Day 4: Psalm 115:1

God was good today! There has been one project that we have been trying to complete for the last couple of days, and it was finally able to come to fruition. One of our closest contacts in Moldova is a deaf pastor. He pastors without pay and has a wife a two sons. Since the deaf in Moldova are not allowed to work, they must find ways to use their skills to earn enough money to support their families. Before he became a Christian, he was plagued by theivery and would steal to earn his living. When he became a Christian, he knew that he would have to start working hard in order to raise his family. He began with peddling. He is also very skilled with wood making, so he would make decorations out of wood to sell. When he was seventeen, he had bought a camera, so he tried making money by taking photographs at weddings and schools.

However, two years ago a photography company that he tried to work for told him that they would not hire him for any jobs because his camera was so outdated. Furthermore, many of his clients were also telling him that they could not hire him because of his camera. For the last two years he has been saving up enough money to buy a new camera, and asked Deaf International if they would be able to purchase a camera if it was no more than $1200.

Deaf International was very moved by this request. We have been in close contact with this pastor, Vasile (Vasia). He works very hard to serve God, and travels more than an hour to the deaf church to be a pastor and leader without pay, and he has also volunteered with the Bible translation team. The camera that he needed in order to resume work with the photography company was going to cost $1650 after Best Buy provided us with some discounts. This was more than he could afford. Deaf International wanted to purchase this camera for him so that he could use the money he has saved up to take care of his family. As an example of how important it was for him to not have to spend money on a camera, he shared with us that when he first began working he saved up enough money to get an apartment for him, his wife, and their first son. They had hardly any furnishings though, and no refrigerator. They often went hungry because food that they were able to buy did not stay fresh. He struggled to save up enough money to buy a refrigerator and told us how ecstatic he was when he finally bought one and could better feed his family, telling us his wife was often sick from hunger.

Unfortunately, Deaf International does not currently have the capital to support such expensive projects at the moment. But, God moved us to try our best to do additional fundraising, and with the help of generous supporters, and especially the devoted followers of Christ at First Baptist Church in Olathe, we were able to raise enough money to buy the camera. Praise the Lord!

So today we spent the day at Vasia’s apartment. He asked if we had been able to purchase the camera for him and proceeded to tell us a lot of moving stories. Then we shared with him that we had purchased the camera and equipment, and he could save the money to use for his family. Words cannot describe his looks of astonishment and sheer joy. What was most moving is that he thanked God first, and called his camera a gift from God, knowing it was God’s love working within Deaf International and its supporters that had made this possible. He told us that he would now save up money to maybe paint his walls, or buy better food for his son to be able to eat; their fridge had meat, cheese, bread, potatoes, and a little bit of jelly.

When his wife came in and saw the camera, she asked if he had said thank-you, then asked if he had thanked God. Praise the Lord for such committed servants! We were then able to eat a home-cooked meal of pork (butchered by Vasia’s mother!), bread, potatoes, and sheep cheese.

Vasia then took us to another deaf hostel so that we could evangelize. There were three different deaf women there who were Christians, but have not been able to go to church because of injuries. We were able to spend some time with each one of them, encouraging and praying for them. One remembered Pastor Noah and me (Jacob) from last year, and cried that Americans had come back again. They had such committed hearts for Jesus, and we got just as much encouragement from them, as we may have given in return.

Finally, we went to the table outside the hostel where many of the deaf congregate to talk. We approached them and began chatting. We passed out slips of paper that told about the worship services that we are going to be holding on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Many of them said they did not want the paper, which was fine. But God was at work. We continued to talk with them, and four different people, a man talking to Pastor Noah, a woman talking to Jacob, and a couple talking with Stacie, who had initially said no to even looking at the slip, asked if they could have one, and said they wanted to go to our services. Praise the Lord! I had been having struggles lately with my Russian Sign Language, but when the time came for God to speak through me, the Spirit spoke amazing Russian Sign Language so that the woman I was talking with commented that we signed incredibly! I was just impressed to see God working through each one of us. Praise God that we can serve as vessels for the work of the Spirit. God is Mighty to Save, and I’m honored that He chose us at this moment to show His love.  May all the praise, honor, and glory go to God who is worthy.

There are so many other stories to share! God did so many good things today that “if every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

Prayer Requests:
1. Strength, courage, and words from the Spirit during a meeting tomorrow with the hearing pastor of the Chisinau Deaf Church as we discuss with him our plans for Bible Translation and the Moldovan Deaf Christian Association. May God’s will be sought after and approved.
2. More evangelism tomorrow! This time in the hostel we’re staying at.
3. Good rest!

God Bless,

 Jacob and stacie* (2 Corinthians 4:7)