is fixing a problem on our car and trying to keep the costs down.