Adoption Update

While we were preparing for the team from Highlands our lawyers office called our Romanian cell phone.  The phone call was to inform us that a birthmom was interested in talking to us. Within the next half hour we were on the phone talking to her for almost 2 hours.

The following day we heard again from the lawyers that she has chosen us as adoptive parents for her baby.  She is due to deliver a baby boy in early December.  We are in the middle of summer ministry and will be updating you more to our travel plans when the due date comes closer.

Thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for the baby and birthmom.

Successful Week

The ramp above was excellently constructed and a great example to the church body and also the whole community.

Highlands Church sent true servants to serve Betel church in Timisoara.  It was great to see their attitude of humility and partnership.  They came with a dual purpose to advance disability ministry in Timisoara, and to develop a true partnership with Betel.  It was great to see how the relationships developed between the churches.  God was truly with us.

Last week was FULL!  Full of things to do, people to meet, training - BUT most of all it was full of loving one another.  God worked out details of schedules and chance meeting of those He wanted to introduce to each other.  

He also allowed time to do a little sight seeing.  We traveled all of Thursday to see Hunedoara Castle, the fortress at Deva, and the Roman ruins at Sarmizegetusa.

The end of the day was at the home of Pastor Alex's parents in a village near Caransebes.  Here is a picture of Pastor Alex and his wife Nuti.  They are also the parents of Tania and Elias pictured in past posts in our blog.

Their hospitality they shared with us and the team this past week was a huge blessing.  Thanks Alex & Nuti.  

Thanks also to the whole team from Highlands - Matt, Mike, Joy, Doug, Missy, Katonna & Kelsey.  We appreciate all the work you did and your hearts you opened up to share to so many others.  We look forward to seeing you when we travel back to the states.  

Get the Current Update

Highlands Church in Scottsdale Arizona currently has a team here in Timisoara.  They have a blog that is being updated daily of their activity.  Check it out by clicking here.

God is working in some amazing ways.

Huge Evangelical Festival in Timisoara

Franklin Graham Festival of Hope was in Timisoara July 4th - 6th. This was during our travel to Suceava, but we heard great things from our friends who attended. There were over 1000 Romanians that participated by singing in a choir. The sun was shining with a little breeze to help cool it a little.

We received this information from Dwight Poggemiller.

Friday Attendance 19,283 # of Decisions 676

Sat. Children's Attendance 7,252 # of Decisions 1,476

Sat. Evening Attendance 22,662 # of Decisions 703

Sun. Evening Attendance 27,787 # of Decisions 1,067

Totals: Attendance 76,984 # of Decisions 3,922

Prior to this Festival on June 24 - 26h we were happy to take part in a wheelchair distribution connected with the Festival of Hope in Timisoara.

140 Wheelchairs were fitted, modified, and then given to those in need before the fesitval. Watch this short video below:
Click Here

Steve Carnazzo

Full Week - BLESSED!

This years Wheelchair Distribution for Joni & Friends in Romania was last week. There were three locations here in Romanian that had an American team and wheelchairs. We participated in the Suceava site, which is a community in the northeastern part of the country. The population is about 120,000 and is built on large rolling green hills. Beautiful countryside.

It was the first year that Joni & Friends Wheels For the World distributed chairs at this site. The church that hosted it was Filadelfia, and we found the Pastor, his family, and the church members some of the best people we have met. Suceava had a midwestern feel to it. The people were warm and friendly.

The week was a busy one as there were 91 chairs distributed and fit to those who came in need of a wheelchair. The church had some ramps and God had already placed a desire in this church family to reach out to those with disabilities.

Emil and his wife Simona were lovely people, and we enjoyed getting to know them throughout the week. We also had a barbecue dinner at Emil's parents home. Yum! There was so much good food.

Emil is a worship leader at Filadelfia, and is in a wheelchair due to a spinal injury. He and his wife Simona were at the church everyday and were great support to those who came for wheelchairs. Gordon, an American, and Emil shared the gospel and prayed with those who came.

Many close friendships were made and Steve and I look forward to the next time we travel to Suceava.

What a great place. - Kristi

Babysitting

Elias playing the lollipop drum.

Some of you might remember a blog we posted over a year ago about our language instructor who quit her job to take care of her newborn.  Well, this past week I had the chance to watch him while the rest of the family had work, vacation bible school, and appointments.  

Elias loves music, so we got along well.  I did discover that I need to increase my box of toys. Watching a toddler I had to pull lots of tricks out to keep him occupied and entertained for about 5 hours that day. Being an exploring little boy, he found the TV remote fun. Overall, the day was a joy and I'm looking forward to watching him again.

His sister, Tania, requested that I come back to their house to play and sing more sometime.

Kristi

Three T's in the Capital

Kristi (me, on the left) MT, Jenny (front center) a PT,

and Dawn (on the right) an OT

Jenny Lotter, Dawn Hoffman, and myself have been in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania for the past two weeks. Jenny is a Physical Therapist, Dawn an Occupational Therapist that specializes in SI, and I am a Music Therapist with SI training. We spent our time in a Rehab Center for Disabled Children. The first week consisted of 3 days observing of their PEC's program (Picture Exchange Communication), and then 3 days of training staff about Sensory Integration. The trainee group consisted of teaching assistants, psychologists, physical therapists, and a few staff from other facilities.

Group Picture of Center Staff who attended training.

The second week we stayed to work alongside the staff and put into practice the SI theory and techniques. It was amazing to see both the children respond positively, and the staff have many "ah ha" moments. Today was our last day there, and the staff expressed their gratitude and gave us an invitation to come back. Within the same building is an orphanage with many children that could benefit as well; however, we were not able to train the staff with these children, but continue to pray that the training that the PEC staff received will be communicated to them. Pray that this training will be multiplied in its effectiveness to touch more children that God Loves.

Tomorrow will be a day off and touring the city of Bucharest. I'm looking forward to going home on Saturday to Timisoara and seeing my husband!