Thursday: Tanzania Women's Conference Update

Bonnie and Tina spent the night in Dar Es Salaam, TZ, with Mpeli and Neema Mwaisumbe. On Wednesday morning, they drove over 10 hours to Iringa from Dar. They arrived late afternoon and discovered an evening worship service for the conference. Bonnie reports that the worship was awesome. The Daily Bread Life Children's Home Choir sang in the opening evening worship service. Many people were invited for the worship in addition to the women who are participating.

They still do not have their luggage. However, they have been promised that it will arrive this afternoon or evening by bus.

This morning, the conference began early and, at last report, was going well. Due to some technical difficulties, there are no pictures to post at this time. Thank you for the encouragement that you have given to Bonnie and Tina in their incredible journey. Little of the journey has been captured in the blog, but needless to say even Bonnie, a veteran traveler, has experienced a few firsts and some interesting delays.

Verse for today supplied by Meg Hunt: Psalm 50:15 "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me."

Because, I (Floyd) begin my journey to Greenville from Satu Mare, Romania, tonight at 10:30 p.m., I am not sure of the next posting. Hopefully, I can post tomorrow night Greenville time. Until then, thank you for your prayers. Please continue to lift up the Women's Leadership/Pastor Wives' Conference as it goes through Saturday. The next Women's Leadership Conference will be in Mbeya, TZ, on Monday and going through Wednesday.

Gypsy Women's Conference: Outside Men

Gypsy Women's Conference: Inside the Conference

Bonnie and Tina In Romania

Bonnie Parker and Tina Thomas arrived on schedule in Targu Mures, Romania, airport. Attila and I picked them up. We are all together in Reghin with Adel and Attila.

Once again, Bonnie's luggage did not arrive with her. She and Tina have luggage on vacation in Paris. Your prayers for the luggage to arrive tomorrow is needed. If it doesn't arrive tomorrow, it will be at least Sunday. They leave on Monday afternoon for Tanzania. We would like for them to have clothes and things that they have for Tanzania.

Tomorrow, they will visit some women in Reghin. Attila and I will join some of the men from the Gornesti and Peris church to butcher a goat. The men were to decide what the women would have for their lunch at the Women's Conference on Saturday. We decided to make authentic Hungarian Goulash. The goat will provide the meat - we have not seen the goat. It was donated. The conference this year is 100 women - double last year's number. That is a lot of Goulash! I am praying for a big goat.

We have to peel potatoes, cut tomatoes, onions, dice the meat, cut the peppers, slice the bacon and fatback. This is heart healthy goulash! Thank goodness we get to purchase the fresh baked bread.

Monday: Couples Night

Tonight was a very special night for Otto and Elisabeth. Over the past years they have been building relationships with couples in the Sacele and Brasov area. Tonight they invited them to a local restaurant to all be together for the first time. Thirty-four people came to the dinner. Their dream is to develop a young couples group that will encourage and support one another for stronger families. Their hope is that they will all grow in Jesus Christ, follow Him, and lead their families in Him.

They worked hard getting decorations, making plans, calling, preparing handouts, and, above all, praying. Otto had each couple introduce themselves. The husband introduced the wife with only good things to say about her. The wife introduced the husband the same way. This really started the evening on a positive and enjoyable note. One couple had a positive impact upon the group in a really strange way. The husband stood up and said, “We just got a divorce.” At first it was very quiet then you could see the impact of this upon the couples. Even, that couple was seemed to enjoy themselves after the “introductions” were over.

I had the opportunity to share about practical issues in the life of a young couple. We had a great time together with a lot of laughing and talking. I wish that you could have seen Elisabeth’s face as the evening came to a close. She was so happy. The fulfillment of a dream had begun. It was everything she dreamed and more.

The great part was how everyone stayed afterwards and visited. Some did not know each other and new friends were made. The couples night was a great evening. Already they plan to get together in April and May.

Bonnie, they are really looking forward to meeting you after all the great things I said about you and our marriage. We, as a couple, are "kinda" committed to come back and talk about marriage and family.

Included are pictures of Brasov and the surrounding mountains. They are all covered in snow.

Sunday: Sacele and Brasov

Otto and Elizabeth Kis: The Sacele Mission

Sunday morning at 2:30 a.m., I arrived in Sacele from Reghin with Otto, Elisabeth, Benjamin, and Rhode Kis. They came by and picked me up on their way back from their “birth village.” Elizabeth and Adel Toth are sisters. Attila, Adel, Otto and Elisabeth all grew up in the same village, Sarmasag.

On Sunday morning, I preached in the Brasov Hungarian Baptist Church. Many of you remember this church because Gyula and Marta Borzasi served her. Also, Joseph and Adina Mike served at the Brasov church. Otto had served as iterim pastor while the church looked for a pastor after Gyula and Joseph were called to other work.

Now, Zolt and Evodia Deak serve the Brasov church. I had the privilege to teach Zolt in the seminary and pray with him about the move to Brasov. This was the first time that I had met Evodia, but I felt like I knew her. Finally, I asked her, “Do you have relatives in Toronto?” The ACTS Fellowship team and Business Leaders Group that served in Toronto in 2010 had stayed with her sister, Maria and her family. I then remembered that Maria and her family had shared that they were going to Romania for her sister’s wedding. Being with Zolt and Evodia was a real blessing.

On Sunday night, the Sacele mission worshipped. The group has really grown since last year. Tonight, there were five new people. Otto and Elizabeth are doing a great work in the area. Tamas and Sylvia Rab are great partners with them in the mission. Every week they set up and take down the worship area. A local Romanian foundation lets them use their building for worship.

Big news is today we are going to look at a piece of property. Your prayers are asked as we seek God’s leadership on its purchase and possible development. More details will follow later.

Tonight, we are hosting a “Young Couples” dinner at a local restaurant. Otto and Elizabeth have started an outreach to young couples in the area and have involved members of the Brasov church and Sacele mission in the outreach. The nature of the work in Sacele is highly relational, and the dinner tonight is the result of a lot of time invested in building relationships with the couples.

The Peris Evangelistic Meetings

Special evangelistic meetings were held in the Peris Cultural Hall on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday Night. God is amazing at how He works. There was a young woman from the Netherlands who was working in the area on educational issues — also, English language. So, she had invited many to come and hear “real English” by an American. I did correct her saying that I spoke “American” and “Southern American” at that. God used her encouragement of the people in the village.

Every night there were groups of young people who sang and shared their testimonies as a part of the meetings. The groups came from Gornesti and Targu Mures. They did a great job. Attila and I had the opportunity to share with one Gypsy lady who committed her life to Christ. Very important was getting to meet and develop relationships with the people in the village. The Peris mission has property and has put the foundation for a building on it. They are waiting to develop the building. Currently, they meet in the house of one of the members of the group.

Attila and the Peris group were excited by the people who came to the meetings. They were eager to follow up with those who wanted to know more about the mission and who wanted to come worship with the mission group. Thank you for your prayers during this time.

Tuesday: Pal and Anna Borzasi

I traveled in the Gypsy Wagon (2003 Dacia station wagon) to Luna de Sus just outside of Cluj on Tuesday to visit Pal and Anna Borzasi. I realized after I left that I did not have a picture of Anna and the children or the church in Luna de Sus to share with you.

We had a good time sharing together what God was doing in our lives. Pal took me to Mera church which has to be one of the oldest Baptist church buildings in Transylvania. It is over 100 years old. My observation was that little had been done to the church to change it over the years. Great to hear how God is working in the village and the church. Just a note, should you ever go through Mera, they have the “Buffalo Museum” there. I don’t know why but that fascinated me.

When I left Pal and Anna's home, I stopped at a gas station to fill up the Gypsy Wagon. A young man came over and filled the car for me. He saw the "Gypsy" painted on the side of the car and asked about working with Gypsies. He was from Baia Mare where our friend Kovacs Jozsef is pastor. We had a great time talking. He was in Cluj going to the university. I tried to tip him for pumping the gas and cleaning the windows. He said to me, "Keep it and use for the Gyspy work."

Pal and Anna are seeking partners in developing Gypsy children’s camp in the area. Pray for them as they begin this work.

A Free Day and Fish

On Monday, we had a “free” day. Well, we had to be back for an evening meeting with the baptized believers and those who are preparing for baptism with the Apalina mission. We decided to go to the mountains for a mountain trout lunch.

The scenery along the way was beautiful - the sheep grazing in the field and the mountains. Adel and Attila had celebrated their anniversary with dinner at this “mountain trout” resort. We enjoyed a delicious meal of mountain trout. All but one of the ponds and lakes at the fishing place were frozen over. During the spring, summer, and fall, you can come here and fish for mountain trout. We had a great time there. Amazing to me was that all of the cars but ours, I think, were from Hungary.

On the way back, Adel saw some trees that had flowers she really likes. We stopped and got some to make arrangements for the house and churches. I cannot remember the name of the trees — we have them in the U.S. and I have seen the branches with the opening buds in arrangements.

At night, we met with the Apalina believers to talk about how to respect each other and how to love our neighbors in specific ways. This was a great time of teaching and discussion.

Sunday: Worship Gornesti, Filpisu Mic, Reghin, and Apalina

Sundays with Adel and Attila is an adventure in moving. We left for Gornesti at 9:30 a.m. Gornesti is a strong, new church with great excitement and fellowship of both Hungarians and Gypsies worshipping and serving together. There is so much enthusiasm when they come together. We celebrated the Lord’s Supper together in Gornesti in the morning. Zozo led the morning prayer time. I personally love this time when all the church is together praying. Zozo shared from the Bible and then there were times of prayer and singing. After the worship service, we had lunch with Miklos and Theresa in Gornesti. They are a great couple and leaders in the Gornesti mission work.

We then picked up Tihamer and went to Filpisu Mic for a 2:30 p.m. meeting. Filpisu Mic is a farming village that “you have to want to go to.” The village is far off the main road and to me, seems isolated. The Filpisu Mic church was the first in the area and the mother church of all the Baptist churches in the area. Today, there are three members left. They meet in a farm house, and I am always amazed at how much they know about what is happening in the world and in the mission. They are always praying for the needs of the mission and the world. These three always bless my life when I worship with them.

After worship in Filpisu Mic, we left for the Reghin church for worship at 4 p.m. Reghin is the “center” of the mission work in the area. This is the home church for Attila and Adel’s work. The church is small and stays about the same. There is a growing group of young people in the Reghin church. Pray for Attila, Adel, and the Reghin church because it seems some of them are moving to other areas in search of work. Attila is praying about how to have a greater impact in Reghin. As the older members are not able to be involved in the mission and the younger ones move, Attila is always challenged to strengthen the mission in Reghin. As you saw from the previous blog, this summer, after saving for many years, members were able to renovate the church.

Our final visit was to the Apalina mission between 5:30 and 6 p.m. No need to describe Apalina because you saw it in the previous blog. The Apalina mission is the most challenging. When we arrive, we talk and begin to sing. People start coming in and by 6 p.m. the building is packed with people. They love to sing and they are so attentive to the message. There is a great hunger in Apalina. There are so many problems in the community and life is a struggle especially for the believers in the community. After the service, like each of the other services today, there was a lot of praying with the people about specific needs.

I am struck by the uniqueness of each church or mission. The people are different and the churches are different. Each has its unique challenges and blessings. Nowhere do I experience more diversity in worship and “church personality” as here.

We arrived home about 8 p.m. The house was of full of young people from Reghin. No time to unwind, it was time to play some games together. About 10:30 p.m., the games broke up and a great day of worshipping the Lord and celebrating His life in us as the Body of Christ ended. I have to tell you that I was tired. I thank God for the blessing and opportunity to worship in each of the services.