Hello, and thank you as ever for your support, prayers and love.

After a wonderful time in the U.K., when we felt really blessed by the Lord through our family, friends and contacts, we have returned home to Romania to find some difficult situations and events.

A DIFFICULT HOMECOMING.

Most of you will know of the trailer trouble we had on our way home through Romania - thankfully, Ian was able to collect it last week with the help of a friend and the use of another loaned trailer (thanks, Chris and Ruth!!), and it is now in our courtyard, awaiting repair at some future date.

Having worked for a week to thaw out frozen pipes in the house and the all-important pipe to the pump in the well, we were rejoicing in the luxury of having running water in the house once again (after Ian had managed to replace all the burst pipes and taps inside!!), when the pump decided to stop working again. So far as we know, due to a problem with the spring (i.e. the source of our water supply), the water in the well had become dirty and unfit to drink, and was very low, lower than the top of our pump. Thankfully, after a couple of days this problem cleared up, but we think the pump had got sand or dirt inside and so would not function at all. To cut a long story short, after another six days, the plumber discovered that a burnt-out condenser was the problem, and, once that was replaced, the water started flowing again.

The three weeks that it took to sort out this problem were very difficult for us, as washing had piled up due to being away, and the house needed a good clean after being empty for two weeks. Although we know too well that most of our neighbours, and indeed a large proportion of Romanians, live like this all the time, once you’re used to having this luxury, it’s hard to cope without it.

PRAYERS FOR LIVIA.

Much more serious than any of the above is the news we received last weekend, that our dear friend Livia has lost her lovely dad. After surviving cancer of the stomach two years ago (we believe through direct divine intervention), he had some good years with his wife and family before contracting problems with his liver in December. A few weeks ago, the doctors decided to operate, by which time Livia’s dad was very weak and thin. Although he came home from hospital in Cluj two weeks ago, he was taken into the local hospital last Friday evening, and sadly died shortly afterwards. We attended the funeral last Wednesday, where we were able to pay our respects to Livia and the family, including her lovely little mam. Please pray for the family, that the Holy Spirit will comfort them at this sad time, and that we can be of use to them if and when needed.

GYPSY CHURCH REVISITED.

Much better news is that Sara, our little friend from the Gypsy Church, is managing fine with her newly modelled upper lip! The operation she had in December was a huge success, and has left only a very slight scar. Up to date news is that Sara now needs some kind of brace so that her teeth grow through straight (she is now eight months old and already has some teeth, but they aren’t straight and some have grown in the wrong place). This will cost around £300!! Please pray that this money can be found, as Sara’s family are currently very short of money and are struggling to find enough to cover food and other essentials - her father, Dragomir, is working for a wood-cutting firm and being paid in wood for the fire. The cream the doctor has prescribed for Sara’s scars costs £40 per tiny tube.

Sara after her operation.

Generally, things are going well at the Gypsy Church, and we started our regular home group-style meeting last week, when around forty people plus children attended.

We expect to start up some regular meetings with the young people sometime soon, and aim to order materials for a Youth Alpha Course in the next week or so.

Vladimir and Margareta are safely returned from a visit to England, where their youngest daughter gave birth to a baby girl in December. Please also pray for them as they are feeling their age more, and especially that another pastor will be raised up so they can relax a little from their hard work at the Church.

GENERAL NEWS.

Sue started teaching this week again, and we have been catching up with various friends and contacts since returning home two weeks ago.

The weather is warming up (the temperature is above zero today!!!) and we are looking forward to Easter, which falls this year on 15th April.

VISITORS AHOY!

Before Easter, we are looking forward to having Carol and Steve Lambe to stay, together with their foster-son, Andrew. It is always a blessing to see these dear friends, and we expect to work hard with them, visiting the Gypsy village and some old people in the area, as well as spending some time working with the children from Voievodeasa and taking a trip to the Dracula hotel by way of relaxation!!!

We hope to host further visitors later in the year - many said they’d visit, if you’re serious about coming, please get in touch to bag some time and a bed!!

As always, we thank you all for your support and prayers, and ask especially that you remember us after a difficult homecoming which has been hard to cope with.

The next JARS news will appear as a three-monther to get us back into the usual routine come July and August!