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Reports of Ladies’ Meeting sessions: As we got the first snow today in Lunca Ilvei, I better hurry up and write you the latest news from here before this computer will freeze. The temperature really dropped down here in the last few days. But, praise God, it was not so cold in the first two weeks of October when we had here visitors from U.S.A., Canada, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia and all over Romania. There were two reasons for these people coming here. First, there was a team of men, most of them from Pastor Paige Hardin's church in Kentucky, who came to continue the building work at the future children camp we intend to have here. The project was started last year with buying a piece of land and fix it, buying and preparing some material and in this August, brother Mark Landolt brought here a team of Canadian workers who raised the main building. Now, a second smaller room was raised up for a dormitory, a platform was set for a dinning hall and the pluming and the septic system were made for the first building. Both teams (the "August" one and the "October" one) worked hard, both had to fight cold weather, rain and mud, and above these, there were different difficulties with finding the right material, the intended quality or the right time for obtaining it. Their chances to be involved in the Church's services were just few, but some of them had the chance to preach or to have a greeting or a small testimony in Lunca Ilvei or in Poiana Ilvei. They came mainly to build and this is what they mainly did. Praise God for their help, effort and sacrifice. I thank you all who have a part in this too, by praying, caring or paying as I would like to thank all these brothers who came. I praise God for the desire he put in them and the power he gave them to fulfill it. We realize it is a sacrifice to pay and to come here (for some will be a sacrifice just to think about coming here J). (By the way, I don't have the emails for most of these men, so if anybody can, please let them hear about this letter or send me their email and I'll do it. Thank you.) Second, from 7th until 11th of October we had here, in Lunca Ilvei, the 3rd "Ladies' Meeting". This kind of meetings is intended first of all for our former student's wives, but we accept in the attendance other sisters too. So we had 42 ladies who came for this meeting from Russia, Moldova, Ukraine and all over Romania. All of them have some kind of connection with our former students of the Bible School. As speakers for the meetings there were Mrs. Valerie Landolt, Mrs. Debbie Hardin, Mrs. Rhonda Hamilton and Mrs. Elisabeth Korsh. Everybody enjoyed the lessons, the testimonies, the questions & answers, the time together. It was a great blessing for everybody. Now the vision is to have such a week every year. Please pray that the ladies will be able to come next year too. It means long hours of train traveling, difficult borders to pass, great expenses, little children left home for a week, husbands who have to cook and wash while the wives are gone and so on. Please pray also for us so we can be able to prepare everything here for a decent accommodation and most of all pray for God's presence in these meetings, so these ladies will have their efforts rewarded. Also do not cease to pray for the Bible School as we plan to start a new session in the springtime. Please pray for students, teachers and all other details involved. I want to thank everyone of you have anything to do with this ministry by praying, coming, preaching, building, driving, paying, caring, loving and what so ever God put on your heart to be involved with. May God bless you further. Respectfully,
Letters from Mrs. Valerie: Winter 2004 The Psalmist David said, Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; EVEN THERE shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." (Ps. 139) Even there. That "even there" can be something different for each of us. Perhaps it is a terminable disease for one, or maybe it is standing over the casket of a loved one, maybe it's a wayward child, or the betrayal of a dear friend. But whatever it is, the child of God has the comfort of knowing her Heavenly Father is leading her with one hand and holding her with His other hand. (Isa. 41) And even though we may not always be able to see His face because of the clouds, we know He is near; and when we are still, we can hear Him whisper to our souls, "I am with you." So we patiently submit to the mysteries of life as coming from the hand of a loving Heavenly Father, believing that what God permits is as much His will as what He appoints. And instead of demanding an answer to what we cannot understand, we decide to trust Him, hoping that our circumstances may provide an opportunity to glorify God if we will just trust in His unseen purpose. " . . . though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more, exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. . ." (II Cor. 4:16-18) In that Strong
Right Hand, Summer 2003 Lord willing, in just a few months we will be meeting again in Lunca Ilvei. I am anxious to see you again and to hear from you what God has done for you and your families. I am presently reading a book by Spurgeon entitled The Practice of Praise, and he comments on Psalm 92:2 - To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night. He says, "When musicians are about to perform, they tune their instruments. So our souls ought to rehearse the subject for which they are about to bless God. We ought to come before the Lord with subjects of praise which our thoughts have considered -- not offering unto the Lord that which has cost us nothing, but with a warm heart pouring out before His throne adoration." I am asking the Lord to give each of you something that you can share with all of us that magnifies the lovingkindness and faithfulness of our God -- how He has been faithful to you over the past year. Has He not daily loaded us with benefits? (Psalm 68:15) We have all had our days of sorrow, some more than others, but our days of joy and rejoicing have been abundant -- infinitely more abundant that we might have expected. Our God is good to us -- very good!!! I know some of you would rather not speak in front of the others, but I am praying that our hearts will be so full of praise that we can't keep it to ourselves. Here in America, the children have finished school and are enjoying the summer break. A couple of our children went to a Christian camp last week and we rejoice over how God spoke to their hearts. Br. Mark left this morning to help our oldest daughter Heather move her things back here to Kentucky. She has been teaching in a Christian school in Arizona and her plans are to go to Romania in August to teach missionary children in Constanta. Br. Mark leaves for Romania June 20 to help with the preparations of the summer camp there in Lunca Ilvei. Thank you for your prayers for the camp and we ask you to continue to pray that young people will be saved this summer as a result of that ministry. The Ladies Meeting is scheduled for the week of October 6. I have asked several ladies to go with me, but I don't know yet who is going to be able to attend. It's in the Father's hands, and I am excited to see what He is going to do. May the Lord "tune our hearts" and as we come together in October, may the words of David be on our lips, O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together. With
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