A Romanian Ministry Built With Love

	June 2006 Latest News ... A Time At Home Since the middle of this January I have been back in Eastern Tennessee. The Lord has allowed this time to be a time of reflection on the past 16 years (yes, it has been 16 years) of missions and ministry in Romania. It is truly amazing where the Lord Jesus has brought us from; and it is equally amazing where he is taking us. Also, this has been a time of refreshment to be with family, friends, neighbors and church family. There is nothing like friends and family to bring warmth and happiness in your life. During this extended time home, I have experienced this in a greater way then in times past. And as in times past I have been honored to speak in churches where I have met brothers and sisters I had not known till now. All of these meetings have brought glory to God’s Son, Jesus. These have brought new and renewed sweet fellowship with the brethren. Every need I had while here has been met by our Lord. I was somewhat disappointed that because of distance and time constraints, I was not able to visit with everyone, especially the 2 congregations in Wisconsin, whom I longed to see. I hope this can be rectified by next year. Until this time, I send my love through this letter. It has been a refreshment to speak of what I have learned from God’s Word this year and share it with others on this side of the Atlantic. With all of these, reflections and refreshments, I have now come to the remembrance that soon, on the 6th of June, I return to where I have been called to minister, the village of Dersca. I am eager to join those that I have trained who are keeping the mission going in Jesus name. They know as do I; that it is a work of the Lord Jesus, to God be the glory!
	Matthews House Nativity scene For the last 2 years, I have had a desire to do a live nativity scene in the village of Dersca Romania. This year I began to formulate this desire in the form of a prayer. By the end of November of this year (2005) I was convinced that the LORD would have me to go forward with a live nativity in Dersca Romania. The folks who work with me at Matthews House eagerly responded when they heard what I felt the LORD wanted to do in The village. Not only were they willing to build a little barn, complete with a manger and bring in sheep, they also wanted to be the players. The wives of the men who work with me volunteered to make all the costumes, and help me to find the material for them. So with only 3 weeks to go before Christmas, we started the project. The LORD had put together, a cast, a crew, and a director from people who had never been involved in anything like this before in their lives. These folks were so excited about this event and their excitement, excited me also. The LORD had given us 2 shepherds, with speaking parts, a narrator who also played the part of Joseph. Mary and an angel. I was the director, and with full cooperation from the cast, I felt I had the easiest job. The Christmas story from Luke Chapter 2 was read from the Bible, along with John 3:16, and John 15:1-17. After the men an their wives at Matthews House were in agreement to do this task before them, I had to get permission to present this nativity scene in the middle of the village. The Mayor of the village was all for it but suggested I talk to the Orthodox priest about it too. Both he and his wife agreed that it was a great idea, and they along with the mayor invited me to place the nativity in the central area of the village. What a grand thing! A reenactment of the first Christmas, with no opposition to its theme or to the public reading of the Bible. Only a generation ago, a totalitarian dictatorship under communism would never have allowed such a thing to be a reality. A Christmas Nativity! The announcement of the birth of Christ, the promised messiah! Public reading of the scriptures! This would have been unheard of! But it is now a reality. The power of GOD to change any circumstance is awesome. Only good things could come from this little nativity scene. My prayer now turns also to the democratic nations of the west. My own nation especially, that we Americans will listen to GOD and pray about the controversies that are before us. The displaying of The Ten Commandments, a nativity scene, public prayer or public reading of the scriptures. Let us turn closer to the LORD in our own hearts and then these things will be settled and without controversy. Let us allow Christ to come from a lowly manger, into our hearts, by choice. Please help me in this prayer.
	The Container, A lesson in humility Last fall, we at Matthew’s House USA sent a container filled with farm equipment and supplies to Matthew’s House Romania to be used on the farm for growing the produce freely given to the poor and orphaned children of Romania. Even the container itself would be used as a rodent-proof storage for grain. It became a good idea gone awry. The major problem was that we included seed for last year’s production. Here in the states, we take for granted that the seed we buy at stores are certified to be healthy. However, when importing (especially into Romania) nothing should be taken for granted. We were to have the seed sent to a lab and forwarded the certificate to customs for approval. Having already sent the seed, to have it analyzed was impossible. Romanian authorities insisted that we return the whole 40’ container over these sacks of seed. We did so, costing an expensive return shipment. This was a truly humiliating experience. As I returned to the United States this past winter, I was disappointed that I had failed to get the container through to Dersca. Every direction that I had tried had ended in closed doors. To boot, shipping costs were so very high and it was hard to not be overwhelmed with discouragement. Then I remembered, doesn’t God’s Word say, “All things work together for good , to them that love God and are called according to His purpose?” When God says “All things”, that is precisely what He means. This bump in the road, like so many other bumps comes under the category of “all things”. So, Lord, what are you trying to teach me and allow me see the good of it. I opened the door of the container and removed the contents, piece by piece. Besides the implicated seed, there were certain used clothing items and even things not listed on the manifest all of which could have meant that the customs authorities could have brought severe charges against Matthew’s House and endangered future shipments for us. Lord, we know you know best. Thank you for your vital lessons. Unpacking the container also gave us an opportunity to repair the equipment here in the states where parts are readily available and additional tools were purchased and donated for the return shipment to Romania. After careful repair and refurbishing, each item was carefully categorized, numbered, boxed, inventoried and photographed. We are painfully aware that Romanian customs are notorious for their inconsistent rulings regarding import containers. Lord, continue to protect us. We do not want to be guilty of bribery, which would bring disgrace on your work and make it impossible to tell a hurting world that there is another way. The world says," When in Rome do as the Romans do.” But your word says, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” We have urgently attended to this container and now “having done all to stand, “ we ask that you join us in praying for God to watch over his container and send it forth to accomplish it’s purpose. Yes, it is true. All things do work for good, you can bank on it.
	Meet the Bordeauxs Please allow me to introduce my wife and me to you in this article. My name is Troy Bordeaux and my wife is Hilary. We served the Lord together when I was the Associate Pastor/Youth Pastor at Wildwood Free Will Baptist Church in Wilson, North Carolina from January 2003 until September 2005. Before joining Brother Larry Ball in the ministry at Wildwood Church, we both attended Southeastern Free Will Baptist College. I attended Southeastern from 1999 until 2002. Hilary attended from 2000 until 2002. Even before College, We were both actively involved in the ministries of our home churches. I grew up in Faith Free Will Baptist Church in Rockingham, North Carolina. Faith Church in Rockingham is where I first started attending church as a bus kid at the age of four. This is where the Lord saved me and called me to preach. Hilary was saved at the age of five and grew up in a pastor’s home. Being a pastor’s daughter, she attended different churches while growing up. However, she graduated from Hilltop Christian School in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. The Lord has used many of the experiences and opportunities that we have had so far in our lives and ministry to impact our lives forever. For both of us, some of the most life-changing experiences took place during our summer trips to the foreign mission field. I was able to visit works in Moldova, Romania and Ukraine while a student at Southeastern. Hilary was able to visit works in Moldova during her time as a college student. It was through those trips that the Lord begin to speak to our heart about His ministry in Eastern Europe. I felt that in His timing, the Lord would call me to be a missionary to that part of the world. I didn’t know it then but the Lord was doing the same in Hilary’s heart. It is amazing how the Lord spoke to us both about His work in Eastern Europe during our college mission trips. He had a plan that neither one of us could see at that time. The Lord then brought us together and we were married in March of 2003. It wasn’t until the first few months of 2005 that Lord begin to burden our hearts afresh about His calling. He begin telling us that it was now time to step out on faith and go to the foreign mission field. We knew that He was leading us to Eastern Europe. However, we did not know the specific place. It wasn’t until we begin to share our burden with a friend that the Lord spoke to us about the specific place. After listening to the burden the Lord had given us, he begin to tell us how the Lord was using Brother Delbert and Matthew’s House in Dersca, Romania. During that very conversation the Lord begin to give my wife and I an excitement and a peace about the work at Matthew‘s House. I contacted Mrs. Gillette to find out more about how the Lord was using them in His ministry there in Romania. She begin to share with me what the Lord has already done in Dersca as well as what they could see the Lord doing in the future through the eyes of faith. The Lord continued to impress on our hearts that Dersca was where He wanted us to serve Him. In August I took a ten day trip to Matthew‘s House. During this trip, as well as the days to follow, is when the Lord seemed to confirm it all. My wife and I know that Matthew’s House is where He will have us serve Him. We can’t wait to get to the field and allow the Lord to use us to change lives in Romania.