As we report to you at this time we must begin by
asking for your understanding and forgiveness. Over the last few months our ministry schedule has kept us very
busy. As a result, it has been very
difficult for us to find the time necessary to give you a proper update and we
wish this was not the case. So as we
bring you up to date, please understand that we are very sorry for the delay in
getting this out to you. Now let us take
a moment and share with you all that we have been doing since our last report.
Much
of the month of August was spent in preparation for and the execution of a
bible school that had as its goal a group we have never been able to reach
before. As you know from one of our
prior updates we have started a ministry that is reaching out to many of the
families and children from those who are less fortunate and disaffected in the
area around the church. Since this
ministries inception we have seen some real tangible progress made. The best evidence of this is the success of
our project in August. August 26 – 28 we
conducted a bible school specifically focused on these children. By the end of the week we had as many as 75
children from the neighborhood attend.
We were thrilled as this opened the door to meet many of the children’s
care givers as well. We say ‘care
givers’ because many of these children are being raised by someone other than
their parents. Once the bible school
concluded, we were thrilled by the doors of ministry that had been opened into
each of these children’s lives.
These are many of the children who attended
Naty with some of the children from the bible school
This is a video we used in the church to encourage involvement
(It will give you a bit of an idea what took place)
Late in the month of August we also had the
opportunity to participate in the summer camps in Moldova. This was a great summer once again as many
young people throughout the south of Moldova attended. Many of them heard the gospel for the first
time and for those who knew Christ prior to attending the camp their faith was
strengthened.
Camp in Moldova this summer
In
early September the church hosted its annual ‘Welcome Back Barbecue’ once
again. This is always a wonderful time
of fellowship and getting reacquainted as many who have been traveling return
to Romania. During this event we had a
chance to not only see old friends, but we also had the chance to make new ones
as well. One family we met for the first
time is a new family from China. In the
city of Bucharest there are several thousands of people from China living here. We have prayed for some time for an open door
into that community and this family is proving to be such. Since the barbecue they have been attending
the church and we hope that as we continue to build this relationship with them
that we will be able to use this open door to extend our reach into the Chinese
community in Bucharest. Please pray
along with us that God guide us as we seek to find greater inroads into this
culture.
Catching up with old friends at the barbecue
These are our new friends from China that we met at the barbecue
Later
in September we had the opportunity to experience a very special event. Jonathan & Lidia Moore-Crispin, whom we
are very privileged to partner with in the ministry here in Bucharest, had
their first son dedicated to the Lord’s service. We were thrilled for both of them when Joseph
was born in April and even more thrilled to participate in this important event
in their lives as well. We pray that God
will bring Joseph to the place where he will trust Christ as Savior and Lord
early in life. We will also pray as he
grows up that God will use him mightily to accomplish his will and purposes in
this world.
With Jonathan and his in-laws at their son Joseph's dedication
Sunday, September 21st was our annual
‘Ministry Fair’ at the International Church.
This event has grown to represent the various opportunities that God has
given the church to reach out into the community. Currently God has given members of the church
opportunities to serve with organizations such as Hospice of Hope (helping
those with terminal illnesses), Open Door (reaching those effected by human
trafficking), Touched Romania (helping disadvantaged children in the city) and
Casa Ioana (helping the homeless). These
are unique opportunities to not only serve, but as God opens the door, to share
the gospel. During this event we also
have the opportunity to expose the congregation to various ways in which they
can serve in the church as well. Please
pray for our members as they continue to seek to make a difference in the city
of Bucharest.
This is the video we used to encourage involvement in Sunday School
(It will give you a bit of an idea of what happens each Sunday)
In
the month of October Naty and I spent two weeks in Germany attending the
International Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting. The event took place in Ramstein, Germany
this year. At the event both Naty and I
participated in many ways. Naty has been
asked to serve on a committee that is developing a strategic plan for the
convention for the next decade. In
addition to this, she serves as the coordinator for the women’s ministry
team. For quite some time I have also
been involved in various ways. Currently
I serve as the coordinator for the conventions current missional relationship
with the Baptist union of Moldova. In
addition to this, I also serve on the church ministry health team and one of
the teams in charge of seeing new international churches planted in the south
of Europe. As you can see, these
responsibilities keep us very busy.
While we were there, we had to report to the conventions members
concerning our involvement. We pray as
we continue our involvement in the IBC that God will continue to use this
relationship to open further doors for ministry.
Pastor and leaders from around the International Baptist Convention
Bill talking to the IBC about our missions partnership with Moldova
