Tell Romania

August 2016 was the last time Carla (Lorena’s Mum) heard her little girl speak or saw her play in the remote village of Mihai Bravo. Her beautiful dark eyes now dull with pain as she lies day after day unable to

communicate. The only sounds heard are those of pain and suffering.

Lorena was in my heart all day yesterday, the freezing conditions in Romania,

Minus 15. My heart ached and I longed to be near her, just to hold her close.

In Jer 2: 2 we read ‘I Remember You’ reminding me that I am always in His

thoughts. Again as I read in Psa 68: 10 ‘Thou, O God, hast prepared of Thy

goodness for the poor’. How our Lord loves and so must I with complete

confidence in the Sovereign Goodness of God. Last evening before retiring,

I received the attached pictures from Estera; tears filled my eyes as I saw

Lorena’s smile. What a Faithful God we serve, answering my prayer and

stilling my heart. You created this smile through your Gift of Love. ‘You gave

a cup of water and a bite of bread too’. Thank you.

Andrada (4) (affectionately known as Dada) was diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago. Then, aged only 2, this

little darling faced many treatments of chemotherapy. Yesterday her

mother received the news her little one has relapsed and she is devastated.

Andrada needs to start chemotherapy as soon as possible but her family have

no money to pay for the treatment. They are a very poor family who live in a

village 40km from Oradea. She will require two rounds of chemo (each one

costing 2,000 Euros). But they cannot afford or raise this vast sum of money.

The people from the village are seeking to support this family but further

urgent help is required. The doctor expressed Andrada has a good chance of

survival, although a Bone Marrow Transplant would need to take place in

Timisoara during March. These are only two of many!

As I launch ‘GIVE WITH YOUR HEART’ Appeal to run throughout 2017, my ordinary faith needs to become

extraordinary, trusting the Lord, knowing that He alone will support it, increasing my faith moment by

moment, day by day as I depend on Him. It is not about money or asking for money, it is sharing the

passion, the desire of Tell Romania to provide the urgent needs: Monthly Food Provision; Medicines;

Finance for Medical Treatments/Scans. But more importantly to share the hope of the Gospel. I ask that

you stand with us that God may be glorified and the faith of His children be strengthened. The Orphan

without father, mother; the Disabled, weak in mind and body; the Abandoned, crying out just to be loved;

the hungry and dying… We can be instrumental in bestowing blessing to those who have no one to care.

Why are so many of God’s people poor, sick? Not mine to question, I must trust knowing that the Lord has

infallibly foreknown every one of them and is aware of all the needs of His

poor children. I treasure in my heart the words of our Lord: ‘You are poor and

needy, but He has thought of you’. £1,000 is our aim each month to enable

£500 to be forwarded to Emanuel Hospice and £500 to Casa Grace

Foundation to provide food for the poverty stricken families within their care.

Every Home Crusade kindly printed A3 laminated posters for the use of

churches, groups, individuals who wish to organise a specific event. If you feel

the Lord directing you please contact us:

Tell Romania, B5 Ocean Green, Ocean Drive, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry,

BT57RU.

LOVE INCARNATE, LOVE DIVINE, CAPTIVATE THIS HEART OF MINE, TILL ALL I DO, SPEAKS OF YOU.

Shirley, January 10, 2017

God Knows

On Shirley’s and Hamilton’s behalf, I want to thank you for all your love and prayers for them and particularly for Shirley in recent weeks. I apologise that some of you have been anxious to know how she has been doing and not getting answers but you have kept praying. Thank you for that. I have sought to protect Shirley from stress and am more than willing to answer queries and share your concerns for her but will always respect Shirley’s need for privacy. I spoke at length with her today so that I could be better enabled to keep you informed and my over-riding response to you all is that Shirley continues to need prayer.
Her stent procedure was far from straight-forward and she is still a very sick woman and needs to be really careful. The medics have been very forthright in telling her the implications of her illness and Shirley knows in her body how weak she really is.  This is quite a new experience for Shirley who has always gone the second, third, fourth, fifth mile to ensure those in need got help or to raise support or to thank supporters. She can no longer do that and must rest. She is just not fit at the moment to respond to the very many messages she has received.  On her behalf, I say a sincere thank you. But Shirley will not be responding personally for the foreseeable future.
From Hamilton and Shirley and all involved in Tell Romania may I wish you a very blessed New Year.
THE GATE OF THE YEAR
‘God Knows’
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.
So heart be still:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.
God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.
Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God’s thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill.
 
Minnie Haskins

Thank you for praying. Shirley’s catheterisation was difficult and challenging (not to say precarious)  for the surgeons but it has been successful. She has come through the  severe trauma of the past week very well.  That is despite being informed how really ill she was. Had she not had the procedure at this time she had only weeks before something catastrophic happened.
The wonderful news is that she has been allowed home tonight (Wednesday). She is badly shaken and very weak but rejoicing in the Lord. We praise God with her and Hamilton for His goodness and mercy to them.
But please note that it will be some considerable time before Shirley is able to do anything like what she did before. She MUST rest and will be monitored closely over the coming weeks with checks and tests. The problem of the blockage has been solved but this was not some regular stent insertion. Her heart condition has been changed forever but with the right care her health situation is manageable.
Normally I respect people’s privacy and do not say as much in such circumstances but I have deliberately painted just a little picture of what life is going to be like for them for the foreseeable future (I speak with some experience) So please pray for them both. Pray for Shirley’s recovery physically and emotionally and please – give them space. It is crucial that Shirley relaxes for at least 10 days.
They would want me to express their deepest thanks for all your love and prayers. What a wonderful encouragement you are to them. Join with them in thanking God for all He has done for Shirley.
The Lord bless you
David
david@2hearts.org
1 Peter 5:10-11 
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

Please pray for Shirley today. She is in the Royal Victoria Hospital and due to face her catheterisation soon. But please pray earnestly. She and Hamilton have been told that this is much more serious and complicated than first thought and will take much longer with two surgeons “operating.”
Today is a critical day for Shirley and for Hamilton and they need our prayers that the Lord might grant a successful outcome.  They rest in Him but know that the coming hours are filled with uncertainty. The Lord knows the way ahead for them and His presence will be with them. May His mighty healing touch be upon Shirley/
I am very grateful to all who have sent messages through me. david@2hearts.org    I will share them all at an appropriate moment. But they are getting inundated with text messages and feel the pressure to respond. Please, please can I ask you to give them  both some space. They appreciate every one but the next day or two will be overwhelming enough without the pressure of feeling the need to reply individually. I promise I will keep you updated.  Thanks for understanding.
God bless you for walking the dark valley with them.
David

I am replying on Shirley’s behalf. We both appreciate the many messages we have received in response to the news of what has happened as far as Shirley’s heath is concerned. It is very moving to see the love and concern for us.

I just came back from Romania on Saturday night. It was good to fulfil the ministry Shirley would have carried out if she had been able to be there. All the donated items (frozen bags, patchwork dolls, knitted hats and little puddings with a chocolate in them, the special gifts etc.) all have reached their destinations and are in the hands of Shirley’s friends in Casa Grace and Hospice Care team. I was able to visit on her behalf some families who lost loved ones recently and bring to them the comfort of God’s word and the hope of the gospel, take the money designated to particular families in need, plus record for Christmas on Radio Voice of the Gospel and share about the book on the Pastoral Epistles just translated into Romanian.

Regarding Shirley, she has been waiting in the Ulster Hospital until she could be transferred by ambulance to the Royal for her Angioplasty. The good news is that she is going across in the morning at 8am dv. Just pray for her and for the recovery period over the next weeks.

God bless you – He is Emanuel God with us!

Hamilton    

‘ ….. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God’ Luke 1: 35.
No Room, the Innkeeper could only offer a lowly, humble manger of hay for the birth of God’s Perfect Gift, Jesus, the Saviour of the World, the Lord, the King of Glory.  Immanuel (God with us). The Christmas Story speaks of faith, hope, love, light, joy, worship.   Angels singing ‘Glory to God in the highest’; Shepherds falling down in worship; The Star in the East going before the Wise Men who offered  gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. As we focus our hearts this blessed season, let us make room, take time to bow down and worship the Rose of Bethlehem whose fragrance and beauty fills our heart.
My friend Ann shared this beautiful hymn by William W. How, (1823 – 1897).
We give Thee but Thine own,
What e’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord,  from Thee.
 Christmas Morning, the most important day in the life of a child, waking to the pealing of resounding bells, the singing of Christmas Carols, special gifts wrapped with love ….. Christmas Remembrances (for me) – Mr Robin Red Breast hopping on a snowy covered window sill and watching the little sparrows find their twigs even though the strong mature boughs of the trees were bending beneath the weight of the newly formed snowflakes, the falling Pine Cones….The  day of ‘Thanksgiving’ is soon passed, friends and family are long gone, the table once spread with the Goodness of His Bounty, a constant reminder that He is ‘Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace …..’   the true message of Christmas ‘Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given’.  Greater love hath no man than this.
 A New Year is fast approaching, many hearts filled with memories of the changing scenes of life, challenge for another year ahead, I am reminded of the words of Charles Stanley: ‘Our willingness to wait, reveals the value we place on the object we’re waiting for’.  May my quiet hours sense an awareness of His presence, His nearness, His interest in the ‘all things’ of life.  I pray for wisdom, I ask for grace to love Him more; humility to serve Him more effectively in reaching Even One.  ‘Am I my brother’s keeper’? ‘Brokenness is God’s requirement for maximum usefulness‘ (Charles Stanley). 
2017 has brought me face to face with the reality of physical weakness, heartache, lonesomeness, the flawed of humanity, the outcast.  I can choose to ignore or I can make the choice to ask for continued compassion in my service to others. When you have been torn inside, how can you banish such realities from your heart?  The Word of God teaches that we can excel in our servanthood once we learn to value others higher than ourselves. How do I see my level of care, my attitude, my witness in showing the same love to others I have been shown? My love MUST penetrate the hardened heart, the closed door, the wall of insecurity.  In the midst of all the suffering, my trust is steadfast in the Lord as I commit: Baby Florin, Andrada, Kevin, Dora, Denisa, Diana, David, Alex, Brother Joseph, Sister Magdelina, Sister Emese….. into His care, the list is endless.  I think of the empty chair, the unoccupied corner, the humble gypsy home without heat, light, water, food,  yet this is ‘Home’.  Let’s ‘Come Home’ for Christmas and gather together in thanksgiving for all His blessings.  Whether rich or poor we are family, we are one ‘In Him’. Let us expand our horizon together.  ‘We can trust an unknown future to a known God. (Corrie Ten Boom).  Only eternity will reveal the rewards from following the Lord with unwavering and unfailing faith.
 ‘John 13: 35 tells us ‘By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’.  Since my visit to Cighid, I have come to recognise that emotional pain is very real and that together we can demonstrate God’s Love to these traumatised, damaged adult orphans.  We serve a God who will enable us to build a wall of security, form a deep and lasting relationship, reach the hidden depths of despair.  The Lord already knows what is needed, we have proved His faithfulness throughout 2017.  Food, necessities of life are important but love is the essence of real importance.  Through your dedication and commitment, we will ‘Follow Our Heart’ in 2018, feeding the hungry, dying, orphan, disabled and abandoned children. He is the Giver of Life.  Thank you for answering God’s call.
Shirley