A Report From James Hamilton

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A Report From James Hamilton

January & February 2005

James Hamilton

Str. Siretului, Nr. 42 Constanta - 900675 Romania Europa

jhhamilton2001@yahoo.com 011 40 241 665 835

SLOWLY RECOVERING

We praise our Lord for His goodness in every situation. His constant presence is a blessing for us, and we rejoice in the many blessings that He provides. Without Him, we could not make it through the challenges we face in this life.

I am happy to be recovering from the surgery I endured in December. Progress is slow but sure. I still must be very careful so that I will not have a setback. I feel so well that it is easy to forget to take it easy sometimes. I thank the Lord that I do feel well. In February, I made my first trip since my operation. With the Lord's help, I was able to go without any problems or complications.

CONSTANTA

The best news is that Doru has returned from his job in the Bahamas. He continually is growing stronger as a Christian. His attitude is an excellent example for everyone, but especially for the other members who live in the same place he does. We have frequent individual studies, and his increase in knowledge is remarkable.

We are still dealing with several problems with various members. We are various stages of corrective discipline with several members. The majority do not attend as they should, and we are trying to encourage them to be more faithful to the Lord in this respect and in other ways, too. We rejoice that Florin expressed a desire to repent and return to serve the Lord more faithfully, but he has not brought fruit demonstrating repentance. We are also making an effort to win Georgeta back. She is confused about many things and has not been attending with us for a while. Other members, as well as I, are involved in trying to restore the unfaithful. The success of the church does not depend on the absence of problems as much as our reaction to the problems and how we work to solve them. In particular, I have seen spiritual growth in George and Rodica because of our working together to solve problems in the church.

One thing I do regret about the last couple of years is that I had to spend more time and energy on internal problems than I did on evangelism. But I realize it would be vain to work to invite people to a group with many unresolved issues. It hurts our ability to evangelize (John 13:34-35). God, who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:7), will not put newborn babes in a contaminated spiritual incubator. God, in His wisdom and time, will give the increase when He knows we are ready.

Beginning in January, the men have been meeting every Tuesday. We discuss plans for the church and discuss problems in dealing with members. We are also using this time to prepare for evangelism and other spiritual development. This has been very good for us.

TRIP TO PIATRA NEAMT

Iulian and I went to Piatra Neamt recently. It was a very encouraging trip for both of us. He had some personal business to attend to, and we met with Cornel. Cornel is doing better spiritually in comparison to the last time I saw him. The sad news is that he is leaving this week to work in Italy again. We had a study with Constanta and Stefan. Their mother has left again. Iulian told me that seeing the the Rusus' faith and attitude in the face of their difficult living conditions was an encouraging example for him.

TRIP TO WESTERN ROMANIA

It was necessary for me to go to Drobeta Turnu Severin in February. I put off this trip as long as possible because of my recovery. I had a chance to spend time in Timisoara that week with Nelu Stanciulescu. He is a good man who has worked well for the Lord in Timisoara. In the little time I saw him last year, I was impressed with him. My appreciation for him and his efforts increases with each visit. I was able to participate in a group study with several men on Wednesday and see a large number of the members

Wednesday evening. Several were recent converts, and these new Christians are working to teach others or inviting others to study with Nelu.

On Thursday, I had the chance to be with the brethren living in Drobeta Turnu Severin. Because of the harsh winter weather and problems with their heating, they met in the children's classroom. The room was full, and the participation was good. I stayed with Ion Corlan during my stay there. He is doing a good work there with Nicolae Carnaru. Nicolae was not there because his father passed away unexpectedly that week. Ion has obviously grown much since I first met him at a Bible conference in Timisoara in 1998.

Ion and I went to several places to inquire about a suitable location for a Bible conference in July. This will be a conference similar to the one that where I met Ion in 1998. I selected Drobeta Turnu Severin for two reasons. This small city is located halfway between Bucharest and Timisoara. Numerous Christians also live in the vicinity, and they can commute each day. We found a hotel we can stay in and meet each day. I have invited Frank Jamerson, Buddy Payne, and Doug Seaton to deliver lectures each day. The brethren coming from the Southwest congregation: Greg Gravitz, Carrie Black, and Jenny Reed, will be involved with afternoon classes for the women and the young people. Marilyn Payne will also lead some of the women's activities. All the activities and lectures will involve the Christian and his behavior in various relationships in this life. Everyone is looking forward to it.

FELLOW WORKERS

Thank you to everyone who has helped us with the extra expenses we had. The Lord has provided through you all that we needed. Brethren from the Spring Warrior church in Perry, FL and Trenton, FL gave one-time help in addition to their monthly support. So did the Woodland Hills church in Nashville, TN and Prince St. in Conway, AR. The brethren from Columbus, OH sent special one-time help that will help us with our traveling expenses. Thanks also to all of you who have been praying for us in our special time of need. You are fellow workers with us.

I have also been blessed with the assurance of regular support from the Rose Ave. church in Bellflower, CA and an increase in faithful support from the church in Trenton, FL. This helps to counteract the huge decrease of the dollar's value against the Romanian currency. The dollar has been weak against the euro for two years, but even the euro has dropped 15% in Romania within the last few months. We are thankful for the beginning of the working relationship with the Rose Ave. church.

If the Lord wills, I plan to see every church regularly supporting me during my trip to the States this spring. If the Lord wills, I will leave on April 19 and return on May 25. The brethren in Constanta have planned for a chain of men to work here in my absence. Brent Forsyth will bring Jeff Carr with him and stay for about two weeks, followed by Dave Girardot, who will be followed by Alan Williamson and his son Adam. We appreciate their willingness to come and help.

We pray that your labors in the Lord will result in God giving the increase. May He also bless you with peace, health, wisdom and strength in Him. Please continue to pray for us.

James