PointingUpwards. Romania

So, to day I unveil the new name of my blog: PointingUpwards. Romania.  First off, "Why the change?"  Well, me being the last one to understand something, didn't realize that the Master's Commission's worship team back home  was named Justice Cry...So, to not bring any confusion to those searching for their ministry on Google, I was given good advice to make a name change.  After praying about it, God put this message on my heart: Pointing Upwards!

I'm not writing this blog to squeeze encouragement out of people.  These posts aren't for my praise.  I'm not here in Romania for a Europian adventure, and my ministry is weak on my own.  Sure, I can be a convincing individual and with fancy words sway hearts...but it all falls flat if God is not the one working in me and then through me.  I'm just a glove that He slips His hand into.  I'm just a window that He cleaned and now shines through.  I'm deaf, dumb, and blind without him...and so I want everyone to know that this blog is about His praise.

It's about Pointing Upward.  It's about people looking through the window and seeing the glorious light inside, that they might take a place by the fire!  It's about true worship; faith in action brings God the Glory He deserves.  In the end I will pass away and be forgotten...but when I leave, I wanna hear God say that I pointed them in the right direction!  The direction of someone who will never pass away...

So, I wanna say Slava Domnului (Glory to God)!  We relaunched a ministry that closed down some time ago called: Micro Kids (Meecrow kids).  It's a children’s ministry where we go into a village and invite all the children to a meeting place where we have games, a lesson, and worship.  Many of the parents come.  We have learned that one of the ways into a parent's heart is through blessing their children.  Back Home in Louisiana we did something similar and found that it gave us a doorway to minister to the community at large.  So, we took what we normally do back home and did it here; Master's Commission Romania Style!

Remember the church I wrote about in Ludesti that blessed us with English music?  Well, that church asked us to do our first ever micro kids there!  We went into the streets inviting all the children we saw, and 91 kids came!  This is not counting some of the parents and older siblings!

Our lesson was on God being number one in our life!  We had worship, dramas, games, and I gave the lesson intro.  Needless to say the kids had a blast.  The church wanted us to stay longer, kids were trying to bring their new American friends home with them, and the elderly were excited to see young people serving the Lord...That's what this is all about. If these children can grab a hold of Jesus now, man, they can escape many self-destructive experiences. 

When we began to go from house to house I saw some very interesting things.  I saw a group of men drinking beers and smoking cigarettes, married, yet trying to whistle at our girls.  Women on the verge of beating their children.  There was a certain innocents with this culture, I guessing from the lack of TV and computers, but at the same time, many of these kids probably don't have the best home life.  This is no different than America, but wherever there is a need for love, we want to be there.  And if these kids can get a hold of Jesus, than the future of that village will change.

Alcoholism won't exist, abuse will fade away, and faithfulness will be a standard for every marriage.  Our hope is that through our continued efforts people will begin to see who we're pointing at...and our world will change.  But it's God's light inside of us that will truly make the change...all we have to do is Point Upward!

Please pray that this ministry will continue to grow and that we'll get the deeds to other sights.  We want to expand this ministry but right now we are waiting on the government’s approval.  The Orthodox Church of Romania doesn't like it when other churches do things like this, and the government doesn't like to go against the wishes of the Orthodox Church.  So pray that we'll have their blessing, to get more involved in the community and meet more needs!  Also, continue to keep our preparation for tour in your prayers.

On the praise report side, we're all recovering very rapidly from our sicknesses, and as soon as Sorin gets over his cough, we'll all be good!  Thank you so much for your prayers and partnership with us!

Here are some pictures and a video of our first ever Micro Kids!

Guilt and Healing

So I'll admit, I've struggled with writing this blog.  When you're doing ministry you often deal with some very personal issues, and those things don't really need to be broad cast.  In these past two weeks, that's what we've really been dealing a lot with.

So, for the sake of those who have said, "Please don't tell anyone about this." I can't tell stories of what they have done, but I can tell of how awesome God is!  At one time I heard a pastor say this, "God can't cover, what you don't first uncover."  I have personally found this to be true and have watched this be true in others!

Guilt can be an awful thing that separates us from others.  It causes us to feel alone in our struggles and pushes people away from our heart.  No one truly gets to know who we are because we won't get to be totally vulnerable in front of them.  We're off on the side where the enemy can pick us off, one by one.  Before we know it, we're up to our ears in sin and drowning in our shame.

I feel like Americans tend to broad cast their sin whereas Romanians are a little more private.  This is not necessarily a bad thing considering that the reason for their privacy is linked to great remorse.  They feel the weight of what they've done and want it gone.  But sooner or later guilt eats you alive...it's not a noble thing to carry guilt...but it is honorable to humble oneself and admit that a mistake was made, and that help is needed.

Over these past two weeks I have been able to help people come against addictions, broken families, and guilt.  I have seen beautiful moments where someone has come to me and said, "I've never told anyone this before, and please don't say anything. Please."  Healing is an awesome thing.  You start off watching someone bent over by shame, hurt, regret...and as God begins to work in their heart you get to watch that person straighten up, smile, and pursue the best God has for them!  I love watching this process!

With all of this, there are some very exciting things we've been doing here!  One of those is preparing for tour.  Tour is something we do to spread the gospel and recut more people to Master's Commission!  If we finish this year and then it all stops, our ministry we started here won't grow.  It'll stop when we leave.  So, we've been preparing for tour, and let me tell you, it's gonna be good.  We've got dramas, music, and some good preaching!  We're all very excited about all of this and know that many will come to know Christ because of God's hand in it!

Were also partnering with a local youth pastor Eugen, to help start a youth night!  The last one we had was very successful and saw many people who don't normally come to church come!  One of the guys who came has really been hanging around great influences in the church and I think is about ready to give himself to God!  There is just something about people coming to know Christ that really gets my adrenaline going.

Anyway, please continue to keep us in your prayers.  Our team is really battling sickness right now so please pray for health.  Also, we really want God's hand in this tour and know that He'll make it powerful!  So pray for God's guidance.  Also pray for these youth nights we're helping Eugen put together.  Most young people won't come to church, especially one that's not orthodox, but they will come to a place where friends meet.

Once again thank you so much for partnering with us!  We couldn't be doing all of this without you support and prayers!