Latest Visit
At the beginning of April, eight of us visited Piatra Neamt; Aubrey, Arthur, Gary, Diane and Millie had been many times before, whilst for Iain, Raquel and Naomi it was their first visit. The trip from (mainly) Ipswich had, as usual, several purposes which are similar for most visits:
- To encourage and affirm our Christian brothers and sisters in Piatra Neamt in all the work they are doing
- To support the Workers in Piatra Neamt for the week in any way helpful to them
- To see first-hand how the work of Haven in Romania was progressing
- For the Trustees to meet
We arrived on Saturday teatime and were immediately whisked off for dinner at the home of one of the church members. It never ceases to amaze us how well we are catered for on our visits, with an incredible amount of delicious food and this visit was to be no exception!
Sunday saw Iain (minister at Stoke Green Baptist Church, Ipswich) preaching in Piatra Neamt, whilst Aubrey preached at Roman in the morning and Piatra Neamt in the evening.
Monday saw us split up all over the place; Aubrey and Iain joined Pastor Marin at a Ministers Convention, Arthur and Gary joined Lenuta on her visits to the elderly in the villages. The ‘girls’ had a lovely time meeting with the Breast Cancer Support Group ladies, enjoying coffee and cake and chat!
In the afternoon we joined Gary Stoll to assist with the Kid’s Club at Bargauani, with the parents invited to join the children at the end of the session for Pizza and English Tea!
Tuesday saw the usual busyness of the Seniors Club at the church. We were able to bring a game and craft for the members to join in with, giving Vasile a lighter workload for once from the amazing job he does organising this group every week.
On Wednesday, Aubrey and Iain spent the morning with Pastor Marin on Pastoral Visits, Gary helped Vasile with practical jobs and the ladies spent a wonderful morning with the children at The Sylvia Day Centre.
Iain gave his testimony at the Men’s Meeting during the evening, which was a great time for the menfolk to meet in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
Thursday and Friday mornings were similar to Wednesday, with the addition of Raquel joining Lenuta on the town visits to the elderly on Thursday.
Several of us joined Gary, Luci and Teo at the After School Drop In Club at the church during Thursday afternoon and, of course, Friday afternoon was spent with Gary Stoll at Bodesti, having a fantastic time with the children there.
And so, at the end of another busy but brilliant week, with our stomachs full and several pounds in weight gained each, we had to reluctantly say goodbye to this wonderful church and its amazing members. We give thanks for the love and hospitality given to us and we pray that all who are involved in the work in Piatra Neamt will be assured of our prayerful support as it continues week by week.
