Breaking news! Breaking news! Breaking news!

We are excited to announce that we will be moving the Love Through Me ministry base to Texas on April 5th! After much prayer and discussion with those much wiser than us, we believe that this is God's plan for Love Through Me as a ministry and each of us personally. Both of us are in need of a time of refreshing and healing after a number of years on the mission field (7 years for Stephanie and 9 years for Leslie) and are looking forward to a period of rest before launching into the next step to which God has called us. Please pray with us as we take this next step of faith, that God will ease the transition and guide us into His perfect will, opening every door He desires for us to walk through.

As is true so often, our timing and God's timing does not seem to synchronize. Leaving Romania just as Rescue House, the women's shelter, is beginning does not seem to make sense. But God clearly has a plan! He has arranged a divine connection with an amazing  Romanian organization that has offered to partner with Mimi to provide administrative and other support services for the women's shelter. Love Through Me will continue to provide financial support for Rescue House, as well as other means of support that can be provided from a distance. Please pray for Mimi and Rescue House that God's divine purposes will be accomplished through this ministry.

Looking forward has a funny way of making us look back at the same time. As we ponder the last 7 years of working together in Romania, we wonder what fruit has been produced for the kingdom of God. We certainly haven't stayed here just for fun! Here are a few of the highlights:

The elderly- Ocna Mures

Visit with Stephanie and Doina sweet Maria

"An outreach to the elderly" was Pastor Nicu's reply when he was asked what he wanted to do next. So that's where we started...health care, hot meals, fellowship meetings, and help getting to church. The elderly are so isolated, needy, lonely, and often hopeless in Romania. Such a desperate situation is a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Jesus. This ministry is thriving and growing and many elderly have come to know Jesus and have found hope for today and for eternity! 



Adult orphans-Braila

We were shocked as we began to learn more about the plight of the young people that had aged out of communist orphanages. Riddled with physical, social,

Leslie talking with orphan girls

 emotional, and spiritual issues, we knew we had to get involved. We soon discovered that two American girls were not the solution. God had a much better plan! The body of Christ was willing to take on this challenge...and what a challenge it is! These young people now have access to medical and dental care, counseling, Bible studies, and genuine care and concern from people that love God and love them.

Christmas party with adult orphans

Mentoring- Sibiu

What an adventure it was for us and the orphan girls coming from Braila

Leslie with girls sightseeing

to spend a week in Sibiu with us! We would bring groups of four girls and spend 7 days doing what would be normal to most; cooking, learning Bible stories, seeing the sights, etc. It was never

Girls learning to cook

normal, but for most of these girls, it was the closest thing to normal they had ever known. They still talk about what they learned to cook and the stories they learned through acting out little skits. Though the weeks never went as well as hoped, we know that God used this time to plant seeds of hope in their hearts.

We helped four of these young people

Dana, Emil, and Magda

 move to Sibiu and begin a new life. Unfortunately, every time things would get hard, their first thought was going back to the homeless shelter they thought of as home. Last week, the last two left. Please continue to pray for the adult orphans of Romania and those that minister to them.

Patronela and Alexandra- Sibiu

Patronela and Alexandra

One of the girls from the homeless shelter was Patronela, a 24 year old with severe developmental delays. When we heard she was pregnant and living on the streets, we arranged for her to come to Sibiu. She lived in a maternity home for 10 months. When it became apparent to everyone (except Patronela) that she would never be able to properly care for her baby, we began encouraging her toward adoption. She never really understood the need for adoption and

Stephanie with Alexandra

soon became angry with our encouragement and left to return to her boyfriend, leaving Alexandra behind with us. Soon thereafter, she and her boyfriend returned and demanded that we give them the baby. There was nothing we could legally do but comply. After 8 months of daily care for little Alexandra, this was one of the hardest things ever. Please continue to pray for Patronela and Alexandra. Their situation is not good, but God is! May He deliver them into a safe place.

House church- Sibiu

One of the greatest blessings of our time in Romania has been our

Friends at house church

newly formed house church. What a joy it has been to meet every Sunday for the last year  with our friends. God's presence is so evident in our fellowship! We will miss them all so much, but know that God will continue to use this group to minister to those who long for a deeper relationship with God and His children.

It is going to be hard to say goodbye to those we have grown to love, but we know that God's calling must be obeyed. We are looking forward to the new things God is calling us to...even if we aren't sure exactly how things will be. God never said things would be easy, just that He would be with us. That is all that matters!

I think we feel a bit like Abraham must have felt when God said "Go!". We got just about the same amount of detail as he did. "Just go!". So this is what we will do. We'll be sure to fill you in when we have further instructions. Until then, we would really appreciate your prayers during this season of change. We are expecting God to do great things and open new doors of opportunity for the advancement of His kingdom. Here we go on a new adventure!