03/09/10 Current News

October 26, 2006

Greetings from Brasov,

My apologies as it has been quite some time since I last shared with you what was going on in my life and ministry. Once I got out of the habit of writing it has been hard to get back into it. There have been some major changes since I last wrote and there will continue to be more as a new chapter in my life and ministry here in Romania will begin in the near future.

Nine Years in Romania
Tuesday, October 24th marked nine years since I first came to Romania and four years and three months since I moved to Brasov. It is hard for me to believe I have been here that long and that I haven’t been back to the States since before moving to Brasov. In the past every time I went back for a visit it was to take care of serious medical problems but since then the only health problem I’ve had to deal with is kidney stones. Thankfully the stones are all gone and the past year has been the healthiest I’ve been since the beginning when I first came to Romania. Though my knees give me more problems now but that is an issue that has come with age.

A Look Back at My Time in Brasov
Planting the church here in Brasov has been more difficult than I expected and quite humbling at that. It has had more than it’s share of struggles and challenges but praise God those are the very things He has used to work in my life. When I sensed God’s calling to go to Brasov and start the church I didn’t feel adequate for the task but I knew that God uses the weak things of the world to accomplish His will. So I had hope that He would work through me to accomplish His will because He is able.

The first few years were slow but at least I could see some progress. Then all of a sudden the doors began closing to the various things I was doing here right at the time when it looked like things were beginning to take off. As you could imagine it was very discouraging for me. But I still sensed God’s call was for me to continue serving Him here in Romania. This sense of calling saw me through the all the struggles and discouragement. Before the doors began to close I had a dream which showed me that Romania was indeed His calling for me. In the dream I found myself back in America knowing that I could never go back to Romania ever again. And I wept in the dream and had an incredibly heavy heart because I knew that was where I was suppose to be . The Lord knew I would start to doubt my calling because of what was going to happen which is why I think He gave me the dream.

While the church was not growing in numbers those Romanians coming were growing spiritually and that was a source of encouragement for me. As was that I had an open door to go in as a special speaker to English classes at the university. But last January even that door closed and how it closed was pretty weird. Even before this happened, in talking with my pastor back home, it was clear some changes were going to happen.

I came to sense that my calling to plant the church was coming to an end but I wasn’t sure how or what was going to happen. I had plowed some very hard ground in starting the church but now it was time for others to come for the next phase of planting the church. I still felt called to be involved in planting churches here in Romania but how I wasn’t sure. Then this last spring (2006) God began to show me that I was going to move and help with the School of Ministry that was beginning in the Calvary Chapel in Bucharest which is the capital of Romania with about two and a half million people.

In August of this year the Lord brought Keala and Heather Hoe and their four kids from Garden Valley, Idaho to take over the ministry. Since then I have been helping with the transition doing whatever needs to be done like teaching Sunday school. After handing over the pastoring of the church to Keala I went through a time that I can best describe as a time of decompressing from the intensity of everything that had happen. Currently I am leading an in-depth study of the Gospel with university students on Fridays and then going up to the city of Bistrita to preach on Sundays and to do a Bible study on Mondays as Brian, the pastor there, is back in the States for a visit with his family.

The Future
Now I am looking forward to what God has for me in Bucharest. I still feel very inadequate for what lies ahead as it is something entirely new for me but again my hope and trust is not in myself but in our gracious and loving Lord.
 
The School of Ministry began last January for those attending Calvary Chapel Bucharest and this coming January the school will open up to the rest of Romania. It is exciting to see this school come into being as now we will start to see Romanians being trained and equipped to serve and minister here in Romania. As the school develops, Lord willing, we will see many Romanian men being called and equipped to plant churches throughout Romania.

As I look back over the nine years I have been here it is amazing to see how God has used me, how I have changed through all I have experienced and how my calling has changed from loving babies in orphanages to being involved in planting churches. Now as I look forward to what the future holds I would ask for your prayers. I need a lot of grace if God is going to use me in impacting the lives of the students who will come to the School of Ministry.

Coming for a Visit
With the transition to a new ministry and a new city and the fact that I haven’t been back to the States in over four years I am coming for a visit arriving in Boise on Monday, December 4th until January 31st. I look forward to seeing many of you while I am back and hope to be able to go visit family and friends in Montana and California as well. While in California I hope to be able to go to the Calvary Chapel Missions conference and the Bible College conference which is right after the Missions conference.

In moving to Bucharest to serve the Lord I have to raise more monthly support. Over the past four years here in Brasov the cost of living has gone up so much that now I have little extra money and no savings. God has used these financially tight circumstances to teach me a lot about contentment and to trust Him so it has been good. But in moving to Bucharest the cost of living there is over double what it is in Brasov. So basically I need to raise double of what I am living on now in order to live there.

When I first moved to Romania I came without raising support beforehand. I sent out a letter to about 200 people I knew and shared with them what I felt God was calling me to do and asked them to pray for me then left. Now it seems crazy that I came over here without support but then I felt strongly that God said to go so I went. He has been faithful to take care of me so I know He will continue to do so. I would really appreciate your prayers for me in this regard and for my expenses while I am home. If any of you are interested in supporting a missionary you are in luck as I am a missionary looking for supporters. Maybe we can help each other out☺

While I am back in the States I hope to be able to take care of some medical things like going to the dentist and getting an eye exam and new glasses. In addition, most of my clothes and shoes are very old and worn so I would like to get some new stuff especially in the way of dress clothes like a suit, sport jacket, slacks and a few dress shirts. These things are much cheaper and of better quality in the States than what I can find here in Romania.

I Have a Blog
I am experimenting with a blog again to share what is happening in my life, ministry and other things I come across that interests me. I hope to use it as my regular way of sharing and then doing an email newsletter every few months.

Until Next Time
I hope to share more of what is happening in the ministry in Brasov next week so until then God bless and thanks for your prayers and support.

In His grace,

William