Keeping Moving Forward

It has been some time since we have reported in to each of you.  We praise God for the opportunities and the work that He is doing around us.  One such opportunity that we have reported to you about many time over the last few years is the opportunity to work with our brothers and sisters here in Romania and Moldova in the area of biblical counseling.  April 28 - May 3 we had the opportunity to assist David Selvey from Faith Church in Lafayette, IN in training pastors and leaders in Cahul, Moldova.  This group has committed to a three year process of becoming equipped to do biblical counseling.  Most of them are already doing a counseling within there local churches.  May 9, 10 we had an opportunity to assist the group of young leaders and students who are studying to do the same in Timisoara, Romania.  We praise God for raising a new generation who are so eager to make a difference in other people's lives through biblical counseling.

With David Selvey in Moldova doing biblical counseling training

Over the last 6 months or so of 2014 the church in Bucharest has seen an unprecedented form or growth. We have seen the birth of 3 new little boys and we are aware of at least 3 more that will arrive in the next 3 to 4 months as well.  So have said, 'tongue in cheek'; "If you cannot grow from outside, grow it from inside". That certainly is not a philosophy that we would want to adopt, yet on the other hand, we are thrilled by the way God has blessed so many families within our fellowship over the last few months.  To encourage a few of the mothers who have already had their children many of the ladies got together and had a baby shower for them.  This was a great time of fun and fellowship for everyone who attended.  We pray that God will help each of these families to fully take advantage of the unique opportunity that they have been given to teach each of these little children to love the Lord with all their hearts.

The women of the church at the baby shower for these mothers

This is a second baby shower for another expectant mother

One of the families who have experienced this blessing is my assistant Jonathan and his wife Lidia.  This spring the experienced the birth of their first son, who they named Joseph.  This has been a source of great joy for them and great excitement for the church.

Naty with Lidia and her Joseph

Late this spring Naty and several ladies from our church attended the annual Women's Conference that took place in Budapest, Hungary.  The event is organized annually by the Women's Ministry Team of the International Baptist Convention.  Naty currently has the opportunity to serve the convention as part of this team.  This years conference became a meeting point for many women who are currently part of the church and some who have moved on to other places around the world.  For these women it was a joy to reconnect and rekindle old friendships, while at the same time, being able to enjoy the spiritual sustenance that was available at this years conference.  Everyone who attended were challenged and grateful for this time together.

Some past and present women of IBC Bucharest

Coming later this summer the church has taken on the challenge of reaching out to our community in totally unprecedented way.  There are many poor and disadvantaged families that live within less than a mile of our building.  They do not speak English, but we also believe that it is not an accident that God has put us here either.  So late in August, the 28 - 30 to be exact, as a congregation we are doing an outreach program that directly targets the children of these families.  As we do this we will be inviting the parents to participate as well. Yet to do this well, we will have to enlist the help of several other brothers and sisters from other Romanian churches in the area that will more naturally be able to minister to these families in their own language without translation.  So we are collaborating with other Romanian Baptist churches in our area in this project.  Please pray that God will bless this effort with fruit that will last.  Second pray that God will enable us to be gracious hosts and those who work well with our Romania brothers and sisters who will be joining us in this effort.  Below you can watch a short clip we are using to encourage those in our fellowship to get involved in this project.

This is the clip we are using to ask for help!

Finally, we would like to thank each of you once again for standing with us in the work that God is doing here in Romania and Moldova.  We not only consider it an honor to work with the dear people we get to work with here, we also consider it an honor to represent our Lord Jesus Christ to these people and to represent each of you.  We do pray that God is meeting each of your needs according to his riches in glory, Philippians 4:19.  We also pray that God is blessing richly for the great sacrifices you have made.

Grateful To Be Busy In The Work of God's Kingdom

Over time the church has continuously tried to take advantage of various opportunities to minister to the expat community. This year the church organized an elegant Valentine's Day dinner for couples in and out of the church so as to extend the reach of our church in our community.  It was an evening full of great food, amazing live music, flowers, games and wonderful fellowship.  We were thrilled to be able to connect with families from the church, as well as, to create a bridge of friendship with many outside the church.

Enjoying the evening with the couples who attended

The worship team provided the entertainment

The end of February, we had a visit from our dear friends Scott and Sandy Chadwick, the pastor and wife from the International church in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was great to spend time together and to show them what's going on in the church in Bucharest. All International churches have similarities: we all minister to the expat community from many nations around the world, yet each church is uniquely different.  It was great to spend time encouraging each other toward greater effectiveness in the work of God's Kingdom.

Enjoying a bite to eat with our friends

Once a year, in March, the church has a weekend away in the Romanian mountains. Everybody arrives Saturday morning and we have lunch together, then we have free time where families and young adults can connect while hiking the mountains or doing other things together, then we have dinner followed by games. Sunday morning after breakfast, we all meet for worship in a room with glass windows surrounding two walls, with the background of the snow capped mountains. It is an amazing site as we worship Christ together.  This year we had the joy of having one of our former elders from Nigeria and his family join for the retreat.  Currently the live in Geneva due to work but it was great to have them join us this year as brother Sunday Oloidi brought us the morning message.

The church together in the Romanian mountains

The church building is strategically located about a mile from the city center, but our neighborhood is not a rich one. We have a lot of poor Roma families with a lot of children right down the street.  The children have been coming to church for a few years, but we wished we could focus on them in a more effective way since most of them speak Romanian. Therefore, we've had a desire to start a kids club for them on Saturdays, but we just didn't have the people to lead it and help serve to make it go. By God's grace, this year He has brought an amazing team of about 20 people from the church to serve the community.  God brought a leader, a young woman named Jennifer from Canada and the rest of the team are from the UK, United States, Romania, Nigeria, the Philippines, Malaysia, Moldova, Angola, South America, Mongolia.  It's wonderful to see over 11 nations, brought to Romania for various reasons, coming together to impact our neighborhood. Please pray that God will work in the lives of the children and their parents to see them come to know Christ in a personal way.

The initial planning meeting for our new community ministry

The end of March we both traveled to the IBC Pastor's conference which was held this year in beautiful Mallorca, Spain.  We are very grateful to serve a church that is willing to do what it can to help us attend such events.  These are great times to get your batteries recharged and to rub elbows with others who are in the very same shoes as you.  We greatly enjoyed this time away.  We are grateful for the time of encouragement and rest that came from it.

Naty and I enjoying a nice meal in Spain

Finally, I had the opportunity to join the IBC once again in scouting out new cities for potential new International English language churches here in Europe.  This year I joined a pastor from one of our IBC churches in Naples, Italy and three other pastors from Wisconsin.  We went to Valencia, Spain a city that has almost 2,500,000 people in the total area including all of its outlying area's.  While there we had the opportunity to visit with Spanish pastors, other missionaries and other expat's just to determine the viability of a potential new church there.  At this time, the English community does not seem to be as strong as we might have thought it would be.  So keep the IBC in prayer as we determine if this city and many other cities around the world would be spots for new churches.

The team in Valencia, Spain

Much To Celebrate During The Holiday Season

About 8 weeks ago most of the men of the church participated in a men's retreat that focused on being pure in a world full of temptation.  A friend of ours came from Italy and led the retreat.  He challenged the men in a practical way to embrace the challenge of being like Christ in this area of their lives each day.  Many of those who attended said this was a very important time for them.  One said, "Before I came I did not think this would be very helpful, yet now I am committed to trying to find victory in this area of my life."  We praise God for what he did during this time away.

The men who attended this years men's retreat

While the men were gone for their weekend-away, the women's ministry decided to have a day where the ladies could meet for a cook-out, followed by a time of worship and encouragement to challenge each to always have an attitude of gratefulness.  So for both the men and women of IBC that weekend was a blessing for all.

The moth of December created even more reason to celebrate as the church witnessed the baptism of 4 young adults Diana and Eliza from Romania and Gideon and Esther from Nigeria.  It has been encouraging to see the work that Christ is doing in each of their lives.

Diana was one of those baptized in December

Every year the church has it's Christmas program at the beginning of the month, because later in the month many of our families travel to their home countries. We enjoyed our Christmas choir, children's program and a variety of Christmas carols sang in Hebrew, French, Romanian, Nigerian and of course in English.  All this was followed by a time of fellowship at the church. It was a packed house and we are thrilled that we once again had such a good opportunity to share the gospel with so many.

This years Christmas program involved many different cultures

In the Christmas spirit and with a desire to minister to our community, the church organized a shoe-box project that helped more than 30 children receive a gift this year. Once we had fully collected all the gifts a few families from of our church joined us as we distributed the gifts to the shelter.  Those who joined us sang some carols and spent extra time with each child and their parents.  It is a thrill for us to see the church becoming more and more involved with those in need in our community.

The children of Casa Ioana were thrilled by their gifts

As we entered into the New Year we were given the opportunity to travel across Romania to the city of Timisoara to partner with some friends there in the work of training others to do biblical counseling.  This time was well spent as we saw almost 30 come to participate in the training.  We hope that God will bless the work and that there will be some who will complete the training over time so that they will become skilled in helping others through biblical counseling themselves.  So please keep each of these individual's in your prayers as they train to become effective in helping others with their problems through the scriptures.

Training new biblical counselors in Timisoara

On a personal note, we would like to update you that my mom's recovery (Naty's mom) is slow, but moving in the right direction, we believe.  We would ask you to continue to pray for her and pray that God will continue to give the doctors wisdom to help her in her recovery.  We are grateful for each of you and your partnership through the years.  We pray that God will bless each of you with a very fruitful New Year!

Taking Advantage of The Opportunities

A few weeks ago we had the privilege to attend the annual meeting for the churches that are part of the International Baptist Convention.  This year it was held in Sofia, Bulgaria.  Bill had a few responsibilities during the conference.  God gave him the opportunity to lead the Missions Ministry Team and the strategic partnership with Moldova meeting's the IBC had while we were there.  At the end of the week the pastor from our sister church in Sofia, Scot Chadwick, asked Bill to share with the congregation there on Sunday.  The make-up of this church is also very international. As a result, it has the opportunity to minister to a lot of refugee's coming from Iran, Pakistan, and Nigeria.  For many of them they are in a foreign land, with a different language, and a new culture with its own challenges.  Some are running from persecution back home hoping to find something better in Bulgaria.  Yet, once they arrive they find things rather unfriendly and unfair.  In Bill's message he shared about Ruth and Naomi and it seemed to encourage many.  It was about how Ruth and Naomi at one point in both of their lives were facing the challenges of a foreign culture, while dealing with loss and hardship.  Even though both faced similar trials, they responded differently to them. Naomi chose to become bitter, yet Ruth chose to trust God and follow where He led her.

Bill sharing with the church in Sofia, Bulgaria

On a different occasion recently God opened the door for Bill to attend the British School’s regular time of assembly with the children of the grade school.  He was asked to speak with them about the theme of Thanksgiving.  Bill was very excited to have had this opportunity as he was able to share with the children that God is the source of all we have and therefore, it is only right for us to praise and thank him.  We trust that this time will be used to open even greater doors of opportunity to the families of the British School.  Please pray for open doors of opportunity there.

Bill sharing with the children of the British School

Every week God has allowed for many of the expats wives to meet on Wednesday mornings for a time of fellowship, but mainly for a time of studying God's Word!  It's an amazing group! The group can be as big as 30 ladies from more than 15 nations. We come from very different backgrounds and we welcome non-believers as well. We've had a lot of Buddhist attend the group. What makes it amazing is that we are so different, but yet we all agree to stick to the Scriptures and seek the answers God has for us in his word.  As one woman from Korea recently said to me, this Bible study was a haven for her in Bucharest. This was quite an amazing statement since she comes from a Buddhist background. She told me when her and her husband recently moved to Moscow that she was going to look for another bible study group instead of a Buddhist temple. I want to ask you to please pray for these precious ladies.  For those who know Christ, pray that they will grow closer to him and for those who do not that they will make a decision to follow him.

The women's study in Bucharest

On a personal note, we continue to praise God for how he has blessed my dad with a new liver to save his life.  He is so alive and has so much energy, that we can't keep up with him. We do though have a prayer request for my mother's health.  She has severe problems with her back.  Different doctors told her that her only option was back surgery. They told her if she chose not to have it that it was very likely that she would become paralyzed by one of her vertebra severing nerves in her back. So we praise God that a week ago she under went a success procedure repairing the damage in her back. You ask why do we ask for prayer?We ask you to pray that God will help provide for the medical bill's my parents now owe as a result of this surgery. For them it is a great deal of money. Pray for God's provision in their lives.

My mom in the hospital after successful back surgery

  

Miles, Miles & More Miles

After covering  over 12.000 miles and over 15 states in a little over three months, Bill and I have finally arrived back home in Romania after our long trip in the United States.  While we were there we visited with family, friends and several churches.  The end of August we returned back to Bucharest.

September 8th, the church enjoyed its annual welcome back BBQ.  We had great weather, lots of food and wonderful fellowship.  This year, it's the first time the members of the church organized the event on their own. The day started with everyone meeting for a short service at the church, where Bill presented an overview of who the church is, what we believe in and how someone can get connect it.  Then, we actually tried to connect over lunch in the park. We also had special guests with us from the home office of our mission agency Global Outreach.  Lyle and Rose have been with us to see the ministry but they came with a servant's heart helping us to get ready for the BBQ as we were still trying to get over the jet lag.

September 9th-13th, Bill taught counseling training classes to a core group of pastors and their wives in the south of Moldova.  These are people that have been exposed to counseling before through partnering with the Counseling Ministry of Faith Church, Lafayette.  This partnership is continuing, but it is more focused on leaders that are actually doing counseling now.

September 15th, the church had the Annual Ministry Fair.  This is a time for new comers to find out how they can be involved in the church and how to make a difference in the community.  We had 5 different guests present the ministry opportunity in the community:

  1. Hospices of Hope who ministers to terminally ill adults and children.  The hospice is a new concept in Romania.  It is a Christian organization.

  2. Human Trafficking Shelter lead by Monica, a pastor's wife from Bucharest. The only Christian outreach to the victims that were trafficked.

  3. Touched Romania, a shelter for abused mothers.  They care for the moms and their children as they go through struggles. Also, they teach the mothers various skills to help them be more independent.

  4. Ioana's House a shelter for homeless people. For a limited time people can stay there.  They are helped to get legal status, a job, a place to live and children in school.

  5. Second Chance Romania teaches the unfortunate skills and creates job opportunities helping children go to school, providing a work place for some villages around Bucharest.

On a personal note, Bill and I have just celebrated our 9th anniversary.  God has been so gracious to us.  He has blessed us with a wonderful marriage and has made us great partners in the ministry.  All glory to God!

On The Move There & Here

Over the last few months God has allowed Bill to train Daniel from Nigeria for the ministry.  He came to Romania to study at a local university, but after he started to learn more about the Bible and how to study it on his own he then decided he wanted to go to seminary and be in the ministry full time.  What an amazing opportunity to influence a young person like this from Nigeria in the heart of Romania.  Please pray for Daniel that God will guide him and use him for his kingdom and that a door will be opened for him to study and prepare for the ministry. 

Daniel and Bill studying Bible Study Methods

Once a month Bill is equipping people from our church with the tools every Christian needs to be able to share their faith, to study the Scriptures and to live a godly life.  The end of April he taught us how you can give an overview of the Bible in just twelve words.  It was an amazing ride through the Old and New Testament.   

Bill teaching the overview of the bible

In May, several ladies and I (Naty) from our church attended the annual women’s conference organized by the International Baptist Convention.  God allowed me to be part of the Women’s Ministry Team representing the convention.  Each spring the convention organizes a conference to reach women from many International Churches across Europe and beyond.   This year, 150 ladies from over 20 nations gathered in the hometown of Corrie Ten Boom, in the Netherlands for a time of encouragement in God’s word.  This conference is so important because it ministers to ladies from all over the world who go through similar challenges brought by their transient life style either because of their own job that moves them every 2 years or because they follow their spouse when his job gets relocated.   Praise God for a blessed time and hearts that were restored!

Women’s ministry team for the Convention

Ladies from Bucharest in Corrie Ten Boom’s house

In the last few months the church has been exposed to a new ministry in Bucharest that works with women caught in human trafficking.  Monica, a pastor’s wife from Romania, found out about the grim reality of humanly trafficked women and with God’s help she opened up a safe house for them. Because of the lack of jobs, Romanian ladies go to work in Europe and many of them end up being caught up in this sort of tragic circumstance, but they don’t have anything waiting for them if they ever return to their former life.  This Christian safe house that just opened up ministers to those girls abused, that by God’s grace, are able to escape.   The church is learning how to better get involved in this great ministry opportunity.  Members of the church have already started being involved by providing dry foods, soil for the garden, volunteer work and a lot of prayer.  If you want to learn more about this unique ministry opportunity you may want to watch the movie ‘Nefarious’ which you can find in your local Christian bookstores.  Please pray for Monica, for the workers and for the women that will come through this safe house.     

Monica (in red) shares about the shelter at a Women’s Bible Study

Many of you have been praying for my dad as he was fighting hepatitis C.  This month we will celebrate one year since his liver transplant. While dad was in Italy, before even being on a transplant list, he started a Romanian/Moldovan church.  After one year the church has grown to approximately 60 members.  Recently, they brought in a Moldovan family to pastor the church. My dad has recovered very well and is now serving in the ministry in Moldova.  We thank you for your prayers for my dad over this past year.  

My dad with the new Moldovan church in Italy

On a personal note, Bill and I are now in the States visiting family, friends and ministry partners.  My older brother Vali, who lives in Atlanta, got married May 25^th.  What a great excuse to come back to the States!   While we are here we will be covering over 8000 miles by car and a few by plane visiting with families and speaking in churches.  If we don’t get the chance to thank you in person we would like to once again to express our gratitude for partnering with us in the ministry God has called us too in Eastern Europe. 

Vali (my brother) and Elizabeth on their Wedding Day    

An Amazing Few Months

The end of February Naty and I in conjunction with others from around the International Baptist Convention were honored to be able to partner with our brothers and sisters in Moldova in an Evangelistic effort in the south of Moldova.  The project went from the 18th to the 24th of February.  During this time many throughout the area we were working were introduced to the gospel for the first time.  One pastor from the village of Baimaclia, Moldova said, "During his experience there in that village he had never seen the Lord work in the way He did during that week of evangelistic work."  We pray that the fruit that was bore in that week will last and that it will be the beginning of something significant for the Kingdom of God in that area.

Sharing the gospel with the body in Baimaclia

It was a packed house that night

A few weeks later we had a opportunity to take the church in Bucharest to the mountains of Romania for our annual church weekend retreat.  We were blessed to have my assistants father, Derek Moore-Crispin a pastor in the United Kingdom with us for worship while we were there.  Many from the church attended and once again it was a great time for the church to continue to develop community among each other.  This has proven through the years to be a wonderful annual event in the life of the church which has been helpful in  encouraging growth throughout the congregation.  Please pray for the God's protection on the community of the International Church.

The retreat is held in beautiful Busteni, Romania 

Worship During our time in Busteni

A group picture of the church in Busteni

The middle of March Naty and I had the opportunity to attend the pastor's conference of the International Baptist Convention.  This was a good time of spiritual nourishment and refreshment.  We really considered ourselves blessed to be able join others from around the convention for the wonderful time.  While we were there we had an opportunity to evaluate where we are as a couple and a congregation.  We are so grateful that God has allowed us to serve alongside each other in the ministry in Romania and Moldova and we want to do all we can to serve the Lord as effectively as possible   Therefore, as we made preparations to return to Romania at the end of the conference we were asking the Lord to help us apply the things we learned in the church once we arrived home.   

At the IBC pastors conference banquet

While at the conference we came across something familiar

This last Sunday we celebrated our Lord's resurrection at the International Church of Bucharest.  This was a bit of a different experience this year because many in Romania will not celebrate Easter till the 5th of May.  The reason is that the Orthodox Church of Romania doesn't celebrate Easter at the same time as most churches in the west.  Normally the two dates would only be separated by a week or two, but this year was an exception to that.  Although many in Romania did not observe Easter we did and it was a joyous time of remembering Christ's sacrifice and celebrating his resurrection.  We trust that each of you had a similar time of worship this past Sunday as well.

Easter at the International Church

Finally, we wanted to take a moment and thank each of you once again.  We know just how blessed we are to serve the Lord where He has called us too.  Each of you play a vital role in the work here in Romania and Moldova as well.  We would be unable to do this work without the continued prayers and generous sacrifices that many of you have given on our behalf.  So to say thanks we thought we would share a few snap shots of the smallest among us who's lives are being impacted by each of you.

The children of the International church

Children's Church Is a Big Hit Every Sunday

Looking Back ... Looking Forward

As we reflect back over 2012 we have seen so many things at the International Church that we celebrate.  One of the things that we have learned to celebrate has been the many ways that God has opened the door for the International Church to influence the culture around us.  One of the doors that has been opened to us over the years is the continual work of the after school program that works with Romanian families in the community.  As these children continue to attend the after school we continue to seek to find new ways to introduce Christ to these families.  In this New Year the opportunities to influence the Romanian culture around us continue to grow through things like the after school and other good organizations that are meeting real needs around us like; Hospices of Care, Broken Heart Foundation, Second Chance, etc.  Please pray that God will continue to open doors for the International Church to influence the culture around us with the gospel.

The after school program at the church

Over the last twelve months a very interesting development has taken place at the church.  The men's ministry of the church has been growing and the men are beginning to really take the lead in many ways in our pursuit to reach the culture around us.  This is a very exciting development for us.  One of the ways we have continued to encourage this sort of growth among the men at the International Church is through our annual Men's Retreat.  This year was no different as the men of the church meet for a concerted time of fellowship and bible study at the Romanian Olympic Training Center just outside of Bucharest.  Please continue to pray that the men of the church will continue to grow and take the lead in reaching the community around us.

The of the church worshiping and studying together at the retreat

Take a moment and listen to the men worship at the retreat

One of our favorite ways to reach the community around us is through our Christmas Shoebox Project.  This is a way to help families and children who would not normally experience much of Christmas have an opportunity to do so.  As we have this opportunity to help them it opens the door directly for us to share the good news of the gospel with each of them.  This year had the privilege to reach out to approximately 30 children.  Please pray for these children and their parents that they will see their need for Christ and turn to him for forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

The children and their families we had the opportunity to help