Coronavirus Update

 Like the rest of Europe, Coronavirus cases in Romania have jumped to new highs recently.  In the past, the highest concentration of cases was in the capital, Bucharest, but now the virus has spread so that even in our county there are many people infected with the virus.  

New measures have been put into place in an attempt to slow the climbing numbers including returning schools to online only and requiring face masks to be worn in all public places including outdoors.  Thankfully, churches are allowed to remain open as long as they continue to adhere to the requirements of social distancing, wearing masks, and limiting sizes of meetings to 50 persons or fewer.  

We thank the Lord that we are healthy and able to continue to work and minister within the limitations set by the government.  A few people have stayed home from church recently as a precaution because they did not feel well, but no one has yet tested positive from our fellowship.  We praise God for His wisdom and protection.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers for our health and for the health of the others in the church and in the city of Gherla.  We are also praying for our brothers and sisters in America and around the world, not only for physical health but also for spiritual health brought by a powerful move of the Spirit of God among us all.

Hungarian Level Two INSTE Translation Completed!

 When we came to Hungary as missionaries 12 1/2 years ago, one of our assignments was to oversee the translation of the 24 Level Two INSTE books into Hungarian. It has been a long journey and a lot of hard work, but, thanks to the excellent team of translators, we have finally finished. I just sent the last book (Church Administration) to the Hungarian INSTE director this week. Thank you Kriszt Éva, Gáldi Klári, Bereczki Eszter, and Feher Andi for the great work! I also want to express our appreciation to all who financially supported the translation work. God bless you for your support.

 

Funeral

Last week Mike spoke a few words at the funeral of Ioan, a dear brother from the Open Bible Church in Gherla who had been ill for quite some time.  Ioan loved the Lord and it was a privilege to participate in his funeral.  May the Lord comfort his sweet widow, Maria, who cared for him until the last weeks of his life.

Mike speaking and Gabi translating at the funeral

We have been to funerals here before and it is interesting to note some differences in the culture.  One is that visitations and funeral services are generally held in a chapel at the cemetery.  Last week was warm enough to meet in a gazebo-style open-air chapel.  During the service we could hear the birds singing and the wind blowing and see the beauty of God's creation all around us, a reminder that God is near even in difficult times. 

Another interesting difference from American funerals is that following a reading of scripture and prayer at the grave site, the casket is lowered into the ground and grave diggers fill the grave as the mourners watch and sing.  Mourners may even throw clods of dirt into the grave if they wish.  Tuesday was rainy, so the grave diggers had a harder job than usual shoveling the heavy mud into the grave.

Those who attend the service are each given a small, traditional loaf of sweet bread and are invited to a meal following the service.  Due to certain considerations including the Covid pandemic, this time everyone was given a delicious boxed meal to take home.

It is sad to say goodbye to our dear brother Ioan, but we are blessed to be able to comfort Maria and her family with the hope of eternal life in Christ.  We will see you again, Ioan!
 

Roof Repairs

 We are thankful for all the help our Romanian brothers and sisters in Christ give us.  Early last week we had a lot of rain and discovered that the roof was leaking into our entryway.  We rent the house from a Swiss couple who worked for ten years with the Open Bible Church here in Gherla.  Heinz and Rosmarie returned to Switzerland some time before we arrived and when they heard we were moving here, they were pleased to have us live in their Romanian home. They asked friends from the church to take care of the property while they are out of the country, so when we have issues, we talk with them.

When last week's heavy rain revealed the leak in the roof, we let the caretakers know.  After church Thursday night, several people discussed our problem and Pastor Simi volunteered to take a look at the situation and find a roofer for us.  The next day, Mike pointed out to Simi where he thought the problem was.  Simi said he thought he knew the right roofer to help us--Salvi, one of the people he baptized recently.  Salvi came over right away, surveyed the situation and offered to fix it right then.  He and Simi bought the materials and worked a few hours replacing the flashing where the roofs meet and resetting the roof tiles.

Salvi resetting roof tiles.

 

It was interesting to watch the work. In this part of the world, roofs are covered with clay tiles that are hung on battens attached to the rafters.  The tiles have a hook underneath so they will not slide off, but they are not fastened to the battens nor are they sealed to one another so that air can circulate.  It takes an expert to set them correctly and we were thankful that Salvi could do it well and quickly.

We thank God for the wonderful Swiss and Romanian friends who take good care of us.  May God bless each one!