Raney Brown

This year of After School programs, with all its stops and starts, ended with a super charge of energy and celebration. The week-long Day Camp had space for 30 children, allowing us to put out an invitation to other children in our town of Draganesti-Olt, on a first come, first serve basis. It was a wonderful week and, though extremely hot, the children never seemed to tire. We had complete freedom to share the Good News through songs, Bible lessons & verses, and lots of fun via games, crafts and a day in the park - plus delicious meals! There has also been an outpouring of fresh fruits and vegetables from Romanian gardens and greenhouses, so the back of my van has looked like a miniature market as it makes the rounds to missionary families, widows, a shut-in and a family with 3 handicapped adults. It has been awesome to reconnect with people I have not seen in over a year.
Dorothy is praising God for: 

• a good year of After School programs, even with interruptions due to lockdowns. 
• a wonderful week of Day Camps and having enough room to invite extra children from the community.
• opportunities to serve neighbours (by providing transport) and the doors He has opened to share the Good News and words of hope.
• the joy of reconnecting with missionary families I have not seen in over a year.
• the baptism of two new believers in my town.

Please pray for: 

• the children who attended Day Camps; that the spiritual truths they learned would continue to take root in their hearts.
• the salvation of people in my neighbourhood, as well as two widows and a family with 3 adult handicapped siblings from another village.
• team unity, healing, love and God's redemption of a difficult situation.
• for a deeper love relationship with the Lord this summer.

During this time, the world is both together and apart. Together in that, we are all doing the same thing, social distancing to avoid spreading COVID-19, which is why we are apart. Thankfully, the single most important thing we can do is pray, and for that, we don’t need to be together. 

The committee reached out to our  missionaries serving in other countries and below are their responses. Please continue to pray for them and for the rest of our world. Each day brings different struggles, depending on where we are, but God knows them and He hears our prayers. 
 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Greetings from hot, humid  Italy!  

It is certainly not as hot as Western Canada has been  experiencing but some days it is close.  My balcony regularly has a  temperature over 40 C. and this year my zucchini squash are NOT  growing.  I only have two squash!  I usually have about 15.  Oh well!   This will mean fewer things to find someone to take care of when I leave  to cook at camp in two weeks!!  

Yeah!   We are holding two small camps  back to back from the 24th of July till August 7th.   They will each have about 25 children and 8-10 staff.  I will be taking  one girl to the elementary school camp and three boys to the middle  school camp from my  church.  I am very excited!!  We do need your  prayers!  The covid rules will mean many different ways of doing things  and it will be a bit complicated.  I am working on the menus and the  lists of food to buy and need to be very organized.  I will also need to  take a good part of my kitchen with me!!  We are renting the facility  that we used other years but there will be no accessories as those were  all packed and moved to the new, future facility.  That’s why I need to  bring everything I can from my house. Pray for the organizers of the  camp who are working with Gary Cortez, the Child Evangelism Fellowship  worker.  

Would you pray especially for Bianca and Luis who have not yet  responded to the Gospel.  These are the two youngsters, along with  little sister, Kamilla, who were brought to Italy by their grandmother  to avoid them being put in separate foster homes because their mother  was unable to adequately take care of them.  They have been doing great  in Italy, living with their grandmother and uncle but their mother,  Milka Ester, has been missing, in Brazil, for about 8 months now.  No  one knows where she is.  Would you please continue to pray that she  would be found and able to join her precious children here in Italy?

I  am still spending a day or so each week at the new camp facility  helping with odd jobs, right now mostly gardening on a huge scale!  We  would appreciate your prayers so much for the work going on inside the  building as we try to complete about 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on the  second floor.  Gary is hoping to move in once this small part is done.   We need much prayer for wisdom for the structural  decisions being made  and for the Lord’s provision financially to be able to go forward.  

Thank  you so much for your participation in the ministry here.  I could not  continue without your prayers and your love for all of us.  The whole  church sends it’s greetings and thanks to you.

Love,

Raney

Thank you so much for writing in and checking on me!

I had a ticket to fly home on Friday, but cancelled the trip as it was to be for one month and did not make sense to spend half of it in self-isolation.  

Things changed very abruptly here and now we are ALL in 24/7 lock down and unable to leave our homes without a signed document telling our departure and return points, when we are leaving and returning, and the reason for being out (we are given a list of the only reasons why we can be).

I had to venture out last week Monday to get a document scanned and signed by a witness to send to Mom's lawyer right away.  That same day a widow called saying she had no food nor firewood.

I rummaged through the shelves to put some groceries together and filled the back of the van with dead branches and brush from the courtyard to take, but could not get a hold of her when ready to go.

However, by waiting a day, God wonderfully provided extra supplies.  I stopped to pick up a lady carrying to heavy bundles to take to a widow from our church whom I helped care for back in Spring/Summer.  My plan was to just take her bags so she could walk to the social house without that huge load.  However, she was determined to get in, insisting she could sit on the wood!  (We reorganized and made room in the front).

  
When I dropped her off, she asked me to wait and came out with two sets of beautiful, thick wool slipper socks she had made to sell and asked me to give them to the widow.  As well, Christy, and American friend, came to the gate to return 2 thermoses and she had prepared a bag of groceries plus a bag of firewood!  Wow!  The widow, Lindralina, was so grateful!  

The police stopped me on the way and commented on the full vehicle, but after taking a picture of my document and visa permit, allowed me to continue the journey. Praise the Lord!

Dorothy