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Dear ,
Greetings from the land of ice and snow! No, we
haven't moved to the North Pole, but Romania kind of feels like it after returning from the warmth of South Asia. It has been snowing for days and it would take a jackhammer to break the ice on the dog's water! Regardless of the cold, it is always nice to arrive home.
Our time in South Asia was so blessed of the Lord.
 | Our team and hosts at Leslie's birthday party
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Thank you so much for your prayers! No one missed a single day of ministry due to illness, and the team that God put together was perfect for the job!
Our task while in South Asia, was to teach day-long conferences in various villages. One topic was health related (importance of handwashing and clean drinking water, and dealing with parasites and diarrhea). The other topic was the Christian duty of love. Though both topics are important, the director of the organization with which we were working directed us to teach about "love in action", as he likes to call it, in almost every village.
 | Group discussion
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These meetings were very interactive, allowing the participants to identify those that they have been rejecting and helping them through the Scriptures to understand their responsibility to love as Jesus loved.
The attendees were always receptive and ready to act on what they learned. Often, after they identified who they had been rejecting, we would discuss whether God loves the people they listed as unlovable. The discussion was always very lively, with little agreement at first. Could God really love idol worshipers, prostitutes, and diseased people? Eventually, we would all agree that God loves everyone and we must love them, also. This truth brought much repentance and many testified of specific instructions they received from the Lord concerning who and how to begin loving as God loves.
This was the theme of our teachings during our 6 months in South Asia last year. It was a great encouragement to hear testimonies of how this Biblical truth was bringing change to individuals, churches, and villages. If you would like to hear one of these testimonies, there is a short video on the Love Through Me facebook page, as well as more pictures from South Asia. Click on the button below to view the page.
In one village, the pastor's wife introduced us to several people that she has been showing the love of Christ to through her care. She introduced us to a woman with a broken hip and a man with TB that is unable to work and provide for himself. Then th ere was the woman with the broken back that had fallen from a tree 7 years ago. Her husband recently died from a snakebite and she has 5 young children. Also, the elderly couple raising their orphaned grandson. The grandfather has cancer and the grandmother has  severe cataracts. All of these people are within a stone's throw of the church. Praise God that this woman is being Jesus to these desperate people.
Since our return to Romania, our focus has shifted to our adult orphan friends. One of the girls that has come to Sibiu for "camp" is pregnant. This young woman is homeless, jobless, and has the mental capacity of a young child. Though being strongly encouraged by many (especially her doctor) to abort the baby, she has decided not to do this. But now she has left the homeless shelter and is with her abusive boyfriend somewhere. Please pray for Patronela that the Lord will protect her and her unborn baby. Please pray for us, too, that we will know how to best help her in this situation. We are available to the Lord and willing to serve however He would call us to.
We will soon be driving to Braila (the city where our adult orphans live) to prepare for a Christmas party for them with a local church this Tuesday night. We are very excited to see how this church is reaching out to these young adults and welcoming them into fellowship. This is no easy task! They are disruptive, abrasive, and completely lacking in good social skills, but they are also passionately loved by a Heavenly Father who desires to use His people to bring them to the knowledge of Himself. Please pray that these young people would understand God's love for them and that, through this party, they would truly hear what Christmas is all about.
Merry Christmas!
Stephanie and Leslie
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