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Back to NEWSLETTER Page March 2002 Called by Vision: Ps. 40:6 & 8; “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not asked. I delight to do Your will, O My God; and Your Law is within My heart.” Pro 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he who keeps the law, he is blessed.” Isn’t it amazing how God changes the hearts of His children when we hear the call of God and see His vision displayed before us day by day as He directs? I have often heard people say, “I have never received a vision nor has God ever revealed to me His plan.” God has allowed me to see something pertaining to this that I would like to share. We all have been given a vision and it comes to us each and every day of our lives if only we will receive it. The Word of God is an open vision, which holds forth Christ, which humbles the sinner and exalts the Savior, which promotes holiness in our lives and conversation. It holds precious truths to keep the church alive and prevent it from perishing. They are important truths for anyone that peels back the vision and draws us deeper and deeper into the realm of the calling that He has placed upon each of us. We all have been called! 1Co 1:9; “God is faithful, by whom you were called to the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 2Ti 1:9; “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the eternal times.” I remember when I first became a Christian I would hear preachers say things like, “God showed me this or God revealed this to me.” Others would say, “I had a vision from God to preach the gospel this year in a foreign country.” I would always think, “How do they know it is God speaking to them and how do they understand the Will of God? How do they know if it is a vision of God?” Now after 28 years of being a Christian, I think I understand a little more of how those men and women of God could make such comments. They read the visionary journal! God’s Word is the vision that has been placed before us and when we read it daily His Word brings forth the vision to us. He begins to enlighten us more and more about His Will and His ways when we allow His Holy Word to remold and remake us into His perfect image. We all are offered a vision. However, it is up to us to seek that vision and then embrace it. It is up to us to daily pick up His Word and ask Him to give us the wisdom to understand His ways, to sear out His plans for us. Yes, it is up to us to take to heart the very words of God until they stir us enough to grab hold of His Vision and run with it. As I look back over the last 4 years in Romania that is what God did in my life. He caused my heart to bestirred that I might long for, even hunger for His Word. Only then did it begin to become a part of my daily walk with Him. I found that I was seeing visions of God’s Will for me. It goes back to the verse above, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Why will the people perish without a vision? Why will our human body die if we starve ourselves and never eat to provide the daily nourishment we need to live? In the physical if we don’t eat we will soon perish and we will die. In the spiritual if we don’t eat and drink of God’s Word (vision) we will soon perish. Where there is no Bible reading, praying or praising, there will never be a vision. We can’t expect God to just hand out His Divine Truths if we aren’t willing to spend time with Him (The Visionary). As we grow in our walk with Him we can understand more of what David meant in Ps. 40: 6&8; “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire. My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not asked. I delight to do Your will, O My God; and Your Law is within My heart.” David realized that he could understand God’s Will for His life if He allowed His ears to be opened to God. After the Word (Law) had become so implanted in His heart, his ears were opened to hear God. And His heart was opened to obey God. For he says, “I delight to do Your Will, Oh My God.” I had never thought of God’s Word being the vision that is daily placed in my hands to lighten God paths for me and His ways to accomplish those paths. We all can have visions! We all can hear God’s voice if we open up our heart to heed His Word daily and allow Him to plant in us the depths of His Truths. He delights in revealing to us His ways. The issue isn’t what God does; the issue is what are we willing to do. Are we willing to allow God time in our day to delight in His Word so that He can reveal to us the visions He has in store for us? Prayer and Bible reading are acts of devotion. The Vision comes as we take hold of the Visionary (JESUS). Then we all can say, we were called by vision, the vision of God’s Word. Answered Prayer: On January 17, I wrote by email a prayer request to everyone I could asking that you be in prayer with us concerning the adoption of Alexandra. I explained that in the process of working on the adoption I learned that we had to have proof of a permanent residency for Alexandra’s family. Before the adoption papers could be submitted into the office for processing, the parents of the child would have to prove they are verifiable residents of a certain location. I was in the process of looking for this family a house before I left Romania and upon my departure for the States the task was placed in Lyn’s care. It was a must in order for this adoption to be completed, and also, the Holy Spirit had already the summer before pressed my heart to focus upon this adoption. Lyn emailed on one occasion asking that we contact prayer warriors to intercede that God will lead us to a house. We were running out of time to find this family a place. We needed God’s guidance to the where-abouts of the house He had already chosen. I explained that this was the family that a year ago lived in the dump. God lifted them up out of the dump last year after they placed Alexandra in the care of our foundation. They were living in a block building. However, they were being forced in January to vacate that place with their 3 other children. That was really heavy upon my heart. I knew that our continued contact with this family was very important until the adoption is completed. More than that, the Lord pressed my heart before I left Romania through His Holy Spirit, “Rita, I am not a God that only lifts a baby up from a dump but I am a God who desires to lift families up.” I felt after that that God was saying, “Don’t just allow me to work through you to save one baby, my desire is to save families.” All that night all I could see were the faces of that family and their other 3 children who needed a place that they too could call home. I told the Lord I was willing to do whatever He so desired. I just needed His leading and His wisdom so that the task placed in our hands would be completed. I asked that you pray that Lyn would be led to the place God had hand picked for this family. I believed that if the Holy Spirit had pressed our hearts with a message that “He was a God who desires to lift families up,” that He truly would do just that. Many of us began to pray that a house would be found at an affordable price. Lyn telephoned me at 3:00 a.m. the first of February and said that she had found a house for $800.00, and that she would have to have the money the next day. After paying the final $1,500.00 for the Cluj house, I had only $1,000.00 left to operate Calea for that month. It now takes according to our new budget figures this year about $1,700.00 per month just to operate the ministry under normal conditions. Yet, I heard God say, “Buy it” as I was on the phone with Lyn. I never went back to sleep and early that same morning I got a call from this friend who said, “I haven’t slept much tonight I have had that family that needs a house on my heart all night and I feel God has pressed my heart to give $800.00 towards the purchase of a house for them.” Praise Jesus for people who hear God and are willing to give as God directs them. It seems that people who have a true spirit of giving once they hear God they don’t hesitate to be obedient to His direction. So on February 7th we completed the purchase and signed the papers for this family a house at the cost of $800.00. Praise Jesus! However, we used wisdom as we feel God would have us to do. We purchased the house and property under the foundation name so that the family could not sell the property. The family will be given a contract to sign as the caretakers of the property under the supervision of Calea. The house is just a small house, dirt floors with no lights, no running water and no gas, but this family is used to a lot worse conditions than what God has provided for them this year. My heart is grateful to everyone of you who helped pray and also to the one God used to help lift this family up to “Higher Ground”. If you could see this family and see their spiritual growth which is very evident now, you would understand why our hearts were fixed upon doing all we could to save this family and see the other 3 children have a chance to have the schooling they needed and a permanent place to call home. Blessings unto you all in Jesus Name! God is the “Great Provider” for us all! Thanks to These Special Churches: We want to thank Pastor Dave and Wanda Martin at “Manna Ministries” in Atlanta, GA for their warm welcome and for the generous donation of $600.00 toward our ministry expenses and also for the opportunity to help them box some of the humanitarian items that they ship to Romania. We had the honor to pray with them over this shipment and to pray blessings upon their church for their faithfulness to ship goods to underprivileged families. We would also like to say thank you to Pastor Walter and Dorothy Johnson at Jones Baptist church for their warm greetings and the love offering of $335.00. Our blessings to our Mission Director, Pastor Gene and Sherri Throop in Bristow, IN for their warm greeting and love offering and also, the wonderful time of fellowship. Thank you for your deep desire to hear about our work in Romania. What a pleasure it was to share with you what God has allowed us to witness as we worked in Romania in His service. Speaking Engagements: We will be speaking March 10th at First Assembly of God in Calera, Alabama, and then will be in Jemison, at “The Church at Bethel” on March 24th. Please be in prayer as we travel that God’s angels will be all around us protecting us and that hearts will be pressed to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. Continue to remember these “Prayer” needs: · Pray that God will miraculously provide funds to purchase all the materials that are desperately needed for the summer project of remolding the house in Cluj. Be in agreement with us that this will come quickly because we really need to start buying materials soon. I believe that if God has pressed people’s hearts to come and work then the money is already in God’s storehouse waiting for us to ask.· Pray for the safety of the work teams as they travel, work, and give freely of their time to serve Jesus.Note of Thanks: "Thank you" is a powerful statement that is heard too seldom. That is why every month I end our newsletter with a note of “Thanks”. I always want you to know how much we appreciate you for all your support towards our ministry. Over the last 4 years, you have read about our needs, our hurts, and our miracles. I feel that it is time you know that you are not just prayer or support partners to us, but you have become treasured friends. Our desire is that God will lift you up more each day and give to you your heart desires. I pray spiritual and financial increase upon you according to Malachi 3: Pour out for them Lord, such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. In Jesus Name we pray! Yours in Christ, Freddy and Rita
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