Mommy is away...time to play!

While Bethany was gone today, Daddy decided we needed a cool project to work on. We thought about cleaning our rooms, doing dishes, or putting up c-mas decorations. But none of that sounded very fun. Then we remembered the "kit". My mom bought a gingerbread house kit for the kids, and we had not built it yet.

Our two oldest, ready to get started

Looks easy enough

Awesome, directions with pictures!

Can we eat it now dad?

Jackson using the "glue" (frosting)

Clara finishing the base

Big Brother telling sister what the next step is

Construction is complete. Now we have to wait? Yeah, 30 minutes to dry.

We "organized" (tasted) each kind of candy while we waited.

Starting to accesorize.

Building the sidewalk to the front door.

Finishing touches.

Thanks Grandma for buying this gingerbread house kit for us. We enjoyed putting it together, and will enjoy it more when we can eat it (after mommy gets to see it).

long day...

Hello friends,
Today has been a long day.I (Bethany) woke up this morning not feeling well. I had really bad stomach pain,that by nine am,was so bad I had to go lay back down in bed. Once the pain got so bad that I was feeling light headed,and thought I might pass out,I decided I better call the doctors office. They had me come in asap,then sent me to the hospital for a CT scan.The entire time I kept praying that it would not be my appendix,as the doctors thought.Prayers were answered,it's not my appendix or Kidneys.I have an infection,and two ovarian cysts. I have another doctors appointment tomorrow,and was sent home with the only pain medication I can take,Tylenol. Prayers would be appreciated. As the Tylenol does very little for the pain.I will be seeing my doctor tomorrow,to talk about the options,of either laproscopic surgery,or trying some different medications. Thanks again for all the prayers for our family during this time. To say things have been stressful is an understatement! Blessings to you All!

Prayers are being answered....

Just wanted to update everyone.I'm sorry that I have not posted sooner! I started working part time this week,and when I was not working I was either,cleaning my house,cleaning my mother in laws house,at bible study,or helping at Awana. Adam came home Wends night.One day earlier than we expected! God answers prayers! I have not been able to talk to anyone about how he is doing,I think they have had a flood of people visiting. Brandon is hoping to get off work early tonight,and go over to their house to see Adam.We have a pile of cards and pictures the kids have made for him that need to be delivered! I will post more after our visit! Got to go feed my many small children!
Thank you SO much for your prayers for Adam,please continue to pray for him,as this is going to be a long recovery.Pray no infection sets in.Also,pray for my sister in law Kaity,who is getting married in a little over two weeks! Pray she can continue to enjoy planning,and not get stressed out with everything else going on! Thanks Again every one!

Asking for many prayers...

Uncle Adam & Jackson
Making Memories...

Dearest Friends and Family,

The title of this post is an earnest plea for our christian community to pray.This weekend,Saturday to be exact.My husbands brother Adam,had a terrible accident.

He was at a shooting range scoping in his mussel loader,he had shot the gun a few times,went back to reload it,and while he was reloading it, the gun went off.

He shot his hands.

We are praising God he did not shoot him self in the head or,any of his friends standing around him.The gun shot through his right hand,shattering all the bones,then shot through his left hand's middle knuckle.He was taken to Our local hospital,who took x-rays and said "there is no nerve damage or vein damage",but they did not have any hand surgeons on call,so they sent him to Indianapolis.

Another huge praise.He got the best of the best at St.Vincents Hospital in Indianapolis.

After eleven hours of surgery the doctors released him to his room.The doctors at St.Vincents said our local hospital could not have been farther from the truth.There was extensive damage to the nerves.He only has one that was somewhat in tact in his right hand.There was no vein,so they pulled one from his arm.There were fiberglass pieces in his hand,that were like razor blades,and shredded all the muscle and nerves. Needless to say,the prognosis is grim.

But,we serve a MIGHTY God!

We are praying for Adam's complete healing. We went and visited him yesterday.He is doing as well as can be expected.The doctors won't say how much use he will have of his right hand.The left hand has a metal plate in his middle finger,that won't be able to move.but the rest of that hand should be okay.In a month,if he has some movement,they will remove a nerve from his leg,as well as do some skin grafts to try and repair the damage.

Please,friends,pray for our Adam. He is a dearly loved,Brother and Uncle to our little family. Please pray for my mother in law,Kay.As she is his primary care giver.Also pray for his girl friend, Drea.

He is still at St.Vincents and will be there until Thursday at least.

If you go to the hospitals website (linked above) you can register an account and send him a greeting. How awesome would it be to flood Adam with love and prayers! It takes a little time,but I think it's worth it!

Here are some pictures of Adam....
Elliott and Adam this summer...riding Adam's 4 wheeler

Jackson giving Adam a ride in Jackson's jeep!

And here are some from yesterday...he is going to kill me for posting these. I took them while he was sleeping,because he kept getting mad and trying to lift his hands up when people tried to take pictures.
We love you SO much Adam!
The picture below is his right hand,it is so swollen,about four times it's normal size.

That would be Drea by his side.She had not slept,so I was kind and did not ask to take a close up!

Snow...

Today we woke up to snow,and a lot of it! As I sit in my warm house, looking out on the blanket of white snow,I think of two things.

1.Christ dying for me,my sins,and how His love covers all the yucky imperfections of me. Just like the snow covers all the mud,dirt,and the millions of leaves we did not get raked up before it snowed.
2.I think about how God has blessed me,with a warm home,healthy children,warm food to feed them,coats to clothe them,etc.Then I think about the Mom's in Romania,in the gypsy village,who have no heat,cold dirt floors,no food,no coats,and sick children.

I have so much to be thankful for,and SO much that I can bless others with.
During the next week,while you are partaking in the feast of Thanksgiving,don't forget the millions of people who don't have food to eat.Perhaps you could invite a widow to your thanksgiving dinner,or an international student who can't afford to go home over the holidays,or a family who does not have the money to have Thanksgiving Dinner due to job loss.And,maybe you could pray for the orphans of Romania on thanksgiving day,before you and your family sit down to eat. Or just maybe you would like more information on how your church can host an orphan Sunday.Pray about it,and Please don't hesitate to ask for more information! Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

"For where two or three come together in my name,

there am I with them." Matthew 18:20

The faces I see...

How could I ever forget these children? Throughout my day,I'm reminded of their sad eyes.I hope these pictures give you an idea of the hurt,pain,and loneliness these children are facing on a daily basis. Pathway is working on meeting their needs.We have so many ways for you to get involved,or for your church to get involved.Consider hosting an orphan Sunday.Perhaps your family would like to sponsor one of these children,or donate money to help with the costs of building a school for these kids.As you look as these precious Children of God,may He prick your hearts...as He did ours...

So much to report...

There are so many exciting things happening at our house.We are praising God that Brandon was offered a job and started last week.

That was a HUGE answer to prayer for us!The hours are long,and I sure miss his help around the house,but,we are so grateful for a job!


"J" Giving "R" some loving,while "C" strikes a pose!This was while we were sick last week...hence the naked baby,and mis matched clothing of the other two!lol
With in the next three weeks...

"E" turns two
"C" turns four on sat,
"J" turns five next week!

And "R" is pulling himself up on everything to stand,won't be long now and he will be walking!

In Romania things are happening too! In the gypsy villiage,the school has been started. Inside the school there will be showers,with running warm water! Also,that water will help heat the school,the children will have a shelter that provides education and warmth! A well is being put in to provide clean drinking water for the village.

This is the church and right next door,is where the school will be built
This is where they currently get their water,a very dirty stream



This is the hospital,where Anca has lived all of her life!She has lived on the ninth floor,you can only see up to the sixth.

And little Anca is now in foster care! She is no longer living in the childrens hospital,I can only imagine how much she will improve being in a loving family!She is blind,but SO smart,and is walking,and only eating with a spoon now! She is almost two,we think.
So many things to Praise our Lord for! So much to report!

Trusting and Waiting...

Hello All~
Bethany here,as I write,I have "J" on my lap,"C" is laying on the couch,"E" is playing with his choo choo train,and "R" is sleeping.Life is good,well,would be nice if we were not sick.Yep,four of the six of us are sick.But,there is blessing in having sick children.Rarely does "J" want me to hold him,I mean,he will be five next month,and five year old boys are not keen on snuggling with mommy. So,I am trying to enjoy these moments of togetherness,though I know I will never enjoy cleaning up the mess of sickness!
The title of this post is "trusting and waiting".I believe we can say there are many times in our lives where we must put these two simple words into Action.As of late God has called us to put these into action.Brandon is currently looking for a job,and with the economy that's a chore. We are trusting that God has a bigger picture in his plans.And waiting for Him to provide the right job. He is just looking for something until we can get all of our support raised.Another area where we are trusting and waiting. God called us to work with Pathway to Joy,and he knew what the economy was going to do. Funds are not coming in,but we know God has a plan. Our faith has been stretched. For that we are thankful.God has a plan,a purpose,and is Faithful.We praise Him for that!

It's Official!

Yesterday we received a box,not an unusual occurrence at our house. But this box,has 2,500 brochures in it. Can ya guess what the brochures are about?!

Yep! We officially have our missionary support brochures,hot off the press,and ready to be mailed out! We will be mailing them on Monday...so perhaps they will be coming to a mail box near you! If you want to make sure you get one,by all means leave us a comment! We will make sure to send one your way!

Our three year old daughter saw the broshures and said "hey,it's me! (our family picture is on them) then she says "Is this about me going to Romania someday?"...yes...we are all very excited!!!

Reflections....

I said I would post more about our time in Romania.I have some time tonight to write down the things that have come to mind since being home. Trying to put into words the experience, at times seems pointless.How could I ever convey what we experienced in mere words. I shall try...the best I know how.

Tonight I want to relate what we did,felt,and saw.With what we do,feel and see here in the states.

Driving down the road today,to go to the doctors office,there were no starving children on the side of the road begging for food.Everywhere we went in Romania there were children begging...everywhere.

There were many people talking on their cell phones,that we saw in Romania too,but there was no public transportation like there was in Romania.
There were no stray dogs roaming the streets, no mule carts,with little gypsy children in the backs driving to town to beg.

At the doctors office there was nice chairs to sit in,carpeted floors,and people royally ticked that they had to wait a whole fifteen minutes to be seen by a doctor. In Romania,there are no chairs in waiting rooms with nice carpet.Rather,concrete floors,with a few tiles scattered here and there,iron beds, anything metal has rust and looks at least fifty years old.People walk,sometimes for days,to get to the doctor,and then wait hours,and hours,to be seen by a doctor.Once seen,sometimes they can afford treatment,sometimes not. The doctor decides who is worthy of operation,not if you need it.

After the doctors office,I went to the grocery store.I went to Aldis ,they have those in Romania. But we buy a whole lot more food than Romanians do.Most Romanians have their own gardens,I think all of them do,some have a goat (for milk) and chickens in their yards too (a yard that would be comparable to what a condo in the states would have IE:tiny).I picked what I needed,and a few things I did not "need" and got in line to pay for my items.Again,people were ticked that there was only one lane open,and that they had to wait. I never saw a Romanian complain about having to wait to buy food.It's considered a blessing to be able to buy it in the first place,who cares if you have to wait.

Then,I drove to my parents home. Key word drove...I passed many gas stations, most averaged 4.00 a gallon. That's cheap compared to how much gas is in Romania,I think Europeans in general are sick of hearing us Americans complain about gas costs going up. Gas in Romania,while we were there,was eight to ten U.S. dollars a gallon.

I came home,to our house that sits on two acres,and is four bedrooms,and unloaded my van. All things that most Romanians do not have. Fed the dog,watered the grass....oh and grass.

There is not much of it in Romania,and watering it rarely happens,gas is too expensive to waste it in a lawn mower.Hence,no one mows the grass,and the city does not have money to keep public grounds up...so everything is over grown....something my husband could not get over.Him being the lawn care taker that he is :).

I did some laundry today,most Romanians, do not have driers.They hang everything to dry.I on the other hand,love having a drier,and now when I use it,I praise the Lord we have it (even if it does shrink clothes,fades,and pills them,having four kids, I don't know what I would do with out it!)

I am getting ready for bed now,ah,to have a nice bed to sleep in,what a blessing that is.Many gypsy children sleep on the floor on mats,I even saw blankets outside,as though perhaps in the summers they just sleep outside under the stars.Though that's fun for one night,every night not so much.

But before bed,I think I am going to take a nice hot shower...you guessed it.Gypsy's take baths....maybe....once a month....maybe.Certainly they don't have running water,that's hot.Most take baths in the stream,and it is freezing cold.In a nutshell,though our day to day lives are similar to some Romanians, most of our lives are drastically different. Hope this gives you an idea of what Romania was like,and how going,has changed my daily perspective on life!

Family Broshure and Sick Babies...

We are so excited...our broshure about our family is almost done! Once it is printed,we will address them and get them mailed out to all of you! We are so thankful for Karen Bucurs help with the brochures, they look so nice! We also just put together a slide show of pictures set to music that we plan on using while we are on deputation.Once I (Bethany) figure out how to load it up on here,I will!
That may be a while, as of right now I am very busy taking care of three sick children.Two (E and R) just have colds. "C" on the other hand,has a double ear infection and upper respritory infection.My time has been totally consumed in taking care of her, today she seems to be rounding a corner,I think the medications have really helped her to feel a little bit better! It seems as though since we have been home from Romania,someone has been sick! Oh well,small price to pay,for the blessings we recieved while we were there!

A Big box....

(Picture above is Clara pretending the box is a swimming pool,hence the swimsuit!)
A few days ago we recieved a box full of literature from Pathway to Joy.We are SO excited to have these on hand now! Brandon inlisted the kids to help him,they are at the age where the love to be our little helpers! Better take advantage of it while we can! Of course they loved playing in the box,that was full of little peanuts! Needless to say there were little white peanuts everywhere!But, oh well, the kids were entertained for hours!

Pathway to Joy Ministries

"Protection, Provision, and Permanent Solutions"

Today, the pathway to joy winds through places in Romania such as Oradea, Tinca, Sabolciu and Lugas de Jos where a large population of poor families, street children, and abandoned orphans live lives often cut short by hunger, illness, neglect and exploitation.

Pathway to Joy Ministries (PTJM) reaches out to these suffering children and communities by providing them with food, clothing, shelter, medical care and other critically needed assistance, all in Christ’s name … God is using our efforts to transform the lives of children and families as they receive Christ’s amazing offer of forgiveness and hope.

Children's Hospital The local children's hospital currently has an average of 70-90 abandoned infants and children ages birth to six, who suffer from inadequate nutrition, abnormal development and proper identification documents. Unfortunately, lack of sufficient government funding prevents many of these children from being integrated into the state foster care system. God has called us to provide loving care and protection for several of these forgotten infants and children.

Foster CareThe needs of abandoned children are not only physical, therefore providing emergency care and protection is only part of fulfilling their dreams for security and love. Their needs are also social, emotional and spiritual. That’s why PTJM is committed to making a difference in our community’s foster care system by building a network of Christian foster homes that provide for these needs in a safe and loving environment.

Orphan Mentoring Project

Our Mentoring project is a relational ministry geared toward getting the orphans out of their hostile environment and pairing them with a Godly mentor who is going to invest spiritually in their lives. These young people aged 4-22 face the daily challenge of growing up alone without a family.Many lack hope,and are searching for meaning and significance in all the wrong places.Loss in one area of a child's life often leads to losses in other areas Many of these kids struggle with low self esteem,lack of confidence,focus and motivation.Although loss is sometimes inevitable, many times with intervention further loss can be preventable.

Church Planting

Recognizing that the root of the social problems in Romania today are due in part to the presence of sin, we see our focus upon the spiritual needs of the people as our best preventive measure against future child neglect and abandonment and the scriptural means for a brighter future for all Romanians! Since 2004 PTJM has planted three churches in three gypsy villiages in Romania that reach out to over 3,000 families.

Q & A

We have been asked many questions so today I would like to answer some of those questions (to the best of my ability) And, if you have a question for us, let us know! We would love to hear from you!

1.) "What are you going to be doing with Pathway to Joy ministries?".
We will be living and serving stateside,for now,raising awareness about Pathway to Joy,and the different areas of ministry.We will be traveling to churches, conferences, and conventions. Sharing about Pathway's ministries,and how others can get involved.

2.)" How can we book you to come to our church or conference?"
Just send us an email,or simply leave a comment on our blog with your contact information!

3.) "What mission organization are you going through,and who do we send money to if we want to support you?"
We are going through Pathway to Joy,If you would like to support us,please make your checks out to Pathway to Joy Ministries ,and in the memo line,
put our names (Brandon and Bethany Hartman).
Mail to: Pathway to Joy Ministries 1415 Wiley Street Hollywood,Florida 33020

It's time to vote America!

Nobody is leaving the island, but we do need to select a family picture for our support brochure. Tell us which is your favorite.



Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Picture 4

Picture 5

Family Pictures....

Oh What Fun!


The idea was simple,the task at hand not so much. Trying to get a family picture with six people,four of whom are under the age of five, is difficult.It takes loads of patience, a good sense of humor, and a "go with the flow" attitude. And we know the perfect photographer for the job...my Dad . So off we went on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to a local park for a picnic with my parents, and then pictures. We have not had a family picture taken since "R" was born. And we needed one for our prayer cards, and brochure that we have been working on for Romania. The kids did fairly well. My favorite quote from the day was "J's" "Ah, my teeth are going to break from smiling too much." After the pictures were taken, we went back to our picnic blanket, we were watching the Amish play volley ball when the chaos broke out. First "R" fell over bonking his head on the ground. Then my Dad got attacked by hornets while attempting a cute picture of "J". While we were helping my Dad, the hornets went after "C". Poor thing got stung on the arm a few times, and was screaming.We rushed everyone to the car. Thinking the kids would be protected. "C" kept screaming. Then we realized the hornets were up her pants legs.Then,"R" Started screaming.He had been stung. "J" was crying because he was worried about his siblings, "E" was crying. By this time, mommy wanted to start crying. It's the worst feeling in the world when your children are in pain, and you can't do anything about it. What a way to end a fun day of picnicking and photos! We did get quite a few nice pictures before the chaos!

A Little History...

I realized perhaps I should start blogging by giving everyone some history about our little family,where we have been,and where God has taken us! Many have asked why Romania? What made you decide to pursue full time missions? There are many more questions...so here is some history...enjoy!

Our Names are Brandon and Bethany Hartman,On July 11th,2008 (while we were in Romania) we celebrated our five year anniversary.We were both raised in Christian homes,and taught about the Lord from an early age. We have had a heart for young people, and actually got to know each other in high school while serving in a inner city ministry program run by our church. We were saved as children, and are so thankful for the solid teaching and instruction we received. We were high school sweet hearts,and married a year after graduating. Since then God has blessed us with four healthy children."J" who is four, "C" who is three, "E" who is 23 months, and "R" who is seven months. We are so thankful for our children, they bring us so much joy.We have our hands full, and our hearts are overflowing with Love and Praise to our Lord for them!

A year ago, if someone had told me that we would be where we are today,I would have stood there in shock....seriously! God has brought us through the hardest year of our lives thus far. Thankfully, I can look back now, and see the beautiful picture he was painting. But when you are in the midst of trials everything is a blur...and it's all one can do to keep their eye on the prize! God truly had to bring us through all of the struggles to make us realize that only He is what we need.

On A Sunday in April at our church, (www.riveroaks.org), an announcement was made about a missions trip the church was taking to Romania. In my heart I thought,"oh man I would love to be able to go to Romania, but yeah right!". Little did I know, that God was speaking into my husbands heart too.

After service we headed for the children's wing to relieve the volunteers of our little monkeys. I was on a mission to get my newborn (this was the first time I had left him.) and I lost Brandon in the crowd. When we met up again he had some papers he handed me...in shock I saw that they were information about the upcoming missions trip to Romania! We got in the car and he said "I know it would be hard for you to go to Romania but, I would really like to go, and if you want to that would be great, but if not, I would still really like to go.".....I sat and before I could think I said "I need to go...and would love to go." I had total peace about the trip...TOTAL peace!

Ok, so maybe you are thinking...yea, so what, you had peace. Let me explain...I tend to worry...alright..so I do worry! I am constantly having to give things over to God...like every minute of every hour of every day. This was huge, I could not believe that I could have so much peace about leaving our Children for ten days, to go overseas, and be exposed to all kinds of germs and diseases.

After really praying about it, I asked my parents to watch two of the kids, and my in-laws to watch two. They both said yes,and though Satan tried to confuse the situation a little(schedules are a way he works his way in!) , in the end, it all worked out. The kids would be taken care of.

So, we signed up to go. Now, we would have to have the funds, and get passports. I went to the weekly meetings, and began to get so excited about visiting children in the hospital, and orphanage, and in the gypsy village.

There were many little details to get through, and they all came together. I remember the day we left like it was yesterday. Again, I had so much peace, though it was hard to leave our children, I was excited to see what God was going to do in our lives.

We were given journals by our team leader, and were encouraged to write down our first time experiences. Brandon had us beat before we left, first passport, first airplane ride, first missions trip, the list went on and on!

I remember thinking "Lord the next ten days there are going to be so many "firsts" for Brandon and I, be with our children please Lord, and please don't let us miss to many "firsts" with them"
Little did we know all the "firsts" we would experience. More to come about our time in Romania! Stay Tuned!

Our First Post...

We are officially on blogger!

This is Bethany updating tonight.As I sit and write the house is completely quiet.A very unusual occurance at the Hartman Household.You see all the Children are soundly sleeping in their beds.We have only been home from Romania for four days.We are all tired and trying to catch up on our sleep.Brandon and I came home with a nasty virus,and we are praying the kids don't catch it.We are SO excited about the doors the Lord opened while we were in Romania,and look forward to following His lead.Check back for updates,prayer requests,answers to prayer and just for fun tidbits!May the Lord Richly Bless All who happen upon our Blog!