How does one prevent the downward spiral of economic struggle in a developing nation?

It has already been years since we were hit with the statistic that 1 in 3 Moldovan men were seeking work outside the country. Our missionary visit in 2004 made this quite evident, with many wives holding up the fort at home while their husbands were away.

Now we have a growing trend, Moldovans seeking citizenship in Romania , who's entrance into the EU this year grants citizens free movement throughout Europe. A recent change in legislation has increased this behavior: 1 on 8 are now applying for Romanian Passports.

I don't think negatively upon any person which feels the need to care for their family by legally seeking a better life elsewhere, but it grieves me to think of how the country can ever get off the ground if they keep losing momentum.

Poverty levels have lead to all sorts of gross and disturbing things in Moldova, such as human trafficking and an organ black market (warning, article on organ trafficking includes disturbing concepts and recommended solution).

Lord, Thy Kingdom come.

Our Moldova Team will be sharing about our trip this Sunday 08/27 during the second half of our worship service at Hope Bible Church .

Please only consider coming if you don't already have Sunday worship plans. If you just wanted to come for the presentation, the best time would be during the fellowship time.

Worship Service: 9:25 - 11:00am
Fellowship - Coffee, snacks etc: 11:00 - 11:30am
Presentation: 11:30am - 12:30pm

For directions and such see:
http://www.hopebiblechurch.net/location

You can see pictures of our trip here:

Hungary Pictures

Moldova Pictures

Its been 47 days since we got back from our Short Term Missions trip to Hungary and Moldova.... I haven't touched the blog since then. Here's an abbreviated version of what I should have posted:

1. We made it back safely! - The trip back was fairly smooth (some issue with ticketing at Heathrow but it was resolved quickly), and went a little quicker for me than I had anticipated. Unfortunately my wife got a little sick. It was good to see friends, family, and our puppy :)

2. Post Ministry Depression - there is a serious let down coming back from intense ministry to some of the seamingly un-important things about daily life. The tendancy, which I was already aware of, is to rush to the things of the world to satisfy. Being reminded of sin and its affects in the world around us cause a further spiral. Some jet-lag probably doesn't help either.

Well, I am sitting at Pastor Jon's house, and we are going to be leaving for the airport in just a few hours.  It will be very difficult to say goodbye, as our time has been extremely special.  Hope Church of Rascaietti is truely our sister church, and we have grown closer once again.

We also had an amazing time of ministry, including 5 persons proclaiming faith in Jesus Christ for the first time this week.  The last coming as were atop the mountain monument.  A man from a previous nights evangelistic meeting walked all the way up the hill because he was ready for a change, and had some questions.  This young man said that he would be going to church, and was not embarrased to turn from his sin and proclaim his faith in Christ.  He was an alcoholic and was moved by Chick's testimony the other night.  We were atop the mountain, overlooking Moldova, and stood in a circle with the whole church singing and praying to God.   Eventually it rained on us as some were leading this young man (probably in his late 20's) to Christ.

I am sitting in a computer lab in the school in Rascaietti. The director of the school did have a small painting project for us, but what she really wanted was a new computer so that the school could access the Internet.

We did buy a computer, which had an enormous impact, and I think will continue to affect the community for some time to come. But we also were able to get the old computer lab up and running. There are 10 old HP workstations, and a old HP netserver. The computers only have 16MB of ram, and most are running windows 95. But we managed to get a shared internet connection through a windows 98 server with an external US Robotics Courier Modem. :)