We have finished the volunteer retreat and are on our way to the Beclean orphanage for a visit. It went very well. Sometimes you wonder what kind of impact you have but I was encouraged to receive this “facebook message” from one orphan volunteer girl:

“I am very happy because in this retreat I discovered the God’s love for me and He changed my heart and my way of thinking about life. I saw the power of God really and I feel that now I have a new faith a lovely heart for the others I am so exciting and I cannot believe how in this days God changed me a lot!”

We asked you to pray for:
Our sessions and Bible teaching. This has gone well and I feel that between Mike, Dorin and i, God enabled us to use God’s Word to speak some truth and bring it alive.

Our connections with the volunteers have been very good although it is hard to connect with all 15 or so kids.

I continue to be amazed at the acceptance of authority and ministry of Dorin Magdas as new director/president, this may be the most important thing this weekend. In addition, I was asked to speak to the Baptist church we attended and I introduced Dorin to 250 plus people in attendance. The pastor was so encourgaed at how God has called Dorin back to Romania and he prayed for him with the church, it is quite the affirmation.

Finding accomodations for dorin magdas: Dorin currently has an offer in on a very nice apartment in a quiet area. The owner will get back to us, this would be very good for him and his young family. Housing prices here are LOW right now.

Overall, I am thankful, it has been crucial to have Mike, Dorin and Sarah here to work as a team. They have been fantastic! We have seen God at work.

It is Saturday Feb. 13 and we are about half way through the bi-annual volunteer retreat that we hold every February and July. This is part of our commitment to develop leaders amongst our orphan community. Our main objectives for this retreat are:
1. Continue to demonstrate our friendship and relational commitment to our volunteers through the emphasis of “family community development”
2. Continue to encourage the pursuit of God through consistent Bible teaching and prayer
3. Continue to give practical life and ministry training for their own lives and ministry to younger orphans
4. Continue to learn more about orphans and understand them personally.

Present at the retreat are: girls - Doina, Claudia, Crina, Ioana, Stela, Garo, Petranela, Ancuta and Ramona Stoica … and guys - Sorin, Johnny, Florin, Pardi, Dorin, Cioby

Sessions include:
2- program equipping sessions: Sarah Witmer
Bible - identity in Christ: Mike Barlow
Bible - importance of the Bible - Bobo
Relation with God - How I know God has called me back to Romania: Dorin Magdas
“Orphan understanding session” a look in the mirror - Bobo
Family sharing - Bobo
“Gifted Hands” video - The Ben Carson Story

So far the retreat has gone very well. It is awesome to have Dorin, Sarah and Mike here to share the load. They are all much loved and appreciated by the the volunteers. I think the highlight so far has been the excitement surrounding Dorin’s call to come back with his family to Romania which is planned for July 1, 2010. The volunteers were very inspired by the story of how God has clearly shown Dorin this direction