It has been almost one year since we have been troubled by this pandemic.  Because of the Covid virus we have been limited in what we can do.  We cannot meet to worship like we did before (photo of "socially-distanced" tea party).  We have been doing everything remote.  We even have school and worship services on Zoom.  We cannot have parties with friends like we used to.  We must wear masks and stay socially distanced.  We are beyond tired.  We are burned out.  The psalmist voiced our feelings when he wrote Psalms 6.  

Read verses 2, 3, 6, and 7.

“²I am worn out, O Lord; have pity on me!

          Give me strength; I am completely exhausted
³             and my whole being is deeply troubled.
How long, O Lord, will you wait to help me?”

“⁶I am worn out with grief;
          every night my bed is damp from my weeping;
          my pillow is soaked with tears.
⁷I can hardly see;
          my eyes are so swollen
          from the weeping caused by my enemies.”

That certainly sounds like how we feel some days.  We are just tired.  No, we are burned out.  We have about reached our limits.  In addition to the virus we have experienced extreme weather (photo of Dutch snowstorm).  It seems our world is
falling apart.  How long will we have to endure this?  Where is our hope?  The problem is that we are not yet at the end of the Psalm.  The answer is in the rest of the story.  Look at verses 8 and 9.

The Lord hears my weeping;

⁹         he listens to my cry for help
          and will answer my prayer.
 

We are not alone.  The Lord hears our weeping.  God is a loving God and like a loving mother He loves His children and watches and listens to every cry we make.  He hears every whimper.  He sees every tear.  He will answer our prayer.  God is still with us.  The apostle Paul said he could live with the difficulties because he could feel the presence of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).  I pray that we will all: Be smart, be careful, be helpful, be safe, and not be afraid.  God is with us now and forever.​

 

Dale D. Meredith

Pastor, University Baptist Church, Amherst, New York and

Professor Emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo

Survey said . . .

We recently sent out a survey to the readers of our monthly prayer letter.  We also posted an opportunity to give feedback on this blog. If you'd like to respond, go back two posts. 

One of the responses to the prayer letter survey suggested adding maps from time to time. For example, this one shows the Netherlands, where we live and Moldova, where we partner on a lot of projects.

Other responses suggested more photos. Maybe like this one, of a current project in Moldova. Two Romany women have started a children's Bible club.  Romanian-speaking partners in Sweden (Alina) and Romania (Nella) meet with them weekly (online) for prayer support and to suggest games and activities. Partners in Germany pay for the expenses.

Or this one, of Keith dubbing a scripture video. He completed a short one earlier today. The video was suggested by Nella who arranged for the Romanian-speakers. It will be used in this children's Bible club. (Same process, though this photo is from a different project.)

One of the changes will definitely be to make this blog more mobile/cell phone friendly. If you have additional suggestions or comments, feel free to let us know!

Coordinating Resources: Firewood

Our official job title is "Resource Coordinators." Firewood is a resource we recently coordinated.

Kennedy Laubing, a pastor in Germany, felt led to help Romany in Moldova. He and his wife knew of my Moldova connection and asked me to go with them. 

We've gone together three times now. While there, we introduced them to Petru Ciochina, pastor of a Romany church in the village of Vulcanesti, and Eduard, one of the believers from that church. They decided to partner together.

So Kennedy's German charity (Humanitar21) raised funds for firewood and food packages. We sent those funds to Petru. Petru and the believers in Vulcanesti arranged to buy and deliver the wood.

According to Petru, "People did not know that they would receive firewood. 

Some were asleep, but were awakened by the noises falling from the wood. 

They were surprised."

God worked through a chain of His children to make this happen. It is a privilege to be a small link in that chain.

New Intern and Survey for you!

Sofia Hines, Intern

Hi all! This post is a little different. My name is Sofia Hines, and I'll be serving with Mary this semester as a Student.Go Intern. I'm a sophomore college student living in North Carolina and I'm here to help out with the ministry's social media presence, which includes this blog! 

We've created a brief survey with a few questions to see what our readers enjoy about these posts and what you'd like to see more of. At the end of the form, there is an option to be contacted for a short call if you'd be willing to share any further thoughts you have. We want to hear your insights and look forward to having plenty of survey responses and about 4-5 volunteers for phone calls or Zoom meetings by the end of the week.

To complete the survey, click here!

Thank you!

Shoebox Stories #1: Nella's Shoeboxes Plus

Have you or your children ever filled a shoebox at Christmas?  And have you ever wondered what happened to that shoebox? Here are a few stories of those who do . . . and do not . . . distribute shoeboxes.

My friend Nella gives out lots and lots of shoeboxes--plus. She is Romanian and has regularly visited a Romany village for a number of years. She has questioned shoeboxes but Remus, a member of the church there, pointed out that this was the one Christmas gift that some of those children would ever receive. 

Last year she and Remus distributed shoeboxes to the children who attended the Christmas program. This year, Nella went around the village to get the names and ages of all the Romany children. She also visited the social worker in the town hall to get the names and ages of the neediest in the village.

Then she started to work and to pray. Children in her home church used to receive shoeboxes. Now they make them for Nella. Another charity in her hometown receives shoeboxes from Scotland to go to the needy and gave almost 200 to Nella. The church in the village also received 50 from Samaritan’s Purse. In all, they were able to put together over 350 packages. 

Nella added warmly-lined clogs (€2 a piece) plus socks for each child old enough to walk. Packages for families included non-perishable food items as well as soap and other necessities. In addition, each package contained Scripture booklet or New Testament, depending on the recipient's age.

The Lord provided a small truck to carry all these things the 6-hour drive to the village. Two Romany believers helped sort everything by family and child’s name. These two actually delivered all 350 packages.

“It was like a marathon,” Nella told me. “But everyone was so content. If you could see their faces. There were children who literally jumped for joy. And seeing barefoot children wearing the shoes I put in the bags was a real joy. The most they rejoiced for the socks. That’s what most of the children told me. Of course, the sweets. The parents told us they appreciated the shampoo, the hygiene items.”

This was not a give-and-run shoebox operation. Nella had personal contact with each household ahead of time. She will have personal contact again, in the coming months. She worked with and through local believers. Romany who lived in the village, not wealthier-looking outsiders, were the ones who physically brought each package to each household. 

There were lots of plusses to Nella's shoeboxes. The plusses which added the most and will continue to multiply are larger and last longer than any shoebox.

Safe At Home

We live in Westervoort, a quiet village south and east of Arnhem. It's 9:30 PM as I write this. The streets are especially quiet. Due to concerns over the three new versions of the Corona virus, the Dutch government has added a 9 PM-4:30 AM curfew to our existing lockdown. Like most people, we've been at home, minding our own business, since suppertime.

As you may have seen on the news, though, a few people in the Netherlands are not content to wait out this latest lockdown at home. Churches, bars, restaurants, movie theaters, schools, and museums are closed. We are only supposed to have one outside-the-house visitor per day. We weren't supposed to set off any fireworks on New Year's Eve, and we aren't counting on any across-the-borders vacations for the immediate future. 

Some people have had enough and decided to go out after 9 PM to protest. Some other people decided to go out after 9 PM, too, and let off some steam. Well, maybe a lot of steam. 

This seems to be quieting down. In the meantime, we are staying safe at home. We pray you all are safe and at home, too.

We Really Appreciate Jason!

A reflection by Dr. Dale Meredith (also sometimes "Jason")

Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica.  Paul went to the synagogue and explained from the Scriptures about Jesus for three weeks.  Some Jews, many leading women, and a large group of Greeks believed Jesus was the Messiah and joined Paul and Silas.  Some Jews were jealous and gathered a crowd to attack Paul and Silas.  Paul and Silas had been staying with Jason.  Therefore, these  Jews dragged Jason and some other believers before the city authorities and charged them with breaking the laws of the Emperor by teaching about another king, whose name is Jesus.  Jason and the other believers had to post bond before they could go (Acts 17:1-9).

"Jason" in Catalonia, 2019

Jason let Paul and Silas stay at his house.  This allowed Paul to stay in Thessalonica to preach and start a church.  Jason never
preached a sermon, but he helped Paul preach many sermons.  He never wrote a book, but because he was faithful there was a church in Thessalonica and Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  He never went on a mission trip, but because he was faithful Paul and Silas went to many other towns.  Jason stood up for what was true and right when he faced persecution because he had let Paul and Silas stay at his house.  Not only that, but he would not tell the authorities where to find Paul and Silas.  He risked his life that the gospel could be preached.  It cost him when he had to post bond with the authorities to be able to go.  That is all we know about Jason.

There are many like Jason who are faithful to do what they can in order for the gospel to be preached so others can hear about Jesus and accept Jesus as their savior.  People like Jason pray, give, provide facilities, witness by their actions and testimony that Jesus is the Savior.  It is because of people like Jason that missionaries can go to take the gospel to other places.  It is because of people like Jason that churches can continue to be places of worship.  God calls us to be faithful to use the gifts and resources he gives us.

You may not be called to do what Jason did.  However, God has given you a gift and resources.  God asks you to be faithful in the use of your gift and your resources for God’s purpose.  God does not ask us all to do the same thing.  God is pleased when you are faithful to do what he calls you to do.  I pray that we will all: Be smart, be careful, be helpful, be safe, and not be afraid.  God is with us now and forever.​ 

Dale D. Meredith

Pastor, University Baptist Church, Amherst, New York and

Professor Emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo