At Home in the Family

What do you do when a weekly children's club meets in your house? 

And your house only has two finished rooms?

Why, you stay and watch, of course.

Or you go about your daily business.

Or, sometimes, you even help with the activities!

This couple has hosted a children's Bible club in their home for several years now. When our friend Zoltan Barabas first started the club in this Romany village, he was working with his friend Robert. The host is Robert's uncle. So the club has been a family affair from the very beginning. When you are part of God's family, "kin" and "home" take on new meaning.

This month CBF's preschool and children's curriculum focus on our work with Romany. 

You can download the materials for free.

Children's is called Spark. 

Preschool is called Form.

Of course, these materials can 

be used any time, 

not just in 

the month of May.

Faithfully Praying . . . for 20 Years!

How long do you persist in prayer? 

Brother Matruska prayed for 20 years for a missionary to come to his village in Moldova. In 2000, that missionary (Boris Caraion) arrived. Brother Matruska told his story to Boris on this video. First visit to Moldova

In the 20+ years since, many of you have continued to pray for this village and for the growth of God's Kingdom there. If you look back on posts labeled "Moldova" (including last week's), you will see how God has been answering those prayers.

Thank you--and thank God!

(Photo:  Boris and Keith speaking at an outdoor worship service, around 2003.)

On the Resurrection Side of Easter

God's Kingdom has come! I can see it! Bethlehem Baptist Church used to have a problem getting women in the doors. Now women are being baptized. 

Twice a week 20-30 women meet for Bible study and fellowship. Online. The local leader, a Romany woman, enthusiastically recruits more. (Photo from outdoor baptismal service last August. Note number of women "in church.")

However, God's will is not yet being done on earth as it is in heaven. I can see that, too! One of those women asked if we could repair her leaky roof. Her roof is not the only one. Nor is this door the only door that needs replacing. 

Meanwhile, other villagers build ever bigger houses, you and I casually consider remodeling our perfectly functional kitchens, and we tell ourselves that we really are too busy to visit that (elderly, sick, lonely, depressed . . .) neighbor down the street.

We live on the resurrection side of Easter. The light is glorious, but the ground is still muddy. 

Let us focus on the Light . . . and be willing, if He asks, to fix a roof or pave a street.

Like this one. Some villagers pitched together and paved it a few years ago. Maybe roofs as well as souls are next. 

(Photo of Mary & Olesea Ciochina, village of Vulcanesti, Moldova.)

International Romani Day--Christian Celebration!

Join us for a special live event “CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF ROMA” on International Romani Day, 8 April at 19.00 (Serbian time).

We will be celebrating the Roma as a people whom God loves. Hear stories of gospel revival among the Roma that began in France and spread across Europe.

There will be worship and prayer time together and testimonies from guest speakers from the Netherlands, Ukraine and Romania.

We hope to have a festive and encouraging time – see you there!

*This event is brought to you in partnership with Christian Roma Support
https://christianromasupport.nl/ *

Summer Internships--Remote but Reimbursed!

Student.Go Summer Internships Now Accepting Applications   Internships play a significant role in discovering passion and giftedness and have the potential to alter life’s direction! Through CBF’s Student.Go program, a summer or semester is punctuated with meaningful experiences allowing both graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to recognize their place within God’s mission to change the world.   Learn more and apply to serve today at www.cbf.net/studentdotgo (applications due April16).

 

Are you a college student wondering how God can use your gifts virtually during the upcoming summer? Apply now to serve and learn through Student.Go, the student missions program of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Students will take part in a virtual orientation in late May 2021, receive a stipend, and serve for 10 weeks. Students will also take part in large cohort meetings with CBF staff and field personnel, as well as weekly meetings with their small group and an encourager. Learn more and apply before the April 16, 2021 deadline at www.cbf.net/studentdotgo.

Some of the current virtual summer 2021 opportunities we have include: 

• Researcher and Writer (Remote) - Westervoort, Netherlands The student will research and post information about materials to expand the impact of existing Christian materials in Romani languages. (This is one of our requests. Mary & Keith) 

• Webpage and Social Media Advisor/Designer (Remote ) - Westervoort, Netherlands The student will assist in raising awareness of and supporting project with a minority group in North Africa/the Middle East by working to upgrade a webpage and related social media. (This is our other request. Mary & Keith) 

• Ministry Development Intern (Remote) - Kampala, Uganda The student will grow in their understanding of the challenges that refugees experience in Uganda and have the opportunity to assist in the financial development of a small, growing non-profit ministry. The summer intern will mainly have the opportunity to assist with grant research and writing as well as communications with Amani Sasa's partner community in the US. 

• Media Specialist for Together for Hope (Remote) - Appalachia The student will learn about poverty alleviation through assets-based community development with the work of Together for Hope Appalachia and their coalition partners. Using this knowledge, the student will assist TFH Appalachia and their partners with communication strategies, web design, social media presence including Facebook, use of email, and other media. 

• Advocacy for Poverty Alleviation (Remote) - Appalachia The student will identify and connect with key advocacy organizations in Appalachia, to learn about their work, research key issues of importance to poverty alleviation in Appalachia, and help connect Together For Hope Appalachia to their advocacy work where appropriate. 

• Grant Researcher/Writer (Remote) - Rocky Mount, North Carolina The student will research grants available for housing opportunities. These housing opportunities would include housing assistance to families living below poverty lines in northeastern North Carolina (specifically Hertford county). 

• Public Relations Specialist (Remote) - Kosice, Slovakia The student will write stories that share about ministry among Roma in Slovakia and Czechia describing how relationships are developed and grow over time so the field personnel are able to create beloved community with their local partners and share the love of Christ through a relational approach. 

• Educational Advocacy Legislative Intern (Remote) - Miami, Florida This position has multiple components, including research, helping state advocacy groups set legislative priorities, and creating graphic-rich presentations for web and social media use. 

• Social Media Campaign Strategist, Refugee Advocacy (Remote) - Fort Worth, Texas In this position, the student will research refugee issues, legislation and organizations working with them and in collaboration with CBF's Internationals North American field personnel and the Advocacy in Action Team help develop a social media strategy and campaign which will educate and motivate people to welcome and engage with our refugee and immigrant neighbors. 

• Social Media Campaign Strategist, Immigration Advocacy (Remote) - Fredericksburg, Virginia In this position, the student will research migration issues, legislation and organizations working with immigrants and in collaboration with CBF's Internationals North America field personnel and the Advocacy Action Team help develop a social media strategy and campaign which will educate and motivate people to welcome and engage with our refugee and immigrant neighbors. 

• Community Mission Intern (Remote) - Somerset, Kentucky In this position, the student will be involved in various mission projects in the summer. This will include project partnerships with a community garden, home construction, working with participants experiencing homelessness, developing and organizing children and youth mission activities, and other mission projects.

 

Many Blessings, 😊

 Min. Taisha M. Seabolt, MDiv, LPC

Global Missions Personnel and Training Manager

Co-Chair, CBF Inclusion Committee

160 Clairemont Ave., Suite 500

Decatur, GA 30030

https://cbf.net/

https://cbf.net/studentdotgo

 

From Siberia to the North Sea

About 10 years ago we were asked to do a women's program in Bethlehem Baptist Church, Moldova. More men than women attended.  Volunteers from America and from the Netherlands worked with local believers to hold a once-a-year celebration just for women. Slowly, more women came to church. More women asked to be baptized. 

About two years ago the pastor's wife Olesea (far left) started a weekly Bible study. A handful of the women came regularly. Some had never prayed out loud before. Olesea could see growth. Then Covid hit. Bethlehem Baptist, like so many churches around the world, moved to online meetings.

The women went online, too. It was a good move for them. Like many Moldovans, people from this village go abroad to work. Some of the women are picking tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouses of north Holland. Others work as nannies as far east in Russia as the Chinese border or have gone to work in France or Germany. They continue to meet weekly, to study the Bible, pray, and sing together. It is no longer the pastor's wife who invites them. The women themselves recruit additional members. 

Some of the women in this group have gone a long way. All of them have come a long way. Praise be to God!