Coming in October...a GIRL! :)

Baby girl at almost 14 weeks!  :)

Short Story:
We had been praying and trying to have a baby for over 2 years.  In February we found out we were pregnant, and on Wednesday we found out that it is a GIRL!  :)

Long Story:
Every day for over 2 years, we have prayed and asked God to give us a child.  In January, we finally went to the doctor for infertility tests.  Jessica took some initial tests, and we had to wait another month to do more tests.  February came, but Jessica's period didn't...

On February 19, Jessica took a home pregnancy test, and it was positive!  That same day, we were able to get an appointment with the doctor for a more official test.  Our doctor couldn't believe it, since only a month before we had been in for infertility tests!

We decided not to post anything of Facebook about the pregnancy until after the 1st trimester.  We just told family and a few close friends, so they could pray for us.

Since then, everything has progressed pretty normally.  The downside is that Jessica has battled morning sickness 24/7 for the past two months.  Thank goodness she was able to slow down a bit and take a lot of naps.  She never threw up, but the nausea was pretty bad.  It was hard to eat, and she lost a bit of weight, but in the past few weeks her appetite has returned and she is feeling mostly better.

This past Wednesday we went in for our end-of-trimester ultrasound, and immediately we got to see the picture above!  A Romanian friend of ours had this same ultrasound appointment a few weeks ago, and the doctor told her that there a "60-70% chance" she was having a girl.  We weren't expecting to hear a definite answer about the gender, but the doctor asked, "Do you want to know the gender?"  Of course we said yes, and he said it is a girl!  Cameron asked how sure he was, and he said, "I'm sure.  99%." 

Sermon Recording - Breakfast with the Resurrected Lord

Yesterday morning, Cameron preached the following sermon at the International Baptist Church of Bucharest. The title is "Breakfast with the Resurrected Lord" and is taken from John 21:1-14. If you find yourself in an "in-between phase" of your life, hoping for something to happen as you wait on God to bring about the next major event, consider listening in to this audio recording by clicking the link below:

http://ibc-bucharest.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/16-0410_Breakfast-with-the-Resurrected-Lord.mp3

Christmas in Bucharest

Christmas in Bucharest Part 1: Lights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_SVTnqSB_8 

Christmas in Bucharest Part 2: Parties & Caroling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzeIjjMMgs0

Christmas in Bucharest Part 3: Christmas Market

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mryd3QlOG9U 

Seminary teaching, English clubs, and Protests

Happy November!

October was a whirlwind month for us. Besides continuing to attend language classes twice per week and remaining highly involved with our Romanian church, we hosted some American friends and also began three new ministries that we will briefly tell you about:

Visiting Rasnov citadel with Dusty

In Cismigiu Park with Rob & Jacob

Visiting Peles Castle with Rob, Jacob, Chris, & Cullen

1. Cameron began teaching Introduction to Evangelism at the Bucharest Baptist Seminary in early October. The class meets every Friday for two hours. He is really having a great time teaching! Already the 12 students  have been out sharing their faith in the city, and the conversations in class have gone well so far. Cameron was a bit nervous about having to speak in all Romanian, but the students are very encouraging and seem to be responding very well to his teaching style.

Cameron giving the first reading quiz

2. On Thursday evenings, we are a part of leadership training meetings in partnership with another Christian organization. Our team's two semester interns, Chris and Cullen, lead segments of these meetings in English and we help out where needed and are there to build connections that will perhaps lead to further ministry contacts. Roughly 25 people attend this group.

Chris & Cullen leading an English game (photo from Liderii de Maine)

3. On Sunday evenings, we are leading an English spiritual discussion group in our home. We have a meal together and then Cameron leads a discussion through a biblical story. Our prayer is that this will become a full-fledged Bible study and church plant in the future. There are only a handful of us at this point, but we are praying that the Lord will grow our number.

Our first spiritual English discussion group

In addition, we also wanted to mention the nightclub tragedy and the subsequent anti-corruption protests that have occurred this week. Last Friday evening (Oct. 30), a Bucharest nightclub caught on fire due to some unauthorized pyrotechnics. The ensuing stampede of young Romanians toward the single exit left many dead and/or critically burned, and each day since the death toll tragically climbs higher (as of now it stands at 49 dead and at least 50 in critical condition). Beginning Monday evening, tens of thousands of Romanians have taken to the streets of Bucharest and other major cities each evening in peaceful protest of widespread governmental corruption. The last time this many people were united in protest was 26 years ago when Communism fell. Yet to reiterate, these protests are peaceful and we feel very safe. Not only do our friends and neighbors assure us that there is no suspicion of violence, but the president is also committed to communicating with non-elected representatives of the people. We will let you know if this changes, but please do not worry about our safety for now.

Thousands of Romanians protesting against corruption this week

Village Ministry Weekend

Last weekend, we had the privilege of driving up with two student interns, Chris & Cullen, to the northwest part of Romania to visit our colleague, Daniel Byrd.  Daniel lives in a village and works with the Roma in several different villages. 

We arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately began preparing for Friday night Bible study.  Jessica & Cullen sang a few songs, and Chris & Cullen both shared a short testimony.  

On Saturday, we and some Roma youth all drove to another village for a children's program.  The boys played soccer, and the girls jumped rope and played other games.  Chris shared the story of Moses and the 10 Commandments.

Sunday morning, we went to a house church in the same village from Friday.  Chris & Cullen both shared a short testimony again, and Cameron preached.  It was a great time!

Check out this video about our weekend!  :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhJ6u9XltbY 

Scotland!

In the month of September, we had the awesome opportunity to travel to Scotland with Cameron's parents.  For a week, we toured several sites, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, the Isle of Skye, Inverness, and the Culloden Battlefield.  We also took a steam engine train through the western Highlands.  Here are a few pictures!

Glasgow Cathedral

Loch Lomond

Glen Coe

Fish & Chips

Jacobite steam engine train in the western Highlands (as seen in Harry Potter)

Fairy Glen on the Isle of Skye

Loch Ness

We spotted Nessie!  ;)

Inverness

Culloden Battlefield

Highland Hairy Cows

Edinburgh Castle

Music Camp

This past week, I (Jessica) had the awesome opportunity to help with a classical music camp in Bucharest.  Our friend Susan, who is a missionary in Oradea, came to Bucharest to direct a music camp for children.  I was excited to be invited to help with the camp!  I wasn't sure exactly how I would be helping, so I went in with a plan that I would help wherever I was needed, no matter what that was.

The camp was Wednesday, Aug. 26, through Sunday, Aug. 30, when the children would perform what they had learned in a Sunday morning church service at "Grace Church."  Wednesday - Friday, the schedule was the following:
  9-11 Whole group chorus
  11-12 Theory/Orchestra
  12-1 Bible study/Chorus
  1-2 Lunch/games
  2-4 Recorder/Orchestra/Boom Whackers

 For most of the morning, I sat among the children to help sing so they would hear how the songs go and to help make sure they were paying attention and sitting up straight.   I assisted with the games during lunchtime, which on Thursday & Friday were water games, because it was SO HOT outside.  After lunch, I helped Susan with the Boom Whackers group.  Boom Whackers are plastic tubes of different lengths that make different tones when you hit them against something, like a table.  You play them kind of like you would play bells in a bell choir.  They are also all different colors, according to the note they play.  They look like this:

I wasn't able to attend the camp on Saturday or Sunday, due to other obligations, but I took a lot of pictures and made this video montage for Susan to put on the Jubilate website.  Enjoy!  :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKtAhp_-H3-3L6GNsgBP-LQ