Andrew and Geta - Family and Ministry

Christmas Play: The Three Trees

2012-01-13T14:47:00.000+02:00

This is a video of a play that Geta did together with the Sunday School kids here in Romania on Christmas Sunday. It is a simplified version of the story "The Three Trees" (or in Romanian, "Povestea Celor Trei Copaci"). Geta only had a couple Sundays to get the kids ready, but they do fine. I drew the outline of the pictures, and the Sunday School kids had fun coloring them.

Our daughter Ammi is the first tree, Elijah appears as a carpenter, and Joseph as a woodsman. Another boy, also appearing as a woodsman, is not one of our regular Sunday School kids, but has been coming fairly often to our youth meetings; he wanted a part in the play too (which was great), so we got to include him as well.

The video is made using a cell phone, so the quality is not very good, but those of you that are familiar with the story can figure it out pretty easily. The audio quality is also not very good so you'll have trouble hearing the Romanian. We hope you'll enjoy it for what it is though.

Take care and may God continue to bless you!

Andrew & Geta

God's Protection and People's Gratefulness

2011-08-03T10:07:00.005+03:00

Andrew with some of the people in the village of Plopi

Dear Friends and Family,
We hope and pray that all is well with you, and that you continue to be blessed and see God's hand in your lives on a daily basis.In June the we saw the lower floor (most of it) of the multipurpose building here on the property completed, which has been areal blessing. It turned out very nice and "homey" feeling, and is a very pleasant atmosphere to be in for Sunday services and fellowship times in the afternoons - although most of the fellowship time is spent outdoors these summer days.
Sunday afternoons continue to be a great time of fellowship here as people from several different churches come to spend time together, whether that is visiting around a picnic table with drinks and sunflower seeds (the hang-out snack of choice here) or friendly competition in a game of volleyball. It is also a good opportunity to include/get to know more non-believers, as several have come when they have opportunity.
We saw God's hand of protection in our family a while back as we went to a village near the city of Targu Jiu. When we were about 20km from the city, in a curve, the front driver's side wheel of the van came off and shot off into a nearby field. Needless to say it was quite a surprise, but praise God, I was able to hold onto the wheel until we slid along and came to a stop mostly off the road. Turns out the big screw in the middle of the wheel came out somewhere along the line. But God's hand was certainly upon us, as none of us was hurt, no other cars or people were anywhere near when it happened, and not more damage was done to the car. To make a long story short, We have a friend in Targu Jiu who helped us non stop in the next two days to get the car to the city, find parts. etc. we really thank God for the people he has put in our lives!
Late in June, the planter of the church where we serve, and his wife left with their family to move back to America. It was a sad day for everyone here, and hard on all the kids to see their friends leave for good. But we are convinced that God is bringing even more good from this than we can dream of. Church is continuing, and we believe God is going to do great things. Please pray for the people still here, the leaders, and those whom God will put in our path and in the church's sphere of influence.
Near the end of June, I had the opportunity to help some friends take several mattresses, boxes of clothes, etc. to the village of Plopi to some needy people, about 50 kilometers away. We went to a couple different families, and people and kids just crowded around to see what was going on. (The picture at the top is me with some adults and the adorable kids) I am still amazed at the profound gratefulness of people in the villages when they receive something.
Thank you for your continued prayers for us and for Romania. May God continue to pour out his blessings and fill your lives!
In Christ,
Andrew & Geta Roby

Thank You / Support Information

2011-06-30T17:19:00.003+03:00

Our family at the St. Ana's Monastery in Orsova, May 2011. We went there one Sunday afternoon with a number of people from church.

Our family would like to thank each one of you for the many ways you continue to bless us here in Romania. Your friendship and support of our family have been an immense encouragement to us. Thank you for keeping us before the throne of God in prayer, no matter what the circumstances. God continues to show us how good he is!

Thank you also to MCII (Mission Churches International, Inc.) for allowing us for the last year to be a part of their organization, and for the help that they are to us in prayer, finances, and accountability. We have been missionaries now with MCII for the last year. MCII is the only non-profit organization we are affiliated with, and through which our support is sent. (http://www.mcii.org/)

If you are interested in what the Lord is doing in Romania, and continuing to support us and our ministry financially, whether that would be ongoing monthly support or a one time gift which is tax deductible, a check would be made out to: MCII; and it would be sent to: P.O. Box 354, Ellsworth, KS., 67439; please note that it should also have our name (Roby) written in the memo line.

We also have a new mailing address here in Romania (it's a p.o.box). If anyone would like to write to us, the new address is as follows:
Andrew & Geta Roby
OF. Dr. Tr. Severin 1,Ghiseul 2
C.P. Nr. 12
Dr. Tr. Severin
Jud. Mehedinti
Romania.

Thank you again, and God be with you!
In Christ,
Andrew & Geta and family

Give Us Your Eyes...

2011-05-25T16:43:00.008+03:00

Andrew visiting with Panas, a woman in a nursing home in Satu Mare.

On April 28 - May 1, 2011, myself (Andrew) and three other leaders from the church had an opportunity to take a trip together to a different city to be at a gathering of missional churches - churches that are not cast in the mold of traditional churches at all.

So we left from Drobeta Turnu-Severin on April 28th and drove to Timisoara where we stayed the night. The next morning at 3:30 we got up and left for the rest of our journey which would take us through Arad, Oradea, (and a myriad of small villages) and finally to Satu Mare, our destination - about 570km total (about 10 hours' drive!)

Beginning Friday the 29th until Sunday May 1st at about lunch time, the people and churches that had gathered from many different parts of Romania shared their experiences, asked questions,learned and interacted with each another, with the goal of understanding more what missional churches are and how they function. Some were there to share how they function as a missional church, and others were there to try hear more, and try to see if that is the direction God may be leading them.

The overall goal was sharing about and understanding more about what missional churches are and how they function. The missional church movement here in Romania is mostly made up of groups of people who meet in their houses once or more per week, similar to small study groups, except these are considered churches. In a given city or area, any number of these "house churches" meet together in a larger group setting, once a month or more, whatever the groups decide together should be the case. These types of churches are very interactional within themselves and with each other - and they are a phenomenal way to reach many unbelievers that people come in contact with on a daily basis (work, school, neighborhood, etc.), people who may not be interested in church in the traditional sense, but may be open to a gathering of friends and saints in a house setting (a house church). Based on the testimonies and stories shared at the gathering, this way of missional church - of living church daily in our every day way of life and touching the lives of those we come in contact - has opened many doors, and changed many lives.

At one point we broke into three large groups and went to visit three different places: a retirement home, an orphanage, and a psychiatric hospital. I was able to go to the retirement home, and it was very moving to see how happy and thankful the people were, just to have someone to listen to them for a few minutes. We also had a singer with us - Cristian Cazacu - who sang a few songs for them, to their great enjoyment. I think we stayed there a good hour or so, and during that time I got to visit at length with a woman who had just had her 86th birthday the day before, believes in God, but is tired of "religion". It was a great opportunity, we had a very nice talk, and just before we left she let me pray for her. It was a profound experience, and if you would like to pray for this woman, that God would touch her and turn her heart to him, her name is Panas. (She is the elderly woman in the picture with me at the top of this blog entry).

I have to say that this is an exciting time in Romania, and in the church around the world. As many of you already know, the missional church movement is not something that new, and did not originate in Romania. It is something that has been growing and building for some time, and one of the ways we believe God is using his people and working through them as time for the world grows short.

We learned a lot over that weekend (at least I did), and got to spend a lot of time visiting with and getting to know others who think in this same way. We were also blessed to stay with a family who has one of these churches in their house, and it was great to get to know them a little as well. Definitely my favorite part of the weekend, how I was blessed the most, was the time I got to spend meeting new people and in fellowship with others. There always seems to be that nearly instant bond with others that love the Lord that makes talking and getting to know one another so much easier.

And, praise the Lord, Sunday at lunchtime we headed home, and 10 hours and 570km later we arrived safe and sound back with our families in Drobeta Turnu-Severin.
Thank you Lord for keeping us safe, and helping us understand more of how you are working in our lives and the lives of those around us. Give us your eyes to see others the way you see them...Amen!
Andrew & Geta and family

News from Andrew & Geta

2011-05-05T15:33:00.008+03:00

April 24, 2011: Easter Sunday.
Top row: Geta, Jeremiah, Andrew.
Bottom row: Elijah, Joseph, Ammishaddai

Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings from Romania! We pray that all is well with you and trust that your Easter was a blessed time of remembering and celebrating what Jesus has done for each one of us.
Our family is doing well in Romania. God continues to hold us in the palm of his hand, continually blessing us and leading us one step at a time. The kids continue to grow and learn new things. It's hard to believe that Joseph is 8 years old now, Ammi 6, Elijah 5, and Jeremiah 3!
We have continued to serve God to the best of our ability where he has placed us. I (Andrew) continue to serve as an elder, leader, and teacher in the church; I have also recently started discipling/mentoring a couple of boys from the church, using the study book “Experiencing God”, a book that had a profound impact on my life when I went through it years ago with Pastor Ron Sutter. Geta continues to teach children's church using the Betty Lukens Bible Felt, and is involved in a bi-weekly women's Bible study with women from different churches, and they are currently going through the book “A Woman After God's Own Heart”.
Work on the property where we live has also picked up in recent weeks, including everything from making a new main entrance gate for the property, to working on the multipurpose building including mixing and pouring concrete, installing insulation, and putting up drywall. It is work, but the building is looking more and more complete and ready for use, whether for church services, conferences, times of fellowship, whatever the Lord desires!
We appreciate all of your continued prayers, and continued support. You have given sacrificially for us to be able to live here and serve the Lord in Romania; and we believe you have spent much time in prayer before God on our behalf, and continuing would be difficult if not for your prayers. We do have a few prayer requests, things that you can be praying for specifically as the year continues.

1. The man and his family (Ionut, Jenni, and children) who started the church where we are serving is moving to the states in June. This will leave a void in our church leadership at least for awhile as we adjust to their absence. Please pray that the leadership team that remains will continue to be united and seek after God and his will and direction without fail. Pray that we will be able to touch more lives for the kingdom of God.

2. With Ionut and family moving to the states, our family will be put in a position of more responsibility here at the property where we live, everything from paying bills and overseeing repairs that need to take place, to supervising who comes and goes, and overseeing events that may take place here at the property. Please pray that we will exercise discretion and be wise stewards of what God is placing into our hands for a time.

3. Please pray for the women's Bible study that Geta is involved in, that it would continue to bless the lives of ladies from different churches.

4. Please pray that my (Andrew's) time discipling/mentoring the two boys from church will be a great time of discovery about God and his ways, and a time of growth in the Lord in their lives. If you would like to pray for the boys as well, their names are Vlad and Mihai.
Thank you again for your continued support, and your prayers for our family and ministry. May God continue to pour out his blessings upon you as you follow him with your lives.
Be Blessed!
Andrew, Geta, and family

“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” -- John 16:33b

A Mission III: Rast Nou

2011-02-02T11:56:00.004+02:00

Mission to Rast Nou. Left in picture: afternoon soccer game with church and villagers; right in picture: kids from both churches and village playing together.

Toward the end of 2010, our church family had another opportunity to go to be together with other believers. So on the morning of November 14, we set out and drove about 135 kilometers to the village of Rast Nou (New Rast). There, a good friend of ours Adi, together with his wife Monica and their baby daughter pastor a church and minister to the people there.
Our purpose for this mission was very similar to the other two ministry missions we were previously able to go on, to Bals(h) and Hobita. Our purpose was to go together as a church body to another, and spend the day first in praise and worship of our Lord together, learning from his word together, and then fellowshiping as brothers and sisters together in the Lord. Although not a new church, this church is relatively young, and has a good number of people that attend. While again one of the goals was to build unity within our own body through this experience together, the greater goal was that of building up and encouraging other members of the body of Christ, and being in fellowship with them.
As with the previous two missions, by the grace of God, this mission was also a success. There were more than twenty of us who went from our church, and we had a great time together with the people from the church at Rast Nou. We had a great worship leader with us named Ana, and were able to sing a number of songs for the people there which was enjoyed; Ana also sang several solo songs, which were a great blessing. That was followed by teaching from the word of God, and then lunch together with Adi, Monica, and several members of the church.
The church in Rast Nou has a fenced in soccer field right next to it, to which Adi and Monica hold the keys. After lunch and some fellowship, people were invited and many came to play soccer together with people from our church. It was a lot of fun to watch the games between people from the two churches and others from the village, and what a great opportunity to reach out to others!
Another aspect of the afternoon which was thoroughly enjoyable was the large number of young children that came to watch the games and "hang out" in the general area. Our group had brought several kids along, and for us personally, it was a blessing and an encouragement to see our children playing together all afternoon with kids of all ages and backgrounds from the village. Geta and I also spent a lot of time with the kids who came to play; it was a joy.
Our trip as a church body to Rast Nou did come to an end in the late afternoon, and we headed back to Turnu-Severin. It was a good trip, and it was great to see old friends and get to know new ones. People from both churches were blessed and encouraged.
We are praying that these sorts of opportunities to meet together and encourage other believers will continue to happen when the Lord determines the right time. We also continue to be hopeful that through ministry opportunities and experiences like this, many believers will be encouraged, that unity within the church on a local level and beyond will grow, and above all that God will be glorified!
As you hear of the encouragement of your brothers and sisters on the other side of the globe in Romania, may you be blessed and encouraged as well. Remember to pray for Adi and Monica and their family, and that God will continue to bless the church and ministry in Rast Nou.
May Jesus Be Lifted Higher in 2011!
Andrew & Geta & family

A Mission II: Another Opportunity

2010-08-20T12:44:00.017+03:00

Mission to Hobita, June 19-20, 2010

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Blessings to You and Your Family!
After our opportunity in May to go together as a church to Bals(h) to be with the believers there, we had another opportunity to go in mission together as a church body to a different church also some distance away. This time, on June 19-20, we went to the church in Hobita, about 170 kilometers away, a three hour or so drive.
Those of us from the church who were able to go left on a Saturday afternoon, we had lunch together in a park in Caransebes, and then were able to spend an hour or so at a historic site named Sarmizegetusa, where we walked among the ruins of the Roman settlement established there about 101 A.D. From there it was just two kilometers to Hobita.
Similar in purpose to our mission to Bals(h), the purpose for our trip to Hobita was to go as a church body to another church body, spend the day together first in worshiping the Lord and teaching from His word, and then fellowshiping together as brothers and sisters in the Lord. Whereas before we had gone to a relatively new church, this was pretty much the complete opposite. The church is well established, but very small; there are only a couple of younger people in the congregation - it consists almost entirely of elderly people, two of which have died in the last year or so. Hobita is a group of believers in great need of hope and encouragement.
While again one of the goals was to build unity within our own body through this experience together, the greater goal was that of building up and encouraging other members of the body of Christ, and being in fellowship with them - being believers in Christ together in unity.
As with the earlier mission, this time of fellowship with the believers from Hobita was a great success. We all arrived in Hobita Saturday evening, and after initial greetings and introductions, we went to our respective houses where we were to be guests for the evening. We were received with such love and generosity it was as if we were royalty; we had gone with the idea of wanting to be a blessing to others, and yet it was we who were so greatly blessed!
The next morning we met together at the church, and we all worhiped the Lord together in joy. We sang old songs, and new songs, and there was even a poem or two read. Then we had an excellent teaching and encouragement from God's Word by Ghita, a guy from our church, about being full of joy, based on Jesus' teaching in the beatitudes.
After the morning time together, we all went to a lady's house from the church, and spent the afternoon visiting, getting to know one another, and of course, enjoying a meal together. Again we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the saints there in Hobita, for they had prepared a virtual feast for us, including traditional Romanian chicken noodle soup, sarmale (cabbage rolls) and visli, which are sausages made from sheep meat (sounds kind of weird, but they're quite good!)
Later in the afternoon, after several hours of fellowship and getting to know one another, we returned to the church for another time of worship together and some more Bible teaching, this time from our pastor, Ionut.
As we were preparing to dismiss the service and all go back to the house where we had spent the afternoon together to say our goodbyes, some other guests arrived, including another mission worker / pastor, and a man visiting from France. We all went back to the house together, and stayed there together for another half an hour or so singing and praying together, before people had to start for home.
It occurred to me during that last half hour together that we were getting just the tiniest glimpse of what heaven may be like: there we were - Romanians, Americans, French - though different in these earthly bodies, we were unified together prayer, and in love and worship of Jesus. It was moving, and one of those profound moments in life that are not easily forgotten.
Our trip as a church body to Hobita was a very special couple of days, and a great time to get to know some new people. Again new friendships were formed, and people from both churches were encouraged greatly. It seemed that God truly did pour out His blessings upon everyone in abundance during this time.
We as a church are hopeful that this sort of thing will happen again this year, and have made plans to visit another church when the possibility opens up. We also continue to be hopeful that through ministry and experiences like this, many believers will be encouraged, that unity within the church on a local level and beyond will grow, and above all that God will be glorified!
As you hear of the encouragement of your brothers and sisters on the other side of the globe in Romania, may you be blessed and encouraged as well; Jesus truly is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think - and he continues to do just that!
May you be blessed abundantly!
In Christ's Love,
Andrew & Geta & family

God is Good!

2010-06-23T10:23:00.011+03:00

Announcement: New Support Information

"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds." - Nahum 1:7; Psalm 84:11, 36:5

Dear Friends and Family,
We hope this blog entry finds each of you doing well and being continually blessed by God. We want to thank each of you for your continued prayers, patience, and financial support of us and our ministry here in Romania, and your faithfulness even during these months that at times seemed difficult. God continues to bless us, and he has been faithful as always during these months as we have been looking for and talking with different sending agencies.
Thanks in large part to your prayers for us, we are very happy to be able to announce to you that we have been accepted by MCII, or Mission Churches International, Inc., as missionaries under their organization (more information about MCII can be found at www.mcii.org). This is an answer to much prayer, and cause for celebration!
If you are interested in what the Lord is doing in Romania, and continuing to support us and our ministry financially, whether that would be ongoing monthly support or a one time gift which is tax deductible, a check would be made out to: MCII; and it would be sent to: P.O. Box 354, Ellsworth, KS., 67439; please note that it should also have our name (Roby) written in the memo line.
Thank you again for your patience during the last few months, and the generosity you have shown toward us. Your continued friendship and support of our family have been an immense blessing. Thank you also for keeping us before the throne of God in prayer, no matter what the circumstances. God is good!
Serving Together,
Andrew & Geta, Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah, Jeremiah

A Mission

2010-05-24T14:26:00.006+03:00

Mission to Bals(h), May 02, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,
We want to share another ministry opportunity that we had recently, and that was to go as a church body on a "mission" to another church.
On May 2nd, we as a church body (whoever could come) went to the town of Bals (pronounced "Balsh"), a 125 kilometer, two hour plus drive away. Our purpose was to go as a relatively new church body to another new church and to spend the day together first in worshiping the Lord and teaching from His word, and then fellowshiping together. While one of the goals was to build unity within our own body through this experience together, the greater goal was that of encouraging another very young church and building unity not just within a single group of believers, but crossing those perceived "church group" barriers and simply being believers in Christ together as one group, and enjoying fellowship as one body.
The mission was a great success. After the morning worship time together, I gave a short encouragement or challenge to the people, followed by a Bible teaching by our pastor. After the morning time together, we all went to a nearby park and spent the afternoon visiting, getting to know one another, and of course, having sandwiches and drinks. It was a great time to get to know some new people, and the kids had a lot of fun playing together with new friends they made as well. New friendships were formed, and everyone from both churches was encouraged greatly.
We as a church are hopeful that this sort of thing will happen more this year, and that through it many believers will be encouraged, that unity within the church on a local level and beyond will grow, and above all that God will be glorified!
As you hear of the encouragement of your brothers and sisters on the other side of the globe in Romania, may you be blessed and encouraged as well - remember that each of us is a part of the same body, that of Christ!
"so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." Romans 12:5
May You Be Blessed!
Andrew & Geta & family

A Short Trip

2010-05-17T15:49:00.005+03:00

Andrew, Geta, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ammishaddai, and Joseph.

April 23rd, 2010. Rachitova, Romania

It looks like spring has finally arrived here in Romania. There has been a number of weeks of good warm (and sometimes hot!) weather already. There has also been some thunderstorms, very typical spring weather here.
Thank you for your prayers for Geta's mother (see also last blog entry); she is feeling much better now. We continue to pray for God to speak to her and draw her to himself.
We (Andrew and the children) went to join Geta in Rusca Montana where she had been taking care of her mother, and after a couple days there visiting, we went to Geta's grandparents in the village of Rachitova for a visit as well. While there in that area, we had opportunity on Sunday April 25th to visit the church in Hobita which is only about twenty minutes' drive from where the grandparents live.

We take every opportunity we can when we are in that area to visit the church there. The church is very small, and mostly has only elderly people in it (and two of them have died in the last year or so). We stay all day for both services, and it is always such a blessing for us to be with the believers in Hobita, and they are always so grateful when we come - it's really overwhelming. By the grace of God, I was able to give the morning message in Romanian, with occasional help from my wonderful wife! I gave the evening message in Romanian as well, but I tend not to do so well in the evening after speaking Romanian all day long. I think my mind and tongue both start to get tired after a whole day speaking another language. But thankfully I have such a great wife, who helps me along whenever I need it!
In the end, it was a good trip, with prayers for Geta's mother answered, a wonderful visit with Geta's grandparents (both believers as well), and a blessed time of fellowship in Hobita.
Thank you for your continued prayers for us. We need them! Thank you for your faithfulness to God, and the blessing that you are to our family and ministry.
In Christ,
Andrew & Geta & family

The kids: Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah, Jeremiah. April 27th, 2010. Rachitova, Romania.

Update and Prayer Requests

2010-04-15T15:32:00.006+03:00

Joseph (back), Elijah, Jeremiah, Ammishaddai. Easter 2010.

Greetings to you in the name of the Lord!
We pray that all is well with you and that God continues to bless each and every one of you.
We want to thank you all for your continued encouragement of our family and ministry through your friendship, prayers, and financial support. We continue to pursue affiliation with a missions organization. Toward this end (really a new beginning) we have had positive responses and great conversations via email and telephone with a prospective sending agency.
Please continue to pray for us as we continue our journey toward affiliation; that God will continue to give us insight into the situation,and understanding of what He has for us.
We would also ask for your prayers for Geta's mother. She is not feeling well at all, and Geta has gone for a few days to her home village of Rusca Montana to help care for her mother. The rest of us (Andrew and the kids)will probably go to join her in a few days. We also found out that Geta's mother has gone to church a few times recently, to the same church whereGeta was saved. Pray with us that God will speak to her heart and life in these days and grant opportunities for the Gospel to be shared with her.
May God continue to pour out His grace upon you!
Serving Together,
Andrew, Geta, and family
Please note: There are some additional recent pictures of our family and ministry on our Facebook page.

By Request...[Updated]

2010-01-04T14:19:00.005+02:00

Prayers and Support...

Dear Friends and Family,
Let us first say on behalf of our family, Happy New Year! We hope that each one of you had a great Christmas and were able to celebrate Jesus together with those dearest to you.
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support of us in our ministry "The VR Project: Project Village Reach -- Romania". Thank you for remembering our family during this time when we are in Romania serving as missionaries. God has shown us and taught us many things and he continues to do so. Your faithful prayers and financial support have been a great blessing and encouragement for us.
This letter is to let you know that due to some recent unforseen circumstances, as of January 1st, 2010, we are no longer associated with The Cross Foundation in Baker City, Oregon.
If you are interested in what the Lord is doing in Romania, and continuing to support us financially, whether that would be ongoing monthly support or a one time gift, A check would be made out to: Andrew & Geta Roby; That would be sent to: 294 Jacobson Way, Monmouth, OR. 97361.
Your gift or support would not be considered tax deductible for tax purposes; however, we are currently looking into other options that would provide a mutually beneficial solution for this issue.
Thank you again for your continued friendship and support of our family; thank you for continually keeping us before the throne of God in prayer. May God continue to walk beside each of you, and give you a new year full of blessing!
In Christ,
Andrew & Geta, Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah, Jeremiah

A Christmas Letter

2009-12-30T11:44:00.005+02:00

Andrew & Geta Roby & family, at marble mine in Ruschita, Romania, December 6th, 2009

Dear Friends and Family,
We hope this letter finds you well and full of joy, as we remember and celebrate the birth of the One who came to save each one of us.
This year has been an interesting year for us as we have sometimes struggled and sought counsel in understanding what it is that the Lord is doing in our lives, and how we can best serve Him where He has placed us right now. We have been blessed to be continually involved with the church of Smirna in Drobeta Turnu-Severin. God has blessed us with many great friendships which continue to deepen, relationships that God is using to prepare us for the next stages of ministry.
We have had many opportunities to serve within the church. I have been continuing to teach and serve as an elder in the church, and Geta regularly teaches Sunday School. The kids have enjoyed singing in church, and learning in Sunday School. At the property where we live, we had the privilege of serving others through hosting fellowship gatherings of anywhere from ten to forty people, from different churches every Sunday afternoon from spring through fall (weather permitting). I (Andrew) was also recently able to go with a group from church for a day to help a church planter in another area cover the roof of his church (still under construction) with tar paper. These have been chances to witness God's hand at work in people's lives here, and be a part of it; they are but glimpses of what God is doing in Romania for His kingdom.
We have also had opportunities to learn and serve outside our church as well. Early on in the year we were the principal caretakers for a very poor family. This family with four children had nothing but the clothes on their back, and nowhere to go where they could stay warm. To make a long story short, it was decided they could stay at the property where we were staying until winter had passed. They were allowed to stay in a camping trailer here complete with beds, table, and heat. We, together with others from the church, were able to give the family much-needed food and clothes. Since we lived right here on the same property, we were able to take part in the day to day needs of the family in different ways including serving them cooked meals – and of course coffee and tea in the mornings! God blessed us through this experience and it was a great learning experience.
Our opportunities to serve outside our church continued throughout the year with things like History Makers, conferences that are designed to help young emerging leaders identify that God is calling them to be leaders, and to seek how God is in fact calling them to lead through service to Him. It continues to be a privilege to be a part of the History Makers conferences as a teacher; it is great to see God moving in such a way through young people all across Romania.
We were able to go to a couple of different villages a number of times this year, continuing to work toward building relationships with people there, and ministering how we could. In Giubega, where we believe God will place us to live permanently, we were able to go several times this year and encourage Niculeta (the one christian lady there), as well as visit with some of her relatives and neighbors; we even had the opportunity to have an Easter “service” for the neighborhood kids. Hobita is a small village that we are blessed to be able to visit whenever we are in the western part of Romania. It a very small church in need of encouragement, and God used us to encourage the believers there through visiting with the people and continuing to build relationships with them, as well as by participating in their services through sharing, singing, and Bible teachings. In the cases of both Giubega and Hobita, while we believe that God used us to be a blessing to others, it is clear that God also used them to bless us and encourage our family as well. What a great God we have!
Opportunities to serve that we see on the near or immediate horizon include: continually being willing, able, and ready to serve those with needs around us; increasing our understanding of leadership God's way through experience in serving at Smirna where God has placed us at this time; being ready to follow God leading in ways He wants to equip us to better serve Him and understand how we can best reach this culture for God; having a continued impact on young leaders through the teaching opportunities we have with History Makers.
Also, in the weekend of December 18-20, our church hosted a group of people coming from another city that went together with us to families in the area that have little or nothing. The plan was to go to these families where there is great need, do some singing, and take much-needed food and clothing to as many as possible. We were able to do that, as well as give out Operation Christmas Child boxes to children in those families, which was a moving experience. Everyone involved in this prayed that it would be a huge blessing to those families, as well as a chance to share the reason behind why we are doing something like this (Jesus!).
Please continue to pray for our family as God continues to work in us, teaching us little by little and directing us only one step at at a time where He wants us to go. God has been teaching us over this last year and a half that He cannot be “put in a box”, or fit into some formula, and that his timing is not always our timing. In the end, it is about understanding, and being aligned with, what God has for us to do here and now, and faithfully serving in that.
Please pray for boldness, courage and more of a servant's heart for us as we serve where God has directed; we also ask your prayers for wisdom, patience, and continued determination to serve the Lord to the fullest of our capacity and the best of our ability in the place and time where He has placed us now.
God has showed us again and again that He is the one who provides for us. We never went hungry, and (as many of you have heard us speak about before) God has always been faithful to provide for us, and we believe He will continue to do so. God has never let us down. We would ask that you pray for God's continued incredible financial providence for us. God's hand continues to be seen in small day to day things; He has continually kept His hand of blessing upon us.
God has truly been good to us this year, and continues to teach us so much! Thank you for your continual friendship, your continual sacrificial support for our family, and of course, your continual bringing of our family before the throne of God in prayer. You are a part of what God is doing in His kingdom here in Romania.
God be with each of you, and may you be blessed by Him this Christmas season more than you can ask or think! (Ephesians 3:20)
In Christ,
Andrew & Geta and family

Jeremiah, enjoying the deep snow that fell just days before Christmas.

Ammi, Joseph and Elijah and the joy (and utter freezing coldness) of snow angels!

Elijah, Jeremiah and Ammi work together on the wall of a snow fort.

Summer Turns To Autumn

2009-09-09T20:20:00.001+03:00

Geta and the kids take a rest during a hike up the hills
while visiting the grandparents in Rachitova. May 2009.

Dear Friends and Family,

The summer is nearly over; it's hard to believe that it is almost time for the leaves to start falling from the trees, and for school to start again.

We had a summer full of things to do around the property here where we are living, of opportunities for fellowship, ministry, and growth. The kids played all summer long outside, running in the grass, and splashing in an inflatable pool we were able to get. We raised 150+ chickens (live and learn), and went camping with people from the fellowship we attend and serve in.

Geta, together with the pastor's wife has been involved in leading a women's study group on and off over the past few months. The ladies really enjoy getting together on a regular basis, and seem ready to learn and appreciate what is being discussed. They are currently going through Debi Pearl's "Created To Be His Helpmeet".

Andrew went recently to a men's retreat nine hours drive away with several men from the church, where we were encouraged to live a life that will leave a legacy that honors God - very powerful teaching on families and being "men that bear the imprint of the Master". This is the second year we've heard the speaker - Greg Buorgond of Heart of a Warrior Ministries - and it is an experience not easily forgotten, and one I would recommend to any of you men back home without hesitation.

We have had a busy summer, and are expecting to have a busy fall and winter too, with Joseph starting school, and Ammi and Elijah beginning to learn some new things; and preparing for winter by getting the house ready, fixing the wood stove, getting fire wood ready, and making sure certain pipes and things don't freeze again this winter.

We thank you for your prayers for us and know that many of you have been so faithful in praying for our family - please continue to pray for us! Prayer requests right now would be: 1> that we would be able to get enough fire wood to last the winter; and 2> that we would be able to insulate the small bathroom next to our house so it doesn't freeze this year. Please pray that God will provide the means for us to accomplish this. Also, please keep the van in prayer - it has been at the repair shop for two weeks, with the mechanic not knowing how to fix it, trying different things, etc. It appears that it may finally be fixed in a couple of days (we hope so!).

We want to end this update today with a praise. As many of you are aware, we have been praying for and searching for a rear bench seat for our van for over a year now. While at the men's retreat I met a man who put me in touch with a friend of his, and we were able to "secure" a bench seat for our van. It is in Timisoara (a city about four hours drive from where we live), and it just remains for us to go and pick it up when we can. God's hand was clear in this situation!

Thank you again for continually holding our family up before the throne of God; it is encouraging to know how much we are loved, and please know that you are loved as well. May God, who has everything in His hand, continue to watch over and bless each of you; and may you continue to walk with Jesus more closely each day...

In Christ,

Andrew, Geta, & Family

p.s. We have been reading Proverbs with the kids almost every morning at breakfast, and came across this great one the other morning: "My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off." -- Proverbs 24:13-14

Elijah, Joseph, and Ammi together with some of their friends at the "kids table" during Sunday afternoon fellowship. Summer 2009.

The kids watching in delighted wonder at nearly 300 baby chicks. (Almost half of the chicks would die in the following days, mostly from suffocation). June 2, 2009.

This is the site where we went camping this year - our "church camp" if you will. July 22-26, 2009.

The God Who Is Near

2009-06-15T16:42:00.007+03:00

April 19th, 2008 (Easter Sunday in Romania)

“for 'In him we live and move and have our being';” (Acts 17:28a)

Dear Friends and Family,
greetings in the name of Christ from our family, and from your brothers and sisters here in the country of Romania. We pray that this has been a year of blessing for you so far, and that each of you have seen God's hand at work in your lives.
We continue to serve here in Drobeta Turnu-Severin at the church of Smirna, and it continues to be a blessing for us to be here, to be able to grow in our friendships with others, and to grow together in the learning of God's ways and who He is. I (Andrew) am continuing to serve as an elder, as well as teacher in the church, and Geta continues serving as either a the teacher or helper in the children's ministry. It is exciting to see what God is doing in the hearts and lives of people - even just to hear what the kids learned in Sunday School!
We have been able to be a part of a citywide project that brought youth from all over Romania to help clean the streets and do various projects as a testimony of Christ, to Geta attending a History Makers leadership conference, to Andrew attending the Romanian Global Leadership Summit; there have been endless opportunities to grow and learn more about the God we serve and were created to glorify.
It has been a great blessing to be able to live in a house this last year or so – to have the room for our family, and to have the outside open space for the kids to run and play and just be kids. Among our various responsibilities here at the property, this year we have a small garden with some strawberry plants (very popular with the kids) and sweet corn that we brought from the states (very popular with Andrew and Geta).
Our children Joseph (6), Ammishaddai (4), Elijah (3), and Jeremiah (1) are growing too fast. Joseph is a good reader and continues to develop his writing and math skills. Ammishaddai has shown an interest in school and will begin learning to read in the fall. Elijah loves to color, and play outside. Jeremiah has been walking on his own for several months now, and loves it. The kids have all had excellent health this last year that we have been living in a house, just outside the city. They have gotten colds a couple of times, but nothing like what they had to go through when we lived in a block apartment in the city. Thank you all so much for your prayers for our children - please know that they are much appreciated. God has heard your faithful prayers and our family has been blessed because of them, and because of who He is!
Another way God has blessed us this past year is with a good van (you can see pictures on our website). The exterior needs a bit of work, but the engine is in remarkably good shape. We have had it for about ten months now, and it continues to function well, and has been such a blessing. For those of you that are aware, we have been praying for a rear bench seat for the van since we bought it, and we know that many of you have been praying along with us. We know that God will provide one at a good price at the right time. Please continue to pray with us!
God has continued to bless us abundantly this year through His grace continually poured out upon us, and His direction in our lives for His purposes, and through you as well, from your continued friendship, to your encouraging communication, to your faithful support, to your much-coveted prayers.
We hope that this update from the other side of the world about the great ways that God has been working in our lives and the wonderful ways in which He has been taking care of us here in Romania has been an immense encouragement to you. I would like to end this letter with one more encouragement to you, taken from Paul's address in the Areopagus, Acts 17:
“...he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything...that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,” (Acts 17:25b, 27)
May the God who gives us all and is always near continue to pour out His blessings upon you.
Love in Christ,
Andrew & Geta, Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah, Jeremiah

The End of the Year and the Start of Another

2009-01-31T11:26:00.004+02:00

Joseph and Jeremiah out in the snow!

Dear Friends and Family,
We have seen the end of one year, and the beginning of another...and already, a whole month of the new year has passed us by; how fast time seems to go by these days!

Our family had a good Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year together, and we trust that those were special times for you and your families as well.

For Thanksgiving, we had a great family dinner together at the house we are currently staying in. December was a cold month, with snow falling about the middle of the month. It was not a lot of snow, but it was cold enough that it actually stuck around -- frozen -- until about the middle of January.

Joseph (our oldest) celebrated his sixth birthday on December 24th, and we had a special day just being together for him.

On December 21, we had a short Christmas play at the church, in which Ammi and Joseph played Mary and Joseph, Elijah and Geta were shepherds, and Andrew was a wise man (hmmm).

On Christmas Day, the believers from the church gathered together and had a wonderful Christmas dinner. There was a lot of fun, laughs, and good fellowship. Later that evening, we enjoyed our Christmas together as a family, and all had a great time.

New Year's Eve was spent with some friends of ours at their house, enjoying fellowship and food, and bringing in 2009 together. Some of us went into the city just before midnight, though it was bitterly cold, to get a good view of the fireworks. I've never been in a war zone, but perhaps it was similar -- fireworks explosions going off constantly all around, literally right above us, and many others lighting off roman candles and all manner of other fireworks that shoot sparks and fire.

Just after the new year, on January 4th, we celebrated Jeremiah's first birthday, again having a great time together.

Praise God, we have been able to keep warm this winter. Our original plan to use heaters was not as affordable as we had hoped -- there seems to be some issue with the electricity hook-up here at the house -- so we have been chopping and using firewood in the one fireplace in the house, and using a fan to circulate the heat into the next room, which seems to work pretty well.

We have included four pictures here for you which we hope you enjoy. God be with each of you as you start this new year together with Him.

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, and friendship; each is greatly appreciated.

Your friends in Christ,

Andrew & Geta and family

Elijah and Ammi out in the snow!

Joseph turns 6

Jeremiah turns 1

T4: The Transporter

2008-11-17T13:46:00.007+02:00

Dear Family and friends, and with special recognition to the Bridgeport Chapel youth group, we are thrilled to finally show you the van that God has provided for our family here in Romania.
It was one year ago today that the youth group of Bridgeport Chapel put on one of the greatest (and funniest) fundraisers that we have seen. The goal of that fundraiser was to raise money for our family to be able to purchase a van for personal and ministry use.
We had been praying for over a year for God to provide a van for us, and He brought us one directly from Germany, basically just like we had wanted and prayed for. We have a great God! We paid the equivalent of about $4,700 for this van (including the tax to register it), about half of which was raised solely at the Bridgeport Chapel youth group fundraiser of November 17, 2007.
So on the one year anniversary of that fundraiser, it is with pride in how faithful our God is, and with deep gratitude to all those who sacrificed their time, talent, money, support, and prayed along with us that we present some pictures of that van here for you.

The van is a 1993 Volkswagen Transporter, or T4 for short; it has a 1.9 liter diesel engine, and gets excellent mileage for a van of this size.

We had hoped to have a license plate that said "MH 07 BPC" to honor the Bridgeport Chapel youth group, but that was not available. However, the letters we received with "CRF" at the end make us think of "crucified" or "Christ Reigns Forever". Either way it's great!

Although the van does need some body work, the motor is in very good shape. It has room for eight people, but we do not have a rear seat yet for the van. We are praying that God will provide one for us at a good price.
To the Bridgeport Chapel youth group: witness the results of your special efforts for the glory of God; may each of you be blessed this day, knowing that you did this for Him!
Thank you again to each of you who sacrificed your time, talent, money, support, and prayed along with us for this gift from God.
Please pray with us that that God will provide a rear bench seat for the van, that He will keep His hand upon the van, and that it will be used to bless others and glorify the One who is above all!
love,
Andrew, Geta, and family
please note: we now have a page on Facebook as well; we have also added a few various pictures there.

A Few Pictures of Our Family

2008-07-22T12:25:00.003+03:00

We hope each of you have been enjoying your summer this year. Below are just a few pictures of our family taken relatively recently. Enjoy!

Elijah, Joseph, Ammishaddai in a silly moment...

Elijah posing by a 1967 Mercedes

Ammishaddai in the grass

Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah and the Landini tractor

Andrew & Geta on Geta's 26th Birthday, June 22, 2008

Kids in the Summer

2008-07-22T12:13:00.005+03:00

Greetings Friends and Family!
Here are pictures of each of our children, taken relatively recently. They were taken on the property where the house we are currently staying in is located. It is summertime, and the weather is beautiful here in Romania! Please enjoy these pictures, as well as the ones above.
--Andrew & Geta & kids

Elijah, now 2 years, 5 months

Ammishaddai, now 3 years, 5 months

Joseph, now 5 years, 7 months
Jeremiah, now 7 months

Continued Prayer Requests...

2008-04-29T10:49:00.003+03:00

Dear Friends and Family,
We as a family want to thank each one of you who continue to pray faithfully for us. We have a great God, who without any doubt is "...able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think..." (from Ephesians 3:20).
HEALTH. Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah, and Jeremiah have already gone through a couple of very rough sicknesses while we have been back. At present, they are all healthy, and enjoying playing and learning. Joseph has been enjoying learning to read, and learning math and writing as well. Please pray for their continued health, and that God would protect them from sickness. Please also pray for continued health for us as parents as well.
GOD'S PROVIDENCE. God continues to bless us and take care of us in ways we never dreamed. Please pray for His continued hand of providence upon us, as prices continue to rise, and the dollar continues to drop in value. God calls us, He sends us, and he will provide!
PLACE TO LIVE. We have had to move out of the apartment in Drobeta Turnu-Severin that we had been staying in because the owners want to renovate. We have been watching for a month and a half for another apartment to move to. Not only have rent prices skyrocketed here, but we have been unable to find any acceptable apartment in which to move. However, God has still provided for us! We are moving to some property just outside of town that belongs to Ionut Corlan, and are going to stay in a rulota (camping trailer) for at least a month or two until we can find something else. On that property is a house and a conference center, where we'll have a room to store our things, and a functioning toilet and sink! This is also a great opportunity for the kids to be able to run around outside all they want, something for which we as parents have been praying a long time. The kids are excited about "camping" for awhile in the trailer. Please pray that God will reveal His will for us as to where He wants us to live during this year to year and a half of ministry at the church of Smirna.
A VAN. We have also been praying for the Lord to provide us a van; we have some money saved from when we sold our other car here last year, as well as the money that Bridgeport Chapel so richly blessed us with last November through a fundraiser. Please pray that God would provide more funds to put together with what has already been saved, so that we will be able to buy a van for ministry and family.
Thank you again for your continued commitment in praying for us; God turns His head, and He listens to us when we speak to Him. May God richly bless each of you for your faithfulness "...far more than anything [you] ask or think...".
“The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:25-26)
“Grace be with you all.” (Titus 3:15b)
Love in Christ,
Andrew & Geta, Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah, Jeremiah
p.s. The pictures included with this blog entry were taken on April 27th, 2008, Easter Sunday in Romania.

Palm Sunday Ordination

2008-04-29T10:41:00.002+03:00

After God had led us to make the decision to stay in Drobeta Turnu-Severin for a season of ministry in teaching and leadership training, the pastor of the church Ionut Corlan, announced to us that he would like to have me (Andrew) ordained as an elder of the church of Smirna.

Though the idea was a bit intimidating at first, we embraced the idea and agreed to it. So, on Palm Sunday (April 20th in Romania), after our regular church service, there was a short ordination ceremony. I (Andrew) came in front of the church, and was prayed for by three men through the laying on of hands, and was then ordained as an elder of the church of Smirna (picture included with this blog entry, below).

Please pray that God would give me more wisdom each day, and that I would fulfill this calling with God's grace, love, and humility.

-- Andrew and family
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (James 1:5)

Leadership Training

2008-04-29T10:13:00.004+03:00

"And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.' And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them." (Acts 18:9-11)
Dear Friends and Family,

Since our return to Romania in late February 2008, God has used people, prayer, and circumstances to speak to us, and lead us as to what He has in store for us for the next season of ministry. Through friendships God has allowed us to develop here as a result of our being a part of the church of Smirna, God has given us the opportunity to stay where we are and help at Smirna for a time.

Pastor Ionut Corlan and his wife Jenni have asked our family to consider staying here and helping the church for this year; they will be gone several months out of the year and believe that we have the maturity and teaching abilities necessary to continue Smirna's spritual growth during their absence.

It is a blessing, and indeed an honor to have been asked to take on such a responsibility; after much prayer, fasting, and seeking the Lord's will for our family, we have made the decision to accept this new task that the Lord has given us, and stay where we are for a year to a year and a half. Our main responsibility in the church will be as one of the principal teachers for the church (Andrew), as well as being a part of the leadership team of the church. We will also be involved with the children's ministry (Geta) at the church, and participating in one to two Bible studies per week.

We believe that this opportunity and decision lines up perfectly with the vision that God has placed on our hearts for ministry in the village of Giubega, and the things He has in store for us in the future. In talking with others who we would be involved with in the village ministry, God confirmed to us that this is what He has for us now. In this next season of ministry God has called us to, we see in it an incredible opportunity for a time of spiritual growth and ministry experience -- a time of leadership training.

This time of leadership training is a blessing, an honor, and a great opportunity; please pray that God will continue to give us hearts to serve, and courage to speak His truth boldly.

In Christ,

Andrew, Geta and family

p.s. the picture at the top of this blog entry was taken on April 27th 2008, Easter Sunday in Romania. The one below of Andrew and Jeremiah was taken recently.
"And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.' And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them." (Acts 18:9-11)

The Church of Smirna

2008-04-29T09:55:00.005+03:00

"'The Words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. I Know your tribulation...Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.'" (Revelation 2:8b,9a,10b)
Dear Friends and Family,

"Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior." (Titus 1:4b)

As many of you know, our family has been living since October of 2006 in Drobeta Turnu-Severin, a city in the southern part of Romania situated along the Danube river. About a year ago now (May 2007), we discovered that my (Andrew's) driver's license had expired, and since Geta does not have a driving license, we were pretty much not able to leave the city much (the driver's license issue was taken care of 3 days after we arrived in the U.S. for a visit last November).

Since the time we discovered that the license had expired, we have been attending a church in the city. Called Smirna (Smyrna, from Revelation 2), the church is relatively new (2 years in September), and it's vision is: "a sea of worshippers in spirit and in truth". Smirna is very much alive, with Biblically accurate teaching, a program for the children during the service, truly moving worship times, and wonderful times of church fellowship together. The Pastor of the church is Ionut Corlan, and his wife's name is Jenni, an American from Wisconsin. They have two daughters, Maya and Lena, and are expecting their third child in November. Our families share a lot in common, from the marriage of a Romanian and an American, to our love of children and people, to our desire -- and in fact vision -- to see more and more people come to Christ in ROmania, especially in Oltenia, the southern region of Romania in which we reside.

At Smirna, our kids have made friends with the other children in the church and have enjoyed being with them and learning during the children's program; Geta has many times helped during this time, or been the teacher during the children's program (she trades off with a couple of the other ladies in the church). I (Andrew) have often been involved with teaching in the church, which is something that I love and have been gifted with; it also gives me plenty of opportunity to learn more Romanian, because I usually teach in Romanian! Practice makes perfect -- or at least better!

We have gotten to know the people that attend the church, and have become very good friends with most of them. The church has many opportunities for times of fellowship together, from birthday celebrations, to meals together (similar to potlucks at Bridgeport Chapel), and even a church campout last July -- a relative novelty here, and well worth the effort.

We are blessed to be a part of Smirna; God has used and will continue to use our time, our friendships, and our experiences there to teach us many things, build our faith in Him and prepare us for further ministry here in Romania. We are blessed with wonderful friends, brothers and sisters who truly love the Lord and want to know Him more.

May God's blessings be upon each of you as well; we love you and pray for you.

Andrew, Geta, and family

p.s. The pictures included in this post were taken on Easter Sunday, which was on April 27th in Romania. The picture below was taken during Sunday School, and if you look carefully, our three older kids can be found in the picture.

The Key to Missions

2008-04-03T12:35:00.005+03:00

Luke 10:2 "And he (Jesus) said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'" (ESV)

Dear Friends and Family,

We appreciate the emails you have been sending to us recently, as well as the encouraging comments you have left for us on this blogsite. It is a blessing when we are so many miles away -- literally on the other side of the globe -- to know that we are still in your thoughts and best of all, in your prayers.

Prayer is the most powerful weapon and ally that we have in our adventure with God through life. You've probably heard us say at one time or another, a quote by E.M. Bounds that has been, for quite some time now, a life motto for us: "prayer moves the hand that moves the world." Prayer gets the attention of God; He turns His head, He listens, and then when the time is right, He moves His mighty hand to move the world!

We share this with you not only because of the truth it proclaims, but because we would like to request that you join us in prayer with regard to our monthly ministry support here in Romania.

As most of you can probably identify with, living costs continue to rise, making it increasingly difficult for our family to make the funds that are currently available to us cover all our expenses from month to month. The drama of skyrocketing inflation continues to unfold here: the price of gas and utilities is steadily increasing; food items increase in price on an almost weekly basis; the dollar continues to decline in value. It is, to say the least, daunting.

Yet, even in the midst of all this, God has every aspect of the entire situation in His control. As we testified at Bridgeport Chapel before we returned to Romania, God has been faithful always to provide for us -- God has never let us down, not one time! We fully believe that God will continue to be faithful, that He will provide for us.

The key to missions is prayer and the church. Who is the church? And who is it that prays? It is you and it is me -- members of the same body, that of Jesus Christ. It is because “the harvest indeed is abundant” (AMP), but the workers are few, that Jesus said in Luke 10:2, that we are to “pray earnestly”, or “Plead with the Lord” (TLB) that He would send out even more workers to do His work, or “…more laborers to help you.” (TLB). That is, we are to pray earnestly and plead with the Lord for people who will help us, work alongside us, and support us in the work of the Lord. Since it is true that not all of us are called to physically go to the mission field, consider that perhaps one way God is calling you as a worker for His harvest is in the capacity of support for a great work that He is already doing.

God allows each of us opportunities to share with others our needs and prayer requests: through friendships, sharing in church, even through a blogsite; we are grateful for this opportunity to have shared these things with you.

God listens when we speak to Him; we must be ready and willing to listen to God when He speaks to us.

The key to missions is the church – the key to missions...is you.

Please join us in prayer regarding our monthly ministry support here in Romania. Let's watch together how God will choose to move the world!

Love, Andrew, Geta and family

P.S. as always, please feel free to email us or call us with any questions that you may have. Also, The pictures posted on this blog entry were taken on April 3rd 2008.

February 17, 2008 Revisited

2008-04-03T11:17:00.006+03:00

We previously decided to post here on our blogsite our project summary and vision statement (see blog entry below on March 18, 2008) so that you, our friends and family, and others who may be interested, may have access to what God has laid upon our hearts as our life's work. We decided to also post here for your review the text of the things we spoke about in regard to the VR Project when we shared them with Bridgeport Chapel on February 17, 2008.
Please take the time to read through the contents and refamiliarize yourself with the things we were able to share with you.
We believe God may once again speak to you and show you why He has called us to Romania, and possibly show you how you can join Him in the great work of His harvest that He is already doing.
God be with you!
Andrew, Geta and family

The VR Project
Project Village Reach: Romania
(Outlined and Shared at Bridgeport Community Chapel on February 17, 2008)

The Calling and the Vision
My wife and I sincerely believe that this ministry of The VR Project is what the Lord has called us to do – that as husband and wife, parents, and servants of the Almighty God, this is what has been laid upon our hearts as our life's work.

Our Vision when We Return to Romania is:
1. To move into and live in the village of Giubega, in southern Romania. There is no New Testament church there, and only three believers in the entire village.
2. We believe that Giubega and the immediate area is where God is calling us to be leaders for Him.
3. We believe that God will provide property and a home for us to live in and raise our family as we share Jesus with those around us.
4. We believe that God will also provide, in accordance with the vision of ministry and service He has given us, a building on that property with guest rooms and a multipurpose room where…
5. Pastors, friends, and ministry teams can come serve and fellowship together, and where God's people can meet to learn more about Him and worship Him.

**We will be working together with pastors we have gotten to know, and with churches we have been involved with. Many of us share a similar vision for reaching unbelievers in forgotten villages of Romania, and are ready and willing to help and support one another in prayer, ministry and friendship, all toward the goal of introducing people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and growing the Kingdom of God.

HOW are we going to accomplish this awesome task, this vision that God has laid on our hearts?
> First of all, WE aren’t – GOD is!
> Working together with others who share a similar vision for reaching unbelievers in the villages of Romania
> We talked Tuesday at the business meeting about the members of the body all working together. (one can’t say to the other ‘I don’t need you’; we all need each other)
> We talked today about praying earnestly, pleading with the Lord that He would send out even more workers or laborers to do His work; God provides the workers; it’s God who provides that support – others who will help you, work alongside you, and support you in His work.
> God uses His people to help accomplish His purposes; whether your heart is for Africa, Romania, your next door neighbor, God is using you to accomplish His purposes.
> I mentioned earlier that God gives us open doors to share the vision (what God is doing) and the needs. I’ve shared with you already today the vision for ministry that God has given to us; let me also seize this moment that God has provided to share with you the needs:

First of all, just like Jesus said: PRAY EARNESTLY
>> above all else prayer is what we need, because when you pray for us, you enter into the very presence of God, and bring our family before His throne.
Second, some people have asked us while we’ve been back, if we could use some more SUPPORT; I said ‘yes we could’.
>> “The Key to Missions is the Church”; (who is the church?) perhaps one way God is calling you as a worker for the harvest is in this capacity of support for a great work that He is doing.
Next, as most of you are already aware, when we return to Romania, we will need to find a VAN.
>> A van will allow us transportation to various areas of ministry.
>> thanks again to Bridgeport and their generosity (you have truly given extravagantly!) 2700 + 2000; 6-7000 total needed
Finally, as we talked about a few minutes ago, we believe that God will provide property and a home for us to live in and raise our family as we share Jesus with those around us.
>> we truly believe that God will provide this for us at the right time
>> a home would allow us to live in the community where we want to minister, get to know the people around us much easier as we live our lives together with them, side by side. We also believe that God will eventually provide the funds for guest rooms and a multipurpose room for ministry and outreach purposes.
>> The basic immediate need right now, is for property and a home in which to live and begin building the ministry
>> 10-15000 to buy; 10000 to fix

Conclusion:
> God appoints us; God sends us; God instructs us; God uses His people to accomplish His purposes.
> We believe the statements contained in this vision statement are 100% true, and that God will bring to pass the vision that He has given us.
> maybe you’re sitting out there thinking, ‘they really are crazy!’. Well, we’re willing to take that risk, and step out of the boat again.
> God is sovereign, and “The key to missions is the church” – the key to missions…is you.

We Made it Back...to Romania!

2008-03-18T11:21:00.010+02:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Geta and I and the kids wanted to say again to each of you that we really enjoyed our three and a half months in the states. We were very happy that we got to visit with so many of you, got to know others of you better, and shared many times of fellowship together.

The time was over too quickly it seemed! We arrived safely back in Romania on February 26th, with all of our bags (and all of our kids)! We are adjusted to the time difference, and we are enjoying once again the fellowship of our friends and church family here in Romania and in the city of Turnu-Severin.

PRAYER REQUESTS: 1) We have learned that we need to move out of our apartment by the end of April - please pray that God will provide a place for us to move to very soon; 2) please pray that in the midst of many opportunities to serve Him, God would give us clear direction as to what he would have us do for the next few months or year of ministry; 3) please continue to pray that God will provide a van for our family: more funds for the van, and patience to wait for the right one, and discernment to know which is the right one.

Thank you for keeping our family lifted up in prayer; we look forward to the next time when we will see each other again.

Love, Andrew, Geta, and family
p.s. We have posted some pictures with this blog entry that we hope you will enjoy. The picture at the top of this entry is of our family taken on February 9th, 2008 in Newport, Oregon. L-R in the back: Geta; the new baby Jeremiah; Elijah; Andrew; in front: Ammishaddai; Joseph. The one directly below is our family outside the airport in Timisoara, Romania, just after our arrival -- as you can see, happy to be back here in Romania (or maybe just happy to finally be off the airplanne)! The pictures that follow have captions above them. Enjoy!

Below: Our family's newest addition, Jeremiah William, resting peacefully on Mommy and Daddy's bed back in our apartment in Romania.
Below: Joseph, our oldest, in the courtyard of the church we have been attending in Drobeta Turnu-Severin with two of his friends.
Below: Our middle two children, Ammishaddai and Elijah, at the table in the courtyard of the church we have been attending in Drobeta Turnu-Severin during a fellowship meal happily eating a popular Romanian meat cooked on the grill -- mici! (meech, little pork/beef/spiced sausages) All the kids love it!

Project Summary and Vision Statement

2008-03-18T10:45:00.011+02:00

We have decided to post here on our blogsite our project summary and vision statement, so that you, our friends and family, and others who may be interested, may have access to what God has laid upon our hearts as our life's work. Please take the time to read through it; we believe God will speak to you and show you why He has called us to Romania.

THE VR PROJECT
Project Village Reach
Romania
Conceived and Designed
By S. Andrew Roby

Project Summary
and
Vision Statement

“The goal of the VR Project is to operate in a village where there has not been a church before, or where there is a new church, and to reach every man, woman, and child with the Gospel message by building friendships with the people, with the goal of winning them to Christ and thereby building the Body of Christ, the Church.”

People Must Be Reached
It is hard to define a specific group of people that the VR Project is targeted at, because the need in the villages of Romania for people to hear and clearly understand the Gospel message is so widespread, the categories of people so broad.
The VR Project then, has as it’s targeted group to reach, every non-Christian person in a specified village. It is an attempt to reach every single person in a targeted village. We believe that every unsaved person in the specifically targeted village should have the opportunity to hear and clearly understand the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. This then includes men and women, single people and married people, families, the young and the old, the rich and the poor.
In these villages that seem forgotten by man, the need for the Gospel, and need for the new life and hope that salvation brings, is breathtaking. That is why this project is so specific in its purpose and vast in its scale.

The VR Project
The VR Project will be an operation in a village where there has not been a church before, or where there is a new church, where there is a need for people to hear and understand the gospel message; to reach every man, woman and child in that village with the message of the gospel by building friendships with the people, with the goal of eventually winning them to Christ and thereby building the Body of Christ, the Church.
My wife Georgeta and I will be personally, directly involved with people on an individual basis as well as in group settings, and we will be striving to lead exemplary lives in the community in which we reside, with the goal of building friendships and leading others to Christ. We will also be personally, directly involved in planning, facilitating, and serving in Bible study groups, church services, conferences or seminars, and other opportunities that will arise in the course of ministry.
This ministry seeks to reach unbelievers with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, we would also be involved in visiting and encouraging those people or families who have already given their lives to Jesus Christ. Once we have reached someone with the message of the Gospel, and they have given their hearts and lives to Christ, it is then our responsibility to help care for them as new believers, and to disciple them – teach them to observe all that our Lord Jesus has commanded us.

The Calling and the Vision
My wife and I sincerely believe that this ministry of The VR Project is what the Lord has called us to do – that as husband and wife, parents, and servants of the Almighty God, this is what has been laid upon our hearts as our life's work.
Our vision when we return to Romania is to move into and live in the village of Giubega, in southern Romania. There is no New Testament church there, and only three believers in the entire village. We believe that Giubega and the immediate area is where God is calling us to be leaders for Him. We believe that God will provide property and a home for us to live in and raise our family as we share Jesus with those around us. We believe that God will also provide, in accordance with the vision of ministry and service He has given us, a building on that property with guest rooms and a multipurpose room where pastors, friends, and ministry teams can come serve and fellowship together, and where God's people can meet to learn more about Him and worship Him.
We will be working together with pastors we have gotten to know, and with churches we have been involved with. Many of us share a similar vision for reaching unbelievers in the forgotten villages of Romania, and are ready and willing to help and support one another in prayer, ministry and friendship, all toward the goal of introducing people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and growing the Kingdom of God.
We pray that this short summary of The VR Project – Project Village Reach: Romania has been clear, and that it effectively communicates the goal and the vision of our life's work that has been laid upon our hearts. Please pray for us as we return to Romania, that God will give us the means, the strength, and the perseverance to accomplish all that He has for us to do. Please pray for us as we seek together with the Lord, to share Jesus' love and the saving message of the Gospel with people who so desperately need to hear it.

Servants Together In Christ,
S. Andrew & Georgeta R. Roby

Inquiries:
Email: Morningstar1826@gmail.com
Blogsite: Andrewgetaromania.blogspot.com

Support:
Andrew & Geta Roby
294 Jacobson Way
Monmouth, OR. 97361

Fellowship, Blessing, and Preparation

2007-08-10T09:42:00.000+03:00

Blessings to each of you -- family, friends, and others! We pray that this blog entry finds each of you in good health and enjoying this summer.

It had been quite hot here for awhile, although now it has cooled down noticeably which is very nice (but it's still pretty warm). We've also recently had some rain, which is good for the crops, since very hot and dry conditions had been predicted for this summer.

As many of you know, we have been without a driver's license since the beginning of May. Through the wonderful observatory skills of the local police, we came to realize my license had expired last year on my birthday and we didn't even catch it. Needless to say, we can't believe we didn't notice until May, and I (Andrew) feel like somewhat of an idiot. However, immediately after we discovered the license had expired, we sent renewal papers to Oregon DMV, and hopefully we should be receiving the renewed license in the mail anytime before September (although why the Oregon DMV sent it third class, we'll never understand -- it can take three months or longer to get here!)

So we have spent these last three and a half months up until now without a driver's license, which has been frustrating mostly from a ministry standpoint, but also from a going-to-the-store-across-town standpoint. Sometimes people look only at the negative side of a situation like this, but we have learned (and are continuing to learn) to look at the positive side of whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

These months without the driver's license have been in fact, a great blessing in disguise; there are so many more positive things that have come of this situation than negative things, too many to list here.For example, if we had had the driver's license these past months, we would have been constantly going in ministry to the area we believe we are called to move to (which of course, would be a good thing); but we would not have had the opportunities we have had of going to and serving in a church here in the city on a regular basis.

We have had the opportunity to attend Smirna (Smyrna) church here in Turnu-Severin, and get know the people from this church. They are wonderful people, brothers and sisters in the Lord; and through many times of worship and fellowship together, they have become great and sincere friends for our family. We have made many close friends, and we know that they are willing to help us in our ministry later when we live in the village.

There have been other opportunities to serve as well. In one instance, A friend and his wife came and drove us to Caransebes for a weekend of ministry in the village of Zlagna, and we were also able to have a nice time of encouragement and fellowship with their family. In another instance, Geta's father came to drive us to the country village of Rachitova, where Geta's grandparents live. We stayed there for two weeks, and the kids especially had a great time. On the weekends, we went to the village of Hobita where we had opportunity to take part in the services there morning and evening (see picture above). We also had the opportunity to go to the village of Clopotiva, where we were for one service.

We are one hundred percent convinced that God had a reason for the timing of these circumstances, as He has reasons for everything. More than being as simple as 'I forgot to renew my license on time', it is very evident that God ordained and has used this time to accomplish many great things. God knows what we need before we ask Him; God knows that each one of us needs friends and fellow believers for fellowship, encouragement, and help in the work He has called us to do. This has been a remarkeable time of fellowship, blessing, and preparation for our family.

Almost everyday, we are finding new opportunities for ministry; almost everyday, we see new reasons why God has allowed this time for us. Even without a driver's license, there are still so many opportunities for us to serve and minister: to serve Him whom we are called to serve, and to minister to those whom He has called us to minister to. God is everywhere...just look around!

God be with each of you, and we pray that we may see you again -- perhaps soon!

In Christ,

Andrew, Geta, and Family

p.s. The picture above was taken in the village of Hobita on July 15th. I (Andrew) am on the far left, Geta and the kids are toward the center. The others in the picture are the believers from the church -- nearly all of them. Pray for the church and the village of Hobita!

God Will...

2007-06-05T09:58:00.000+03:00

Give me a man of God -- one man, whose faith is master of his mind, and I will right all wrongs and bless the name of all mankind.

Give me a woman of God -- one woman, whose tongue is touched with heaven's fire, and I will flame the darkest hearts with high resolve and clean desire.

Give me a man of God -- one man, one mighty prophet of the Lord, and I will give you peace on earth, bought with a prayer and not a sword.

Give me a woman of God -- one woman, true to the vision that she sees, and I will build your broken shrines and bring the nations to their knees.

-- George Liddell

The House

2007-06-05T09:35:00.000+03:00

Some of you, our friends and family have asked for a little more information on the house and property we are praying for in Giubega (the village we are going to move to) and to see a couple of pictures.
The property we are specifically praying for in Giubega is approximately 80 meters long and 30-40 meters deep. There are 2 buildings at one end of the property; one is a house with four good-sized rooms and a basement, which would be our place of residence; the other is smaller, with three individual rooms each opening to the outside, which we would like to one day use as a guest house for ministry purposes. The other end of the property is basically field, and could be used for a variety of purposes, such as outdoor evangelization meetings and concerts, a soccer field (big over here) for outreach, a youth camp or two in the summers, etc. It seems that there are endless possibilities for ministry, endless opportunities to bring glory to God!
The pictures posted here are: >1 a close up of a good portion of the main house; 2> a view through the front gate of the smaller building (on right, with main house barely visible through trees on left); 3> a long shot of the property from where the houses are (to the left, outside of picture) to the end of the property (follow the tree line down the road until the wood fence).
As you can see, there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to repair and fix up the buildings and property. It will take a lot of time and money to accomplish, but God will provide everything in His time.
The price on the property we heard was orignally about $8500, but later when we talked to the owner he had raised the price to about $14,500; we believe this is because he probably made some calls in the village and found out that it was Americans looking at his property. The common assumption in Romania is that all Americans have a lot of money and unfortunately this line of thinking is common in Romania. Although this change was quite discouraging, we also know that the owner can never get that price for the house, especially because of the condition the house is in.
Even with these circumstances, God has placed in our hearts a burden to pray specifically that He would provide this house and property for us and the ministry in Giubega. We don't know exactly why, except that there are so many extroardinary things that could be done here for the glory of God.
We also don't know how in the world God is going to provide this house and property for us, but we believe that since He has placed a burden on our hearts to pray specifically for it, that He will somehow provide it. It will take much prayer and faith. One of our friends recently said to us, "our God is a rich God; He can do anything He wants". That is so true! Our God is a God of miracles, wonders, and blessings, and nothing is impossible for God.
Thank you for your continued friendship and support, and your faithful prayers for us -- prayer moves the hand that moves the world!
Keep praying -- God will provide!

Making History

2007-06-05T09:11:00.000+03:00

On May 3rd through the 11th, I (Andrew) had the opportunity to attend a leadership seminar in the mountainous area of Baile Herculane, about 1 hour from where we live (see picture of hotel). It was a leadership seminar called History Makers; "History Makers is a ministry of the International Leadership Institute (I.L.I.), a global network of leaders committed to accelerating the spread of the Gospel". History Makers seeks to train a new generation of leaders who want to reach people with the Gospel. History Makers' vision is to: "Change history by accelerating the spread of the life transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through leaders of leaders empowered by the Holy Spirit."

We studied many things throughout the week, including intimacy with God, visionary leadership, discipleship, mentoring, stewardship of time and money, integrity, and making family a priority. We had plenty of opportunity to discuss things we had studied, ask questions, and do some practical applications, such as set personal goals for more time alone with God, more time together with family, etc.

It was a very good week for me, and even though I had heard many of these sort of teachings before, they were still very good and reinforced many of the ideas within me. I was able to set personal goals for more time with God, and more time with family, which already have been a real blessing. I was also encouraged and emboldened to share our vision for ministry and what God has placed on our hearts with others with boldness and with confidence. I also realized during this time that God in fact does want Geta and me to be leaders. I have resisted the idea for too long, preferring instead to be in a supporting role to a leader (I felt that we were not leaders). However, it is obvious especially in light of things that have happened in the last months, that God wants us to be leaders and in fact has thrust us into that position in ministry; we acknowledge that now and have embraced that call in our lives. May God help us to be the leaders He wants us to be!

Another great benefit that came from the seminar was the strengthening of friendships and the buildng of new ones. There is a sense of community that grew during the seminar; we now have a network of brothers and sisters in Christ all around Romania who we are willing to help and who are willing to help us. I met many people with various trade skills and ministries -- it is incredible to think of all the ministry opportunities that may arise in the future.

One of our new visions is to one day have a History Makers seminar in Giubega, at our future home, for emerging new leaders in that area. Right now, we are hoping for spring of 2010. We are putting it almost three years out because after God provides a house for us in Giubega, we will need time and money to repair it, and make it workable for a seminar like this.

Please continue to pray for us, and for God to keep raising up leaders all across Romania and the world who will change history for Jesus!

Family in the Park

2007-06-05T09:03:00.001+03:00

Here are some pictures of our family that were taken recently at a park in the city of Orsova. Please enjoy them!
1> Here is a picture of Ammishaddai, Elijah, and Joseph sitting on some rocks...

2> A picture of Joseph in the park. The park is near the Danube River (background).

3> Geta is playing with the kids in the park...

4> Andrew and Elijah...

(Pictures taken April 17, 2007 in Orsova, Romania)

Prayer Requests...and the Future

2007-04-11T15:18:00.000+03:00

As we mentioned in an earlier blog entry, we know that many of you have been praying for us, and we are so grateful for that. Some of you have asked us for specific prayer requests, so we would like to take a few moments to share some current prayer requests with you.
Health for the children. Joseph, Ammishaddai, and Elijah have been sick quite a few times over the last 3 months or so. It’s always the same basic thing, but it keeps recurring, and we’d just like to ask for good health for them, and God’s hand of protection and blessing upon them.
God’s continued provision. God has continued to be faithful in everything; as you probably already read above, He continues to provide in amazing ways, and at just the right time. Please pray with us for His continuing hand of blessing upon our family, and great provision for our family. He knows what we have need of before we even ask!
The future: Giubega. Praise God, because we know that He is absolutely sovereign, and He leads us where He wants us to go. Through the experiences we have had working with a couple of different pastors in different areas over the last few months, after much prayer and in accordance with the vision that we have, we believe that God is leading us to move to a village called Giubega (pronounced: jew-BEG-a). We have made the decision to move there, and discussed this on Easter Sunday evening with the pastor from Bailesti, who is the pastor for the general area. We are all very excited about this direction that God is leading our family!
This is a huge step of faith for our family, because we know that in order to move there, we will need somewhere to live, which we don’t have yet. We have been praying for a long time that God will provide us a house to live in, in the village we would eventually move to. We are praying now that God would provide a house for us, or the money with which to purchase a house.
We know that many of you would like us to be more specific with the request, so here goes: we are praying either that God would specifically give us a house in Giubega, or that He would provide $8000-$10,000 dollars with which to purchase a house. We will also most likely need money to do some repairs, and/or improvements to make it liveable (especially during the winter). We would like to be moved in to the house by the end of May.
This is a big prayer request, and we know that; but on the other hand, we have a big God, who is awesome in power and endless in resources. He has done everything so far that we believed He would; He has never let us down. God will provide what He wants us to have.
Please pray with us for the above requests. Please pray for the people of the village of Giubega, that they would be open to the gospel of Jesus Christ; we believe God will do a great work in the people and village of Giubega. We love you; thank you for praying for us. We will see you again soon.
Servants Together in Christ,
Andrew, Geta, and Family

Recent Ministry Summary

2007-04-11T14:51:00.000+03:00

We have been busy these last months working with two pastors from a couple different areas, ministering in various villages and churches. It has been a great experience for us, as well as a time of learning and growth. We have gotten to know each of the pastors and their families somewhat, and we have met many new people in the various villages and churches in which we have been blessed to be part of the ministry.
Here is a summary of what we’ve been doing the last few weeks:
March 17-18: I (Andrew) went by myself with one of the pastors to the mountain villages of Obarsia Closani and Marasesti (more information on these villages is available on our website). Only I went from our family that weekend because two of our three children were very sick, so Geta stayed home with them. The pastor and I had two services Saturday night, and two Sunday morning (one of us went to each service that morning), and two services again Sunday evening. I had no translator, so I knew it was going to be an interesting weekend. Saturday night, the pastor tried to translate for me, and he gave it a valiant try, but I found that I needed to repeat most everything (in Romanian) to get across correctly what I wanted to say. I decided that evening that I would give the rest of my messages that weekend in Romanian, as far as I was able. I was pretty nervous, but by the grace of God (a lot of grace), I was able to give 3 messages Sunday in Romanian. While it was not the full text of what I had prepared, and I had to speak relatively slowly, and carefully choose the words I wanted to use to make sure I could finish the thoughts and sentences I had started, the principal ideas, and points were clear, and the people understood what the Word had to say that day. I was blessed because a number of people told me afterwards that they understood “all” that had been said. Praise God! I definitely believe that God used that weekend to stretch me out of my comfort zone, but it was great, and I also was given more confidence in “my” abilities with the Romanian language.
March 25: By invitation we as a family went to a village not too far from where Geta grew up -- one that may be familiar to many at Bridgeport Chapel: a village called Maciova. We had been invited there by Marius, who is the pastor in that village; he is also a friend of ours, and graduate from the Bible school that Geta and I graduated from. We stayed all day, and it was a wonderful time of fellowship at the church, as well as fellowship with Marius, his wife Adriana and young son Andre. They are an inspiration to us because what they have done is much like the vision that we have: they moved into a village where there were very few (or no) believers. Through many years of struggle and God’s blessing, they have been able to build God’s church through living with the people in the village and building friendships with them. God has blessed that village and the church, which is now fairly good-sized. The band that some of the youth of Bridgeport Chapel helped teach to play instruments is going strong, and sounding great!
April 1 & 8: We went to the church in Bailesti for both Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. It was a great time of fellowship with the people there, celebrating Jesus’ royal entry into Jerusalem, and then the glorious hope that His resurrection brings. We took part in the services there morning and evening by singing and sharing the Word of God. In the afternoons, a family from the church took us to their home for lunch and rest, and that was a real blessing. We pray that we have been able to be as much of a blessing to the people in Bailesti as they have been for us. Please pray for the church in Bailesti, that God will continue to work in and bless that church!

Thank You!

2007-04-11T14:35:00.000+03:00

Greetings in the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! We hope you had a wonderful Easter together with friends and family celebrating the glory of Christ’s resurrection. The picture above was taken Easter Sunday 2007.
First, we want to thank the Missions Committee, the elders, Pastor Ron, and all of Bridgeport Chapel for the great blessing of your support as a church. Although we knew that you already supported us wholeheartedly in your friendship and in your praying for us -- and we one hundred percent believe that this sustained us through some hard times -- your decision together as a body to also support us financially was such an encouragement to our family, and will continue to sustain us in good times and hard times; we believe that God will use all these things together in a mighty way for His glory. As always, may God’s hand of blessing be upon you, and thank you so much, Bridgeport Chapel!
We also want to thank those of you who have supported us individually as well, through friendship, and through specific prayers and intercession for us in the presence of Almighty God, and also through the generous financial support that you have shown to our family. It has been really amazing these last months to watch how the Lord has taken care of us. It seems as though whenever we think we might not make it to the beginning of the next month, somehow we always do. This is our God! He is using these times to build our faith in Him, and He is using each one of your prayers and your generosity in a special way to provide for us at just the right time: His time! Thank you so much for your fervent, faithful praying for us, and also your generous, faithful financial support -- it has been an incredible blessing for us!
“The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” -- Numbers 6:25-26

A Love That Knows No Limits

2007-02-08T10:30:00.000+02:00

To all our friends, family members, and fellow servants of Christ, Greetings in the name of the Lord! We hope that this entry finds you feeling well, and loving Jesus more with each passing day.
We miss each of you and think of you often; we pray for you, and we are encouraged because we know that you are praying for us. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you again so much for all your praying; your prayers are greatly needed, and appreciated. Thank you for coming into the presence of God on our behalf; what a remarkable and exquisite privilege! Remember, "prayer moves the hand that moves the world" (E.M. Bounds). How awesome to serve the One to Whom this quote refers!
This picture of our family is the latest one that we have, taken on January 23rd 2007. We had to go into Serbia for a couple of hours and then come back into Romania to get our passports stamped, and while we were there we spent some time at some old Roman ruins. It was interesting and fun to see the ruins, and the kids got to run around too. We also had a surprise encounter with the Serbian border police! (don't worry, they were very nice).
On January 28th, Geta and I celebrated six years of marriage together; time sure passes quickly; we know it will only seem to pass more quickly as time goes on.
Speaking of time passing quickly, our children are growing faster every day. Joseph, our oldest, is now 4 years old; our daughter Ammishaddai will turn 2 on February 10th; and our youngest, Elijah, will turn 1 on February 26th.
Thank you again for praying, and being such a blessing to us; now let us leave you with what we hope will be a great encouragement for you. A song that has meant a lot to us and has spoken to our hearts in a special way (and which we sang at the mountain churches we were recently in) is the song "Redeeming Love"; we'd like to put the words from the chorus here for you: "Redeeming love, a love that knows no limit; Redeeming love, a love that never dies; My soul shall sing throughout the endless ages, the adoration of this great love on high".
May God bless you today, and everyday.
In Christ, Andrew & Geta & Kids

In February

2007-02-08T10:17:00.000+02:00

On February 3-4, Geta and I and the kids were able to go together to the mountain villages of Obarsia Closani and Marasesti for ministry. We stayed at the house in Obarsia Closani that is owned by the church. They are able to build a fire in one room only -- that is pretty normal here in the villages during the winter -- but it was a pretty good sized room, and we didn't spend too much time there anyway.
Normally they have a service at the church in each village Saturday night, and then one at each church Sunday morning and evening. We went with the pastor from Orsova, and because he had some business to attend to, we did not arrive in the villages in time for the church services Saturday night. Sunday morning, I drove the pastor to Marasesti, and our family stayed at the church in Obarsia Closani where we participated in the service with singing, encouragement and the message from the Bible.
In the evening we first had a service in Obarsia Closani again, where we sang and encouraged the people, and then we went to a service in Marasesti, where we also sang, and encouraged the people, as well as had the main message.
Our family was able to experience again over the weekend the warmth, hospitality, and generosity of the believers in those villages. The friendship they showed us was sincere; in a way, our family was part of them already. Even our kids had a good time, having a chance to play a little after the final service in Marasesti with some of the children from the church.
We are looking forward to this next weekend, February 10-11, when we will be again going to these villages for ministry. Please pray for me (Andrew) as I prepare to speak in three services this weekend; please pray for Geta as she translates each time for me (and keeps an eye on the kids!) -- she is doing an incredible job translating, and she is such a blessing; Please pray for the kids, that they will have calm and quiet spirits during each service -- it can seem such a long time for them sometimes to sit through these services, but they are doing very well. Finally, Please pray that God will use us in special ways to touch the hearts of people for His glory!
Also, coming up on February 18th, we will be in the village of Hobita, where one of our relatives has invited us to come and be involved in a service and speak. We are excited about that as well! Please pray for us that weekend as well, that we would be an encouragement to the believers in the village of Hobita, and a testimony for Jesus Christ.
Then on February 25th, we are looking forward to being in Bailesti again for a day of ministry, as well as possibly another village in the area, one named Giubega. Please pray that we would also be an encouragement to the believers in Bailesti and Giubega.
We included a picture here from February 4; it shows Joseph and Ammishaddai in Obarsia Closani -- yes, there is a little snow!

3 Days, 8 Services

2007-02-08T10:07:00.000+02:00

On January 19, 20, and 21 (a Friday, Saturday and Sunday) I (Andrew) went with a pastor from the city of Orsova, and a couple other guys to two mountain villages about one hundred kilometers away for a weekend of evangelization. Evangelization is a time in a village or villages when the people of the church invite their friends, family, neighbors -- anyone unsaved -- to come to the church. There are usually guest speakers during the evengelization, and usually the church is pretty full. This can be a great opportunity to present the Gospel to those who have never heard it before, and for peoaple to come to know Christ. In fact, my wife Georgeta was saved during a week of evangelization in the village of Rusca Montana where she grew up.
The villages that I went to with the pastor and the other guys were named Obarsia Closani, and Marasesti; they lie in a beautiful, rather isolated setting, with high mountains rising on each side to overshadow them, and a rough road winding it's way through those mountains to each village. In one of the villages, Obarsia Closani, is a house owned by the church where we stayed at night over the weekend.
There were two services Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night, as well as two services Sunday morning, that we participated in. At each service, we sang songs, encouraged the people, and spoke from the Word of God. I was privileged to have the main message during three of the services, and short encouragements in several of the others. It was a blessing for me to see how receptive the people were to us, and how eager they were to hear a message from God's Word.
The people were also very generous and kind, which was a blessing as well. Each night, a family from the church in Obarsia Closani would prepare us a meal; Sunday after the morning services we were also invited to a family in Marasesti for lunch. It was amazing how God took care of us while we were there, and provided everything we needed (we had not taken any food with us!)
Sunday night after the final service, we all drove home to our families. I was fairly tired after all the services over the weekend, but I was also felt very blessed because I had gotten to be a part of such a wonderful experience over the weekend. Please pray that God will continue to work in and bless the villages of Obarsia Closani and Marasesti.

Picture: this is a picture of me in the church of Marasesti with some of the children (from L-R: Emil, Gabi, Andrei, Me, Ionuti). We had some fun before one of the services, talking and playing games. They were very friendly, and reminded me of some of the children from our home church of Bridgeport Chapel.

Season

2007-01-30T09:51:00.000+02:00

"FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON..."
(from Ecclesiastes 3:1)
First of all, we would like to wish all of you a very happy new year, and we pray that 2007 would be a memorable year for you, full of wonderful memories and the incredible experience of God's blessings and mercies -- for they are new every morning! (Lamentations 3:22-23)
As you can probably imagine, we had quite a different Christmas here. There were many different things for the kids to experience here that they hadn't in America, and they had a good time generally -- except that they were pretty sick right at the turn of the year for a few days, but they're doing much better now. The picture we included with this post is of our three children on Christmas Day 2006.
We enjoyed our times together as a family both on Joseph's birthday (December 24 in the evening; he turned four years old!) and for Christmas (December 25, again in the evening). Ministry-wise, we were also pretty busy, and we also enjoyed those times with other people as well. We went caroling with some other people for several hours on the evening of December 23 in the village of Ilovita; we went to the big church here in Turnu-Severin in the morning and evening of December 24; on December 25 we went to the village of Gemeni for a Christmas Day service; and finally on December 26 we went to Gemeni again for another service and a fellowship meal with the church there, followed by caroling.
Some of you will be thrilled to hear that on December 24 in the evening at the church here in town, all the kids in the church were given Operation Christmas Child boxes! On December 26 in Gemeni, christmas boxes were given out to the children there as well. Geta and I thought of Bridgeport Chapel each time when we saw them being handed out, and the look of joy and delight on the children's faces as they opened the boxes; it was quite a sight, moving and emotional. It was unforgettable, and we were proud (the good kind) of all of you at Bridgeport Chapel and other places who have taken time and such care to pack a box (or many!) to send to a child somewhere. Believe us when we say, it is so worth it when you see the children's faces, smiles, and joy as they receive and open one of those boxes.
For New Year's Eve, a couple that are very good friends of ours, Cosmin and his wife Mari, came from Caransebes to spend time together with us and stay the night to bring in the new year. We had a lot of fun together, and it was a very encouraging time for us as well.
Even amongst all the ministries, festivities, and experiences of Christmas time, we are saddened to say that we had a rough couple of weeks in relation to our ministry. Sometimes God has us go through things that we don't understand at the time, and maybe won't understand for awhile; but at the same time we can understand and believe that God is allowing it with His purpose in mind, and for His glory, and Geta and I believe this to be true. Without going into details, let me just say that though it was at times very discouraging and emotionally draining for us, we have been greatly encouraged by all the praying that we know people have done for us, and by the emails and counsel from a couple of people with whom we shared the situation and sought counsel and/or advice.
We were also very encouraged and blessed by the way in which God continues to show Himself to us, and take care of our family day by day. It just seems like God keeps blessing us, and it is really amazing. We believe that it is because of who He is ("...God...acts for those who wait for Him." from Isaiah 64:4), and also that it has a lot to do with all of the people who have been and continue to pray for us; it has a lot to do with you.
Another verse that has really stood out to us lately is Isaiah 65:13-14. These verses (among others) are comparing those who forsake God with God's servants ("my servants"), and part of those verses say, "...my servants shall eat...my servants shall drink...my servants shall rejoice...my servants shall sing for gladness of heart...". Encouraging for us, and these scriptures are so true! May they be an encouragement to each of you as well!
We know that God is absolutely sovereign, and He leads us where He wants us to go. Even though the last three weeks or so have at times seemed like quite a trial for us, we know that God has a purpose in it -- that He has something even more incredible for us to do here in Romania than we could have imagined. Please continue to pray for us and for God's guidance as we consider more ministry opportunities; pray for clear direction for our family and that we will always seek to honor God by doing what He wants us to do.
Always Servants Together With You In Christ,
Andrew & Geta and kids

Update, and Address

2007-01-30T09:35:00.000+02:00

(Blog entry originally intended for early November 2006)
Update on last enry: We had a great (and long - three hour drive) day of ministry in the village of Rast (where there are one or two believers), and later, in the town of Bailesti. In Rast, we saw many places where the floods had destroyed or partially destroyed people's houses, and everything they had. In some areas, houses that were made of mud bricks were completely gone -- melted, as it were, by the flood waters. Other areas of the village had houses with walls and/or roofs collapsed, and foundations ripped apart or broken and causing the house to lean as if it were about to collapse. Still other areas of the village had houses that were virtually untouched by the flood, and still intact. It was interesting and heartbreaking at the same time. We enjoyed our two hours or so of ministry there. As we left Rast and headed toward Bailesti, about 5 kilometers down the road, we saw where the government is constructing an entire new village from scratch! In other words, they are rebuilding and relocating the village of Rast a few miles from where it currently is. That was pretty amazing. Included in this blog entry are two pictures from the time we spent in the village of Rast: one of Andrew speaking and Utu translating, and the other of one of the houses devastated by the floodwaters.

The service that evening at the Baptist church in Bailesti was really good, and it was a wonderful time of fellowship. It was their day of thanksgiving, and the church had also invited the Pentecostal church to join them for the service. So there was a lot of singing, four people spoke from the Bible (both the Baptist and Pentecostal pastors, myself, and another American that was with us that day), and when it was all over, some ladies from the church had made Romanian sandwiches for everybody, so there was a great time of fellowship for another hour or so. Geta and I really enjoyed it there; the people were so warm and friendly, the youth group is alive and thriving, and there is just a spirit of love and family in the church. Geta and I were especially blessed that evening because we felt we had found a church like Bridgeport Chapel...we felt like we were home.
Bailesti (or a village near it) is one of several places we are considering moving to this spring or summer, because it is in an area we may be working in. We believe that possibly God had our family in Bailesti that Sunday for more reasons than just ministry that evening. We don't know exactly what God has in store for us as far as moving next year (2007); please pray for continued direction for our lives and ministry, and that the Lord will continue to provide for us.
And...our address for now is as follows:
>>THE ADDRESS PREVIOUSLY POSTED IS NO LONGER VALID.
>>A NEW ADDRESS WILL BE POSTED WITH A NEW BLOG ENTRY WHEN THERE IS A NEW ADDRESS AVAILABLE.
If you send us mail, we should get it at that address!
Psalm 100:5 says, "For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." Praise God for His love that does not end, and for His faithfulness to us always! God be with you, and may you be blessed this day! -Andrew & Geta & Family

Life Continues...

2007-01-30T09:20:00.000+02:00

(Blog entry originally intended for late October 2006)
We moved to our new apartment on October 13th and have been settling in since that time. We are getting used to life here in the city of Drobeta Turnu Severin, and learning where we need to go to do different things.
We are doing well, and the kids are enjoying running around and having their own bedroom/playroom. The other room is our bedroom/living room, and we also have a bathroom and kitchen. It is very nice to have a bathtub for the kids, and a cord and shower head from the faucet for Geta and I.
Thank you for all your continued praying for us; we are very grateful to have this apartment to live in, and we definitely believe it is an answer to our praying, and yours as well.
October 22: we went to Gemeni for the first time since we have been back in Romania. Only one young woman and her baby girl came to the church that morning, along with with another girl of about 7 years. We had a service for about an hour and fifteen minutes; we sang, prayed, and then had a discussion from the Bible. Please pray for the people in the village of Gemeni - there is much to be done, and many to be reached with the Word of God!
October 29: We will go to the village of Rast, east of where we are living, a village that was devastated by the flooding in Romania last spring. I understand that most of the people still don't have a place to live for the winter, except for the tents which they currently occupy. We will be speaking there together with Utu and his family in the afternoon, and then we will go directly to the church in the town of Bailesti, where we will also be speaking. It is their "Day of Thanksgiving", similar to our harvest celebration, so it will be a time to be thankful for what God has provided, and the service and message(s) will reflect the goodness and providence of God in our lives. Please pray for our family as we go this coming weekend and minister to people that seem to be on both ends of the scale: people who's lives have been severely tested by loss of home and possession; and people who's lives have been greatly blessed by the abundance of God's providence. Remember that God sees the lives and hearts of each of these people, and hears them when they cry out to Him; pray for these people!
Thank you each for your friendship, love and prayers. We will see you again soon! Please enjoy these pictures of our kids. One is of all three of them in front of the car; the other is our youngest, Elijah. Joseph is 3 years and 10 months now, Ammishaddai is 1 year and 9 months, and Elijah is 8 months. Time flies, and they are growing fast...

Life

2007-01-09T11:52:00.000+02:00

(Blog entry originally intended for late October 2006)
This entry is to let you know what else we have been doing the last few weeks and some of the things coming up for us in the next few weeks: what has been going on in our life here. As always, we do appreciate that you care enough to take the time to read our blog, and please feel free to ask any questions you would like to, whether out of curiosity or in order to clarify something.
September 10th: Our family went to the church in Rusca Montana. We knew when we walked in that I would probably be speaking (and that means Geta translating) because there were only a small handful of men there that day. Sure enough, when the man currently leading the Sunday School hour got up to close that hour and move on the the regular worship service hour, he announced that the church would sing a song together, take the offering, and then that "we will hear a message from the Word of God from brother Andrew". I wasn't surprised, it was just kind of funny, that's just the way it works over here. If you come to visit us here in Romania, make sure you have a message prepared to share, and keep it handy (in your Bible)! We had an interesting time during the service because we couldn't leave the kids with anybody (they don't know anybody well enough), so we had to have them on the stage with us, and that was an experience in itself. Sometimes one of the kids wanted a toy or book the other had, and sometimes they came to us and wanted us to pick them up. Needless to say it was a different experience. In the end, everything was okay, and the people weren't too distracted.
September 17th: Our day in the church of Izgar, a wonderful day of ministry and fellowship; see entry below for the whole story.
September 24th: We went to the church in the village of Dalj, which is near the city of Caransebes, about 15 miles away. Our friend Cosmin (who was ordained as a missionary August 20th, see previous entry) and his wife and son are serving there on a regular basis as basicly the pastor and leader of the church. It was great to have the opportunity to visit the church in Dalj and see the way that God is using Cosmin and his family to minister to the people there. It has been a real blessing to see the various ways that God is using fellow students from the bible school in ministry; it has also been an encouragement to us as we begin our ministry.
October 1st: We went to the church in Rusca Montana again, where we heard Diana (a graduate of the bible school) speak. She shared about the year she spent in Mozambique with Janice Peters, a missionary that we at Bridgeport Chapel support. She learned Portugese in about 3 months there and then taught classes to children, and shared about Jesus. God has certainly used Diana in a great way, and has placed a true and deep love in her heart for the children in Mozambique. She would like to return to Mozambique, and we believe that she will, at God's appointed time.
October 6th: I went with our good friend Utu and his van to take a load of our things down to Turnu-Severin, to an apartment that we will be living in, probably until next spring or summer.
October 13th: After a long search -- and I believe much praying on your part -- we finally found an apartment to rent; it has two rooms, a bathroom and kitchen, and we will be moving on the 13th to Turnu-Severin to live. The apartment is on the third floor, and also has two balconies, one of which is enclosed (very useful for storage). Although smaller than we had originally hoped for, it is a price we feel we can afford. Rather than 120-200 euros per month for a 2 or 3 room apartment, we will be paying 70 euros per month (about $90) plus utilities. Isn't God amazing? We are very grateful for this apartment for a number of reasons: 1> The price; 2> the owners are very nice, and fixed it up for us before we moved in; 3> the utilities (gas, water, electricity) all have meters on them, so we only pay for what we use (this is normal in America, but not normal here, although it is becoming more common); 4> the apartment has hot water and heat (which we didn't have in Otelu-Rosu); 5> By moving down to Turnu-Severin, we are much closer to the villages where we want to be working, and we have a nice warm place to stay for the winter.
Later: We will move again next spring or summer to be even closer to the villages where we will be primarily working. We don't know for sure exactly where we will move to at that time, whether it will be a town or a village. Please pray even now that God will be preparing a place for us to move to next year. We would have liked to have moved closer now to the villages we will be working, but nothing worked out for us at this time. We definitely believe that we are to stay the winter in Turnu-Severin, and be prepared to move again late spring or summer. We hope to be able to put our new address on the blog sometime soon.
Thank you for your continued prayer for us, and your continued support of us. We think of our family and friends often; we miss each of you and we pray for you as well. We'll talk to you again soon. May God be with each of you...

Castle Trip Photos, Continued...

2007-01-09T11:35:00.000+02:00

(Blog entry originally intended for early October 2006)
Here are three more photos of our trip to the castle. The first is a picture of Geta and the kids with Geta's grandparents (the kids' great grandparents) on the bridge that leads to the main gate and into the castle.
The second picture is of Joseph and Ammishaddai on some stairs inside the castle courtyard.
Finally there is a picture of our whole family together on the same stairs, but a wider shot to show you more of the structure and architecture of the castle: Gothic wooden doors, stained glass, fantastic arches and pillars.
We hoped you enjoyed these pictures, a slice of our life from here in Romania.

A Castle for My Birthday!

2007-01-09T11:09:00.000+02:00

(Blog entry originally intended for early October 2006)
Well okay...not exactly. I (Andrew) didn't get a castle for my birthday, but I did get to visit a real castle for my birthday (10/04)! The castle is commonly called Hunedoara Castle, but is correctly called Castelul Corvinilor (The Castle of the Corvins, the family who came into possession of it in 1409).
The first photo here is a publicity shot of the castle from a postcard, and the second is a photo I took giving you an idea of how huge it is; it even has a good sized creek running through the grounds and underneath the towering bridge that leads into the castle.
I had never been to this castle in the time that I lived in Romania before, even though it is only about 1 hour and 45 minutes from where we live. We had been staying with Geta's grandparents for a couple days before that for a visit, and so we also took them with us. They had never been to the castle before either! We all had a good time together, and it was pretty interesting. Geta and I enjoyed the architecture and beauty of the various rooms and halls, and the kids enjoyed the towering walls and wide open areas to play a little bit in. We want to visit some the other historical sites in Romania as well, but that will be sometime in the future.
Please see the next entry for some more photos from the castle trip.

Izgar: The Unexpected

2007-01-09T10:40:00.000+02:00

(Blog entry originally intended for late September 2006)
On September 17th, we went to a small church in a very small village about 2 hours drive away called Izgar. We have been there quite a few times before in years past, and the people are very precious to us -- they have a special place in our hearts. There are only a handful of people in the church in Izgar (6-8 or so normally), but they are dedicated. One of the attached photos (above) is a picture inside the church of our family with the people that attend there (although a couple of regulars were not present). It was wonderful and moving for us to return again to a church that has come to mean a lot to us, and spend a day in ministry and fellowhip there.
When we arrived at the church, we were a little early, but as the people arrived, several of the ladies wept when they saw us. Even though it has been over 3 years since we were in Izgar, they knew us and remembered us right away. There were many kisses and hugs of greeting (Romanian style -- the kids still aren't used to being kissed repeatedly by total strangers). During the morning service, Geta and I had prepared a list of songs to sing together, which we did. I had prepared 2 messages (one for the morning service, one for the evening service), but another pastor showed up and spoke. After he left (he was going on to another service in another church to speak), we still had some time left in the morning service, just enough to give an introduction to the message for that evening. Geta translated, and it went well.
We all decided to have the evening service at the home of the elder of the church (see the other photo with Joseph and I). He is very old, and cannot walk almost at all anymore, and so cannot come to the church. He also cannot see or hear well at all (we needed to yell in his ear when we talked to him, and even then he did not hear us all the time). After the morning service, our family ate lunch outside the church, and then went to the home where the elder lives (also the home of his son, and daughter-in-law; she is first on the left in the group photo). We spent the afternoon with their family which was very nice. Joseph had his first negative encounter with a bee (he got stung), which was not very nice. He was pretty upset, but calmed down after a few minutes. When we went to see the elder there at the house, the daughter-in-law had warned us of his problems, and that he doesn't even seem to know them anymore, which is very sad. When we saw him, he knew us right away and seemed so happy that someone cared enough to come to see him. We had the impression that no one really cares about him anymore. The whole situation made me nearly cry. (I told Geta later that since he knew us right away, maybe he just pretends not to know his family so they'll leave him alone!). It was very good to visit with him and spend time together.

When the time came for the evening service, we set up chairs in the courtyard of the house. I expected the church people to come for the evening service, and they did, even the ones who had not been present in the morning. And then something totally unexpected happened: other people from the village began trickling in, until we had not 6 or 8 people, but 18 adults, 3 children, plus our family packed into that little courtyard that warm evening. I suspect that many people that would not normally come to the church came, probably more out of curiosity than anything else. I want to share with you that I felt the weight of responsibility for those people there like I haven't felt for a long time -- responsibility to share what I could about Jesus Christ and the Gospel, and responsibility to make it as clear as I could. I felt this was a monumental opportunity, and that here and now may be the only time some of these people would ever come to a Christian service or hear or listen to a message from the Gospel.
We proceeded with the service, Geta and I had a few songs again that we had prepared, and then a number of the other church members shared various songs and/or poems, until a whole hour had passed. We still had a second hour to go, and it was time to start the message. Geta translated for me, and we spoke from Matthew 5:13-16 about being salt and light in this world. There are many opportunities in those few verses to share the Gospel message and who Jesus is and why. By the grace of God, I felt that we made use of each opportunity to explore and make as clear as possible the truth that Jesus Christ is the true Savior and the only way to heaven, and after 50 minutes, we closed the service with another song and prayer, and I felt pretty tired. We visited a few more minutes and then headed for home.
The people gave many hugs and kisses when we left and were so grateful we had come. I belive though that we as a family received so much more blessing than we were able to give that day in Izgar. We hope to go again from time to time to Izgar to continue to share with the people there, and encourage them as much as possible. Please pray that God will strengthen and build the church in Izgar, and encourage the believers there, and that He will give them wisdom and strong faith to stand in the face of anything or anyone that would lead them astray or feed them false doctrine. May you be encouraged in your faith as you read this story and see that God loves this small handful of people in a village far away and that His mighty hand is at work!

All About Jetta

2007-01-09T10:07:00.000+02:00

(Blog entry originally intended for early September 2006)
The Basics: On Friday, September 8th, we got to drive our "new" car home to where we are currently living. It is a 1987 Volkswagen Jetta 5 speed turbodiesel which is in excellent condition. It gets very good mileage -- a big deal since diesel runs about $5.00 a gallon here (just barely cheaper than gas). We payed 2300 Euros for it (about $2900) plus about another $300 for all the paperwork and taxes to get it in Geta's name. We have enjoyed having it the last few weeks; it has already been a huge blessing to us, and a great help in getting us started in ministry. Our family is so thankful to each of you who have been praying that God would provide us a car.

The (Really) Long Version: Before we bought this car, we had been praying a lot that God would bring the right car to us, and that there would be clear direction as to which car was the one for us. We also felt very strongly that we should not make a decision to pursue any car until September 1st or later. So we had been praying, and looking for several weeks in newspapers and autotrader-type papers.
On August 27th, I went with a friend named Ionica (who's also a mechanic) to an automarket in Deva, a city about 2 hours away. People come from miles around to bring their cars to this outdoor swapmeet sort of market every Sunday. We even saw cars there from the area where we live! Out of all the cars we saw there, we liked a 1987 Volkswagen Jetta, and a 1984 Mercedes. They were both in fine shape, but we spent a lot more time talking to the man with the Mercedes, because overall it seemed to be a better car (although Ionica said the VW had a very good engine). Both cars had about the same price on them. We left the automarket with the phone numbers of both cars' owners, and I was fairly convinced that the Mercedes was probably the one for us. We would pray about it that week, and perhaps call the man with the Mercedes on the following weekend (after Sep.1, Friday) if we felt that was the car God had for us. We pretty much forgot about the VW Jetta -- but God did not!
On Wednesday, Geta's father called us (he works in Deva) and said he had been looking in the newspaper, and had found a Volkswagen that we should come see. I said okay, so the next morning (Thursday) I took a bus to meet him, and we went together to see this car that he had found in the paper. We went about 10 miles out in the country past Deva, through several villages until we came to the village of Fizes, and arrived at the house where the car was supposed to be. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the courtyard of this house, only to see a car that looked familiar for some reason. When the owner appeared, and I recognized him and realized in that instant that the Volkswagen Jetta I saw there before me was the very same one Ionica and I had looked at just days earlier at the automarket. I was really taken aback at the seeming "coincidence". I knew this was definitely not a coincidence, but that it could just be the "clear direction" we had prayed for. We looked the car over very well, I took some pictures to show Geta, and I told the owner we would call him On September 1st (the next day) or later if we decided to pursue it. After I finally got home that evening (via Geta's dad and then hitchhiking -- safe in Romania) Geta and I talked about it, I showed her the pictures, and we prayed about it. We felt that we should pursue the Jetta, and so we called the owner the next day (September 1st) and told him we were interested in pursuing the car.
We spent the next week (Monday-Friday) running back and forth to Deva and going through the entire process of buying the car (not a simple process here), getting the technical inspection done, and so on until at last, on Friday evening about 8pm we arrived back at out temporary home in Otelu-Rosu. That was the first set of hoops to jump through, in the county of Hunedoara. Then we spent another couple of days running around the county where we were registering the car (Caras-Severin) in order to get all the correct taxes paid, and the new plates for the car. Let me just say, I am not looking forward to buying another car here in Romania. But, thankfully, everything was done legally and in order, and the car is in Geta's name, so if we ever have to sell it and get something with more seats (more kids? You never know!), it won't be too big of a problem.
One question I know is probably on a lot of peple's minds is: why in the world would you pay over $3000 for a 20 year old car? Yes, I admit I asked myself the same question. If I were in America, I would have to be insane (maybe even committed) to pay that much for a 20 year old VW Jetta. But we're not in America. The market is very different here in Romania, and this type of car is very popular and highly sought after. This is because it is diesel, and because it gets very good mileage (about 1.25 gallons for 100km or 60 miles), so it is comparatively inexpensive to operate. It is also because Volkswagen is a very reliable car, and the parts are not expensive. The car should hold it's value pretty well. (The other Volkswagens in this era, Golf II and Passat, are generally going for anywhere from 2500 Euros to over 3800 Euros!) We got a pretty good deal on this one because we had to do some extra papers on the motor (it is newer than the car) and because we will probably have to paint it at some point in the next couple of years. After we brought the car home, I went to a junkyard in Lugoj (1 1/2 hrs away) and got seatbelts for the back seat so we can buckle the kid's car seats in!

The car has run beautifully for us; it has already been a huge blessing for us, and a great help in getting us started in ministry. Again, our family is so thankful to each of you who prayed with us that God would provide us a good car at a good price; you are a blessing -- thank you!
UPDATE: January 09, 2006 -- The car continues to run beautifully for us, and has been such a blessing in ministry for us. We have changed the rear shocks and coils, and the water pump since we got it, but that is it. We are so thankful for this car. Praise God!

Beginning Again in Romania

2006-09-04T19:23:00.000+03:00

Hello friends and family, this is an update about how our family has been and a little bit about what we have been doing since we left the United States and got here to Romania.
We arrived in Timisoara, Romania on August 2nd, and Sylvia Thomas met us at the airport. She took us to stay in the village of Rusca Montana, where Geta grew up. Geta's family very kindly let us stay in a seperate room out in back of the main house, but after a few days it became apparent that the walls of that room were very moldy, and it was causing us (especially the kids) to have serious breathing problems at night; they seemed to cough all night long, and breathed heavily. We tried for several days building a fire and leaving the door and window open to dry out the walls, but it didn't help at all.
On August 11th, the Thomas family was kind enough to let us use a nice, large, vacant house that they own in the town of Otelu-Rosu for awhile, until we are able to find a place of our own in the southern part of Romania known as Oltenia. Then we will move down there, probably near the city of Turnu-Severin. We have been staying in the house that Thomases own for a little over three weeks now; I am happy to say (and thankful) that the breathing problems cleared up for us almost right away after we moved here.
On August 13th we were honored to be invited and able to attend the wedding of one of our long time friends Eugen; he was married in the church in Rusca Montana, the same church that Geta and I were married in five and a half years ago. Eugen's bride is named Simona, and she is from the Oltenia region of Romania, where we will be moving to soon.
On August 20th, we were privileged to attend the ordination of one of our other long time friends, Cosmin, who was ordained in the church in Zlagna as a missionary in the area. Cosmin and his wife Mari were married in that same church just over three years ago.
On August 27th, I (Andrew) went with another good friend of ours, Ionica (who is also a mechanic), to an automarket in the city of Deva; it is like a bazaar or swap meet for cars. We went to take a look at the different kinds of cars that are available, and get a feel for the prices right now in the market. It was quite interesting -- many different kinds of cars, at all different prices; however, the prices seemed to be more expensive than they are in the united states. Ionica and I had a good time together, and it was a good experience.
On September 12th, we may be going with Utu to a meeting of church leaders in the area where we will be working. There, Utu will introduce our family to the church leaders of the area so that they will know who we are, and that we will be working with Utu and Vio in the area as missionaries. I don't know for sure yet if we are going to this meeting, I still need to hear from Utu for certain about it. I do believe it would be an excellent opportunity to meet some of the various other pastors, missionaries, and church leaders of the area. It would be a way to make new friends in the ministry, and possibly open doors for future ministry opportunities.
Geta and I and the kids do very much appreciate your friendship and your prayers. The following are specific prayer needs for right now:
#1> MEETING: please pray that the meeting on September 12th would be as God would have it, that it would be a positive experience, and that God would be honored.
#2> CAR: please pray that God will continue to guide us and give us wisdom in the matter of finding a car both for our family and for ministry. There is a possibility that God has led us to a car, but we are still seeking God's will on this issue. (This is a whole other story about the search for a car, but that is for another blog entry at a later date). God can close the door on this if He so wills, or He can pave the way for us! Please pray for us for clear direction!
#3> PLACE TO LIVE: we hope to be moving to the Turnu-Severin area within two to three weeks; this is the area we intend to be working in. Please pray that God will provide a place for our family to live, where He wants us to be, at a price we can afford.
Thank you for taking the time to read the entries in this blog; we hope you have been encouraged somehow today. Geta and I hope you enjoy the two pictures we included with this blog entry; they were taken at the house we are currently staying at in Otelu-Rosu. Please know that we are encouraged by your reading these entries and by your continually bringing us before the throne of the one and only true God.
Love in Christ, Andrew, Geta, Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah

...Whirlpool, part 2...

2006-09-04T19:15:00.000+03:00

Similar to the previous entry, but a little later on in the month, August 24, we were also very grateful to be able to purchase a refrigerator for our family as well. We had looked at several different models that we liked and narrowed it down to two, but in the end We picked this Whirlpool refrigerator/freezer combo because it was a good brand, and it had a couple features we liked (such as glass shelves) inside. (No, it does not have any "6th Sense" feature :-) ). It cost a little bit more money than the other model we looked at (we paid about $474, a decent deal) but it has an "A+" energy rating, and even though it is bigger, it consumes about 90 kilowatt hours less per year than the other models we looked at. Even though it is about six foot eight inches tall, is not as heavy as it looks; I and another guy about my size carried it into the house with no trouble at all. The refrigerators here are narrower in many cases than in the United States, and much less heavy (the washing machine was another story -- it was quite heavy). As with the washing machine, it is a huge blessing to have the refrigerator, and we have been very pleased with it. Enjoy the picture of our new refrigerator attached to this blog entry! (The refrigerator area is the top portion, and lower portion is the freezer). Again, it is because of all that each of you have done for us, and because of God's provision, that we were able to have this refrigerator for our family to use. Thank you!

...Whirlpool, part 1...

2006-09-04T18:57:00.000+03:00

We very much want to thank everyone again who was involved in any way with the Bridgeport Chapel Garage Sale this year, and also for the love and generosity that was shown to our family before we left America to come to Romania. We are and continue to be deeply grateful to each of you. As many of you probably already are aware, one of the things that we really wanted to be able to get when we came back to Romania was a washing machine for Geta. Because of everything you have done for us, we were able to get one on the 14th of August, about two weeks after we arrived in Romania. We paid about $346 for it (a pretty good deal, actually). It is really pretty much top of the line, a Whirlpool "6th Sense" as it is called. No, we don't see dead people; the "6th Sense" feature refers to the machine being able to "sense" the weight of the load and adjust water and electricity usage accordingly. Let me just say that having the washing machine has been a huge help in the day to day work, we have used it a lot, and we are very pleased with it. Please enjoy the two pictures posted of Geta's new washing machine with this blog entry. Again, thank you all very much, and may God bless you as you have blessed us!

Please Pray...

2006-07-25T01:03:00.000+03:00

One of the purposes of this blog is that we hope this will be a way for each of you to see how we are doing as time passes, and what is going on in the ministries we are involved with. But also, we intend for this to be a way that we can share praises, prayer requests, and needs that we have with you -- our friends, our family, the body of Christ.
We would like to take this opportunity to share with you a couple of prayer needs that we have, as we prepare to leave August 1st. First of all we would desire your prayers for our family and our ministry, that God's guiding hand would be upon us each step of the way as we journey to Romania, and as we begin a new life there; second, we would ask for your prayer in regard to a place to live -- that God would provide a place for us to live, and that His direction would be clear as to where He would have us live; third, we also ask for your prayer for a vehicle that we can use for our family and ministry -- that God would clearly direct us as to whether or not we are to have a vehicle at all, that He would provide the means to acquire that vehicle, and that we would be patient and wait for clear direction on just the right vehicle that God has for us.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog, and for taking the time to bring each of these requests before the throne of God on our behalf. God be with you........Andrew, Geta, and Family

Another Family Picture

2006-07-25T00:38:00.000+03:00

This is the latest picture of our family, taken July 3rd, 2006 in Monmouth, Oregon USA. Parents are Andrew and Geta, and children (L-R) are Joseph (3yrs), Ammishaddai (17mos) and Elijah (4mos).
We have been in the process of preparing to leave for Romania, and the time for our departure is almost upon us. Please pray for us as we begin serving the Lord in Romania; our flight is at 1:25pm on August 1st, and we should arrive about 3:40pm local time in Timisoara, Romania on August 2nd. Romania is 10 hours ahead of us here on the west coast.

Mission Statement for "The VR Project"

2006-06-15T21:43:00.001+03:00

We would like to take this opportunity to share with you the mission statement for the ministry that has been laid on our hearts, and for which we have been called to Romania indefinitely. This ministry is an idea that came out of our years attending Caransebes Bible Institute, and ministering to many different people in many different areas in the country of Romania. As always feel free to email us with questions or comments. The Mission Statement for "The VR Project: Project Village Reach -- Romania" is as follows: "The goal of the VR Project is to operate in a village where there has not been a church before, or where there is a new church, and to reach every man, woman, and child with the Gospel message by building friendships with the people, with the goal of winning them to Christ and thereby building the Body of Christ, the Church."

By Request...

2006-06-15T21:39:00.001+03:00

We have received some questions regarding how someone may support us in our ministry "The VR Project: Project Village Reach -- Romania" if they feel they have been led to do so, financially or otherwise.
As always -- see previous entry -- prayer is a huge support for us, more so than any other type of support. When you pray for us, you are having a private audience with the creator and sustainer of all things on our behalf, and that is an incredible privilege, something we need. Please, pray for us.
If you are interested in supporting us financially, whether that would be ongoing monthly support or a one time gift, A check would be made out to: Andrew & Geta Roby; That would be sent to: 294 Jacobson Way, Monmouth, OR. 97361. Your questions are always welcome; our email address is: morningstar1826@gmail.com. Thank you for your encouragements! In Christ, Andrew, Geta, Joseph, Ammishaddai, Elijah, and Jeremiah.

"The Interview"

2006-06-15T21:06:00.000+03:00

"Prayer moves the hand that moves the world." -- E.M. Bounds
On June 5th 2006 at 9AM, I (Andrew) was interviewed for an hour on the Morning Post show on AM 1220 KCCS in Salem Oregon. The host of the show, Bill Post, asked questions about our family going to Romania, and about our ministry there, entitled "The VR Project: Project Village Reach -- Romania". We felt that the interview went pretty well, especially after the first segment (during which I was fairly nervous). We believe it was a great opportunity provided by God to let people know what we are doing -- actually what God is doing in us and through us. Mr. Post was also gracious enough to allow people to have the opportunity to know how they could help -- first of all prayer (see quote at top of this blog entry!) and then of course with support/donations if they felt so led. Thanks to each of you who encouraged us before and after the show -- it was very much appreciated!

Andrew and Geta: About Us

2006-05-26T21:20:00.000+03:00

We met in 1999 in the village of Rusca Montana, Romania while I (Andrew) was on a short-term missions trip with my home church, Bridgeport Chapel. I returned to Romania in September of 1999 to attend Caransebes Bible Institute; Geta also attended.
By the grace of God, we were married January 28, 2001 in the village we had met in -- Rusca Montana. We graduated from Caransebes Bible Institute in May of 2002, and came to America so Geta could get her U.S. citizenship, allowing her to be able to travel to other countries much easier, and allowing her to come to the U.S. without having to apply for a special visa every time.
God gave us Joseph Andrew on December 24, 2002; Ammishaddai Rose on February 10, 2005; and Elijah Lester on February 26, 2006.
We believe that God has called our family to minister to and with the Romanian people, and so we have been preparing for a while now to return to Romania, where we will be living as missionaries, and raising our family.
Our Departure date is August 1, 2006.
Please pray that God will continue to lead us and direct us clearly to do what He wants us to do. Please pray that He will continue to provide for us, as we have seen Him do so remarkably. Thank you for your prayers...God bless each of you!

A Family Picture

2006-05-26T21:12:00.000+03:00

This is a new blog, and we are new at blogging; we hope this will be an interesting and informative way for our family and friends to see how we are doing as time passes, and what is going on in the ministries in which we are involved, in Romania. This is a picture of our family, taken April 29, 2006, in Monmouth, Oregon USA. Parents are Andrew and Geta, and children (L-R) are Joseph (3yrs), Ammishaddai (14mos) and Elijah (2mos).