Moldova, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009

The theme for today was PROMISES - Gen. 6:5-9:17. We talked to the children and adults about the promise God made to Noah after the flood. God said that never again would he wipe out all his living creatures by flood, and God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his faithful promise. We had an opportunity to present the truth of God's loving faithfulness in always keeping his promises.

It is not difficult in this world where our dear children live to find examples of the difficulty of many humans to keep promises. There are examples of broken promises in lots of places. And as a team, we have a case study very close at hand of a broken promise related to our preshipped boxes of supplies. The boxes were once again denied space on a flight from Riga today. Our shipper out of Houston has a motto; SERVICE IS OUR EDGE. But because of negligence (and the forces of evil), our shipment has endured what is becoming an unending list of hold-ups. Connie, CERI''s Moldovan head, and Allison spent at least 3 hours at the airport talking to customs, filling out documents, composing letters, getting signatures - the list is staggering - but to no avail. There were hours on the phone to Houston and Riga after that but the 15 boxes could not be released today since it is only half the shipment. There will be another attempt tomorrow by these 2 gals so perhaps a way will be made for the boxes to be released to us. So we'll see if there is a new spin to the PROMISE example in our midst.

The rest of us had a more satisfying day. Since the digital projecter was working last evening, we took it to the camp with us. We flattened a big box, covered it with a dark sheet then a white sheet which were held taut by clothespins and hung that in the gazebo as a screen. It worked!!! We were very pleasantly surprised by the outcome of our creative team idea and energy - wonder who sparked that! So my power point programs rolled and were well received. Of course another hitch struck our first attempt this morning as the computer was operating off battery and went dead half way through the story!!! So......... we decided it was a great time to say, "Come back this evening to find out how this story ends!" and sent everyone off to small group time.

The day was hot but we're from TX and VERY used to that so we carry on without ac or fans at camp. Most of the time we can find the shade of a tree and enjoy a slight breeze. It gets coolish at night so we don't suffer while sleeping without ac. We have fans at the Team House.

The teachers at the camp are helping with discipline in the large group sessions and that is great. The children have beautiful singing voices and I especially love hearing them sing in Romanian the songs I'm familiar with in English. And having the teachers in the Gazebo means we have their listening ears as well.

A number of children shared in Gazebo Time with solos, memorized poems and a skit today. There are some very musically gifted children. Tomorrow a child who plays a trumpet is on the schedule.

Tomorrow's theme is Leadership and our story will be about Joseph. How will the boxes be an illustration for this theme? Stay tuned for an update in 24 hours.

We are strengthened by your godly encouragement and frequent prayers. We continue to have joy and strength for our days.