Click here to view this newsletter as a PDF.
Prayer
- Pray for the camp program team as we begin to discern the right theme and message to share at this year’s summer programs as well as connect with the village churches that will be bringing up their kids to the camp
- Pray for continued financial provision as the camp steps into developing the main lodge
- Pray for fruit to come through the evangelistic meetings that will be taking place all month in each village across Romania
Praises
- The camp crew was able to tie in the spring to the water tank to allow us to have a working water system over the winter!
- For all the generous donations and offerings that came in for the camp’s BUILD-A-LODGE Christmas fundraiser
- The camp is already fully booked for summer 2020!
“‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’… Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.
He did the same with the fish.”
JOHN 6:9, 11
Happy New Year!
We pray you are having a blessed beginning to this new year of 2020. We began the new year in Canada but have since returned to Romania and things have been busy!
First off, we want to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you that has prayed for or given toward the main lodge fundraiser for Camp Falcon Rock. We are overwhelmed by the response and are truly grateful for the support of the NAB community for the mission here in Romania. In October, as we began to lift this fundraiser up to the Lord, our team was struck by the story of the loaves and fish from John 6 and the role of the little boy who offered the 5 loaves and 2 fish to Jesus. Our team was encouraged to step out in faith with this large fundraiser knowing that our God is a God who multiplies our small efforts when offered in faith. The fundraiser itself has been a testimony of God’s multiplying power as we’ve witnessed hundreds of people give and it has resulted in significant support for the development of the main lodge. Through your generous donations over $150,000.00 was donated during November and December! Thank you for joining us in this massive undertaking as we look ahead to this Spring when we can develop this vital space so that we can see more lives changed by the gospel at Camp Falcon Rock.
In our last newsletter, we had requested that you pray for the winter weather to hold off so that the team would be able to tie in our spring to the water system. We praise God that this happened! In late November, the team was able to complete the water system tanks and tie in the spring allowing the camp to have a proper water system over the Christmas holidays. This was extremely important as we had a number of churches coming to rent the camp for winter programs.
Over Christmas and New Year’s, the camp had 4 different groups come utilize the facility for various programs. We took the teens from our village, Szentkiraly, to the camp early in December for a Christmas Youth weekend. It was a weekend full of fun Christmas activities like caroling to the camp neighbours, making advent calendars, and playing the present-stealing-game. On top of this, we were able to share the good news of Christmas with the teens and see them further grow in their walk with the Lord. One of our teens, who left for bible school in September, was back for this weekend. She shared a powerful testimony about her time at bible school and how God was continuing to teach her that in all things she must pursue him first. It was a great message for our youth to hear, especially as a number of them are still deciding what they want to do after graduation.
Paul and I were blessed with the opportunity to be back in Canada for Christmas! It was the first time we had been back for Christmas in 5 years!! We were grateful to get to spend time in both Alberta with Paul’s family and in British Columbia with my family. We enjoyed participating in Canadian Christmas activities like skating on the lake, snow tubing with nieces and nephews, skiing the beautiful Canadian mountains with brothers and sisters, and ringing in the New Year with family around. We left Canada with full hearts ready to step into the busy season ahead of us with the village weekly evangelistic services running January through February.
Thank you for your continued partnership with the ministry in Romania!
Paul & Tanya Gericke
7336 149a ST surrey, B.C., Canada, v3S 3h3