English for a New Life (ESL) - Helping to Build Relationships!

We enjoyed our trip back to the USA in December 2009, and it was so nice to see our family and friends!! If we missed seeing you, hopefully we will be able to have more time the next time that we return. As soon as we returned to Moldova, we had an English camp lined up. It went very well, and we had some wonderful dramas, that the children put together, which related to the Bible stories that we studied each day. They are very creative and talented!!

We have been teaching English for a New Life at two different churches in Chisinau, Hope Church and Springs of Life Church, since the Fall of 2009. We love our students both young and mature! They really want to learn, and we pray that we are good teachers for them! We went through some training ourselves before we started teaching these courses because it has been many years since we studied English grammar! We meet four nights each week, two nights at Hope Church and two nights at Springs of Life Church. It has been a blessing to form relationships with our students, and our prayer is that home Bible study groups will form out of these relationships. The English course is based on the Gospel of John, and this was exciting to us!!

Enjoy the photos from our classes and from the English Camp. We actually taught the children how to make American cookies, i.e., Rice Krispie Treats, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Brownies, etc. They served these treats to their parents after the recognition service on Sunday evening. They did a great job!

Smile, God loves you!

Very Talented Friend in Moldova Honored for His Talents

Many of you have seen photos on facebook of our friends in Moldova, and you may recognize this young man that we wanted to share good news about with you. His name is Daniel, and he is Pastor Sasha and Sora Ala's oldest son. We have always known that he was very talented in art. In fact, he gave us one of his paintings when we left Moldova in 2007, and we had many comments on his painting when people saw it. Last year, Daniel and his parents invited us to attend an art exhibit at the library near his home. We gladly accepted the invitation, but we did not realize, until after we arrived, that he was being given a first-place award for his paintings among his peers. We were thrilled to be a part of this special day in his life. We know that you will enjoy viewing his paintings as much as we did! Please pray for Daniel as he grows in his faith in the Lord and as He looks to God for direction in his life. Pray also, for his parents as they help to make decisions for his life. There are four beautiful boys in their family, and they have a sweet spirit and a great love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Smile, God loves you!

Delayed But Not Forgotten

Wow, we can't believe that we haven't entered anything on our blog since September of 2009! We have been staying very busy here in Moldova, and we were even able to make it home to the USA for Christmas with our family. What a true blessing it was to see family and friends in Georgia! We apologize for not keeping up with our blog, but in a way, we suppose that it is a sign of working in the field more. Praise the Lord!

In October of 2009 we had a team of four pastors and two laymen to visit us from the USA. We worked together to share the love of Christ in various ways here in Moldova. Many tracts, New Testaments, reading glasses, "Jesus Loves You" dolls, etc. were handed out in the city and in villages. We visited Pastor Ilia Coada's ministry sight in Tintereni, the Bible College in Chisinau, the villages of Goiani and Ceriescu. The pastors preached in several churches while they were here, both in the city and in villages. They even brought a clown along, and the children loved him so much! Enjoy a sample of the many photos that we took, and know that God's love was shown and His word was made known!

Smile, God loves you!

Beautiful Scenery From a Garden in Moldova

Very beautifully landscaped!

We love the tile work in the walkways here and Wow how lovely is this! A gorgeous water lilly pond!

Every color of petunia you could think of!

It was a beautiful day for a stroll in the park!

All were there!

Isn't this fantastic!

Just a small sample of the beauty!

Mike is thinking ... "What a great place for a golf course!"

No matter where you are you can always find beauty in the world that God has made.

We wanted to share some of this beauty from Moldova with you!

We know that the winter months are just around the corner, and soon it will be nice

to look back at these pictures and look forward to next spring!

We love and miss all of you! Thank you for your prayers as we serve our Lord

in Republic of Moldova. We have been on several prayer walks in the city,

and we know that God will be glorified in the work done here

as long as we look to Him for direction each step of the way! We celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary a few weeks ago,

and our son, Brian, turned 27 this year. We can no longer say that

we are 29 and holding!

God bless your day!

Habakkuk 1:5

Smile, God loves you!

Praying for Casting Crowns and Mark Hall - Be Blessed and Be a Blessing

We hope that you can view this link on Casting Crowns, but if you are not able to view it, please go to www.castingcrowns.org . This group has brought honor and glory to God all around the world! We know that several of the teenagers in Moldova have hoped that they would come here one day. Listen to their music and be blessed ... if you are a believer, they will really speak to the issues in your life and make you stop and think if you are truly making a difference as a Christian and giving "it" (your life) back to Him!! Mark Hall and co-author, Tim Luke, have just released a new book. Pray for them! If anyone wants to send us a book, we would love to read the book, too!! (Hint ... Hint) Smile, God loves you!

Parliamentary Elections in Moldova - 2nd Attempt

Hopefully, if you are interested in reading this article about the most recent Parliament elections in Moldova, the link will take you there. Please continue to pray for the election of a new President. It is the duty of the Parliament to elect the President, and the Democratic parties need your prayers! Smile, God loves you!

Summer Camps in Moldova

We are sorry for the delay in writing on our blog. We have had many activities going on, and if you receive our prayer letter you know about some of them already. While our goal is church planting here in Chisinau, if you know us well, you know how much we love to work with children and teenagers. It is always fun to connect with our brothers and sisters in Christ that come from the USA to minister here in Moldova! This summer we have had a BSU team from Mississippi, two teams from North Metro Baptist in Lawrenceville, GA, and we have a team of pastors and laymen coming in October. We have also participated in a one day camp at the church where we attend, Speranta, and a one day camp in Cojusna, where we were members in 2006 & 2007. Hope you enjoyed a few photos of the beautiful children and teams in Moldova above.

We pray that many more children's lives will be touched with the love of Jesus and that they will come to know the Lord as their Savior and Friend!! God bless your ministry wherever you are!

Smile, God loves you!