Dear Praying Friends!

The challenge for this newsletter is to decide what NOT to report about – so much and so many great things have transpired!

November 2012

Again we spent most of the month in Romania. It was the usual routine: One training week with the gypsies (Mitika Omelcu) and one week in Sibiu for the German Bible Conference. Again we were very encouraged by the growth of followers of Christ amongst the gypsies. Exciting especially were the dynamic youth groups heavily involved in evangelistic outreach which lead to founding a new church in Rinceni and revitalizing the church in Falciu. Due to much internal strife and contention, the Falciu group had been in danger of crippling their fellowship. Here again, it was the youth that turned their backs on the squabbling and fighting of the generation commissioned to train and encourage them in the walk with Christ! They turned the congregation around. Inner renewal was followed by a total work-over of the church building by the youth (with a little help by friends from Austria). About 1/3 of my training group in Falciu are young men 18-25! They join us from 7 churches in that area.

I need to ask you to keep Mitica Omelcu in your prayers, as the LORD is instrumentalizing him for these encouraging developments. But opposition from inside and outside is not hesitant!!

Also we very much endorse Mitika for financial support as his health is prohibiting part time work! All the same, he lays his bills before the LORD, and has enough experience of the providence of God to fill a book!

December 2012

This month is most conducive for our church-based aid drives. We garnered about double of the usual amount. This was of the LORD in two ways:

In a neighboring church about a half dozen men pray for and support a missionary in Sicily (Tomaso Pippitone) who ministers to a large community of refugees from Tunisia and other African countries. They pass the Mediterranean Sea in unworthy boats – causing about 4 of 10 to lose their lives. Most are very traumatized when they reach Italy. Italy is in economic disastrous times, and hardly able to meet their obligations to their own earthquake victims. With the high influx of refugees, catastrophe victims and a very high unemployment rate, many Italians have little respect for any help offered to the African refugees!  

 Tomaso requested a truck load of aid in December. He was able to provide transportation. We had a very full warehouse and were glad to load the truck. Tomaso distributed the aid through his church. Many Africans received shoes – some for the first time in their life! This outreach coincided with the visit of the Minister of Health and Social Aid. She saw these Africans suddenly running around in our shoes, and came to visit the church! She was very pleased with the way that this church ministers to the needs of the people in their community. Tomas also seized the opportunity to present the Gospel to her, too! The outcome: This government official gave Tomaso a waiver allowing him to visit any refugee camp, federal social institution such as hospitals etc. and even prisons!

When Tomaso made it very plain that their ultimate goal was to present the claims of Christ to these people (he was afraid she might not have caught that – and ultimately revoke her permit) – she smiled and answered: “I noticed”.  Here again: The love, care and faithfulness to help however and with whatever means – as paltry as it may be – convinced her that she was hitching with the right people!!!

Now Tomaso is asking for a complete load every month – and has a missionary friend in a neighboring state ministering to 20’000 refugees – also requesting to be included!

This is not only a financial challenge – it simultaneously generates the need for a full-time warehouse person (as we need to honor our commitments in Hungary and Romania)!

As mentioned before, we are receiving larger quantities of clothing, shoes, furniture etc. – but all these things must be sorted, packed, processed, and shipped!

As a parallel development, there are individual people who are unemployed for various reasons and donate their time but are not capable of working on their own!

The group from our neighboring church mentioned above working for the ministries in Italy has joined up with us now and we partner in joint-venture goals! But the increasing turnover of goods puts us back to square one personnel wise!

So do lift us up before the throne of Grace that the LORD will provide us with a self-supported missionary capable of running the warehouse and ministering to folks willing to help, as well as, to folks who wish to be included in our pick-up runs-many open doors and many opportunities to share our faith!

We sent the next truck to Italy in January.

End of January I (Mark) was in the hospital for a planned operation on my enlarged prostate gland. That was on Wednesday, Jan. 30^th. The histology report showed cancer cells (Gleason factor 6). Here I was amazed to experience how different it is to handle this kind of news when you know to whom you belong!

In March, I had an MRI done which showed no suspicious lymph nodes. Whether or not there is still some cancer left, they cannot say yet. After our trip to the US, there will be some more lab work which will show if a certain blood value is going up or not. I will go in for this examination every 3 months. Time will show. I greatly appreciated Dr. Wim Munting, a retired Dutch surgeon and missionary doctor to Africa, for his counsel and accompanying me to various doctor’s appointments. He consulted with the surgeon and then translated all that mumbo jumbo into plain English advising me of the procedures to follow! Here again I experienced the comfort of a Father in heaven who obviously cares – and knows how to send the right help at the right time!

My friends from Global Aid Network stepped in and drove two full loads of aid to Romania for me in February and March.

I picked up the big rig (“Black Knight”) on April 3^rd and then drove it to Romania in the second week of April. My co-driver had to call it off because of a sudden death in his family. So I drove by myself (4500 km!). But in this the LORD showed his sovereignty! My truck  broke down as the generator decided to die and ripped my main V- belt (fan belt). But it was a warm sunny day, and it happened at 1 PM while I was on the large Hungarian customs lot – and not on the highway, at night or in inclement weather! The MAN technician teamed up with me about 90 minutes later and had all the proper spare parts with him.

The encouraging thing was that as I was alone, I was able to meet with 3 of my most important men who “happened” to have some time allowances and really opened up providing some very deep insights to their anxieties, hopes, goals – and setbacks! This would have never had happened with a second driver, as these guys are pretty set on getting back home a.s.a.p.!

As I am writing this report, I will be leaving within a few hours for another truck drive to Romania. This is the 260^th trip of our team (since 1990). How the LORD has provided, kept us safe and alive – and permitted us to clock high quantity (and quality) miles!

I will also take an electrician to a mission group along with one container filled mostly with groceries and the other with mainly medical equipment!

When I am not on the road, I am invited to a good half dozen churches in our region for preaching. They ask for a real challenge for missions and encouragement to share their faith in everyday life!

Starting next month (May) I have been invited by a mission group striving to start a new church to join them. I am asked to assist as a “navigator”, advisor, and strategist. This group has been meeting faithfully bi-weekly for prayer for 2 years now! It is time to get something “off the ground”. They have developed a children’s and youth ministry for at least 15 years – and now understand the need to provide a spiritual home to those who have found Christ or are at least very open for the Gospel!

About 40% of the people they reach are from a Muslim (Turkey, Bosnia, and Albania) background!

LORD willing, we hope to be in the US in May (graduation of our daughter Doris / meeting her future in-laws! / wedding in August!), and I have intentions of returning in September to the Open Door church in Fayetteville (NC) for their mission’s conference, as well as, the EBF mission’s conference at Sawyer Highland’s church (MI) in October.

My wife, Maria, writes an email update letter that anyone is welcome to receive who is   interested in our family developments, in Maria’s ministry at the Black Forest Academy – a Christian School founded for missionary children – as well as, the latest developments on my part. Just email: smokesignal4ria@gmail.com to sign up!

Again – do accept our deepest appreciation for your faithful support!

We are here because you keep us here!

Mark Walker