It's Raining Shoes

On Tuesday, Diteo and I drove down to the city of Targu Mures. Buckner Ministries has a mission center there. They are based in Dallas, Texas and one of their big outreaches is a program called Shoes for Orphans. We picked up a load of around 750 pairs of shoes to bless the kids in our ministry. I dont know if you have any idea what that many pairs of shoes look like but we filled our van to the brim. I had shoes on my lap for the return trip. It is really going to be a blessing to a lot of the gypsies especially but certainly the orphans as well to have these shoes for them. And even better, Buckner is coming here in a few weeks to bless us with even more shoes! By the time we get them all distributed, everyone who is in any of our programs will have new shoes for the winter. God really provided and it is really cool to be his hands and feet in getting these shoes to those who really need them most. Check out my flickr site for more pictures of the unloading extravaganza. Hopefully I'll be able to grab some shots of the distribution and I'll get those up soon. [Pictures]

Prayer Request: Orphans in Sabolciu

The other day when Cornel was coming out to Sabolciu to check on the progress of our church plant, he saw two children on the side of the road. He stopped to talk to them and it turns out the four year old was taking care of her two year old sister because their grandmother had died and left them with no family. We checked out where they were staying. It was nothing short of appalling. It was a room no bigger than a broom closet with about a foot of trash on the floor. We need to be praying that Child Protective Services will step in and do their job. Once they have gotten through the legal work then we can step in as a ministry and help find them a foster home. They are very vulnerable right now and beg for all of their food. Pray that God will protect them and find them a place to live as fast as possible. Thank you for your prayers.

Buckner Shoes

Just had a team come through from Illinois. Their church, Buckner (based in Dallas TX) has a ministry center in another city in Romaina so they just stop by our project on their way south. But they are a huge blessing becuase of the shoes they bring. Every year they donate shoes for our entire ministry!! This year the shoes got caught up in customs but they were able to get us 200 shoes for our foster ministry and all the kids at CP2 (the orphanage). It was amazing to be able to bless all those kids with new shoes for the winter. And to top it all off, in a few weeks we will be able to get the almost 2,000 shoes that Buckner sent from America!!! It will be great to get shoes out to the gypsies who are walking around bearfoot in this cold. God has provided in a big way as he always does!

Pictures are Here

That is correct, I have finally gotten some pictures online for your viewing pleasure. They will be updated as I get more so keep checking them out. I hope they give you a little glimpse of what Romania looks like. There will always be a link on the side of this blog or just follow the link at the end of this post. I hope you enjoy. [On Pathway to Joy]

New Web Site!!

For the last week I have been helping out with the new web site. We had a volunteer web designer from Florida come and help us out with it. It looks great and there is a lot of information up there so please go check it out. [www.pathwaytojoy.org]

The Situation

A little background info so you guys can get a picture of what exactly is going on around here. Pathway to Joy is involved in with two major groups, the gypsies and orphans. Our gypsy ministry is mostly the work of planting churches where there are none. Before we moved in there were not many people willing to go into the villages and associate with gypsies. Our current two villages are Tinca and Sebolchue (not sure about that spelling). Pathway has been working in Tinca for longer and has a church that is complete save a few finishing touches. There is a youth center in the process of being built, and a house that is being converted for children's ministry. There is not enough staff to do all of this but we are working very hard to do the best we can. The youth building is one of our next big projects, trying to get it insulated and warm before winter. It is a great facility where we can host concerts, bible studies, etc. In Sebolchue we are working to finish the church building so services can start. That village is comprised mostly of single moms and their kids so their is a lot of need there which we are trying to meet through clothes drives and things like that.

Our orphan ministry is a little bit more involved. We try and get mentors for every one of the kids. A big part of what we do is trying to take them out of a very hostile environment and be a positive influence on them. We do bible studies, take them to movies, and just try and give them some semblance of family. The goal for the future is to build a center where the kids can actually live, be fed spiritually and physically, and learn a trade. It is a huge project that will take money, labor, and time. God will provide, he always does. I have seen that very clear here.

Please let me know what you want to hear about. I can post about history, why there is an orphan problem, anything. This is for you guys, a part of my team, to experience a little bit of life here.

God is good, Life is good, all is well in Romania

I have Arived

Hello from the country of Romania. I know many of you doubted my internet connectivity here but here I am. I have been for the last week living with a team from Florida who were on a mission trip here. Great group, lots of fun, and some very corny jokes. But I have moved into my permanent residence here in Romania so I will have regular internet access. Today I went to two gypsy churches and spoke very briefly at both. My permanent schedule of what I will be doing on a day-to-day basis has yet to be determined. Right now I am just lending my hands wherever they can be used. Thank you all for keeping up with me and I hope you will comment. The more you comment the more I can let you know what you are interested in. All is well in Romania, may God bless you all.

Welcome

Welcome to my Blog. I am Alex Gray and I am on mission in Oradea, Romania. One of my donors said to me that his donation was not a gift but an investment and he expected to see returns on that investment. I am very greatful that he said that because I'm sure a lot of you thought it. This space will be used primarily to see what your investment into God's kingdom is doing. I will be posting what I am up to, prayer requests and other random stories. Please Please Please interact. Leave comments, tell me what you want to see on this site and what you want to hear from me. I will soon have a real website up and running as well as a picture stream so look for that. I dont want to spam you guys with constant updates so I thought this would be a great way for you to check up on me and leave me messages. Thank you so much for even reading this. It is God's work not mine. Blessings to you all.
-Alex