Hello Everyone!
We hope this month’s newsletter finds you doing well. We are settling into life here in Redding, getting to know our new church family, build new relationships and community. Redding is almost startlingly friendly and feels very much like home.
ROMANIA
Mark is continuing to make head way on the curriculum for the school of ministry. The third phase of
the curriculum is focused on deeper theological study of the Word and practical application through outreach and working in the local church. The challenge at this stage is developing material that contains the depth and breadth of basic theology while being concise enough to teach in an accelerated program such as this. We are excited, though, to see how the Lord helps us put it all together.
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| Mark ministering in Cluj |
The outreach portion of this phase in some ways is less challenging as this is the type of ministry Mark cut his teeth on. However, that doesn’t mean it is without its own unique set of circumstances that need to be worked through. What’s really exciting for this part of the third phase is the Lord seems to be already setting our future students up for an amazing opportunity among the Gypsies.
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| Cluj congregation |
To give you a brief history of the Gypsy people, it is believed the Gypsies actually came to Eastern Europe as early as 1200 AD from the subcontinent of India. For hundreds of years they have been ostracized, subject to slavery, genocide and extreme prejudice. While some of their cultural behaviors have understandably created a level of mistrust, the overt hatred of the Roma people has led to extreme poverty, isolation and little hope. This, in turn, has led to self-imposed isolation and camps that are notoriously closed to outsiders. But God....
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| Arriving at Dallas |
On this last trip Mark was invited by Bert Looij to visit one of the Gypsy encampments. Bert is the
local director of a work called Pro Roma which focuses on providing basic housing, education and biblical teaching. His 20 years of ministry among these people has earned him a level of trust not generally extended to outsiders. Mark was privileged to be able to enter the camps as Bert’s guest. This particular camp is called “Dallas,” which is the equivalent of calling a 6’8” man “Tiny.” This camp is literally built on and from the Cluj Napoca
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| Sunday School at Dallas |
dump. When Mark arrived at the camp, he was confronted with kids playing in garbage, people scavenging to find something of value to sell, and homes built from trash cobbled together to form make shift shelter. The dirt and the stench is something that you really can’t describe. In its way, it was as bad as anything we’ve seen in the 3rd World. It was possibly more startling, as it exists in the middle of relative modern comforts and conveniences.
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| This is what a cobbled together house looks like. |
An invitation has been extended to us to bring teams to work alongside Pro Roma among the Gypsy people. We see this as a twofold opportunity. One: we simply get to love on the “least of these” - pure Gospel in action. Two: by ministering in the camps, we lay a foundation of relationship and trust for future school of ministry students. How amazing would it be if our students were able to play a pivotal role in healing a centuries old rift within their own country? What if the pure simplicity of love in action sparked a flame that set Romania on fire?
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| These are the houses Pro Roma is building to
replace the cobbled together lean to shacks,
and what we are looking to assist with
on our Summer 2016 trip. |
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We are going to put together a team for a short-term missions trip the Summer of 2016. The ministry
opportunities are almost endless among the camps. We’re looking to put together a team of people who have skills that can be used to build housing, teach basic hygiene and other basic skills and who have a heart to share the Gospel. We want to see revival hit Dallas. We want to see Romania fully alive and who God made her to be.
If you are interested in being part of the team, we would love to hear from you.
Yours for the Kingdom,
Mark and Julie Dyar
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