Team is home!

The Romania Team arrived safely home last night. Thank you so much for praying for this team and for being On Mission with them!!!

Over 800 miles later...............

Today ends our time here in Romania. We have been touched forever! Today we traveled with Randy, Anna Marie the Hospice nurse, and the team to visit 3 very special young patients at their homes. Each received a Christmas gift accompanied by caroling in 2 languages, many photos, and of course, Randy's balloon creations!
We had a Romanian picnic (fixing lunch out of the back of the van...) before hopping back in and On the Road Again! We saw the most beautiful countryside. Randy drove us to the foot of the mountains for several photo opportunities! It is COLD; the high today was in the upper 30's. No snow yet!! Maybe tomorrow in Hungary.
Thank you for your prayers. The true meaning of Christmas was felt over the 800 miles traveled by the TEAM here in Romania. God is so good.
We'll be leaving early tomorrow for Budapest. This is our last blog. We want to take this opportunity to thank all who helped make this mission trip possible and successful.
We are coming HOME! Love to all.
Pam, Jane, Bobby, Breana, and Mary Lee

"No room at the inn"

SAT.

The pork killing was an EXPERIENCE!!! The boys have nothing on the girls now.

Word got out that something was happening at the church. The door kept opening and closing and children kept coming in. It was standing room only!!! Remember the story about the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish??...Well He did it again!!!! Our faith was tested but God came through. We even had a few baggies left.

SUN.

We traveled to Girsu Negru for a Romanian church service. The music was awesome. The team members shared their personal testimonies and sang "Silient Night" and "Joy to the World" it's a good thing they couldn't understand us because we are sure it wasn't pretty. Randy gave a sermon based on Joesph and his obedience to God. We think God was smiling...worshiping Him in different languages but all the same messages. After the morning service we were invited to homes in the village for lunch.

We returned for the afternoon worship service. Once again the music and worship was beautiful. They played handbells and sang for us. After the service Pam read Follow the star to Bethleham. We think that the adults enjoyed it as much as the children. It was followed by a birthday cake with candles and the children singing Happy Birthday Jesus in Romanian. Just what Christmas should be about!!

We stayed in the village for handbell practice. By look on their faces you could tell how pleased they were with themselves. Many of the bells are donated by First Baptist Ocala. What a blessing it is to see them being played by young children.

Please continue to pray while we travel to hospice homes tomorrow and our (health we have a few scratchy throats among the group). All in all the team is good and feeling blessed!!!!!!!!! Love to all!!!!!!

Pictures from today (Friday)

This is the heart shape floor in the Children's Hospital that

was put together by one of the FBC Ocala teams who

helped renovate the 5th floor.

Randy brings smiles where ever he goes....

Briana is carefully hanging snowflakes in the hallway at the Children's Hospital

This was in Valani - the last evangelical service for the day

Dr. Miculski, one of her nurses and Mary Lee

Handing out the baggies!!

Pam & Aneta

This was a home next to the church in Valani - little different that ours in the US

This is a plaque acknowleding the work of so many different churches who helped

Debbie & Randy renovate and improve the 5th Floor of the Children's Hospital.

Bobby & Mary Lee decorating the Christmas Tree in the Children's Hospital

Still spreading Joy!!!!!!

Today we decorated the children's hospital. What a blessing that was!!! It is also a tribute to the work of Debbie and Randy, all the volunteers that came before us and First Baptist Ocala.

We visited the remote village of Valani. REMOTE!!!! The children enjoyed the program once again! Pam shared about the true gift of Christmas....Thank You Holly!!!

We were invited to a church members home for traditional Romanian style dinner. We had four courses: Sunday soup (homemade chicken noodle), Chicken legs with potatoes along with pickled peppers and cucumbers, Cabbage rolls (that were outstanding), Walnut bread for dessert. To top the evening off it started to snow as we were leaving.

The team is tired but healthy!!! We are going to bed early so we can rise early for a "pork" killing a tradition to celebrate St. Nicholi Day to bring in the Christmas Season.

Pictures of today's (Thursday) events....

Puppet show...

Sheeeeeps!!!

Wouldn't you know at least one of the school teachers had to ring the bell!

Briana and her story......although she looks a little tangled up???

Mary Lee telling her christmas story using a balloon....

Happy faces!!!

Still another smiling and happy face!!

These are happy faces too....I think they are glad they escaped from the bathroom!!!

What a crew!!!

Spreading Christmas Joy

Today we traveled around 100 miles to visit a school and village church.

Our first stop was Lazareni. We visted the neatest little school for the gyspy children. What a special place! They do so much with so little. The art work done by the various age groups was amazing. They shared some watercolors with us to bring home. The room was filled with laughter during the puppet show. Mary Lee shared her heart box and heart balloon with the children. They loved the balloon and it was a great avenue for her to share about Jesus.

Our lunch stop was a cultural experience at McDonalds in Oreada. I lost one team member in the bathroom and it was not my mother. Just to let you in on the secret..you needed a code to get out and of course it was not in English. We had prayer and half our lunch before we realized what might be up.

We went to Cauasd to a Baptist Church. What a true Christmas experience:

• A very tiny church, heated by a beautiful ceramic heater
• Handbells playing Silent Night
• Happy mamas and happy children
• Briana told about Jesus being the light of her life and the world using a string of red Christmas lights
• The excitement of chilren receiving a simple gift from someone far away

As we were loading the van you will not believe what we got in the middle of. A shepherd herding his sheep home. We stood on the side of the road as hundreds and I mean hundreds of woolly sheep trotted by to the shepherd's whistle. Amazing!

The most exciting moment of the day came when Randy decided that eight people dressed in winter coats, boots and backpacks could get in a 3x3 elevator! The good news was we fit and the door shut. The bad news was the elevator died. Panic set in! So badly we did not pray we wanted to take matters in our own hands. Randy quickly realized this and pried the door open. The worst news of all, we had to climb 6 floors to the apartment!

God is GOOD

Our day began with a circle of women praying together. Mary Lee praised God for his many blessings, lifted Becky our hostess and her husband Sammy up and our day. We should have prayed for our van ride! If you have ever rode with Randy in a loaded van you know what I mean. Wild Ride!

Our first stop was a school in the village of Rupa. The children were very excited about our arrival. We enjoyed visiting with them before the program began. Randy and his team played the handbells and did a puppet show. The joy on the children's faces was indescribable! Lot's of smiles and laughter! Bobby gave a talk using a Christmas Wreath. He told the children what he loved about Christmas and the most important thing was Jesus and how he is our Shepherd in life. The children were given the Christmas Baggies as they left school. Oh my, you should have seen their faces!

The teachers at the school provided lunch for us. As a culture it is an honor for them to serve food. We had pizza; not sure what the toppings were? Everyone was a good sport and tried it!

Before leaving Rupa we stopped by Sammy's 77 year old grandmother's home. What a cultural experience we had!

• Pam and Briana milked her cow
• She gave us the milk to make hot chocolate with tonight
• The team hiked to the top of the hill to be in awe of the most spectacular view of the village and snow capped mountains
• Hog Pen tour that included piglets
• Outside oven that baked her bread. She sent home a loaf that is 14 inches in diameter!

We all need a lesson from grandmother on how to be self sufficient. She was so proud to show us her farm and especially her view of the village.

Our next stop was the village of Jepa. Randy and team did the bells and puppet show. Jane shared the story of Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes using her baby doll. The children sang Christmas songs to us. They too loved receiving the Christmas Baggies. What a great way to begin the Christmas Season.

The day ended with the most beautiful sunset and an invite to Ms. Florica's for homemade donuts.

We made our way back to Debbie and Randy's where Debbie had chicken stew ready. It is cold, foggy and damp but no snow yet.

We have arrived!!!

We had a great flight into London with a beautiful sunrise! Then onto Budapest with another great flight!!! All our luggage arrived safely and all ten (10) tubs!!!! YEA!!!!

Randy was there at the Budapest Airport to meet us. It was a very long ride from Budapest to Oradea and there were quite a few head bobbing incidents that we won't mention any names. We saw phesants, sheep and big doves along the 4 hour ride in the van. We also practiced singing our Christmas songs along the way too!

Debbie had a nice meal ready for us when we arrived at their appartment.We will be working out our sleeping arrangements now and will start our Christmas Baggie Evangelical services and passing out the baggies to the children in the morning. Please pray for us tonight as we turn in and enjoy a quiet night of sleep....at least we hope we sleep!!!

Pam & Team

The Team is on Their Way!

The team headed to Romania departed from Ocala early this afternoon. They are so excited! Stay tuned to hear all that God accomplishes on this trip

Countdown Begins - Romania Christmas

Good morning everyone!

The countdown has begun for the Romania Christmas Mission Trip. Missionaries Randy & Debbie Bullock leave for Romania on Saturday, 11/29. The team of 5 will follow on Monday, 12/1.

Over 500 baggies stuffed with supplies have been collected for the children and we are currently working on how to get them all packed and onboard. We are under stricter weight and luggage size restrictions that are really cramping our gear! These bags carry the message:

Isus te Iubeste!! (Jesus loves you!!)

Si noi te iubim! (We do too!)

Please begin praying for this team, the people they will meet along the way, and for the children who will be ministered to on this trip. Our prayer is that this team will experience all that God has in store for them. Everyone on the team is very excited and amazed that God is allowing them to minister to such precious children during the Christmas season.

The family relationships on this trip will make things fun! 2 team members are a mother and daughter. 2 other team members are a grandfather and granddaughter. The fifth team member isn't related by physical blood but definitely is a sister to all through Jesus!

Stay tuned as Team Leader Pam will begin posting updates once they arrive in Oradea Dec 2.

Prayer Ministry Team - your letters will be mailed on Monday, 11/24 so make sure you check your mail before leaving for Thanksgiving.

Tuesday Update from Alaska Camp

Sunday night the snows started up again and by Monday morning the roads were icy. The skies were clear though and we had to make the decision of whether to drive the FL team into Anchorage for some sightseeing and shopping. Pamela had never driven in these road conditions but we all made the decision to "go for it". We had heard the extended forecast and this might be the only time the ladies from Ocala could get out of camp. The Lord protected us on the drive in. It was slippery, but most drivers were very cautious and going only 45mph. We saw many vehicles in the ditch, the aftermath of one bad accident, and we watched one man avoid a terrible accident. He could have been a NASCAR driver with the way he maneuvered on the icy without losing control or slamming into the stopped truck on the side of the road. We watched the whole thing unfold while driving and making sure WE didn't lose control and while holding our breaths.

Once in Anchorage we were able to get around town with only the lightly traveled areas being slippery and hard to stop and start up again without spinning tires on the ice. We were so thankful for sunny, but cold weather, as the roadways began to melt and dry off for the trip back to the camp. God blessed us with safety and Pamela is a "little" (very little) more comfortable with driving in those conditions.

Monday night/Tuesday morning around midnight, the snows started up AGAIN! As of 3:45pm it's STILL snowing! Needless to say, we are glad that we went into Anchorage yesterday. Forecasts are for 5 inches during the day, more this evening, and still more snow on Wednesday. We might not be able to get out of camp again until Thursday. We spent the day cleaning the cabins and main building and bath house and then resting on a cold winter's day (yes, we know the calendar says it's fall - tell that to the weatherman). The directors are driving into Anchorage for the annual Baptist Associational meeting. We are praying for safety while traveling.

Update from Camp...

An excerpt received last night from Pam Lorenz and team...

Thursday morning the temps were down to 18F and the water in the ladies' cabin was froze :( Snows are still on the ground and everything is lovely. A momma moose and her calf came to call and everyone got pictures and got a little too close for the calf's comfort. It got a little spooked and made like it was going to charge but everyone was fine, a little scared, but laughing about it when it was all over.By nightfall Thursday, the winds from a huge storm started picking up. Everyone turned in by 11pm and settled down for a good nights sleep all the while hoping and praying that no trees would come down during the night. Winds of at least 50 mph were predicted. Friday, 3:30am the power went out and the winds were REALLY blowing. No heat in our house as the diesel furnace has an electric blower and ignition. The director's house was warm with a new wood stove. The Ladies's cabin has a propane heater so we weren't worried about them. Daylight revealed only one tree down and God spared one of the bldgs as the tree was propped up by other trees only a foot away from causing major damage! Still no power. Worrying sets in as we have 100 women coming for the retreat at 4pm. Noon and still no power. We are cooking on the gas grill outside and the gas oven and stove in the kitchen. All refrigerators and freezers are on generator. One bad thing about no power is that we have NO water either! The ladies begin arriving and the temperature is rising so it won't be bitter cold with no heat. They are such good sports and pitch right in with flushing toilets with buckets of water from the lake. 6pm, supper time for 100 women plus the volunteer staff, no power and no running water. We've bought about 50 gallons of bottled water and lots of paper plates and cups. The power from the generator is now switched to the lights so that the women can eat and start their meetings. After supper all the dishes are loaded into the back of a pickup truck and taken 10 miles up the road to the church and we use their little kitchen. When all the dishes are done we clean up only to find that the church's septic system can't handle that much dishwashing and we've flooded the downstairs. Now we have to mop and clean up THAT mess! We have to laugh or we'll just end up crying. We've all been praying hard for the power to come back on. When we arrive back at the camp, lights are on in the neighborhood a couple of miles away. There's hope yet.More buckets of water, lots of flashlights, a big campfire, and the ladies at the retreat are thinking of just staying up all night around the fire and making the best of it. FINALLY, at 11pm the lights come on and the pump starts up and we have running water, electricity and heat. What a wonderful feeling. We find out Saturday evening that the Anchorage area had 100 mph winds and our winds were hurricane strength. We endured hardship, but God saw us through it, gave us strength, and just when we thought we couldn't take it any more, He brought the comforts of life back to us. Saturday was very busy with three large meals. The women at the retreat were so thankful for everything we did. They were so amazed that the volunteers from FL came up on their own JUST to help. What a powerful witness of the love of God through His people. We all crashed into a well deserved night's sleep.Sunday, today, was great with the ladies enjoying their last morning at the camp. Rain and snow mix and dropping temperatures are occuring right now. We took the FL ladies into WalMart and a couple of the local stores. Tomorrow will be a busy clean up day, then a couple of days for them to sightsee, depending upon the weather.God is sooooo good, all the time. We can't thank and praise Him enough for all of His provisions, care, and blessings. The ladies at this retreat are in an alcoholic recovery program and you could see the struggles they face and the hope that a lot them had in Christ and how they were sharing that with others. Women of all ages, all socio-economic groups, and all walks of life were here. Please lift up these women to the Lord. He knows each of their needs and knows them by name. Keep all of us in your prayers as we minister to folks coming into this camp through our service and through our love for Jesus. We love all of you.

October Alaska Mission Team Updates

The Alaska Mission Team left bright...um actually...dark & early Wednesday morning for Wasilla. After a few bumps in the road and a long day of flying, they arrived in Anchorage just before 9 pm local time (1am ET).

Temps have been down to 18F but the team is fortunate because they were placed in a cabin with its own bathroom. Talk about great! No traipsing to the bath-house in the middle of the night!

On Thursday, the team of three ladies learned what needed to be done for the women's retreat this weekend. They also had some time to explore around the camp. It sounds like one of the baby moose has taken a shine to Mary. Ah love :)

Today, the team was up early to what felt a little like a hurricane. The electricity was out and the wind was howling.

Please continue to pray for the team as the retreat will be kicking off soon with more than 125 women coming to the camp for the weekend. Stay tuned for updates.

Delayed at the airport

There really is nothing like staying awake since you have to depart for the airport around 2:45 a.m., checking in your bags after waiting in line for an hour only to find out that your plane that was scheduled to depart at 6:15 a.m. is delayed at least until 7:40 a.m.

We make a connection with a flight in Miami and will still hopefully get there in time to jump on the right plane. If we don't then I'm just going to start walking...

Our time in Lima has been very productive. We learned lots about our possible strategy, what types of equipment are available for us as we begin sending teams and about the Peruvian culture.

We again would like to say thanks for your prayers - they have made a huge difference!

Back in Lima

We have arrived back in Lima and will spend some time working on our stategy, debriefing the trip and purchasing supplies for the future teams that will come to Peru. We have learned so much on this trip that will help us prepare for the future. The past two trips have been pioneering work to prepare and learn and God has been so faithful in teaching us. We praise Him for His leading in our lives - His has done more than we can explain.

Please pray for us to have the strength to finish well on this trip. We have travelled many miles, slept little and have eaten some crazy food. I will post some photos later today from some of our experiences.

We will also work today on putting together all of our notes, photos and thoughts so that we come home with a complete picture of what God has shown us on this trip. This work is crucial so that the next team will be able to travel by themselves to the villages. We will not have a person from the team here in Peru with us on the next trip.

We would also appreciate your prayers as we adjust to being back in the modern world. The transition from the villages to the modern city such as Lima is challenging emotionally and sometimes even physically. I ate way too much being back in the city after eating small portions throughout the week in the villages! However, that cheese burger was good!!

Thanks again for praying for our team. We, too, have been praying for you.

poco a poco

Little by little - a new phrase we learned today. It is sure to become a regular part of my thoughts. Today showed us that this task will only be accomplished one step at a time.

Today was a painful step but it was exactly the step that God had planned for us to take. We spent the day experiencing the lostness of these villages. I really believe we are all a little stunned at all that goes on in this culture. It is amazing to see how lost they are here in Peru.

At the end of the day we are confident that God is wanting to work here and that the light always shines brightest where it is the most dark. There is a great opportunity here!

Tomorrow we will begin the long trip back to Lima. We had a flat tire today so we have to drive 4 hours to Puquio to find a replacement so we have another spare. Please pray for all of this to work out - we don't want to be stranded on the side of the mountain wondering where we get another tire!

We have learned so much on this trip that will help us prepare our strategy. God has been very, very good and we know that this has to do with your prayers. We are so thankful for you!

I'll post again tomorrow night if the travel day works out as planned.

If everyday were like this...

It will be very difficult to find the words to describe how wonderful yesterday was as we finished in Andamarca and made the move to Cabanna. The only realistic attempt is to say that God consistently blessed us with His presence, ordered our steps and revealed His Glory throughout the day. We are in awe of Him!

On Sunday night we worked to be intentional in what we thought needed to be accomplished on Monday. We worked together to create a list of things that we needed to do in Andamarca and in Cabanna. We thought the things in Andamarca would take most of the day but we were astonished to realize how quickly God worked things.

While we were returning from breakfast the mayor was in front of the municipal building. We saw the people we needed to get necessary contact information. We met an English teacher and another young man who spoke some English. This all happened in a very short amount of time. We thought it would take most of the day to locate these folks and have the time to begin forming relationships with them.

One of the highlights of the day came when the English teacher asked us to come and speak to his class. It was awesome. The interaction with the students was a lot of fun but also encouraging as we were asked to come back and help in the future. Imagine spending a week in a school like this. There are no limitations in this setting…

We then drove to Cabanna and checked into the hostel before heading to the plaza. We did not have a plan for the evening since we finished so early in Andamarca. They were having a small festival celebration at the plaza where there were many ladies and children. Randy pulled out his balloons and instantly had several kids surrounding him. Jaime, Anamaria and Kristen played some volleyball with the children.

When they finished the festival they then invited us to come and eat with them. I have taken pictures of what we ate because words just could not do it justice. Anamaria had the skill of sharing hers bowl with 4 children. The rest of us somehow got through it but for me the taste remains in my mouth even this morning. I’ll not soon forget the smell as it reminded us of musty animals like sheep and dogs.

As we prepared to leave a man came up to us inviting us to attend their festival on Wednesday. It ended up that this man is the mayor that we wanted to meet with on Tuesday. We met with him for about 20 minutes and he invited us to meet with him this morning to go and visit the farmers out in the field as they worked on their water canals. He is a very enthusiastic man who offered us many things. Our prayer today is that we will learn more about him and his motives. The Peruvians are often very skilled as seeing people from the United States as people that they can utilize for their purposes.

We finished the evening by receiving balloon lessons from Randy. We are all now very good at making swords, dogs, rabbits, hats, and sword holsters. Anamaria said that she was just going to make snakes. I’m not sure that all of our attempted creations look their part but I am very confident that these children will enjoy them all.

Thanks for your prayers – we are confident that this is why we had such a great day yesterday. You joining with us gives us great joy and strength.

A Profitable Day

Yesterday was a great day as we learned much more about this local church and about Andamarca. We believe that God has given us clarity as to whether we are to partner with this church and about the importance of having a sharp focus both now and with future teams.

We have spent quite a bit of time this weekend learning about the church that is in Andamarca. While they are a very sincere congregation it is evident that we will not partner with them in planting churches. There will be many opportunities to consider cooperating with them but we would share a difference in how we are going to plant churches in these villages. It has been a great learning experience to spend time with them and see their sincerity as they worship in their cultural context.

We will spend today here again in Andamarca attempting to visit with the mayor and in the schools. Our goal is to learn more about what the community sees as their needs and what their perspective the impact of the local congregations. This information will help us as we develop our strategy.

This evening we are planning to drive to the next villages, Cabanna and Aucura. This is where we spent most of our time on the previous trip. Please be praying that God opens doors to meet with some of the local leadership of the community. We are also going to follow up in the schools that we visited in order to learn more about their needs. We specifically are seeking to learn what they need when they asked for help with construction knowledge and how to grow some types of grasses faster for their livestock.

We have also learned that this time of the year will be more challenging than our April trip due to the changes in weather. We are actually in their winter season and it has been challenging. The temperature is lower than we anticipated. There is a strong wind that is constantly blowing which brings both more coldness along with lots of dust. It reminds me of a dust storm in an old western movie.

One of the goals for next summer is to have college students from our church come and serve as summer missionaries here in these villages. We have spent a considerable amount of time discussing this in light of our experience. These students will have to be grounded people with a strong walk with God. It will be a very challenging experience.

We covet your prayers as we are confident that this is what helps us in discerning what God is saying to us during this journey.

An Early Start

Everyone has an early start here due to the leader of the town making the morning announcements over the town’s loud sound system. The announcements began at 5 a.m. today and are now being followed by songs. I am not sure what was announced or what is currently being sung but I am confident that it is loud!

Our team will meet together at 8:30 this morning for breakfast. Hopefully they will turn on the hot water this morning – yesterday’s cold shower was a fast one!

We are eating in the local restaurants on this trip so that we can get to know the people better. We ate fish yesterday – the offer the entire fish. One person on our team told me that they would eat the fish head if I would – I did but they did not! I am still alive this morning so I guess it was okay to eat. It did not taste like chicken. The locals eat the entire fish so I was hoping it would help me speak Spanish better. Can’t say that worked either.

The people in these villages live a very hard life. They are dependent on their crops and their livestock for survival. They are out already this morning heading to their fields to work. It is very cold and windy. There faces reveal the toll that is paid to survive in these elements.

The older generations do not express much joy in their lives. The children, however, remind me of my own. The girls are giggling while holding hands and walking down the streets. The boys are racing around on bicycles and laughing. Something happens in their lives between these early years and their transition into adulthood. This reality makes it evident that they really need the hope of Jesus in their lives. It is so evident on their faces. They need Jesus – not religion. They need it now – not tomorrow.

Please join us in praying that we would have God’s sense of urgency in reaching the nations. Our team realizes the privilege that we have in being here and we want to be involved in God’s activity here in Andamarca today.

We all miss our families and have prayed for you all. We had an incredible time of prayer together yesterday on the cliff of a mountain. God met with us in a very real and special way. We listened to a song that talked of the voices of praise rising from the valleys and mountains to fill the air. God’s desire is for these villages to know His peace. Our desire is that He uses us – however He desires.

Photos of the team

Here is our team at the Miami airport, our new pet named Millie and our time at the church on Saturday night.

Cold in Andamarca

Wow… it is cold here. We arrived into Andamarca and were welcomed by cold temperatures and high winds. But we are glad to finally be here.

We were able to spend lots of time with the people here today. As we traveled closer to town we would pick up folks who were needing a ride into town. We gave a ride to a boy who had been traveling for two days to pick up beef from an uncle. A pair of boys who had left home at 8:30 this morning to milk the cows were returning home around 3:30 in the afternoon. We also gave a ride to a lady who was bringing an injured lamb home – it rode in the cab of the truck with us!

We spent the evening attending the church services of a group of believers here in Andamarca. We learned lots today but will certainly learn more in the morning as we help teach the children in their Sunday School. The adults will having their service tomorrow night. Please join us in praying that God gives us wisdom as we determine if we are to partner with this church in our strategy.

Thanks for your prayers as we traveled. We really had a great trip into the villages.

El Camino - What a ride!

When I was in high school I drove a 1979 El Camino. Yep… it was awesome. You have the car and truck all in one. We always thought El Camino meant something about the brilliance of making an automobile that combined the car and truck. Well we were wrong. I learned on this trip that El Camino means the road. We experienced El Camino yesterday – all day. We made the trip in much better time than what we did on our previous trip in April.

We arrived in Puquio around 7:00 p.m. instead of 10:00 p.m. That means Andamarca will only be 14 hours instead of 17. Somehow that makes things much easier. J

We now believe we can make the trip in one day as long as we have good notes for our future trips.

Today we will drive the last 3 hours to Andamarca and begin meeting with the people in the village. On our last trip we met some people from a church but did not have the time to investigate much of what they shared with us. They have a church service tonight and in the morning that we will visit in order to learn more about them.

Please join us in praying that God gives us great wisdom over the next few days as we gather information to use in our strategy to reach these villages with the gospel. We will also be looking for opportunities on this trip to share the gospel.

We are grateful for your prayers and encouragement. God has put together a neat group of people on this team. We all recognize that it is a real privilege to be here.

Arrived Safely

The team arrived at the hotel in Peru last night and had a good nights sleep. They headed out about 7:30 CT this morning to the village.

Underway...Again

The plane took off close to 6:30 so they are on their way to Peru! Will probably arrive close to midnight ET.

Air Conditioning Delays

Here is a message from Kevin:

We are still at the Miami Airport becuse the air conditioner on the plane is not working correctly. Yes, we are on the plane! This is yet another reason why I don't like the Miami Hurricanes.

Peru

The team headed to Peru is safely underway. Just spoke with Kevin as they were boarding the plane. Please pray that nothing hinders the team from experiencing all that God has planned for them.

Thursday, July 24th in Canada

Basketball is still up and running.... the enthusiasm is still strong... We have met some awesome kids that have blessed our lives. Pastor Brett's message during our "Cross training" time has reminded the campers that God knows all and that we have been created for specific purposes. He explained how important it is to be on "Jesus' Team" and following the Word of Truth.

Tomorrow we will wrap up the camp with special treats, games, and contests. We have been so blessed to be a part of this camp!

Last night we were a part of the Sanctuary's Life gathering (Bible Study). Studying the third chapter in James has so many life lessons. The people that we met there were so warm and welcoming.

Talk about fun!!! Tonight we grilled out hamburgers and hotdogs for the Toronto Argonauts from the CFL.These guys came in from a practice and were so appreciative and friendly. It was great working with Dave and Ruth Hudson as a part of the Athletes in Action ministry.

Again, we can't say thank you enough for this opportunity to serve. We have truly been blessed.

Pat and Mary Lee

Tuesday in Canada

Day 2

Last night was really special as we went with Dave Hudson to an Athletes in Action campus meeting. A defensive back for the CFL Argonauts gave his testimony. WOW! His inspiration touched the young adults who were there. His testimony included stories of poverty, drugs, and football before he gave his life to Christ. Since giving his life to Christ he's become an ambassador for the Lord on and off the field.

Today all basketball campers returned and made tremendous improvement. Each day is divided into 4 sessions with a devotional time and short life lesson given by Pastor Brett. Today he used masking tape to make his point. Ask Pat or me about it.... it was good. We are anxious to share how you can get involved with these two wonderful Canadian missions ( The Sanctuary and Athletes in Action).




After camp today, Ruth was so kind to take us to Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake. What an amazing experience. How can one not believe in an awesome GOD after seeing His artwork?

Pat and I want to thank Kevin and Allyson and all who made this trip possible. Thanks for your prayers and kind words.


Pat and Mary Lee

Canadian Basketball Camp-Monday, Day 1

We are resting this afternoon from an outstanding morning full of energy produced by 28 basketball players ranging in skill and age. Each camper received his or her own ball...that was a big deal! The high school gym was filled with bouncing balls, screeching shoes, and the constant roar of kids ranging in age from 5-14.

The Hudsons and the Porters have been incredible host families. Sunday service at the Sanctuary was overflowing with 92 young kids from Tenn. that were ON MISSION this past week doing incredible things for God.

We joined in with some of their church members and saw a breath-taking victory by the Toronto Argonauts. That was a real treat.

Please continue to keep us in prayer for God's guidance and will as we help support these dedicated families ON MISSION in Canada.

Pat and MaryLee

Our team is back home.

Tonight's post comes from the comfort of my house. Our entire team made it home with all of their luggage but without all of their normal energy. Please pray for us as we attempt to adjust to this time zone. We have basically just completed a 20 hour trip.

We are all thankful for the folks who helped us get home tonight after the bus had a tire blowout on the way to the airport. Ed Johnson and Ski Szymanski came to the rescue with our two smaller buses. Skip Tucker got the large bus fixed. Thanks to them, along with Allyson and Monty, for helping us get home with only a 30 minute delay. Thanks to God that we were not on the bus when it happened - being stuck on the side of the road after such a long day of travel would have been challenging!

You would probably enjoy knowing that as our plane landed in Orlando a recording came over the sound system saying that there was an emergency. There was a pause and then the message was given that we were going to land in the ocean. We were instructed how to get our life jacket and how to slide out of the plane. This was funny for most except those of us who had wings in the middle section next to the wings. Our only view was the glare off of the wing which looked like clouds. I kept looking out wondering why we were still in the clouds when we would be getting close to our landing time. When the emergency message came on the plane immediately touched down with the usual noise - but if you had my seat I had no idea that we were actually touching down. That experience will make your heart beat!!! David Galat said he was thinking that he wished he had paid more attention to the emergency directions at the first of the flight. Needless to say we were awake at that point of the flight!

Have a great night - I'll post more photos tomorrow when my brain starts functioning again.

On the way...

It seems almost impossible that our time here is finished. The team will be waking up in the next hour and will be making the trip to the airport. Last night as we met it was obvious that everything that we have in us was given during the week. It has been a privilege to serve with a group of people who have given of themselves so that others can come to know the awesome love of our Creator.

I am uploading several pictures for you to view. You will see photos of waterday (where the goal is to get wet), our team debrief here in Budapest, small group times and a couple of our team members doing laundry. You will also see a couple of photos of two young ladies that you will now meet in Heaven, too.

I know we have said thanks before but I'd like to express it once again - to see that this many folks have been coming alongside us on this journey has blessed us incredibly.

As we return home please remember what we had shared in our last meeting with you before we left: 1. When we see you tonight it will seem like the middle of the night for us. Please be patient with us! We want to tell you "everything" but we are exhausted in many different ways. 2. It is hard to try to tell you about everything - sort of like seeing the Grand Canyon and trying to explain it to someone. 3. We have experienced God individually in some ways that will take us quite a while to process. We have not even really begun that process.

I know we can't wait to see our families... Soon.

Bedding in Budapest

We arrived in Budapest earlier this evening. We enjoyed some real pizza from Pizza Hut, debriefed with the Bullocks and are counting down the hours until we head to the airport in the morning.

Some of our team headed to downtown Budapest to see the palace and other sites. It is a beautiful city. Others of us stayed here since there is now only one van for transportation - we promise that it had nothing to do with the fact that we are exhausted!

It was very difficult to see the children returning to their villages but at the same time it was exciting because we know that we have been faithful with what God has called us to do this week. Their story will continue because of Him - not because of us. He just allowed us to be a part of the story for this one chapter. We are grateful for that.

God has done some incredible things this week and not only in the lives of the children. Several of the campers put their faith in Jesus.

We are so grateful for your prayers, posts and encouraging words. This has been a great, great week that we should all stop and thank God for allowing us to be His hands and feet to a lost, hurting and perishing world.

We will post more pictures upon our arrival this weekend.

Itinerary Update

Good Saturday Morning!!!

Many of you received phone calls from me this morning re: an updated flight arrival time into Orlando. For security reasons, I will not be posting that time here. However, the flight number from London has not changed. To stay posted on the teams arrival time, go to the airlines website and look on the bottom right corner of the page, you can enter the flight number and date of arrival to stay posted. Plan on the team arriving in Ocala about 3 hours after landing. You will receive a call with more updated info once the team is on the ground in Orlando. Thanks so much everyone!!!

Friday is Finished…

It is almost 2 a.m. and it is raining at the moment so you will not be getting much information now.

We just finished an incredible day of worship and fun. We had a blast on water day – everybody was wet! We then finished the day with a huge bonfire.

We have witnessed several kids coming to know Jesus today – it has been a great week.

We have some time in the morning – I’ll try to post before we leave in the morning for Oradea and then to Budapest.

I know that I am ready to see my family and I’m pretty certain the rest of the team feels the same way.

Excited about Canada

This is Mary Lee and I am so excited about traveling to Canada with Pat and meeting so many new and neat people. I'd love to hear from any of you...so I will be checking this blog often.
In His Name and for His service, Mary Lee

*** Note from the Missions Dept: As the team from Romania begins their travels back tomorrow (Saturday), we have a great team of 2 going to Mississauga, Ontario for a basketball camp. Our friends, the Porters and the Hudsons will be putting on a basketball camp with their church, The Sanctuary, next week. Please be in prayer for the team, the Porters, the Hudsons, the camp counselors and all of the kids that will be impacted next week. Thanks for checking in! ***

Big Day Friday

Good morning to us and happy sleeping to our friends in the USA.

We are getting ready for the beginning of our day here. Please be praying for us throughout today as we spend the last hours with these wonderful children.

In our teaching time today we will be focusing on salvation. It is our prayer that God would draw the children to Himself. Please join us in this prayer. They need Him (just like we do). It would be awesome to worship at the throne next to these Romanians...

We all miss our families and friends very much. We can't wait to make an attempt at sharing all that God is doing in our lives this week. (Remember to be patient with us when we return - we will be very, very tired. We commit to really make a great effort at sharing what God is doing in our lives.)

Thursday is done... and it was awesome.

Today has been awesome. We had a great day of worship and teaching. We then took a 3 hour hike up a mountain. The views were maginificent. God's creation is so incredible.

We finished with a "talent night." It is really very difficult to type anything to describe the evening. My brain is dead 'cause I laughed so hard when one boy got up with a talent of "ping-pong." Randy asked him if he was going to play a game of ping-pong by himself. It got more interesting when he asked for 2 balls. They scrambled to locate the ping-pong balls and gave them to the smiling boy. He then placed one in each arm pit, raised his arms and the balls fell to the floor. He smiled, the crowd celebrated and I'll never be the same. My mind can't figure out what was happening. I am not sure if this is funny to you but I am using these notes as a type of therapy to help me heal. :)

Everyone is doing great. We are starting to get a little tired but we only have one more day to give ourselves away here in Romania (at camp) so we are going to finish strong.

Thursday already…

The week is really flying by quickly! We had a great day yesterday – Wednesdays always seem to be the most difficult days of camps (sore bodies, tired minds and the realization of what we can’t do as easily as earlier years) but our team did great yesterday.

Our teaching focus yesterday was on forgiveness. Pray that these children can understand that God sent His Son Jesus so that He could demonstrate that forgiveness. We naturally move onto the subject of God’s grace today.

We had our first day of recreation yesterday. I love watching the children and having the chance to encourage them. Our team members jumped in and participated when necessary. We laughed so much yesterday it hurt! To see Jeff Dofing spin around a bat 5 times, get up to run in the wrong direction and then fall down was hilarious. He later commented, “folks go to the car races to see the wrecks.” He has done a great job at hanging out with the children.

Ed and Sandi Lewis continue to do an outstanding job leading our team. Their gentle nature and lovable character has really rubbed off on the team. If Ed was fishing and caught a fish he would say “Bordeline 11” (on a scale of 1 to 10) – well Ed and Sandi have done a “Borderline 11” job at leading the team!

I’m out in the field with the ground’s crew this morning. The horses, pigs and cows mow the field every day. They also fertilize the field – for free. J

Thanks again for all of your participation in this blog. Your communication to the team is shared every morning during our devotion time.

Pictures from the last couple of days

From team members...

From Sarah Jo: Hello from Romania!! It has been an amazing time here- can't even begin to tell about it all. The kids are amazing, the weather has been good, and we all still have energy. Mom, Dad, Liz, James, and Hannah, I miss you all sooooooo much and am excited to see you in like- a week! Daniel, Patrick, Jdee, and everyone else- I miss you all and cant wait to tak to you and tell you about the awesome things God is doing in Romania. GOD BESS!!!

De Annie-Grace: Hola mi familia! TE AMO MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO! i miss y'all amost as much as i love you! i hope all is well in ocala and that you guys are at least having some fun without me. moma, i may break my promise and bring home some romanian children :) just one or two, don't worry. daddy, i love you and i miss you and i hope the grass doesn't look too bad. To my boy: gracias para las cartas y the posts you've left, pero you may have some competition with some of these boys here. on that note, it is amazing here and i am sooooooooo glad that He got me here and i KNOW that He is with y'all and keeping you safe. i love you daddy, kisses to you moma, y te amo boo. (tell los abuelos i'm safe, i love them, and i miss them)

No rain this morning - but still colder than Florida

Here are the photos from the first days of camp. The top photo is our group leaving Hotel Melody for the camp. The two girls on the bus are Anita and Andrea. Next is a picture of David hanging out with the students. Kelsey is tracing the hand of a girl on the Red Team - with help from Amanda.

A little more colder and a little more wetter...

(It is not feeling like summer camp right now! I am sitting in the back of Randy's van with the doors opened so that I can stay dry and the satellite modem can see the open sky. It is cold!)

We have now finished our first full day of camp – well, almost finished. I still hear the boys in the room above running around and laughing. /These kids know how to enjoy themselves!

Our large group and small group times today focused on the subject of acceptance. Our teaching goal was that the children would come to understand that God created them and loves them just as they are – regardless of how they may view themselves.

It has rained on-and-off for most of the day. Along with the rain came some very cool temperatures. We don’t quite have the weather channel here so I am guessing that the temperatures were in the low 60s today (for the high) and even colder if you got rained on!

The weather changed some of our recreation plans but that all came together when we got the 5 foot ball filled with air. Some of the team spent a large amount of time using a small compressor to air the ball but we finished airing it up the old-fashioned way – by using our own hot air. We placed a 1/2” piece of pvc pipe into the hole and took turns blowing in it. Within about 15 minutes it was game time!

I just need to tell you that we have some crazy team members. Lacie Martin is out-of-control! She had a break-away run toward the goal and then suddenly decided to jump on top of the ball and ride it. The ball won. Amanda Quinley would not be out-done. I am not sure where it came from but she came out like a crazy woman and she was knocking people everywhere! David Galat was all over the place, too. Even Randy and Debbie were involved in the craziness.

I've got some photos to send but the modem is working very, very slow tonight and I am very, very cold so I'll try sending them tomorrow. You might call me a sissy but some stray dog just came up to the van and helped convince me that it is time to get some sleep! :) Did I tell you it is cold????

Day 2 - a little cool and a little wet

We are off to a great start today! We survived the all-night thunderstorms to wake up with much colder weather. I have not heard anyone complain about the change in temperatures – it was hot yesterday!

Our small group times continue to be incredible. To hear the Romanian children quote verses in both English and Romanian is awesome. It sounds much, much better than the Americans stumbling through the Romanian version. It is quite humbling to hear little children laugh when you try but in the end it is well worth the effort. Annie Grace just quoted a verse in Romanian to the entire group. That was impressive! A Romanian girl also said the verse in English. How awesome it is to serve a God who has no language barriers. He heard them both the same!

We will have our first afternoon of crafts and recreation here in the next couple of hours. As you get your day started we are halfway through the 2nd day of camp!

We thank you so much for your participation in this blog. To see how many folks had viewed this site encourages our team. Your posts are being shared every day with the team.

I'll post some photos later - they take longer to upload through the satellite modem and it is still raining a little (misting) so I'll try again tonight.

These kids are incredible...

Wow... what a long day! I am sitting in the middle of a field in Romania - in between shower storms - to tell you that our God has granted us a special privilege to be here. Thanks for sharing in this journey with us!

We made the long drive out here without any real problems. Only a couple of the children got sick on the bus. The weather cooperated and we had a great first day at camp.

Our small groups met together and we spent the afternoon just trying to learn names and find new ways to communicate. Love really does cross all barriers!

Walter did a great job tonight by challenging the students from the Bible. The kids were very attentive to everything that happened tonight.

We wake up in the morning and start our first full day of camp. Pleae pray for our strength and attitudes.

I gotta go... it is lightning and starting to rain. Thanks again for the prayers.

Our last night with comfort...

Tonight marks the end of our time with normal comforts called air conditioning and normal hot water showers. No more cool drinks, quiet rooms or private bathrooms. At 8 in the morning we will begin the long journey to the mountain range to begin our time at camp. Over 40 youth and children will become our family for the week. Please continue to pray that God gives us the ability to love beyond the language and culture barriers.

The time on the bus could be challenging since many of these children have never been on a bus ride. They usually get car sick and spend much of the trip filling up barf bags. Yep... sounds exciting, I know. You are calling the church office at this moment signing up for next year's trip. But here is the great part - we get to serve these precious children all week long so that they can experience God's love. Might as well start with the hard stuff!

We really do have a great team. Everyone did a great job sharing at the church this morning. We spent the evening with our translators and other Romanians. It was great to watch Annie Grace and Angela O'John playing volleyball. They are both really sweet young ladies who play a very good game of volleyball.

This morning Jana and Lacie sang the Chris Tomlin version of Amazing Grace. Once they got started our team joined them. Even a Romanian playing the keyboard was singing with us. It was a very awesome moment for our team.

We will arrive at the camp tomorrow and begin setting everything up for the week. I will do my best to post tomorrow night (our time) so that you can continue to pray specifically for us. Words cannot do a very good job at explaining how excited our team is about your comments on the blog. Just to know so many people are viewing the blog is incredible to us.

Here is a picture of some our fans from our volleyball game. (Margie Johnson, Adelina, Debbie Bullock, Peyton Hall and Amy Ergle) Susan Ergle and Bonnie Weeks are talking behind this first group.

Please know that Amy really does still have 2 arms. I don't recall anyone letting me know that she lost it over here in Romania. If she did, however, we will exhaust all of our means to locate it. :)

Our prayer for tomorrow is that God would continue to shape our hearts to be used by Him to communicate His great love to these children.

Have a great night!

From Alyssa...

Hey guys! Alyssa here . . . So it's been awesome to read all of your comments. They are so encouraging and uplifting. It's cool that even across the world we know that people are praying for us right now. So keep posting! And that means you too Mom and Dad! I am highly offended that every youth's parents and/or family has left a comment and you haven't. I know you are technologically challenged but I mean, come on. I am your FAVORITE child and I feel so unloved right now.

Now for an update on us. We have had a fabulous day today in the holy hut. Although it is quite hot here I think everyone had an awesome experience worshiping with others in a different language. This year we were even able to to take part in the Lord's supper. It was just another reminder of how big our God is. He's not just in Ocala, but He's here in Oradea.

So, it's our last night in downtown Oradea. We're off to play volleyball, Romanian style. David Galat and I are going to dominate . . . in the name of Jesus of course. We'll enjoy one last warm Coke and the air conditioning. Keep up the prayers and the comments.

Love, Alyssa

(Important Note from Kevin: The expressed views of this author do not necessarily represent the views of this blog. :) Just kidding - we really do love Alyssa. Her enthusiasm really adds to our team. The picture above was from tonight's volleyball game. This girl is intense. I'm pretty sure that if she kept that face and asked every child at camp if they knew Jesus - the whole camp would probably get saved. Some may already be saved and would do it again just 'cause they were scared)

Gettin' ready...

We had a great day today preparing for next week. We have an incredible team! In the photos you will see most of our team as we get ready to leave the church. Due to technical difficulties our star member in the other photo (David Galat) joined the team after the first team picture was taken. Please do not re-distribute this photo - David may charge us for the unauthorized use of his image.

Tomorrow we will go to church in one of the villages. We are responsible for the morning gathering of believers in a village church on the other side of the planet from our home. Several team members will be singing and others will be sharing testimonies. David Galat and Ed Lewis will be speaking. Please pray for God to use our team to encourage this church. Apparently they have had some tough times recently so we are praying that God would use us to encourage them. Only God can take all of those dynamics and make something great happen. That is our prayer.

Please continue to pray as we transition to the Romanian time zone and the Romanian food. Our prayer is that God would help us to feel like we have always slept during these times and that our bodies will handle the different diet.

God has already brought this team far down the journey of creating strong team dynamics. I watched team members today have a great servant spirit as they made final preparations for the crafts. Margie Johnson has done a great job leading us with the crafts. I heard the ladies group working on a song that they will be doing in sign language - it was awesome. Ed and Sandi Lewis continue to lead us towards Jesus with their positive and fun attitude. We have several high school students with us - they have brought lots of energy and laughter to our team.

Thanks for joining us on this mission trip - the number of folks reading and praying has provided tremendous encouragement to us.

We continue to pray for you, too.

Checking out the town...

Today we have been working on our final camp details. Our different teams have now been able to meet with the translators to work through any questions we have had with our materials and plans. We are blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends here who love Jesus. They are a great encouragement to us.

We took a couple of hours today to walk around the community here in Oradea. It was a great time of learning about the local culture.

Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to now being awake during our normal middle of the night time. We are 7 hours ahead of the time zone in Ocala.

Roaming in Romania

This picture of Ed Lewis shows much of what today was like for us - on a plane appreciating the opportunity to be on this team. After spending the last 24 hours traveling we can finally say these words - "we are here." We are over 6000 miles from home but have been greeted by family members from our church.

It has been an incredible day. Jessica Bullock surprised her parents and Romanian friends by joining us on this trip. To say that they were surprised would be an understatement. We will never forget the love that we witnessed today!

We are so grateful for the many prayers. There is no doubt that God is going to do some incredilbe things in the days ahead. Please pray for us to rest tonight - most of us have slept very little since we left home.

Tomorrow will be spent adjusting to this new time zone and working to complete preparations for the camp next week.

Have a great rest of the day - we are going to sleep!

We made it... to the Orlando Airport!

Well, the long, long journey to the Orlando International Airport has been completed. All of our luggage and tubs made it, too. We have made it through the security checkpoints and the language barrier has not been a problem.

Thanks to Allyson and all of our families for helping us through the packing and planning process.

Our flight leaves here at 5:25 p.m. - we will be flying for several hours into London. Our next leg will take us to Budapest and we will then drive 4 hours into Oradea, Romania! Our next post will hopefully be from Romania.

We have taken a group photo - please notice the new team member we are taking with us. It will be quite the surprise to those in Romania!

The countdown is on...

Wow - in 24 hours we will be on the bus heading to the airport. Every team member I have spoken to is either ready or really close to being finished. At this point it kind of feels like studying for a big test and thinking you have done as much as possible to be ready.

Ed and Sandi Lewis have done an incredible job preparing our team. They have done a wonderful job building on the experiences of the last two summer teams. Thanks to all who have gone before us - you have made our efforts more effective.

Here are some photos that Randy Bullock sent us. You will be able to see some of the children that we will work with next week. The first picture is from the Valani village. The one below is from Geipu. The two children are Abbie & Stefan - the pastor's kids. They are awesome!

Romania Team 2008 Getting Ready

Our team is making the final preparations to leave for Romania. We leave on July 10th for Oradea, Romania. Over 40 Romanian children are getting ready to have a camp experience - most of them for the very first time. Our prayer is that many of them come to know the love of Jesus during this week. Thanks for praying for the team.

Home... From Alaska to Florida

Our team arrived back at the church around 1:45 p.m. today. All of 'em.

Almost home...

I just spoke with Allyson. The team should arrive at the church at 1:30 p.m.

On the way home tonight

Please continue praying for our team as they make the long journey home. They will fly through the night and return to Orlando around noon on Friday.

The Wooden Bowl

The Wooden Bowl

Today's devotion centered around this birch bowl that was hand made by Camp Director Walter Chastain.

I have had this bowl on the table next to my computer all week long as I have typed our blog...waiting for Him to reveal to me the significance of having it in my possession and why I am so deeply attracted to it

This is what He said:

It was created by Me

It's scarred

It has marks

It's wounded

It has serious flaws

It's considered a bad piece of wood

A Throwaway

Rotten

No good

Ugly

Imperfect

In speaking to my heart, this bowl reminds me of all of us. We can pass it around and examine it and some of the scars are shallow, and some are deep. Like Walter carefully turning and polishing this bowl to reveal it's beauty, God, too makes beauty out of ashes.

Like you, it is not perfect but a work in progress

BUT!

We are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ! Through Him our wounds and scars are healed. Our weakness makes Him strong.

This bowl reveals how much Jesus loves us, scars, flaws, marks, imperfections, rotten, no good, ugly, a throwaway and all!

Matthew 7: 16-21 speaks of good fruit vs bad fruit and the tree that produces each. How grateful I am that when I am called home, my heavenly Father will accept me into His kingdom even though I am like that bowl.

By the way, if you didn't notice, the bowl is round. Representing the endless life we will share with Him when we do the will of the Father.