Spring mission to Romania to help specialist school

Bognor Regis couple Douglas and Carol Fleming are preparing for a trip to Romania to help a specialist school for needy children.
Douglas and Carol Fleming will be joining Rod Greenwood from Eagle Ministries on a trip to RomaniaDouglas and Carol Fleming will be joining Rod Greenwood from Eagle Ministries on a trip to Romania
Douglas and Carol Fleming will be joining Rod Greenwood from Eagle Ministries on a trip to Romania

They will be joining Rod Greenwood from Eagle Ministries on a visit to Zalau, as well as going to places ministered last autumn.

The spring mission is from February 27 to March 13 and ahead of the trip, Douglas and Carol are raising money for the specialist school.

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They said: “The school has very little equipment and the teachers have to buy out of their own earnings things like paper and pens.

“Then we will be taking greetings from our church to other areas and talking about our experiences with children and church life.”

Aldwick Baptist Church, in Gossamer Lane, Rose Green, is hosting two events on Saturday, starting with a table top sale, including bacon sandwiches and hot drinks, from 10am to midday.

There will be quiz at 7pm hosted by Kerry Applin, to include a fish and chip supper, for £10. For more information, contact Ben Lander on 07445 534080 or Douglas and Carol Fleming by email bmailto:[email protected].

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Douglas and Carol have lived in Bognor Regis for 35 years. They have two married children, who have five boys between them.

They have both worked in the care sector, as well as other jobs. Douglas worked with adults with learning difficulties and Carol worked on a mental health team.

They have always worked with children and were foster carers for ten years.

Now retired, they help at Café Connect in Aldwick Baptist Church, which runs three mornings a week. It has developed into a safe place for mums and carers to take pre-school children and some sessions have welcomed up to 50 adults plus their children. Fresh coffee, cakes and fruit are available for a donation.

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Douglas and Carol are hoping to take £1,000 with them to Zalau to buy basic equipment in Romania.

“We can take some items in our luggage but that is obviously limited,” they pointed out.

“There is apparently begging on the streets, therefore money or goods will only be given direct to the school or anything as directed by our host, Pastor Nelu. He is in charge of the Baptist church near Zalau.”

Eagle Ministries is run by Rod and Janet Greenwood, of Honeysuckle Drive, Pagham.

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They travel to Romania to assist the Romanian pastors and missionaries in actively encouraging church growth. They also give financial assistance to the poor, as well as to the missionaries.

They provide Bibles, do home visitations, pray for the spiritually and physically sick, and provide specialist materials for the blind.

The spring mission will take Rod Greenwood, Douglas and Carol Fleming to a specialist school for disadvantaged children in Romania, where they will talk to the teachers and children.

They wish to provide supplies to the school as the teachers have to pay for materials out of their own pocket, without any recompense.

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The trip will also include home visits to some of the individuals who have been helped by Eagle Ministries in the past.

Rod wants to visit Ionut to see how he is getting on with new bespoke shoes, bought with Eagle Ministries donations, and coping with walking into town.

He hopes to take an English Bible to Marina to help her as she learns English.

Rod also hopes to obtain an evangelistic tract in Hungarian to give a Hungarian lady, a resident of a care home in Crasna, who he recently gave a Hungarian Bible.

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He added: “We will be visiting Brother Steven from the Romanian Bible League, as well as the Christian Bible Bookshop, to obtain Romanian and Hungarian Bibles.

“These Bibles will be distributed evenly among the 14 or 15 places that we shall be visiting and ministering at.

“We need to supply financial help for any repairs needed for Nelu’s 15-year-old car. Really, he needs a replacement car so that he can continue his ministry as pastor and missionary to the needy people around him.

“Last time, we had Dana joining us to help us. This was the first time that she had done any translation work so it was a learning curve for her as well as being a blessing to all concerned. Hopefully this time we will also have Celia to help us with the children’s work.”

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Rod reported that Ioana, who they had helped four years ago by repairing her roof, had found new love. She has a severely autistic son, Darius, and her husband had died a few years ago.

The Sussex trio will be hosted by Nelu and his wife Florica , who will be catering for them during their trip.

Douglas and Carol said: “The temperature is likely to be about minis eight degrees. We will be visiting what are called gypsy churches in fairly remote areas that we imagine are quite poor. Apparently, the roads in the remote parts are ‘interesting’.”

For the spring mission, Eagle Ministries set a target of 220 Bibles, materials for the specialist school and money for very needy families.

Visit rodgreenwood.easysearch.org.uk for more information.

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