Special Update

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We would like to begin this email by thanking our gracious God for His mercy and His provision for us in all things. As of the last update Chuck and Barb were returning to the USA for an indefinite time, while we were expecting to be active in Romania for the next year or two. Many of you have known us long enough to know that I have had severe allergies and asthma my entire life. Over the course of the past 6 weeks in Romania I have had a severe headache and other respiratory and similar problems every day. We have been praying for an answer or solution in regards to the issue of my health since I have been incapacitated and unable to do the work of the ministry here in Romania. Approximately two weeks ago we found out that we would not be able to obtain a long term visa for Joanna in the way we had expected. Due to the combination of debilitating health and legal issues we will be returning to the USA on June 19th. Please pray that God would continue to direct our steps and to show His will for the future. Pray also that the right medical advice and attention may be found for my health situation once we are back in the USA, as well as for provision for work, housing, and transportation. We do not always understand the reasons or the “why” behind what God brings to pass in our lives, but we know that He is faithful and more than able to supply all of our needs in all things. Our responsibility is to exemplify Christ to those around us, and we may do that wherever we may be. At this time we are unsure as to when any of the Archers may be returning to Romania. We trust that God will provide for the needs (both physical and spiritual) of the brethren here, with or without us. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

In Him,

Curtiss and Joanna Archer
Chuck and Barb Archer

Dracula’s Castle will Open to the Public June 1’st

Anyone interested in Romania’s best known feature? “Dracula” (aka Vlad Tepes) was an historical figure in Romania, and while the story of Dracula is fictional, the character was based on this person, and his castle. Click here for a link to the Official Site – and here to read more about the Re-Opening.

Romanian economy will worsen in ‘09…

According to Merril-Lynch, the Romanian economy is predicted to drop at a rate of 6.4% in 2009. Here is a short article on the issue.

May Update

Dear Family and Friends,
We are praising the Lord for His grace and strength the past two weeks as Curtiss and Joanna have moved to Romania and we have returned to the U.S.A. Our time together was short but beneficial and now we are looking ahead to what the Lord provides for us. Barb and I are staying with Daniel’s family for four days and then will be home in NY for a brief time before returning for our grandson’s surgery. After that we will be busy catching up on work at home and finding some employment for the next year or so. We want to thank you all for your prayers and support for the past two years as we ministered in Bretea Romana. We hope that you will continue to support the Romanian ministry in the coming months. The Lord has worked in the lives of several individuals in the local fellowship and we have seen some growth. The parting was with great emotion as always. Yet we can say that it was a joyful experience for us personally as we served our Lord in Romania.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. Curtiss and Joanna and their adjustments in Romania and for the Lord’s enabling in ministry and testimony to others.
2. Nate’s surgery(cleft palate repair) on June 2nd at 9:30 AM at Georgetown University Hospital.
3. Ovidiu of the Bretea Romana Church is home after major foot surgery to straighten it and insert a rod in his lower leg. He will soon have a cast put on for thirty days and then he may be able to put weight on it and see what the results are. Please pray for his strength, overall health, and courage for rehabilitation.

Grace and peace,
Chuck and Barb

Faster Internet Now Available

We have some very good news here in Bretea Romana. At some point after the first of the new year (2009), high speed internet became available in the village. Romtelecom, which is the largest national provider in Romania, brought their high speed lines to Bretea Romana. The country is modernizing (although sometimes slowly), but the most noticeable effects have been in the cities, and much less in the country villages. However things are changing here and Bretea Romana is the government seat (and geographical center) for 12 other villages in the Strei River Valley. There are a variety of options available, including fixed phone lines, cable tv, and DSl Internet at different speeds. The speed that we opted for is actually a little faster then what we have in Steamburg, NY. What this all means, is that our internet time is much less frustrating and has many more possibilities than before. With that said and done, I intend to make some changes to this blog, and eventually I would like to change it completely and have it run independently of wordpress. That will obviously take abit of work, but with the faster internet it is actually a possibility now.

Back in Romania

Yes, indeed, Curtiss and Joanna have been back in Romania for just over 1 week now. They are unsure as to how long they will be overseas, but expect that it will be for a span of 1-2 years. Chuck and Barb will be returning to the USA on May 21’st, where they will be reporting to churches and supporters and then fulfilling family and property obligations for the near future. Please keep us all in your prayers as we go through a time of change, both here in RO and in the USA.

Departure Date Set

Greetings all!  I just purchased tickets for Joanna and myself to return to Romania this spring.  We will be leaving NYS on May 5′th and then depart the USA from Washington, DC on May 7′th.  We’ll be able to spend a couple days with Daniel and Whitney (and Baby Nate!) before we head out for Europe.   Your prayers are most appreciated as we begin the preparations for moving to the other side of the globe.  We do not have a definite time frame for a return, but we expect that it will be at least 1-2 years before we return to the USA.  Please pray for God’s guidance in our lives and that His Plan for us would be made abundantly clear over the next several months (and beyond).  Chuck and Barb will be returning here to NY on May 21, to take care of things on this side of the pond.  Please pray that God would provide the additional support that is necessary for 2 families to be in Romania at the same time, if that be His Plan.

thank you

Curtiss

*I’ll be trying to post here on a semi regular basis once again, now that my work schedule here in Ny is starting to wind down with the warmer weather….*

March Update

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12 (NKJV)

Dear Family and Friends,

March, 2009
It appears that springtime has arrived in Bretea Romana and the harsh conditions of winter have gone for the most part. For us, this Romanian winter was short and mild compared to the ones in NYS!  Although we have to heat with firewood it was still not difficult because we didn’t struggle with snow, ice, and bitter cold and wind. Our small apartment has been quite comfortable with the wood stoves and twelve inch concrete walls helping to keep the cold out. We’re thankful for the adequate supply of quality wood in our cellar and the fact that we didn’t have to look for wood in the middle of winter like some neighbors did.

Living in the middle of a rural village like this has given us the opportunity to witness and experience Romanian life in ways that we never did in the past. One of the interesting things we’ve noticed is how the Orthodox Church uses its bell to usher in Sundays, holidays, and to announce a death. Most recently we heard the bell ringing over a period of three days. The first day it was rung to announce the death of a local person, the second day to announce the wake in the family’s home, and the third day it rang before the funeral at the family’s home and during the procession to the cemetery. Every weekend it rings at twilight on Saturday and then a couple times on Sunday morning. There are many church holidays and the bell is rung as if it were a Sunday. In January, we`were invited by a neighbor to witness their infant granddaughter’s baptism in the local Orthodox Church. It was quite a surprise to see artwork on the walls, the caliber of which you would expect to see in a large city cathedral. Along with the frescoes that depict the life of Christ and His disciples there were huge, ornate chandiliers and numerous icons. It was sad to see the worship given to icons rather than to God Himself. The ceremony was very lengthy and full of ritual with little input from the parents. Something else we are witnessing firsthand in the village is the effect of the worldwide financial crisis on our neighbors many of whom are unemployed or underemployed this year. We heard that a nearby city school was short of funds and the employees received only 75% of their pay. A friend of ours works as a guard in Hunedoara and he went without pay for a month but kept working while borrowing money to live on from others. He eventually received some of the back pay. Please pray for us to be wise in our relationships with the Romanians, to show the love of Christ, and to be as helpful as possible while not hurting their pride.

Our ministry has been focused on discipleship of local believers this winter. This includes group inductive Bible studies and one on one mentoring in homes. The pace varies according to the individuals circumstances such as health and family issues. Sunday AM and midweek services are usually led by Chuck in conjunction with brother Saul. We have also taken some of the local congregation to many evangelistic services held in sister Baptist churches. We were pleased that some of the local youth attended with us. We enjoyed hearing a young, nationally known recording artist sing and give his testimony this week. Please pray for a positive impact on these youths’ lives.

The local congregation has finalized their building project plan and they are praying for the Lord’s provision for funds. This plan provides for a modest, permanent meeting place where the Word of God can be publically proclaimed. They believe that more people would attend services if the services were not in a private home. This may be true. Yet it is very difficult to undertake such a project with so few members and especially a lack of men. Meanwhile, we become more and more convinced of the need for a mission property for long term ministry and outreach in this region. We are doing the best we can with what we have but are restricted by our very small apartment and the lack of land. A mission property would be a great help to meeting our goals as we live amongst the people as “salt and light” in rural Romania. The ARMS PROJECT was begun for this purpose and FBC continues to accept financial donations for this long term need. Please pray for God’s will to be done and for His guidance in all of these things.

Thank you to all who continue to pray and support us financially so that we can minister in Bretea Romana. May God bless each and everyone. Curtiss and Joanna plan to return to Romania in May for an undetermined period of time. They are trusting the Lord for an increase in support as they commit to ministering in Bretea Romana. We have looked at our combined budgets and determined that a $300/month increase would be most helpful to meet our financial needs. All gifts should be made out to Faith Bible Chapel at 117 Jamestown Street in Randolph, NY 14772. Please mark the memo “ROMANIA”. We sincerely appreciate all that is done for us and for your ministering to Romanians!

Grace and peace, Chuck and Barb Archer
Our Web Site – www.outreachhunedoara.wordpress.com

PRAYERS AND PRAISES:
1. Praise the Lord for good health,safety, housing, and sufficient financial support this winter.
2. Praise the Lord for His leading in our lives and the local ministry.
3. Pray for brother Saul and sister Dora -  elderly church hosts with poor health.
4. Pray for the discipleship classes and evangelistic efforts.
5. Pray for Curtiss and Joanna as they prepare for their return to RO in May.

EURO & RON differential highest ever

1 USD = 3.07 RON
1 EURO = 4.21 RON

The EURO continues to rise in Romania, and the USD is at some of the highest levels in the past several years as well. This is good news for those who rely on the Western currency to live in Romania (such as the Archers), however many Romanians have lost their jobs in the Western countries. The Worldwide economy is not doing very well, as we all know. However it is all too easy to forget that those countries that do not have a good economy to begin with are hit all the worse in this time of economic downturn. Remember the poor of Romania (which is nearly everyone there).

January 2009 Update

“Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Psalm 34:3 (NKJV)

Dear Family and Friends,

January, 2009
We have entered into a new year and in Romania we say “La Multi Ani” or “to many more years”. We wish you all many more years! Our local congregation studied Psalm 34 at our last meeting of 2008. We trust that you will join with us and choose to magnify the Lord in 2009.

December was a very hectic month for us due to all the travel, apartment set up, and Christmas preparations. Shortly after we arrived we registered with the local police. The chief was most gracious and offered his assistance with any problem that we might encounter. One of the deputies asked about the possibility of English classes for his daughter. We truly felt accepted by them and have experienced the same feeling of welcome from our neighbors and others in the village.

Now is the time to appreciate our hard work last summer when we cut, split, and carried firewood for heating our apartment. It appears that our supply will be adequate. We are thankful that we are keeping warm. Others are less fortunate because they have poorer wood and less of it. Their concrete homes are usually uninsulated and don’t heat so well.(Think of a garage or barn…) So winter time is very unpleasant for most folks here. Just after Christmas the temperatures dropped into the single digits at night and have been 20-25 degrees during the daytime. I have been checking daily on the elderly of the congregation to be sure they have a large pile of firewood and kindling indoors. They have been hugging the fire during our prolonged cold spell. We hope that you can view the photo that we sent with this letter. That is NOT snow but hoar frost due to fog. Our snowfall here has been about one inch total. I discovered one sister had only two wheelbarrows of wood on hand. She is a widow and has a very nonsupportive family. I feel it is our responsibility to oversee her situation and to try and prevent further hardship for her.

Plans for January include restarting the home Bible studies and possibly some English classes. Today I began discipling/mentoring Ovidiu who is a younger brother. Please pray that we will have a good understanding of the Romanian language as we proceed with these small group studies. The regular church services continue to be held in Saul and Dora’s small home. The official Pastor comes on the fourth Sunday of the month to serve communion. I have the responsibility for most of the teaching and appreciate your prayers on my behalf. The congregation still desires a church building for services in the village and has a buiding project started. However, they do not have the funds to build.

Americans will be observing the historic inauguration of a new president soon. Romanians recently had a general election also. On Dec. 24th two political parties formed a coalition for the first time to establish the new, ruling government. They face a daunting task as many Romanian factories are closed for a month or for an indefinate period. Thousands of Romanian workers who have been in the rest of Europe have lost their jobs and in some cases all they had worked for. All countries are facing a real financial crisis and people are worried about their futures. We are called to pray for our leaders. May we all show true faith and trust in the Lord during these times. Our testimony will have an impact on others.

We sincerely thank all of you who have supported us with your gifts, prayers, and encouragement during the past year. We praise God for our grandson’s successful surgery to repair his cleft lip in December. He is doing very well although he will need surgery in the spring to correct his cleft palate. Daniel has work again and we are grateful for that. We are trusting the Lord to supply our needs for this year and to prepare the way for Curtiss and Joanna to return to Romania in the spring. Financial gifts should be sent to Faith Bible Chapel at 117 Jamestown St. in Randolph,NY 14772. {Please mark the memo – Romania}  Remember to check our website at www.outreachhunedoara.wordpress.com. May God bless you and keep you.

Grace and peace,
Chuck(for all the family)

Hoarfrost