THE SKELTONS

Lee, Stephanie, Elizabeth, Hannah, Jacob, and Sarah

The Skeltons are in Sibiu, Romania, spreading the gospel in that city.  Their sponsoring congregation is the Ovilla Church of Christ in Ovilla, Texas, just south of Dallas.  That church's website is located at www.ovillachurchofchrist.com (clicking this link will open a new window).

E-mail addresses:

skeltonromania@gmail.com

skeltonromania@yahoo.com

Click here to see a 9 min. 20 sec. video about the work in Romania

(Windows Media Player 9, 10, or 11 required)

Lee spoke about the Romania mission work to the Family Builders Class (South Plains Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas) on August 20, 2006.  Click here to see photos from his presentation.

Photo album - "How to prepare the Fruit of the Vine for communion in Romania" - 11 photos from the vine to the storage bottles. CLICK HERE

Lee sent several new photos on October 16, 2007.  Click here to view the photo album (opens in a new window).

We've posted 90 photos that the Skeltons took of the beautiful city of Sibiu and several of the people there.  Click here to view the photo album (opens in a new window).

NOVEMBER 15, 2007

Greetings from Sibiu, Romania!

It is a joy to share with you how God is blessing the work in Sibiu, Romania.  A lot has happened since our last E-newsletter.  Allow me to briefly share some of the highlights of what has taken place.

OVERVIEW OF SEPTEMBER WORK

I was in the states for a few weeks in September to attend the Eastern European Mission conference in Dallas where it was my privilege to speak on the work in Sibiu, Romania.    The following week we held a mission interest luncheon at Sunset International Bible Institute to promote interest in Romania as a mission field with the hopes of having future graduates joining us in our work in Sibiu, Romania.  We had approximately twenty in attendance for the luncheon.  As a result we had two individuals commit to coming to help with our first Gospel meeting in Sibiu during October and at least one who is making plans to join us for our summer VBS in 2008.

FIRST GOSPEL MEETING

After months of planning and praying the first known Gospel Meeting in the city of Sibiu was held in October.  After years of the church operating illegally and secretly in Sibiu, as a result of current Romanian law, the members agreed it was time to make our presence known. Both congregations worked together for the first time in this special evangelistic endeavor.  Since this was our first time in doing a joint project such as this we were testing the waters to see how this could be done.  We concentrated our efforts by mainly inviting friends, neighbors, and work colleagues.  In addition to this we put up posters and passed out fliers inviting people to our three day Gospel meeting.  We experienced some minor problems.  The giant poster we put up outside the building advertising the meeting and the topics was torn down.  That was fine we just put up another one.  We knew there would be those who would look down upon what we do since the Romanian Orthodox church views anyone outside their religion as a cult.  I was very pleased with the results of our first gospel meeting. We had between ten to twenty people each night with a total of six individuals who had never been in our fellowship before.  One of those who attended was a woman by the name of Latitsa. She is in her late sixties and has been attending faithfully since the meeting.  Here is a woman who has been looking for someone to teach the truth from the scriptures for many years.  She has been dissatisfied with organized religion.  She told me one Sunday after services, “it brings my heart great joy to hear God’s word preached and what it means to how I should live today.”  Pray for the ongoing study with Latisa.  She has been to worship on Sunday five times with us since our Gospel meeting.  We plan on trying to reach many more like Latisa over the next few months through further evangelistic efforts which I will detail in a future newsletter.

We were privileged to have Mary Green and Richardo Reyas from Sunset International Bible Institute.  They were a big help in so many ways during the time they were with us in Sibiu.  On behalf of the church in Sibiu thank you for your service! 

ROMANIA LECTURESHIP IN BUCHAREST

We had four from Sibiu attend the national conference in Bucharest. Here Christians from all over the country came together for study, to sing songs of praise and encourage one another in the work that is taking place for God throughout the country. 

LEADERSHIP CLASS

One of the aspects of the work here in Sibiu we are trying to emphasize is leadership training.  Training future men and women to take on the day to day responsibilities of the work here in Sibiu.  Using curriculum from Sunset International Bible Institute and the Romanian Bible Academy we are training the future Preachers, Elders, deacons, and Bible class teachers.  Please pray for this continuing work. 

GOSPEL MEETING IN VULCHA

Pavel  Stinghe, who works with the other congregation in Sibiu, and I traveled to Vulcha, Romania.  Our purpose was to study, research, and promote the Gospel that was being preached there.  Harvey Starling did an excellent job in organizing this campaign that took place in the early part of November.  It was quite helpful for Pavel and I as we plan a city wide Gospel campaign for Sibiu in October 2008.  More details on that in a future newsletter.

LADIES DAY

The Lord's church in Sibiu is blessed with many women who need encouragement as they strive to follow in the footsteps of the Saviour.  Stephanie has planned a time of encouragement and outreach for the ladies attending church in Sibiu, Romania during the early part of January.  She would like to have some Christian women from the United States travel with her to Sibiu for a time of strengthening the faith of the ladies.  If you would be interested in going on this trip contact Stephanie directly at stephanie_skelton2002@yahoo.com

COMMUNICATION

In addition to email you may send communication to us through our overseeing congregation, the Ovilla Church of Christ at:

Ovilla Church of Christ
3420 Ovilla Rd
Ovilla, Texas 75154-3302

 (972) 617-7447

E-mail addresses:

skeltonromania@gmail.com

skeltonromania@yahoo.com

SAYING GOODBYE TO A FRIEND

We have all lost people in our lives that meant the world to us.  It is hard to say good bye to those that we love.  I had the privilege of working side by side with a man for many years who was a great soldier in God’s spiritual army, Arnold Lee.  He never wrote a book, amassed a large fortune, or did what the world would classify as becoming a huge success story.  What he did was far greater, he lived as a faithful servant for the cause of Christ.  Arnold served for years as an Elder to the church of Christ in Hugoton, Kansas.   That statement may not fully convey what I want to say so let my try again.  Arnold Lee had a servant heart for the spiritual family of God.  He prayed for the members, he studied and counseled us to look at the scriptures, he taught us the value of family, he made us laugh, he loved his wife, he was an example of what a Godly man should be.  Did he have his faults, of course but the guiding force in his life was to serve God and keep his commandments.  I want to take a moment to express my condolences to the family of a man who impacted who I am as a missionary and minister.  Your loss is heaven's gain and a reminder to us all that death is not the end of our lives.  As Christians death is only a reminder that a wonderful eternity with God awaits those who belong to Him.  I was unable to say good bye at his funeral so instead I will put my focus on joining Him in that eternal home with our heavenly Father.  The Christian understands that death means victory not despair.  My prayer is that all of us will strive to live for that victory that Arnold now enjoys.

May God's riches blessings be upon us all as we strive to serve in His kingdom!

In Christian love,

Lee Skelton

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  (Matthew 28:18-20)

AUGUST 9, 2007

Click on the small map image to see the larger version.

HISTORIC MEETING

We began a dialog last year with another congregation of the Lord's church that meets in Sibiu at an annual lectureship that is held in Bucharest.  The two congregations have had nothing to do with each other for over a decade due to bad feelings and misunderstandings. The issues that have kept the two congregations from having an open fellowship with one another have been resolved.  Sibiu is one of only two cities in Romania that has two congregations within the city.  The other is Bucharest, the capital city of Romania.  After months of study and prayer we had a combined services at our building with both congregations meeting in our building.  Their was much joy and fellowship as both congregations pledged to renew their ties and work together for evangelizing Sibiu.  Both congregations have pledged to do their part to reach the lost in Sibiu and other parts of Romania.  We had the largest attendance in the history of the church for that Sunday, 60.

MRN

 It was a pleasure to have Phil Jackson from Mission Resource Network and his family along with his summer interns (total of nine people).  They are in the process of exploring mission work in Romania.  We fed and housed them at the building where my family is currently located.   We hope this will become an annual trip for MRN to visit us here in Sibiu as young men and women consider where they can best serve the Lord on the mission field.

VBS

We have had the privilege of 14 Americans working with us in the local high school teaching in our "Conversational English Institute"  which is similar to Vacation Bible School.   We had sixty kids and adults in attendance.   For the 1st time we had graduation at the church building where the children could bring their parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters.  I stood outside the door and watched as people came to the building by bus, taxi, car, and on foot to come and watch their children receive a diploma.  We set a new attendance record for people at the building, we had 95 in our auditorium.   We had five students between the ages of 16 -25 requesting one-on-one bible studies with Stephanie and me.

RECORD ATTENDANCE

The Lord is truly blessing the work in Sibiu.  We had 21 visitors on Sunday from around Sibiu as a direct result of VBS.  This does not include the teachers who came from the United States.  This pushed our attendance up to 61.  One more than the week before when we had the group from MRN and the other congregation with us.

NEW YOUTH GROUP

We did not want to loose the momentum with this group of young people who attended with us on Sunday so we have set aside Wednesday evening as a time for fellowship and study.  We have had between 12- 17 Romanian young people attending these evening services.  For the past two weeks.  Please pray that this will continue as we follow the scriptures in "training up a child in the way they should go..."  Pavel Stinghe and his wife Monica who work with the other congregation in Sibiu have been helping us work with these young people.  One result is new children have started to attend who were not part of the initial VBS we had in July.  Some of these students speak little or no English.  The Stinghe's have been an invaluable asset in helping my wife Stephanie and I work with these precious souls.  Please pray for the seeds that are being planted for the Lord in the lives of these children.

BUILDING PROJECTS

John, Ioana, Carmen, and I have been doing some research in regards to the Laws in Romania.  We have been in contact with a local official called a Notar to find out the answers to the following questions:  1.  Can the Church be officially recognized and own property outright?  2.  Can we build a parsonage on the current church property?  Currently my family is living in the church building.  Finding some place to rent for a large family is proving to be hard to come by.  Existing properties that are for sell can be found for 130,000 -  220,000 euros with major renovations still needed after that.  If a parsonage can be built on the property it can be used for classrooms, house people who visit the church in Sibiu after my family leaves, or the local preacher for the church.  I have met with an architect while waiting to hear back from the Notar.  He places the initial estimate for building on the current church property at over 100,000 euros. 

My daughter Hannah and I assisted local member John Buckle in replacing 21 roof tiles on the church building.  Roofs tiles are different in Romania compared to the shingles that are placed on houses in America.  They are made of a baked clay and slip out individually for easy replacement.  What is not so easy is getting on parts of the steep roof.  Luckily the churches roof is not as steep as some of the older buildings in Romania.

NEW OPPORTUNITY

In the past I have taken library books to the children's library in Sibiu.  After a recent visit with contacts at the library I have been asked to consider teaching an English class in the local library.  One of the librarian assistants, Romona, believes that they can provide us with a class of 40 to 50 students.  Please be praying for this that the details can be worked out and we can begin this class sometime in the winter.

EVANGELISM CLASS

Our class has had some welcome interruptions and has evolved somewhat to cope with visiting groups at our building and the enormous amount of visitors we have had over the past several weeks.  The members have had assignments asking evangelistic questions of their friends and neighbors as well as handing out invitations to the VBS we have completed.  This past week we focused on not only bringing our friends in contact with the

Gospel but widening the relationships of new contacts by having them in members homes for meals and really getting to know each other.  The members have been underlining key passages in their Bibles and learning a new approach to presenting the Gospel.  Please continue to pray for the Church as it trains to become effective soul winners for the Lord.

MEMBERS

Stephanie and I have been keeping busy with the ongoing work in Sibiu. She is continuing to teach a weekly Ladies class and I am keeping busy with the ongoing work of Preaching and teaching our weekly classes with the members as well as our youth gathering on Wednesday.  Maria's health seems to be improving and she has started attending services once more.  John had a small diabetic episode two Sunday's ago during worship but is okay.  A baby shower was held for Baby Sarah, daughter of young Maria, I believe Mother and Father were overwhelmed with the results. Please keep them and the rest of the congregation in your prayers.

COMMUNICATION

In addition to email you may send any communication to us through our overseeing congregation, the Ovilla Church of Christ at:

Ovilla Church of Christ
3420 Ovilla Rd
Ovilla, Texas 75154-3302

(972) 617-7447

New email addresses:

skeltonromania@gmail.com

skeltonromania@yahoo.com

LADIES DAY

Pray for the planning and funding of this event to come to fruition if it is God's will.  We hope this can be a possible outreach for the Christian ladies of Sibiu to invite their friends to learn and to grow. It is hoped that this event can be conducted in late December or early January.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Sibiu is a very busy place since it is the European Cultural Capital for Europe in 2007.  We have not begun to see or experience it all.  We are all tired but it is the good kind of tired as a result of God blessing this work that so many have bathed in prayer.  God is causing the seed that has been planted to show signs of growth in the hearts of the Romanian people.  Thank you for your prayers.  We will soon post some pictures on what is mentioned above on this website.

May God's riches blessings be upon us all as we strive to serve in His kingdom!

In Christian love,

Lee Skelton

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  (Matthew 28:18-20)

UPDATE - JULY 4, 2007

Greetings to all our friends and supporters!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY to everyone in the United States! Today we are having an outdoor barbecue at noon with some of our friends and acquaintances from Sibiu to celebrate this American holiday. If you are in Sibiu and you are just hearing about this gathering feel free to join us at noon for grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. In the evening we will have a Bible study with a few Romanian soldiers who are interested in hearing about the Gospel of Christ. This could very well be a special Independence Day as some break free from the shackles of sin.

EUROPEAN CULTURAL CAPITAL

It is hard to believe how much is going on right now in the city of Sibiu. Everyday there is something taking place in this city as they celebrate being the cultural capital of Europe during 2007. There are concerts (classical and rock), circus, fashion shows in the square, military parades, special festivals honoring a part of Romanian Culture, the list goes on and on. My family has attended few of these events thus far and only at the invitation of one the Romanian people.

EUROJUDICA 2007

Since 2000 I have walked past a Jewish Synagogue here in Sibiu on my way to the school where we have VBS. The doors have been chained and padlocked for as long as I can remember. Last week they had a special festival entitled EuroJudica 2007. This is a festival in which they honor the Jewish traditions in Romania. One day during the week they opened the Synagogue to the public and had Jews from Macedonia come and perform sacred songs that Jews had been singing for centuries in their worship. My son, Jacob, and I were given little "caps" to wear while we are in the synagogue. I asked the man who insisted that we wear them, "Why must we cover our heads?" He acted like he had never thought about that question before. After a few minutes he smiled and said, "Tradition!" My mind immediately went to the musical, Fiddler on the Roof.

There is much tradition in the Romanian culture and in the religious community. They have a right to be proud of many of their traditions, but sometimes it prevents them from asking probing questions like, "Is this tradition one that is from man or from God? "Is God pleased with this tradition?" "Will this tradition become a stumbling block for others to follow Christ?" God's truth has nothing to fear when honest hearts question the practices of what people do in the name of religion.

The Synagogue was packed and had two TV crews filming the choir and the musicians who performed. I ran into one of our VBS students, Simida, who came to the concert out of curiosity like my family had done. We exchanged numbers and spent some time visiting with her and Pavel's family after the concert.

I met my first movie star, Maia Morgenstern, who played Mary the mother of Jesus in Mel Gibson's movie, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Maia is a Romanian Jew who had come to perform in a play in Sibiu and attended the evening's festivities. We were able to get a picture with her and Simida after she finished a television interview.

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

For regular correspondence you can now reach me at:

skeltonromania@gmail.com  

Click on the small photos above to view the larger version

BIBLE STUDIES

Stephanie and I had the privilege of working with Pavel Stinghe's family who work with another congregation of the Lord's church. Monica, Pavel's wife, has been teaching English to the Romanian soldiers who are stationed at a military base here in Sibiu. She asked me if I would be willing to study with some of her students before her class of six months came to an end. It was a joy to present the Gospel to these four soldiers. For over 2 1/2 hours we studied and sought the truth that leads to salvation from the Word of God. They had never heard such teaching in their life. Some are considering very carefully what was said. Please pray for the studies that are taking place. On July 4th we have a follow up study with some of these soldiers as well as some new ones who are interested in what God's word has to say.

VBS

We are a few weeks away from our VBS. Ioana, one of the church members, sat down with me recently and we went over the list of students. We are in the process of assigning them to teachers who will be coming from the United States to help them with their English as they study the Word of God. Please continue to pray for this event to touch the hearts and lives of all that attend.

EVANGELISM CLASS

I have started an evangelism class involving all the members of the congregation. I ask that you pray for the congregation as we begin the spiritual journey together. In addition to memorization, taking notes, and underlining key verses in the scriptures they have homework assignments that take them out to where the people are. Perhaps you would like to take part in a few of their assignments? One of them is called, "Gaining Compassion for the lost." In Matthew 9:35-36 Jesus found himself surrounded by a large group of people. The scriptures say they were "like sheep without a Shepherd." Sometime this week go to a place where people gather in your community. Spend an hour or a minimum of thirty minutes observing them. Observe their dress, attitude, who they are with, are they in a hurry, etc. come up with your own questions as well. Then, try to look at them as God sees them Sheep without a Shepherd. Open your eyes and see the lost! See them as God sees them. Take a few moments and read Jesus words in Matthew 9:37-38 and commit it to memory. What we do with the time God has given us reverberates through Heaven in the lives that we touch with the Gospel of Jesus. Look at the lost around you and find a way to make a difference in their lives!

MEMBERS

Stephanie and I have been keeping busy with the ongoing work in Sibiu. She is continuing to teach a weekly Ladies class and I am keeping busy with the ongoing work of Preaching and teaching our weekly classes with the members. Jacob, my son, gave his first communion talk a few weeks ago and did an excellent job. He is scheduled to do it again this Sunday. We ask for your prayers on behalf of all the members. A few that are on our hearts at this time are Maria. Maria is the mother of Alice who is away working in Great Britain at this time. Maria has Viral Pneumonia and is very sick and unable to work. She has not been able to attend church for quite some time. Pray for her strength and recovery. John is in the process of doing some remodeling on his home to better insulate his house for winter. My son, Jacob, and I have been helping him move his furniture around. John is a diabetic and has undergone some injuries as a result. Pray that he will not overdo it during this remodel and harm his health. Young Maria has a beautiful baby girl and is trying to coordinate life with all the new changes that come with it. Pray for her family as she brings her daughter up knowing the Lord.

COMMUNICATION

In addition to e-mail you may send any communication to us through our overseeing congregation, the Ovilla Church of Christ at:

Ovilla Church of Christ
3420 Ovilla Rd
Ovilla, Texas 75154-3302

(972) 617-7447

Remember to check this website regularly for updated information!

May God's riches blessings be upon us all as we strive to serve in His kingdom!

In Him, 

Lee Skelton

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  (Matthew 28:18-20)

LOTS of information and photos about Sibiu and Romania is available online.

For example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibiu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania

UPDATE - JUNE 10, 2007

GREETINGS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS! 

SPEAKING

I apologize for the long time between updates.  We have been traveling trying to visit with all of the congregations and families who are supporting us in the work we are endeavoring to do in Romania.  In a future newsletter I will inform you more in regards to these plans.

ARRIVAL IN SIBIU

My wife, our four kids, and I want to thank our overseeing congregation, the Ovilla Church of Christ, for the nice send off dinner at Pancho's in Euless, TX  we enjoyed on Tuesday evening.  Wednesday morning the hotel shuttled us to DFW airport to begin the long journey to Romania.  After clearing security at the DFW airport we flew to Atlanta, Georgia where we then took a plane to Vienna, Austria.  We spent the night in Vienna because there was only one flight into Sibiu each day and we had arrived to late to make the connection.  Our hotel was typical of many hotels in Europe having no air conditioning, ice machines, or US outlets.  We did a little exploring into the city, but spent most of our time resting, trying to adjust to the seven hour time change.  We left the hotel at 7:30 in the morning Vienna time even though our bodies were saying it is 12:30 at night.  At the airport we boarded a small 40 seat plane and flew into Sibiu. To our amazement all of our luggage had arrived.  It is not very often that all the luggage makes it at the same time due to the many flight transfers. Our good friend John Buckle met us at the airport along with Eugene, a friend of his. We loaded our luggage into Eugene's van (which has a a pink interior and shaggy purple seats).  At 2:00 in the afternoon we arrived at the church building.  After we unloaded our luggage, we ate the wonderful lunch Ioana had made for us. 

SERVICES  

You could say we have hit the ground running at full speed.  The day we arrived I taught the weekly Friday night bible study, on Saturday Stephanie taught the Ladies class, and today I presented three lessons on following Jesus.  After morning services we had a potluck meal, we had soup and several other Romanian-style dishes.  The girls made a giant pot of Macaroni and Cheese, which the members quickly gobbled up.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

On Wednesday, June 13, I have a meeting with the new administrator of the school where we will conduct the VBS in July.   The replies are just starting to come in from the adults and children who will be attending classes.  Please pray for the success of this wonderful outreach into the community. 

E-MAIL

My email will be deactivated soon, but you should be able to reach me at lee.skelton@sbcglobal.net for the next couple of days.  (We are in the process of setting up a new email account.)  Otherwise you may send any communication through our overseeing congregation, the Ovilla Church of Christ at:

Ovilla Church of Christ 
3420 Ovilla Rd
Ovilla, Texas 75154-3302

(972) 617-7447

You can always see current updates about our work by visiting this web page!

May God's riches blessings be upon us all as we strive to serve in His kingdom!

In Him,

Lee Skelton

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  (Matthew 28:18-20)

LOTS of information and photos about Sibiu and Romania is available online.

For example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibiu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania

Lee's Newsletter for September/October 2006 -

4 pages of photos and updated information (Adobe PDF format - 667 KB)

Click here to see a 9 min. 20 sec. video about the work in Romania

(Windows Media Player 9, 10, or 11 required)

Lee spoke about the Romania mission work to the Family Builders Class (South Plains Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas) on August 20, 2006.  Click here to see photos from his presentation.

LOTS of information and photos about Sibiu and Romania is available online.

For example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibiu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania

This website graciously hosted by Network Lubbock (Lubbock, Texas, USA), courtesy of owner Dennis Wisdom.

Website designed and maintained by Eddie Wimberley.