Moldova 2007 Journal 6

Thursday the weather turned a bit cool and rainy so we had to make adjustments and move the chapel group into the dining area and move the other outside group into the common area on the third floor of the administration building. It was cozy, but nice.
The food is excellent, not fancy or exotic, but always fresh. There are always fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. There is little meat in the diet this week, but there is cheese. In the evenings we are served a hot beverage and a snack after the Q&A time. We have many opportunities to counsel, too. The difficulty is that we may only have opportunity for one in-depth conversation with a person who wants to know how to help a family in which the husband has been a tyrant and has beaten his daughter or a sister who has taken on the responsibility of raising her two brothers who consistently sneak off to the local internet café to view pornography.
The sin problems in Moldova are the same as in the US. It may have a different exterior and may be demonstrated in various fashions, but the heart issues are exactly the same. The wonderful thing about this is that the God of the universe understands all this and has given us principles in His Word that are applicable to all men everywhere.
The people there love to sing and sometimes we would hear a group somewhere in the camp singing up until midnight. It is not unusual for a group who is talking to spontaneously break out in songs of praise to the Lord.
Each evening we had a 2 ½ hours break for supper and recreation. Optional activities included running, walking, volleyball, swimming, soccer and basketball. Volleyball seemed to be the most popular sport.
Thursday night we had a special time in the chapel after the Q&A time. We sang several songs in Romanian and Russian – I guess I should say, “They sang.” We listened to the beautiful sound. We watched a video collage of things that went on during the week at the camp. The folks really seemed to enjoy that. Then they gave each of our team members a gift and expressed their appreciation for our coming. The asked us to convey our thanks to the believers in the US who sacrificed and prayed to make the conference possible. For some in ministry there, this is the highlight of their year!
Thursday night Pastor Steve Viars and Dr. Dan Wickert returned to Chisinau with Brother Valeriu Ghiletchi to get a few hours sleep before leaving for the airport at 2AM to begin the trip back home.