News from the Yorks, IVCF missionaries to Romania
Dear Friends,
LOOKING BACK
As we reflect on the last 8 weeks here in the States it’s hard to believe that our time is coming to a close and on Saturday (August 8th) we will be returning to Romania. We all, children included, have mixed emotions. Romania has become our home. It’s where we live, work, interact with people, go to school, go on vacations etc. However these last 8 weeks have been full of wonderful times with family, friends, supporting churches and new acquaintances. We have enjoyed public libraries, swimming pools, lakes, parks, visiting colleges, baseball games, open space, Breyer’s ice cream etc. It is with mixed emotions that we pack our bags, decide what can stay here and what we “need” to bring with us, say our goodbyes for who knows how long, and prepare to return to our cozy cove. (That’s what we call our apartment)
Yorks enjoy DE beaches
We have been blessed beyond words by old friends that have graciously opened their homes for us to stay in, by partners in our ministry that have organized dinners, by churches that have let us share about the work God is doing in Romania, and just being has been a blessing. We thought that when we came 8 weeks ago that we would have plenty of time to see more of you. Thank you to those of you that gave of your time to spend time with us and we are sorry that we didn’t get to see all of you.
Yorks kayak in the States here in America
LOOKING FORWARD
When we return we thankfully won’t hit the ground running, but will have a few weeks to transition and get ready for a new school year. Many of our activities and job descriptions will stay the same this year and yet we also have new ideas of ways we’d like to see the Lord work and use us. For many years we have struggled with the enormous social needs that we see in Romania as a result of their communist past. We would like to see the university students that we work with get involved in social issues and begin to volunteer in orphanages, group homes, hospitals etc. This will require a change in heart and a change in priorities.
We would also like to begin to partner with a few other missionaries to begin a work among international students that are studying in Bucharest. We have been talking with a few others that are interested in this type of ministry. There are many students coming to Bucharest from Muslim and Hindu countries so this gives us an opportunity to introduce them to Christ. Please pray for wisdom and unity in those we will be working with.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support that allow us to serve students and staff in Romania! In Him,
Mike, Kris, Rebekah, Andrew & Hannah
___________________________________________
Mike & Kris York
Sos. Mihai Bravu Nr. 297
Bl. 15A, Sc. A, Ap. 1
Bucuresti, ROMANIA cod 030306
Home Phone: 021. 324.6740 or 031.404.1397
from USA. 011.40.21.324.6740
Mobil: +4072.1331436
Return Email: yorklink@gmail.com
Blog–> www.yorklink.blogspot.com
Camps!
Camp
July for us was all about camps. We had an English camp the first week of July. It was a sleep-away high school camp, and our theme was “Into the Daylight”. Over the course of the week, we moved through twilight, darkness, starlight, dawn, and finally into the daylight. Our goal with camp is to lead students to think about their lives and their choices and to offer Christian perspectives. We had an amazing group of students that God brought together, and everyone was very affected by the relationships that we made at the camp. Our pastor, Juraj, and his wife Jana, were also at the camp as representatives of the church, and Juraj spoke in the evenings.
We also had a Jr. High English Camp here in Trnava, which went very well, as well as a Wild West English Camp for younger kids in a nearby village. Thank you for your prayers! We made many new connections through the three camps that we will hopefully maintain this fall.
New Pastor and Family
The church here moved out of our facilities because our MTW ministry center has closed in order to give more authority to the church leadership. We gave up our lease on August 31. It is a major change for all of us, and it was a hard good-bye for staff and students to see the Building emptied out. But thank God for providing a perfect new location for us with ample time to spare! We are now moved into a new church building that we are all becoming accustomed to. Our first church service there was this Sunday. We had 2 baptisms and official visitors from most of the other churches in town, including the Archbishop’s office! The church is already taking ownership of its space.
New Building
Please pray for our team as we reverse leadership roles and submit ourselves under the church leadership, and also for the church leadership as they make many, many important decisions about ministry in the upcoming weeks. My fall jobs will be: working with two of my teammates’ kids on their homeschool curriculum, administering our English outreach program, and being a resource for our team’s Slovak language study plans. Please pray for me to stay organized while doing new jobs!
Pray for me!
1. New church location!
2. For the church’s transitions
3. Connections with camp students
4. Transitions for the team in Trnava and in Poprad
5. Re-establishing relationships here in Trnava
6. For our team planning retreat in early September
7. For my new roles on the team
August 2009
“Who has believed what they heard from us?” Isaiah 53:1
Dear Friends,
We traveled to France once again this summer to fill in for a vacationing pastor colleague, presiding at worship (four Sundays), preaching, and visiting some of the church folk including some old friends. It was mostly enjoyable (though we did get robbed—a rucksack with some papers, etc.), due in part to the delightful summer weather and the fact that things run at a refreshingly slower pace in France in August when fully half the country closes down for the annual month of vacation.
As in the past, our stay in the Marseille area included a lot of late nights around the table with friends and acquaintances and lengthy discussions on various subjects. Indeed, if there’s one element of French culture that should favor the advancement of the gospel, it’s these prolonged mealtimes when the blood sugar is high, the mood is relaxed, and the minds are running freely. It’s an opportunity to be seized! Curiously someone calculated that around 65 percent of Jesus’ words as recorded in the gospels were pronounced in the context of a meal: either just before, during, or after. Surely the Lord would approve of the French gastronomical tradition. We were slightly dismayed, but hardly surprised, to see the spiritual temperature in France—in contrast with the dry daytime heat of Provence—still hovering around the arctic level. Most evangelical assemblies plod along with the same handful of folks from year to year with few new additions and little vision or zeal for evangelism. One might think that most French Christians, with regard to the gospel, have not really appreciated what’s at stake. In fact, many are frustrated—as we were—by the horrendous indifference of the majority of their compatriots to the questions of eternal life. Eventually, even the most stalwart believer tends to shrug his shoulders in dismay.
We had a vivid reminder of that callous indifference shortly after our arrival as we helped MTW missionary Pete Mitchell move into a new office at the Luminy University campus just outside of Marseille. As we unloaded some cartons from the moving van, a 20-year-old woman standing by the door of the office complex casually inquired as to which new business was moving in. I replied that it was “the Reformed evangelical church of South Marseille” and attempted to hand her a handy copy (I usually keep one in my pocket) of “l’évangile selon Jean” with a friendly word of exhortation to read it. She reacted as if I had the plague and rapidly withdrew her hand. “La religion ne m’intéresse pas du tout !” (Religion doesn’t interest me at all!) she exclaimed coldly. “OK, forget about the Church,” I pursued. “What do you think of Jesus as a historical character? Who was he?” “Je n’en sais rien et je ne veux rien savoir” (I don’t know anything nor do I care to know) was her parting reply. One never sees that kind of reaction amongst the Antilleans of S. Florida or the islands who usually fear God even if their theology is often less than rigorously biblical. In addition to the usual visits in Marseille, we organized three pizza/cinema nights at the ecumenical chapel showing some edifying films (including Frank Capra’s 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life) followed by discussions. The 15 or so folks (average attendance) included a few churchgoers and some non-believing acquaintances. Coincidentally, one had asked me shortly before about the Bible’s teaching on angels, of all subjects. Hopefully “Clarence” (the angel in the Capra film) didn’t leave a negative impression, Hollywood theology notwithstanding.
On our last night in France (Aug. 17), I did a conference (on “Creationism vs. Evolutionism”) at an evangelical gathering organized by Aline’s brother Pascal (a pastor in a fledgling evangelical Methodist assembly) about 100 miles west of Marseille. Once again, attendance was less than one might have hoped, but one learns to work with small numbers in French evangelical circles.
Finally, a highlight of our time in Marseille was a couple of visits with David P., the 16-year-old son of a dear Christian couple, who is dying of an noperable brain tumor. David’s is an amazing case of the Lord using the weak to confound the strong. For several months, a steady stream of visitors has come to the family’s 10th floor apartment to see David.
Marc and Aline with sick youth
Clearly the Lord has been using him for the advancement of His kingdom, even as the inoperable tumor growing around his brain stem has gradually reduced his corporal functions. Arriving at a point where he is no longer able to speak, David can only communicate by faintly squeezing the hand of his visitors to acknowledge the correct letters as they laboriously spell out what he would say. David asked one visitor if he were ready to meet his Maker. When the visitor claimed to be an atheist, David spelled out: “You are a fool,” followed by, “I don’t want you to die.” His serenity through this ordeal has been inspiring to many. Back in S. Florida, we’ll be showing (in French, for the Haitian community) the excellent apologetic series Origins by the late Dr. A.E. Wilder-Smith. We’re grateful for the enthusiasm of a couple of key Haitian students including Moïse J. and Lesly J., the director of the largest Haitian radio station in S. Florida (with a potential audience of half a million) who is giving us precious airtime to publicize our efforts—an answer to prayer. We’re also preparing for the next series of classes (on the book of Revelation) in St. Martin (Oct.3-10) and the start of a new academic year in the ever-struggling Haitian Bible school with our longsuffering colleague Rev. Jean Petit.
Thanks for your prayers for all these concerns!
In His service,
Marc
Email: MMailloux50@comcast.net; Blog: www.marcmailloux.wordpress.com)
Praise:
1-For a blessed journey with multiple opportunities to share the Word in France.
2-For signs of progress in our son Calix: in Marseille, still without a full-time job, but asking himself more
questions, spiritually. He was reading Dr. Kennedy’s book Why I Believe as we left him.
3- For the Lord’s amazing use of David P. in Marseille.
Prayer:
1-For the continued work of the Spirit on Calix.
2-For the projection of the Origins series Sept. 12, 19, and 26 at Coral Ridge PCA.
3-For the welfare of son Justin who has taken a teaching job in difficult conditions in the town of Cabrera on the
north coast of the Dominican Republic.
4- For David P. and his family (parents and two sisters).
5- For administrative help (a tri-lingual secretary) for our fledgling Haitian Bible school.
September 1, 2009
Presenting the Pastor Rarijason
Sandratana Rarijason grew up in Madagascar. His family went to church but it was during high school, thanks to the work of InterVarsity, that Sandratana began to trust God through Jesus Christ. During his university studies, he was encouraged to study for the pastoral ministry. He spent the next 16 years in the Central African Republic, first as a seminary student and two years as pastor of the Reformed Church of Bangui. He then became administrative assistant to the president of the theological seminary and eventually taught Homiletics.
At this point, he was encouraged to go to France to get a doctorate in theology. Now married to Anne, with three girls in tow, they moved to Aix-en-Provence where Sandratana began doctoral studies. He received a DEA, which is a step towards a PhD, but a lack of funds prevented his continued studies. He took a pastoral postition in Aix and eight years ago he became pastor in a small town in the Cévennes Mountains called Branoux where he also directs a retreat center.
Sandratana will continue to serve the Branoux church this school year, but he plans to visit the Montauban church one long weekend most months. This will be a demanding schedule, but Sandratana’s pastoral heart pushes him to make this effort for the sake of the “flock” in Montauban, who will otherwise be without a pastor this year.
Please pray with us for the Pastor Rarijason. Pray for strength and wisdom as he serves two churches this year. Pray for his family to adapt to these changes and the move next year.
Please be in prayer for the Montauban church as well. Pray for unity in Christ and a love for all the saints in the church to grow during this transition year. Ask that God give wisdom, discernment and courage to the church council as they lead in the absence of a full-time pastor.
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