I am so tired, but want to at least post this blog entry. It has been such an AMAZING DAY, and I am looking forward to finishing up everything tomorrow. Frank, Diane and I had dinner with a precious couple tonight in their home. Alex and Camie are the sweetest, most endearing couple! They have two lovely children as well. Alex is the newly elected Mission Coordinator for the Romanian Baptist Union, and Camie is a leader with women’s Bible study ministry. They are members at Holy Trinity where we will be having the Women’s Leadership conference in March 2010. Frank, Diane and I visited the church today to “put our eyeballs” on the facility, etc, in order to plan more accurately for the conference. It is lovely and is the place God has ordained for us to meet. We will meet for the first half in the worship center, and then go to an upper room for the lunch and workshop. Just as an added bonus, the room is used by a Messianic Jewish church for their meetings. Wooo-hooo! A double blessing over us!!
Frank and Diane are with the International Mission Board, but work directly with Alex as he travels around Romania to meet with Pastors. Diane has felt for several weeks that I needed to meet Camie and to have her be a part of the conference coordination. I was cool with that, but became WAY COOL with that after we all visited tonight over dinner.
After much laughter and fun over the main course, we all shared a little of our own “stories”. I was the last to share, and told of my family and the origins of my passion to found Beautiful Gate Translations. As I shared, I saw Camie and Alex exchange a look. Camie asked me twice to confirm the time period when the Lord began to speak to me about Romanian women and translating a Beth Moore Bible study into Romanian. As my story unfolded, her eyes grew larger and more delighted. I told her about my contacting LifeWay Resources and speaking to Phil Adams, the International Licensing Specialist at the time. Then about receiving a Licensing Agreement to translate “Jesus the One and Only” by Beth Moore. Then about receiving the next contract for “Believing God”, etc, etc, etc. Then, it was my turn to hear another part of her “story”. As hers unfolded, my jaw about fell to the floor and my eyes opened as wide as saucers! My vision began to blur again.
Here’s the amazing details of that part of her story:
Back in 2001, she was pregnant with their oldest daughter, and had also completed a Beth Moore study called, “A Woman’s Heart, God’s Dwelling Place” (commonly known as the tabernacle series) in English. Because she was so blessed and encouraged by the study, she so wanted other Romanian women to have Beth Moore studies in Romanian. So, she contacted a man at LifeWay named Phil Adams who sent her a Licensing Agreement via email. He said at that time, there weren’t any Bible studies being translated into Romanian. So she worked diligently on the translation as she prayed about the Licensing Agreement. The publishing firm she had contacted couldn’t help her with the international publishing because they were British and the Bible study was published by an American company. However, she kept working on the translation of the Tabernacle study. With a very big tummy and books all around her during that translation effort, the Lord spoke to her to stop her work. She was very disappointed that He would have her stop such a good and noble project, but she obeyed and surrendered. That was the Fall of 2001.
With a very sweet countenance, she explained to me that God had finally shown her tonight why she was to stop the work back then. He told her that another was to do the Romanian translations instead and knew tonight it was me. That very same Fall of 2001 is when the Lord burdened my heart to pray for the women of Romania and to begin my journey of Bible study translation. It was not until April of 2002 that I actually applied for the Licensing Agreement and then signed it in June of 2002.
I felt humbled and amazed at God’s goodness. How can it be that I would travel to a foreign country to have dinner with a dear sister in Christ and to hear her AMAZING STORY from 8 years ago? It was OUR story that only God could have written. Only God, only God.
I bow my head even at this moment with tears streaming down my face. AMAZING GRACE. Our Sisters in Christ in the Bucharest area are so hungry for more Bible study, more resources, more of Jesus, and they are very excited about the upcoming conference.
I do not doubt for one second that God has a fabulous plan ahead and has an AMAZING LOVE for His daughters in Romania and Moldova.
Will you rejoice with me? Praise the Lord! Slava Domnelui!