Scrisoare de rugaciune decembrie 2011

Dragi prieteni,

Au trecut patru luni de la ultima scrisoare de rugăciune. În tot acest timp s-au petrecut multe lucruri în comunitatea noastră, unele mai mari și altele mai mici. Mă bucur să vă am alături de mine în această slujire, susținându-mă în rugăciunile dumneavoastră.

În aceste zile fetița noastră împlinește 8 luni  de viaţă ascunsă și mai e o lună până se naște. Îi mulțumim lui Dumnezeu că este sănătoasă și că se dezvoltă normal. Deja bănuim că va fi o fetiță plină de energie, pentru că se mișcă foarte mult și cam tot timpul. Cristina e tot mai obosită în această perioadă și nu reuşeşte să se odihnească. Are nevoie de rugăciune pentru a se putea întări și a se putea odihni.

Mai sunt câteva zile până când vom sărbători și ne vom aduce aminte de nașterea Mântuitorului nostru Isus Hristos. Cu ceva vreme în urmă, ca și comunitate am început să studiem un material de meditații pentru pregătirea Crăciunului. Este un material publicat de Richard Rohr. Cuprinde pasaje biblice din Isaia și din Noul Testament, o scurtă meditație și o întrebare pentru reflecţie pentru fiecare zi. Aceste meditații au rolul de a ne pregăti pentru Nașterea lui Isus, dar și pentru a doua venire a Lui.

În luna septembrie Adriana Pașcan a organizat un concert caritabil prin care şi-a lansat primul album de cântece, numit „Aripi”. Fondurile rezultate din vânzarea acestui album au fost direcţionate către Cuvântul Întrupat şi folosite astfel ca un număr de 15 copii din Valea Oraşului să poată meargă la şcoală.

Tot în această lună am sărbătorit aniversarea a 10 ani de la înființarea Fundației Cuvântul Întrupat, unde am prezentat şi primul Raport anual de activitate. Considerăm util acest instrument, dată fiind dorinţa noastră de a fi transparenţi faţă de cei care ne susțin.

Împreună cu Adrian Buhai, Fundația Cuvântul Întrupat a inițiat la Tudor Vladimirescu un centru de zi în care sunt asistaţi acum 5 copii. Anca Nebunu de la Biserica Emanuel desfăşoară activităţile în această localitate.

În luna decembrie am finalizat și publicația ”Lanțurile Sărăciei” ediția de iarnă, cu tema ”Lucrarea creștină. Asuprire sau eliberare?”. Aceste publicaţii sunt exprimarea gândurilor noastre, a trăirilor pe care le avem şi mai ales a direcţiei pe care o urmăm în lucrare.

Copiii pe care încercăm să îi asistăm vin din Valea Oraşului, în special din proximitatea Spitalului CFR. Nu demult însă, într-o echipă restrânsă, formată din David Chronic, Victoria Myers și Fani Ursachescu, am făcut câţiva paşi înspre partea mai apropiată centrului Praktiker. Pe când noi, cei mai mulţi, stăm în locuinţe care ne protejează de frig, cei din această zonă trăiesc în adăposturi făcute din carton, placaje sau alte resturi de materiale de construcţie, fără acces la apă curentă sau electricitate. Câţiva copii de la Biserica Baptistă „Sfânta Treime” au strâns jucării şi bani pentru alimente, iar grădiniţa Benthal Tecuci-Galați ne-a oferit câteva cadouri şi astfel am reuşit să oferim celor de acolo apă, haine, produse de igienă, cadouri şi bucurie, cântându-le colinde care vorbesc despre adevărata Salvare. Fiecare din noi trebuie să ne lăsăm conduși de El pentru a fi o binecuvântare pentru cei care sunt în nevoi. Din păcate, încercăm să arătăm milostenie doar în această perioadă de sărbători și apoi uităm.

Deşi am început lucrarea de izolare a unui perete la centru încă din iunie, alături de Lau Archip, abia acum, în decembrie am terminat. A fost un proces lung şi o ocazie pentru mine să învăţ despre izolaţie, adeziv, var şi faianţă.

Următoarele zile la Centrul Comunitar arată astfel:

- 20 dec. – serbare pentru copii. Un număr de 40 de copii de la şcoala 24, copii care vin din familii nevoiaşe vor primi cadouri.

- 21 dec. – serbare pentru familiile copiilor de la centrul nostru comunitar. Părinţi şi fraţi ai copiilor care vin la centru în fiecare zi au ocazia să vadă ceea ce învaţă aceştia şi în acelaşi timp să audă Vestea Bună a Naşterii lui Isus.

- 22 dec. – mergem cu colindul la familiile copiilor

- 23 dec. mergem cu colindul la cei care susţin lucrarea de la Cuvântul Întrupat.

- 25 dec.  – petrecem noaptea de Crăciun alături de copii pentru că vrem să le oferim cât mai multe ore în care să poată sărbători într-un cadru plin de dragoste. Vom mânca împreună, vom deschide cadouri, ne vom juca şi ne vom uita la film.

Sunt multe activități în care suntem implicați și prin care încercăm să aducem lumina lui Dumnezeu, dar mai importante sunt momentele în care stăm în prezența lui Dumnezeu. În fiecare dimineață ne întâlnim pentru o oră în capelă pentru a cânta, a ne ruga și a sta în contemplare asupra lui Dumnezeu. Este un moment care ne încarcă bateriile în fiecare zi.

Câteva motive de rugăciune:

- Dumnezeu să fie prezent peste slujirea noastră și să ne dea direcție în continuare;

- Dumnezeu să se atingă de fiecare copil care intră pe poarta Centru lui Comunitar;

- Dumnezeu să se atingă de familiile copiilor;

- Trebuie să facem dosarul pentru prelungirea acreditării; Dumnezeu să fie prezent peste fiecare funcționar pentru a primi acreditarea;

- Până la sfârșitul anului trebuie să primi răspuns pentru aprobarea subvenției de la primărie, rugați-vă ca să se aprobe.

Crăciun fericit tuturor! Fie ca Isus să se nască în inimile noastre!

A Surprising God

It’s been four months since you read my last prayer letter. I am grateful for having you by my side in this ministry.

As a family we went through quite a few trials these last few months. Our path seems to look different from what we thought it would look.

Many of you know that my wife Cristina used to be on WMF staff a while ago. She currently has a regular job but she continues to serve as a collaborator in the Advocacy department. We both share the desire to be in missions and we are aware of the changes that would bring in our lives, especially in terms of the place where we may live.

This year in May, after the community retreat, we found out we are going to be parents. The news brought some amount of fear that this pregnancy would take us even further away from our dream, given the new responsibilities. Don’t get us wrong. We love children. We are ready to leave everything and go where God tells us to so that children may find hope. We only thought that our family would grow in number way later and that that would happen by adoption. We had dreamed of bringing unwanted children into our home and we felt that God validated that in our lives.

These changes made us question many things, including our capacity to hear and discern God’s will for our lives. We came to the point where we doubted everything. Things got even worse when my wife started to feel sick and depressed. As she struggled with depression in the past, what was supposed to be a normal prenatal low emotional state became a very alarming depression that looked too familiar and too scary.

We are sharing these things with you not because we want to talk about our pain. It’s because we want to share how God’s love has blessed us through it all. We are now happy and excited about this little one and we think you will be too.

The new responsibilities and challenges are still scary! And yet we are called to trust in Him and rely on His provision as He promised He would walk with us every step of the way. We will need to depend on Him on a different level from now on!

I will be a father and I became aware of this when we saw the little body of our baby on the sophisticated screen at the doctor’s office. The little thing looked like it waving at us. I cried when I saw this tiny person playing in the womb, pushing itself up and then sliding as if it were on a water slide. That was when I realized that that 2 inch person would change our lives forever and that our love story would be an adventure even more than it had ever been. This baby truly is a gift from God, a gift that will be with us wherever we go. In about five months we’ll hold him or her and we’ll get to see all the features that are now being completed.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth. (Psalm 139:15)

The prayer letter you are now reading has only talked about me and my family. In closing, I will include a few things about our community as well.

- The little children we work among will go to camp in the mountains (in Lepsa) in September 22nd to 28th. Camps are such great opportunities for the kids as they are given the chance to spend a week away from the context they live is, which is all too often a hard one. Pray that we would know how to show them that they are loved, valued and appreciated for who they are. The theme of this year’s camp is The Fruit of the Spirit.

- We are happy to let you know that The Reading for Adults project has started. Among the parents of the children who come to the community center there are some who for a while expressed their desire to learn how to read and write. Some may say it’s too late for them to actually sit behind a desk and attempt to decipher the alphabet. And yet, six parents let their guard down and chose to come to the center three times a week and learn. Due to a revolutionary Brain Development Program they have been able to learn up to 10 letters a day. It is such a beautiful thing to see them come, to see their eyes as they feel encouraged to press on, to see them read Bible verses, to see them happy that for the first time they can read things they only heard from other people before.

Those of you who can read Romanian, can find more details here.

Now that I post my prayer letters on this blog you can write back if you want.

Thank you for walking with me in this.

Bogdan Chelariu, servant and father-to-be!

Blessings!

May update 2011

Dear friends,

Thank you for walking with me on this journey and for supporting me in your prayers. I can see how God works and answers in His perfect timing.
In my last prayer letter I wrote about my desire to be a sign of the Kingdom of God in the midst of the community where I serve. This has become the direction of my life.
A few amazing things happened in the last two months, things I perceive as God’s answers to our prayers. As I focused and asked for direction so that I could be a sign of His Kingdom, I was able to see that not in me but in one of the kids from the community center. E. is a 17 year old girl who has participated in the activities at the WMF Valley community center ever since she was 6. She grew up with us, learning to discover who she is, learning the language of love, getting to know the love of the Lord, and learning to cope with her father’s death and her mother’s absence.
This year E. and her brother had to go to what we call a Minors’ center as the relatives who had become their tutors could no longer take care of them. In Romania, children under 18 years old will go to what we call “Minors’ center” when their parents are not around. This is a government run center where children in the given situation are forced to go and live for an indefinite period of time, all the while not being involved in any educational activities.
As compared to this place, the activities at our community center are very structured, everything is organized, and every person involved in the program knows exactly what they are supposed to do. This structure has helped us grow as individuals, as a community and it has helped the kids in ways we didn’t know were possible. The healthy structure in our lives has helped them see the necessity of a good rhythm not only when they are around us. Our dearest friend E. had to spend a few hard months in this new, unfamiliar and hard place to be and she did it gracefully. Not only did she not forget about what she had learned but continued to live out her values. Like a speck of the “salt of the earth” she even influenced the people she had to live among for a while. Her sweet presence brought changes even in the structure of the program there. She instituted the afternoon nap, made the other kids change the way they talk, started game hour and quiet time. We were told about the change in this little boy’s conduct who would manipulate everyone. His mom is now grateful for the influence E. had in his life.
I also see the manifestation of God’s Kingdom in every child’s reaction when he or she does something wrong and then wants to correct that. Their desire to grow, to learn, to change destructive patterns, to become better persons humbles me and teaches me valuable lessons.
These examples may be insignificant to some. They are so big to us. They are so precious to God.
Going to the latest activities, I’d like to list a few things here:
- We visited a few local churches in Galati and we have been so warmly welcomed. We are thankful the invitation and for their love and support.
- David and Lenuta Chronic are back from their Sabbatical time. We have missed them dearly and are so happy to have them back. Our joy is even grater to see them so full of energy. Their experienced has already enriched us and we are looking forward to hearing more about their time away.
- Frank Summers from Anglia came to visit. All his visits here are marked by visible signs. He always builds or fixes something. This time he installed a new alarm system.
- Annie Keith and the Moldova Servant Team spent a week a great week with us.
- The staff and the kids celebrated Easter together. We sang, prayed, played and of course ate great food.
- A group of youth from Texas spent a day at the centre, playing and singing with the kids.
-  We went for a picnic on May 1st, the National Labour Day in Romania. We enjoyed being out.
Prayer requests:
-          We will take a much needed staff retreat on May 9th – 15th (this letter will actually be posted afterwards). Pray that we will rest, strengthen our relationships, spend time with the Lord, regroup and be filled with new strength.
-          As the team from Moldova shared some of the challenges they face, they’ve asked us to pray for them as a community and for the children they serve among. To make prayer intentional and personal, they handed out little notes with names on them. I am to pray for Tirzah (ST member) and for two children from Moldova: Marin and Tania. You are invited to join me in this.
-          Please pray for wisdom as we administrate what God gives us. As part of the administration department I need this wisdom if I want to be a good steward of His resources.
-          Pray for me, that I become a sign of God’s kingdom in my community, in my church, in “the valley, in my city.

Update march 2011

The beginning of each year is always full of promises and commitment. Like many people out there, I started this year with the desire to become closer and closer to God and to be more and more like Jesus.
As a community we started this year with the promise to grow in our faith. We started by studying some good articles written by our theologian-in-the-house David Chronic. The one that I’ve liked the best is What we understand by The Kingdom of God.
The message of this article in particular has been a real challenge to me as it made me really sees what the Bible says about the Kingdom of God. How are we to be a sign of the Kingdom in our community and in the world? The Kingdom values are upside down as compared to the kingdom of men. Our God is a triune God marked by love and not by hierarchy based power, it is a God that offers freedom and not domination. The Kingdom of God is where steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. (Psalm 85:10) and where all things are made new (Rev. 21:5)
The reign in the Kingdom of God brings liberation and not domination. On the cross, Jesus confronted and prevailed all the powers that were against Him. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:14-15).
I now see the His Kingdom is not manifested the way I thought it should.
How then will I be a sign of His Kingdom?
I think the answer is found in the simple acts of love I can share with the people around me. If I respond, speak and love in unexpected ways I think I am fulfilling my call. If I share my love to the children I serve among God can touch their lives and bring the changes He wants to bring in me and in them. That change will be the sign of His Kingdom in The Valley (our neighborhood) and in the whole city of Galati.
Thank you all for being here with me and with the people I work with. Your prayers and support have made this possible.

A few prayer requests:
- I constantly find myself in need of renewed wisdom in my administrative responsibilities;
- Please pray for the health of many of the children here (colds and flu);
- Pray that I will continue to be a sign of the Kingdom of God in my community, in The Valley and in Galati.

In Christ,
Bogdan Chelariu

December 2010

December is almost over as are many of the events we planned, many holidays to celebrate, many gifts to offer to our dear ones. Everybody seems to be in a hurry these days and of course one starts wondering about what Christmas really means. As followers of Christ, we may also be tempted to slowly be distracted by the traditional meals we have to prepare, the right people we have to invite in our houses, the right outfits we have to buy for the big church celebration.  Romanians even started to replace „Craciun fericit” with „Merry Christmas” (the former being the Romanian version of the latter) as it sounds more „modern” and sophisticated. Could it be that we too may celebrate Christmas without celebrating our Savior?
Like many others, I have been meditating on Jesus’ life here on earth. The picture of his birth was mostly painted in dark colors. Baby Jesus didn’t receive any medical assistance, nor did Mary, they didn’t receive any special baby clothes or lotions, they didn’t even have a warm room to rest in, we read in Luke 2:7. The King of kings had been born among us but there was no room at the inn. We didn’t have room for him; we didn’t have the time for him.
How busy am I today? How busy are we today? Besides the meals and gifts and house ornaments, do we dare to stop from all the things we need to do and open the door to welcome him into our house? Jesus is still looking for a place to be born today, to sleep in, to eat a hot meal, to take a shower, to change rugged clothes, to be loved and he is doing all these things in the person of “the least of the brothers”. Matthew 25:35-46.
I pray that we all are people who make the time and find the room the invite the “least of the brothers into our lives. “ God will give us the strength to do this if we are open.
The same strength from God has enabled me to fulfill my responsibilities so far. My time at the community center here in Galati is mainly shared between two areas: administrative and educational. In terms of education, I am in charge of helping R., a 10 year old boy with his homework. I have come to realize how desperately we need God’s intervention in the lives of the children who come here, as well as in our own lives. Like R., these children have experienced sadness, despair sometime, lack of basic things, and sometimes lack of love. This is the reason most of them don’t do very well in school.
Going back to some of the prayer requests I wrote about in my previous letter, I want to thank you for your prayers.
-          the financial request from the mayor’s office has been approved;
-          the new children have had a smooth adjustment to the activities at the center;
-          “Beby Ispas” and parents Bela and April are all doing well.
Please pray that
-          I will have wisdom in administrating the resources we receive;
-          The events we have planned for this month will show God’s love to all the participants: the children who come to the center, their school mates and teachers, their families. We will also spend Christmas Eve at the center which will be both tiring and beautiful. We will share beautiful and affirming words about each other, receive gifts, eat good food and enjoy each other. We want God to be present with us as we celebrate together.
-          Please pray for R., the boy I tutor, and for his protection on his way from school to the center. We can’t be with him all the time and it’s hard to hear about other boys bullying him.
Merry Christmas to you!
In Christ,
Bogdan Chelariu