August Update Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. - Psalm 98:4 What a month August has been!  Each month I think “my life cannot possibly get any busier” and then it does! But God has been faithful to provide me the energy I need to complete the work that is placed in front of me.  I am always amazed and truly humbled at what He is accomplishing here in Brasov and that I am able to be a part of this work. The first week of August we had a wonderful team of 6 ladies from Kingwood Bible Church in Texas, who came out and hosted a VBS for our 1st-4th graders from the After School Program I work at in the village. It was hot, and there were a lot of kids, but these ladies put together a great program!  The kids loved the Bible stories, singing, crafts and games.  It was a fun week.  During their off time a few of the ladies also helped me as I had only 10 days in August to finish getting the Intern Apartment ready for the arrival of my interns.  They helped me with last minute cleaning and sewing some curtains and pillow cases from old duvet covers we had donated.  One of the ladies even bought some really pretty fabric for us to use as an accent for pillows and part of the curtains!  What a blessing it was!

The curtains with the beautiful accent fabric!

The next week I spent every single moment for almost 10 hours a day and more getting ready for the arrival of Firm Foundations Romania’s first set of Interns!  There was a lot to be done in the apartment and paperwork wise.  I had so much fun with last minute touches to brighten the apartment and make it feel like “home” for our brave ladies.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 On Monday, August 10th, my interns, Izzy from Michigan and Sarah from England, arrived! They were so sweet with how excited they were with everything in the apartment.  Their first week was an orientation week and it was filled with information about Firm Foundations Romania and their new “home” city of Brasov!  If you would like to read my FFR blog post about their first week, please click HERE.

Our second week together we all went to the village where the After School Program is and had a week of painting!  The building we use is wonderful, but the walls had become very damaged and the rooms needed some repair, a fresh coat of paint and some new life poured into them.  It was great for team building and such a blessing to us to have their help with the hard work!  If you would like to contribute towards the cost of the paint and supplies we bought you can go to our Gofundme page by clicking HERE.

We have had an amazing first three weeks together. Each week I lead the girls in Romanian language and cultural training, Biblical discipleship, prayer for each other and a different country each week, a time of worship, and Bible Study.  The girls are given homework assignments that we go through together, we have monthly “intern adventures” to areas around Brasov and Romania, and I have monthly individual meetings with the girls.  What an adventure it is to pour into their lives, to watch them be challenged and grow in their relationship with the Lord and for me to be so blessed along the way! It is a lot of work and preparation time each week, but I am so excited for what the Lord has in store for these beautiful ladies, and I would not want to trade this time in my life for anything.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 I have also been preparing for the After School Program which starts back up on Monday, August 31st.  Getting my classroom ready and preparing paperwork.

I would like to start a new program for our kids in the After School Program where we receive postcards from around the world, to begin to make them dream about life outside of their village, and to teach them geography!  I have a nice spot on my wall next to a giant map where I would like to post these post cards.  If you would like to send my kids a post card you can write them a note and send it to: Rachel Titiriga Firm Foundations Romania After School Program Strada Dealul De Jos 18A Brasov 500080 ROMANIA This is also my personal updated mailing address, I didn’t move, but this is a more trustworthy address for me to collect my mail. We had a great meeting this past Friday with the team. Praying together to lift up the new school year, the kids, the village and families there, the local government and schools we work with and to pray for each other as a team. Our meeting was a great one, just talking about our vision for the new school year and how, with the Lord’s help we can accomplish it.  We know that what we do with these children goes so far beyond education, it has the possibility of having long lasting and eternal benefits, as we share with them love and the good news of Jesus Christ!

“Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” – 1 Corinthians 4:2 Finally this past week, I took the advice of my leadership here and took a few days away in Sibiu, a city about 3 hours from where I live.  I was once again blessed to find an apartment to rent for the time for under $20 a day!  I did spend some time wandering the city which was lovely, but also really used the time to spend in prayer and listening to some great Bible studies.  I wanted to really seek the Lord for His wisdom which I know I so desperately need to lead the Internship and After School Programs this year. The theme the Lord kept bringing to me during my time in Sibiu was “stewardship”.  It was all about being a good and faithful steward of my time, gifts and abilities, and the Gospel and grace of God.  Living a life that is purposeful in what I do, intentional in what I say, and a good steward of what I have been given by God. I was thankful for my leadership encouraging me to take the time to do this.  It was much needed for my mental, spiritual and physical health, especially before the new school year begins!

“Every Christian at home should have some missionaries in the field for whom he is praying definitely, constantly, persistently, and intensely. The man or woman at home who prays often has as much to do with the effectiveness of the missionary on the field, and consequently with the results of his labors, as the missionary himself.”
-RA Torrey

Prayer Requests:

• To be healthy
• My Romanian language (I so want to be fluent!)
• Wisdom for managing the Internship and After School Programs
• My interns, Sarah and Izzy
• The staff and volunteers in the After School Program, Steffi, Lidia, Juliana and Silvana
• As always that the Lord would continue to provide for my needs