Telling the Story

No photos tonight as it is late and I really should already be in bed. But I just wanted to stop by briefly and say hello to my friends and faithful blog readers. Thanks to Karen from Missouri for her note - hope you received my e-mail. :-) My time in Toronto seems to be pretty occupied and next weekend is my last one here in Canada. This weekend I had the opportunity to meet with some of my supporters and answer their questions about my ministry. Then this morning I visited the children's Sunday School in my church, sharing photos and prayer requests with these little ones whom I know will remember me in prayer. I have meetings this week with CBM, with the church Board of Mission, and several coffees and meals with friends.
I am hoping that if there are others whom I have not had a chance to visit, that you might drop by the Mission Expo next weekend: www.missionexpoto8.com and see what is happening in the world of missions. I will have a missions display set up so come and visit me there! God bless you all!

Maritime Connections

Since my last posting I have covered a lot of territory. I preached in 2 churches on Vancouver Island and I also had an awesome visit with a college friend, Marianne. We hadn't seen each other in 30 years so we had a lot of catching up to do, some of which we did while walking on beaches and some while cozying up with Marianne's border collie, Spuds. It's interesting that many of the people I have stayed with are dog-owners. Now why is that, do you suppose? Thanks, Marianne for such a great time and for sharing your doggie with me.
After preaching twice on Vancouver Island I returned to the mainland and the following Sunday I preached at Hillside Baptist in North VAncouver.It was a real pleasure to be there, and to meet the pastors and the enthusiastic members of that church. I took advantage of the visit to that side of the city to make a trek up the mountain on a gorgeous sunny day, for a spectacular view. Vancouver truly is a beautiful area and I was constantly awed by the mountains.
At the end of January I packed up my belongings, grateful for the accomodations some dear Christian folk had generously provided. I said so long to my daughter and her family, to my son and to my brother and his family - and I headed all the way east.
What a great time I had in the Maritimes! A bit of a whirlwind but I so enjoyed reconnecting with dear friends at Acadia, at West End Baptist in Halifax, and at Kentville Baptist Church. It was wonderful to stay in the home of some of my oldest and dearest friends, Barry and Anna, and catch up on all the news that neither of us are good at communicating on a regular basis. And - I got to cuddle their dog Cinder too! One of the coolest events in Halifax was a luncheon hosted by a friend of my mother's and to which a bunch of Mom's friends from my growing-up years were invited. It was a real treat for me to see my favourite grade school teacher, Mrs. Stone. But I had to keep reminding myself that I am an adult and not 12 years old! It was a great time, though, and thank you, Joan, for planning and hosting this special luncheon. (see above)
In Fredericton I went walking in the snowy woods with my sister Beverly, who also pampered me by taking me for a pedicure. :-) That was before she asked me to come and talk to her puppet group about my ministry in Moldova.
I was excited to see and to hear about the good things God is doing in the Maritimes. If you want to hear the sermon I preached at the Acadia Divinity College chapel, you can find it online. I'll find the website and post it here later. Anyways, it was wonderful to be in the Maritimes.

I had a few days in Fredericton with my sister and a visit with my brother and his family, as well as with my aunt on the south shore of Nova Scotia, and my sister-in-law in New Minas, NS. While at my aunt's place in NS and having brunch with her wonderful neighbours, I asked my sister and Anna-Clare to poze for me, so I have to include that photo. See on the left. Thanks, ladies!

It was wonderful to have a social evening organized by dear friends in the Wolfville area and to reconnect with people I hadn't seen in ages. Thank you so much, Judith, Lorraine, and Kevin! Eventually I had to squeeze all my stuff back into my 2 suitcases and fly away to Toronto.
But now here I am in TO, where I was so warmly received and welcomed by my sending church. And the other bonus inToronto is my son Ben. I get to visit with him and hopefully share in a bit of his life. I will also have time to visit with my mother, who is not far away in Hamilton. I know this month is going to go quickly and already I am thinking more and more about being back in Moldova. But I am enjoying myself and so grateful to the Lord for filling my life with so many dear friends. A couple I know have let me stay in their home while they are away, so I am enjoying having my own space, but also getting some great exercise shovelling all the snow that - like God's mercy and grace - keeps falling and falling here in Toronto.

Greetings from Vancouver Island!

So here I am on Vancouver Island, far on the west coast of Canada. Strange, when this weblog is supposed to be about Moldova! However, I just wanted to check in as I know many of my loyal readers may be wondering what I’m up to, now that I am on furlough.

Just to fill you in, after a great Christmas with my family, I am now doing official “deputation”, which means I go to different churches to raise prayer and financial support and to report on the ministry in which I am involved in Moldova. Last Sunday was my first Sunday preaching, as a missionary, in a Canadian church. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Ward Memorial Baptist, a small Vancouver church with a decidedly international flavour and a warm welcoming atmosphere.

This Sunday I will be preaching in two churches here on Vancouver Island. I came a few days early to meet some colleagues and do some networking. I enjoyed hearing the Baptist pastor and author, Mark Buchanan, speak at a ministerial about the process his church is involved in of reaching out to First Nations people. He spoke of justice issues and the importance of the church owning the ministry of reconciliation with those who, in this case, are their close neighbours. Often, it seems to me, Canadians tend to ignore or avoid native issues so it was very encouraging to hear that a church is actively addressing the injustices of the past and the mistrust of the present. I also met with a colleague who, as a single woman, adopted two Romanian orphans many years ago, and again I was encouraged to see and hear of ways that Christians are actively seeking to live out the gospel and to share the abundance with which they have been blessed. These two examples show that the sharing of abundance is not always in a material form, i.e. giving money. The wealth we have consists also of relational blessings and spiritual resources, psychological well-being and an understanding of justice. Canadians in general are materially wealthy compared with many nations, but they are also wealthy socially and psychologically and educationally. I am more aware than ever of the Scriptural exhortation of the reason for wealth: “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.” (2 Corinthians 9:11a) The second part of that verse goes on to say, “…and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” That has been true of me in the sense that I have been at the receiving end of much generosity on the part of family and friends and fellow believers who don’t even know me. Their generosity is not something I can repay, but it does result in thanksgiving to God. And Lord willing, I will make an effort to pass on those blessings to others as I have opportunity.

While I am on Vancouver Island I am also doing some sightseeing. I was only in Victoria once before and that was when I was a child. This afternoon I took a bus tour, just to get an overview. Now I have to work on my message for Sunday, so this will be short. Enjoy the photos – Victoria is a lovely city, and as you can see there are many indicators of the presence of several First Nations people groups in this area.

PS – Please feel free to make comments on my page and remember you can do it anonymously but it is nice to know who is commenting.

PPS – To Corinne and all my Dutch friends – please note the Carillon tower, which was donated by the Dutch community of British Columbia in honour of Canada’s 100^th birthday in 1967, and the cornerstone was unveiled by Queen Juliana. Across the street is the Peace Tulip Garden which commemorates the Canadian troops who liberated the Netherlands at the end of WW2.

A Day with Alejandro

Last week I very magnanimously offered my daughter a day off.  And I spent a good part of the day with my grandson all to myself. We went to the beach and the first thrill he had was banging on a yellow metal bench. Ah, the simple delights of a child! Eventually, once we got the swimmingly big falling-off boots changed to sneakers that fit and made use of the stroller as a pushcart to keep him focused, we made our way to the beach. A child’s best playground, even in January! Alejandro quickly mastered the art of picking up rocks, persuading his grandmother to pick him up, and then attempting to throw them into the water. The other option he mastered was picking up rocks and passing them to his grandmother so that SHE could throw them more successfully into the water. He laughed at the resounding plop when a big one landed in the drink. On the way back to the car a seagull flew in and landed right on the fence beside us – apparently to have a silent conversation with my delighted grandson. Finally the gull crowed a gull-y goodbye and we parted company.

Back at my little seaside suite, Alejandro was content to eat Cheerios and to chase a ball around. He enjoyed munching on fishy crackers and playing with the dinky cars I had bought for him. Before we headed for his home, he browsed multiple times through Grandma’s brag album which featured guess who? Alejandro, of course! We had a wonderful day together and as soon as I put him in his car seat, he fell asleep. When his mommy arrived home, I’m not sure which of them was happier to see each other. But the good news is that I believe Marah will be willing to let him go with Grandma another day soon.

When I got back to my place, oddly enough my body was aching and I went to bed far earlier than my customary time. Guess I must be getting old.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas has come and gone and now I find myself on the brink of 2008, thankful for all the ways God has blessed me. Of course, in recent days those blessings have taken the form of family members and time together with them. On Christmas day we sat around the dinner table with all 3 of my kids, my grandson, my son-in-law and his brother, and my 88-year-old mother. Mom flew out to Vancouver from Hamilton to join us for Christmas, and to enjoy her role as great-grandmother. Little Alejandro was a bit puzzled by all the various aspects of stockings and gift-opening, etc. He was glad to get some of his new things but his mom had to help him open most of his gifts! I think my adult children still have as much delight in receiving gifts as they ever did. We had a lot of fun filling one another's stockings - a long-standing Christmas tradition in our family. Our family circle was completed by the very active participation of my brother's three pets - 2 dogs and a cat - as we are house-sitting in my brother's home. The animals ensure that there is never a dull moment (should one ever arise!).
Alejandro by the Christmas tree

So now it is New Year's Eve and I am celebrating it quietly. The month ahead holds lots of challenges for me as I visit various churches in the Vancouver area to share about our ministry and mission in Moldova. And I am conscious that in Moldova, tonight people are celebrating what generally is the largest celebration of the Christmas period - New Year's Eve. Moldovans of the Orthodox tradition will not even be observing Christmas until January 7. New Year's eve is a time of great feasting and partying. Carolers will be coming to people's doors for the next week or two in Moldova to sing seasonal songs and recite poetry. It is expected that children come to the door, ringing a bell and singing or reciting poetry with the expectation of receiving food or money in appreciation of their efforts. Do Canadian children even still memorize poetry?? And we used to carol in the neighbourhood when I was a teenager, but do people still do that anymore? Or is that a regional thing?
I'm not sure if reverse culture shock has struck yet, but I certainly do feel the materialism of our culture. I was thinking today of the fact that in Moldova, when life is hard (which it often is), people look to the west or to some other country or situation, thinking their happiness is to be found there. But here in Canada, if life presents challenges or difficulties people generally don't look to go somewhere else, but they look to the malls and E-bay and acquiring more stuff to satisfy their quest for happiness and fulfillment. Or they seek to change themselves in some manner, to make everything alright.
Do we all seek to escape the difficulties and challenges of life? Or do we receive the challenges, along with the benefits and joys, as gifts from the Lord, meant for our growth and well-being? James said "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you are involved in various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance (or the ability to endure). But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4) How often are we willing to learn endurance? ... to hang in even when the going gets rough? Who knows what benefit it will be to ourselves and probably to another when we make the effort to stick with it, even when 'it' isn't comfortable, pleasant, or easy?
I know of a young woman in Moldova who returned to her home village rather than leaving the country. As a result of her endurance and her choice to seek the welfare of her family and her village rather than 'escaping' and seeking her own fortune, there is now a church in that village. There is a feeding program for the elderly and a children's program for the poorest children of the village.
My hope and prayer for myself and for my children is that the majority of our decisions will not be based on our own happiness but on the possibility of improving someone else's lot in life. As we have received so much in our lives, we need to look for opportunities to give to others. May your New Year 2008 be filled with the joy of giving!

Grandma's Coming for Christmas!

It was the day before I was to leave to come home on furlough, starting with Christmas with my family. I had decided to invest in a national Moldovan costume and the woman at the place where they make them was very helpful. She was also very busy and she mentioned, on the day I ordered the blouse, that she was leaving the next week. The same day as me, in fact. So on the very last day as I was frantically trying to get everything done, including cleaning and moving out of my apartment, I went to pick up the blouse. Speaking to the woman, ‘Doamne Maria’, we discovered that we would be on the same red-eye flight to Frankfurt in the morning. And sure enough this morning at 4.15 a.m. we met again at the Chisinau airport. She actually came and found me and we chatted together. She was a bit nervous as this was her first time flying to the US by herself. She, like me, was going to visit her children, who were studying in the States. Her son had been there for 9 years so she and her husband had visited before. It is not an unusual thing in Moldova for parents to be travelling to visit children who are living, studying, working in the US.

In fact, once we got on the plane, I was sitting across the aisle from another Moldovan woman. She leaned over and asked me where I was going and if I speak English. It turned out that she too was travelling to the US to visit her children, and her grandchildren. But she was especially nervous as she had never travelled there alone and had never gone through the Frankfurt airport. And she didn’t know any English. French, yes, but English, no. She asked if I would help her figure out where to go to make her connection. I confidently assured her that the Frankfurt airport was not too complicated, even though it is big, and that the signs are well-marked and that there is an information booth. She seemed re-assured and very grateful that I would help her find her way to California. (Later, we discovered that the airport was being renovated and nothing was simple for anyone, even seasoned travellers.) As we disembarked from the plane and got on the bus it turned out that the 3 of us women – 2 grandmothers and a hopeful – were sitting together on the bus. I indicated that I knew ‘Doamne Maria’ and as they were sitting side by side, they begin chatting. Both being native Moldovan, conversation between them came much easier than with me in my limited Romanian, and I was pleased that they seemed to be connecting. Elena, the other grandmother, seemed to be touched by something they were discussing and she was wiping her tears with one hand at the same time as she held on to a giant ‘walking’ doll that she was taking to her little granddaughter. In the other hand she clutched her purse and other hand luggage. I smiled as I thought of the outfit I had bought for my grandson on the last day on a whim. Later, I was concerned as I saw her heading off alone down the corridor that someone had indicated, towards a different connection than mine. I was glad I could at least say a prayer for her and know that God would also help that grandma to get to her little ones for Christmas.

Yes, Alejandro, Grandma is coming for Christmas, like so many other grandmas all over the world who eagerly look for opportunities to be with their precious ones. For weeks, no, months, I have been waiting and planning and buying a few little things as I dream of the moment I will finally hold you in my arms again. I can hardly wait to see how big you have grown – and walking now too! I am curious to see if you will remember me from when I sang to you on my visit in the summer. I look forward to playing with you and cheering for you and baking together with your mommy and laughing at your antics. I look forward to being part, if only for a short time, of the joyful and loving home of which you are blessed to be a part. I want to be a legend in your life and a haven for your heart. I want you – and others - to know how precious you are to me and I want you to understand that in an even greater way, you are precious to our heavenly Father. And I hope that after this – and for years onward – you and your siblings and cousins will be happy and excited to know, as often as it happens, that “Grandma’s coming for Christmas!”

Precious Things (in no particular order)

1. Every year of life, and the good friends that go with it..
Last week I celebrated my birthday. Again. Every year, another one. Last year was a very significant one but this year, I have announced to everyone that I have made a turnaround, a u-turn - and instead of the numbers increasing, they are decreasing. So this was my 49th birthday. Again. :-) It was nice to have a few of my dear friends over for supper and the evening. Corinne, Claudia, Viorica and of course, Corinne's best friend, Silutsu(Silas) all helped me to enjoy a quiet but very pleasant evening. This was possibly the last time I will entertain in this apartment as I will be moving out just before I head to Canada. Not sure where I will live when I come back at the end of February, but I know that the Lord has just the right place for me.

2. Family, especially grandbabies!
Speaking of birthdays, last month my wonderful grandson Alejandro celebrated his 1st birthday! Take a look at these photos and see how much he has grown in the space of a year!


He's walking all over the place and I can hardly wait to get to the Vancouver airport and see him walk straight to his Grandma. (OK - maybe he won't remember me and it will take a few days, but he will walk into my arms at some point. Of this I am sure.)




3. Relationship with God through Jesus Christ
So, for a couple more weeks I will enjoy life here in Moldova as the weather is getting colder and colder. Several of my teammates live in the villages and making the long trip to the little house in the backyard in the bitter cold is not something I would want to do every day. But they are willing to live simply and to recognize that the comforts of modern life and suburban 'success' are nothing compared to the joy of sharing the love of God and the hope of Jesus Christ with people whose lives are hard and whose hope is lost. All of us missionaries are not living as simply as those in the villages, but whether our lifestyle is easy or hard the most important thing is what we value. We seek to value what Jesus valued. Jesus valued His relationship with His Father above all. His life was a walking demonstration of the love of the Father for all people and His death was a sacrifice that made it possible for all of us, for each of us, to have an intimate relationship with the Father who forgives those who trust in His Son.
What do you value most in life?

Pig Snout Soup

One never knows what will be in the soup. At missionary training school we were warned not to be surprised to find a chicken's beak or feet in the soup. And sure enough one day in a village we were served chicken, not in a soup but just as pieces of meat. And on the plate were the chicken's legs and feet. Not attractive at all but we laughed as we watched the Moldovan guys pick them up and tear off what little bit of meat was on them.

So the other day we went to Nisporeni to visit one of our outreach teams. Their meals were being generously prepared by members of the church and so we joined them for lunch. We had lovely bowls of cabbage soup, with a few bits of meat. One girl claimed she had a pig's ear, which is generally a delicacy in Moldova. Afterwards I was passing through the kitchen and one of the girls called me over to have a look in the soup pot. I kid you not - this is what was there. We had just enjoyed pig snout soup! Don't you wish you were here to enjoy the epicurean delights of Moldova?

Before we enjoyed lunch, though, we had gone with the team to watch them present a program for a local kindergarten. These are government-subsidized day programs for very young children. They were so little and soooo cute! Our team sang some action songs and the littlest wee ones made a valiant effort to follow the actions. There was a play presented with a moral and a spiritual lesson, a puppet show and a magic trick and another song rounded out the program. In all of this the team had freedom to present moral lessons that were also including spiritual truths about a Creator who loves each person unconditionally. I'm sure that in each presentation these teams make in various kindergartens, precious seed is being sown as children hear of God's unconditional love for them and of someone named Jesus who loves every parent and every child.

Back to Antioch

'From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.' - Acts 14:26,27

In December, I will be heading back to Canada for my home assignment, or furlough. This is an extended time in my home country when I will have the opportunity to report to my sending church, and my sending denomination, and others who are interested, about the work that I have been doing here in Moldova. As well as presenting the ministry of OM Moldova in various places, I will also be spending some time with family and hopefully having some opportunity for R&R and possibly look into some educational opportunities.

I thought it would be a good idea to post on this blog the dates of where I will be when. That way if you or your church group would like to invite me to share, you will know if and when I will be in your area. Please feel free to contact me at barbtherev@gmail.com.

December 14 - 31 - Vancouver (time with family over Christmas)

January 1 -23, 2008 - Lower Mainland, British Columbia

Jan. 9-13 (tentatively) - Vancouver Island

January 24 - February 4 - Maritime Provinces

February 5 - 25 - Toronto & southern Ontario

Feb. 22-24 - Participation in Missions Conference at YPBC

February 28 - Return to Moldova

a new princess

This week a new little girl joined our OM Moldova family. Ianosh and Mariana (see my blog of Aug.14/06 - Moldovan wedding) welcomed the arrival of their first child, a daughter. Her name is Beatrice Sofia and she appears lovely and healthy. I have not yet had an opportunity to visit but I hope to soon. Ianosh was involved in a serious car accident the week before and was still recovering from his bruises at the time of the baby's birth. We are thankful that the whole family is safe and well.

The Joy of Teaching

My friend Corinne tells me that I am delinquent in my blog entries. So here I am. Can you believe it is well into November already? The weather has been getting colder and yesterday morning there was even a dusting of snow. I am holding off on wearing winter coat and boots until it is truly, officially cold. My niece in northern British Columbia tells me that already they have lots of snow there. But here the leaves are still on the trees, although the colours have changed.

Recently I have been enjoying the opportunities that are mine to do some teaching within our training programs. I have one group of Moldovan young people whom I am leading in an inductive Bible study of 2 Timothy. This is a challenging assignment because it is being done completely in Romanian. There are a couple Russian-speaking members of the group so the only translation that is happening is from Russian to Romanian.(No, I don't speak or understand Russian - one of the girls translates into Russian for the others.) I look forward to the time when I can do this kind of interaction without having to use my English Bible at all. The group is very patient with me and gracious in not laughing at my many Romanian language mistakes.

** Moldova trivia quiz: What is the purpose of the blue bucket-shaped object in the picture?

I also had opportunity to teach a Bible lesson to the level 1 mission training program, with a translator beside me. The topic was 'The Father Heart of God'. I know that it is very possible, even likely, that some or most of these students have had absentee, abusive or alcoholic parents. Understanding the true nature of their heavenly Father as having a character of love, patience, compassion, tenderness and forgiveness is essential for their spiritual growth and development. As they did last week, in the coming weeks these young people will be involved in outreaches into the villages of Moldova. There they will share the love of God the Father with their words and through their deeds.

Another group I am involved with is the small group of foreigners who are enrolled in our mission training program. Participants from US, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland are bravely taking on the challenge - over the course of 10 weeks - of being immersed in another culture, with minimal language training and many challenges in terms of living conditions and relationships with nationals. The cross-cultural international nature of the course is in itself a huge learning curve for all involved. Part of the challenge for us as leaders is ensuring that not only the foreigners, but also the nationals have some degree of cross-cultural training and sensitivity. Even such small things as common health remedies can become an issue of contention when the views from various cultures are diametrically opposite. For example, will sleeping with the windows open keep you healthy or make you sick?

Tomorrow evening I will have this small group over to my house for supper and an evening of relaxing away from the stress of trying to communicate in another language. They are a fun group and I'm hoping I can come up with a good idea of what to cook for supper. This evening I made chocolate chip cookies. I might just go with spaghetti and meat sauce for the main course - we'll see.

My other teaching challenge this fall is the course for Viorica, who is planning to go to Angola as a missionary. In her course thus far we have covered the biblical basis of missions and now we are supposed to be working on the history of missions. This is more of a challenge for me and I am stumbling in how and what to include in our lessons and discussions. Soon we will spend a fair bit of time looking at cross-cultural issues and cultural adaptation. At the same time we are beginning to obtain more and more information on all that is required in order for her to even get to Angola. Visa applications for 3 different countries, vaccinations, work permits, communication with her sending church, support-raising....it is a huge challenge but also very exciting. We are learning about Angola and as we do, I am reminded once more of what a thrill and joy it is for me to be here - to be part of what God is doing in the lives of individual believers as well as what He is doing in the world. And I pray that my heart will constantly be open to what He wants to do in me.

happenings

This photo was taken at our banquet on the last night of our Leadership course. The girl receiving her certificate is from Uganda and works there with Wycliffe Bible Translators. I hope to go to Africa someday...

So a few days after I arrived back from Hungary it was my friend Corina's birthday. I and some others went out to her house and I brought a cake I had made for her. It was a great meal and a fun time.

You may remember that my friend Kathy came to visit in August (that was awesome!) and we had a good time together.
During her time here one of the places she saw was the 'pitichka' which is like a Moldovan version of the Canadian Tire store. She wanted me to take some pictures of it as she was not able to. Here's me buying an extension cord and power bar.

It's been a busy time since I arrived back from Hungary. I've had a Bible study to lead for one of our courses and for the next few days I will be leading the Bible study at a conference we are hosting for the people who work in our day centres. All day today we had our leadership team meeting and tomorrow I will be doing my annual evaluation with my field leader. On Monday my roommate moved out and I am alone in my apartment again, which is fine. But not here for long as my landlady has decided to sell the apartment. Hopefully I can stay here until I leave for Canada in December, then save 3 months rent. On my return from Canada in March, I will have the joy of looking for another apartment! Well, at least it helps to keep me from accumulating too much 'stuff' ! Like Abraham, you know, wandering and not knowing where I am going..

What else did I do this last busy week? Oh yeah, on Thursday, I had all the new foreigners over for supper. This group of young people have come - all except one - soleley for our Challenge into Missions 10-week training program. Two from the US, one from Australia, one from Canada and one from Switzerland have come to be part of our team for this time. It was fun getting to know these enthusiastic young men and women. I fed them dinner and then invited them to make their own dessert as one had indicated that he liked to make food. So Nate and Bethany went to work in the kitchen and whipped up some delicious apple crisp, while the others took turns checking e-mail on my high-speed internet. This week and next they are with outreach teams staying in the villages - not likely to be internet there!

So, that's what's happening with me, just in case you are wondering. Thanks to all my loyal readers for your faithfulness. And praise to God for His great faithfulness!!