Faces of Hope (Part 1)

First, I would like to apologize for not writing in almost 3 months!  Since my last post so many things have happened.  We had a prayer week in February that turned into 6 weeks of prayer.  (The Lord is moving in mighty ways here!)  We've had a couple teams from Norway and are preparing for a team from England that arrives tomorrow.  We had a Zone Youth meeting while one of the Norway teams was here and experienced so much liberation and freedom nobody could deny the presence of The Holy Spirit.  This past Tuesday night we had a worship night with a famous Christian musician and this weekend we had The March for Life in 2 locations.  These are just a few of the things that have gone on over the last 90 days...and these are all extra things.  I still did my day-to-day things at the Hope Center and girls meetings.

Here's what this post (and the next couple posts) will be about:  I'm going to highlight 1-2 children or youth that I work closely with at The Hope Center and share parts of their story.  The culture of Gypsies, to some, would seem hopeless.  The bondage of sin plaguing the generations of this culture cut you in the heart like a dull knife.  They are a group, by all definition, known as outcasts and are comfortable staying that way.  But, the more time I spend with them, the more my heart grows to have a deeper understanding that these are my brothers and sisters, my equals - A real, tangible understanding of Matthew 25:31-46.  These are children and families that live in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Calarasi and despite their circumstances, give me hope.  These are their stories.  These are their faces - Faces of Hope.  

My most recent adventure has been working with a couple of boys that are in the second chance school.  What this means is these students have previously dropped out of school and now want to go back and are at least 2 grades behind where they should be.   I began working with two of these boys back in January by accident.   I found out that nobody was available to help them with homework and after some prayer concluded God wanted to utilize me in this way.  It's been an awesomely challenging experience so far!  This is the story of Nelutu and Sezer.

Nelutu
I don't even know where to start...I have so much love for this kid!  Nelutu is 13 and at a grade 2 level.  When I met him, he couldn't read or write...not even his own name.   I had seen him around the Hope Center since I arrived back in October, but he was one of the older kids, so I didn't pay much attention to him.  
One afternoon we were coloring and he gave me a picture and I asked him to put his name on it.  I received a blank stare and found out he didn't know how.   So I went and spoke with his teacher (with the help of Marin for translation) about him and Sezer and how I could help.  The teacher gave me a list of books for each of them so I went and purchased those.  We've been working on reading, writing and math ever since.
Among disappointments and triumphs, after a few months of working diligently with him, he is writing and reading! Praise God!  He still has quite a ways to go, but I choose to celebrate in the small victories.  We went from his teacher saying how disrespectful he was and unteachable to being told last week that he did a great job reading and to keep up the good work! He also gave his heart to Jesus about a month ago!!!! God is doing some wonderful things in his life!  

I visit his family at least twice a month (sometimes more) to pray with them and to make sure his mom is up-to-date on his progress and to let her know all the things we're working on.  His father died a few years ago as well as one of his younger sisters.  He lives in a two room home with his mom and 3 of his 4 siblings.  

Prayer Requests for Nelutu:

• His love for The Lord would continue to grow and would be a genuine love.
• The mental blocks keeping him from pronouncing "r" and "l" correctly would fall away and he would be able to stay focused while learning
• He would be able to memorize the multiplication table
• The culture would not pull him from his God given purpose (He wouldn't get married at a young age, wouldn't turn to drinking, wouldn't steal, wouldn't fight)
• God would break his bad habit of lying and smoking (he's trying to quit both and is struggling)

Sezer
This young man is so sweet and kind and at the young age of 14 has The Holy Spirit bursting from within and just like Nelutu, I don't even know where to start I love this kid so much!  Sezer is at a grade 4 level so my main focus with him is math.  He is also extremely passionate about soccer, so you can find us on the soccer field quite often.  I enjoy doing this with him, despite being awful at the sport, because it's a way to encourage stronger leadership from him.

He is a natural born leader.  During our week of prayer back in February, the students also had off of school.  Instead of doing what other kids do for fun he chose to be with our OH team in prayer from 11am-4pm.  
He has this eagerness to learn about his creator and takes every opportunity to do so.  
The younger kids look up to him and this gives me so much hope.  He has such a good heart and strives to see the good in the world.  

Prayer Requests for Sezer:

• He would continue to earnestly seek Christ and desire to be more and more like him
• His leadership skills would continue to grow 
• He would be able to memorize the multiplication table
• The culture would not pull him from his God given purpose (He wouldn't get married at a young age, wouldn't turn to drinking, wouldn't steal, wouldn't fight)
• He would continue to take school seriously and not get bored or lazy with it 

That's Nelutu & Sezer....It's hard to put into words everything we do and how The Lord is using them in my life and me in there's.  Because of extra finances I had in February, I was able to buy them each a bible, their school books and some new clothes.  I was able to share with them about God blessing me so I was able to bless them and what they've received from me is gifts from God.  I also pray with the boys at least once a day when we're together.

As for prayer request for me:

• I would continue to make time for God above all else...even ministry things
• The Romanian Language!  I'm slowly starting to get it, but need to know and speak more than I am now...God can break down these mental walls!!!!
• My health (joints, lungs)
• Finances for a car...I'm in the process of searching for an automatic car (this would be a tremendous help in day to day ministry with my schedule) and have found a few that could work, now I just need the financial provision 

Thank you for taking the time to read this, pray for the boys and for me, and your donations.  It means more than you will ever know!

click here to donate online!