Keep Checking on Us!

If you are interested in seeing more pictures of our trip, we will being posting some later today or tomorrow. Also, if you would like to be updated on the difference that was made because of this trip to Romania, keep checking back. As we hear about the sprouting of the tree, each branch that starts to grow and even the individual leaves that unfold, we will post it on this blog.

We want to thank all our supporters for making this trip possible and keeping you updated is our way of letting you each know how you helped make a difference in the lives of the people with disabilities on the other side of the world!

Har si Pace!

Our Work is Done...God's has just begun!

We made it home!! After traveling for 28 hours, we finally made it to our respective houses. Our families were happy to see us, and we were happy to be home. We come home changed people. Being on a mission trip has taught us so many things. How to be FLUID AND FLEXIBLE, don't ever put God in a box....he is bigger than we could EVER imagine, lives intertwine in the most mysterious~yet planned out ways, we can do all things through Christ, and one of the most important things we learned...we may be in different countries, live in different cultures and speak different languages but we are all the same in the body of Christ. God makes us brothers and sisters...and we will truly miss the brothers and sisters that we have met in Romania. It was really hard to say goodbye to our new friends, it was amazing how strong and fast connections can be made. We feel we planted a seed in Romania. We hope it will change the the views on people with disabilities in Romania. We hope they will start to see a disability as God's plan and not God's punishment. We met many Romanian people who feel disabilities are God's greater plan, but there are still many more who need to hear that having a disability is a way to glorify God. But then again, there are people in the states who need to hear that message also! We truly hope the ramp and the bathroom will set hearts in motion to start making many more places in Romania accessible. The ramp is a big, beautiful statement that all are welcome in God's house. The bathroom says, "we will make sure you feel welcome and comfortable here. The trainings were just a small way of touching hearts and letting the Romanians know that they have the knowledge and power to start a disability ministry, they just need the nudge to put that knowledge and power into action. We ask you to continue to pray for the hearts in Romania and that the seed we planted will grow into a big beautiful tree with many branches reaching into many areas of Romania with the many, big beautiful leaves being the people touched by our mission trip. On that note, we would ask for another prayer for the young single mothers in Romania, there is a VERY high abortion rate there. We left some wonderful blankets from a non profit organization, Blankets for Babies, to give to the babies that these mothers decide to keep. Please pray that the blankets will touch a life in a way we could never comprehend.

We want to praise and thank God for the way he would just "show up" on our trip. He constantly let us know that He was with us, guiding us and loving all of us all the time. He kept us safe and strong... He led us to open hearts, gave us a great translator and answered our prayers. We are humbled that He would use 7 Americans in such a big way. Thank you Lord!

We love and appreciate you all following our blog.

HAR SI PACE (grace and peace, pronounced "har she pachay")

Last Night in Romania!

Well we are done...what a mission! One of the highlights of our trip was having dinner with Pastor Alex's family last night in the house he grew up in, in a village near Timisoara. Wow..what hospitality. His mom was an amazing woman. His sister, brother in law and nephews were wonderful too! We finished up the bathroom and the ramp. The ramp is the only working ramp we have seen in the town of Timisoara since we have been here. We think it is going to make a big impact. God's hand was definitely involved in the whole process. I think we are all feeling changed by this trip...for the better. The seminar tonight was a success. We think we moved some hearts in Romania towards people with disabilities.

We want to throw out a huge thank you to Steve and Kristi. They were with us all week, driving us around, translating for us, setting up our excursions with the kids from the centers "orphanages". They have been amazing. All of the pastors and people from Greater European Missions raved about the job that they have been doing in Romania. They have servants hearts and wear them on their sleeve. The week would not have gone half as smoothly without their devotion, love and help. We love and appreciate you Steve and Kristi and hope we didn't drive you too crazy with our Americanisms!!!

Just in case....

If you would like to watch our training this morning you can watch it live on the following link. It will start about 8:45 on Friday morning. Please pray for us! Thanks!

www.betel.ro//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=102&ltemid=82

Has it been two days????

I am sorry we missed a blogging day...yesterday we were busy from morning to night. The guys spent the day at the church framing the bathroom and pouring the concrete. Today they put up drywall and started the tile....it is looking like a bathroom! The girls went on another outing with the kids from the center (group homes). They went to the play area at the mall. It was a very large, extremely nice play area... with a trampoline, ball pit, therapy balls, slide etc, etc...the kids loved it. We took another group there today...it was our last visit with the kids from the center and we had lots of tears. We handed out the lambs and the kids really loved them. I will attach pictures later. Yesterday, Katonna and Missy went on a home visit to see a pastor from a village church and his wife. They were in a head on collision 11 months ago and both had severe injuries. The pastor is still recoverying from 2 broken ankles, and a broken arm. He healed incorrectly and walked on his legs too soon. He has had several surgeries to fix the problem and is still confined to a wheelchair. He was a most amazing man and finished our home visit with "God Bless me and God Bless you More!!" Tonight was our first inservice. We had several people use the new ramp... the elderly, a stroller, wheelchairs and walkers. What an amazing sight! Missy gave a presentation on disability and suffering and then 3 of the attendees gave their testimony...WOW! All three were so thankful for their suffering because it brought them closer to God. Matt and Doug gave a presentation on Communication in the Special Needs Family. It went really well. We were a little concerned because of the cultural differences in communication...Thank you for praying for a good translator. That prayer was answered! Pastor Alex was our translater tonight and he was better than we could have ever hoped. Tomorrow Pastor Alex, Nuti, Steve and Kristi are taking us on a little tour around Romania. We are excited. We miss everyone back home, but are amazed and happy that we are here experiencing so much of God's Greater Plan.

Bob the Builder and Beth and Bill

Today was great day. It started with all our planned tradesman showing up on time and fired up ready to work. The Romanians are very hard workers. They are very polite people. The people we have come in contact with are very intelligent, well educated people. Most of them speak at least two languages. We met one man who speaks five! The picture shows a photo of the handicap accessible bathroom. Keep watching for more photos as we progress. An interesting note, most of the Romanian construction workers we have met wear sandals. This morning the girls took a group of children with disabilities from a nearby center to the public pool. The facilities were amazing. The children were adorable. When we got back, the people from Betel Church made the workers and the mission team an amazing lunch-YUM! After lunch, Joy, Katonna and Kelsey took a group of older students with more severe disabilities on a walk through the park. It was a great experience for them. Missy, Doug and Matt headed over to the radio station. We had 30 minutes of on air time to talk about Disability Ministry...it was EXCITING! We all felt really good about the experience and information that was given. We really feel God moving through this mission....especially in the relationships being built and enhanced. One experience was tonight at dinner. As we were getting ready to pray, our waitress asked if she could pray with us and by the end of dinner she asked if she could come to our conference! Keep praying for us...it is working!

Sometimes His Ways Aren't So Mysterious!

Wow! What a great day. We arrived at Betel this morning at 10:00 for Bible Study. We met with the young families group that Steve and Kristi attend. It was a great study on the Anti-Christ. A topic that Joy and Mike have been recently studying in the states. After Bible Study we went to Church Service. As we entered the church, we noticed a man in a wheelchair. We found out that he was the FIRST person to use the ramp that Highlands helped to finance. After church we had lunch and met with Ligia, a social worker in the area of Special Needs. She is a Christian and would like to get the churches more involved. She gave us good insight on what it is like to live with a disability in Romania. After our meeting we broke into two groups. Joy, Mike and Kelsey went to a village church service and baptism with Steve and Kristi. They had an amazing experience. Doug, Missy, Matt and Katonna went back to Betel. Matt, Missy and Doug were invited to give a testimony about the Special Needs Ministry at Highlands. The man in the wheelchair from the morning service also gave his testimony (and used the ramp again!). It was very powerful. After service, we got to meet him and get our picture taken. We were than approached by a woman who thanked us for the ramp and told us how she had wished for a ramp when her aging mother was too weak to walk. As we were talking, Pastor Alex approached us and told us she hosted a radio show on Christian radio. He then asked her if we could come on her program and talk about our seminar and disability ministry. She said she may have tomorrow night open! Say a prayer for us...what a huge blessing that would be!

Like I said, it was a great day....full of "coincidences" Ha!! :-)

We made it....

After traveling for 25 hours, we made it to Timisoara. Steve and Kristi Carnazzo met us at the hotel and after freshening up we headed out to dinner. It was 11:30am Arizona time, but 9:30pm Romanian time. Pastor Alex and his wife Nuti (pronounced Nootsy) met us for dinner. The restaurant typically closed at 10:00 but they are friends with Alex and Nuti, so they stay opened an hour and half past closing for us...it was a great dinner and great company! We went back to the hotel and went to bed at 11:30 (1:30pm AZ time) We hadn't slept in 33 hours!

This morning we got up at 8:30 and had breakfast as a team at the hotel. Steve and Kristi met us for breakfast and brought Andy LeBreche and Dawn Ellenbaas with Greater European Missions. We had a brief welcome and orientation to Romania. They went over subtle nuances that we might want to be aware of while visiting. Some of the tips they gave us were so funny to us. Words that we use in America have totally different meanings in Romania. Our cultural mannerisms, that are second nature to us, could be construed very differently in Romania. It is amazing to all of us how often we do and say things that we aren't even aware of doing. It is hard and funny to try to change ingrained mannerisms.

After breakfast, we headed over to Betel Baptist Church and got to work! Mike, Doug and Matt went directly into the bathroom and checked out the area, started measuring and drawing up plans. Missy, Kelsey, and Katonna started painting a hand rail in front of the church. Joy headed off to the grocery store with Kristi to get the fixings for our lunch. When they got back, Joy jumped right in and started helping us paint. She said the grocery store was very different from the ones in the states. After getting half the railing painted we needed to stop because a guests were starting to arrive for a wedding, so we got to go on a walking tour around Timisoaura. We had a wonderful Romanian guide, she was one of Steve and Kristi's Romanian teachers when they arrived. We visited a Catholic church that as built in the 1700's and took 38 years to complete. I will post a picture later. It was very ornate and fascinating.

After our tour, we headed to dinner. The nine of us had dinner on top of a building near the Town Center. The view was great and so was the food. We had so much fun talking and laughing. It has been a great couple of days in Romania. We are headed to bed, it is 11:00pm. (1:00 pm Az time). Tomorrow we have a big day. We will start by going to church at Betel. And finish by attending an evening service in a nearby village. It will be fun to see the differences.

Commissioning

Matthew 28:19 (NIV)
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Twenty four hours from now, the seven of us will be boarding a plane to embark on our mission! We are so excited, nervous and honored to be doing God's work in Romania. The way this trip has come together and the events that have taken place in the lives of many of those involved has really shown us how God's hand has been involved. It is amazing! Here is a picture of us being commissioned by Pastor Tyler McGrath (on the far left) at church last Sunday. So, now we are ready to go....

Thanks for following along! See you in Romania!

Little Lambs

Last week I went to Joni and Friends, Greater Phoenix and picked up 48 of these little lambs. We are hoping to get them all to Romania with us and give them to the children that we meet on our home visits. The tag on the lamb's ear says " A special gift of God's love." It goes on to describe that the lamb is given to them by someone who wants them to know that God loves them. I think this is a perfect gift for the children~ as the reason we are going to Romania is because God loves his children with disabilities so much that He has made this trip possible. Thanks Joni and Friends!! (www.joniandfriends.org)

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. We are leaving for Romania in one week and are so excited about our journey. There are seven people going on this mission trip from our church.



We are the In His Image ministry at Highlands Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. We started this ministry to allow parents of children with special needs come to church as a family. Over the past 3 years we have watched the ministry grow according to God’s will and have seen tremendous impact on the families we serve. Several of our families have been told by other churches in the valley not to bring their child back. The relief we see on their faces when they realize there is a place for their child at Highlands is secondary only to the joy we see when they realize we see their child as a true gift from God. Families are being strengthened, siblings are participating in church activities, marriages are growing together instead of apart and children with disabilities are learning that God doesn’t make mistakes and He has a plan and purpose for their life. It is an amazing experience! Because of the impact we see being made, our passion for this area of ministry has grown tremendously. We have even been involved in seminars and trainings to help other valley churches start ministries similar to ours.



God continues to have big plans for our ministry. We were very excited and surprised when the church asked us to consider a mission trip to a sister church in Romania. July 17-27 we will be going to Betel Church in Timisoara, Romania. This is a large well-respected church in Romania. They have invited us to come over and remodel their bathroom so it is handicapped accessible. We will also conduct a conference on how to start a special needs ministry for the church and many surrounding churches. We will also conduct home visits. We are most excited about the home visits. We can’t wait to meet with families raising a child with special needs and tell them all about John 9. It is in this chapter that Jesus specifically says that a man was not born with a disability as a result of his or his parent’s sin; he was born blind so that “God’s glory could be revealed through him.” We hope to see the same relief and joy in the faces of the Romanian families, as we do on the faces of our own families, when they realize that God loves them and He did not make a mistake.



We hope you will join us in our mission by reading this blog and praying for us as we embark on our journey.