End of the Summer...

Even though it doesn't feel like it...it's 100 degrees today...summer is ending. I know that soon we will be starting fires to keep the house warm and soon we will be counting down the days until Christmas. I actually love  every season. I love when the crisp coolness of fall chases away the heat of summer and I love the first snowfall of winter especially if it is in time for Christmas. I am learning to enjoy each season of life. It is not an easy lesson to learn, some seasons of life aren't fun but God brings all the seasons of life for our good so I want to learn to enjoy his gifts even the ones that seem difficult.
We looked forward for so many years to having coworkers. I believe we met them actually 5 years ago and begin to count down the days when we would have helpers along side us. For some reason though, God has other plans. We can't always understand his ways but then again I wouldn't expect my little mind to be able to wrap around all that God does in the universe and so I am not angry at God for changing our plans, a little sad, yes. Due to health issues the Louks are unable to stay in Romania. They leave tomorrow morning very early. They have been packing and cleaning their apartment. We are learning that God wants us to completely depend on him. We are learning that our plans are not always God's plans. We are learning that God is good and always has our best interest and His glory in mind. So, how can we complain when this is for His glory? We complain because we get our minds off His glory and onto ourselves and our own wants. We do know two things that the Louks coming was for, they were a great fill in for our time away in the states. If they hadn't come we wouldn't have been able to go away on a furlough. They also introduced us to a great mission board, Biblical Ministries Worldwide. We took part in BMW's conference in Germany recently and were so refreshed and blessed by the preaching, discussion groups, and fellowship with other missionaries all over Europe. Our children met and played with other missionary kids, something that doesn't happen very often. It was such a relaxed setting and we would have never gone to this if the Louks hadn't come to Romania. We don't know what God has for our future or who he has but we know that he has called us to be in Romania and reach out to orphans. We will proceed and ask that you pray for us. We are still waiting for the director of the orphanage to send us the contract to sign to volunteer, then she has to send it on to Timisoara to be signed but we are hopeful that this will open the door for further outreach to abandoned kids. Pray for the situation with children in Romania. The orphanages are in much better condition then they used to be but there are just as many children being raised by the government today as there were 22 years ago under communism. It is a vicious cycle that has no easy answers. Pray that God would raise up Christian Romanians to foster and/or adopt. That He would raise up government officials who would be concerned about the future of Romania and concerned about these children who grow up with many difficulties. Pray for our church, that God would burden their hearts for the abandoned children of Romania and that we would be willing to give up our time to love these children and show them the Father loves them. We look forward with hope because our hope is in God and not in governments or people.