Greetings in the Precious Name of Our Savior,
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10)
Closing out a year always puts us in mind of the great gift of God – eternal life in Jesus Christ! I have underlined the last two words of this verse to remind myself and all that we should never overlook any people group. That has been my focus this past year; an overlooked people group – the Roma. Let me share God’s blessings for the last quarter of 2015.
On The Road: September was focused on preparation for my October trip to the institutes in Romania. In addition to a week in the office in Bradenton, I had the privilege of presenting ROMA to the staff and student body of Landmark Baptist College in Haines City, FL. My visits to Landmark have become a regular part of my schedule. I always look forward to visiting with and challenging the students of this great school. I was also honored in September to officiate at the wedding of the daughter of one of my dearest missionary friends. October, once again in Romania (more in next section). November put me mostly in the office with two side trips. First a visit at the office in Bradenton where I connected with our Roma pastor friend and our translator, who were visiting churches in the U.S. We had one meeting together at Grace Bible Baptist Church in Fruitland Park, FL. The second trip was to Cleveland, OH., where we helped celebrate 25 years of Gypsy ministry at Cleveland Baptist Church. We also held the “official” introduction of ROMA. What a blessed trip! December is being spent in the Jacksonville office preparing for the coming year.
In Romania: October was my third trip to Romania this year. This trip included two weeks teaching in the Gypsy Institute in Tinca. While there we were privileged to preach in Tinca, Tassad and Calacia. God has blessed all of those churches. We will soon be ordaining a man in Tassad. I also visited with our national missionary, Iosif Teglas, who pastors a work in Orshei. The next stop was the Baptist Institute in the town of Stei. We are finishing our first year of instruction in this institute. Pastor Balaciu is a man of great vision who desires to see his people trained and serving. The last stop was with Missionary Tim Tyler in Timisoara. I had the honor of preaching their 10th Anniversary service as well as their annual missions conference. God blessed by giving an increase in their missions giving. Imagine that, a missions work giving to missions!
On the Home Front: Eileen is still dealing with the “whiplash” effects of her auto accident. We are hoping that we are nearing the end of constant treatments. Please pray concerning this situation. Our children and granddaughter continue to brighten our days.
From Our Hearts: We are extremely grateful for the continued prayer and financial support that we receive from each of you. We also welcome the new support from Grace Baptist Church of Coatsville, IN. God’s blessing to all as you celebrate His birth!!
Your servants,
Tim & Eileen Clark
Missionaries to the Roma People