Lucrul Practica

As part of our Challenge into Missions program, we send the students out to the villages to proclaim the gospel in action and in word. We not only train them how to present the message of salvation but we also teach them that our actions are just as important, if not moreso, to demonstrate the love of Christ. So before they begin singing or passing out literature or sharing testimonies, they are expected to care for the needs of the people in the village. This can take many forms: helping to plant a garden, chop wood, clean up a yard, build a fence, paint a wall, visit the elderly, feed the poor. God's love expresses itself in meeting the needs of those God loves. The people whom the students serve are often the ones who then come to a worship service at the local church with whom we partner and want to know more about this Jesus who cares not only for their souls, but also for their bodies and who understands the sorrows and challenges we face in our everyday lives.

Those of us who work at the office in Chisinau can easily forget that missionary work is practical as well as spiritual. So our field leader, Matthew, helps us to remember by regularly giving us the opportunity to be involved in "lucrul practica" (practical work). These past two weeks we have been working hard at the office and also at the construction site of our Mission Training Centre. Last week the students spent a day over there with us painting the main meeting room, the personnel offices, and the kitchen/dining areas downstairs. This week, while the students were away, our regular team turned off the computers for a day and went back to the new Centre to build stairs, to clean and to prepare the floors for installing carpet. It's coming along - slowly but surely. There are still two more levels up above that have a lot left to do, but the main two levels are almost ready to move into. The only problem is that we are still waiting to be hooked up to water, gas, and electricity.

Last Saturday a group of us went to the nearby village of Malcoci to help our team-mate Corinne (from Holland) to prepare her newly rented house for liveability. Some of us painted, others repaired concrete and we all enjoyed the fun of working together and eating together, hosted by Corinne's next-door neighbour. Corinne's house is more basic than my accomodations in Chisinau. She has no running water, but there is a well right in front of the house and an outhouse up in the corner of the back yard. She has no gas to heat the house, but there is a woodstove, the kind that heats the whole central wall of the house. The nice thing for her and her dog Silas is that they have a nice big yard in front and in back. The challenges of simplicity will be worth it for her to be able to grow a garden and have a safe place for Silas to relax.

Pauza in Praga

Last week was very busy with our Challenge into Missions course and being involved with the students. I have especially enjoyed leading the second level students in a study of 2 Timothy. Doing so in Romanian has been a challenge and a blessing. So by Thursday I was ready for a break, a 'pauza'.

On Thursday I went to Prague. Ah... beautiful Prague. I wandered around the old city streets and saw the Easter market in the town square - very interesting - lots of stuff to see, eat, buy and I did all of the above. I was with a friend from Finland - Kokkamaria - and she and I had a good time wandering, taking pics, eating, poking in shops and generally enjoying the city. One great thing is that Prague has lots of toy stores so this grandma had lots of fun choosing some things for little Ali J.

Let me back up a bit and tell you why I was in Prague. I accompanied my field leader, Matthew, to two days of meetings for leaders of our various fields in the central European area. It was interesting meeting and talking with people from lots of places working with people in interesting places. I was sharing a room with an Austrian woman who is working in Austria, and then with a South African woman working in Bosnia, and a Finnish women working in Kosovo. Also at the meetings were people from the States, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, England and I'm sure some others, who are all working in Central Europe. I was also really happy for the chance to see my former boss and colleague, Rafael, who is now working with OM in Romania.

While in Prague I had opportunity to visit some friends who also are originally from the east of Canada and who now work with Canadian Baptist Ministries in Prague. I had a pleasant evening with Jeff & Deann Carter and was especially blessed at the opportunity to meet their new son Matthew. Their older son Zachary is due for some major surgery in April so they continue to have their share of life's challenges as they faithfully serve the Lord. Thanks for your hospitality, my friends!

Why to avoid citations

This week I found out why so many Moldovans simply pay off the police as soon as they are threatened with receiving a ticket: it's way easier!!! Remember I got that ticket for turning right on a green light? (I kid you not) Tuesday I had to go to the police station to account for my wrongdoing. I got my Moldovan friend Tanea to go with me (she is a true blessing!) and we waited for almost an hour just to talk to the police inspector. He asked me to explain why I had done what I did, so - complete with diagram - I

explained but he still fined me 100 lei (@ $10). I would have been Me & Tanea (my angel of mercy!)

glad to whip out the 100 lei and give it to him, but in fact he informed me that I had to go to the bank to pay it. sigh. the bank. lineups. so off I went to the bank, without Tanea as she had another commitment and waited and waited and waited in line until finally I could pay my money. Then I had to take the receipt BACK to the police station. I got there and all the officers on duty were very busy outside admiring a big SUV that maybe they confiscated from a mafia boss, or maybe the police chief had just purchased that morning so I had to wait until that important meeting was over. Then I gave the receipt to the officer, received my license back and finally I was free to go. It had taken ALL afternoon. Moral of the story: don't get tickets.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

They tell me it's time to post again on my blog. And I see it's true - I didn't post anything last week but I have an excuse. I was busy writing and sending my newsletter last week. So - if you are not on the e-mail or mailing list for my newsletter - and you want to be - please do send me an e-mail (Barbtherev@yahoo.ca) and let me know. I will be glad to add you and send you the March 2007 edition.

But now please don't think that there has been nothing happening in my life. Obviously life goes on, even when the blog doesn't. You will be happy to know that my car is now faithfully chugging along and taking me where I need to go, carefully doing all she can to avoid being stopped by the friendly neighbourhood politei (police).

Some of the things that have happened recently include Cherise's departure from OM Moldova. Cherise was with us for six months and now has returned to Texas, with a few adventures on the way... (What happens when you get on the wrong train in London and consequently can't get to the airport in time to catch your flight, Cherise?) Here's a picture of me and Cherise in front of the girl's house on the day she left.

And just after Cherise left, the Challenge into Missions participants began to arrive. We have already had a week with the leadership group and just this past Thursday all the rest arrived - a total of more than 20 young adults to be with us for training over the next 10 weeks. One of the events we did with the leaders was to have a cross-cultural simulation experience in the form of a Moroccan meal!

Today is St. Patrick's Day (you may have noticed the green text) - a day to honour one of the great missionaries. It was also Matthew and David Skirton's birthday - and Jeanine Dommerholt's too! Happy birthday, to each one of you. I'll only tell you, though, that David is one year old - and he is a cutie - all boy, as you can tell by his handling of the birthday gift his folks gave him! In training we did a psychological inventory that determined whether we were drivers, harmonizers, motivators, or detailers. Doesn't it look like David may grow up to be a driver?!!

Bad News, Good News (vignette of a week in the life of a car owner)

Background Music:

Remember the Sesame Street song, “Who are the People in your Neighbourhood?”

Cast of characters:

Guys that helped push car
Team-mates that helped (Silas, Corinne, Mike, Lilian, Matthew)
Taxi driver with booster cables
Next-door neighbour, Boris
Woman neighbour mad about garbage
Insurance agent who helped move car
Man neighbour also mad about garbage
Police inspector
Mechanic
Landlady
Police officers

Friday: Bad news… the car got stuck in the snow
Good news… some young fellows walking by helped to push it

Bad news… where I parked it was in a spot where it might get sideswiped by someone else having trouble in the snow
Good news…Silas, one of my team-mates, gave me a lift home and helped me to push the car to a place more out of the way

Saturday:
Bad news… when I tried to start the car the next morning, nothing happened
Good news…. I have learned all the routes for public transport to and from my new place of residence

Monday:
Stupid news… after taking me grocery shopping and going out to supper together, it was late and dark so I told Corinne not to bother trying to help me get my car started

Tuesday:
Bad news… the place where the car was parked (broken down!) now was in the way of the garbage truck when it came. The police were called and an inspector came looking for me at my apartment. I wasn’t home so he left his name and number with my neighbour.
Good news… last week I had prayed for opportunities to meet my neighbours. When I got home from prayer evening on Tuesday I met my neighbour Boris, who came to tell me to call the police inspector. Later I had the opportunity to meet several other irate neighbours who went out of their way to let me know how bad it was to leave my car in the way of the garbage truck. I had the opportunity to apologize profusely.

Wednesday:
Good news… early on Wednesday morning, my team-mate Mike came to help me get my car moved out of the way. A taxi driver with booster cables got me started and Mike followed me through the snowy streets to the OM base, arriving in time to lead the Bible study that I was responsible for that morning.

Bad news … when I tried to drive the car to the mechanic’s shop, after Matthew gave me a boost to get it started, it broke down at an intersection
Good news… a brother from a local church saw me there and helped push the car out of the way. Then Lilian came to help get it started, without success. Then Andrei the mechanic arrived and towed it away to be repaired.
Stupid news…I had neglected to check the fluid levels in my engine – there was no water

Left- my team-mate, Lilian; Right - Andrei, the mechanic

Bad news… Lilian had tried unsuccessfully to call the police inspector on my behalf; when I got home, the police called me and told me to come to the Police station in the morning.

Thursday:
Good news… I eventually found my way to the police station ( a whole story in itself) and was able to understand the officer fairly well and paid my fine and had everything cleared up

Stupid news... The inspector told me that when he went to investigate the complaint about my car, there was a door unlocked

Good news... nothing had been taken. The policeman took all my legal car documents that I had left in the car and gave them to me when I came to the police station, and also locked the door. My tape player was not stolen.

More good news… Later in the day, Andrei arrived with my car all fixed and ready to go.

Bad news… On the way home, I got pulled over by the police for going through a red light (in reality the light was green but there was a green right turn arrow that I didn’t know about and you can’t turn right unless the arrow is green, but there’s no red arrow to indicate that – you’re just supposed to know)… so I got another ticket!
Good news… When I think back over the course of this week and of all the people who helped me in my misfortune – I counted at least twelve – I can only thank the Lord Jesus that I am not alone. He has put me in a place where I always have someone I can phone for help. Praise His name!

More good news... I found the secure parking lot near my building where I can safely leave my car, as there is a security guard.

You may wonder if, in the midst of all this, I ever do any work or ministry. In fact, although my time at work has been limited this week, I did lead a Bible study and spend some meaningful time with individuals and started preparation for our ‘Challenge into Missions’ training program that begins next week and answered a lot of e-mails and did some planning for the future programs that will be conducted in our new building. We have had a conference going on at our base this week, too, so it has been good to have some time to meet people from away.. thank you for your prayers in and through all things!

Pastor Par Excellence

When I was at Missionary Training School I was very impressed by the fact that our trainer’s pastor came to visit him, and to support his work by teaching at our course, and giving us some words of encouragement. I thought how wonderful it was that he had a supportive church and a pastor that thought enough of his missionary to take time to come encourage him in this way, so far from home. I never really thought that any pastor would come and visit me. How low my expectations were!

This past weekend I had the privilege of being visited and encouraged by my lifelong pastor and friend, Win Clark. Win and his wife Nancy were visiting their daughter Amy in Frankfurt and decided that being so close, one of them should come and visit me. So for about 36 hours I was so blessed. Win arrived on Saturday evening, with a suitcase full of gifts and supplies and clothes for distribution to those in need, as well as a suitcase full of books and music to bless my soul!

We were able to talk and talk that evening. On Sunday Win and I went to the town of Cojusna with my team-mate Lilian, where Win preached in the church there. Afterwards, Win had the privilege of learning about Moldovan mud (glod) when we went to the home of one of the sisters in the church for a genuine Moldovan meal. We enjoyed the fellowship of the pastor and his wife, my teammates Mike & Myra, and Lilian.

The night before I had had a flood in my bathroom and so later in the afternoon, Win went above and beyond the call of pastoral care as he repaired a faucet under my sink. In the evening we had a lovely meal and more sharing time together in a real Moldovan restaurant, where once again Win continued to listen to me, encourage me, and affirm me in my calling to be here in Moldova. What a blessing this dear pastor and friend has been to me! And of course, because our families are similar ages, and we care about each other’s children, we prayed together for them – as well as for other concerns. Win and Nancy have also become grandparents within the last couple years so it was pretty neat to be able to share together from this new vantage point in life.

Truly the bar has been raised in the standard of pastoral care. Visiting a missionary on the mission field, encouraging me personally, encouraging the national church through the ministry of preaching, making house calls and house repairs and bringing material aid to the country – yes, this is a pastor par excellence! I would love to hear from some of my readers about the ways that your pastor has been a blessing to you. Maybe in so doing we can encourage these dear pastors to carry on with patience and perseverance in the ministry God has given them.

Residency!

Last Friday, Claudia and I went to the Department of Immigration and received our long-awaited residency permits! Praise the Lord! I am now a legal resident in the country of Moldova and can stay here and travel in and out freely for the next year before I have to have my permit renewed. Thank you so much for all your prayers.

At the same time, though, the joy was somewhat muted by the sobering reality that all our team-mates with American passports must leave the country for 3 months before they will be able to continue with the application process. So currently, our 7 americans are preparing for a 3-month mission outreach in Moldovan speaking villages in Ukraine, near the border of Moldova. then they will be able to return and apply for the permit. There are a lot of gaps in ministry to be filled in their absence so you can imagine how our team is scrambling to care for all the responsibilities our American friends have had. Please pray for them and for all of us in these challenging months.

Getting settled again

Last Friday I moved into my new apartment. As you can see, I am secure inside the apartment, with a door like Fort Knox between me and anyone that might want to get at me. Everyone on our team has been sick and so I could hardly expect to escape the flu that was going around. It gave me a good chance to settle into my apartment last weekend as I spent the whole time resting and drinking lots of fluids and eating soup that I made in my new kitchen (oh I love my new kitchen…). The view from the kitchen isn’t much to get excited about.
As you can see, here I am in the midst of a jungle of soviet-style apartment buildings, with some kind of school or kindergarten right across the street from me. The view from the other side can be seen from the balcony of my bedroom, and it includes the Chisinau ‘zoo’. They say that sometimes you can hear the lions roar in the morning. I haven’t heard them yet and not sure if I will. The zoo here is pretty lame and if it were in Canada there’s no doubt the animal rights’ activists would be up in arms, but hey, it’s all we’ve got. And at least the bears and lions and tigers are being cared for more than all the stray dogs that wander around Moldova (It would break your heart if you’re a dog-lover).

As I publish this blog it is now over a week since I have been in my apartment and my internet still isn't connected. They came today but my landlady didn't tell me that they would come first thing in the morning and silly me, I went to work, thinking they were coming in the afternoon. So now I have to wait ANOTHER day for my internet and it's so hard not to have access to Skype and chat to keep in touch with my family in the evenings! All I can do is briefly check e-mails at work and occasionally take a bit more time to post a blog!
This week we advanced a bit on our residency application process. One day – as can only happen in Moldova – the group of four of us who are proceeding together had a call from the lawyer to meet him outside a certain government office. We expected to go in with him to sign some documents but instead waited outside on the street until he came back and, there on the street corner, had us sign our work permits so that he could prepare them for the next step of the process.
That was it – a quick trip downtown, standing around outside, sign a paper, then back to the office. The next day we had to go to the lawyer’s office to finalize all of our documents, with more photocopies of documents we had already submitted. Then the next morning Claudia and I were at the government department where we had to submit the final batch of official documents so that we could receive our residency permits. That went fairly smoothly, with the official who was taking the necessary photo even making suggestions and giving opportunity for the photo to be a nice one! Included with the documents we had to leave our passport so were issued a temporary document. This coming Friday afternoon we go back, and if all goes well, Lord willing, we will receive our permit. If, however, for some strange reason, our application for residency at this point is denied, that will be it. I will have to leave the country. Hopefully, though, that will not be the case. Postscript: As I edit this post again, trying to get the pictures to display, it is with the news that although things are looking good for me and Claudia and the Dutch family, our American friends are not faring so well. It looks like 7 of our team-mates will have to leave the country for the next three months. Please pray for them!

Beautiful Feet

Whatever may be your opinion of Moldovan foot fashion, the Bible says that the feet of those who bring good news are beautiful.

" How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news..."

(Isaiah 52:7)

This week the feet of my friend Vlad have taken on a whole new beauty. After a farewell last Friday from the OM team, and a commissioning service at his church on Sunday, scads of us went to the airport on Wednesday to see him off. My sympathy was totally with his mom, saying goodbye to her son for 2 years, knowing that he is going to preach the gospel and serve the Lord in a country that is anything but hospitable towards Christians. But at the same time I was really excited and of course his departure brought back all kinds of memories of what it was like for me to leave my home to go to a far and distant land where I didn't know the language or the customs or the culture or anything about the people. Now 1 1/2 years later I am still surviving and excited that I have had a small part to play in preparing Vlad for his ministry in an east Asian country. Here is a photo of me with Vlad and his parents. God bless them all! Please pray for Vlad as he learns a new language and adusts to his new surroundings. I did get an e-mail from him today letting me know that he arrived safely. I am glad. Thanks be to God.

Feasting on Friendship & Rejoicing with Family

I was so excited on Saturday - I finally received the Christmas parcel from my sister! Hurrah! and the customs dude at the post office even let me bring it home without it being opened and examined minutely, which would be the normal procedure for incoming international parcels.

< My sister Beverly (thanks, Bev!)

Earlier in the week I received practically all my Christmas cards in one big pile. I came home and put my feet up and feasted on the friendships with which I have been blessed. Somehow receiving Christmas cards AFTER the time you had expected them is like a whole other gift! I paid closer attention to the thoughtful words and the beautiful verses. I listened more carefully to the family news in Christmas newsletters from friends I only hear from once a year. I savoured every line and treasured the promise of prayer offered by so many. Once again I was reminded how blessed I am. Thank you, dear friends, each of you who have cared enough about me to spend the extra money on postage to send a card to Moldova. Don't worry that it didn't arrive before Christmas. (God bless Moldova Post.) After all, Christmas lasts for well over a month when you are on an international team - starting with December 6 for the Dutch and finishing with "old" Christmas for the Moldovans on Jan. 7 and then even further with "old" New Year on Jan. 14!!

And I wish you all a most blessed 2007.

But wait!

While I'm telling you about my wonderful sister, I also need to share the news about her daughter, my wonderful niece - Jenni. This weekend a very intelligent man made a very wise decision when he brought this chocolate truffle cake to my chocoholic niece (ok, so it runs in the family - never mind). Even if it hadn't been chocolate, I am sure that the answer Jenni would have given would be the same as she has been quite smitten with this knight in shining armour for quite a while.

So - congratulations to Jenni and Chris on their upcoming wedding in July 2007. Already for you and your family the year has brought joy and blessings. May you know many more!!

A pinch of unreality - or is this possible?

I remember when I first moved to Toronto from Nova Scotia. You have to understand that Nova Scotia is a small province in a big country and the people there are friendly, hospitable, relaxed and unsophisticated. For many in my province, moving to the metropolis of Toronto is almost a form of betrayal of all that is simple and pure and good. Everyone knows that the big city is full of dangers and evil, greed and corruption, and worst of all, arrogance. Living in Toronto was the last thing I ever wanted, or expected to do. (Note: After 8 years of life and ministry there, I look forward eagerly to returning to this city I grew to love.) And yet like any perceived danger and unknown situation there was also a sense of adventure and excitement in coming to this most multicultural of all cities in the world. I remember for the first few months, every time I drove down the Don Valley Parkway and saw the CN Tower like a beacon in the distance, I had to pinch myself. Could it be true that I, a simple Nova Scotian, was living in the city of Toronto?!?

In some ways coming to Moldova was a return to the simplicity I left behind in Nova Scotia, Canada. Life is more relaxed here than in Toronto, with the option of occasional sidetrips to beautiful places like Budapest, or Prague, or Vienna. But there are aspects of life here that, like Toronto, take me well outside my comfort zone. And so occasionally I find myself pinching myself. This evening I was sitting in a restaurant with a newly engaged couple having the introductory session of our marriage preparation sessions. Marriage preparation, something familiar, something I have done before and enjoy doing. I didn’t really expect that I would have the opportunity in Moldova as the chances of exercising a pastoral role in many aspects are limited for a woman. But in this case, the guy is American and the girl is Romanian and they will be married in Romania by a pastor from one of their churches. So they have asked me to provide premarital counselling. I am happy to – so what’s the deal about pinching myself? I’ve never taken a couple through marriage preparation before in the Romanian language. This, to me, seems like an incredible thing. But it’s really true. Praise God!

A Family for Christmas

The first Christmas was an event that not only brought to us the One who was to become our Saviour, but it also honoured the human family. God entrusted His only Son into the care of adoptive parents and made Jesus to become part of an earthly family. In heaven I suppose Jesus had God and all the angels to spend his time with and to share in family events together. But on earth, his family, initially, consisted of a young woman engaged to be married to a man who wasn’t sure what to do. They became Jesus’ family when He was away from home.

This Christmas, again, I have been away from my home and family.I wish I could have been with them - I've decided that is the very hardest thing about being a missionary. I was all too aware that although I held a baby at Christmas time, it wasn't my grandbaby, and although I mothered some young adults, the deepest places of my heart still long for my own young adults. And talking on the phone to my mom and my siblings just isn't the same as being there among all the Christmas trappings and jokes and familiar smells and sounds. But nevertheless, God did give me a family with whom to share Christmas in Moldova. It might have been lonely except for the fact that I had another ‘family’ here over the holidays.

Our team gets a good Christmas break and lots of time to relax and be refreshed before the new year begins. So I invited anyone who wanted, to come and stay at the house I have been house-sitting while the American missionaries who live here were home in the USA for Christmas. (Don’t worry, they told me I could! Thanks, Tanya & Kevin!) What a blessings this house has been! And what a great thing it was to have Katy, Alex, Emily, Esther, and sometimes Renia, Lilian, Victor, Stephanie and Cherise to be my adopted ‘children’. They are all fellow OM-ers and Katy, Alex, and Emily are members of the OM Romania team that has come to stay with us for a few months. They were great!

Some people came to stay overnight and some came just for a meal. So as not to be bored or lonely over Christmas I just kept inviting people to my house. On Christmas eve and again on New Year’s eve I had gatherings and I had two dinner parties the week after Christmas. For each event I was not alone in preparation and setting up and it was so fun to have my ‘kids’ to work with me. As you can see, (this is for you, Inga!) there was lots of food. Notice that the vegetable platter is empty – everyone likes fresh veggies (and we don’t get them often here in winter).

On Christmas morning everyone helped peel potatoes so we could make mashed potatoes to take to dinner at Matthew and Helen’s place.




On new year’s eve we had several groups of children come to our door, as is the custom, to sing carols and recite poetry. The first group was four boys, 12-14 years old, who recited poetry while ringing little bells the whole time and every once in a while joining together in a unison “hey-ho”. I learned from making a mistake last year, that when the children come to recite poetry they expect to receive some food and/or money. The fact that some of the children came back a second time made me think that maybe we were being overly generous with the money!



Later in the evening, around midnight, we went outside to see the fireworks. People all over Chisinau were setting off their roman candles and whistlers for everyone else’s amusement. I’m sure we watched fireworks for at least half an hour – big ones in the center of the city but lots of smaller ones above us and around us in the neighbourhood. On New Year’s Day, starting late in the morning, we sat around the table for hours working on some of the salsa, cake and fruit salad that hadn’t been eaten the night before as we talked and shared and prayed together. Not a bad way to begin 2007.
Thanks to Skype technology I did talk to my own children over the holidays, and I did miss them dreadfully, but all in all, it wasn’t so bad. And it’s not over yet! This Sunday is the Moldovan ‘old’ Christmas (set according to the Orthodox calendar) and I have been invited to join another family for their Christmas celebration. More about that later…but for now – Happy New Year!