Wednesday, May 30, 2007

A Place to Call Home


Heartfelt thanks to those that have been praying for us in yet another transition. Let us take a short minute and tell you where God led us for housing. We began thinking that a house would be good, because in the future we hope to have storage for adaptive equipment and wheelchairs. We also need an extra room for visitors. Those things along with a prayer for good owners to rent from were our primary desires.

The month of May was filled with moving and transition. God showed us that apartment living was His plan, because the cost of renting a house was far too high for our budget. Even though we did not find a house, God proved to be our strong right arm. He first supplied an answer to the prayer of storing medical and adaptive equipment in a nearby village with another missionary couple and a ministry there. Steve will write later with more details regarding this opportunity of partnership.

Secondly, God supplied wonderful proprietors/owners and friendly neighbors. The owners have been very kind, and have invited us in the future to spend a weekend with them in their mountain cabin. We speak mostly Romanian with them, but they do understand some English for those moments of learning new vocabulary. Our new neighbors are friendly. We hope to share our new language with them; however; more than language we hope to share our lives with our new neighbors strengthening their walk with the Lord or sharing the Gospel with them.

Thirdly, we have enough space for hospitality, an important thing in this culture and in the life of missionaries. God provided a large apartment. The apartment has four rooms and 2 bathrooms. That means it has 3 bedrooms and a living room. We have a guest room for visitors – another prayer answered! It is in a block that is 10 stories, but we are fortunate to be on the first level. First level is not ground level as in the states, but the second floor. We have small mom and pop stores below us.

Fourth, we are next to an open air market with lots of fresh veggies and fruit. We are within walking distance to the center of town as well as the new large mall, both have many areas to either shop or to do the things necessary to live life. Even our view is pleasing; all our rooms face an Orthodox church with a nice park and fountain. In addition, an important factor for me, is that we are close to a good pizza place!

Lastly, God provided the things to fill the apartment. We bought many things from a Missionary returning to the states last September. We were able to buy them at a fraction of the store prices. We bought and then stored a bedroom set, an office desk and book shelf, washer and dryer, two arm chairs…..It has taken weeks, and we are still in the process of moving, because the apartment was empty. Empty means we had to purchase kitchen cabinets, light fixtures, and appliances. We are still waiting for the correct person to hook up the gas oven. We need someone that has an official stamp applied to our guarantee paperwork. The kitchen needed some help so we also tiled that as well as painted all the rooms.