Fall/Winter update 2016 and plans ahead

In the hills above the city

Winter in Romania is always an adventure especially the last few years. Our fall this year was long and unusually warm with no snowfall, or rain. The older Romanians are always wary about this kind of weather because they remember back when the snow came late in February and did not leave until June. It has been a busy fall/winter for us here. It started with hosting a team from the bible college in October and then moved into thanksgiving for about 27 friends followed by rushing into the Christmas season. This year we moved the women's tea to another venue because we have outgrown the church. One of our girls' classmates' father is the director for a local hotel that has a large room for hosting events. Typically in this situation the hotel wants to cater the event, which always adds cost. After talking with him he agreed to supply tables, plates, chairs, and utensils that were needed and we were able to still have a potluck. Many of the ladies commented on how nice the place was and months later are still talking about the message that Cynthia shared from Proverbs 14:1. One of the ladies, Laura, is really interested in the things of the Lord but has not yet made a decision to follow Him. Through Cynthia's message she realized some of the things that she was doing that were causing problems in her home and how to try something new. Pray the the seeds that were planted would produce lasting fruit in the lives of the ladies who attended.

We also were hosting a team from the bible college in Hungary at this time and they were able to bless the mothers who had children by providing childcare for them. The kids had so much fun with the team that when their mom's came to pick them up they did not want to leave.

All of the table decorations were handmade by one of ladies in the church 

 

Thanksgiving was so much fun this year. We invited some friends of ours, who own a restaurant in town that makes the best pizza in the city to share thanksgiving with our family and friends. It was a full house but was such a blessing being able to host and talk freely about the things of the Lord and enjoy great food. John and Nicoleta, have talked about coming to church for years and we invite them all of the time. Pray that God would give them a desire to make it to Sunday service.

Cynthia did a great job of decorating 

lots of desserts to chose from

Pumpkins cheesecake and Tiramisu

We are in the midst of preparing for the upcoming spring and summer outreaches. We have an English camp the week of July 25-29. We invite kids from the schools to learn English from native English speakers and then play games with them and each evening a different team member shares their testimony with the kids. We are praying about having 50 kids come this year. We are using the local Baptist conference center to host the camp which is close to Bistrita but perfectly suited for our needs. We are also praying about setting up scholarships for kids that cannot afford to go to the camp. We always ask them to pay for part of the camp but in some cases the families cannot afford the full price or even partial. If you are interested in providing a scholarship for a child the cost is $70 for the whole camp. For all 50 kids the cost would be $3500. We had so much fun last year and still have ongoing relationships with a lot of the kids that came. Our desire is to give them something practical to help them in school but also seize the opportunities that God gives us to speak the simplicity of the gospel into their lives. 

Last August while at the bible college in Hungary we had an opportunity to talk with a worship band that travels doing outreaches all over Europe. They had been looking for an opportunity to come and work in Romania and noticed that a Romanian van came and picked them up at the airport. One thing lead to another and August 15th-22 of this year they are coming to Romania. Starting in Bistrita and then working their way through the major cities where we have Calvary works. Please be praying for this. Our desire is to do an outreach concert in the main park and do face painting, balloons etc, things that can be done quickly and for a lot of people since in the summer literally thousands of people walk through our local park. 

Pray for the Lord to continue to open doors in Bistrita and that we would continue to see people impacted by the simplicity of the gospel message. 

Answered prayer:

Rasvan was not only given an interview for the job that was hoping for but he was also offered a job. This is a real answer to prayer for him and Crina his wife.

Izzy, one of the girls that started attending the church a few months back, also prayed to accept the Lord over the new year. Pray that she would find a good church when she is in Cluj, going to the university, to attend and grow in the Lord.

Christmas eve service was packed out and it was so much fun watching the kids perform their Christmas program in front of family. Please pray for all of the new visitors that attended the service that God's Word would find a solid foothold in their lives and produce real fruit. 

Lidia, has been doing better again. The lord provided an apartment close to her family that she was able to purchase while finalizing the selling of her old apartment. God is so good because she was able to sell not only the apartment but everything that she did not want in the apartment as well. Before selling her apartment the Lord had given her a verse out of Isaiah 43:18-19 and he is doing exactly that. As always she covets your prayers. 

Pray for Dany, one of the boys in the after school program, he gave his life to the Lord last Sunday, pray that he would be established and rooted in the gospel message. That God would direct his path. 

Pray requests:

Pray also for a couple in our fellowship that have been trying for years and the doctors do not know why they cannot conceive. Pray for the Lord to give them their heart’s desire. Please pray against discouragement for this couple. They are very faithful in coming to church and they have been discouraged lately with not being able to have a baby.  We also want to lift up Rasvan the husband who enjoys the services but as yet has not made a decision for Christ. Please Pray for the Lord to reveal himself to him in a way that he understands. 

Continue to lift of the university students who are living in Cluj to go to school. They are away from family, and the church and its very stressful and hard for all of them. 

Pray for the plans for this next year. Especially for the potential outreaches in the summer, for God’s provision, guidance and favor. We are currently planning another English camp but with more kids. We are going to need twice the staff we had volunteering this last year and the financial provisions for all of it. We are also going to have a park festival in August with a band from the States doing the music. Please pray for the logistics for all of these major events for us and that the Lord would go before us and make a way. 

Pray also as the pastors begin planning our yearly pastor’s conference in May. For God to guide on who is to speak, the theme, and that the time spent together would be fruitful.

We are also going to have to reapply this next year for our long term Visa. Pray for the Lord to guide us through this process as its a lot of paperwork, financial cost and favor with the authorities. The cost for this is also quite expensive around $2000 dollars for our family of six. Please pray for God’s favor through all of this. Its been 5 years and the laws are always changing. 

Pray also because our next daughter is going to need to get braces this year to fix a problem with her bite. The cost is going to be around $1300.

If you are interested in small daily updates about the ministry, family or just Romania in general please use the following forms of social media.

contact information:

Blog: romaniafouts.blogspot.ro

Church Website: http://calvarychapelbistrita.ro/

YouTube channel: Calvary Chapel Bistrita

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email: bcfouts1@gmail.com