Spring 2020

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. (Mark 8:34-35)

Our theme for this year with the teens has been Walking with Christ. To walk with Christ is a life changing response to the message of the Gospel. If we are truly wanting to follow Him, we must be willing to 'deny' ourselves and take up the cross of Jesus Christ. We, thus, receive the gift of eternal life, while demonstrating our dependence on Him as our Lord and Savior.

COVID-19 Update

Romania has been under a state of emergency since March 16. Strict social distancing and restrictions on travel have mostly kept the virus from spiraling out of control, but the coming Easter weekend in Romania will continue to put pressure on the systems preventing the virus from spreading.

At the same time, many who normally leave Romania for the spring and summer harvest season in western Europe are stranded at home. Money is becoming tighter for everyone, and patience with the restrictions is wearing thin. Unfortunately, many of our Roma friends do not fully understand the seriousness of the situation and how dangerous the virus could be to the community. We are praying especially for wisdom on their part, and for God’s protection.

Prior to the travel restrictions being applied, our team felt it would be helpful to put together food packets for each of the families in the Roma community. We were able to hand out 55 packets, and many expressed their gratitude for the items. We hope to repeat this effort once it is safe to do so.

Just before the state of emergency went into effect, we decided to suspend activities at the church. We will continue to do so until the government lifts the restrictions on groups meeting together. Since then, Dave has been holding a mini service on Sunday with singing and a message from the Word. Thursdays he streams a lesson and singing for the teens. Ruth is recording video lessons for the pre-school and elementary children. Since Romanian Easter is this Sunday, April 19, she has been posting a special lesson each day for the two children’s groups, focusing on Jesus’ last week on earth. She has enjoyed using a set of wooden nesting eggs (The Easter Story Egg) as a starting point.Using the Romanian word for Christmas (Craciun) as an acronym, the girl explained that Christmas begins with Christ (Cristos) the King (Rege), Long-Awaited (Asteptat), Sung to (Cantat), Lifted up (Inaltat), and Humble (Umilit), who offers us New Life (Noua Viata). We pray that the message of salvation through Christ was heard clearly and will yield fruit in God’s timing.

May the Lord bless and protect you through this crisis!

Dave, Ruth, Celeste, and Amber

Spring Ministries

Ruth had two big projects in the weeks leading up to the coronavirus reaching Romania. In February and March, Ruth prepared a series of 5 lessons for the teen Potter’s Club meetings. Those who participated learned how to work with plastic canvas to make colorful pieces of art. She literally spent hours working out the best method to teach the lessons and preparing samples for the teens to follow.

She also worked with teammate Nicki to prepare the March 7th Spring ladies meeting. So many ladies came and enjoyed the home decorating theme, but they also learned that it is Christ working through us that truly makes our home a beautiful place. Please pray for spiritual fruit.

Family News

The coronavirus had a dramatic effect on Celeste's sophomore year of college. Thankfully, she was able to spend the last two weeks of March with Dave’s brother and family. She is now back in Cedarville off-campus housing finishing her classes online and working for the summer. However, she will not be able to participate on the Romania team again this year as the university has suspended all summer ministry trips.

Amber’s summer plans have also changed. Her mission trip to Japan has been cancelled, and her retake of the ACT has been moved to June. However, she was recently accepted to begin taking dual-enrollment courses this summer.