March/April 2011

And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. (1 Samuel 7:10)

Dear Praying Friends and Ministry Partners,

The Philistines were ready to attack Israel, and the people were crying out for Samuel to pray for them. Samuel told them they must first get rid of their idols and serve only the Lord. They repented of their sin, and Samuel prayed and offered sacrifices to the Lord. God caused a great thunder, which threw the Philistine army into disarray and allowed Israel to win a great victory. Remember that God is willing and able to work in mighty ways if we are fully committed to following Him.

Ministry Notes

On February 20 Iosif Teglas was ordained to become the pastor of the Fink's church plant in Osorhei. It was a beautiful day, and the building was full! Missionary Walter Stevens, who is a dear friend of Tim and Iosif, was able to deliver the charge to Iosif via Skype. Praise the Lord, this time the technology worked! During his mentorship Dave has had a chance to get to know Iosif better. Dave really enjoys hearing Iosif preach and seeing him interact with the church members.

During the past two months Dave has been working closely with Tim Fink, Luke Warner, and Iosif. He started out by reading a passage and sharing a brief lesson. In March Dave began working on longer messages, which he writes out and reviews with a Romanian-speaking friend.

Ruth has been busy with homeschooling the girls. The new school room is working very well. Ruth has also met several of the neighbors, some with children our girls' ages. Now that the weather is getting warmer people are outside working in their gardens, so it's a good chance to build relationships. We routinely hear, "We are waiting for you," which is the Romanian way of saying they want us to stop by some time. Our American mindset resists this since we would normally call ahead, and these visits can sometimes last 1-2 hours.