Being Used For His Glory

Over the past two months, God has displayed His always supportive hand in our lives. Romanian village churches have found their way into our hearts as we have experienced wonderful hospitality.

Those of you that know Steve well know that he considers his skill in public speaking a weaker point. However, God uses our weakness for His greater glory.

About a month and a half ago, we were invited to go with Dwight Poggemiller, our regional director, to a village south of Timisoara. We felt welcomed by the church members and the pastor. Steve gave an initial message prior to the main sermon Dwight presented. Many of the attendees were exposed to the Gospel.

On Palm Sunday, we went to a village with our Sibiu colleges and received a warm greeting from this church and noticed all the great things the Lord is doing. With each visit we are looking for ways in which we can help with our ministry gifts. Steve again gave a short greeting while Kristi sang a solo. Even though Kristi loves music she doesn’t consider herself a soloist.

This Easter was no different. We went with Dawn Elenbass to visit two other colleagues, Susan and Richard, in Oradea in northwest Romania. On the way up, we stopped at a nearby village were we visited a family, and measured a young child for a wheelchair. Fellowship over the weekend was great, and on Sunday, we went to our colleague’s village church. There Steve had the privilege of giving the Resurrection Morning message, while Kristi was able to participate by singing a solo and accompany Susan’s solo on keyboard.

We know more and more just how God has been preparing us throughout our lives for just a time as this. Steve’s seminary studies are definitely used and Kristi has found that growing up on a farm in Minnesota has prepared her to be a housewife in this culture by cooking from scratch, hanging clothes on the line, and growing a garden.

It is wonderful to see God’s had at work in the life of those we meet. Resurrection Sunday is an evident reminder of the Promise we have in Christ to be with those who love Him until the end.

Şi iată că Eu sunt cu voi în toate zilele, până la sfârşitul veacului. Amin

Matei 28: 20a

I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matt. 28:20a

New Life With A New Shepherd

Blessings and Happy Resurrection Sunday to you all!

On Palm Sunday we celebrated with two new believers who came to Christ. What Joy!
Steve and I were blessed to attend a small village church in the mountains near Sibiu. It is mostly a village of sheepherders. Many of the members of the church are not the owners, but the men who do the odd jobs such as sheering the sheep. It is the sheering season right now. The Sheep are losing their winter coat to begin a summer much cooler and lighter of weight. These new believers, as well, are beginning life lighter and with a new found spirit.

These pictures are of Steve giving a greeting and Kristi singing at the church.

Take a Walk with Me

A typical day here consists of considerable walking. We thought we would take you along our path to our language class through pictures.

A friend asked for some more shots of Romania….here we go.
Ok, a month ago we blogged about our muddy road. Well, wahla! This past week they started putting in a new road. We think they are planning on asphalting it next.

Take a look, Andy! (Andy is our supervisor who is currently in the States, and we are renting his home)

The walk to our tutor’s home takes about 20-30 minutes one way. This picture is of a park along the way.

There are many block apartment buildings. Here are a few next to the park.

These are streets along our way back home. We sometimes stop at the open air market to buy fresh produce. On this particular day we did not stop so it is not pictured here; however, it is located behind the block apartments on the left. (Above picture)

A taxi line.

This is the closest one to our home, which is about 1/2 mile away.

The final picture is of a small store, which we call the "Blue Bread Store". They have wonderful fresh bread where we purchase a loaf every 2-3 days.

Thanks, for taking a walk with me!

CARTOON

At a Christian fundraiser there was a Cartoonist.

Check out Steve’s caricature, everyone said it captured his essence.

What do you think?

Timisoara at Night

After our first visit to the National Theather in Timisoara we made
a short video of the City Center.

Click on the above picture to see the video clip.

It's Clean but Drafty

While traveling one always appreciates to find a nice clean bathroom. Fortunately for us, Romanian gas station bathrooms are usually decent. A while back, I took a trip with two short term missionaries and my colleague, Dawn, to see some of Transylvania. Along our route, we stopped to get gas a use the bathroom. Two of the gals went ahead of me, and I met them on their way out of the restroom with funny smiles on their faces. I said, “Are the bathrooms not very clean?” They replied, “Oh no, they are very clean,” and then told me to go ahead and use it. The above picture is what I found; a bathroom without the back wall.
The cashier laughed at us all as we had ignored the sign in Romania that stated it was out of order. She told us to use the men’s room and all was well.
You can find more pictures from this trip in our web album. Click on the link on the right of this page that says Carnazzo Picture Album.

Kristi

At Church This Morning

Today at church there was a brass band playing. Every Sunday there is a choir and organist. Sometimes they have an orchestra with strings, and at the evening service it is more contemporary with guitars and the young leading worship.

I had my digital camera and for the first time I used the little film clip button. You can view that on our picasa album webpage. http://picasaweb.google.com/skCarnazzo/BetelBaptist
Click on the third picture for a short 10 sec video clip of this brass band. We were in the last row of the balcony and the quality isn't the best, but you can have a little taste of a church here in Romania.