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2009 Review and Reflection

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. I Peter 1:8-9

Dear Praying Friends and Ministry Partners,

Although we have not seen our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we believe in Him and love Him because of what we read in the Bible and the testimony of the Holy Spirit. We will never fully appreciate who Jesus Christ is and what He sacrificed to lay aside His heavenly glory and come to earth. He lived as a human and died a very painful death on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. When we pause and consider who Jesus is this Christmas season it should fill us with "unspeakable joy."

2009 Wrap-up
 As we look back on 2009, we do not have to think very long to realize the many ways the Lord has blessed us this year. Obviously the biggest item of praise is for allowing us to complete deputation and move to Romania. We started the year at 77% of our support, and we spent the first two weeks of January in language acquisition training in Colorado.

The spring was busy with meetings and mission conferences. Our support continued to move upward gradually, but we weren’t quite sure how many more meetings we would need to finish deputation. By summer, our support had reached 92%. We completed last-minute projects on our home and put it up for sale. We also began making preparations for our departure and purchasing items that needed to be shipped to Romania.

The sale of our home was one of the major blessings of 2009. We all know how challenging the real-estate market has been this past year. We are thankful that the Lord provided a buyer at just the right time and that we were able to negotiate staying in our home until the day we departed.

Since arriving in Romania (nearly four months ago already!) God has blessed us with a smooth transition. Our apartment feels like home, and we are learning how to get around.

The Lord’s Care through Illness
 Ruth has been experiencing pain in her hip when walking. She was diagnosed with a pinched nerve, and she has completed two weeks of therapy and exercises. The problem remains, and she is continuing the exercises at home. Please pray that the muscles will be strengthened and she can get around without experiencing pain.

We have quickly learned that healthcare is harder to come by in Romania, and something as simple as going to the doctor requires planning from how to get there (bus or taxi or a teammate) to how long you may be there since many doctors do not schedule appointments.

One blessing we experienced this week was Dave was able to find a prescription he had occasionally used in the states for his back. He used his last two pills and decided to visit the pharmacy. Immediately the pharmacist produced the exact medicine and dosage. A week’s supply is only $1! Thankfully the Lord has removed the pain after only two days.

God is in control in the midst of these maladies. Before coming to Romania we had feared having more problems with the food and our stomachs, but we have not. The Lord is helping us day-by-day, and these illnesses have not slowed us down considerably. Celeste and Amber have been very healthy too, for which we are very thankful.

New Friends
We recently met the Dinu family at church who lived in the U.S. for eleven years. They have two children, David, 10 and Bianca, 6, who were born in the U.S. and are fluent in English. They love to play with Celeste and Amber. The Dinus' experience allows them to "bridge" Romanian and American cultures. They have also been taking us to the supermarket, picking us up for church and helping us look for a vehicle.

Celeste and Amber with David and Bianca

Winter Roars into Romania
About the same time we began reading of cold temperatures and wintry weather in Ohio, we began experiencing similar weather here. The week before Christmas, Timisoara received several inches of snow, which is unusual we are told, that blanketed most of the country. The roads in Timisoara were mostly covered for several days as the temperatures were in the teens, and there is little snow removal equipment available. But we still managed to get around, and our friends helped us make it to church. Most of the snow has melted now, and the temperatures are considerably warmer than just two days ago.

Piata Victoriei blanketed with snow
Merry Christmas, and may the Lord bless you in the new year!

Dave, Ruth, Celeste, and Amber

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Language Study
We have been in daily language classes for the past 2 ½ months. Dave studies at a language school near our apartment, while Ruth studies with a tutor in our home. We have discovered that Romanian is a much more phonetic language than English. You literally pronounce every letter. This makes reading easier. In fact, we were recently told that Romanian children are only taught spelling through second grade, since it is really not necessary beyond that level. We are already using short words and phrases in our daily lives. We are now able to call a taxi ask for something at the store. Ruth enjoys chatting with the clerk at the corner market.

Our Shipment Arrives
The week after our last prayer letter went out our shipment from the U.S. arrived with all our personal belongings. We were thankful to have our furnishings and warmer clothing in time for winter. Everything arrived safely, including a box that was missing temporarily. We have put everything away now, and the garage allows us to store packing materials, things we do not need immediately, the girls’ bikes, and Dave’s tools.



Boxes stacked outside; Dave with Luke Warner after moving everything inside

Kid's Corner
While Ruth is having language class, Kim Warner is teaching Celeste and Amber. She has taught them the Romanian alphabet, greetings, rooms in the house, colors, and other phrases. Celeste is especially good at pronunciation (as she was in English). She really rolls her Rs well too!

Celeste and Amber are meeting more children their age too. They go to an art class on Saturday afternoons and Sunday School on Sunday mornings. They are also going to be singing in children’s choir on Christmas Eve (all in Romanian).

Reaching Us by Phone
We are now able to make and receive calls to the U.S. over the Internet for free using our ooma call system. The phone number is the same one as appears on our prayer cards, 513-328-3834. We would love to hear from you. Please keep in mind that we are seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Praises

  • Safe return of Tim and Sandy Fink to Romania after Tim’s recent battle with cancer.
  • Safe arrival of our shipment from the U.S.
  • Sale of our Impala.
  • New Romanian friends.
  • Good start to language study.

Prayer Requests

  • For Ruth’s back therapy and exercises for a pinched nerve.
  • For continued progress in our language study.
  • For Romania's re-elected president (Dec. 6) and the new government that is being formed.
  • More opportunities to use Romanian in daily life.

Ministry Downloads
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Field Address: Str. Virgil Madgearu, Nr. 6A, Ap. 1, Timisoara 300193, Romania, 513.328.3834, www.kimmelfamily.com
U.S. Mailing Address: 6614 Southampton Ln., West Chester, OH 45069
Sending Church: Tri-County Baptist Church, 8195 Beckett Rd., West Chester OH 45069, 513.860.5100
Mission Agency: Baptist Mid-Missions, PO Box 308011, Cleveland, OH 44130, 440.826.3930

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