August 15th Updates....
Early this morning Claudia, Jean, and Ron left for their homes. A few of us are still sick...Iulia, Aunt Molly, Leanne, and Mollie are feeling better for the most part, although Laurie, Doc Steve, and Debbie are really not feeling well. Please be in prayer for them. Especially the first two because they have long travel ahead (Debbie will be staying behind for she is going to be studying abroad here until december).
We got to visit the Citadel and downtown Sighisoara today and shop and sightsee. It has been a really nice day to spend with each other and during the annual ethnic festival this weekend in the Citadel. In a half an hour we will begin our debreifing evening. We will have a time to share, probably some time of prayer, and also pizza for dinner...we're pretty excited about that!
Thanks for praying for us, and staying updated. We greatly appreciate all of you.
Also-this will most likely be our last post being that we are leaving early tomorrow morning (about 9:30-10:00 AM) for the train station, and then making our way to Bucharest via the train. We will be spending tomorrow night in a hotel there near the airport. Then Monday...beginning our journey home via a connecting flight in Amsterdam.
Please pray for those who are sick to be healed.
Please pray for a safe time of travel.
Also pray for those 1,100 plus patients we saw the passed 5 days in our clinics.
And the 30 plus salvations.
Also four those 4 that were baptized last week.
Praise be to God the Father. What a blessed trip!
August 14th Updates....
Wow...where do i start? Having such a wonderful, successful, and blessed week of clinics, i wish i could say, ended amazingly and was the most successful day of the entire week and millions came to Christ. Alas, I cannot.
The enemy was on full strike this morning when we woke up to find that many of us were very sick, with a wretched stomach flu. We never even caught sight of Leanne this morning she slept all morning. Aunt Molly, Laurie, Mollie, and Iulia were also under the weather.
Half of our team headed to Laslea this morning to visit the hospital and Doctor Oprium there. The visit was far longer than we had expected and we didn't return back to Project House until lunchtime. Keep in mind we still needed to do a clinic today in the very poor village of Stefan Cel Mare...with Leanne, Laurie, Iulia, and the Molly's out-of-commission, and our late start.
Aunt Molly and Mollie were feeling well enough to go to the guys to Laslea and just chill there and help out. Kelsey also joined the construction team today as they continued sheet-rocking the ceiling, as well as finishing the windows (John did a great job with them!). At the end of the construction day we built a small corner-shelf for Alina (at the hospital), for her new doll. We installed it right before we headed back to Project House.
The clinic team started around 12:30...with a crazy morning and a few nurses and extra help down, they set up tents and put up one triage station and three doctor station.
It was an extremely warm and bright afternoon, and the clinic was chaotic. The team saw 80 people straight, with no break. The patients today were the most challenging. There was much disorder and other hindrances.
Praise be to God the Father for His incredible strength that He gave us all today. Please continue to be in prayer for those that are sick. It also started to thunder and pour the passed hour or two.
I'd say we definitely finished strong...although there were many hindrances and difficulties, we were a unified team and we finished the race, we made the goal.
Thanks to all who are praying for all of us!
August 13th Updates....
The team has been having an awesome time together it seems; talking, hanging-out, serving alongside each other, and fellowshipping. There have been minimal (if any) conflicts between members of this team. Praise the Lord for that!
The construction team set out again for Laslea, continuing their project in the building there...and not to mention taking some crucial inghetata (in-geh-saw-teh) breaks...(that of course meaning ice cream!)
David directed our two lovely buses (vans), Daisy & Ruby, whom were both filled to the brim with team members and supplies, to the village of Zagar (z-eye-gar). Magda Cini's husband, Nelu, is originally from this enchanting village set atop a mountain.
We were allowed the school building there for our clinic, which is always a blessing-to be able to work indoors that is. We set up our oh-so-wonderful system of two triage's and three doctor stations and opened shop.
The hallway was crowded full of people, all in need of seeing the doctor. 204 to be exact. By the end of the day our doctors had seen over 190 patients!
As part of the clinic, we have a prayer station which is manned by David Maguire. After the patients have seen the doctor, they go and pray with David before leaving the clinic. Debbie assisted David during the second-half of the day with the prayer station. Throughout the day there, 19 people accepted Jesus into their hearts! WOW!
(Joe's Note: Kelsey asked that I mention that they are experiencing 3 - 4 salvations per day!! -- Praise GOD for that!)
Please be in prayer for those people and their new Faith.
We saw many beautiful faces today, as usual. A young girl of eight-timid and shy-had a rare form of abnormality which consisted of deformed digits (fingers and toes). We let her know how beautiful she was. There are a lot of people that we see that have issues that our doctors cannot change. Sometimes we can perform procedures and prescribe medicines, but there are some things we cannot help. Please just pray for the hearts of all of the people and let them know how cherished and loved they are by their Heavenly Father. Not only that, but that they would come to know the Truth.
Tomorrow we are going to the village of Stefan Cel Mare, a very poor village on a hill passed the train tracks. It will be underneath tent covers for there is no building there. Pray that would go well and even more would accept Jesus Christ and be transformed by His power and His spirit. It will be our last clinic of this trip, also pray for strength for the team members.
Like the story about the loaves and fish...pray the same for our meds...We are rapidly running out of vitamins and today could only give them to pregnant women, and children. We're hoping and trusting that we have just enough.
Thank you for your support!
August 12th Update....
The medical team set up the clinic in the poverty-stricken village of Sapte Noiembrie. We got to use the school building there, which, to our surprise and delight, was in much better condition than the last time the team visited the school. We got all set up with our two triage stations, and three doctor stations in two separate rooms of the school. The long hallway worked well for lining up the patients who were waiting for the doctor. It was an incredible day...our system worked smoothly and everyone was happy and helping out so much.
Debbie has been promoted to Head Pharmacist being as she has mastered the skilled art of the pharmacy! There were quite a few procedures undergone today. A woman's abscess was drained, another man's large wart was removed from his face, and another man's wart-like mass protruding from his thumb was removed as well.
Today we all realized how remarkably talented our doctors, nurses, and med-students are. It isn't that we had not known prior to today, but more that we got a really good look at how amazing they are with so many different situations. Praise the Lord for that.
We also want to be thankful for the well-behaved people in the village today. They were so grateful for our help, even if minimal. There were so many beautiful faces that got much-needed medical attention today...170 to be exact!
Also today, the construction team was joined by a man named David from Canada. He is here for two weeks to be of any sort of service needed. In addition to David, Aunt Molly, and Mollie joined the construction team today as well...they are all making such great progress!
Tomorrow we are going to a brand new village...called something like Zygar (we're still trying to figure out the right way to spell it!)
This morning at devotions, Doc Steve brought up a wonderful point. He said that usually at this point of the trip the team hits a wall, and then it just kinda goes downhill-in energy, effort, and results. Doc Steve mentioned that we should finish strong...work hard, stay upbeat, and shine His light for these last three days of clinics.
Thank you to all of you who are praying for us!
we are having an incredible time and are truly being blessed.
August 11th Update....
The team was quite tired this morning, but got off to a good start in the Hungarian village of Secuin. We expected around 80-90 patients and saw almost 70. It was really nice for the medical team and everyone helping because we were finished before lunchtime. Within the first few patients we saw today, we needed to do an EKG on one of them. He got all ready and Deepa set up the EKG machine and it wasn't working correctly. It took her and Doc and a few others quite awhile to get it up and running again.
With that out of the way, we continued our day. Penny and Laurie worked hard the entire day reapolstering church pews. They did a great job; the pews looked just like new. Meanwhile, the men stayed home today to fix some things around the house-mostly in the bathrooms. We've had some toilet issues that they have taken care of, and a few shower mishaps that are still in need of fixin'.
After the clinic we ate lunch, painted kid's faces, and packed up the trailer to get ready to go. We came back home and all took naps, or helped with various things. The men were still at Ambien trying to find the right supplies needed for the bathrooms.
August 10th Update....
Today was Cowboy John's birthday. We got ready to go this morning and set off for the village of Seleus. The wonderful Asia, Magda, Relu, and Alexandra joined us as translators today. Praise the Lord. We set up the two triage's, and three doctor stations today that worked so well on Friday. We got through 89 patients before lunchtime! And saw over 200 patients by the end of the day.
A 17-year-old girl came in with a precious baby that looked like she was the oldest 3 months, when she was really 7 months old. The 17-year-old mother was also 4 months pregnant and was not married. She had no food and nothing for the baby. We cleaned the baby up and gave her a new set of clothes. In addition, we packed a bag full of formula for the baby, a blanket, and some sandwiches, as well as her vitamins and medicines.
We came across many beautiful faces today...continue to be in prayer for these people who need the hope and love of Jesus Christ...and not only physical healing, but spiritual and emotional healing as well.
For dinner tonight we went to Quattro Amicii's for pizza and then had a little after party for Cowboy John's birthday.
It was a great day and great fellowship.
Praise the Lord.
August 9th Update....
A peaceful Sunday sky woke us this morning...we had an easy-going morning before David, Jean, Doc, Laurie, and Claudia went to David's home church, and not long after, the rest of us went to the Nazarene church in Sighisoara. During the same time our team is in Sighisoara, there is a team from Hungary working here as well doing different outreach programs.
At the Sighisoara church this morning, one of the leaders of the Hungarian team gave the sermon for today. It was a wonderful lesson on Zaccheus and how God loves each and every person and knows exactly who and where they are-at all times. After the refreshing service, our team went home to Project House to eat lunch before setting out to Tigmandru and picking up some friends from the village there before we set out to this gorgeous reservior where Norman and Magda would be performing a baptismal. They set up a sound system and Diana Cini (Magda's youngest daughter of about 10) played keyboard while three, young gypsy girls sang Amazing Grace in Romanian, as well as a few other hymns.
Each of the four people getting baptized said their testimonies over the microphone at this public baptismal. It was a great testimony to those who were sitting around on the grass or swimming in the water there. After the baptismal of Hardu, Dorina, Dorita, and another Gypsy woman of Tigmandru, Nulitzu and a few others prepared a meal for everyone there. It was amazing to see so many people from the village come all the way out to the reservior for the baptismal.
We headed back to Project House for the rest of our restful day. A wonderful surprise awaited us when we arrived to see Andreea had come to stay! We were also blessed with Rosie for the duration of the day. Tomorrow is going to be good, but tiring. We are going to the village of Seleus, which is large and may be quite difficult as well. Please pray for strength for us this week, and especially that we get a good night's rest tonight. Thank you for staying updated!
August 8th Update....
During morning prayers, we were kindly joined by a wonderful couple that are working with our team in the clinics. Their names are Ron and Jean. Ron is a doctor and Jean is nurse practitioner. Our entire team set off for the village of Soard this morning. We arrived and set up in no time and were open for business. We saw 82 patients before lunchtime! WOW! Praise the Lord! Many children and their parents and grandparents came in the small courtyard and got to visit one of the three doctors working in the clinic. Having Ron and Jean-we have discovered-has been an amazing blessing just today!
We saw a total of roughly 160 patients by the end of the day. While we were working in the village, the men were back in Laslea continuing to insulate the storehouse building. They are making some serious progress. Penny and Rod were especially excited today because Soard is the village where Elisabeta and her family are from. Near the end of the clinic today, there was a Hungarian woman in her early twenties with a wee baby that had a serious cleft lip. One so serious that it would cause the baby to not be able to speak when the time came. We arranged for her mother to take her to the hospital in Targu Mures and receive the three-hour-long surgery.
The team was very upbeat today and did not get as exhausted as they had during prior clinics. Praise the Lord for that! We came home and gathered for another wonderful dinner-now some of us are off to the Citadel. Thank you so much for all of you who are in continual prayer for us-we greatly appreciate it! You are an incredible blessing not only to us, but those beautiful gypsies we come across each day.
August 7th Update.....
Today was a blessed day to say the least. The medical team went to Tigmandru while John, Aaron, Rod, and Norman stayed home and replaced the downstairs toilet...we now have the 'white goddess' whom is properly labeled as Diana, (later they would be heading to Laslea to continue working on insulating the roof of the storehouse). The medical team was quite tired this morning, but was sustained by the strength of the Lord Jesus throughout the day.
The fourth patient that Doc saw today was a nine-year-old Gypsy girl named Manuela. She told the doctor that she had suffered from chest pains for the past few years, so Doc decided to put her on the EKG machine. Doc ran the test and discovered that there was a problem. Manuela's heart was enlarged and her valves were not functioning correctly. Before anything more could be done, Manuela would need to receive a signed paper from her GP.
Relu was kind enough to take Manuela and her mother to their GP and receive the document needed. They arrived back at the clinic in no time and Doc gave Manuela some medications and things to help her heart function correctly. Another special case was when a young mother brought her three-month-old baby in to see the doctor and they found out it had down syndrome. It was a wee little sweetheart of a baby.
Overall, the day was blessed-good fellowship, good clinic, strength, endurance, laughing, prayer-God is good. Please continue to be in prayer for our team. A few have had some minor illnesses, but illnesses nonetheless, but not only for that...but for lives to be changed by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, and that HIS WILL WOULD BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
August 6th Update...
This morning the team got up and got ready to go before 8:00 breakfast. We had a devotion and time of prayer before setting off to Vanatori and Laslea. David, Rodica, a their adorable baby Sabrina joined us this morning as well as Magda Cini (from Tigmandru), and Relu. Cowboy John, Norman, Aaron, and Rod made their way to Laslea to replace a roof and re-insulate it; it had been insulted prior with a couple feet of dirt. The rest of the team set up camp in Vanatori and throughout the entire day saw over 130 patients! In Laslea, the men worked in the attic in Laslea, insulating the inside of the roof for the building there. Meanwhile, Iulia, Deepa, and Mollie who are med students, were assisting Doc Steve in the clinic and getting some good practice in with Doc Steve's occasional challenging questions.
Debbie and Kelsey were face painting the children before they went in to see the doctor. The children were kind and sweet for the first half of our visit, until the afternoon when they realized they could pick up Debbie and Kelsey...then they began picking them up and attempting to run down a hill! Many lovely people came through the clinic today. A woman with 7 children all under the age of 12, came in to see the Doc. It turns out her mother's husband died and left them all of the sudden, and recently this woman's husband suddenly died and left her with her 7 children. We had a time of prayer for her and for the Holy Spirit to remove the darkness that has surrounded her family for quite some time.
After all of the patients had been seen, we packed up and headed out, Linda remembered that we needed to stop by an elderly lady's home to check on an older man who had been paralyzed since 1992. We stopped there and a few of us went with Doc Steve to check on the man. Doc Steve did a few simple check-ups and said he was in good condition, and he'll be alright. Magda prayed for them and we laid hands on them. The elderly man started crying when we started praying and the elderly lady soon followed. We hugged them then piled back into the van. We arrived home and Linda immediately began making us an amazing dinner since we were all exhausted. Tomorrow we are going to the village of Tigmandru which is dear to most of our hearts!
August 5th Update
We woke up this morning solemn and well-rested. It was a peaceful and easy-going morning during breakfast and afterwards. Travel took roughly twenty-five hours and was exhausting to say the least, therefore we thoroughly enjoyed a morning of rest. Mollie and Kelsey lead some songs for worship and afterward Norman lead us in a devotion. We had a sharing time and a time of prayer where it was brought to light a vision for our team this year.
There is a saying that goes like this: "At all times share the Gospel, if you have to use words." That is a wonderful saying, but we were called to be bold as lions-to go into the unknown, for that is where God performs miracles. Not only are we called to His hands and feet, but His mouth. We are called to share Christ's love, and to preach the Good News. We will be praying and preaching and sharing and loving these Gypsies, not only with our hands and feet, but with our mouths-being bold and speaking up. ***
This afternoon John, Aaron, and Norman went to Laslea to collect some furniture, supplies, and things for the clinics and villages. Meanwhile, the ladies and Doc Steve were back at the Project House sorting the medicines and things...just think $150,000 worth of medicines and medical supplies. We sorted 100,000 vitamins into ziploc bags of 100 each, and labeled them. We did the same with thousands and thousands of Benadryl, Calcium Antacids, and worm pills.
The huge bags filled with loose pills gave off a horrible dust-everywhere! Those of us who were sorting the Benadryl were getting a little sleepy...some of us got headaches from the dust in their sinuses and Laurie came to the rescue with her sinus-cleansing bottle.
We finished all of the medicine prep. and got ready for dinner. Before dinner Norman drove Kelsey to the train station to pick up her friend Claudia who is joining the team this year to be an interpreter. Norman brought the girls back to the House and Claudia was graciously welcomed by all the team members. After a wonderful dinner cooked by none other than the Queen Mum; Linda Patterson, herself, we hung-out for awhile until someone...who apparently no one remembers who exactly it was...turned on the washing machine and it starting smoking like crazy! we had to bring in a fan and it was awhile until the downstairs wasn't in a smoky haze. After the washing-machine fiasco, most of us made our way to the Citadel. We were thoroughly excited to return, and also, to take those of us who had yet to experience the enchanting and medieval centre. We were disappointed to find out that they were doing construction on the cobblestone roads and pathways throughout the centre, and instead was muddy dirt and piles of stones in its place. We walked around the centre, but it was getting late and Norman and Linda wanted us back at the House for some sweets, tea, and fellowship. All in all, today was a good day; most of us have fully adjusted to the time zone and are ready for starting work tomorrow early morning...if we get to bed at a decent hour tonight!
Packing Day... From Penny Clemmer
Saturday, August 1,2009
Today was packing day! This is the day we pack all the medicine and supplies for the trip. As Doc Steve calls it "the Reverse Loaves and Fishes Day". We have boxes and boxes of medicine to take but only a limited number of bags can go. With a miracle from the Lord we get it all packed. Tomorrow we rest and spend time with our families. Monday we arrive at the airport and fly out shortly after noon. We all ask that you pray for our team each day.
From Penny Clemmer
July 31, Friday
Packing Day is Saturday, tomorrow! We leave Monday, August 3 and return August 17th. Hard to believe our trip is already here! We pray that we will have room in our luggage for all the supplies needed!