E-mail: gypsies77@juno.com
“Dear Grace,
I am sitting here at my PC all alone except for my Jack Russell named “Jack”. Dolly is stateside. Mike and family are in Slovakia. Our place is big as we use to have the church here and we have dorm rooms for teams. I’m not complaining. Soon I will spend Christmas with Mike in Slovakia. He has 2 precious children. Olivia is 6 and Mikey is 2. I will soon be stateside for Dolly’s radiation treatments in January. It is difficult being here without her. We have been married for 40 years. God has given me a very special wife. Please pray that God will grant me many years with her. God has also given me a wonderful Christian family here. Pastor Fekete, his wife, Monika and their 2 adult sons, Alin and Ghitsisor were just here. They bought me, Dolly and Mike and Sarah’s family Christmas gifts. This is so humbling to me, as they are poor people. They are such wonderful brothers and sisters and faithful servants of the Lord. I hope and pray some day you will get to meet them. Pastor Green, Bro. Phil and Bro. Andy know them well. We then went to one of my most favorite Hungarian restaurants. They serve Paprikas and Goulash Soup. Ask Pastor about it. He’ll tell you how great it is. Maybe you can come over and try some for yourself. I want to apologize for my last blog. I am NOT an office person. Just to write this one note is taking me hours. I am usually out in the field doing what God has called me to do and what I love doing. I could not imagine another life than the one God is allowing me to live. I always say that I would only change 2 things. I would have gotten saved earlier in life and lived a holier life for God. Anyways, I was so busy I did not have time to write something personal. So I just cut and pasted. I am so sorry. You, especially you at Grace, deserve so much more than just “cut and paste”. I thank the Lord for all our supporting churches. But Grace holds a special place in our hearts and lives. Your pastor is one of (if not the most) of my dearest friends. Bro. Phil and Bro. Andy mean so much to me. Bro. Max and Bro. Winters are such a blessing to Dolly and I, when we are there at Little Haven or Julia’s Rest. We love to come and visit at Grace. Many of you are always asking about Dolly. You are a great encouragement, when you tell us you are praying for her. It is Saturday evening here in Hungary, about 8:00 p.m. We are now feeding over 120 children in our Manna feeding centers. They are served 1 meal per day for 5 days out of the week. Last week we opened our Manna Mini Market. The members are given food vouchers for every service they attend. Then they can shop in our little grocery store, without money. What a blessing it was to see them get oil, flour, sugar, pasta and other basic food items. This year God has provided enough money to put together a Christmas food basket for over 133 families. That is close to 600 people. Most are all members of our 2 churches in Tasad and Tinca, Romania. The baskets will contain a chicken, fresh pork meat and other food items they will need for Christmas dinner. We are also providing a show box of goodies for every child in our churches. In the box are gloves, hats, scarves, socks, writing tablets, markers, toys and some candy. This year God has worked on the hearts of local government officials and 60 families will have electricity installed into their homes. These are some of the poorest in all of Bihor County. But the best and the most important are that Gypsy souls are being saved. Almost at every service, someone comes forward for salvation. Our believers are maturing in Christ. The children are singing, praying and quoting Bible verses. Isn’t this all the product of the season we are now celebrating? All because A Saviour was born. Luke 2:10-11, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” This could not happen if Grace were not involved in our ministries. Thank you for being so faithful to our Lord for so many years. Please, keep it up. We could not do it without you.”
Because Jesus Deserves the Reward of His Suffering, Walter Stevens (Hebrews 12:2-4)
About Debbie Rountree