Missions in Gotesti and Antonesti

During each year we usually have many teams come out to us and get involved in children's work or mission or other ministries.

This year we at Gotesti took a break from having teams come to us although some of our members were involved in hosting teams for other churhces and I was involved with each team in liasing between the team and the partner church - as well as doing some transport and some translating.

When teams come they go to their partner churches and participate in the ministry either in the children's work or in a mission or teaching or any combination of the three. The picture above is of the groups from Kings Fellowship in Bangor and they were the one exception for this year in that they did come to us for 4 days and get involved in our autumns mission.

In truth they were really only a half exception as they spent the first 4 days of their time doing an outreach mission in the village of Antonesti. Here Eileen is giving her testimony as did all members of the team throughout the whole week It is a small church but we saw quite a few who are not members come to the meetings and several respond to an altar call during the week.

Throughout both missions the brothers in the teams preached the gospel each night and altar calls were also made each night

The mission in Gotesti ended with a baptism meeting - the man in the picture is Igor who also gave his testimony in the meeting. Several people responded to the altar calls during the week and we have begun new believers studies with them.

It was a busy time for all but also satisfying and fruitful

Pastor Mark



Religion in School

We have continued to do our religion lessons in our school in Gotesti. In fact it has been growing and we now have 85 kids in 5 groups coming. As you may remember the government has passed a law that Christianity is now allowed to be taught as an optional subject in school. An orthodox syllabus is available as well as our own evangelical syllabus. Marina used to be our teacher but she is taking a break to have a baby and so Diana Stefan is now the new teacher. Here she is teaching the class for ages 7-11.

Do keep this ministry and Diana in your prayers

Pastor Mark

The Rudi's at Obreja



This is Ghita and Olia Rudi with their family who are responsible for the church in the village of Obreja which is north of Chisinau.
We have been trying to help them in their ministry as much as we are able albei it in a very small way.
Their village is over 300Km from us so we are not able to "pop" in to see them but did manage to get up there for a visit a little while ago.
We were able to see all the minsitries they are involved in which includes a healthy children's work
Here we can see the fruit of a summer camp they did this year with the help of a team from abroad that came through O.M's contacts.
O goodly number of kids came and many are continiung to come to the 2 new groups that they have formed.
A major need in their ministry is that the Lord would save some men whom Ghita could disciple to become co-workers with him and another need is to replace the rotten doors and windows in their weather affected church building. We were able to help them with funds to buy a new front door ( double glazed ) but all the other windows and doors also need replaced - we're praying the Lord help them in both needs
Pastor Mark

Chircani Building

 

We have finally got the roof on at our Chircani Community Centre. Here the construction team are in the process of plastering the outside.
We had hoped that we would be able to complete phase II by early November.
Phase II would take us to having completed the outside and having the meeting room inside finished ( including a baptistery ) as well as completing 2 Sunday school rooms.
The remaining phases which we would hope to complete in May-Nov 2013 would be a sports room, kitchen and meeting room for pensioners, physically disabled, poor families and a day centre for vulnerable children.
We had hoped to have the meeting room and baptistery finished in time so we could have had a special week of meetings to celebrate the opening of the Church Community Centre in November but unfortunately circumstances being what they are we will not be able to finish in time for November. However we hope to get it done in time for an opening mission in the Spring.
Pictured here are some of the men who have worked on the project.
In the foreground in white is Jora and in the orange T Shirt is Sasa both of whom are members in the church in Chricani.
Then in white near the window is Vasia who is a member in the church in Antonesti. He came to help us out during that particular week. The other man is Ruslan who is deacon at our church in Gotesti and takes a large responsibility for the care of the church in Chricani.
Pray that we are able to get all the work finished for the opening in the Spring.
Pastor Mark

Youth in Gotesti

Every Friday we have our youth meeting at Gotesti.
During the second half of the year we changed the format into 2 parts.
Part 1 is designed for our own youth who are saved although all are welcome. We have a time of worship, then we do a bible study and discussion and then we pray together, We are actually studying a book by the Bible Mission which is part of their Bible School by correspondence course and it seems all have been finding it useful. Each study has an exam at the end so we discuss the responses that the youth have made in the exam.
Part II is where we have invited all youth 14+ to come to from the village.
Here we have lots of sports and games that for 1.5 hours we play together.
We have table hockey that a church from England sent to us - it is very popular. Then we also play darts ( I may be the man that introduced the game of darts to Moldova as I haven't yet met a Moldovan that had heard of this game.... "sins must come but woe to him who brings them in...." I hear you say) Some of the lads really seem to like the darts and I get to win most of the time so it seems a good arrangement to me. (If Tom McGibbon is reading this blog I'm ready for you any time boyo...Partick Thistle indeed!!)
We have a table tennis table which both lads and girls use but we also have various board games like UNO and Take Two ( a rapid form of scrabble ) which these girls are playing here.
We even have a points system and points make prizes.
Pray that the young people who have been coming on Friday nights will feel they want to give their lives to the Lord
Pastor Mark

Tigheci

Valeriu Munteanu and his wife Angela are responsible for the small church in the rather big village of Tigheci (3000 citizens).
Here he is at the lecturn in a room of his house that has been converted into a meeting room.
Valeriu was led to the Lord by Nicolai Sin who was the pastor at Antonesti who went recently to USA - see earlier blog.
Nicolai discipled him for some time and then left him responsible with Angela for the little church that had grown up.
There are around 5/6 that come regularly to the meeting. One lady is 84 and actually handles the catering for the church even cooking for foreign guests when they come. When she was saved she was almost bedridden but when she gave her life to the Lord He entered in and revitalised not just her soul but her body also.
It's been difficult for Valeriu working in the village as people are suspicious that he is leading some kind of a cult.
We have been trying to take over in some measure the role that Nicolai had as his mentor with the limited amount of time that I have. However we have been with a worship group and preached the gospel on Sunday afternoons while Valeriu has invited non Christians to come. There have been a few that have come and been quite open. We continue to work with him as best we can be of service
Pray that the Lord saves some villagers and the church thereby gets encouraged
Pastor Mark

Ray Tucker Ambassadors in Sport

In the late Spring it was great to have my old friend (actually I ought to say my friend whom I have known for a long time ) Ray Tucker with us again.
He is the European Director of Ambassadors in Sport and he was here doing a TREC course in the capital in conjunction with O.M. The course trains Christians how to run a football ministry - training, the young people who come, in football skills and teaching them about the Lord.
I have known Ray and his wife Christa and their sons Paul and Timothy since I became a Christian. At the time I was living in Newark but had a job in Grantham and so we felt it was of the Lord to put an advert in the local paper to find accommodation in Gramtham. We wrote "Christian man seeks Chrisrian home" and got 5 replies to this advert. I visited them all and each were genuine Christians and each seemed the right place to be but as we sought the Lord we realised that all the homes were good but all apart from Ray and Christa were also looking for a young man to help with their needs - nothing wrong in that - but we realised that Ray and Christa had simply replied to the advert wondering if God was aksing them to serve Him in this way.
Thus began a relationship of 28 years. For the first year of my Christian life Ray and Christa were spiritual parents in many ways helping me through all the big changes that happen in a man's life when he turns to God's ways from what was a wild life style. They were Christians of great love and patience towards me - they still are - and the Lord did much in that year until they moved to Manchester to take up a post in a Christian school and I, now established in the Lord, moved into my own home.
One of the trainees at the TREC course is our own Viorel, the leader of the football ministry.
Here he is sharing the word with the young footballers who have come to the club. He is, himself, quite a decent footballer and plays for the Gotesti seniour football team. Having done what is quite a high standard professional-like training schedule with them including ball skills and fitness training they all stop and have a time when Viorel shares something from God's word. The boys are generally very attentive and several have been to our youth meeting Friday nights.
Pray for Ray and Viorel in their European and local ministries respectively
Pastor Mark

Easter Programme

It was great to again be able to have a special meeting at Easter in our church at Gotesti.

As usual we had our children do various songs and poems about the resurrection and many of their parents said how they had enjoyed what was done

In fact they often say how they appreciate what we do for the kids which obviously encourages us

Here Alina, MIsa and Maricica’s daughter is singing a solo. Isn’t she so cute.

Actually her mum tells me she not’s so cute at home. Ours are perfect at home I tell her with my tongue so far in my check I can hardly breathe.

I thought pastors weren’t supposed to tell lies she tells me – enough said.

We had about 30 parents of kids come to the Easter meeting many of whom were non members.

We’re praying that the message of Easter – the death of Jesus as our substitute for our sins and His resurrection so that we might have new life – will remain with them and they too will come into this new life.

Pastor Mark

Ladies Day – 8^th March

Every year on the 8^th of March here in Moldova and in many countries in the East we celebrate ladies day – when all ladies get “spoiled” by their husbands sons etc.

Usually they get flowers or chocolates and a nice meal is made ( although it’s the women that make the meal  – no surprise there I hear you say)

Their children did a programme for them in the church to celebrate their mum’s day.

My wife Mari was the speaker on this day while I was in the coffee shop looking after clients – it meant I missed her first evangelistic message ( maybe that was her plan or His) I am told it spoke to the heart.

Here Bianca, Ilusa and Diana’s daughter, and Abigail are singing a duet and many of the other kids did poems or songs.

Many of the women said to us afterwards how it was such a lovely time of relaxation for them – something one has to say that in general women here do not get much of

Pastor Mark

February Baptisms

Baptism Meeting

We had the great privilege of baptizing another 20 or so people from Gotesti, Chircani Porumbesti, Hanaseni and other villages.

There were some encouraging testimonies of how they had come to the Lord and also how some had undergone a measure of trials to keep on with their faith – often from unbelieving partners.

Here in Moldova 98% of people ate baptized in the Orthodox church as babies and their doctrine is such that this means they are baptized into the church and thus are saved. It is thus understandable that those who are convinced this is the truth are thereby hostile to us who baptized these ones a second time ( since the majority were baptized as babies ). They feel we are baptising them out of salvation and into who knows what ( in their view ). So often the unbelieving partner is angry and accuses the new believer of “changing his/her law” Sadly the new believers if women often receive a beating to go with the accusations.

The vast majority of those that were baptized were ones that got saved in the Alpha course that we ran throughout the autumn and winter. We had around 70 come each week for the 10 weeks of the course of whom 50 at least were seekers. In the picture you can see some of the discussion groups. The format and level of teaching seems to work well for all ages as we had ones from age 15-71 attend the course.

Unfortunately culturally it doesn’t work for us to do another Alpha immediately after this one as people are starting to work in the fields and it is difficult for them to come to a 10 week course.

Keep us in your prayers as we start to visit and talk to people over the next few months that they might become ones that will come to the next Alpha course planned in November

New Pastor at Antonesti

It was with some emotion that we attended the final Sunday of the ministry of Nicolai Sin in the Rep of Moldova.

He has been ministering and planting and growing churches all around the South of Moldova for the last 20 odd years and on Sunday many of his friends and peers gathered together to say a fond farewell as he and his family emigrate to USA.
His final pastorate has been the church in Antonesti ( while he has continued to mentor others where he was involved in planting the church )

Many of those that came to the front to share a short word were ones he had led to the Lord and who are now pastors or leaders in other churches or plants.

Some had travelled over 100Km to get there and as you can imagine it was an emotional time.

At the end of the meeting we had an unofficial hand over of the church leadership to the soon to be new pastor - Roma Munteanu. Here is with the members in the church at Antonesti as they said their testimonies to Nicolai and his minsitry to them and also gave him a small farewell gift ( in a future blog we will no doubt be doing a profile on Roma and Tanya and his family when we will have a better photo ).

Roma is and will be working with me as we go through the process of transfer so that he and the believers in the church find it as easy as possible to cope with the change. If all goes well we would expect Roma and Tanya to move to the village at the end of May and then we would take it from there.

Keep them in your prayers and Nicolai and his family also

Yours and His

Pastor Mark