Sep. 1, 2007

September prayer letter

Dear friends and family,

Once again, we write from Galati. We enjoyed part of June and July in the states spending time with our families, as well as being able to see a few of you. We'd like to share briefly about our time in the states as well as what we've been up to here.

Many of you know that I (Robin) returned to the states earlier than originally planned to be with my family as both grandmothers were in the end stages of terminal cancers. My grandma Thada passed away as I was traveling to the states, but I did make it in time for the funeral. I spent the next week in the nursing home with my grandma Muriel. She passed away July 20th, and Joshua and I were able to attend the funeral together. It was a beautiful hour of worship thanking God for his faithfulness in my grandma's life. I am grateful to the community for allowing me the time and space to be with my family. I will treasure that time always.

We did not get a prayer letter written last month because we were at our WMF retreat in Nebraska City, NE. Thank you for your prayers during this time! It was a blessing to meet and worship with WMF community members from around the world. During the week, we had many workshops as well as sessions focusing on the book The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation by Thomas Keating. We were challenged by the importance of integrating contemplation into our daily lives.

We returned to Galati finding Romania to be in a state of drought. It turns out we missed a full week of temperatures over 100 F. Trees are scorched and the garden of tomato plants under our kitchen window is mostly brown. In the markets, much of the food is double the usual price this time of year. Unfortunately, in times of hardship like these, the poor whom we work among are the most vulnerable.

We just returned from a week of summer camp with 25 children. It was a beautiful week, full of reminders that God has not forgotten these children and that he is growing them up in His grace. These children had a week of childhood again as we spent hours each day playing together and exploring the beauty of creation in the mountains. The theme of our Bible studies and discussions was "identity." Isaiah 49:15-16 spoke to us this week:

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."

As you pray for these children, you can pray that God would continue to reveal to them their identity as beloved sons and daughters of God.

At the writing of this letter, Josh and I plan to pick up our first Servant Team from the airport in Bucharest tomorrow (Aug 16th). We have been busy preparing for their arrival, and we are excited to walk along side these 2 guys and 2 girls over the next 4 months as they learn about serving Jesus among the poor. We will be pushing them into the deep end as they'll each be living with families that speak only Romanian. They will be learning language, participating in training and book studies, and serving with us in any way possible. Our responsibilities with this team will fill a lot of our time. We welcome them with excitement, anticipating God will use this season as one of growth for them and for our community.

Are you currently receiving The Cry? This is the quarterly advocacy journal of WMF containing reflections, photos, poetry, art, field updates, and more from the international WMF community. Through the poor, God reveals to us many beautiful truths and our community would love to share them with you. Visit the WMF website (www.wordmadeflesh.com) or contact us if you are interested.

A last bit of business: We have been trying to make corrections to our mailing list. If you have any problems with your mailings (wrong address, etc) or would prefer to receive them differently (mail or email) please let us know. We want to be good stewards of our resources.

Please know that God uses your love and support to help sustain us in our life among the poor.

Peace,

Robin & Josh