Easter Week

Well it has been Easter week here in Moldova as in all Eastern Europe

We've had a busy week starting on Tuesday with a meeting for some of the physicaly disabled people in our village

We did a programme with songs and testimonies - indeed Nicu who is blind and a member of our church gave his testimony

Grisa who is now a part time evangelist with us ( see earlier blog ) is also physically disabled having part of one leg missing and he led the meeting while I brought the message. The mayor was also there and stayed for the whole message.

We were able to have a meal together with those that who attended due to funds given to us last Autumn.

Also Grisa was able ot get in contact with another source who gave us second hand clothes and thus all who came received a packet of clothes

Pray for Misa ( here pictured standing ) and Grisa as they try to develop this ministry something that is not easy as we do not have suitable transport to be able to bring most of these ones to the church except on special occassions such as these.

On Wednesday we had our special meeting with mayors from our region.

We have 27 mayors looking after around 40 villages in our area and we are 14 pastors in the region.

We paid for them and their wives ( or husbands ) to have a meal with us for Easter while we also provided a musical programme and Valeriu Ghiletchii the president of the B.U was the main speaker.

There was a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere during the meeting and brother Valeriu brought a word that was just exactly right for the audience. Every guest at our table listened intently right throughout the mssage.

Such was the atmosphere that many of the mayors felt free to share some thoughts etc at the end

This is mayor Petru from Tsganca which is a village about 6 Km from us in Gotesti.

The village has no evangelical church of any kind and neither does Ghioltosu a nearby village which he is also responsible for so it was great getting the opportunity to get to know him and we hope to be able to follow up this contact - maybe inviting him to a baptism that we have soon

Please pray for him

We had our Easter service to-day with a very full programme

Here the adolescents did a very moving sketch about how to deal with Jesus' death on the cross

The smallest kids also did a prorgamme of songs

And the youth did songs and a sketch that was so powerful it left me in tears before getting up to preach

One lady came after the meeting to give her life to Christ

Do please pray for the many non Christians that were at the meeting and came under the sound of the gospel

With all our affection

Pastor Mark