So in order to try to make up for the fact that I haven't posted in a while, I knew that pictures would be a good idea. A lot has happened since you all have last heard from me. English lessons, kids and youth meetings, seminary classes, drum lessons, my 19th birthday! Most of them the normal things, but also some exciting things along the way.
My biggest question these days is if the sun if ever going to come back to Moldova. It has been overcast and quite chilly almost everyday for almost 2 weeks now. I will never complain about "too much sun" again, or at least try not to. For a girl who is used to Midland, who only has 3 types of weather, hot, really hot, and windy with an occasional cold front and very occasional rain, this 4 distinct season thing is hard to understand! But I know the sun has to come back sooner or later so my T-shirts sunglasses and flip flops will wait for that day!
I am currently finishing up a class at the seminary on teaching methods. Since a lot of my ministry here is teaching, this class has been very helpful! And this is definitely my type of class we have been doing all sorts of different activities to learn and apply the different methods, and it has been very hands-on, which is definitely my preference. Alina and I are on a team and we will be presenting a lesson on Proverbs 3:1-12 for adults tomorrow to the class, so pray that God uses us tomorrow.
Also for prayer please pray for the upcoming camps this summer. We have a had a little trouble getting teams from America to commit for all the camps, so please pray that God would bring the right people here. We love doing the camps and spending time with the kids, but we know that we wouldn't be able to do any of it without God providing all that takes to do it. Also for anyone who has either been to Moldova before or if you have ever thought about coming please get in contact with us, we have many dates this summer that we need to help with and would love to have anyone who feels that God is leading them to serve!
I continue to remain thankful to God for all that he is revealing to me here in Moldova. I discover something new almost every week if not every day. He is showing me more and more what it means to live through Him. I can't do this by myself. I must follow his path not my own. The times I try to take my own path lead me to calling out to Him looking for help, but the amazing thing is that He is always there to guide us back. I have had people come in and out of my life, but knowing that Jesus Christ isn't going anywhere is the source of greatest hope for me. I'm uncertain of where exactly He will take me next, but I am slowly learning to be ok with the uncertainty, because He knows what He is doing, which as I've said before I'm thankful for because there are many times that I have no clue what I'm doing. Remain faithful to Him, His will for your life will be revealed. Even in times of despair and uncertainty He has his merciful loving arms wrapped so tightly around us. He won't let go of us.
Well all for now enjoy the pictures and I pray that your week is full of blessings,
Bethany
O Vlad, he has quickly learned to play bass and been such a blessing to the ministry. He is always so eager to help where needed, and to pick on me, but don't worry I pick back. This is a candid shot, it's difficult sometimes to get a genuine smile from some people unless I catch them laughing like I did Vlad ha
This was an amazing night. After Friday prayer meeting a few weeks ago Tanya and her fiance Serghei took Hellen, Artiom and I to this spot in another district about 20 or 30 minutes away. You can lierally see the whole city from this spot. This was the best I could get since I didn't have a tripod, but definitely a cool night.
These 2 men came from the states to teach a week long course on being a chaplain. Chaplains are an unknown thing here in Moldova. So what these guys do is travel to different country training people in hopes of establishing chaplaincy teams. It was a very interesting class, and will be cool to see the outcome of it.
Tanya and Kate taking notes.
This was about a month ago when it did seem like spring was coming and Hellen and I went for a walk in the gardens in Botanica (the district I live in) We left as the sun was setting and as you can see it was a pretty one for sure.
Hellen was the photographer that day. She was trying to figure out how to use my camera, she decided she'll let me be the photographer from now on :)
This is from the awesome bowling party we had for my birthday! We had so much fun and it was such a blessing to get to spend that time with all my closest friends. There was 15 of us there, and it was full of laughs, gutter balls, and fun. This is Maria, myself, Claudette, Nadia, and Hellen
Claudette and I battling it out, who do you think won?
Uliana!! I have grown closer and closer to this amazing friend/mother/wife/incredibly woman of God. She is so eager to learn more about the Bible and God and it's cool to see how excited she gets. I have really loved getting to know her and even spent last Sunday at her house playing with her adorable 2 little kids Nick and Anastasia. I hope to get some pics of them outside once everything is bloomed again, they are so cute!
O Irene I love her o so much. And yes that is a homemade from scratch double chocolate chip cake! She knows me all too well, and knew exactly what to get me for my birthday! Irene gives the best hugs and makes the best cakes. I know this will be a friendship I will have for the rest of my life.
So for the last couple months Eugene, the church drummer, has been giving me lessons. I have been playing drums for a couple years, but I haven't ever had actual lessons. So this has been so helpful because drumming is definitely something I want to continue to do no matter where I am. So thank you Eugene!
Me trying to act like I know what I'm doing ;)
And last but not least my awesome English class! Sasha and Victor aren't in this picture, but the rest are. These kids love getting their picture made so it was hard to pick just one, but I felt like this one showed how fun they can be. Thank you Tanya for letting me serve in this ministry with you! From left to right top to bottom is: Anya, Nastia, Kate, Tanya, Andre, Susha, and of course on the bottom Vanya. Love each and every one of them!
