Oh so long since I have said Hello to you all but be assured we have not stopped praying for you. Technical problems, my techno phobia, health issues, and many visitors have all contributed to the lack of communication and I apologise. So much has been happening here and we have not stopped pursuing God's plan for us and Romania.

We are in the process of having another short promo film made and this is occupying any free time we may have but all is going well.

The girls, Diana, Eva and Terezia have all moved back home at their request for several reasons. First they realise there is still so much for them to learn from us and they also wanted to help financially with the cost of the house instead of giving the money to a landlord. God bless them for their loving and generous hearts!

We no longer have any connection to Romania Aid Norway and this has helped us become more focused on what God wants us to do. This in no way lessens the amount of help we give to the poor and destitute, just changes what we do and how we do it.

The current feeding programmes relate directly to poor families with children of school age - if the children attend school daily, at the end of each month they receive a bag of groceries, and the rules are very clear: No school, No food. We also assist them with other needs like building materials, medicines, furniture and clothing. We are helped in this work by L.E.G.O. Romania in Norway (no, not the toy company!) and its founder Ase Guldsmedmoen. Together with them and the Mayor of Tampa we have undertaken a school building programme to give them two more classrooms so that the class that rents a room from the Orthodox Church can move back to the main school which currently has two rooms and an outside toilet and no play ground. We look forward to giving further news on this project.

God has been moving in an awesome way in Tampa village and we are seeing more people saved all the time, and a big change in the attitudes of the people, making it a pleasure to serve there. Before the school holidays started Ase came for a visit and with the help of the teachers we had a big barbecue in the village for everyone and one little boy said it was the best day of his life, because he was so full of food.

We had an awesome visit from nine friends from several churches in Wales to help us clean, organise and distribute goods in our warehouse. It truly was a blessing, and so much fun. On one day we all went to Tampa and had the entire school meet us at a football field where we played games, ate candy and got to pray for every child. God is so good!

We have also begun building a house for the Puti family in Tampa. This time Phil and I are doing the work of laying the concrete foundation so that it will be dry when a team of three builders come from Wales in October to help Phil complete the build before winter arrives. He completed the boxing and leveling last week and this week he is laying the gravel and sand, then the reinforcing steel before the concrete is poured.

Phil has managed to scavenge a lot of what he needs, but big expenses like the cement are being met by L.E.G.O Romania. It was awesome to see the husband, Attila Puti, and a neighbor, pitch in and help. The plan for the house is from New Zealand and uses recycled pallets.

We continue to assist Estera, a young orphan girl who got involved with an orphan boy and now has three children with another on the way. They have no work and no assistance from the State except a very small child allowance which helps with food.

We had an amazing visit with Paddy Martin a friend from Auckland, and just soaked up the companionship. She is a fun lady! This was followed one week later by a visit with Tracey Levy from Centre Church, my closest friend and confidant, so we spent as much time in fellowship and prayer as out on the road helping and praying for people. We visited all our projects and then made a first visit to two new families so Tracey could be part of the beginning of the process.

Even Phil and I, who thought we had seen most things here, were stunned. At the first house the mother’s name is Rodica, aged 40 and a widow – it’s a small 4 m x 3 m room with a mud floor, mud walls, no windows and a broken down door. They have an old Soba, (wood fired stove for cooking and heating, very dangerous) and three expandable sofas. No water or electricity. Over 20 people live in this room, Rodica’s16 children as well as the two boyfriends of the two eldest girls, as well as two newborn babies, three days and five days old. It was very dark inside, very hot, and swarming with flies. The babies were covered in flies and everyone was too lethargic to even wave them away. Everything and everyone was dirty and dusty. The distance from our base in Targu Mures is over an hour and a half so it is a big call but I really feel the Holy Spirit telling me we can do this. We have been taking food, clothes etc. There is no room at present for other furniture. In the past month with school just starting she has got five kids in school and three in kindergarden so we have to make sure there are enough clothes for them to go to school.

When we visited this past weekend, we were confronted by other villagers as we were leaving to tell me that I should not help this woman because she is bad and the clothes she did not wash she just burnt or sold. And all I could think of was God loves a cheerful giver! That means that once we give something away it is not ours and, as Phil said, at least she had something to burn and by selling some she had money for food. We were told by these women that they were Christians and we should help them first because God said help the brothers and sisters first. I told them Jesus spent most of His efforts for the poor and lost, and then we drove off. In the village situation we see so much jealousy and aggressive behaviour.

The second family were not much better off but had two rooms and 22 people so we are also providing support for them. During our visits to people like these we always pray for them and we know God hears and is faithful so we will see change here.

We are so honored and privileged to be able to serve God in Romania, and we are grateful for your support both spiritually and financially. We really need your prayers!

We remain your servants in Christ Jesus.

Much love

April and Phil Lynn

August 2016