We wish to thank you all again for all your faithful support over this past year. We pray for a very blessed Christmas and New Year for each and every one of you, filled with God's peace and the assurance of His love and presence every moment of the coming year.
Isaiah 42:6,7,9 states: "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness, I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open the eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness . . . See the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."
We celebrate God's great, wonderful, miraculous gift of His Son Jesus, the Christ, and His birth 2000 years ago. But there is still so much more that is promised: His coming again and eternal life with Him for all those who know Him as their Lord and Savior!
Two patients this past week, both elderly, illustrate the great difference between hope and despair. Monday morning a widow came in. She has been widowed 4 1/2 years and she misses her husband very much. He had been a leader of a nearby Pentecostal church and had been ill for a long time. One day he announced to her that he was going to die that day and indeed he sat in his chair with his Bible in his lap and prayed loudly, "Oh Lord, forgive me all my sins. I plead the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins. . ." And then his face lit up with a tremendous smile and he died. She also told us about a dream she had some time later in which he came and spoke with her. She described his beautiful bright white robe and a cadre of angels beside and behind him. He said, "We have everything here. We lack for nothing. The only work we have is to worship. Be prepared. Jesus is coming soon." Even though she has tears, she knows that she will be with her husband again and her Lord forever, and all her tears will be gone.
Two days later, another widow came in with multiple problems from her diabetes including retinopathy, vascular disease, neuropathy and kidney problems. She could only see light and dark in her right eye and read large print with her left. She has been following the 40 day fast that many Orthodox people observe before Christmas and Easter. She was very weak and had fallen, certainly related to her fasting. I told her that the Orthodox Church doesn't insist that the elderly and frail, or diabetics, need to observe the fast, and she started to weep, "But my sins are so great! And I can't get forgiveness!..." And she sobbed and sobbed.
I told her that she could receive forgiveness though Jesus. I told her about how years ago I had a dream before the throne of God and God's big arm was pointing at me. I said with a very weak voice and downcast face, "I plead the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins," and God's arm turned and His hand opened and I heard Him say, "Come into my kingdom, good and faithful servant." We gave her large print copies of the Gospels of Luke and John. She seemed very thankful, but I sensed that she still needs our prayers to really be able to understand the good news of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The average Romanian Orthodox has such a limited view of God's forgiveness and of heaven, thinking that they won't even have food or clothes, or a bed, or whatever, in heaven unless some relative gives such gifts to others here, on their behalf, in Jesus' name.
This week we will have several Christmas parties, for children and for poor elderly. Daniela has invited almost 70 of our poorest elderly patients to a party on Thursday. We will have bags with some basic foods provided through the Bucharest Christian Academy and our foundation. An Orthodox believer will also speak about the real meaning of Christmas. On Saturday 150 children will come for two separate parties. They will receive shoeboxes full of useful and fun gifts from Operation Christian Child as well as the Gospel message, carols, cookies, and soda--like last year, but even more challenging to figure out how we're going to get all these children, plus their parents, into our clinic.
We also had a program last Saturday for 10 people with handicaps to receive wheel chairs from an organization called "Portul Sperantei," or "Hope Haven" in the U.S. We still have several more to be given out. We will be working with them in the future to identify people who need wheelchairs. Sharing the Gospel with patients is also an important part of their ministry.
Thanks to some generous gifts last month we and Dave Cox received enough money to begin finishing part of the basement. We had hoped that the work on the large room to be used by Biserica Buna Vestire (Good News Church) would be far enough along that we could do the parties there. Because of delays in getting the proper materials we won't be able to have the senior group there on Thursday. We'll have 2 smaller groups in our waiting room instead. But we still hope that the church room will be far enough along by Saturday to have the children's parties there.
Beginning in January, we will have more doctors working with us. Two American residents will be coming for a month starting mid-January and two Romanian residents will be starting a 4 month rotation with us. So all of our main floor rooms will be in use almost all of the time. Linda and I may just do precepting, which is what we really have wanted to do all along.
We've been invited to spend Christmas with missionary friends in Budapest this year. Half of the staff were already scheduled for vacations so we decided to close the clinic completely. Most of the government offices and many private businesses are on vacation as well. We hope that the roads won't be too snowy for the 12 hour drive! Today it snowed for the first time--enough to leave snow on the ground!
We thank you again for your faithful support of us and our project to meet the medical and spiritual needs of both Romanians and foreigners this past year, through your prayers and your financial support! We really appreciate it! And we wish you a joy-filled Christmas and a wonderful New Year!!