There is just so much to tell and so much that has been and will be happening. First we want to start off by telling  you about Damaris. Damaris is one of the girls in our girls Bible study that meets once a week on Fridays at our house. She is 17 years old and from the village outside of Bistrita, she is now born again and part of our spiritual family!!!!:):):) Jesus has saved her and because of this many of the other girls are asking lots more questions about Jesus and Him being a part of their lives.They are starting to realize their sin and confess it as well.  A couple weeks ago we had to cancel Bible study due to a doctors appointment that could only be made at that time, but the girls in the village really wanted me (Faith) to come to see them at their home. The village is a little bit of a drive and I was tired from the doctors appointment, and it was getting late, but I could hear the urgency in the girls voices so asked Chris what I should do. He said to take Chloe with me so I wouldn’t be driving alone and not too stay too late because the roads were icy there. I am so glad that I went, and am thankful for the Lord giving me strength to go. Damaris poured her heart out both to me and to the Lord Jesus, and I would have missed a very precious opportunity to minister in these young womens lives. Six of the girls were at the one house all waiting for me, and wanting to ask me all kinds of questions. I not only had a great night being able to share in this sweet girls salvation, but it planted seeds for the other girls, and taught me a very valuable lesson in my Christian walk, and to have Chloe a part of all this with me was such a great joy!! Please pray for Damaris and lift her up daily to the Lord.

Some exciting events:

In April my dad and stepmom will be coming with a small team from Jacksonville, NC. We will meet them as a family at the Bucharest Airport. We will then make our way to Calvary Chapel Bucharest as the team will be teaching Evangelism workshops through out Romania, and then going out onto the streets to share the gospel with the Romanian people. After Bucharest, we will be going to Brasov, to Ciorani, then to our city Bistrita, where we will also be going into the villages of Pintic and Slatinita during the week. We are excited for this opportunity, not only to take part in working with the Romanians on how to share the gospel in their own country, but to be able to get out in the streets and share on numerous occasions as well. And of course are very excited that part of the team is family!!!  Please please be in prayer for this time. It will be from April 5^th to April 28^th, pray for our children as we will be very busy and doing lots of traveling. Pray for the team, for every ones health, strength, and finances. Pray for all the traveling that will take place from one city to the next. And mostly pray for the hearts of those that we will be sharing the gospel with, that the Lord will prepare each of their hearts before we even speak with them, and pray for the Romanians that will be attending the evangelism workshops that they will see the need to share the gospel to those around them each and every day. 

And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

Prayer requests

Finances for gas, lodging and other travel expenses that will be needed during the time that the team is here. Prayer for the Romanian people and their salvation. 

Please pray for the children that Chris works with at the space: pray for their salvation, and for their family environments  which are really bad and abusive. 

Prayer for the adoption of Mihai. We are waiting to hear if we have been accepted for our residency which should be in April and then we can start the adoption process. Please pray for  wisdom of those at the DPC who do not know what they are doing or how to work our case. Please pray for open doors and a fast adoption case. Praise for the attorney willing to help us, and for all the doors the Lord has opened so far.

Reflections on Christmas

As Christmas was here and gone I spent some time reflecting on what Christmas is all about. During the Christmas season my kids really enjoyed listening to The Go Fish Guys. One of their songs is titled, "It's About The Cross". 

On Facebook i saw  a song titled, "Shake Up Christmas" by Train.

Both are beautiful songs to listen to at Christmas time, but their messages are very different.

Christmas is a time we, as Christians, remember the birth of Jesus. But it is more than that, it is about why he was born, it is about what he came and did, it is about remembering and thanking him for the free gift of eternal life that he gave us if we accept it. It is not just about his birth, but his perfect, sinless life, his death he died in our place, his resurrection, his ascension, and his return. Christmas is a time to celebrate what He did for us, and what he promises to do for us. 

What was your Christmas like?

Here is a little of what we did this Christmas...

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year from the Andersons (Bistrita, Romania)

Chris, Faith, and Jatham at Bran

Sharing Christmas

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! We were so encouraged this Christmas and blessed by each one of you. We had a wonderful time with Chris's sister and her two friends here, Josh and Jaclyn. We were blessed in so many ways this season, and it is hard to put everything into words. People went out of their way to help us be able to share Jesus with those hurting in the villages and to supply them with food, treats, clothes, gospel tracts, etc. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for helping us to do that. 

We also thank you all for helping to meet each of our needs this winter. A new couch has been purchased and is on its way, it should arrive in about a week and a half to our house!! Winter tires were purchased, and it has been nice not to get stuck in the snow, and to be able to still travel to the villages and minister to the families there. We even had people send money for personal gifts for our own kids and we were able to get the three older ones swimming lessons for their main Christmas present. Thank you very much!!

Thank you so much for partnering with us to serve the Lord here in Romania. We could not do it without you. We are encouraged by each one of you and thankful for all of your prayers and sacrificial giving!!

sledding in poiana with the Kieffers

As a family, we were able to take Jenn, and her friends, Josh and Jaclyn to visit the city of Brasov. We enjoyed a day of sledding, visiting the center, visiting Bran Castle, and eating at a wonderful restaurant outside of Brasov. 

Bran Castle 

Bran Castle

It was a wonderful time of fellowship, sightseeing, and just enjoying each other's company, although i did get a comment from my little sister and I quote, "You remind me so much of mom and dad right now!". (Just another reminder that I am only getting older, thanks sis. :-)

a village house

Faith three others were able to visit a very poor family in Pintic and take some much needed items to them for Christmas through "Seed of Hope". Pintic is a village 30 minutes away where Faith and another missionary woman go to minister to children in teaching english once a week. They have been able to not only minister to children in the school, but a family in need. The Lord has used them to touch lives in this poor village and school. We thank Him for this opportunity and for more opportunities to come.

Praise and prayer requests 

Praise all  of our needs were met a new couch, and winter tires.

Prayer requests for the families visited over Christmas that they will accept Jesus as their savior and we will have more and more opportunities to share Christ with them.

"I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."       Philippians 1:3-6

We had a wonderful fall party with our friends and the kids. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow with all the missionaries on our team. And then wouldn't you know it Christmas is just around the corner. We cannot believe this year as flown by so fast, but we praise the Lord for His faithfulness, His blessings, and everything He has taught us during this year.
In the last couple weeks we had a girls Bible study sleep over. It was a great time of fellowship with the girls. Eleven girls from the Bible study were able to come and stay the whole night. We filled the house with laughter, noise, fun and eating. After studying the Bible we spent the rest of the night getting to know one another through games, watching movies, and just hanging out. I was thrilled to have all the girls here. In the coming weeks, Chris will be very busy taking pictures for the kids and workers at the space ( a place for gypsy kids to come after school to take showers, have a nice meal, and get help with their homework, most importantly it is filled with people who love them and share the gospel with them on a regular basis). Chris has been able to be a part of this on a regular basis since the summer. He enjoys the kids so much, and is grateful for the opportunity to be able to share Christ's love with them. As Christmas approaches we will also be getting ready for Christmas parties for the Bible studies we teach, giving out of Christmas baskets to the impoverished families around us full of Bibles, gospel tracts, food, clothing, and something little for each of the kids. We are in continual prayer for the finances for each of these baskets and the families who will be receiving them.
We thank you all for everything you do in the Lord. We praise the Lord for you daily and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, and a Very Merry Christmas.

Prayer Requests and Needs:

Tires for the van. ( A law in Romanian requires us to have winter tires for our van, $450)

A new couch to replace the broken one (any where between $300-$600)

Praise we were able to get all our kids jackets, hats, mittens, and boots for the winter.

Salvation for those in Chris' Bible study.

For the girls in the Bible study to grow in godly character and to be a light for Jesus in their schools and homes. Salvation for those who have yet to come to know Christ personally.

Safe travels for Jennifer (Chris' sister), and her two friends who will be coming to spend Christmas with us, and arrive in just two weeks, from Kazakstan

What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?

Jesus gives a very simple answer to the question, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?".
"This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent."

We are to believe and accept Him whom God sent, and He is Jesus Christ. It is our work as Christians to make Him known so that others may believe in Him. This si our work here in Romania.
This is not just for missionaries, pastors, church staff, sunday school teachers; but for each and every person that has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As we are living our lives we are to be a living teastamony, an example for others to see and want to know Him. I pray that I will be this example.

Faith and a few friends are on thier way to teach english to up to twenty children in a village that has few if no Christians. Each Monday Faith and a friend take this trip to be a living example of Jesus.
During the past summer we were able to share Jesus with the children of this village through the relationships that were built. It is our prayer that through building these relationships we will be able to share Jesus even more that all these children and thier families will accept and follow Jesus.

There is a team of young adults here from the Bible school in Hungary helping minister to not only our church body, but to the different outreaches here in and around bistrita. Pray for the team as they minister and help. Pray for health and strength.

Mihai has started going to gymnstics and loves it. He is working very hard and loves to practice at home.
He is sick with a bad cold and had a fever. Pray that he covers quickly so that he can return to kindergarten and gymnastics.

JESUS SAID TO HIM, "I AM THE WAY,

THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, NO ONE

COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT

THROUGH ME." JOHN 14:6

Although the weather here has been warm, fall is fast approaching. School supplies and uniforms have been purchased and the kids have already completed the first full week of school and beginning the second. Where did the summer go?

picnic in Pintic

muscles

coolness

vbs

vbs

vbs

We had a wonderful time this summer in the village of Pintic, where over 30 children were able to hear about our Savior and Lord Jesus, most of them for the very first time through VBS to picnics in the hills.

New Beginnings kids camp this summer was up in the mountains at a cabin squeezed between two cliffs. If you ask the kids what was the best part of camp- the swimming pool was the very first answer.

Please pray for Faith and Amanda as they will once again be teaching English once a week at the school in Pintic. Faith will also be doing a weekly Bible study with the girls from New Beginnings and from the village, Slatinita.

Chris will be teaching a Bible study for adults in our community, teaching Sunday school, and continuing to volunteer with New Beginnings.

Hello from Romania! As September fast approaches and the cold weather blasts in- yes, blasts in- please be in prayer for all the kids, our own children and the New Beginnings Children.

Anticipation

The kids will be starting school soon, and Levi will be changing schools, please pray that he will adjust well to a new teacher and all new students in his class. Also pray that he would learn to be more diligent and learn how to serve the Lord and bring honor to Him even in his school work.

The paper work for our residency will begin next month, please pray for the Lord to open all doors, for everything to be approved, and for the finances needed to pay for all the paper work. 

Praise that the kids have been healthy most of the summer, and Jatham our youngest is now 4 months old and doing very well.

Faith's body did not heal completely like it should and she will need to have some abdominal surgery, we are asking the Lord for complete healing for her body so that she will not have to surgery.

Also pray as we are seeking the Lord's wisdom and guidance in many areas concerning ministry.

The school in Sibiu that Chris attended was a huge blessing and help for Chris as he continues to become more fluent in the Romanian language. Thank you for all your prayers and support to help him attend this class. Continue to be in prayer as we learn Romanian. 

Pray for the Bible study that Chris is leading. Many of the those attending have many questions about the Bible. Pray that through this Bible study those that have not been born again would be changed and be born again. Pray for wisdom as Chris leads and answers questions.

take a look at a few photos on my photo page

picnic in pintic

Here are some pictures from our last trip to pintic. We took about 150 barbacued mici for the kids and bread. It was a treat!! The kids loved the time we spent with them.

flying

hanging around after eating

showing off

lift me up!!

friends

so cute!!

I am strong!!

balanced

living water