February 14th, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
First, let me apologize if there are any misspelled words, or poor punctuation
in this update. I am on a Hungarian keyboard, and I am not able to find
everything that I would normally use. (Like I could not find a zero, so I had to
use o's:) Well, it has been a little over a week since my last Macedonian
Update. I am presently in Hungary, and today am leaving for Romania. To catch
you up on what has happened since my last update...
as I mentioned I preached at the church in Gevgeliya on Sunday morning, Feb. 5.
That evening I did a teacher training sessions with the children's workers of
the church, and on Monday evening we did another village meeting.
I really enjoyed my time there, and it seemed that everything was so directed by
the Lord. I made many friends, and look forward to more ministry in Gevgeliya
and Macedonia in the future.
I left Gevgeliya early Tuesday morning. I took a bus back to Skopje--a three
hour bus ride with no heat, and it was below zero (in Fahrenheit and Celsius).
It was the coldest bus in the Balkan's! I thought my feet would fall off.
Anyway, I got to thinking about a conversation with the pastor's wife I had the
night before. We were talking about the cold, and how we hated it. She then
mentioned reading of a lady missionary from England, who went to England on her
own to be a missionary, and how she had to get off a train in Siberia because of
a war, and slept in the forest in the freezing cold in just her street clothes
and winter coat, and how that nobody believed that she actually survived, and
continued to her destination. I thought how a cold bus ride for three hours
cannot compare to the conditions that so many others have suffered for the cause
of Christ. Sometimes I wonder if I seem to God like the Jews in the wilderness
who murmered, even though God was providing them with everything they needed,
and I have to repent.
Well, I got to Skopje, and flew from there to Budapest, Hungary. When I got
there I had a terrible cold or flu, and hardly went out of my room except to
meet with a couple of pastors and a friend of mine who is actually from Lovech,
Bulgaria who works with YWAM in Budapest. After three days, I took a train to
the city of Debrecen further east, where I met with my other missionary friends.
It has been a wonderful time here. We have had such good fellowship, food and
fun, and we have also had some wonderful prayer times. On my first night we
watched a video, and you won't believe it! It was about the missionary lady from
England who went to China. It is an old movie with Ingrid Bergman, and it is
called The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. The name of the missionary was Gladys
Aylwhite or Aylwood. The Chinese name they gave her was Jenai (the one who loves
people). It is so funny how the Lord can bring things to a full circle--even in
small ways.
He is showing me that many times over on this unexpected trip.
Now I am nearly over the whole cold-flu thing. I am just a little horse, and my
sinuses are about back to normal. Today I am heading to Arad, Romania with one
of the missionaries, Jackie Ramsey, who works with the gypsies in that area of
Transylvania. She has four congregations, a gypsy school, and a feeding program
for the elderly. I look forward to ministering there for the next few day.
I must be back in Budapest by February 21 to fly back to Skopje. Please pray
that my visa will be ready in time. If it is not ready when I return, I will be
going to Albania for a few days.
Stantzia Nedezhda is still doing well in Lovech. We are now feeding over 4o
people a day, and people are continuing to be added to the program daily.
The YWAM team from Romania is helping us by washing dishes, and helping deliver
food. They are also cleaning the homes of the elderly and sick.
That is a great blessing to the people. Many of them live in very bad
conditions.
Prayer Needs:
1. Pray for my complete recovery from this cold-flu.
2. Pray that my visa will be ready in a timely manner. (I realize that God's
time and my time don't always agree, so pray about that too, that I will be
flexible in His plan.) 3. Pray for our work in Bulgaria, Stantzia Nedezhda, the
soup kitchen, and the staff.
4. Pray that God will continue to provide for all the needs of Obedient Life
Ministries, and for this unexpected trip.
5. Pray that my time in Romania will be productive for the kingdom of God.
We appreciate all of your faithful prayers and financial support. If you would
like to support our ministry, you can send your tax-exempt donation to Obedient
Life Ministries, P.O. Box 267, Clarion, PA 16214. You may also make a
contribution with your credit or debit card by using our PayPal link on our
website: www.obedientlife.org.
Be blessed in Jesus' Name,
Martin Sutton