The Gospel in Action

An Unexpected Easter Lesson

Joshua and Laurel — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:33:47 +0000

I walked up to the open market, expecting to find butchered lamb, packaged and ready for sale. But as I approached, it became clearer and clearer that this was not the situation. The first thing that caught my attention was the sound of lambs bleating. “Have they not been slaughtered yet?” I wondered in disbelief. Coming closer I saw that some had. Two lay dead on the ground, their necks stained red with fresh blood. Next I saw a shallow pool of red blood flowing down a drain designed for rain run off. Customers stood waiting to purchase the freshly slain animals. While the merchants busily moved about. Some held down the quietly submissive animals, taking knifes to their throats. Others worked at preparing the animals for sale. The lambs were being skinned, drained of blood, and weighed.

The sight became too much for me, and I turned away and saw a few young lambs, untouched in a cart, waiting for their turn. It was these lambs which I heard before I saw any dead. But now the surprise I had felt at hearing live lambs turns to pity and sorrow, knowing that they too will soon be slaughtered. Then I thought of Christ and all the lambs slaughtered during the Old Testament system. I left the market empty-handed, unable to buy a lamb for our Easter meal. But I took with me something far more valuable: the thought that if God is a God of love, which I firmly believe He is, how great is my sin that the taking of innocent life was continually necessary in the Old Testament! And all the more, how great is my sin that Jesus Christ (the lamb of God) was slaughtered for me!

“You were ransomed . . . not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18–19, ESV).

Free Bible Study

Joshua and Laurel — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:50:25 +0000

After about a year’s worth of personal and public study, we have written and worked through the Gospel of Mark with the church here in Romania. We are making the study questions available for download in English and in Romanian for free for anyone who wants them. CLICK HERE to choose your preferred language and to read a little more on how to go through the study.

Occupy Bucharest???!!!

Joshua and Laurel — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:38:57 +0000

For the last few days protestors have been turning out in mass especially in Bucharest, Romania’s capital and largest city, but also in smaller cities like ours. No one is entirely clear on what the protests are about because right now the movement is lacking a strong leading spokesperson. However, it is clear that the Romanians are fed up with their corrupt government, extremely stratified society, and dysfunctional socialized medical system.

This site contains editorials translated into English. Some of the editorials are quite impassioned and beautifully written.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/01/25/romania-i-the-citizen/

And this site includes footage from the Bucharest protests.

Romanian Revolution 2012

Visas Are In and Caption Contest

Joshua and Laurel — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:57:15 +0000

When we first entered Romania in August we began the process of securing our residence visas. After at least twenty visa-related three-hour trips to the county seat we finally have our visas in-hand. The only disappointment is that we were only granted one-year visas. This is a disappointment because one-year and five-year visas both cost the same, and we’re talking thousands of dollars here. It also means that to remain in the country past November, we will have to go through the entire process again.

The official at the immigration office indicated that we were granted one-year visas rather than the three-year visas because our rental contract is only for one year. If we owned a home or had signed a five-year rental agreement, we would have been granted a longer visa. Please pray for us as we continue to serve, trust, and learn how to serve the Lord here in Romania. We are happy to be here legally now.

Well, at least four of us our happy to be here. We’re not quite sure what to make of Athan’s expression. It just seems to be begging a laugh. Caption suggestions are welcome.

Stars or Servants?

Joshua and Laurel — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:54:41 +0000

So I had a conversation with a Romanian today that really made me think, reflect, and pray. It went something like this.

Michelle: So do you really like living in Romania?

Me: Yes, we really do. We love the Romanian people and all their smiles. We love the work we do at the church, and your country and your city are so beautiful. We love living here.

Michelle: I do not understand. Yes, it is beautiful, but America is better and more beautiful. I know other missionaries. I ask them why they here, and they say, “Because in America we are nobody. Here we are stars.”

Now perhaps these other missionaries (not anyone we know) actually said this. I don’t know. I think it’s a bit more likely that something they said was a bit discombobulated by the language barrier. But regardless of whether they said it or not. The idea of self-aggrandizement as a motive for ministry is what Michelle has taken away from her relationship with them.

Oh, may this never be the impression we pass on to the Romanians or to people anywhere. And may this never be a secret motive of ours.

Please pray with us that that the Lord will make us into His servant-leaders.
And even more please pray that He will continually refine us internally making us heart-bondslaves of Christ.
Pray that when we are around others that they see not us, but what Christ is doing in and through us. May our lives so radiate Christ that we are lost in His brilliance.
Pray that we can be perceptive of cultural differences and wise with our words and actions so not to give impressions we never intend.
Pray for my (Laurel’s) relationship with Michelle. I see her once a week for several hours. I do not know yet exactly what she believes, but I do know that she is very burdened for her teenage daughters who are making choices that she sees as morally dangerous.I was able to give her some Romanian Bible studies to look at and suggested she do them with her daughter. She seemed very grateful. Please pray for much wisdom and help in communicating. We communicate with her speaking broken English and my speaking mostly English but trying very hard to use the Romanian I do know.

As always this is not her actual name. We change names and minor details to obey European privacy laws.

Joan’s story

Joshua and Laurel — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:33:42 +0000

Joan* loves purple, never seems to be without a smile, and dotes so much on the younger church children that’s she’s earned the nickname Mica Mama (little mother). She’s a delightful and typical middle schooler in every way you can imagine except she has just begun to endure a season of persecution that few her age have to face. At 12, she is beginning to experiential-ly learn the truth of 2 Timothy 3: 12, ““In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Joan’s story began a few years ago when Joan’s mother began regularly attending church services. She came faithfully and brought her children, but it didn’t take long for her ulterior motives to surface, and when she discovered that although the church does it’s best to help with physical needs, it does that by helping its members secure work not by perpetually providing handouts. When she realized that she wasn’t going to get the regular handouts she was hoping for, she stopped attending.

In the mean time, however, Joan had gone to a summer Christian camp and had embraced the gospel as her own. Even though her mother had stopped coming to church, she allowed Joan to continue to attend regularly. And Joan did. She came to everything and was especially faithful to attend the youth discipleship time (designed to teach older children and teens how to study the Bible for themselves). Recently at one of the meetings she expressed a desire to study the bible more and to share the gospel more and wistfully wondered out loud how much more time she’d have for such eternal activities if she just didn’t have to go to school and do her homework!

Over the last month, Joan has not been able to come. At first her mother would sporadically and seemingly on a whim forbid her, but recently her mother has grown increasingly antagonistic, and Joan hasn’t been able to come at all. Our formerly perpetually happy Joan has grown increasingly distressed and confused.

Please pray for Joan.

Pray that she will experience an unusual peace and joy, knowing that this time of testing is limited and that the kingdom of heaven is hers. Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Pray that she will be supernaturally obedient and respectful to her mother that her mother might be won by her conduct. Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. And by principal 1 Pet. 3:1-2 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.

Pray that she will rest in the sufficient grace of Jesus and experientially learn 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. “‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Pray that Joan would know in a new way how loved and chosen she is of God. John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

Pray that the other members of our church and especially the other children will be encouraged and challenged by Joan’s faithful testimony. 1 Thessalonians 3:7 “for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith.”

Pray with us Paul’s prayer as we pray it for Joan, “as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? 1 Thessalonians 3:10 and pray that we are faithful in our praying for her.

*Because of European privacy laws, we have changed names and small details in this story.

How Chariots, Sheaves, and a Couple of E-mails Kept us from Quitting.

Joshua and Laurel — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:54:44 +0000

Let’s quit?
Last week was grueling. Language study, the lines and bumpy body jarring travel that comes with securing visas, much red tape, needs at church, sermon and lesson preparation, the plague of mosquitos, breathing in the smokey polluted air, and having our water shut off all had physically and emotionally depleted us. And then when we felt like we couldn’t take anything else, we were blindsided by crushing news from another ministry family that left us feeling rejected, misled, and very, very alone. Before Sunday even started its regular marathon of ministry we wanted to call Delta and buy some tickets straight back to Greenville, SC. It all seemed like too much. We wanted to quit.

Promised help
But as all of this had been hitting us and beating us down externally, the Comforter was and continues to patiently work and faithfully minister to us internally. Scripture passages have been flooding our minds.

Jeremiah 12:5 —”If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? — really put into perspective our light trials. Sure, the week had been exhausting and perhaps we hadn’t been treated in the most ethical way, but Christians through the ages and all over the world have endured and are enduring much, much worse for Jesus’ sake. The Holy Spirit has and is enabling them to complete with horses. We are merely in the foot race and yes, we are wearied, but He is there to help us and to grow us until we are strong enough to contend with the chariots. May that day come.

Matthew 9:37-38 —”Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’”—reminded us that there’s a reason Jesus called his servants laborers. There’s a whole lot of exhausting and rather thankless work that must be done, and there truly aren’t enough people doing it. But the labor is worth the sweat and the tears. The harvest is a promise!

Palms 126:5 – 6 —”Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” There have been tears. And there will be many more, but the contrast of the memory of those tears will only intensify the euphoria of those certain shouts of joy when we parade home with our golden and eternal sheaves.

Intercession of the Saints
So at our lowest point so far the Holy Spirit has buoyed our spirits and strengthened our resolve. He has also used fellow Christians to encourage and reinvigorate us. Two families wrote this week to tell us that we are regularly in their prayers. They try to pray for us daily. The knowledge of their labor on our behalf has been like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert. We often feel so alone here. But we are not alone. The Comforter is with us and the prayers of the saints are strengthening us carrying us forward when our human strength fails us. Praise the Lord with us. And please keep praying. We are counting on you.

Five, Five Year Visas on the Way

Joshua and Laurel — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:33:24 +0000

This last week has been a whirlwind of maintaining the church, language studies, and four all day trips to Timișoara (a city about an hour and half from where we live) as we attempted to finalize the requirements for our visas. Friday afternoon marked the end of our fight with red tape and long lines with toddlers in tow. We’ve been told that Romania is going to grant us five year visas. This is a huge step. Now we wait a month and have faith that the promise will become a reality. Thank you to everyone who has been praying about our visas. Being promised the five year visas instead of one year visas is a huge answer to prayer. It will save us thousands of dollars over the next half decade and many many driving hours and time spent in long lines. We can’t express our gratitude for your prayers enough.

Mark 5 in Full Color

Joshua and Laurel — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:56:00 +0000

It’s been about a month and a half since we arrived in Romania and about three weeks since Baron Howerton left for his nine month furlough in the States. In those three weeks we’ve seen Mr. F, a brother in the church dive downward in a destructive spiral. Thirty-five year old Mr. F’s story begins with his growing up in an orphanage, includes time in prison, the loss of his business, the loss of his wife, and unwise business dealings with gypsy mob families which have resulted in his getting beaten up twice since we’ve been here. In the past three weeks, he’s gotten drunk multiple times, briefly stolen the church van, and is now currently cutting himself. He called Joshua around 8:00 PM. As I write this it’s 9:20 PM, and Joshua is currently with him attempting to convince him to go to the hospital. I’m praying and waiting.

As I wait I can’t help but think of the demoniac of the Gerasenes in Mark 5. This man like Mr. F was held prisoner by something much greater than himself. And like Mr. F, no one could keep him from cutting himself. No one knew what to do with the demonic of the Gerasenes, and we don’t know how to help our Mr. F. But we do know that the same person who helped the demoniac can help Mr. F. Our prayer is that Mr. F. will do what the demoniac did and that is run to Jesus and fall down before him. Please pray with us that Mr. F like the demoniac will be a trophy of Jesus’ grace and that he will be able to proclaim in Lugoj how much Jesus has done for him and that the people of Lugoj will marvel just as those of the Decapolis did.

In Timișoara

Joshua and Laurel — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:15:15 +0000

Now that universities are in session, those teaching Romanian to foreigners have a less hectic schedule and are willing to teach us. We met with our new teacher (Emma) this past Thursday. We were encouraged by her proposed plan to bring us to fluency in Romanian. We will be meeting with her every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday morning for two hour sessions. Please pray that we learn to speak Romanian quickly.

After our introductory meeting with her this week, we picked up some items somewhere else in Timișoara before stopping in the town’s center for lunch. The town center is the birthplace of the Romania’s revolution. This building still bears the scars of bullets fired during the outbreak of violence. Ironically, there is a McDonalds located on the ground floor today.

Back in Lugoj, we have found Athan a preschool to interact with Romanian kids. He will be attending two days a week. The school teaches the kids in German and in Romanian. We are also glad that the teachers speak English very well, so the language introduction will not be a complete shock to Athan.