Talpos Today June 2008

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from Romania!  I trust you are doing well and enjoying the blessings of the Lord.  This newsletter will focus on the fellowship center with updates on the progress so you can know where we stand right now.

For the past several months I have been trying to regularly put up pictures on my blog to keep you informed about the ongoing work.  However, I’m sure some of you don’t get a chance to see those pictures and you have been wondering how things are going.  Well you don’t have to wonder anymore. :-)

Let me start with the downstairs of the center.  The downstairs consists of 2 hallways, a stairwell, a kitchen area, a furnace room, a boy’s and a girl’s bathroom and a large all-purpose room.

The hallways/stairwell:  The painting is done and the tiles are in place.  I chose a bright color for the front hallway and stairwell but I was concerned about how the light colored walls would look after a few week of little hands (that are usually dirty:-)) touching them.   So, we decided to add an artistic flair to the hallway.  I’m sure this will help to mask some of the inevitable dirt that will end up on the walls.  I also wanted things to be interesting and eye catching for the children and youth.

The kitchen area:  This is not finished.  The tiles are in place, but the walls still need to be painted.  However, because we haven’t been able to build a shed, this room is currently being used for storage.  Because of this, I felt it was not best to paint until we no longer use it for storage.

The furnace room: All of the installation for heating has been completed.  The pellet stove is installed and functioning properly.  Right at the beginning there seemed to be a problem with the stove, but after the repair man came and changed a few settings on the stove and tinkered around a bit, things ran smoothly.  Thank the Lord!

The bathrooms: All of the plumbing is installed, all the walls are painted and the tile is in place.  I had the same concern about the light walls in the bathroom, as I did in the hallway, so I added a little extra color to the bottom part of the walls.What a joy to see how God has been helping the work go forward.  Thank you again to all who have given and continue to give for this ongoing project.  God bless you all!

The large all-purpose room: Paintings is done, carpet installed and window blinds in place.  I still need to get a blind for one large window in the front of this room and I hope to find the right size blind sometime this week.

Let’s move to the second floor.  This consists of the hallway, the music room and the  library/computer room.

The hallway: All the painting is done and the carpet is in.

The music room and the library/computer room:  All the painting is done and the carpet is installed.

On to the apartment area.  There is an entrance way with a closet, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room and an office/spare room. 

The entrance way and closet:  The tile has been laid in the entrance way and the walls have been painted.  However there is still some work to be done in the closet.  This closet will hold many of the tools, supplies, etc. for the center.  Many of the tools have been placed there already but need to be organized.

The bedroom:  The painting is done and the carpet is in.

 

The kitchen:  The painting is done, the water heater installed and tiles in place.

The bathroom:  The sink, shower and toilet have been installed, the painting is done and the tile is laid.

The living room: The walls are painted, but the carpet is still not installed.

The office/spare room: The carpet is in and the walls painted

Outside: The septic tank is in place, the well has been dug, the fence, front door and gate finished and the front sidewalk has been poured.  However no landscaping has been done, a shed needs to be made and the side walk on the side of the building along with a driveway needs to be completed.

Lord willing, even though we are not entirely finished with the center, we hope to begin using it in a short period of time.  Besides the things mentioned above, there still needs to be some major cleaning done, some adjusting of doors, curtain rods hung, furniture moved etc. etc.

Along with the "essential" things that are mentioned above, finances permitting, I would like to have a basket ball hoop in the center.  It would also be nice to have one or two ping pong tables for the kids to use, along with other sport’s equipment.  Upstairs, the plans are to eventually have computers, a printer and a projector available.  We will also need to have some furniture made: kitchen cabinets, desks, shelves.  Another plan was to have a play area outside, so playground equipment will be another expense.

As you can see there are still some things to be done, but at least the list is getting smaller. :-) It has been a very busy time, but the Lord has helped and blessed the work here.  I must tell you, it has not been easy.  It has been physically, mentally and spiritually draining, but God gives strength.  We are praying that God will use this center for His glory and honor and we are also praying that the impact of the center will be great, but if only one young person or child gives his or her life to God, it is all worth it!

As many of you are aware, the American economy has not been healthy and that has also negatively affected us here.  The value of the dollar has dropped significantly, even more than last year.  Along with this, rising costs have hit us hard.  Trying to decide what needs to be done versus what can wait until more finances come in has been very difficult.  To try to save money, I have been working at the center trying to do what I can and one of the fellows from the village has been volunteering his time for over a month now.  Others are doing what they can and we thank the Lord for His help to this point.  I am so grateful for what He has provided and I know that He will continue to provide.

At this time, we do not have the finances to do anything else.  So we are basically at a standstill. I know many of you have been so generous in your giving.  Thank you so much!  Without you and your generosity, Hope Christian Fellowship Center would not even exist.  I have come to you so many times with the needs here and you have responded so generously and I just don’t feel like I can ask you again for financial help.  What I am asking you to do is please help us pray about the financial situation.  God will provide!  I am sure of it.

God has given me His assurance that He will take care of these needs.  A few weeks ago when I was struggling regarding the lack of finances, I opened my Bible to a very well know passage in Psalms 37 vs. 3-5 "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."

Not only were the verses a great encouragement to me, but also the comments from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary.  I want to share these comments with you. "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, the burden of thy care. We must roll it off ourselves, not afflict and perplex ourselves with thoughts about future events, but refer them to God.  By prayer spread thy case and all thy cares before the Lord, and trust in Him.  We must do our duty, and then leave the event with the God.  The promise is very sweet: He shall bring that to pass, whatever it is, which thou hast committed to Him." AMEN!

God bless you and thank you for your continual prayers and support!

Sally

Some would gather money
Along the path of life.
Some would gather roses
And rest from earthly strife.
But I would gather children
From among the thorns of sin;
I would seek a golden curl
And a freckled, toothless grin.
For money cannot enter
Into the land of endless day,
And roses that are gathered
Soon will wilt along the way,
But oh, the laughing children,
As I cross the sunset sea,
And the gates swing wide to heaven
I can take them in with me.

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