Sanders Family in Moldova

"Nite, Nite. Dont' Let The BED BUGS Bite"

As I was getting ready to fall asleep last night, I felt something crawling on me.  So I threw the covers off and saw the convincing proof of what we have been dreading to accept for the past several days...we have bed bugs.  Jennifer and the kids have been getting bit for the past several days and nights and now we know for sure the culprits.  We have come to the conclusion that these bugs came on some friends who were out in the village.  This is good news because it means that the apartment was not infested with them originally and may mean that they MIGHT be easier to get rid of.
However, there are no easy solutions to getting rid of these pests and they are bloodsuckers and multiply quickly.  This would be a difficult situation to deal with in one's native land, but being in a different country has multiplied the issue and we would ask for your prayers.  Please pray for some direction as to where to look for help in Moldova and some peace that will calm our anxieties.  It is easy to get overwhelmed realizing these bugs could be in anything and could quickly spread everywhere without us being able to do much of anything about it.  My personal prayer is that God would clear our apartment like He did when it was time to clear the plagues from Egypt, through a supernatural and thorough cleansing.  And if not, then for some wise counsel about what to do and who to turn to.  Thank you for your prayers and we will keep you posted.

Happy Easter in Moldova!

"Hristos a inviat" (Christ has risen) "Adverat a inviat" (indeed he has risen)  Their were no normal greetings such as good mornings or hello on this resurrection Sunday here in Moldova.  Everyone was eager to be the first one to greet each other with this traditional greeting on Easter Sunday.  What a powerful reminder as believers to be ready to celebrate and tell others about the resurrection.  After all, this is the very foundation and backbone of our faith.  If the resurrection would not have taken place, history would be different and our lives would not be the same today.  Praise the Lord that He has risen and that He has risen indeed.

Our family chose to celebrate Easter with the Russian Orthodox calendar that the Moldovans follow.  We still celebrated with American traditions like making Easter eggs and hiding them, but we also made sure that the Easter bunny was not the central focus, and that the Easter basket was a symbol of celebration that Christ had risen.  It was a blessing to be able to see Kaity begin to understand the true meaning of Easter and have so much fun with her candy and finding eggs.  Caleb was mainly enjoying chewing on plastic eggs and keeping up with Kaity's whereabouts.  Jennifer also prepared a wonderful feast of traditional American food with a few Moldovan dishes for a delicious Easter dinner!  What a joy it was to be able to share a meal and spend time together with some of our dear Moldovan friends.  

Being Molded Back into Moldovan Life

We have been here in our new apartment for over a week now and we are starting to feel like we can function again.  It has been good for the whole family to be in one place and to be starting some healthy routines to give stability and boundaries, especially for our 3 year old. 

For those of you who have been praying and asking about our transition back to MD, here are some of the highlights. 

The flight over the ocean was a good flight for everyone on the plane except for this Dad and Mom who sat up entertaining their sleepless children most of the night.  We praise the Lord that we received all our bags at the Chisinau airport.  We were also pleasantly surprised at the friendly customs in the Chisinau airport by an official taking our whole family to the front of the line.  We accepted the invitation with much appreciation.  THe kids were ready to be out of airports after over 24 hours of traveling.

Upon arriving to our apartment, things began to be a bit more challenging during some cold spring weather.  We could not get the heater working and the electric heaters we were given could only be run on low because they would throw the breaker.  It wasn’t the best of circumstances, but I met a neighbor the first night.  Then we noticed a few other issues; the phone line was not connected and therefore neither was the internet, in the toilet room their was a leak in the pipe, in the shower room the shower head had broken off the wall mount, because the heater did not work their was no hot water, the water filter system needed to have new filters replaced and we could not drink the water.  So on top of moving everything in and getting organized, we were also doing some apartment maintenance and this is all with the owner of the apt. being out of the country.  Not to mention the apartment needed a good cleaning and all of our things being moved and used.

Currently the heater is working “better” and we have heat and hot water most of the time.  The leak is fixed, the filters are replaced, we have a new shower head and mount, we have our phone line  connected and internet up and running. and we are mostly unpacked and somewhat organized.  Now we are dealing with little things like trying to figure out why our office light keeps blowing out brand new bulbs.  Such is life in Moldova.

I have been back in the office at my first staff meeting and had a warm welcome back.  We have been working hard on planning and preparing for the medical mission team coming this Friday and I will be headed out to two villages where CCI MD has planted two new churches.  We will be coming alongside these Moldovan church planters to assist and accelerate their ministry.  It feels awesome to be back into the ministry God has called us to!

Thank you for your prayers for our trip and transition back into Moldovan life with a new baby.   We have seen God’s hand in so many different ways and we know it is because of the faithful prayers of our support team.

We love and appreciate each one of you!

Saying Goodbye

As you know from our last couple of newsletters, a significant difficulty with leaving Moldova is leaving our neighbors.  We have, with the help of the Lord, established some wonderful friendships.  Kaity has made some precious friends (albeit, all boys), Richard has connected with several men and I, Jennifer have made 2 fairly close relationships with mothers of children and 1 friendship with our upstairs neighbor along with some other connections that we are excited about.  These relationships have taken much time to build and even though they are good relationships, we still consider them very fragile!!!

The other night, in the midst of all the craziness here, with packing, preparing things for the States and moving apartments, our neighbor came and asked us to take Kaity outside to play with her son.  It would be the last time they could play together before we left.  Richard took Kaity outside to play and I joined them as soon as there was a good stopping point in packing.  I must admit, I didn’t really want to go as I had so much to do that night. 

 

By the end of our time outside, EVERYONE that we consider close friends had come outside and we had the chance to “visit” with them all.  It was such a great evening!  It was evident that it was from the Lord.  Kaity had great fun playing with her friends and we had a wonderful time talking with everyone and saying goodbye.  We finally drug ourselves inside and stared at each other in amazement at how the Lord had orchestrated our evening.  It is so evident how much He cares for us, our needs and desires. 

 

That evening we felt reassured that God would protect and keep those relationships safe while we are away.  Thank you for your prayers; they are evident.  Please keep praying for our friends that we would one day be able to present them to our Lord Jesus Christ.  We have grown to love them very deeply!

Everything is Fine Here

    Today I was at my Romanian language lesson and learned something deeper than just about how to communicate verbally.  It was a special time with Olga, our new Romanian Language Teacher, because she shared some profound insight about her own people.  We were just having a normal conversation in Romanian and then she said, "People here in Moldova..." and when I heard this, my ears perked up and I began writing some things down. 
    The main insight I took away from today about the people of Moldova is one of the ways they were affected by Communism.  She stated that they were taught to just look past problems because this is what they saw modeled by the leadership.  "Yes" was the simple answer that the authorities expected and no questions were to be raised about any problems.  There was also a negative perspective about outside influences.  This was especially true when it came to the influences of the West.  This perception was strongly held by the elderly, which are highly respected in this culture.
    Today, even though the Communist system is gone with the past, this unrealistic mindset is still engrained in many of the people here, especially in the retired folks.  The difficult part about idealism is going through change in the midst of trying to become a successful and independent Republic in a changing world that is filled with problems.  They have always been taught to look past problems and just say yes to whatever the authorities say is good and right, which leads to always doing the same things you have been doing.  I recently heard a good definition of insanity: "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting something to change".  Added to this false sense of reality is a sense of skepticism that was instilled in their thinking about ALL outside influences being negative versus the mindset of taking what is good and leaving the rest alone.  One example Olga gave was her Aunt telling her that computers are from Satan and are evil and should not be used.  Olga laughs about it now, but her aunt will not use a computer to this day, because deep down she believes that outside influences are bad.
    What implications does this have for us as we mentor church planters and equip them to have multiplying churches?  TRUST  It was a fresh reminder that establishing trust now is so foundational to everything God wants to do through us in the future.  We have sensed God doing this in many different ways, and we ask that you would continue to pray about ways we could establish trust with the church planters so that they will not see God's work as a negative outside influence from the West, but something that He is showing them from Heaven.

Kaity is Going to Be a Big Sister!!!

We are so excited that God has blessed us with our second pregnancy.  The baby is due in November and we will deliver (Lord willing) in the states while we are home on our first home assignment.  Please pray with us for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby! 

This is a picture of a baby (in utero) that is the same "age" our baby is right now.

Moldova Medical Mission Team 2008

Chasing Down a Rutiera

This past weekend I was able to visit a church planter in the Southern part of Moldova in a small village called Badicul Moldovanesc. The visit went great and the time had come for me to catch the bus back home to Chisinau. After waiting at the bus stop for a short time, we saw a rutiera or small mini-bus that I could take to Chisinau driving by us very quickly. Normally, when you want to ride the rutiera you hold your arm out to signal you want it to stop. The church planter, Lucian, raised his arm and the rutiera just kept going and never stopped. Next thing I know we were in an ancient Russian vehicle chasing after the rutiera. We finally catch up to the rutiera and Lucian begins to flash his lights at the driver and as he got closer, he blew his horn and signaled with his hand for him to pull over. He would not stop, but Lucian did not give up. Lucian then passes the van filled with about 20 people staring at us as we go by blowing our horn. He then slows down in front of the rutiera and signals to the driver to pull over. This time it worked and the driver pulled over. We then jogged up to the vehicle and Lucian insisted that the driver let me board even after the driver continued to shake his head no. They exchanged two sentences that I did not understand and then Lucian tells me to get in the rutiera. I was appreciative of Lucian’s persistent effort, but quickly realized that the driver didn’t stop because he was full! This meant that I had to ride back to Chisinau standing up for 2 hours on old Moldovan country roads! I survived and had much to think about on the ride home as I saw this church planter defy the system and rise above the normal standards to take care of a brother in Christ that he hardly knew.

Church Plant Children's Ministry

Visiting a Church Planter Out in a Village

I was so excited to be able to get out on my own (without someone interpreting for me), into a village to meet with and encourage one of our CCI Church Planters.  I traveled about an hour by bus to a village of 3,000 people that is situated in a valley near a large river.  After visiting and speaking a greeting to the mother church, I traveled with the Church Planter, Sergiu, to his village.  Sergiu, his wife and friend of the family are teaming up to plant a new church in this village.  I was able to listen to their passion for the people in this village. They also shared with me how difficult it was for the people to turn towards Jesus Christ. After listening to their words and watching their faces, it was evident that they were discouraged by the difficulty of the work. My heart was full of compassion and admiration for their sacrifice for the Kingdom.  It was evident they really needed some encouragement to "keep on keeping on". Even within a Christian family, I observed first hand how difficult it is for believers to keep their fire alive when you only have limited contact with other believers.  I was thrilled that the Lord allowed me this wonderful opportunity to encourage this family by listening, sharing God's word, praying together, by just being with them and seeing what their life and ministry is like.  I hope that I was able to communicate to them that they matter and what they are doing for the Kingdom matters to others.