Dearest Friends,
PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS RESPOND TO THESE EMAILS!!!
THE LOST BAGS
Praise God! The bags are no longer lost! They arrived this evening at the airport, 4 days after we arrived here. All of us are totally convinced that it was everyone’s prayers that made this happen. A lady in the lost luggage department in Moldova showed me a 2-inch stack of papers, each one representing someone’s lost luggage. She basically told me to abandon all hope as did everyone else that we talked to about the problem. Even when we went to the airport to get the bags, we did not even know if they were there. We went in faith, since no one would answer the phone. Today was Sunday and so we knew that many had been praying. You cannot imagine our joy when we looked through the security doors and saw all 5 tubs had been left in plain sight.
Your prayers turned the hearts of the customs officials as well. They would not allow us to have a translator and kept asking us questions in Romanian. No one gained much from that discussion. Five officials gathered around our luggage and wanted to charge us for bringing things into the country. One of the baggage handlers actually began to speak for us. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, they said ok and let us go. This is the power of prayer. Thank you for praying!
BLESSINGS
We are so wonderfully blessed by the ministry that we are having in Moldova! Please read the following list and praise God with us for the way He is touching hearts.
1. Big crowds of people gather in the streets to listen to the Gospel. Sometimes, we have more adults listening than children. Praise God!
2. We were blessed with good weather. If it had rained, none of the street shows would have been possible. God is so good!
3. After one show, a little girl named Victoria continued to stand nearby as we packed the equipment. Even though she was only 10 years old, she was charged with the care of a very small 4 year old boy. He held tightly to her hand, never letting go. Gwen had a lovely talk with her and found out that the lady who cares for her reads her Bible stories all the time. Pray for Victoria to know God personally!
4. I asked one group of children if they had ever heard the story that I had just told or any others like it. They all said no. They had never heard a single story about Jesus. These children were older, but knew absolutely nothing about God and the Bible. I was so sad! Please pray for people here to focus on the sharing of Jesus with the children of Moldova.
5. There was such incredible enthusiasm among the children as they watched the puppets and listened to the stories. We are so happy that they are so happy.
6. Kim thanked one man who had arranged for us to do a show beside a market. He was an older man who was very excited about the program who was also a Christian. He was a boxing coach for many years. Kim tried to thank him for arranging the show, but he insisted that he was the one who was grateful. The people that we are working with are so kind and bless us every day with their grateful hearts.
7. We did a show at a building called, "Baby Hall" on Sunday. Parents bring their children there to shop and play games. We were given the center of the main floor and they even set up chairs for us. The room was full of people who did not know Jesus. One mother came and said, "The program was beautiful." The director of the facility was so happy with the response that she asked our new puppet team to come every Sunday and do a program. Awesome!!!
8. One group that we are helping with equipment actually saw the puppet team Sam trained when I had to leave Moldova last time because of Mike’s death. They were so impressed with what they saw God do at the show. They thought that they should try to build a stage and learn puppets. They had no puppets, but that did not stop them. They were determined! They made 2 very nice puppets and did a whole show with just those two. Nothing stops them. They accepted the invitation that the director of the Baby Hall gave to come every Sunday and began to pray for equipment. Tonight, as God returned our luggage, we were able to give them 9 new animal puppets and some other supplies. I cannot describe their happiness to you.
9. When our equipment became lost, these same believers made us an amazing offer. They were already trying so hard to reach children for Christ and desperate for equipment. I told them that I had nothing to give them because 5 of our 12 bags were lost. I told them that if I had those bags, I could help them. One young married lady immediately raised her hand and said,"We are willing to fast." I was so amazed at their response. I was blessed by their vision and challenged by their faithfulness.
Love in Jesus, Linda for Kim,Gwen, and Drew Moore, and Marsha Spencer