Convoy of Hope pictures

July Newsletter

Convoy of Hope-Ungheni

On July 25th, 2009 we had a Convoy of Hope in Ungheni, Moldova. About 2,500 people came out for the event. Four different churches joined up to make the day a success (this in itself is a big success as most churches in Moldova do not cooperate with one another).

We rented a public park and divided the area up using construction dividers. As people came into the area they were given food. Then the adults went into a tent where they heard the Gospel message. After the adults finished each family was given a grocery bag of food. We also had a kids area with 13 games and 3 inflatable activities (2 bounce houses and 1 slide). Every 45-60 minutes we shut down the kids area and did a 10-15 program with puppets, skits, and clowns.

The day went really well with only a few snags here and there. Thank you for praying for the event!

Returning to the States

In August my time in Moldova will come to an end and I will be returning to the states. Thank you so much for all of your support during my time here.

Prayer Requests:
•For all the missions teams that will be coming to Moldova in the next few months
•For the Teen Challenge center which is currently under construction
•For each person who attended the Convoy of Hope

June 2009

Convoy of Hope-Casunca

Casunca is a village in the northern part of Moldova that only has one church. We have been working alongside this church to help develop it. Throughout the week we visited families and passed out groceries to those in need.

Then on Saturday, June 27^th, we had a Convoy of Hope in Casunca. At the beginning of the day we had game stations, balloons, and puppets for the kids. After this we had two services, one for the adults and one for the kids. After the services we passed out groceries to each family. We are hoping that Saturday will have helped to bridge the gap between the local church and the community. Please pray for each person who came and for the church.

Interns

For six weeks two interns worked at the Home of Hope but now they have returned to the states. We still have two more interns here who are working in villages. They have been staying with host families and experiencing life in Moldova.

Returning to the States

In August my time in Moldova will be coming to an end and I will be returning to the states. Thank you so much for all of your support during my time here. God bless!

Prayer Requests:

· For the upcoming Convoy of Hope at the end of July

· For the Teen Challenge center which is currently under construction

· For each person who attended the Convoy of Hope

· For the Convoy of Hope in Ungheni (end of July)

· For the two remaining interns

May 2009 Newsletter

HOH Dedication

On May 27^th, the Home of Hope was officially dedicated. Our area leaders, Norm and Heather Edwards, flew in for the event. David and Beth Grant, the missionaries who started Project Rescue, also joined us. Over the past several months more and more local churches have been joining us to support the home. Many of those people came and prayed with us for the home.

Interns

Two weeks ago four interns arrived. Two are working with the Home of Hope. The other two are working alongside of us, and in the local churches. All four are taking an intensive language course for six days. During their time in Moldova they will be living with Moldovan host families

Ministry Update

I finished teaching the Raatz children at the end of May. I will continue my work at the Home of Hope and the International Service. Since school is finished I will have other opportunities for ministry. I will be working with Andy Raatz on prayer bulletins and videos for the Home of Hope. In late June we will be having a Convoy of Hope, and in July I will be going to camp for two weeks to teach English.

Thank you so much for all of your support during my time in Moldova. I look forward to meeting up with you when I return to the states in August. God bless!

Misc. Moldova Photos

April 2009 Newsletter

On April 5^th, Moldova had elections for parliament. A day later the results were released: the Communist party had won. A few hours after everyone knew that the election was fixed. On the 7^th 15,000 Moldovans gathered at parliament to protest. The protest turned into a riot and parliament was burned. For the rest of the week people continued to gather and protest but it didn’t turn violent.

President Voronin has given orders to the police that they are to “shoot to kill” next time it gets out of hand. Young people have been pulled from their university classes, beaten, and placed in prison. In the middle of the night they are moved from prison to prison. Journalists are fleeing the country. The border in and out of Romania has been closed. Some days there is no access to internet or cell phones. All Moldovan and Romanian news stations have been shut down, allowing only the Russian stations to remain.

Right now, Moldova seems to be relaxing. Hopefully in the next few weeks it will continue to do so. Some days people are still protesting, but nothing has turned violent.

HOH Update (Home of Hope)

Two new teenagers have arrived at the Home of Hope. For the one girl, the home is serving as a safe house while she testifies against her traffickers.

We were finally able to hire a Moldovan psychologist. There are many challenges when trying to do this. First, the person needs to be a female. Second, they must be fluent in 3 languages: English, Romanian, and Russian. Third, they cannot be trained in any country part of the former Soviet Union. The reason is because psychologists in this part of world don’t treat patients, they just heavily medicate. Fourth, they need to be a believer. A month ago, we met Elena. She is Moldovan, she speaks five languages (English, German, Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian), she was educated in Germany, and she is a strong believer who is very active in the local church.

The Anti-Communist Protests in Chisinau, an Insider's Story

This is a note written by my friend Elena. I know people have been wondering what has been going on in Moldova and out of all the notes and info I've read I think she describes the situation best.



For those of you who have followed posted links to articles, photos and videos about the protests in Moldova, it probably all got a bit blurry and chaotic - there's young people protesting, there's violence, there's police force and there's looted buildings.

Here's my brief update on what's going on, from the sources we've had access to.

TWITTER: first of all, the international media sources that write about Moldova seem to underline the role of twitter in "orchestrating' the protests, often called revolution. What the international journalist don't realise is that there's thousands of young Moldovans out there, protesting, who've never heard of twitter and who have little access to internet from where they are. Those who do have internet access are either laptop users or have very hi-tech phones (and, as you might guess, there are not that great a number of those in one of Europe's poorest country, although you might be surprised)

HOW IT ALL STARTED: It is true that the protests started out as a flash-mob, organised and promoted on Facebook, Blogs, Twitter, Skype etc. - personally, i got a text message informing me about the event. It was, however, intended to be peaceful and more of a gathering, than an actual storming of Parliament. The event was called "National Mourning Day" and young people who didn't vote for the Communists were called to bring a candle to signify mourning. Many friends of mine, both Orthodox and Evangelical Christians went to show their disapproval with the election results. I would have gone to, if not having been sick.

ELECTIONS: another important detail is that everyone who supports democracy in Moldova was very hopeful about the April 5 elections. Of course, we all expected Communists to win, but not to take 50% of the votes - THAT was the first sign that there's something fishy going on. Then, reports from everywhere in Moldova, and even abroad, started coming about deceased people who voted, about non-existent inhabitants of a flat who voted, about members of the Election Commission Members not putting "ELECTIONS 5.04.2009" stamps on some identity cards, which leaves the possibility of multiple voting open.

More on these frauds, here:

http://morninginmoldova.com/2009/04/cataloguing-fraud.html

REACTIONS: The three democratic parties that did pass the required 6% of the votes declared that they do not believe the Elections to have been fair, and the results to be fraudulent. Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, mentioned that they will organise protests, but all three party leaders said they will take joint-actions after discussion. Besides, the Moldovan President declared on National TV, even beofre the final results were made public, that he's not planning to cooperate with any of the opposition parties, as he does not deem this to be necessary - i.e. he'll rule the country single-handedly as has done so far.

PROTESTS: However, as mentioned above, the protests started spontaneously, because of a flash-mob initiative and because of young people in Moldova having lost all hope of get rid of a Communist Government and President through elections. If you were a young person in Moldova, you would not view the prospects of living in a poor, Communist country for another 4 (or more) years as good, either, and if you'd see no other alternative of your voice being heard, you'd go out to protest, too.

VIOLENCE: the second day of protests, however, took a whole different turn, as masses of people started violent attacks on the police force, Parliament and Presidential Buildings. The Democratic Party leaders, who joined the protesters in their plea for Communists to step down from power, tried to keep the crowd calm, but with no success. Many sources state that the violence instigators would be either SIS (Moldovan reminiscents of KGB) staff, police dressed in civilians, members of another Democratic party - the Christian-Democrats, who are allied with the Communists (yeap,Christian-Dems are allied with Comms - Moldova, the land of all possibilities!) - There are some videos on the internet proving several of these statements, all 100% sure they're right, but the mystery is still to be unveiled...

ACCUSATIONS: The Communist President accused Romania for having organised the protests, other sources mention President Obama to have been involved (if only!), the EU, the opposition party leaders etc. Romanian Ambassador in Moldova was declared persona non grata, Romanian citizens will be required visas to get in Moldova. The President called the protesters "Nazis fueled by hatred" and a variety of other endearing names and underlined the great probability that tough measures will be used against organisers and protesters. At this point, there have been about 200 arrests of young people reported, 100-200 wounded in the protests and one alleged death.

LATEST: the protests today seem to be a lot calmer, despite army troops and police force being present. We have been cut off from the rest of the world - no TV station is working, the state internet provider is down, and so are most Moldovan news websites, blogs, etc. National TV only shows violence, so population in the rest of the country is probably appalled at what these young hooligans in Chisinau do - and so are we, except for the fact that we understand that most of the young people out there protesting DO NOT want to use violent means, but are there to protest peacefully.

INTERNATIONAL: there are Moldovan citizens all over the world who support anti-communist protest, in Paris, London etc. If any of you would like to join our supporters abroad, I can put you in contact with Moldovans who are there, so that you can find out more. One thing you could do while at home is let friends of yours know about what's happening, because the International Community has been quite silent until now, and we need their support.

LINKS: if you want to follow the events in Moldova, one way would be to search #PMAN on twitter, and you will find live updates, some even from the actual protesters.

Other good websites, in Romanian are:

realitatea.net
antena3.ro
strileprotv.ro

And in English:

unimedia.info

I will also try to keep you posted on what's going on.

And, most importantly:

PRAY: I love Moldova, not because it's the best place in the world to be (although it sometimes is) but because I know God loves Moldova. Please support us in prayer. Please pray that the protests are carried on in a calm and peaceful manner - we need to get rid of the Communist Government, but violence is not the best way to do that. God knows what is best for this country and I believe He watches us closely and directs all things for the best of this country and his children here.

Thank you for reading this. And for being a friend in need.
God bless you abundantly

Elena

p.s. photo courtesy of unimedia.info

Lola's Back Celebration!

Lola ran away two weeks ago. Then, a couple of days ago another missionary family found her. A few Moldovans came over to celebrate her return.


Mamaliga and Fish


Mamaliga


Preparing the fish


Lola's back.


The prodigal dog has returned!

January 2009 Newsletter

HOH update
December/January has been a rough time for the Home of Hope. We’ve had one girl leave, but thankfully she wants to stay connected and maintain a relationship with us. On Monday, January 25th, another woman will be coming to the home with her baby.

The Raatz family was gone for a month so while they were away I worked at the HOH. My roommate, Sara, and I continue to teach English lessons and Life Skills classes. A mall has just opened in Moldova, and we spent an afternoon there with them. We introduced them to tacos and quesadillas. We also spent New Year’s at the HOH.

International Service
Two new families have arrived in Moldova. One family is with the embassy and they will be here for 2 years, and the other family will only be here for one month while they await their visas for Russia.

Internship Brochure/PDF
We are designing an internship for college students to be able to experience missions. For the past month I have been working on the brochure and have finally completed it. We are contacting bible colleges to present them with the information. So far we have about 8 people interested in the program that will be taking place in May-August.

HOH pictures

The Mysterious Ride

Every weekday morning I go out to the main road, Ion Creanga, and catch the rutiera that goes closest to Andy and Nancy's home: the 101. The 101 comes about every 20 minutes, sometimes less and sometimes more. Most days one, two, or possibly 3 rutieras decide not to stop and pick you up. Sometimes the driver is counting money and other times he just doesn't feel like stopping.

Well, this morning was no different. 2 rutieras passed me, but I was able to catch the third one. I take my seat behind the driver and wait to finally arrive at my destination, business as usual. About 10 minutes later I noticed that I'm the only one left of the rutiera, not that unusual. Everyday, the driver takes the same route but today he veered off course. I noticed immediately but thought, "there must be construction, or possibly a man sticking half way out of a manhole, so he has to go a different way." A couple of minutes after this he takes a left into what I'm assuming is the 101 garage. At this moment he looks in his mirror and realizes that I'm still in the rutiera. He starts speaking to me in Russian. I barely know any Russian so I say, "horosho," the Russian word for ok or good. He then starts honking at another rutiera, rolls his window down and starts talking to the driver. He motions for me to get on the other rutiera so I get out and get on another 101.

I recognize this driver. I call him the crazy driver. It normally takes about 20 minutes from the time I get picked up, on Ion Creanga, until I get dropped off. However, this guy has gotten me there in 8 minutes before. So now I'm with this guy. I give him 3 lei (the equivalent to 30 cents) and he tells me "ne nada," Russian for "don't." So I take my money back and sit down. He pulls out and I immediately realize he's taking me the same way I just came. But I sit back and wait to see what happens. About 5-7 minutes later he flags down another 101 going the opposite way, rolls down the window, and starts talking to the driver. He then motions for me to get into that rutiera, so I get out and hop onto the next 101.

This driver I also recognize. It's the green 101 and he's convinced that I can speak Russian. Every time he sees me he tries talking to me, to which I always reply, "horosho." He starts driving and I'm relieved to now be on the correct path toward Andy and Nancy's. 10 minutes later I tell the driver, "la colti va rog," Romanian for "on the corner, please."

Moldova, oh Moldova

So, this week has been a hectic week. The Raatz family returned from the states so I started teaching again but only half days while the kids re-adjust to the time difference. On Tuesday, all 3 dogs got out of the fence. The German Shepard, Britta, returned immediately. After 45 minutes of searching we found Gracie, the Raatz' puppy. 2 hours later, we didn't find Lola. We looked the next day but we still didn't find her. Andy (Raatz) and his 3 girls searched also but they didn't find her. Sara, my roommate, made fliers and put them all around the area that Andy and Nancy live. We haven't heard anything yet.

A few days after Andy and Nancy returned home our internet went out and our washer broke. Tomorrow someone is coming from the internet company to check out the router.

On Friday and Saturday we had Moldovans over to our apartment to hang out. The guys spent a lot of time playing my Guitar Hero!

Today, Sunday, we went out to Ribnitsa, Transdnestria to visit a pastor/church. Transdnestria isn't a real country but they have their own land and currency. And at the border you have to present your passport, but they can't stamp it. After church we went over to the pastors house for lunch. The pastor has 10 kids and 2 grandchildren.

After we left the pastors house we were off to an event with the International Service: ice skating. We have 2 new families at the service. One which will only be here for a month, and another will be here for several years. Both of these families joined us for ice skating.

Tomorrow I start teaching on the regular schedule, and afterwards I'll be heading over to the Home of Hope to teach English.

-Corrina

New Year's at the HOH

I spent New Year's at the Home of Hope. New Year's is a big celebration in Moldova. We went out into the city for the first part of the day. They had winter scenes set-up and you could get your picture taken within the scene. We took 2 pictures in 2 different scenes. Then we went to a restaurant/coffee shop and had tea. After that we dropped the women back off at the home and we went back to our house for a couple of hours. Later on we returned to the HOH. The 3 girls were wearing their new dresses, and there was a huge meal set out on the table. During our meal groups of children would come to the door. After we let them in they would sing a song and then we gave them cookies/candy. It's kinda like a mixture of Christmas and Halloween (Christmas carols and trick-or-treating). After our meal we spent a few hours just hanging out and having fun. After that, Sara (my roommate) and I went home to hit the sack. All in all it was a hectic but enjoyable day, and I'm glad that I was able to enjoy the time at the Home of Hope.

-Corrina