We will start by apologizing that it has been so long since
our last post. We have had our hands full with our new little blessing from
God. On May 6, 2014 God added to the
Lorona family a healthy 8lb 4oz baby boy Benaiah Aurel Lorona (who happened to
come 3 weeks early like his sister who came 2 weeks early.) His first name means
Yahweh has built and comes from the Old Testament. Benaiah was one of King David’s mighty men of
valour. He is known for many things such as killing a lion in a snowy pit and
being a great warrior but also for being a faithful, loyal and reliable man of
God. These are some attributes we hope
to instill in our son as he grows up. That he would be a great warrior for
Christ in the spiritual realm and that he would be a faithful, loyal and
reliable man of God. We decided to give him a Romanian middle name since he was
born here. Aurel means gold and it is a
name that comes from this region of Romania because in the past there was a lot
of gold mined here. We also wanted to
give him something that would always remind him of where he comes from no matter
where he goes in life.
We have had a lot of changes in the last three months. It has not all been easy but God has been
giving us the strength to press through it. Two of our team members have moved
back to the states. Matt had been here one
year and Amy had been here from the beginning (almost two and half years). It
was very bitter sweet for us to see them go.
We could clearly see that God was moving them on to different works and
was closing the doors for them here. It
was amazing to see what God did in and through them in their time here. Both of them drastically changed and we can confidently
say that the light of Christ shines more brightly through both of them. It was also heart breaking to see them leave
because they had become a part of our family and we will greatly miss
them. Although Amy is the same age as us she was
like a daughter to us and like a sister to Kylie. We all love her in that way and we will always
be eternally grateful for the time we got to spend with her. Even though our
family grew to four, with Amy gone, it feels like we are missing one.
As people move on God has opened new doors for us as He
frees up time that we were spending investing and discipling our team. First obviously
being our new boy who consumes a lot of time and energy and has a knack for
keeping his mom and dad up during the night (but he is worth it, he is pretty
cute).
Matt has continued to invest in the community at our church.
He is one of the teaching leaders who preaches
every month and leads a men’s bible study once a week. He has also been blessed
with a position of influence at the church as one of the leaders helping to stir
the church to be more active in their faith and to begin discipling the people
in their lives.
We also put on a Soccer camp in the gypsie village our church serves in
called Lazeren. We tried to focus on a
teenage group of boys that we have not been able to reach in the past. None of them go to school, church or any
other event that we put on in the village. Many of them have never been to school
and have no education or ability to read, write etc. So their opportunities in life are very few and
far between. They are heavily influenced by the older generation who are not
doing much. We were not sure how many would show up because they can be very unpredictable
but we were happily surprised to see 20-25 of them show up. We made a field to
play on in a pasture where livestock graze with some wood poles and some spray
paint. We would play for a few hours and when they were all worn out we would
share some lunch with them along with some inspiring Bible stories and they ate
both right up. By then end of the week we could see a change happening in some of
the hearts of the boys and when we asked if they were interested
in growing closer to God almost all them raised their hands. When we asked if they wanted us to come on a weekly
basis to teach them about God and how to live according to His commands they
were all extremely excited. So from now
on we will be meeting with them every Friday night. We are expecting to see God
do something glorious and draw out a Joshua generation to lead their people to
God’s will.
Just so you all know God has used each of
you to do an amazing work in our lives out here to provide the means to press forward. So as we
move on we do it with you into the great works that He has prepared for us. So as
one season ends and a new one begins we hope to continue on with your loving financial
and spiritual support.
