Children's Summer Camp

We ran a day camp at Gotesti 5-9th July for kids aged 7-11.

Around 90 kids came every day and here they are doing a programme for the parents on Friday the last day of the camp

The camp ran each day from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm and the kids would get games, teaching and a mid-day meal in that time as well as arts and crafts etc.

We had the Mission Direct team with us and they were fully involved in the week.

Here Greig is helping the kids with some crafts and the others were involved in outside activities like games etc.

The team were a particular blessing helping release our church team to do the ministry by doing all the practical things like preparing the food, cleaning the dishes etc

We were encouraged at the end of the week by how many of the parents or grandparents that came to the final day programme

Please pray for these parents that they may start coming to the church regularly

Pastor Mark

Baptism at Cahul

On the 18th July, we had the priviledge of being asked to come and preach at one of the oldest
Baptist churches in the South.

Spirina Baptist church.

They met as a church throughout the time of communism although the building was not constructed until after the revolution.

When we first came to Moldova and were working in the schools in Cahul this is the church

that we attended.

Of course there have been many changes since then ( that was 1994 ) not least in those leading the church.

Little or no financial support has meant that several pastors have left for USA during this time.

This is the current pastor Nicolai Tsin sitting down for a meal after the baptism meeting
with the youth from the church - most of whom have come into the church during his time of minsitry

Here are the 5 young people that were baptised during the meeting.

We heard short testimonies from them all and I was impressed with the clarity of their faith.

One girl had a a very difficult time with her parents being very against her faith but it seems the parents were at the baptism and thus heard the gospel being preached

Several of these ones are already in the worship group.

As you can see there was a good crowd at the meeting including many people who did not yet know the Lord.

Please pray for Igor who is in the same boat as the previous pastors who have left. The Lord has done so much during his time of leading and he is very popular with the church members. It would be a shame if he also had to leave.

Pastor Mark

Laptop

Following our adventurous journey from Moldova to Brodina to collect our kids from their grandparents.....

We got to the bottom of the mountain that Mari's folks live on - it's about 2Km to the top and it feels like walking up at a 60 degree angle.

It was 11.00 pm and pitch dark and torrential rain when we got there.

As we loaded up ourselves for the trek up the mountain everyone objected to the 6kg of baggage I had decided to bring with me - my laptop.

"It's too hard a trip in this weather..... You'll never get to the top carrying that weight...... What do you need a laptop for?"

Undeterred by everyone's objections I set off carrying my 6kg burden.

Now as many of you know I have asthma and that together with the conditions meant that by the time we had got about 2\3 up the mountian I was exhausted and could go no further.

Nobody said anything - they didn't have to - the cracking of the thunder seem to say "we told you so"

Then Iulian, our driver, who himself was carrying about 7kg offered to take my laptop and carry it to the top.

At first I didn't want to give it to him. Why? Because I felt so guilty. It was my own stubborness and refusal to listen to advice that had gotten me into this mess and now should some else suffer the consequences? It wasn't fair and I felt guilty and too ashamed to give the laptop to him.

But then I realised something about Iulian. He wasn't judging me. He wasn't saying "I'll take your laptop while thinking "but I hope you realise how bad and undeserving you are of the help"

No. Iulian, I know, loves me and I knew his only intention in the offer was that he wanted, out of love, to liberate me from the burden so I'd be free to get home.

Then I thought to myself how often we are like this with Jesus.

We have some sin we are carrying or mess we got ourselves into that was our fault and that we are guilty for.

Jesus comes and says give it to me. I died on the cross for you so I could take this burden from you. I did it not so I could make you feel guilty for the cost of your sins but so that I could, in love, remove them from you as far as the East is from the West and so set you free.

The joke is I still didn't give my laptop to Iulian. The reason? Pride. I a 54 yr old man wanted to look as good as the 29 yr old Iulian and get to the top myself carrying the 6kg.

And again I thought how often we also do this with Jesus. We carry some burden - some bad habit or failing or inadequacy and instead of coming to Him to lift the burden our pride says no I can do this myself.

So I gave my laptop to Iulian and got to the top of the mountain with joy. It still wasn't easy ( our Christian lives aren't ) but it was a whole lot easier than carrying that extra 6kg that Iulian had.

Reminds of that old hymn

"What a friend we have in Jesus.

All our sins and griefs to bear

....

Oh what peace we often forfeit

Oh what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry

Everything to Him in prayer

Pastor Mark

Caught in Romanian floods

Well, as you can see from this clip, we got caught in the recent floods in Romania.

We had taken the girls to Mari's parents the week before and were due to go to collect them on Monday.

Interestingly, Iulian was obliged to come with us as one of my documents had expired and when we got to Suceava the downpour had gotten heavy but we passed through until we got to an area about 15 km on from Suceava. As you can see the area was flooding and we were caught behind many cars who could not pass through the flooded road. We walked up to the flooded area and spoke to the police that told us it was not possible to get back as Suceava was now cut off and if we had courage then go on through the floods. This we did and encountered many other areas of heavy flooding but eventually got home to our kids at the top of the mountain where Mari's folks live.

However, by the next day various other bridges for our route home had collapsed, 11,600 people had been evacuated and the road by which we had come had also collapsed into the river.

So we had to go back by a different route up through the mountiains. We felt like the 3 kings that were warned to go back by a different way after visiting the baby Jesus. Anyway God was with us and we arrived back home in Moldova safe and sound.

Keep us in your prayers

Pastor Mark