Tuesday - Day 8 Some of you must really be praying! We had beautiful blue skies again only it was down in the 20's. That's better than the alternative so we are happy and with the clear skies the sun started at least warming things up a little. Thank the Lord for the sun but more importantly, thank the Lord for The Son who paid it all for your sins and mine. Hallelujah what a Saviour!

Today, the 3 interior walls that you can see in the picture were completed and rebar was tied together for more of the columns. There were 3 block layers today, so the walls went even quicker.

• Please pray for the proper paperwork and approvals. Please pray because if we do not get these approvals we can't continue with the project. We ask for urgent prayer! Sally will be going Thursday to talk with some of the people who give such approval. Please pray that their hearts will be softened and they will give proper consent. Anyone who knows about foreign countries knows this is no small matter.

Caught Working? Who is this imposter anyway? Sally, actually caught me working this past week! By the way, the contraption in the back of the picture is our special guest bathroom. Come and visit and we'll make sure you get your very own private bathroom. Just a little twisted humor.

Monday, Day 7 Today, more forms had to be built and installed so that the concrete could be poured into the columns. Several Columns were poured today as well. Thank you for your prayers, early in the morning the wind came and blew the rain away. It was cold but than the Lord for the clear skies, the sun and no rain.

Saturday - Day 6 Workers building forms for the concrete columns.

Saturday morning - Day 6 More block was laid, the forms are being made to pour the concrete pillars, and sand & stone was delivered to use for the concrete. The concrete for the pillars will be mixed and poured all by hand. NO big truck for this part of the job.

Please pray for good weather this week and over the next 2 weeks.

This is the front of the building and on the right side, there will be restrooms, kitchen, furnace room and storage room. The left side of the picture there will be a large multi-purpose room.

Here's the other picture for the below comments!

Ready to continue laying block on Frid. morning. Well that's what is supposed to be in this picture. However, being in a small town, it is very difficult to even upload pictures sometimes, so you can add that to the prayer list below. Just one of the many joys of living in a foreign country. :) I'll add pictures as I am able.

• Pray for good weather. Thank the Lord for the good weather so far.
• Pray for the proper approval that is still needed for various areas of the building project.
• Pray for protection for the workers.
• Pray that God will use this as a witness to the workers as well.
• Pray for Sally Sebo who has the greatest load upon her.
• Pray also for Tim, who is helping do all of the leg work in ordering supplies, running from store to store, & being the "mediator".
• Pray that God will use this to reach many souls for Christ!
• Pray for the needed funds for Phase II of the project.

Friday Morning! Here's a picture taken this morning as work was getting started on the 5th day. That's a correction from what I mentioned earlier. On Monday, officially Day 1, there was wood and block delivered and so we are actually on Day 5. Anyway, Thursday was a lot of preparation for laying more block. Dirt had to be moved so the scaffolding could be built. Lumber had to be hauled to build the scaffolding. Rebar (hopefully spelled right), was delivered and began to be tied and attached for the pouring of the columns. The pallets from the block were used to build the scaffolding as well as 1" x 8"s, 1"x 10"s for the bracing. 2" x 10"s are used for the walk boards. Boxes were built to hold the mud on the scaffolding and then in the afternoon, more block were laid.

Keep it nice and straights!

Almost finished with the second days work!

Day 2 - second truckload of blocks

The "Boss" with "The Boss" ! We do need continued prayer for some of the paperwork and forms that need to be approved. If you'd like to know more about how you can help, visit www.sallysebo.com For those of you who don't know, we are here working with Sally Sebo, fellow H.I.M. Missionary. If we continue to have good sucess with our Internet connection, we'll try to post updates daily or every couple of days. In the meantime, keep loving God, living for God and telling others how they can do the same.

Blocks have been delivered and work started today!

Preparing the foundation!

A LOOK BACK! Where has the time gone!

Where has the time gone? I've been looking back at some old photos and it has me thinking! (No photo for now, difficulty in uploading pics, without being disconnected....typical foreign country problems) I don't like to look at photos sometimes because I see how my children are growing and time seems to be going so fast. However, it is also a time to stop and reflect on whether we are seeing the results we want to see with our family. It's a time to ask ourselves the question, are we actively training & teaching our children about Christ and His word? Sometimes a course adjustment is needed or a new course taken. Our number one concern is our family! Even as missionaries, our number one concern is to raise our children to love and serve God! Our investment in our family is not deterring us from any ministry God calls us, it only helps. We've seen time and again how God has used our children to break down the walls so the seeds of the gospel could be planted. We've also seen how God has used the talents He's blessed them with, to minister to hundreds and hundreds of people. So investing time in our family, whether it be music lessons or family time is not wasted nor "un ministry", it's the most important ministry we can be involved in. Would you covenant with us to pray for our family? It's not been easy for our children at times with a new culture, new language, or new friends. We need your prayers so that the plan of the enemy will be defeated and God will reign supremely & forever in their lives.

WHAT A DAY! I wanted a chance to get to know some of the youth a little better and so I asked one of the young men of the church if he wanted to go to the Mountains! Little did I know what “going to the mountains” meant to these Romanian youth. Let’s put it this way! I am a little bit out of shape, had knee surgery this past summer, and I’m 37 ½ years old. The first 3 ½ miles were very tiring and the last 3 ½ miles were about the same! The 10-12 miles in between really weren’t that bad! That is no exaggeration at all! We hiked about 18 miles round trip! Needless to say, it was an ALL DAY EVENT!

Was it worth it? Absolutely? We had a good time of fellowship and wonderful time seeing God’s great handiwork. I have a few tired muscles but it was worth it. The song was sung several times along the way, “How Great thou Art.” Truly we serve a great God! It takes a lot of faith to believe that this world evolved and that we evolved over millions of years. Yes, I said faith! Evolution is not a science, it’s a faith, a belief system and it is totally contrary to the Bible. Our God not only created this world, but he also wants to have that beautiful, personal relationship with us. I was reminded again, as I saw a small bird fly up and perch on a tree, that God knows exactly where we are and if he is watching over the birds, then oh how much more is He watching over us!

Taking a break! (After the first 4 miles)

Cooking Sausages after a long hike!

I trust you had a wonderful Lord's Day! I had the opportunity to preach in Talpos on Sunday and we thank God for His help. I wanted to just put down a few quotes from H. Robb French. He is one of the original founders of the entire Hobe Sound Ministries, which includes Hope International Missons. These quotes are taken from the book "Pioneer, Prophet, and Prayer Warrior", compile by Anna Talbott McPherson.

"This blessed experience of full salvation- it doesn't sour, it doesn't ferment. And God wants to prove it to the world by putting the pressure on."

"Dead to this world. Do you know what the word "dead" means in the Greek? It means "dead". do you know what it means in French? "Dead." When you're dead, you're dead! Dead to self, to position, to future ambitions. Howe we act under pressure tells whether we're dead or not. How do you act when you can't have your own way? When someone else gets the credit for what you've done?"

May we live holy lives! God wants to show to the world and other believers as well what sweet fragrance a holy and completely sanctified life brings forth. He does it by putting on the pressure! May God help us to be filled and keep filled with His Spirit.

Baseball anyone? Well, I haven’t seen to many baseball bats around here, so I thought I might try it with another instrument. The pitcher might be in trouble if the “bat breaks”. The shadow of the picture is even creepier than the picture itself. By the way, the world sport is football, the game that’s played with your feet. It's not football played mostly with your hands like the Americans play. Figure that one out! Enough already! Maybe more seriousness later! If you don’t learn to laugh at things while living in a “coreign funtry”, you’ll lose your mind. Studies have proven, supposedly, that laughter will lengthen your life. I believe Proverbs states that a cheerful heart is good medicine.

Anyone want to help? Well, it’s probably too late, because the wood is all chopped and stacked. Well, I saved just a little bit so I would have something to do when I get bored or need some exercise. Actually, I didn’t chop this wood. I had one of the teens from the Orphanage come and help. He ended up splitting the whole pile while I stacked it and there's a lot more there behind those inital stackes. He worked very hard and did a great job. Yes, it was all split by good ole muscle power and an axe. The young man who split the wood has just become a believer within the last year. How exciting! Pray that God will continue to help him grow in the faith.

Here's the real worker! No, not me, the young man on the left!

I apologize for not posting anything within the last week. We had computer problems, then internet connection problems, then more of each. I can’t explain what’s it’s like living in many foreign countries. You have to just laugh it off because there’s always something going backwards. It’s one of the things that makes culture shock so REAL!

God bless, each one of you!

Moma, I'm helping too!!!

That's Grape Jam not wine! We have many grapes on the vine. The porch has several grape vines planted by the owners and so we are enjoying the grapes. We saw some bees that were enjoying it too much. They found the "good ones" and they ended up drunk! We had plenty to not only have some jars of jam for ourselves but also give quite a few buckets of grapes away.

The owners of the house are in the process of selling the house and we would appreciate your prayers as to the Lord's will. We'd love to live here long term but want God's will!

The excitement of missionary living! Sorry for the twisted humor. Every month, I must pump out the sewerage. Thankfully, there's a pump, plenty of hose, and a garden. The rain water that is in the ground also leaks into the holding tank and so it fills up quickly. It was quite the Monday, since I used it to work around the house. Besides, pumping out the sewerage, I spent several hours hugging a toilet to fix a problem with the one commode. There's no easy way to fix those things, except to get really close. It's not always glamorous living in a foreign country, but there's never a lack of excitement.

If you noticed, that's my dear son watching me. He likes to ask, "you workin Papa?" When I say yes, he loves to come and help Papa. His desire to be like Papa, has reminded me often of the responsibility I have as a dad. I don't want him idolizing the gods of our day, like the sports stars who are far too often ungodly, selfish, and filled with un-Biblical philosophies. Some kids first thoughts, words and actions, emulate the gods they are being taught to serve. So what am I doing to give him the desire to be like Jesus and have a desire to follow the philosophies of God's word? Our children are the first souls we must win!