Dear Friends, Brothers, & Sisters,
Thank you for what you did for our summer Youth Camp! Together with our church Biserica Crestina Baptista “Sfanta Treime”, we took 65 young people to the beautiful mountain village of Voronet, in Suceava County, Romania, for a week August 27- Sept 1, 2018. The theme was “Which Way? Discovering God’s Will” for your life, using the scripture Psalm 119: 105 “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path” and other scriptures.
Each teen meditated on the importance of the Bible’s presence in our lives (2 Tim. 3:15-17), salvation
as God’s will (Eph. 2: 1-5), using Christ as our role model to maturity (Rom 8:29 & 1 John 2:6), and finally inspiration that comes from God for decisions for your life (Phil 4:6 prayer, Heb 2:4 spiritual gifts).
The towns/villages represented were: our city Piatra Neamt, also Bodesti, Negresti, Dobreni, Bicaz,
Damuc, Racoasa, Suceava, Vaslui, Scantea, and Roman where evangelistic work is being done. We
also had 6 youth from Casa Ray Orphanage and 6 from Santa Maria Orphanage.
The youth camp is an important way to jump start a youth coming to church. This year, 2 youth were
baptized for a total of 14 youth from our camps in the last four years being baptized. Pray for them!
Vacation Bible School this summer was a hit! Together with our church, we hosted a week of Children’s VBS in July with the theme “The Kingdom of Heaven” with parables from Mt 13. We served kids ages 5-15 from our city, two orphanages, and a host of villages. Overall we met with 140 kids during the week. Each morning we held a program at the church with city & orphanage kids, 40-50 kids each day. Each afternoon we went to a village and shared our message. The villages we went to were BARGAUANI, ROMAN, POIENI, GARCINA, and BODESTI where evangelistic work is being done by our church. Between 10-60 kids. Every night we did something special with the youth group. We were glad & blessed to have as helpers Americans Diana & Bob Webb and Leah Miller. The kids had a fun time learning about pirates, treasure, and saving for the Kingdom of Heaven!
We hope our efforts in these activities will have eternal impact. “Talk about (God’s law) when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you getup... Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deut 6:7-9)
PIATRA NEAMT, ROMANIA
-Lucian & Rebecca Avadanei, Emily & Ruben
My Brother’s Keeper Missionaries
PIATRA NEAMT, ROMANIA
www.adventuresinromania.wordpress.com
www.mbk.ro
THANK YOU for your involvement in our ministry, your prayers, and your gifts!
Domnul să va binecuvânteze!
May God bless you and your families this Christmas season and always!
UPDATES FOR 2018:
This year we had our family’s furlough for 4 months in the States. We renewed our service with MBK (3 years) and visited friends & family. We welcomed a little baby boy, Ruben Roy in our family in September. We have been blessed with having had members from our church (Sfanta Treime Baptist, in Piatra Neamt) involved with us in the activities, like last year. This year’s activities, among others, included:
- We had a Children’s Day picnic on June 1 in the village of Garcina where we have our children’s
program. There were 30 children, some old some new. We were happy to have some helpers from the
youth group come out and help with games & crafts!
- The ministry vehicle, 2009 7-seater VW Touran, has not had any problems or major repairs since
purchasing it last summer, Praise God! We have used it this year dutifully in our activities.
- We had an idea for a couples’ meal at our church on Dec 1, after attending one in the States. We
had 22 families/ 80 people total in attendance for the evening, and the youth served. It was nice for
the families in our church to fellowship, and we introduced a study to start in Jan with youth pastor.
- We received the Christmas shoeboxes from MBK &will have a Christmas program Mon Dec. 17th. One in village of Garcina, 40 kids, and one at the Ion Creanga Orphanage, also 40 kids. We also received an invitation to another orphanage in our city, 25 kids. Look for pictures afterwards on the blog!
Thursday, December 27, 2018
AL & MICKEY WILLIAMS' PRAYER AND PRAISE BULLETIN, DECEMBER
PRAISE ITEMS:
1. Al’S TRIP TO MALAYSIA – My travel to Malaysia went well. The flights and layovers were long but thankfully uneventful. During my time in Penang, I was able to have very significant meetings with both the SIL Malaysia staff as well as my co-workers on the SIL Asia Shared Services Team. These opportunities to have face-to-face discussions with those leading the work in Asia help a great deal in my understanding of the situations they face as well as their understanding of what I have to offer. One of the most significant meetings I had was with the newly elected Director of SIL Malaysia, the outgoing Director, and the Field Security Officer. We were able to work through issues that needed immediate attention as well as setting plans for significant follow-up in the months ahead. Thank you so much for your prayers for this trip. God has heard and answered.
2. HEALTH AND STRENGTH – We praise God for the measure of health and strength He’s given this month as I (Mickey) have spent every day with my ill father. We don’t take this blessing lightly. God is good!
PRAYER ITEMS:
1. MICKEY’S DAD – December has been a challenging month for Al and me (Mickey) and our extended family. On December 2, literally overnight, my father (Elmer Shertzer) went from
being an active 90 year old man involved in lots of activities at the retirement home to no longer having the strength to stand on his own. Within two days he was bedridden and unable to do anything for himself, which frustrated him greatly.
His decline over the past three days was also dramatic as he could no longer eat or drink and became unresponsive. My sister and I were with Dad every day of his illness, helping him and showing him our love. He has been a good father and taught us to love and serve Jesus and to do what we can to help others. We praise God for allowing us to be able to help him in his time of need and to share Christ’s love with the staff and other residents on Dad’s floor in the process.
Thanks so much for your prayers for our entire family and for Dad. This afternoon (Dec. 21) at 2:34 PM, Al and I had the privilege of being at his side when God took him to Heaven. We rejoice at his ‘promotion’ but we grieve our loss, too. Your continued prayers for our entire family during this time are much appreciated. (Note: in the coming days, there will be an obituary with dates, times, and locations of the viewings and funeral posted on the Andrew T. Scheid Funeral Home website.)
2. MULTIPLE EXTENDED FAMILY ISSUES – The challenging and complex issues continue for many of our extended family, so thank you so much for continuing to take these needs to our Father. He alone can provide the wisdom and strength (physically, spiritually, and emotionally) that each of us needs in these difficult situations.
3. FINANCIAL PROVISION – Thanks so much for your prayers for God’s provision of the shortfall in our financial support. We are happy to report that one of our supporting churches has written to say that they will be increasing our support for the coming year. We praise God for this and continue to look to Him for the remaining support that we need in order to continue aiding the Bible translation efforts in Asia.
4. JUSTIN – Our son Justin is going through some challenging times right now and needs God’s wisdom and strength. He and his wife have separated and are in the midst of divorce proceedings. On top of that, Justin has a painful herniated disk in his neck and has been off work since early November. He’s had chiropractic treatments and a cortisone injection in his spine, but it will take some time before he sees improvement. Pray for God’s healing touch, peace, and provision financially. He will be off work at least until mid-January.
1. Al’S TRIP TO MALAYSIA – My travel to Malaysia went well. The flights and layovers were long but thankfully uneventful. During my time in Penang, I was able to have very significant meetings with both the SIL Malaysia staff as well as my co-workers on the SIL Asia Shared Services Team. These opportunities to have face-to-face discussions with those leading the work in Asia help a great deal in my understanding of the situations they face as well as their understanding of what I have to offer. One of the most significant meetings I had was with the newly elected Director of SIL Malaysia, the outgoing Director, and the Field Security Officer. We were able to work through issues that needed immediate attention as well as setting plans for significant follow-up in the months ahead. Thank you so much for your prayers for this trip. God has heard and answered.
2. HEALTH AND STRENGTH – We praise God for the measure of health and strength He’s given this month as I (Mickey) have spent every day with my ill father. We don’t take this blessing lightly. God is good!
PRAYER ITEMS:
1. MICKEY’S DAD – December has been a challenging month for Al and me (Mickey) and our extended family. On December 2, literally overnight, my father (Elmer Shertzer) went from
being an active 90 year old man involved in lots of activities at the retirement home to no longer having the strength to stand on his own. Within two days he was bedridden and unable to do anything for himself, which frustrated him greatly.
His decline over the past three days was also dramatic as he could no longer eat or drink and became unresponsive. My sister and I were with Dad every day of his illness, helping him and showing him our love. He has been a good father and taught us to love and serve Jesus and to do what we can to help others. We praise God for allowing us to be able to help him in his time of need and to share Christ’s love with the staff and other residents on Dad’s floor in the process.
Thanks so much for your prayers for our entire family and for Dad. This afternoon (Dec. 21) at 2:34 PM, Al and I had the privilege of being at his side when God took him to Heaven. We rejoice at his ‘promotion’ but we grieve our loss, too. Your continued prayers for our entire family during this time are much appreciated. (Note: in the coming days, there will be an obituary with dates, times, and locations of the viewings and funeral posted on the Andrew T. Scheid Funeral Home website.)
2. MULTIPLE EXTENDED FAMILY ISSUES – The challenging and complex issues continue for many of our extended family, so thank you so much for continuing to take these needs to our Father. He alone can provide the wisdom and strength (physically, spiritually, and emotionally) that each of us needs in these difficult situations.
3. FINANCIAL PROVISION – Thanks so much for your prayers for God’s provision of the shortfall in our financial support. We are happy to report that one of our supporting churches has written to say that they will be increasing our support for the coming year. We praise God for this and continue to look to Him for the remaining support that we need in order to continue aiding the Bible translation efforts in Asia.
4. JUSTIN – Our son Justin is going through some challenging times right now and needs God’s wisdom and strength. He and his wife have separated and are in the midst of divorce proceedings. On top of that, Justin has a painful herniated disk in his neck and has been off work since early November. He’s had chiropractic treatments and a cortisone injection in his spine, but it will take some time before he sees improvement. Pray for God’s healing touch, peace, and provision financially. He will be off work at least until mid-January.
Monday, December 10, 2018
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FROM AL & MICKEY WILLIAMS
Dear friends and family,
As you know, my father, Elmer Shertzer, has been under the care of hospice because of gangrene on his one toe that is complicated by poor circulation in his legs, congestive heart failure, and stage 4 kidney disease. Because of the bad circulation, amputation was ruled out as a viable option.
Since last Saturday (Dec. 1), Dad has declined rapidly. He was ambulatory with his walker on Saturday, but didn’t feel well enough to go to activities or meals. On Sunday, his legs were so weak he couldn’t stand without my sister Margie and I holding him up (which we only did in order to transfer him to a wheelchair to take him to the bathroom or to the table in his room for meals). His breathing was also erratic - cycles of apnea (no breathing) followed by labored breathing. This usually signals that death is near, so I notified my brothers in Alabama.
On Monday, Dave and his wife arrived. On Tuesday, Steve and his wife arrived. It’s been an emotionally and physically draining week for all of us. To our surprise, Dad is still alive, but he is very weak and the gangrene has begun spreading into the rest of his foot. The medicines they give him round-the-clock to keep him calm and pain-free also make him very groggy. He often says, “I want to go home!” or “I want to get out of here (skilled care).” He’s also verbalized his deep desire to go to his home in Heaven. One day when he said that, I told him he needed to talk to God about that. With great desperation he looked toward the ceiling and pleaded “Jesus, please take me Home! I want to come Home!” We all thought he was going to get his wish granted early this week, but God hasn’t seen fit to come for him yet. We don’t know why. Maybe it’s so we – the family – can shine the light of the Gospel to the staff and other residents.
Pray we’ll be good witnesses for the Lord during this challenging time and ask the Lord to give us the physical and emotional strength we need to keep going. On Saturday, Al begins his return trip to the US. His first of three flights is scheduled to leave Malaysia at 8:25 PM local time (7:25 AM Saturday in Pennsylvania). He is due to arrive in PA about 6:45 PM on Sunday. It’s been hard for him to be so far from home during this challenging time for Dad and our family. Please pray for his safety in travel and peace of mind.
Thanks so much! God bless you all!
Mickey (and for Al and our family)
As you know, my father, Elmer Shertzer, has been under the care of hospice because of gangrene on his one toe that is complicated by poor circulation in his legs, congestive heart failure, and stage 4 kidney disease. Because of the bad circulation, amputation was ruled out as a viable option.
Since last Saturday (Dec. 1), Dad has declined rapidly. He was ambulatory with his walker on Saturday, but didn’t feel well enough to go to activities or meals. On Sunday, his legs were so weak he couldn’t stand without my sister Margie and I holding him up (which we only did in order to transfer him to a wheelchair to take him to the bathroom or to the table in his room for meals). His breathing was also erratic - cycles of apnea (no breathing) followed by labored breathing. This usually signals that death is near, so I notified my brothers in Alabama.
On Monday, Dave and his wife arrived. On Tuesday, Steve and his wife arrived. It’s been an emotionally and physically draining week for all of us. To our surprise, Dad is still alive, but he is very weak and the gangrene has begun spreading into the rest of his foot. The medicines they give him round-the-clock to keep him calm and pain-free also make him very groggy. He often says, “I want to go home!” or “I want to get out of here (skilled care).” He’s also verbalized his deep desire to go to his home in Heaven. One day when he said that, I told him he needed to talk to God about that. With great desperation he looked toward the ceiling and pleaded “Jesus, please take me Home! I want to come Home!” We all thought he was going to get his wish granted early this week, but God hasn’t seen fit to come for him yet. We don’t know why. Maybe it’s so we – the family – can shine the light of the Gospel to the staff and other residents.
Pray we’ll be good witnesses for the Lord during this challenging time and ask the Lord to give us the physical and emotional strength we need to keep going. On Saturday, Al begins his return trip to the US. His first of three flights is scheduled to leave Malaysia at 8:25 PM local time (7:25 AM Saturday in Pennsylvania). He is due to arrive in PA about 6:45 PM on Sunday. It’s been hard for him to be so far from home during this challenging time for Dad and our family. Please pray for his safety in travel and peace of mind.
Thanks so much! God bless you all!
Mickey (and for Al and our family)
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