January 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Southern California! On January 12th, Andrei and I arrived at LAX airport after a very exhausting trip home. The saga began with a ten hour delay in the Bucharest airport, which lead to a very late arrival into London, which then lead to sleeping upright all night in a small room at the Heathrow airport. Needless to say we were ecstatic to finally land at LAX. Sadly, the saga did not end there…we were soon informed that ALL of our baggage was missing and was not scheduled to fly out of London for two days. Yep! Andrei and I got very comfortable in the clothes we flew home in, hahaha….ahem. We were so grateful to finally see our bags on the 15th.

Despite all of the drama we experienced traveling, we are so blessed to be back with all of you for the next two months. Our last stay here was so entirely fruitful that we are really looking forward to what God will do in these next few precious months.

Family Program: This month we had the pleasure to invite Ana-Maria, her brothers Adrian and Alin, and Big Alex into our home. FOUR KIDS! I should introduce you to Big Alex….he is different than Little Alex…Big Alex is 15 years old and lives at the Betania Orphanage. He takes care of some of the younger children at Betania and was a huge help for Andrei and I on the November retreat. Andrei feels called to disciple Alex in the Lord and to encourage and help him with his schoolwork.

Ana’s brothers Adrian and Alin were hilarious! Alin has the most precious smile and a sense of humor to go along with it. Adrian is the oldest of the family and loves to play Guess Who with Andrei and me. It was a wonderful feeling to have such a big family… even for such a short amount of time.

Update on the Christmas Outreach: Thank you for your prayers for the Christmas outreach this year. A lot of hard work was put into making this Christmas unforgettable for the kids at Betania. A big “thank you” to everyone who gave so freely to ensure that we would have the ability to give each child the things they personally needed. Through your cheerful and giving hearts God was glorified that beautiful day! The orphanage administrator asked Andrei and I to say that he wishes to personally thank you for bringing the love of God to the children for Christmas.

The event started out around 1:00pm decorating tables, the dining room and the Christmas tree. All of the gifts were carefully placed under the giant tree, each gift having the name of a precious child that God loves. The kids’ faces lit up as they entered the decorated room and each child carefully inspected their gift to try and figure out what was inside.

Around 3:30pm the grill was set ablaze! It was such a sweet sight to see the flames reflecting in the children’s eyes as they watched “Chef Andrei” strategically placing the meat on the grill. Everyone was more than willing to help with the responsibilities of barbequing the pork, beef, and mici.

At 6:00pm the children were invited into the mess hall for their Christmas feast! The tables were lined with candy, oranges, bananas, cakes, soda, and candles. Everyone scattered to their seats. We opened the feast with the singing of Christmas carols and listening to Brother Crisan share a little of the real Christmas Story. The feast was grand, and everyone left with their tummies full and ready to meet around the Christmas tree.

Again the children sang God glorifying Christmas songs and sat eagerly waiting for the big moment…. presents! The big moment came and Andrei stood up in front of all of them and began giving out the presents by name. It was so fun to see them laughing, smiling, and truly enjoying their time together. Each one of the kids was very pleased with their winter boots, sock, gloves, scarf, hat, candy, and Christmas plaque with the story of the birth of our Savior written on it. Everything went so smoothly and we know it was because of your prayers and support!

Andrei and I will continue to keep you updated on future outreaches we are planning! God bless each and every one of you.

In HIS service, Andrei and Kelle Andries

Prayer Requests:

• Pray for God’s protection on the Children of Betania Orphanage while we are here in the states.
• Pray that they will not feel abandoned, but trust in our promise to return to them.
• Please keep in prayer the young couple that is watching our home while we are here with you. Pray that there will not be any major problem while we are away.
• We were unable to distribute the Bibles at the Christmas Outreach. Sadly, I started too late on the process of ordering them. We are planning on giving them out during our upcoming Easter Outreach! Please pray that we will find a local Bible distributor!
• We are looking for a building to start a church in the future. We have seen some possible locations but we ask for prayer and wisdom. We are also praying for a Permanent Pastor.
• Please pray for the siblings that we are praying about taking into the Ministry House. We need wisdom and strength to make a connection with the children.
• Pray for peace in Petrosani and a softening of hearts towards God’s word.

Praise Reports:

• The Christmas Outreach was a success!
• The house is finally at a point that it allows us to have people in our home. We were so blessed to have our first couples’ dinner before we left for the states!