Wanted to send out another update.  At the rate things are changing, this may be old news before too long.  I continue to make plans, but those plans continue to be modified by God’s diving will, as you shall see.

On Thursday, March 3rd, I left my family in the apartment in Iași, Romania, picked up Eric and Stephanie Chapman from the airport there, and drove them to their camp in Vatici, Moldova.  Crossing back into Moldova went smoothly, but the line leaving Moldova was over 200 cars.  The Chapmans’ camp is housing Ukrainian refugees but did not have heating in all the dormitories.  Thanks to donations, plumbers have been working on that the past week to get more buildings heated and more will be able to be accommodated.  The temps are still dropping below freezing.  I stayed there for two nights, was loaded up with Russian Bibles to take to a church in Suceava, Romania on my way back to my family in Romania.  I enjoyed the fellowship with the Chapmans.  It has been a long time since we were able to sit down and talk.

I then headed back up to Soroca, Moldova on Saturday.  I met with “V,” who works for the border police.  We met for supper and had a nice time sharing our thoughts and talking about the stability we can have in God during turbulent times.  Please pray for “V” as he serves his country and deals with the concerns of the future.

Sunday, I met with the couple that I was doing weekly Bible studies with and encouraged them to trust Christ.  In the afternoon, I lead the service out in Bulboci.  We had a sweet time.  I spoke about how Christ did the will of the Father, even when it was painful.  We took the Lord’s Supper.  It was a sweet service.  I met with Petru, the 92 year old, wondering if that would be the last time I see him.  I took the folks home and then headed back down to Chișinău.

Monday morning, I went to the immigration office, expecting to get my residency permit.  To my shock, it was not ready and they could not say when it would be ready.  The influx of Ukrainian refugees seeking refugee status here have slowed down the process.  I was handed a paper saying to pick it up on March 15th in the afternoon.  This put everything behind a week.

The next morning I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to do in this time.  My license plate on the van would expire March 10th, leaving me with just a few days left to drive it.  I contacted my friend and missionary, Igor.  He has been driving to the SE border to pick up refugees from Ukraine and drive them to shelters.  The border is just 30 miles west from Odessa, Ukraine.  Though I could only go for one day, it was what I believed God wanted me to do.

The trip took almost  3 hours to the village of Palanca.   There were some buses taking loads of refugees to train stations and other places.  Igor went around and spoke with folks until he rounded up 12 people.  If you want to find out more about this daytrip, you can watch the video above.   In the end,  we were able to give the Gospel to these folks and leave them with Gospel tracts.  I took them to the train station in the capital and paid for their bus tickets to their destinations.  They were so appreciative of all the help.  Please specifically pray for one of the ladies whose husband is in the Ukrainian army.  His name is Leonid.  I asked her if she would mind me mentioning him for other to pray for.  She emphatically said, please do.  Pray for these folks whose lives have been turned upside down due to the war.  Pray for their hearts to turn to the Lord in this time.

Please pray for Stephanie and the kids in this time away.  What was one week away will now be two, if all goes as planned next week.  Pray for the Lord to use us in this time.  I will be going with another missionary, Wes Neill (I’m staying at his house right now), to take supplies up to the Chapmans’ camp on Saturday, Lord willing.  I don’t feel that I am having this huge role in all this, but I am thanking the Lord for the small parts He has opened up for me.  Pray for the Hughes as they head back to Moldova next week, too, Lord willing.  We want God’s will to be done and for Christ to be glorified.  Thank you for praying for us all.