Greetings from Texas! It's good to be home for a little while. Sometimes the whirlwind travel takes it's toll and leaves us a little disoriented. When you wake up at night and wonder what country you are in, it might be time to slow down!
Since the last update, we have spent five weeks in South Asia. What a blessed time this was! Many new experiences and new friendships came from this time. From dental hygiene to spiritual hygiene (I'll explain that one later), this time offered many challenges and many blessings.
We started our time with a dental hygiene group. Two hygienists and three support staff provided teeth cleaning and thorough education for children at two orphanages.
The education continued in villages in the surrounding area, but I'm afraid that, for some, it may be too late!
Education is a very important part of helping. Simply teaching the importance of brushing at night (not the norm), could actually save lives. As the need for extractions is lowered, possibilities of infections through cross- contamination is lowered. This included less chance of HIV and other contagious diseases from dirty instruments or other tools used by non-professionals, since professional care is not always an option.
The second part of the trip provided an opportunity to share with many believers about loving others. (This was the spiritual hygiene part). Through the process of reasoning, many recognized prejudices and deep hatred towards those that persecute them, and allowed God to remove these dark stains from their hearts. The lists of "hated people" that they had created were then turned into prayer lists.
The third part of this trip found us venturing into unknown parts and meeting new friends in a very underdeveloped part of the country. We joined with another mission team and were able to encourage indigenous workers who labor tirelessly in a very difficult area. The Lord provided refreshing for many and miraculous healing for several. Oh, and we had a lot of fun along the way..
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We arrived in the U.S. on Dec 12th and have two more weeks before returning to Romania. When we get back, we will be taking Patronela (one of our adult orphans) and her 6 month old daughter into our house for an intensive time of independent living skills training. Please pray for us as we transition back into Romania. Also, pray that God will give us creative ideas to help Patronela learn despite her disabilities.
Thank you for your love, prayers, and financial support throughout this past year. We are blessed to have friends like you!
Going for Him,
Leslie and Stephanie
