Nuggets from Romania

June 30, ‘09

Dear Friends and Family,

Vara este aici ca vremea a fost foarte cald aceste trecut câteva săptămâni în România! (Summer is here as the weather has been very hot these past few weeks in Romania!)

Meet my Kitty Minnie!

If you know me it wouldn’t take you long to realize that I’m a cat lover! I grew up with cats in my family since I was eight years old. I’m grateful that my family has cats (we have two), it is always a blessing to see them when I go home but when I do it is always such a short time and then I have to say good-bye again. I know in my heart that God has called me to serve Him as a missionary here in Romania but sometimes I feel homesick for not having cats around me and for the companionship they gave you. After my family’s first cat died (almost 7 years ago) I always had a desire to get a cat of my own and for it to always be with me. Well on Tuesday June 15^th, I got my heart’s desire!!  

Thank-you for your prayers! I thank God for making it possible for me to get a kitten and it’s awesome to think that He loves us this much to give us our hearts desires whether they be big or small! I got my kitten through one of the students at the English school. I named her Minnie because when I got her she was very tiny. She is now 7 weeks old and has already adjusted well to her new home. She is a very fast learner! She is already fully litter trained and is now eating solid kitten food. She is very playful and loves to get into mischief. I am very grateful for my new little friend! Cristina and Evelyne who are my housemates also like her too which is another blessing from God!

A successful end to the Spring Term

On Thursday June 18, we had the graduation for our spring term at the English school which is the last term for the school year. We had great attendance as we all gathered outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather! All the teachers handed out the certificates to the students who passed their English level and some students also received cups of achievement as well. This was my first term teaching only children since I have been here. This term had its challenges as there was a lack of attendance with all the holidays we had here in Romania these past couple of months and also sometimes with their behaviour. However it was very rewarding at times as I saw the smiles on the children’s faces as they progressed in their English throughout the term!

Ministry at Rozmarin School

My last day at Rozmarin School for my English class with the gyspy children was on Thursday June 18^th. When I look back at the school year with my English classes there I am amazed by how many changes I have seen in the children! At the beginning of the year in September I have to admit it was very difficult and challenging at times with the children’s behaviour, they also seemed distant from Klara and I and also when we tested their English for the vocabulary units  they did not do very well at all (they got satisfactory or good). To be honest it was discouraging in the fall and sometimes I almost wanted to give up. However God is so faithful and even by December I started to see major changes in the children! Their behaviour started to improve; they started bonding to us and also their English improved a lot (the last couple of months we gave most of the children very good for their grades)!!

I am very grateful for everything God did during this past year with the children at Rozmarin. I am so thankful for the relationships that were built with the children and for all of the special moments that God gave me with them. My last day with the children we put together the English coloring alphabet booklets they have been working on in the last couple of months. The kids were very happy with their final product! It was a blessing to see their smiles on their faces when I told them it was theirs to keep for them to remember English class. I gave them each a Canadian pencil, a chocolate and lots of hugs when I said good-bye to them my last day with them. I will miss each of them very much. They have a special place in my heart and I pray that they will know God’s love as they grow up.

Important Note:

This afternoon my director called all of the staff to meet for an important meeting. Every Monday we usually have a meeting but today my director needed to discuss with us an important issue that affects not only the school but also the whole team. I would like to share this with you too because I also feel it is an important issue to appeal for help.

I am here in Romania as a missionary teacher. I teach English at the foundation’s school but I also do a variety of other things here as well. The school pays for my rent and utilities (water, gas and electricity) but above that I raise support for anything else that I need for my monthly costs for living in Romania. My director shared with the team today that the school did not get enough students for our last term nor enough business English students to cover for our costs for the summer months (July and August).  

This means that I would have to pay for my own rent and utilities for the months of July and August. As of right now I do not have enough financial support to do this.  My monthly rent is 100 Euros ($162 CAD). My utilities are split in half every month. Water and gas will be a bit cheaper because it is the summer months so for July and August I’d be looking at 75 Lei per month ($28 CAD) and for my electricity it would be 40 Lei per month ($15 CAD).

Would you prayerfully consider making a special donation or increase your monthly pledge for the summer months to help me cover my costs for my rent and utilities? I rarely or never share about my financial needs in my newsletters but this time however I feel it is important to share this with you. Please let me know if you can help in any way. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart!!

Mark your calendars!

I’ll be flying back to Canada on Thursday July 30^th for almost 3 weeks. I’ll be returning again to Romania with my parents on Wednesday August 19^th. While I’ll be in Canada I’d love to re-connect with as many of you as possible but my time at home will be very short so I’ll be having two open houses while I’ll be home. Please let me know if you can come to either one of those days if not I’d love to arrange to meet with you another time while I’m home. Thanks!

 The dates of my open houses are:

-          Tuesday August 11^th, at 7:00pm.   (The location for both dates are : 8 William Davidson St. Whitby

-          Saturday August 15^th, at 7:00pm.        and the contact phone number is (905) 728-4827)

Praise Reports!

• I praise God for blessing me with a beautiful kitten that is truly a gift from my heavenly Father!
• I praise God for the successful end to the school year and for all of the relationships that were built with the students.
• I praise God for all the miracles I have seen in the children at Rozmarin this past school year!
• I praise God for the friends He has placed in my life who are all such a blessing to me!

Prayer Requests:

• For me to find joy and a love again for the Romanian language (I have become discouraged with my language process and I have unconsciously given up). Please pray that I’ll daily embrace the vision God has put on my life and God would place a deep motivation in my heart to keep on going.
• For God to bring increase in ministry to the orphan children at Life and Light this summer.
• For my personal relationship with the Lord. Right now I’m seeking God specifically about something for my future here in Romania and I really need to hear from Him. Please pray that my ears and my heart may be totally open to hearing from what God is speaking to me about.
• I would appreciate your prayers for my financial support situation I’m in right now, especially for the summer months.

 Multumesc pentru toate rugaciunile voastre si pentru email-urile de incurajare pe care mi le-ati trimis! (Translation: Thank-you for all of your prayers and encouraging e-mails you sent to me. I really appreciate it!)

Blessings,

Andrea Weber

P.S. I apologize this newsletter is much longer then it usually is. I just had so many things on my heart that I felt it was important to share with you. Thank-you for your understanding.

My Contact info:

Address: Fundatia APT, Str. Horea nr 2, Targu Mures, 540020, Romania

Landline phone # 011. 40. 0365. 421. 294 (from Canada)

My blog: http://romaniangirl98.spaces.live.com

Financial support can be sent to: (please have my name written on the memo line)

In Canada: Christian Life Centre. 1030 Ravenscroft Rd, Ajax. ON L1T 4R9

In the States: Heaven Sent Ministries.  P.O Box 5392 Princeton, WV 24740 – NEW info

If you know me it wouldn’t take you long to realize that I’m a cat lover! I have grown up with cats in my family since I was eight years old. First we had our cat Tiger who was a part of family for 16 years. We loved her a lot and it was very sad when she died. When I was in South Korea I got a surprise e-mail from my parents. My parents got two kittens! It was a surprise to me because after Tiger died they said that they wouldn’t get anymore pets so when they got not only one but two kittens it was such a shock that it brought tears to my eyes! It was such a blessing beyond what I could put into words when my parents got Grace and Libby who are both very much a part of our family now.

I am very grateful that my family now has cats but I haven’t actually been able to spend too much time with them since we got them because I am away from home so much. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has called me to Romania but sometimes I feel homesick for not having cats around me. Ever since our first cat died I always had this desire to get a cat of my own to raise it and for it to always be with me. Well on Tuesday June 15, I got my heart’s desire!!  

I am very grateful for my new little friend! I named her Minnie because when I got her she was very tiny. She is now 7 weeks old and has already adjusted well to her new home. Cristina and Evelyne who are my housemates like her too which is a blessing! She is very playful and loves to get into mischief.  She is a very fast learner! She is already fully litter trained and is now eating solid kitten food. Please pray that she will sleep through the night because she has been waking me up quite early since I got her and I have been feeling tired and a bit frustrated with that but besides that she is such a joy to have.

It is amazing when I think that I actually got a kitten! I have been praying and wanting one for a while now and now I have one! I had a few doubts that crossed my mind when I had to get ask my housemates and then the landowner and then the building administer but God is faithful and He made it possible. One of my friends from church told me “see how much God loves you? He delights in you so much to give you a kitten!” Yes, it is a blessing and gift from God and to know that God delights in me so much that He truly does see all the desires of my heart! We serve an awesome God!

You are in your car driving home. Thoughts wander to the game you want to see or meal you want to eat, when suddenly a sound unlike any you've ever heard fills the air. The sound is high above you. A trumpet? A choir? A choir of trumpets? You don't know, but you want to know. So you pull over, get out of your car, and look up. As you do, you see you aren't the only curious one. The roadside has become a parking lot. Car doors are open, and people are staring at the sky. Shoppers are racing out of the grocery store. The Little League baseball game across the street has come to a halt. Players and parents are searching the clouds. And what they see, and what you see, has never before been seen.
 
As if the sky was a curtain, the drapes of the atmosphere part. A brilliant light spills onto the earth. There are no shadows. None.
 
From every hue ever seen and a million more never seen. Riding on the flow is an endless fleet of angels. They pass through the curtains one myriad at a time, until they occupy every square inch of the sky.
 
North. South. East. West.
 
Thousands of silvery wings rise and fall in unison, and over the sound of the trumpets, you can hear the cherubim and seraphim chanting, Holy, holy, holy.. The final flank of angels is followed by twenty-four silver-bearded elders and a multitude of souls who join the angels in worship.
 
Suddenly, the heavens are quiet. All is quiet. The angels turn, you turn, the entire world turns and there He is... Jesus.
 
Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figure of Christ the King. He is atop a great stallion, and the stallion is atop a billowing cloud. He opens his mouth, and you are surrounded by his declaration:
 
I am the Alpha and the Omega.
 
The angels bow their heads. The elders remove their crowns. And before you is a Figure so consuming that you know, instantly you know: Nothing else matters. Forget stock markets and school reports. Sales meetings and football games. Nothing is newsworthy. All that mattered, matters no more. For Christ has come.