Dearest Friends,
I NEED A FATHER!
It is the most wonderful sound when children and teenagers call on Jesus. At an orphanage for normal and minor special needs children and teens, I heard prayer spoken in soft whispers. One young person started to immediately pray loudly, but was too shy to finish out loud. We all knew that the Father was doing something incredible, because we all felt His spirit so strongly. Being allowed to pray with them was a joy!
At the other orphanage, they would not allow us to pray. Still, we were able to tell all of the children and teenagers how God could be their Father. I looked into their eyes. I know that they truly heard. When I asked on group if they needed a father, they looked at me and signaled “yes.” Others responded that they needed love or forgiveness. Please pray for all of these children and young people. Jesus is their only hope. He is our only hope.
TWO ORPHANAGES
Many of you may remember the terrible reports on Romanian orphanages 15 years ago. They have done much to correct the problems. The 2 that we visited today seemed to be good places for children. The buildings were clean and the staff seemed to care about the children.
Still, they are orphanages. The children are growing up alone, most feeling very hopeless. One of the staff told me that we had given the children a beautiful gift, hope. Though she was not a Christian, she still recognized that they needed Jesus. Most of the staff was very offended by the mention of His name. As soon as I said Jesus’ name, they went from smiling to anger. None of them spoke to me after the program. However, at the other orphanage, all of the staff responded with gratitude.
Please pray for God to place Christian staff in the orphanages. Please pray for the children who prayed today to grow in their faith.
MICESTI
Micesti is a village with 3 schools and only one principal. Today, the children were thrilled with the puppet show. Usually such events are expensive and many children cannot come. Because of your generosity, our programs are always free. The children were so happy and even the teachers came and thanked us. It is a gift to see children so happy when they hear about Jesus Christ. Pray for the children of this village to go home tonight and ask Jesus to be their Savior!
SUNDAY MORNING
We traveled for hours into the Carpathian Mountains to reach a church and share with a group of children and young teens. Apolo works with them every week and leads 4 children’s clubs every Saturday. He was very excited about our program. He said, “I cannot get into the schools, but with puppets, I bet I could.” I told him that he was absolutely right as we had been in so many public schools. Then, he was even more excited and wants our new Romanian team to come.
Romania is changing and not at all for the better. It is already difficult for Christians to get into the schools and we have been told that they expect the doors to close. Now is the time to reach the children for Christ. Pray for the God to hold open the doors. The students from the Bible Institute will be joining us at the shows until Thursday. Pray for our new team to learn their skills quickly.
RUTHIE
Ruthie is only 5 years old. She is very smart and speaks English and Romanian. Today, she and her parents went with us to help with the program. They will be part of the new team that we are planting here. I asked her if she could walk out at the end of the program and give a short testimony.
At first, she refused. I suggested that she talk to Jesus about her decision while we did the program. When we finished, she told me that she wanted to share. Ruthie held my hand and together we stood in front of the crowd. She said, “My name is Ruthie and I love Jesus Christ.” This little girl has great faith and I recommend her good example to each of you! Do not be afraid. Tell people about Jesus!
In Jesus, Linda for
Sam Shaw- Assistant Director
Silvana Shaw
Calah Sager
Toby Simmons
Naomi Armstrong