On November 29th we went with the Bauțar youth to a cake festival hosted by a church in Caransebeș. The Bible skit Sorin wrote was well performed by the youth group and communicated the message of living courageously for Christ. We took 4th place with our lighted, fortress, chocolate cake, which symbolized being a light to the world – for a city on a hill cannot be hidden. A week after the event those from our church in Bautar wanted to see the play, so we presented it to the church one Sunday evening.
The choir concert held on December 13th at the church in Bauțar was a wonderful evening of worship. Each person in this start up choir worked hard to learn their parts and sing for the Lord. David directed the choir and Amina and Anna each played five songs on the piano to accompany the voices. We are very proud of the girls’ hard work in learning and preparing these pieces for the concert. At the end of the concert a young man, to whom David ministered a number of years ago, gave an encouraging and challenging message to come to the manager to worship Christ the Lord.
God is working in the children’s ministry and we have now created two groups to better minister to the various age groups of children. The past two weeks the Sunday school leaders have been preparing a Christmas play for the church. Amina, Anna, Nadia have been memorizing their lines at home and we pray that God will use this to help the children, their families, and the church grow in their faith. Last week our friend, Jony, from Golgotha Baptist Church flew out to Romania to serve and be with us during this Christmas season. He quickly learned some songs (two days after arriving) and sang with the Bauțar choir at a concert in a nearby village. He has already had three opportunities to share from God’s Word at youth groups and at a church service. The youth (and my family!) enjoy being with him and we have more ministry and youth events planned during his three week stay.
Catalina has been hard at work this past month through planning, organizing, and implementing discipleship and encouragement events for the church. She held a gathering at our house for the young ladies in the youth group, and Sorin’s fiancée, Liuba, shared a message about God’s joy for us. Catalina also held a woman’s tea and testimony gathering at the church last week. These fellowship times create opportunities for women to use their gifts in reaching others for Jesus, as well as bring healing in relationships with one another and growth in their relationship with God. David and the girls did a great job supporting with food preparation and serving the children so the women could have a special time together without distractions.
Remember, God really loves Christmas because it is all about His Son. When we give our lives to the Lord, we learn to love Christmas like God does, making it all about Jesus.
Merry Christmas!
The Roddy Family
Living Hope International
https://livinghopeinternational.net
“Mary will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”– Matthew 1:21
Praise and Prayer Requests:
1. Thank you for your prayers for the Christmas concert on December 13th. Many in the village were blessed by music that honored the Lord.
2. We were able to separate the children into two classes so they can hear the Good News of Jesus at a level in which they can understand. Please pray for the upcoming children’s Christmas play, and for unity in the Sunday School classes at Bautar.
3. Pray for us that we will hear and implement the vision God has for His church here in Bauțar and the surrounding villages for this upcoming year.