(Please see Prayer Request #1!)
We want to wish you a Merry Christmas. We know that for you Christmas is not a secular, materialistic extravaganza, but a time of celebration of the wonderful gift of God's Son, Jesus, and for retelling the miracles that accompanied His coming two thousand years ago in Bethlehem.
We enjoy writing our monthly letters. It's always a challenge to choose what to include as the most meaningful and interesting. This month seems especially so.
Since coming back in July we have been helping a young couple Alina and Cristi in many ways. Two weeks ago Saturday, Alina went into labor. Cristi called from the hospital, very nervous, speaking even faster than ever in Romanian. He wanted $100 for a "gift" (bribe) for the doctor. We both feel strongly that the whole bribe system is just plain wrong, that doctors and nurses should not give one level of care to those who pay under the table gifts and poorer care to those who can't pay these bribes. But what should one do when it might mean life or death for a baby and mother? We called Gabi, asking, "What if Cristi doesn't pay a bribe? Will they let the baby die?" "No, but they will treat her mean and not give her any thing for pain, etc." I prayed for wisdom as well as courage to do the right thing, and decided that we could not help Cristi with a bribe, and that we would trust God to take care of Alina and her baby. Cristi called about 5 hours later. Alina had a healthy boy, Andrei. We thanked God.
On Sunday after church we went to the hospital with Cristi for a 30 second look at Andrei. (Thirty seconds more than one is allowed here.) Alina is Rh negative, and we asked the nurse if the hospital had a protocol for Rh. In the United States, a shot called Rho-gam is given during the pregnancy to RH negative mothers, and again within the first three days after delivery to prevent the mother from developing antibodies to Rh positive blood, and to prevent Rh problems with future pregnancies. The nurse didn't seem to know anything about it, so I decided I would go talk with the doctor Monday.
So Monday I went with Gabi to the hospital. We had to wait for about an hour for the doctor, and then another hour or so for the baby's blood type test results. The doctor was very polite, but he stated that they don't give the Rho-gam shot unless the mother is sensitized! That's wrong! The shot is to prevent sensitization! The doctor is a professor at the medical school and has written 3 books on obstetrics and gynecology! He did say however that Alina could have the shot if I could find it and pay for it myself, "even though she didn't need it." Three hours later we found a pharmacy that had one dose of Rho-gam in stock for $60. So our best guess is that hardly anybody here gets treated with Rho-gam to prevent Rh problems.
It's almost like in "A Tale of Two Cities" - "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Saturday we went to a party for a young couple who are getting married this month in the United States. She's American; he's Romanian. They both work with Campus Crusade. If any one ever asked what it means to be alive in Christ, one could just show them all the young people who came to the party, their beaming faces, their wholesome speech, their obvious commitment to serving the Lord. Sunday was also inspiring. Both services were packed. Every month the attendance increases, and the vast majority of the new members at the Romanian language church are in their 20s. I remember praying as a young child that God would do something about Communism and the Iron Curtain, and now 45 years later, we were actually singing hymns and Christmas carols behind where that Iron Curtain used to be. The last several years BELL church and the English language Baptist church have had a joint Christmas Eve service. This year it will be in a different location because a Chinese Baptist church has rented the place we have used in the past. That's right, a Chinese Baptist church! In Bucharest, Romania! Things that were never even imaginable when I was a child have now come to be. What a mighty, wonderful God we serve!
There's so much more that could be told. We hope that this letter gives at least a little sense of the challenges, the victories, and the future hope, and also how truly important and effective your prayers are in God's ongoing mission to a lost world. We want you to know that we appreciate your prayer support so very much. And of course, we wish you again a joyous Christmas and a wonderful New Year.