Sunday, May 4, 2014

Lots of Changes

Well let's see, where to begin???

I am 37 weeks pregnant now and patiently awaiting the arrival of our baby boy. This pregnancy has been far more difficult than my pregnancy with Kylie. I've been in a lot more pain this go round, some times it's so bad that just walking around the house is too much, but most days are not so bad. I started taking some magnesium pills and they have helped tremendously. So with that and just making sure to take it easy and move slowly I've figured out how to enjoy this pregnancy. It's also been different since we live in Romania and doctors and the whole medical system is just very different than what I'm used to. I'm learning it's not just about asking questions, but asking the right questions! It's hard for me only because I'm the kind of person who loves to have all the details...and that's not really an option, so I've been learning to trust the Lord first and foremost and not be so quick to put all my trust in people and answers to my questions. It's hard but very good at the same time. The Lord has blessed me with a great doctor and I'm really thankful for her! The church we are a part of has a gypsie village they do ministry in and my doctor, after discovering we are missionaries, decided to help the women and children in the village by giving them exams and covering all the costs for the tests and medicines needed. Not to mention she has helped several women on the side for free! This is huge! In Romania, Romanians do not like gypsies and the gypsies never get good medical treatment ever. So God is really working in EVERY area of our lives!

Matt has been doing very well also. He has been given the opportunity to help manage the cafe that is run and owned by our church (it's also where we have church on Sundays). There was even some remodelling he and the team got to do which is right up his alley! I feel like he has really been given an opportunity to thrive in his natural giftings and his spiritual gifitings at the same time which has been a real blessing for him. Because Matt has been helping to manage the cafe he has been given the opportunity to disciple the staff. The vision for the cafe is that it would be a place of evangelism and discipliship and it hasn't really been able to be that yet. It's just a small part of a bigger picture as the cafe is a model of how we want to plant churches throughout Romania and other parts of Europe. Also he and Sean have been leading a Bible study with some men from the church. It started out that they were going to teach one friend of ours how to study the Bible inductively and then as some of the other guys heard about it they wanted to come too. So praise the Lord, now they meet every Friday morning! It's great because no one is really taught here how to study the Bible...unless you go to a seminary or Bible college. That was a pretty awesome thing God has done. Oh and one of the guys from the Bible study has started a Bible study with some of the homeless our church has been reaching out to. Another thing our church out here is trying to do is create a business that could start employing the gypsies in the village of Lazaren because it is very hard for gypsies to get jobs which is part of the reason they can't break free from the negative way people see them. They turn to unfavourable means of acquiring finances since there aren't really any legitimate ways for them to earn an income.

There have been some big changes...since two of our team members are heading home (one is already state side) and the other leaves in July, we decided to move out of the house we have all called home for the last 2 years. It was a huge blessing for all of us, but far too big and too expensive for us to stay there minus 2 people so we have all found new living arrangements. I am happy to say that Matt, Kylie and I are living in our own apartment in a commi block in a part of town I prayed to live in 2 years ago ha ha! The Lord may not always answer us exactly when we want, but He is ALWAYS faithful! The place the Lord provided for us is perfect. A 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment and it is very big for Romanian standards. Because of communism (hence the name commi block) apartments are basically all the same sizes and layouts and from what I understand the other apartments in our block are not as big as ours. Its in a quiet area with lots of places for Kylie to play outside, grass and several nice parks very close by. It's on the bottom level (which was also an answered prayer as many blocks do not have elevators). It's everything we were praying for and more! I thought it would be hard to go from a big house with a huge yard to an apartment but actually it's been better for us. There are tons of kids Kylie's age in our block and the blocks next to us which is great because until now she hasn't really gotten to be around kids her age. So there's a lot more socializing and practising our Romanian for the both of us! It's really great! Plus, Matt and I have been married for almost 5 years and have only lived alone for 1 of those years...so it's definitely nice to have our own family space! We cherish all the times we've spent living with people and the close community we've been able to experience, but it's also nice to be able to set things up the way we want and...like I said...just have our own space. I'm truly thankful and super excited to embark on this new time in our lives!

And lastly we would love to ask for your help and support! Moving and having a baby are expensive adventures :) We are also trying to buy a newer more reliable family car. When we first moved here we bought two team cars. They are both pretty old...well one was so old it is no longer working and the other...we're just not sure how much longer it will last. As a team we have continued to put money into the car to keep it running but it would probably be wise to just purchase a newer car so that we don't have to worry about it breaking down on us unexpectedly.

Here are some of our expenses:
Moving costs: about 1,100 dollars
Having a baby: will be around 1,500 dollars (it sort of depends on how the labour and delivery go. Here you buy like a birthing package which you pay for after you have the baby. I may end up having to have a c-section, which is the most expensive, and the 1,500 dollars is roughly what that would cost)
Newer car: around 6,000 dollars

If you would like to donate ANY amount of money to help us out with any of these expenses we would certainly be thankful! Here is where you can donate a one time gift or support us monthly: Click HERE to financially support us
We also appreciate ALL of your prayers for us during this time of transition as well! Please pray for wisdom for us as our team is in a new season of transition and this is the first time since we moved here that we have not all lived together under one roof! Please pray for a smooth delivery with nurses who speak English and that this little guy would come soon! :)