Winter 2022

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

Paul writes to the Corinthians of the unique relationship between the Holy Spirit and the believer: the thoughts He brings to our minds, the understanding He provides, the wisdom He bestows on us to make good decisions. These are given to us by the One who dwells in us. Although there is much turmoil and uncertainty all around us, be encouraged by the living Holy Spirit who is continually working in us.

Furlough Ministry Continues

Throughout our furlough, we have been very thankful to the Lord for keeping us healthy and safe on the road as we visited most of our supporting churches. We have a few remaining meetings over the next couple months, and we are looking forward to being back in Romania June 1.

Sarah Weidner is continuing her preparations to join our team for a 1-year term (and longer as the Lord leads). She is currently at 84%, and she is trusting to be at 100% before we return to the field, so she can arrive soon after us.

We also have four individuals from two supporting churches who are interested in short term-ministry this summer. Pray for each of them as they are applying through BMM, and that between now and then the pandemic and related travel uncertainty will subside. Pray for the Lord to use them for His service according to His plan.

Family News

We are proud of Amber as she excelled academically during her first semester at Miami. She also made several new friends and began her first part-time job.

During the winter break, Amber was pleased to be hired at Ulta Beauty. She loved working among beauty and body care products, and she really applied herself during the second half of her break. She hopes to return there this summer.

Celeste and Ben are continuing to plan for their wedding. They both will be busy with classes this semester, each taking 18 hours. It’s been a blessing to be able to see them several times throughout the week, to work on wedding plans, and to meet the young ladies in Celeste’s bridal party.

Celeste also reached a milestone with her service dog trainee, Humble, that she trained throughout 2021. He is currently back at 4Paws for Ability in Xenia for his advanced training. He will soon be placed with his permanent home. Celeste has since volunteered to train a new puppy named, Brady. He is off to a good start!


Thankful for the One who lives in us and guides us daily!

Dave, Ruth, Celeste, and Amber

Field Update

Our teammates, Luke and Kim Warner and Nicki Carr report that a full slate of Christmas activities in Luncsoara took place on December 23. There were Christmas parties for the teens, a children’s choir performance for the parents and families, Also, there was caroling in the village. In January, there are plans to offer an English class for adults who are planning to leave Romania for work in the spring.

The fourth wave of the pandemic had mostly passed by December, but since the holidays, the number of cases has risen dramatically to its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic as Omicron arrived. Pray for our teammates to remain healthy and to be able to continue ministry this winter.

The ongoing uncertainty in Ukraine is also a concern for us as Romania shares a border with Ukraine. Romania is a member of NATO, so it is foreseeable that Romania could become a target of Russia, given its strategic importance in Eastern Europe. Pray that war can be averted and that any potential conflict would not extend to Romania.