Dearest Friends,
Little Boys
Our last program was at a little church in a Roma village. The children packed into a room that was not all that big but they did not care. They were so happy to be there. The front 2 rows were packed with little boys who especially loved the story of Joseph. I especially loved the way they responded to what they heard. I was delighted when I heard them praying!
They clapped for every part of the program. They had such big smiles and laughed so much. It was easy to forget how hard it is for these children. I was told by the lady that works with them that many of them will not finish even elementary school. Too often a little girl gets pregnant and is married at 13 to a 15 year old. Many of their parents have the same story. They are often divorced very young and married and divorced again .
One little boy told a friend tonight at the show that his Daddy was in prison. The little boy was very sad. He said that he was never going to prison, but the truth is that only Jesus can heal this family’s brokenness and keep this little boy from the same mistakes. Please pray for the children in this place to grow strong in their new faith and experience lifelong change. There is hope because there is someone there to tell them about Jesus. Pray!
Turkeys, Dogs, and Trouble
Yesterday, a flock of turkeys and a chicken attended our show in a village. Today, 10 dogs came to our first show under a big tent. We had 2 Roma village shows before the show in the church. Together, these programs gave us the opportunity to tell over 450 children , teenagers, and adults about God’s rescue plan for them.
It was not easy! The first show was crazy. We had little crowd control and I confess that I kept thinking about a story that Andy had told me. A clown ministry team had gone into a Roma village and they were mugged. They stole their big red noses and their funny shoes. They took everything. As the crowd was moving around us and we were experiencing difficulty controlling the group, I confess that I was distracted.
I refocused and saw that the crowd had shifted more to the side of me, so I turned and told the story in that direction. There were wonderful moments when they really listened. I could see that were hearing with their hearts. Then someone would push someone and everyone else joined in and it was crazy.
Our second show was so much easier. We went to a village with a worse reputation and we expected it to be difficult. I sent out some quick texts , asking for prayer support. I believe that it was the prayers that made the difference. Dozens of young men listened and some even helped us manage the children. It was an awesome show and we were even able to pray with them. God is so good!
In Jesus, Linda for Sergej, Zeljka, Andy, Lim, Daniel and Sam.