Bagging Groceries In Sarata Galbena

We bagged over 500 bags of groceries for families in this community in need. We then did a big Convoy of Hope Outreach with games, kids activities, testimonies, and prayer with the message of the Gospel. Great day all-together. This is a video of the Convoy team bagging the groceries.

More Pictures from Moldova

Blessings in Moldova

we have had the great opportunity to work in a town this past week named Strasen. we stayed in homes of people in the church. during the day we were able to rebuild a concrete wall that was old and cracked on the sanctuary building. it would have cost the church over 500 dollars in just labor for our work – not counting the cost for materials. all week we worked on that wall during the day. then, a group would go to the orphanage that had about 100 kids in it. we had a service for them with fun versions of Bible stories, songs, and games. great ministry! we were also able to be a part of a feeding program the church in Strasen has for elderly people every day for lunch. saturday we had a service for visually impared people. we gave out 200 bags with groceries and slippers. the service was in the community center, and most were non Christians. we sang songs for them, gave testimonies of God in our own personal lives, and presented the gospel to them talking about the salvation that Jesus offers us all. it was an amazing time to meet their needs physically, give them some entertainment, and let them know that they are not forgotten. they really needed to know that people do care about them that and Christ has a plan and purpose for them. elderly people in Moldova are often forgotten and left alone. with physical disabilities it can be even lonelier for them. the church in Strasen is doing an amazing job of reaching out to their community with physical help as well as spiritual help. they really “get” what it is all about – going into all the world whether it is your neighbor or someone at the store and show them Christ’s love and compassion and share the message of His saving grace to all.

i made some great friends. on our way out of town, the father of my host family, peter, who i worked with all week, was waiting for a bus across the street. i ran over to say goodbye and he gave me a huge hug. even though we don’t speak the same language we became great friends. its all about relationships here.

today we worked at the “home of hope”, the house for trafficked women to help them recover. they officially open next week and we were finishing up making cabinets and odds and ends so it will be ready for the girls when they come in. we prayed for each room and the girls who will be there and that they would have peace and feel the comfort of jesus.

great times. delayed till Saturday to head out to Armenia.

till next time
your friend
chad

Moldova Pics

Update on Moldova

the last few days we have been up north where there was the most flooding since 1900. in the village there was standing water covering the whole village over a meter and a half high. many houses were totally caved in and others had half fallen off. many have molding problems. lives were devastated, homes lost, with families losing all that they have. we were able to come in with 7 tons of food consisting of flour, vegetables, protein soups, beans, noodles, and salt. these are all non-perishable goods. we reached over 500 families in need. we also gave families slippers. Moldovan people don’t wear shoes inside. but as it is very cold, they need something inside. it was great way to bless them. at the outreach they held, an evangelist came and gave a salvation message. we came to meet physical needs, but he explained that only God can really meet all their needs. the mayor of the town gave us the list of the families needing help, and most were non-believers. great opportunity.

we split into groups of 2 to spend the night in the village. chris and I were put into a home that was very quaint. we got to the house around 10 pm and they still wanted to feed us. sitting at the table (which was also where their beds were) we ate the meal that they worked so hard to provide for us. i had the great opportunity to use the restroom which was right next to the pig pen. it was dark, and i slipped right into the pig pen, and ended up in ankle deep pig droppings!! i had a great laugh about that.

we were also able to go and visit a family in a nearby village who had recently lost their father. he was the pastor of the church in town. he decided one day to go down into the well and clean it out. he had a heart attack and died. he left a wife, 2 kids, grandchildren, a church, and a house not finished. they now have no one looking out for them. the mother had been praying that God would send someone to encourage them, and they thought they had been forgotten by everyone. we came un-announced and they were blessed with groceries, slippers, and the reminder that they were not forgotten by God or by believers. it was a great experience.

Having a Little Fun!

got to relax and have a little fun every know and again…..

Flood Relief in Moldova

We have been very, very busy – visiting villages, doing outreaches, visiting people in need, and giving out groceries. i have very limited internet, but wanted to let everyone know that we are meeting a great need here in Moldova both physically and spiritually. there is a great need for both food, and spiritual direction. firstly, poverty looks completely different around the world. Moldovan poverty is very different from poverty that i have seen in the other countries i have been to. you look around and see houses that look decent. they have a yard, a shed, a garden, and sometimes i find myself thinking ‘do they really need help?’ but what we don’t know is that many times the house has been passed down from one family member to another. it may have taken them years and years to build. many times people put all their money right away into one thing. they don’t know any better and forget to think about the future. also, here in Moldova, half the country has moved to other countries to get work, and because of this, Moldova’s employment rate is extremely low. so, if a family does have money, most of the time it is coming in from outside of Moldova.

tomorrow we are heading north for 6 hours to give flood relief. we will be within spitting distance of Romania and the Ukraine. the river between Moldova and these countries has flooded and there is a great need. we will be bringing food and cleaning supplies that are needed after flood damage. when we give gifts of any kind we explain the reason for the gift – the gospel.

keep us in your prayers as we will be traveling a lot in the next few days.

chad-

Moldova

we have been in Moldova for over a week now. we stayed in a village 3 hours away from the capitol. the village was called Beltz. we stayed in a church for most of the time. we were there really to encourage the church and its building process. they have been building their church for 6 years. they have had a lot of persecution from the orthodox church in the 90′s. we helped them work on finishing the inside, mudding the sheet-rocking, taping the walls, sanding, spraying texture, and painting. there is a pastor there that is in charge of 10 churches. he was there every day, along with the pastor of the actual church. they also have many evangelists (as they call them) that work at the church everyday. we also had about 8 men from the village working with us every day. we made great friends with them. we had a great time trying to communicate without speaking the same language. we were also able to visit several homes in the area that were very needy. the town we were in was only about 6,000 people. we went to many different houses giving a bag of groceries, visiting, sharing the reason we were there… the gospel, and praying for and with them. we also got the chance to visit the local school and talk to them. a lot of doors to encourage the local christians and to help them reach out to their community.

the culture here is amazing. they pray a lot – before and after meals, in the morning and evening, and many times during the day. each prayer is a group event. everyone prays aloud, and someone closes after everyone is done.

i had the chance to get a ride with “sara taddy”, a local missionary, back to town one day with a pastor and his family. we ended up taking a 2 hour detour to his church because he was so proud of it and the work they are doing. they ended up filling me with amazing cheese, fresh bread they made, and crapes filled with cheese. i can never say no to food.

last night i again got another crazy chance to stay the night at the pastor of the local 10 churches. he has 10 children. i stayed in his upstairs that had just been finished. they, of course, wanted to show us all his land and farm. he has a lot of property with vegetables, fruit trees, sunflower plants, chickens, and ducks. then, as it got dark, they decided to take us to their friend/s house out in the middle of nowhere to get a ride on a tractor. we all rode along on this tractor, talked in the field for awhile and went back to the house. then, at about 9:30 ate dinner consisting of bread with cheese, mayo and fish. i really dont enjoy fish!!! we ate pickled watermelon. really interesting. then they had me play guitar for them and harmonica. amazing experience. this pastor was in the russian army. had some really tough times – great man of God. we then got up at 6 and prayed. finished texturing the church and headed back to Chisinau where we are based out of.

it is amazing here. God is doing some amazing things. we are helping many many people. encouraging the local church, and sharing the love of Christ in practical ways. we are walking out our faith and being the hands and feet of Jesus.