It's conference week in Romania! We currently have a team leading a women's conference at Impact Church in Oradea and next week a new team will come in to put on a leadership conference at the Bible college. Each team is taking time to connect with RTC churches and participate in outreach alongside longstanding partners. Mission teams bring an energy and encouragement that is a blessing for us and for many whom we serve.
As the war in Ukraine continues, Remember the Children remains committed to assisting with the changing needs through local partnerships. Our friend Jaco recently shared about a specific need that RTC is helping to address.
It brings us great joy to celebrate a milestone in the journey of Remember the Children's church planting mission in Tabora. Three years ago, with your generous support, we backed one of our house parents, Pastor Dionis Buhanda, to plant a new church called The House of Love.
Whether there are individual friends of RTC at your church or your church as a whole supports RTC, it would be a blessing to visit you. We are passionate about partnering with churches, and we hope our ministry creates opportunities for your congregation to see, know, and reach those in need across the world.
The focus of this year's conference was specifically discipleship making as a foundation for the church. Remember the Children believes in the crucial role the church plays in communities, families, and the lives of children through the work of spreading the gospel and making disciples. Each one of our RTC churches have a focus on their neighbors and a conviction that Jesus is the source of all real and lasting transformation.
We’re all probably aware of the famous line from the Wizard of Oz that says, “there’s no place like home”. Even when I go away for an exciting vacation, business trip, or just take a relaxing day trip, I’m always so glad to get home where I feel safe and comfortable, where I can relax and unwind, sleep in my own bed and be with family and loved ones. There I can truly rest. Home is definitely where the heart is!
I want to thank you for the trust you have given to Remember the Children in meeting the needs of the Ukrainian people. It’s been one of the busiest weeks for Remember the Children in years. Phone calls have flooded in, varying from faithful partners, organizations seeking help, to refugees needing places to go in Romania. The response, support, and prayers we’ve received from kind people like you has been overwhelming. Thank you for all you’re doing to assist those fleeing from this terrible war.
Yesterday my phone began to chime with messages from concerned individuals asking me how things were in Romania with the outbreak of the war in neighboring Ukraine. As you can imagine there is concern, and they have seen dramatic economic inflation in the last few months as Russia’s buildup was happening along the Ukrainian border. A colleague summed it up best when he said to me yesterday, “we are not afraid, but we have a lot of anxiety.”
As January comes to a close, we are still getting reports from Romania about the good work that is being done because of your generosity at Christmas time. Covid-19 continues to disrupt our abilities to visit with people in a timely manner because of local government restrictions, but our team remains diligent and continues to do their best to get to everyone as they are able.
For children living in orphanages or poor communities in Romania, getting basic needs met can be a challenge. They may lack clothing to keep them warm in the cold Romania winters. Or, school may be a challenge because they don’t have the necessary supplies to be successful. Without their basic needs met, Christmas can be a bleak season for these kids.
This week, I reviewed the Christmas card we are sending to our partners to invite them to join us in providing Christmas for the children in Romania and Tanzania. This time of year always builds excitement in me because it is by far my favorite annual outreach that Remember the Children does. So many stories could be told of the many meaningful engagements we have had with young people over the years as we have shared Christmas with them.
