September 2012 Newsletter

One month ago, we received a phone call that our Pastor here in Romania (Teodor Ciuciui) had passed away of a heart attack, un-expectantly, during the night. (This church is about 70 miles from where we live and work and our plan is to plant a similar church here in Sebis, in the future.) He was 59 years old and of all the people that I have met in my 19 years of serving the Lord here, there is no one that I admired more. For Maria and I, he was one of our living heroes of the faith, and a person that we ourselves will seek to be like. He inspired us, as few have done, but we thank God for His life and the chance to know him. He served the Lord  and gave 100% until his very last day. Please keep his family and the church in your prayers...

The church goes forward but we really miss our Pastor!!!  His son, who is very qualified has taken the position as Senior Pastor and has been speaking about; remaining steadfast or unmovable in difficult circumstances... That has been our focus the last months as well.

        Several things that we have learned over the years and can be useful to you are written below:

1.)    Being steadfast or unmovable does not mean having a life without problems. You can through God's power rise above any problem. He is faithful to help you through the storms of life.

2.)    Even in the midst of major storms or tests in your life, you can remain steadfast, when your life is based upon the word of God, the Bible!

3.)    You will remain steadfast or unmovable, when you will not allow yourself to be defeated by the doubt that exists in your mind and often complicated by others around you speaking negative. (Job, is a good example of this)

4.)  In all circumstances remember that, God is in control, and He is still on the throne.  One of my favorite sayings over the last years has become,

"God is still God and God is still good, to Him be the glory!"

      All of our children are doing well and seem to be growing. Now to look back and think that 18 months ago we had three kids in diapers and almost every morning several beds wet (which is a by-product of abandonment)... it is now a wonderful thing to see that the bed-wetting, has stopped and we are diaper free. Hallelujah!

  Ioana, which is our youngest (2 years, 8 months old), is finally starting to talk and is so cute. This had been a concern of ours because she had said almost nothing up until about a month ago.

Claudiu, Anna, Adrian and Alexandra are typical kids for their ages and have adapted well into our home. Annabelle, Jacqueline and Ashley has also adapted well to having so many new kids in our home.  The summer vacation from school has been nice and very much needed for all of us as school can be very stressful. The little kids spent a lot of time riding bikes in the courtyard, and jumping on the trampoline along with many other kids from the neighborhood.

      The teen outreach that we have on Friday nights goes well and we are seeing a nucleus of 10-20 teens come together. Ashley has started to lead worship while playing piano, along with Jacqueline with several other teens singing back-up. Recently we started a Bible study on James and will continue on this subject the next few months. The children's outreach on Saturday also goes very well. We have around 30 kids weekly but we have had up to 45-50 at times, which keeps Maria and I very busy.

      In Spring, we took a busload of  kids, teens and some of their parents to the kids church in Oradea, held at the church that we are a part of. This helped them better understand what we are seeking to accomplish here in Sebis. We have also been able to take groups of teens to several different conferences, helping them to develop relationships with teens from other areas of the country and to strengthen their relationship with the Lord.

      The months of May, June and July the teens were busy earning points needed to attend our annual kid's camp in Laz. Instead of paying money, they earn points by; attendance to our meetings, memorizing scripture, bringing friends and serving in outreaches that we organize to help people living in our area that are in need. We had several very good outreaches helping neighbors that needed their grass cut, firewood split, hauled and stacked. During these months, we also saw much spiritual growth in this group! 

      The last two weeks in July we were busy with our summer camps. First, the teen camp which was held at our camp, in the village of Laz and then the day camp for the smaller children, which was held here at Casa Ezra, with one day being spent at the camp in Laz . We were blessed to have a small team from our hometown in Pennsylvania, help us with both of these camps. We had some very good ministry times and the teens were challenged to live their lives for the Lord and to trust Him to enable them to accomplish the dreams that he has placed upon their hearts.

      Throughout the summer, we have also been busy with a lot of maintenance on Casa Ezra. We have spent weeks sanding and staining much of the woodwork on the backside of the building, fixing doors, toilets and many other small things. We have also been doing many small projects at the camp in Laz.  We have not started building the dorms there as of yet because of lack of finances for this project. Please pray that the Lord will provide the $13,000 still needed for these buildings to be built.  It can be very stressful to have 25+ kids staying in tents during the camps if a storm happens to come our way.

        We were hoping to bring 4-6 more children that have been abandoned or orphaned into Casa Ezra by June and had finished most of the legal work for this to happen, but as we were doing all the required paperwork, we realized that this was just not going to be possible in the natural. Unfortunately, at the moment we have not the necessary financial support and backing for this.  We continue to pray that the Lord will enable us to extend the work of Casa Ezra but we cannot do that until we have some key people working on Casa Ezra's behalf, Stateside. Please pray that the Lord will continue to raise up a group of individuals or churches that can understand the area in which we live and work. Romania has never been an easy country to work in as a missionary and it has become quite expensive the last years making it even more difficult. That does not mean that there are not needs here and that the work that we are trying to accomplish is not necessary. If you would be interested in being a part of that group please communicate with us and let us know.

      This spring, we were approved to start a Bible School through, Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We would like to see 4-6 students attending this school in its first year. We would like to provide work scholarships for the students to attend this school in exchange for them working in our ministry throughout the week. This would provide Biblical training, and also practical work experience for them to apply what is being learned. It would help our ministry by us having more workers. For those of you that remember our work in the city of Brasov, this school would be laid out on the same format. We have seen much success with the work of the students from Brasov. Of the 16 students we worked with there, most are now leading churches or working as missionaries, in other countries such as Ghana in West Africa.

      We would like to start this school as soon as possible, but need to find sponsors for the students, which is $300 a month. Ideally, we would like to see different churches or individuals sponsoring the students financially and in prayer. Those sponsoring the students, would be invited to participate in the board of this project and would be able to visit, teach and minister in the school as well. Once we have several individuals or churches that have let us know that they are interested in the project we will plan a target opening date.

      We have never had a over-abundance of support, most missionary organizations would have told us to go home years ago as they looked at our support... and would have laughed at us as we told them of our plans to start building Casa Ezra... but God has been faithful! Through hard work, frugal living, prayer and a handful of very faithful supporters, I believe that the Lord has laid an incredible foundation here in Sebis, upon which He is building! 

        For all of you that have supported us up until now, we say, "THANK YOU" from the bottom, of our hearts. Your sacrifice has enabled us to do what has been done! I believe you will have a big reward in heaven...

        For us to accomplish what the Lord is calling us to do, we are in need of more supporters and committed sponsors. Please pray that the Lord will provide for all that He has called us to do. If you would like a copy of our 2011 yearly financial report, please let me know.

        Please consider passing this newsletter on to a friend and telling them of the work that we are doing here. We would appreciate this! Our main form of communication is on facebook and you can find us at either; ‘Daniel Hurrelbrink' or "Barnabas Ministries Incorporated". There are hundreds of pictures on that site, of the work that we are doing.

      We appreciate hearing from you. Any letter, e-mail or other communication from back home is always an encouragement. We pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you!

                                                            Love,

                                                            Dan and Maria and kids

We can be contacted via e-mail at: dhurrelbrink@yahoo.com

For financial contributions: Please make checks payable to "Barnabas Ministries". Attach a note stating for the support of Dan and Maria Hurrelbrink/Barnabas Ministries in Romania (or specifically where designated) and mail to this address;

Barnabas Ministries, Inc.

P.O. Box 23

Emlenton, PA 16373

At the end of the year, you will receive a tax-deductible receipt for your giving!