ECM 07

E.C.M. N.A. 2007 Summer Report 2010

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:45:22 +0000

Serbia
Zaječar, Eastern part
21st – 24th of June 2010A powerful experience is what we had after visiting Serbia at the end of June and praying together with brothers and sisters for a Revival in this land!
Our Romanian team had one American pastor from Hickory Harvest Church, North Carolina. God blessed us through his encouraging words and also through the testimonies we’ve heard from our Serbian brothers and sisters from all over the country. As a group we learned what it means to be a student of the Bible and a true disciple. It’s funny how we sometimes think we’ve learned all there is to be learned. God discovers our secret hideouts and puts them in His light. How grateful we should be that He still wants to work with us!

Sector 4 and Budesti
19th-22nd of July 2010
These are the two places where the grace of God touched people.
It’s been 4 God filled days when the mercy and kindness from above flooded us as a team, and also our patients.
The American team whom we joined worked hard and did her best to be useful either physically or medically and also spiritually. The VBS group did a wonderful job as all the places we visit are filled with children.
Teaming up with the Americans as translators, nurses or evangelists, our purpose was to meet some of the needs of uncared for people.
What’s interesting is that almost 1000 people were able to hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed in so many different ways. God was very kind to us; the grace we received was passed on to others. (Andreea Chirita, nurse)

Visits
9th-21st of July 2010
*Bucharest, Romania*Although it’s not Normandy, 1944, we have had our share of American visitors. Plus one Canadian. And what a blessing they carried within themselves! Organizing a youth seminar, helping with the children ministry in sector 4, Budesti and Hulubesti, encouraging the church in Bucharest… and where does the list end? We’re happy to have them anytime.

Greece
Sparti, Southern part
21st of July- 1st of August 2010
‘Don’t throw stones’ was the first expression a friend taught me in Greek. I thought it was a joke. I mean, who wouldn’t want a brand new expensive version of a Greek New Testament? For free, at my door? Well, I think like that because I am obviously not Greek. For some of the people in the Peloponnese peninsula, Arkadia and Lakonia to be precise, the New Testament was not something to be joyful about. For others though, it was. ‘We are not Jehovah’s witnesses’ we would say, whenever we were asked who we were. And who were we? Believers from various parts of the world, about 180 of us, from which 25 Romanians. Few spoke Greek: the Greek group, of course. The list of Greek words, face expressions and desperate hand gestures we used could go on for one minute or so. But we need to think at the importance of distributing 60.000 Bibles in 804 villages. The Hellenic Ministries organizers met through this event part of our prayer for Europe. We pray for at least a tithe of its population. Well, Greece is part of Europe! May God use His Word to touch hearts in this part of the world.
Pray with us! It’s vital! God’s Word is forever true!

Visits
*Vienna, Austria*
August 2010Refreshing time spent with a few of the brothers and sisters there. Made a new contact in the church of Krems, 100 km away from Vienna, and spent a wonderful Sunday together with the Romanian brothers and sisters from this part of Austria. Praise God!

Hulubesti 13th of July 2010

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:54:58 +0000

Hulubesti.
Now this is a place where we haven’t been in a while, due to some organising changes. But God brought us to these children again and we were welcomed by such warmth and love from them and from the hosts, the Pauna family.
It has been a fun day with the children, we all paid attention to the sister who was teaching them. The kids did too; they were opening wide their eyes and absorbing what they were told. May God reach to them!
The American and Canadian missionaries literally got their hands dirty as they were teaching and helping the children with their tie-die bandanas. They also sang, shared the Gospel and played with them.
A good meal was waiting for us at the end of that children class. The kids ate first and left home and then we set down and catched up on our respective news.
All in the Name of our dear Lord Jesus Christ

Ana Popa

Campina, Discipleship seminar 10th of July 2010

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:18:41 +0000

Discipleship is the one word that has a huge value for our Lord Jesus Christ. After all it’s part of what He has commanded us to do…to make disciples…

Discipleship. That was the theme for the Campina seminar directed to young people and less young people .
The American group together with one Canadian young man did a great job explaining in a practical way what discipleship really is.

Here are some testimonies:

Josh, 19 years old, Vancouver, Canada

” I was struck with the heart that was in many of the believers present. They want to reach the whole world for Christ, discipling one person at a time. As followers of God, we must die to self and live in Christ. By Christ we go forth in our faith, growing and also sharing with others. I hope i can bring this spirit back to my home ad reach many there by the work of the Holy Spirit, the life-changing power of Christ Jesus, my Lord and with the Authority that God gives to His own.”

Ana, 14 years old, Bucuresti, Romania

” I had a very blessed time with everyone there. I learned some things that i think now are important, where as i didn’t think they were important so far.”

Bogdan Neagu, 18 years old, Campina, Romania

”We had a very good time together, learning useful things and new things. I wish we could have more often these kind of meetings.”

Anca Nistoroiu, 25 years old, Filipestii de Padure, Romania

” It was great that we were reminded that we need to invest in people, to be disciples and to make disciples, not just being consumers but to fulfill the Scripture and put it to practice that way.”

- The sector 4 winners – 3rd of July 2010

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:15:48 +0000

Unless you become as a child….

As a child, spending your day next to swings, fresh air and a happy meal is great.
As a poor child, with no chances of a very bright future, spending your day like this it means paradise!
Mishta, the 17 year old Down syndrome girl, said that she is a very happy and good child.

Neagra is the oldest of eight siblings. She is entangled all the time and busy taking care of Sibela, a younger sister and she’s always followed around by a few siblings. But on Saturday she could be by herself and play along with other kids that she didn’t need to take care of and act her age for once.

Cristina and Elvetianu (The Swiss man  ) are some of the first children we worked with on Rediului Street. They were happy to be with us and with their little niece, Regina.

Mihai wanted for such a long time to win an outing with us, and he made it. He was so excited! So was Ludovic!

You can win too! If you’re part of our meetings, if you’re active when we’re asking questions, if you’re polite and always want to do a nice craft.

Adi, Ramonica, Cristi and Dwight were the perfect team to take good care of the children.

May the Name of God be praised!

Ana Popa

Balkan Prayer meeting

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:58:24 +0000

Serbia

Balkan prayer meeting

23rd of June- 26th of June 2010

Southern Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia – or border towns with Croatia – are only a few places from where a few missionaries and pastors came together for three days of fellowship and prayer in Camp Timok, near Zaječar.

They were not by themselves though. Seventeen of us, Romanians and Americans went there to help set up tents, serve food and enjoy fellowship.

The Serbian testimonies said everything. Praying for the revival, the healing and the salvation of your own land when circumstances are against, it is an act of faith. May God increase our faith, more and more!

And we thought we went there to strengthen and encourage our brothers and sisters. Well, little did we know we were going to fell in love, all over again, with Serbia. These people are like precious stones shining in our Father’s hands, in the land of a lot of darkness.

Pray for a powerful testimony of the believers in Serbia!

Ana Popa

Sector 4 Sunday 13th of June, 2010

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:47:44 +0000

Did you know that our God is the God of the entire universe? And did you know that He hears our breath and He knows our most intimate thoughts? God knows when we’re sitting down and when we’re getting up; when we’re broken, forgotten or happy.

He is El Shaddai, God Almighty! And His Name is proclaimed every Sunday before the children on Rediului Street! Those who have ears to hear, do hear. Those who seek Him, shall find Him!

The children listened to an unusual story this Sunday; not just about Moses, but about the blood of a the lamb that covered the houses of jewish people in the land of Goshen, on a night when all the first born of Egyptians were dieing. The ten plagues got our children thinking. And of course, because they are into adventures, they learned them by heart. That was a good enough reason to reward them, don’t you think?

They love the songs, the games and everything that gets their attention.
And of course, they’re curious; it’s the right age for that. So, for our craft on Sunday we learned how to make a watch. A plastic plate, paper pattern watch, glue and a little color were enough to make it work. But that also brought up something new for some of them. Learning how to tell time! Oh wow, you should have seen their little faces lighting up when they finally got it!

We’re happy they enjoy their joy when they eat, learn or brush their teeth.

There are joys for us too, even though we’re frustrated by their lack of discipline and manners and interest sometimes! But you know what? No pain, no gain.

It’s all by grace!

Ana Popa

Budesti 6th of June 2010

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:31:28 +0000

Budesti, 6th of June 2010

Sandina Ioncea

We were welcomed by many of the kids there as soon as we arrived. They were all lined up, sitting on the grass, very anxious for us to get started. The kids were waiting for us since the morning although they knew we were only going to arrive there at 2 pm. Some of the kids didn’t want to go to the big city with their parents because the “repented” were coming . All together, they were around 50 children.

I invited the women who were standing there with their children and grandchildren, to join me and Tantza inside her home, for a little bit of a chat, from the Bible!
Teman and I read a passage where it talked about the Good Shepherd. And then the questions and discussions followed.

One of the women was saying: “What should I do? I like what I am hearing now and I want to live as Christ says, but I am smoking and when I get upset I speak dirty; I can’t help it!” . Many of them said the same thing.

I told them that it depends on the morning “food” we eat each day. The Bible is the strength to live purely and the know-how of God’s will.

“Wake up early in the morning, everyday – I said – before everyone else is up, just to have a quiet time with God. Ask God to help you understand what you are reading and continue to do this. Because the Bible is the Living and True Word, it will work on your heart and mind and it will eventually transform you.”

We talked about idols as well as we read from Isaiah 44, and they understood why our God is also a jealous God, He gave us everything and He will not tolerate our hearts being divided and worshipping wood, stones or anything else created.

Two of the women, Maria and Ana, wanted to come to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and we prayed for them; they will also need a lot of encouragement and help on how to grow in their knowledge of the truth.

Florina, another young mother, was wiping her eyes; the tears kept on coming. I asked her what was wrong and how may I pray for her and she was so sad because her huspand did not treat her right at all. I encouraged her to pray, because the Lord does not turn back on any man or woman who calls upon Him. She had peace when she left, I pray for her to have the eternal peace.

Medically, I could help with Tantza’s mother and Tantza and discovered they have a very high blood pressure. I adiviced them on what to do and they payed attention.

God is working in Budesti! May His Name be glorified in our hearts and lives!

Budesti 21st of May 2010

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:44:11 +0000

Budesti 21st of May 2010

I had a wonderful time in Budesti today together with my team. We were simply overwhelmed by God’s work.

We had about 40 children !!! Bearing in mind we only had three children coming last month and about 10 a couple of weeks ago, I think it’s quite a significant change. There were about 10 grown-ups who came to talk to us.

At the end of our meeting a lady came up to us and said that she came to our little gathering so that we can pray for her. She had suffered a severe depression and she knew that only God can help her get through it all.
Ana Maria Balanescu

Mini-clinic 3rd of June 2010, Sector 5 Bucharest

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:20:37 +0000

I will not die, but live,
And tell of the works of the LORD. Psalm 118:17 (N.A.S.B.)
On Thursday, the 3rd of June 2010, two of our nurses, Sandina and Andreea went down to a Christian foundation -who does social work- to help with a mini clinic there.
Here is what Sandina had to say:
“Our short visit to this foundation some would say it’s accidentally, due to some American team being delayed.
But the purpose of the ministry there is the same one as ours, in sector 4. They are helping and supporting throughout school poor children; after or before school programs and lunch in a family-like environment!
We were sad to see that they have medical offices closed down. But God has a purpose for that as well: volunteer teams like we were come and help from time to time. I felt we made a good contact.
I also felt the need to sing and praise the Lord for He is good and His loving-kindness is everlasting! “
We felt we were not alone in our ministry, God has His workers out there. Praise God!

Report Mobile Clinic Lucianca, Ilfov 29th of May 2010

admin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:21:47 +0000

Lucianca is a village where some young people from a church in Bucharest go and serve God on a weekly basis. It was as well the location for a second mobile clinic. The mobile clinic was organized together with Pro-Life/Pro Vita clinic, in an old school where we had to bring benches and chairs. Perfect place for what we came there to accomplish.

We started to have people in the morning, around 10.00 and we thought we were going to have a full day. That’s because we had a pretty big team of doctors, residents and nurses. But it was a quiet clinic, only had about 30 patients.
It’s not the number of people we see, I think. It’s God’s work. We were happy to have them all.

What is desirable in a man is his kindness, proverbs 19:22 says. So, I figured, what’s not kindness it’s not desirable, obviously. The mayor and priest’s “kindness” made it that the people were not exactly thrilled to come to the clinic. May the Lord have mercy on them.

Ana Popa