Old and New Friends

Alina and Silvika in Vulcanesti, 2011

Two old friends from Vulcanesti recently arranged an online meeting with Erika, Els, and Mary with Alina translating. It was wonderful to catch up with Silvika (now living with her husband and daughter in Berlin) and Catea (still in Vulcanesti). 

They invited us to join their weekly Wednesday night Bible study. This past week Marina and I were able to join them. There were 30 on the Zoom call; some of those thirty (like me & Marina) stood for multiple people. 

Marina is a friend from our Dutch Baptist Church who was born in Romania. A couple of months ago she went with me to visited some of the Roma women who are working in the greenhouses in North Holland. 

Marina & Mary, returning from
visit to North Holland

This renewed contact with the women inspired Marina. We've talked again about going with an elder from our church who also speaks Romanian . . . and hold a communion service with the brothers and sisters in North Holland. 

Marina also offered to come again next week so that she & I could listen to the Bible study online, microphone off, while she translates Romanian to English (or Romanian to Dutch) for me. 

Pray 

• for Marina, who has such a good heart
• for Alina, who leads the Bible study part of these meetings
• for the women who meet every week to learn, pray, sing, and grow together
• for the Roma who are scattered across Europe in search of work; God finds them wherever they go.
  
  

Evangelistic meeting led by Roma in a Roma village in Moldova. 
We pray that the Spirit continues to move!

As part of my on-going work, I serve on the board of the Dom Research Center. Dom are a group in the Middle East/North Africa closely related to the Romany of Europe. 

A number of Dom live in Gaza. As you can imagine, this community has been hard hit. Just last month, 28 children in the community died. Help keep our brothers and sisters in Gaza alive. Give to the charity of your choice. Or give through the Dom Research Center. Aid is regularly sent through Dom pastors and churches in the area. 

Dom Research Center, Inc

PO Box 

Rising Star, Texas 76471

USA

DomResearchCenter
@gmail.com

On-Going

Keith recently gave away all of his recording equipment. (He's practically deaf in one ear and can no
longer do the quality recordings he did in the past.) 

However, most of the things he recorded, created, or dubbed are now online. They continue to share the Word of God. Here are three links to some examples. Pray with us that the people who need to hear/see these will continue to find and use them. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Sikepaskro/videos?shelf_id=0&view=0&sort=dd 
Joseph and His Brothers, The Good Samaritan, The Lost Son

Luton Roma Church
https://www.youtube.com/user/LutonRomaChurch/playlists?shelf_id=0&view=1&sort=dd 
18 stories in English and Romanes

Jesus film

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jesus+film+romani 

Building within the Body of Christ

This is Natasha. She lives in a Roma village in Moldova. She and her family needed a new home. 

There was no place in the village that she could afford.

The Baptist Church of Arnhem-Centrum, American believers, and Germany charity (led by a Sinti Romany) donated funds to purchase the land.

Local believers donated funds to do the paperwork.

A Christian organization in America agreed to build the house.

They have finished the foundation and the outer shell.

They will come back later to do the rest of the construction.

And the Sinti-led charity is planning to help finish and furnish it.

It takes a village to raise a child? Sometimes it takes the world-wide body of Christ to build a home. 
Thank you for praying with us!

Passing the Torch

Thirty years ago this German deaconess (Sister Luisa Sator) started an organization for the translation and distribution of Scripture in Romany languages, beginning with Sinti Romany. She wanted the work to be taken over by Sinti themselves as soon as possible. 

This has been happening gradually for many years. This past Saturday, the Germans in the organization formally handed it over to the Sinti, specifically Pastor Kennedy and Otta Laubing. 

Romanes Arbeit Marburg (Romany Work Marburg) is now in Koblentz. This photo shows former director Jens Döhling handing the organization over to Otta Laubing. He does this symbolically by giving her the files for the entire Bible in her heart language.

Keith and I have worked closely with Otta, Kennedy, and others at this organization for over 20 years. Every dubbed and recorded item on display last Saturday had been recorded by Keith. Otta and Kennedy now hope to record the Old Testament. Keith is willing to train some Sinti to do this themselves. 

It was wonderful to be part of this celebration, to see old colleagues and make new connections. (Armin & Ursula Peter, left, receiving gifts in acknowledgement of their work as translation coordinators. Keith took many a recording road trip with Armin.)

Mostly it was incredibly encouraging to see God at work, changing lives and empowering people. 

Thank You for this amazing experience and this amazing day. 

(And the cake, made by one of the Sinti, was amazing, too! 

 O Debleskro Drom, on this cover of the entire Sinti Bible,  roughly translates as God's Way.
Talk about being fed from the Word of God . . . .  )

New location for Romanes Arbeit . . .

Pastor Kennedy Laubing also shared a word with us all. 

And then we headed back home, filled with more than just cake.

How do you mail a letter? The easiest way, where I come from, was to either have the stamped addressed letter sticking out of the mail slot in your front door or to put it in your mail box and put the flag up. In either case, the mail carrier would pick it up. 

So naturally, when we moved to the Netherlands, I did this. 

The mail carrier kept pushing it back in the front door with the rest of the mail. 

I kept putting it back in the front door mail slot.

After several days of mutual frustration, I asked a friendly Dutch person how to mail a letter. It was quite simple. Bring it to the post office or drop it in one of these orange Dutch mail boxes. Easy, once you know the system. Baffling and frustrating if you do not.

I, the stranger, am deeply grateful for the locals who were (and are) willing to help me cope in this strange land. Consider being a helpful local when you see a stranger in your own land.  

Matthew 25:35 " . . . I was a stranger, and you welcomed me . . ."