Running Between Romania & Moldova

Once we returned from our recent trip to Belgium for the International Baptist Conventions Annual Meeting we immediately began to prepare for the work ahead of us in Moldova. The first week of this month we spent teaming up with other pastors and leaders from around the world (Brazillia, Brazil; Tacoma, Washington; Eastern Pennsylvania) in an evangelistic project in Moldova. The projected was sponsored by leaders from the International Baptist Convention. It was a great week as the gospel was shared with many all throughout the southern part of Moldova. We praise God for the decisions that were made for Christ during this wonderful week of evangelism.

Bill preaching the gospel in Valeni, Moldova

Recently many of the women of our church started a new outreach program for woman of infants and toddlers in our community. They are trying to provide a weekly time when these mothers can get a few hours to go into the city to do what they could not do unless they had some trustworthy help with their children. After our time in Moldova, one of the reasons we hurried back to Bucharest was to assist with this new ministry.

The women of our church working with the children

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

Recently we had the opportunity to meet a man from Pakistan who is currently in Romania finishing his medical degree to become a licensed physician. He came to us to learn whether or not we might be able to help him become better prepared to minister to his people back home once he returns. We are excited about this possibility and we are praying that God might make this possible to work with Sajjad as he not only prepares to minister to peoples physical needs in Pakistan, but also to their spiritual needs. Please pray along with us about this possibility.

Naty and I with Sajjad from Pakistan

New Blessings & Prayer Requests

A few months back God blessed us by opening the door for the church to start what is the equivalent of a day care program in our church to reach out to our community. Progress has been slow, but we are happy to report that it has been steady. We are seeing more and more families from the community investigating it and we are hoping more and more will allow their precious children to attend. We are also praying that this will open the door for us to be able to introduce Christ to many of these families. We would ask you to pray along with us that God will open doors with families we have never had relationships with before that ultimately will result in these families finding the only hope for eternity in Jesus Christ.

Stefan a young boy from the Daycare

The women of the church planning the activities

This past week Naty and I were blessed to be able to attend the Annual Meeting (conference) of the International Baptist Convention in Brussels, Belgium. While we were their we were encouraged by visiting with other pastors from other International Churches from around the world. During the conference I was asked to make a small presentation to the pastors and church leaders who attended. Last year Naty and I were asked to serve the convention as part of the conventions committee for World Missions. It has been a joy to do this and as a result I was asked to give a small report to the convention on one of our missions partners, European Baptist Mission. As the convention drew to a close a new opportunity has been brought our way. We were asked to serve the convention by becoming the chairmen of the World Missions Committee. We have not decided to do so and are currently praying that God will make His will clear to us concerning this. We ask you to pray along with us so that we make the appropriate choice.

Bill making his presentation at the conference

Bill & Naty in Brussels

Getting You Caught Up!

A few weeks back I wrote to you concerning our English as a Second Language Classes. God has blessed this outreach and a handful have been consistently atteding. We want to ask you to remember this in your prayers. We want this activity to reach those in our community who do not know Chrsit. Yet sometimes it is difficult to develop continuity here in Romania because so few ever commit to anything anyway. Please pray that Gop will help those who have committed to consistently attend. Pray also that God will open doors for the gospel as they work to master the English language.

ESL Class at the International Church

Saturday Naty and I enjoyed having the privilege in being involved with our student ministry as many of them participated in citywide Scavenger Hunt. It was great to see them develop a stronger bond of fellowship through this activity. We are praying that God will continue to use this ministry to reach out to international students who do not know Christ. Please pray along with us.

The winning team enjoying the spoils of victory

Last, Saturday evening was a first for us, but a very encouraging time as well. We had the unique opportunity to be involved in officiating over an engagement ceremony. A young man in our fellowship who had come to Christ out of Islam was getting engaged to a young woman from the states. He wanted to do it a way that would truly celebrate their commitment to one another. Therefore, we were privileged in being involved in their engagement ceremony. Their hope is to married sometime this summer, around June or July. Please keep this dear couple in your prayers.

The engagement ceremony Saturday night

Thankful For God's Continued Work

Since we have returned from our time away in Bulgaria we have been grateful to see the Lord continuing to work in the church. On the 4th of October Jonathan shared the Sunday message while I had the rare opportunity of leading the congregation in worship. He spoke on unity in the body of Christ. It was a timely message that many in the church was encouraged by. Last Sunday we started a new sermon series called, "Lessons for Life". This series will be taken from the book of Ecclesiastes as we study through the book together.

Bill Leading Worship

As we shared a few weeks ago, we have started ministering to our children through children's church. We have been encouraged by how the children have taken to this ministry. We have also been encouraged by the response of many of the parents of the children involved. Many seem to be encouraged by how their children are being ministered to.

Children's Church Sunday

Last, we ask you to pray for our ministry to university students. We have been encouraged by the response of some and we are thankful for their response. Yet, we know there are so many other students who need to be reached. Please pray with us that God will do a work amongst the international student population in our city. We earnestly desire to see God work in this way.

Student's Worship Time Saturday Night

A Week of Contrasts

This past week Naty and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary and as we both reflect on the past five years we are very grateful for our Lord's provision and providence in our lives over the past five years. This week has been a great example of His providence once again. It started last Wednesday as Naty and I were preparing to leave for a few days of vacation and rest. We had not taken any time away from the ministry in over a year so we planned to go to Bulgaria for four days to rest. Wednesday evening we receivd a call from the United States telling us that my dad was having heart problems and that he was going to have to have immediate open heart surgery to correct the problems. Obviously this caused us great concern. We went ahead and left for Bulgaria on Thursday not knowing specifically what would happen. As a result of the news we had received it may be obvious that rest was hard to come by. We finally received word very early Friday morning (approximately 3 or 4 in the morning) that my dad had made it through surgery and that he was doing well after 4 bi-passes. We had not slept well for two days, but because of our short time away we were able to rest and regain our strength. Once again God showed just how much He is in control of our lives. We praise Him for my dad's successful surgery, we also praise Him for the way He always provides for us in a timely way.

Naty and I in Bulgaria
celebrating our 5th anniversary

Last Naty and I wanted to write to thank many of you who we know have been praying for my dad during his time of trial over this past week. We can report that he seems to be recovering from his quadruple bi-pass surgery well according to the doctors. It is a great encouragement to us and my family that there are some many of you who were willing to pray for us during this time, we thank you!

Last We Need Your Help

As you know Naty and I started this blog a few months ago to help assist you in better understanding the comings and goings of the ministry here in Romania and Moldova. We do hope that this has been helpful to you. Therefore, we would enjoy having your feedback. If you would be willing to take a moment and send us a quick email to inform us of the usefulness of this blog it would help us in knowing if you would like for this formate of communication to continue as it currently is configured. In addition, if you have any suggestions as to how it may be better as well, that would be appreciated as well. Please send your feedback to williamtully@hotmail.com. Thank your for your input, each of you are a blessing.

Please Pray With Us!

The New Building

There are those times when God allows tests in our lives where we must make choices that will show whether we will trust God in all circumstances or whether we will trust him in the difficult times as well. Currently the International Church is learning this lesson first hand. Recently we were informed that the church has a financial obligation to the local government concerning the new building that we were unaware of until a week ago. This has caused the church to be in the difficult place of having to make a decision as to how we will meet this obligation. We have asked the church here to pray for a few things. First, that God will give the pastor and elders wisdom to make the correct decision. Second, that God will help each of us who consider the International Church our church home to do our part to give to meet this obligation. Third, that God will work to provide all that is needed so that the work of the International Church may move forward for many years to come.

Naty and I wanted to share this with you as well so that you might commit this issue to prayer along with us. Each of you through the years have made great sacrifices to help make this work in Bucharest and in the south of Moldova possible. Each sacrifice is significant and we are grateful for how God has used you. What we ask is that you might pray for us and the church during this challenging time. We know that this circumstance did not surprise God and we believe that He has a larger purpose for us as a body as well. We want to learn the lesson He is teaching us well and come through the test stronger and more prepared to serve the purposes of our great God. That is why we ask you to pray along with us.

As always, Naty and I thank God for each of you and trust that during these difficult times that your needs are being met. "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 God bless you all for your faithfulness to us and your brothers and sisters here in Bucharest and in Moldova.

Sunday Worship

More New Opportunities

This past week marked the beginning of many new ministries in the church in Bucharest. We started for the first time a children's church program that is an addition to our children's Sunday school. This new effort allows many of the parents in our church the opportunity to worship without the concern for what their children are doing while they are in the worship service. Additionally, we are beginning our first community outreach program through 'English as a Second Language Classes'. We are trusting that God will give us many opportunities to develop relationships with many of those who are attending these classes. The reason is many of those attending do not know Christ nor do they attend the church. Our hope is that God will allow us over time to develop the type of relationships with them that will open doors to share the gospel. Please pray that God will bless these outreach efforts into our community.

Children's Church

Others from the International
Community In Bucharest

Naty and I wanted to take a moment and share with you our home in Bucharest. Many have asked about where we live and we thought a few photo's might help you get a better understanding of our apartment here. As always, thank you for your generous sacrifices that make this work here in Romania and Moldova possible! You have been a great blessing through the years and we pray that God is blessing each of you for your more than generous sacrifices on behalf of Naty and I and those we have been called to serve here.

New Opportunities

This last week was full of new opportunities. It started when Naty and I were invited to join the Japanese International School for their annual festival. This was a great time as we were able to join a few members from our church for this celebration. In addition, there have been several women from this community that have been investigating who Christ is during our weekly ministry to the women of our community. While we were at the celebration we had an opportunity to encourage many of them. We thank God for the Japanese community and we pray that God will continue to work in it to bring men and women to faith in Christ.

Naty with the Takagi's; A family from
the International Church

As I mentioned, we had a weekend of many firsts. Another first was the beginning of Jonathan Moore-Crispin's term with the International Church. God has led this young man to our church from the United Kingdom to serve the fellowship here in Bucharest as our Assistant Pastor. This past Sunday this finally became official. The following are photo's from our time of worship this past Sunday as we celebrated this special event.

The elders and I praying for Jonathan
as he comes on staff of the church



The Sermon on Sunday

Children's Sunday School

The New School Year Begins

Yesterday at the International Church we had a great day. We hosted our annual 'Welcome Back Barbecue' to welcome back to Bucharest many who had been away and many of those who visited. We estimated that there were as many as 100 in attendance. We trust if God is willing, that many of those who visited for the first time yesterday will return in the future to either worship with us or learn more of what it means to become a believer in Jesus Christ. We ask you to pray for those who visited. Pray that God will bring them back to the church and that those who do not know Christ will come to a place where they put their trust in Christ for forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

The following is an introductory video that the church in Bucharest uses to introduce visitors to the church. I thought you might enjoy seeing it. We hope it will give you a better understanding of what God is doing at the International Church.

As We Conclude The Summer ...

It is amazing to think that the summer is almost over. Children are returning to school and many of our church members who have been away visiting their homes in different lands are returning to Bucharest. So in keeping with this time of year Sunday the International Church will be hosting our annual "Welcome Back Barbecue". We ask you to please keep this time in prayer as many visitors will be visiting the church for the first time. We trust if God is willing, that we will be able to develop some new relationships that will open the door for the gospel.

This past Sunday afternoon we were honored to be asked to join a local church in Moldova for the baptism of several new believers. It was exciting to see what God is doing in the lives of these new believers. The following should give some sense of what being baptized in Moldova is like.

Another Summer In The Books

We wish you could have been here to see. The camps were a resounding success once again. In all three camps or bible schools we saw somewhere between 400 - 500 children and teenagers attend. We were very encouraged by the nature of each as well. Many of those who knew Christ were challenged in their faith. There were also those who came to know Christ for the first time. God has blessed far above and beyond what any of us are deserving of, HE IS GOOD!

Kids Camp 2009



Teens Camp 2009

Camp Life

A Special Message For You

"Thank You!"