Everyday we’ve been here just gets better & better! : ) Ever since the first worship service yesterday afternoon, it seems as though God has been stirring up His spirit of excitement & expectation in the people here! Of the seventy-five people that attended today, twenty-five had not yet committed their lives to Christ when they walked in the door. Wow!
Thank you for praying for the drama, music, & the message. God laid the subject of worry on our hearts, so we shared about freedom from worry through the story of Esther, the Parable of the Sower & the Seeds, & two short skits that helped to illustrate how a worried life will only weigh you down, but a life dependent upon God will lift you up. At the end of the message, Pastor Noah offered an invitation to any who wanted to give up a life of worry & embrace the God who is waiting for us, calling us to live an abundant life. : ) One woman stepped forward to rededicate her life to the Lord! What an amazing work of God! It was a blessing for a lot of the deaf to have a time when they could sit and relax and laugh. They are all enjoying our skits because few things in their life give them opportunity for joy and happiness. We are really impressing on them the joy that comes with being in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
One great example of this is Vica, the woman we discussed in an earlier post who almost her entire family is now in Miami, Florida while the Moldovan government refuses to stamp her passport. She told us how frustrated she was being in a hearing family. She could never communicate with anyone in her family because none of them knew sign langauge. She felt so alone, that she decided to hang herself. But, before she followed through with her plan, she accepted Jesus as her Savior and knew there was something better to live for. She came and helped us evangelize at one of the deaf hostels, and we could see in her excitement for sharing about Jesus the abundant joy that Jesus has provided her with.
Everyone expressed a strong to desire to come back tomorrow for the Sunday service & afternoon worship service. Which is exciting because deaf congregations from two other churches in Moldova will also be joining us tomorrow. We’re praying for a packed crowd. This is also the day we will be distributing all of the supplies. Pray that the toilitries, hats and gloves will be a blessing to the deaf and provide them some temporary relief in their world of hurt. Please also pray that the Lord reveals to all those in attendance just how much He is enamored with them.
I want to share another touching story. One of the active church goers is a 20 year-old named Andrei. Andrei was able to go to haircutting school, and loves to work as a hairdresser. He had a haircutting job for five months, and during his break time he would read his Bible. Unfortunately, his boss was offended by his worker reading a Bible, and subsequently fired him. He now works in construction. We asked him why he didn’t try to get a job at another haircutting place since he loves doing it so much, and he told us that his boss used to give him a reduced paycheck because he was deaf, and he can’t afford to live on that paycheck. He is going to be getting married at the end of the summer, and he needs to do construction because it pays more. So many deaf people are forced into hard labor just so people don’t have to worry about communicating with them. It was great that Andrei was able to do what he loved, but we also understand his concern for his future wife. Please pray for his faith to remain strong, and for a long and blessed marriage with his fiance.
Also, remember that woman who just gave her life to Christ & has an injured leg? Well, praise the Lord, because she came today! We believe she really enjoyed herself. Another woman we have been praying for came too! She is the mother of the little boy we told you about yesterday.
We also surprised Noah for his 18th birthday by taking him out to dinner! We only managed to pull it off through God’s grace, because surprising the leader of the team is a bit of a challenge! The three of us along with 15 church members who have been incredibly helpful to us during our stay went to a nice restaurant. They food was delicious and abundant, so when we left, there were a lot of leftovers to to take home. They brought bags to put the leftovers in, and it was sad to see that the leftovers were gone in a split second. Even though everyone was full, they were desperate to have this opportunity to bring home more free food.
One more day of worship services, and another day for God to work mightily through us. We can’t wait!
In Christ, Jacob & stacie* – Ephesians 3:14-21
