It seems we’ve reached another milestone in our VIP’s. Here is VIP #400! Somehow we’ve managed to come to this point without missing a week. Sometimes, from Romania it was disconnected reports, but we kept the string together. The whole purpose of the VIP is to stay connected. The purpose of the church is for us to stay connected. I love to stay in touch with you and with others whose lives we have been privileged to touch. I want to share a couple of examples here.
I have been blessed by being able to go to Romania three times now and in doing so we, as a church, have made a significant difference in the lives of the churches in Peretu and surrounding areas. From time to time I get letters from members there and I love to read them over and over. I want to share one I received this week. I share it just as it was written, not in any way to chuckle at the struggling English, but simply because it is precious. Trust me, his English is a lot better than my Romanian! I cherish it like I would a card from a grandchild, which is all the more precious because of the effort made to communicate. This is from a young man who was part of a musical group comprised of his brother and his father and himself. I wrote to him several weeks ago and he is now replying:
Hello brother Marvin!
i'm sorry for write you that late but i don't know to write in english that good. i hope you are good! I want you to know: in the last sabath my family was to a open of a church name "Valea Ciresului"(the valley of cherry)! thank you for writing to as! Excusez me for my english! i hope you can understand what I write! remembrance for my family! god bless you and your family!
Iulian Albu
If I could I would put it on my refrigerator! Do you realize how much courage and effort it took to write that? He need never to apologize for his English. The love and desire to stay connected overshadows the grammar.
Do you think God is ever put off by our stumbling prayers? Or do you think He smiles and sometimes sheds a tear just because we think and desire to reach out to Him?
Last Sunday I left the house at 6:15 on the motorcycle and headed to Ontario, CA. I got to the prison at Soledad at 8:45 and it took me two and a half hours to get through the system to be able to see Manny Lopez. I had sent him a letter a week and a half before to let him know I was coming, but he had not received it as yet. When he came into the visitation area he didn’t know who was there to see him. When he finally saw me I wish you could have seen his face. We shared a great bear hug! You are only allowed to embrace when you first meet and when you leave. No contact is allowed during the visit. Manny is doing well and has served 11 months of his required 3 ½ years. He is working and he is also doing some awesome art work which I hope to be able to help him sell soon.
He sends his deep love to you, his church family. I want to encourage you all to write him. I know some of you have and you don’t get letters back. It is not always easy for him to get postage and there are other difficulties, but I promise you that your letters are very meaningful to him and appreciated. He gets the bulletin and the VIP every week and he loves it. Just keep lifting him up in prayer and please write. Sandy is including his address at the bottom of this VIP.
We were able to eat lunch together and even had our picture taken, which I hope Bob can put on the screen when I get back from Virginia. He didn’t really want to let me go, but I left at 1:30 and visitation went until 3:00. As it was I ran into a couple of bad accidents south of Pismo Beach and heavy traffic and didn’t make it to Ontario until 8:00. Five hundred miles, even on a good seat, is a challenge for certain parts of the human body! I am very proud of Manny and how he is handling his situation. Please stay connected to him!
I am excited about the number of members that committed to allowing God to touch them and others through them last Sabbath. We will be following through on this with various forms of training and ministering, but this is not something where you need to wait for the church to provide you with an opportunity. You signed up with God! He will direct your paths even as it was He who called you. Pray! Pray! Pray! See what He opens up for you right before your eyes. Expect it. Receive it. Just do it! And then, report it.
We are in Virginia again this Sabbath with our son and his family and our three east coast grandchildren. We miss you, but as you read this we are probably focusing on them! Praise God for our young people. I know you were blessed as Elizabeth Carr shared a message with you today. Thank you for holding her ropes!
