Setting Captives Free

Outreach is underway and we have completed our first week. A lot of this first week was getting in contact with the people we are going to be working with and setting up opportunities. We have some really exciting stuff ahead of us.

We will have a heavy emphasis on working with the youth here in Cahul. They are really searching for answers and need Jesus, and we are excited about having an opportunity to work with them. We want to be hospitable and be able to develop relationships so we are renting out an apartment for the girls on our team to stay in and to function as a place for fellowship, while the guys are staying in an apartment provided by YWAM Cahul.

This week, we had an opportunity to go to one of the churches we will be working with and work with some kids that come from difficult family situations. Specifically, I was part of a team that worked to help the kids with learning English (that's going to be a common theme for our outreach, it opens up a lot of doors). I am extremely excited to have a chance to develop relationships with these kids.

We also had a chance to go to a youth group that we are going to be working with just to meet the group and get to know some of the people we will be working with. The youth pastor is a really cool guy, and really has a handle on the situation in Cahul. I am excited to get to work with him more.

On Friday, we did an observation/prayer walk through Cahul. The dynamic is really interesting here. The older generation is definitely larger than the younger, and you can always find the younger generation in small groups. It also took quite a few days to get our passports stamped....seeing how the passport and visa situation works in other countries has been really eye opening. It is extremely difficult and there is so much corruption.

Saturday was practical work for half of the team. It was extremely difficult. We had to shovel iced dirt to help plan trees...on a hillside. With cold wind blowing in our faces. With ice. I am from Florida. Quite the experience.

While we were working, it was extremely difficult, but to see how appreciative the workers were of our hard work made it all worth it. The guy working with us was just clearly blown away by how much we helped....it was super awesome! Afterwards, we ate lunch in a small trailer with him (the food was actually pretty amazing) and I just couldn't stop thinking about how cool it was. I love people, and getting to minister to the people of Cahul is awesome!

Sunday, we split into two teams and at one church, we had someone preach a 20 minute message, and at the other church (my group) we were able to lead worship for a few minutes. Actually, only the men will be able to preach, which means that I will most likely be preaching at some point. Please pray for me!

There isn't much to do in Cahul, which means there is a heavy emphasis on relationships. Even on the first day, we had a couple youth who live in our apartment complex come up and start talking to us. Real fun guys, I am excited to develop that relationship. Pray for us as we develop relationships.

Also, huge prayer request. We had a couple team members who had passport issues and got sent back at the border. They are working to get these issues fixed and one of them should be here soon. Please pray, this has had a huge effect on me personally, as these are two of my best friends. Please pray guys!



And PLEASE continue to pray for us! Thanks guys!