International MissionsSince the Summer of 1998 when we moved to Budapest, Hungary to spend two years as missionaries there, our hearts have been captivated by the people and experiences we have encountered in Eastern Europe, especially in Romania. When the opportunity to teach in Colombia, South America and our daughter and son-in-law moved to Poland in 2004, our international horizons expanded considerably! The opportunities for ministry and the blessings we have received from our international investments have been overwhelming at times. And we have seen very encouraging fruit from those investments.At this time there are five cities in Western Romania where our work is yielding further opportunities to build a strong grace-based, indigenous ministry presence - Sighisoara, Cluj-Napoca, Arad, Oradea and Alba Julia. The time we have spent in these cities persuades us that they are ready to move to the next level. We have the privilege of traveling to Eastern Europe 2-3 times each year to continue this training and development. When our daughter Erin met and married Greg Skrobarczyk in 2004, we didn't realize how much their ministry with YWAM and King's Kids in Poland would affect our own lives. Our own church has now partnered with Erin and Greg to assist them in their ministry to orphaned, foster and street kids in Ruda Slaska and Katowice, Poland. In December 2005 we traveled to Poland for the birth of our first grand daughter, Abigail. And in September 2006 I spent three weeks there doing teaching and preaching in two different churches. Since February 2004 we have been working with a group of about 25 pastors, missionaries and their wives in Bogota, Colombia. Their desire is to see a grace-based counseling and training ministry take root in Colombia! This has been a joint project between Grace Link and Grace Ministries International in Marietta, Georgia. I could share anecdotes for hours from our experiences in these interesting venues but our international work always generates further opportunities for training. Nowhere has the message of grace not been received with open hearts. The two things that tend to hold us back from following up on these opportunities are manpower and money. If we can find the money we can continue to invest in these exciting opportunities. |
