Well, we’re here—the move is complete.  Thank you for your prayers during this time, and praise the Lord for getting us here to Cluj safely last Thursday night, and for getting our internet connection set up just a week later, so we can renew contact with our readers. 

Here are some Prayer Request updates for this week: 

1) For the Lord’s continued help in adjusting to the new home and new city, for us and for Briana.  We were not prepared for how much of an adjustment the move would be for our little girl, and it is difficult to see her eyes so sad as each day several times she asks us if we can “go home.”  When we explain that this is our new home now, sometimes she cries, and others she gets a sad or confused look on her face and just lies down silently, or says, “I’m sad.  Upset.”  Her night terrors have also returned the last two nights, so more than anything else, we will appreciate your prayers for her. 

2) Pray for God’s vision and guidance as we begin this new ministry, and ministry staff prayer meetings begin daily next week. 

3) I will begin a three-week intensive language school the week after next.  Please pray for that to be fruitful and for God to help greatly advance me in Romanian knowledge this year.

4) We’ve had problems with sickness this week, as have some other members of our Cluj ministry team.  Please pray for complete healing all around. 

5) Pray for God’s wisdom and provision as the ministry is seeking to rent a larger space than the current one for a church/outreach center in Cluj. 

6) Saturday there will be a meeting regarding the ministry/Bible study open door in the nearby city of Gherla.  Please pray for God’s help and guidance in that new outreach. 

Many are rising up against me.  Many are saying of my soul, "There is no salvation for him in God."  And You, O Yahweh, are a shield for me.
--Psalm 3:1b-3a

           The more we witness to the lost world about salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ, the more opposition we'll receive from those who deny the gospel.
          As true disciples of Christ, we hold firmly to the fact that Jesus died to completely absorb God's judgment of our sins, and that every person can be eternally saved simply by trusting in Him.  This angers some, who in their natural human pride, want to believe that God will accept them not because of Christ, but because they have been good enough or accomplished enough in God's name to be worthy of His favor.  Due to this "offense of the cross," some of them will react to us with hostility.  But through the experience, God will strengthen us and increase our wisdom in how to lovingly share our faith without fear. 
          There are risks to sharing our faith, but they are far outweighed by the rewards for it.  If we love the Lord with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves, we will live a lifestyle of evangelism, even though many rise up against us.  Even though many say of our souls, "It's not true that you have salvation through faith in Christ."  Even though some attack us verbally, or even in other ways.
          Take heart in knowing that the God who saved your soul is also a shield for you against those who attack you for sharing your faith.  When you humbly stand for Christ and firmly, lovingly stand on the truths of God's word, He can work miraculously on your behalf to deflect every arrow that comes at you.  He is an infinitely capable Protector, and He will not fail you.  You can trust the Lord to be your Strength and Shield.  "He who calls you is faithful, and will do it."  In the end you'll have no regret for having evangelized, only joy in knowing that God has used you as His vessel to carry the most wonderful message ever known.
          So we must continue, even in the face of scorn and mean-spiritedness, to compassionately witness with the courage He provides.  And we must lovingly pray for those who react in hostility to the gospel, "that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." (2 Timothy 2:25-26) 
          He is able.  All glory to His Name.

   Last week a fire in Livorno, Italy killed four Roma (gypsy) children from Romania, who were still citizens of Romania even though living abroad.  The Italian police publicly blamed the children's parents for "failing to protect them," even arresting them in front of TV cameras while they grieved and wailed over the loss of their children. 

   But then this weekend, a self-identified as "ethnic cleansing" group sent a letter to an Italian newspaper, claiming to have set the fire with an intent to kill more than just the four kids who actually died.  They said they wanted all of the Romas out of their country, calling such people "the lowest of the low" (which prompts me to think, why would anyone consider the gypsies "lower" than themselves, if they would either do or condone the act of murdering the gypsies' children?).  The letter also contained threats about the future, demanding all of the Roma people living in Italy to leave the country in 20 days or less, or else the terrorist group will, they say, begin to launch monthly attacks on their camps "with more serious consequences than the Livorno one."

Here are some prayer requests we have as a family for next week’s move across the country:  

1) For the Lord to help us in packing, in finding more boxes to pack, and in taking care of all of the logistical things we have to do to close out our apartment in Buzau. 

2) For the Lord’s help with much work to be done at our new apartment in Cluj, making it ready for us to live in for the next couple years, for which we now have a rental contract.     

3) Praise God for His help with finding a moving truck and driver for hire, and for providing a couple other men to help with loading the truck in Buzau.  Pray for God to be with the truck with our belongings on the trip to Cluj, and for His provision of men to help loading furniture and other things that won’t fit into the elevator up to our new 9^th floor apartment in Cluj. 

4) Please also pray for God’s help with the long travel by car in our move, specifically for help for toddler Briana, who isn’t accustomed to long drives, and for all of us to be protected from motion sickness, to which each of our family is prone, since much of the ride will be on winding mountain roads.   

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you.’”

--John 2:5

            For the eastern orthodox followers, today is the high point of a two-week period of fasting in reverence for Mary as a focus of worship and a mediator between God and men. 

            While we know without a doubt from the Scriptures that she is no such mediator and should not be the recipient of any prayers or any kind of worship, it might be helpful for those tempted to revere Mary to look closely at her words in this single passage of the Bible in which she did have words that could be taken as instruction for followers of God.

            The statement was made by Mary to people at the wedding in Cana, who were seeking her help in time of need.  And, although we know that—as a mere person not possessing any of the qualities of omniscience and power that God alone has—she cannot hear any of the prayers being said to her, I think it is safe to assume her answer to those who seek her help today, if she could give an answer, would be the same. 

            She would point them away from herself, and to her Lord, Jesus the Messiah, Who created her and made her His mother.  And she would say, “Just do whatever He tells you.”      

Just a quick update for our friends: 

Right now, our move to Cluj is scheduled to happen on Thursday August 23.  Please continue in prayer for us for all of the many logistical issues that have to be worked out, for the packing, and for the move itself and travel. 

For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro about the earth, that He may strongly support those whose hearts are completely His.
--2 Chronicles 16:9a

          One Sunday some years ago, I was in New York and went to church at the Brooklyn Tabernacle.  A 17-year-old boy in the youth choir gave testimony about how God's hand had been on his life.  He grew up in a very rough neighborhood where gangs, drugs, prostitution, and violence were rampant.  As a young boy, he looked up to the gang members and wanted to be like them.
          But he said that when he grew old enough to actually hang out with them, his heart wasn't in it; and he came to know that he didn't really want anything to do with them.  Because his heart belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ.
          One day, the boy said, he was in a helpless position when accosted by two men who intended to rob him, and perhaps even kill him.  He was overwhelmed with fear, but the eyes of the LORD saw what the two villains were doing.  Suddenly, inexplicably, "something just came over them" and they took off, leaving him completely unharmed.
          God's word gives us the promise that if we have a heart that doesn't belong to the ways of the world, He will be our unseen protector in times of distress.  Our eyes might not readily notice His presence when terror strikes, but His all-knowing eyes see everything on earth, and He has the situation in hand even in those emergencies that allow us no time to pray more than, "Help!"
          Because the eyes of the Most High are active eyes.  They don't sit still.  They don't take up residence in a church building and fail to go with you elsewhere.  They diligently search the world night and day for every opportunity to show God's strength on your behalf.  They glorify His name by watching over the righteous.  Anyone, no matter how strong, who tries to harm God's children has no chance to do so outside of His will.
          Perhaps your circumstances cause you to live in fear.  Maybe you live alone.  Or maybe you live in a dangerous neighborhood.  Or maybe you're petrified because someone threatened to do you harm.  Or maybe it's something else, but for whatever reason, your home just doesn't feel like a safe haven for you.  And you just can't shake the fear you feel for your safety, or for the safety of your spouse, children or other loved ones.
          God's message for you is one of good tidings: You've no need to fear if you know the Lord and live for Him.  "He Who watches over you will neither slumber nor sleep," (Psalm 121:3-4) so that you can sleep easy.  "When you lie down, you will not be afraid.  Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.  Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught."  (Proverbs 3:24-26)
          He Who sits on the throne of the universe is a Defender of unmatched strength, and He is watching you all the time.  Make your heart completely His, and find rest and perfect peace in Him at all times.