June--August 2005 Newsletter

Dear Praying Friends,

Greetings from the beautiful country of Romania!! I can hardly believe I have been here already for over two months—the time has flown by!!

I have settled in the city of Targu Mures, in the heart of Romania…in the region also known as Transylvania. You can just imagine the history of this city as you turn the corner of a modern street and find a narrow street paved with cobblestones and lined with centuries-old buildings. Just recently I was reading one afternoon on a park bench that was shadowed by the wall of a medieval fortress!! Needless to say, the history buff in me will be thrilled to discover all the history of this region during my time here!!

I was able to get into my apartment in July. I thank the Lord for providing the opportunity to rent a furnished 3 bedroom apartment for less than most unfurnished 2 bedroom apartments usually go for. Granted, since it had not been lived in for quite some time, it took a lot of cleaning and a couple repairmen to get everything clean and in working order—but praise the Lord—we can now flush the toilets!! My present roommate is a girl named Siri from Norway, who will be here until October. My other roommate—Meg from the US—will arrive in late September.

Since my arrival I have been keeping busy!! There is always plenty to keep me busy at Kiwi House, the home for abandoned babies. There are eight babies in the home—ranging in age from four months to four years old. These little ones are so sweet, despite their being somewhat behind in their development. I just love walking in there and seeing their faces light up when they see me!!

Besides helping at Kiwi House, I was also able to work at two day camps with Livada Orphan Care. The first was at their group home—Casa Rebekah—where they care for ten children ranging in age from seven to twelve. It is amazing to see what a difference can be made by placing these children into a loving Christian environment—when they had spent most of their lives in a huge and impersonal state orphanage.

The second day camp was at Ludus, a state home in a town about an hour from Targu Mures. The theme for both camps was character—focusing on the character qualities of David and then tying them in with the character qualities of Christ. The only problem was that at the state home we couldn’t specifically mention Christ or salvation—but the leader managed to still get the point across and most of the kids knew who she was talking about—even shouting it out to her!! Also while at Ludus, I was able to reconnect with some of my campers from my last summer trip over here three years ago---which was awesome!!

Also during this time I was able to go back to Lunca Bradului—the camp I worked at during my last trip over here—for one session. I was the principal leader of an awesome group of teens. At this camp, whose theme was “Mission IS Possible” the teams pick out their own team names and decorate flags. My team ended up being “CIA—Crazy Invisible Agents”!! It was a great camp with several salvations and many people dedicating themselves to the Lord. My team from camp has even committed themselves to continue meeting once a week during the school year!! Please keep them in your prayers, as not all are Christians.

I just recently returned from another camp way up in the mountains—this was an awesome time of fellowship with God and with other Christians. The summer camp season is now officially over and school will be starting back in about two weeks. It is just amazing how quickly the summer has flown by!! Soon my ministry here will transition into a regular weekly schedule. Besides continuing to help at Kiwi House 2-3 mornings a week, I hope to be able to do follow up for the two day camps I was involved in with Livada Orphan Care, and to get more actively involved in the youth ministry at church. Also, my crate will be arriving soon and I will be able to get my apartment organized. Once the apartment is in order and school has started back, my camp group will start meeting, a young ladies Bible study will be started, and I hope some other youth outreaches can be begun as the Lord leads. Needless to say…it will be a busy, but enjoyable time!!

I just want to thank all of you for both your prayers and financial support—without which I could never have arrived on the field so quickly!! God bless you all!!

All for Him,
JULIE SEALE

Just a reminder…if you have any questions or comments, or would like to receive my email newsletters personally, then email me at texanromaniac@hotmail.com with the subject line: Email Updates