“None of us is beyond the task of missions...The question is not whether or not we will be working to spread the gospel around the world, but what role we will play in this.”
― Francis Chan, Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples
I have been very excited to be a part of the Equipped to Equip program in Romania. This is a six-month training program to train people passionate for evangelism and church planting to become missionaries. It was amazing to see our first graduates take on leadership roles as they move into the various areas for which they were called. In particular, I was blessed to be a personal mentor for Lucian Brinceanu, keeping in contact with him from across the ocean in order to encourage and pray with him. I look forward to seeing how God uses him in his ministry.
Seven of our E2E graduates have moved on to become fully-fledged PIEI missionaries. However, with the addition of so many at once, it has been a struggle for them to find the support they need to begin their ministries. I have shared their stories below, where you can see how much financial support each one has been able to find. In addition, every one of them needs dedicated prayer partners. Please contact me if you feel led to support any of these new missionaries.
Lucian Brinceanu
Lucian was called to ministry in his youth. At age 18 he started volunteering to evangelize, preach, and lead other students. Years later, that experience and passion for students has led Lucian to plant a church in a University town.
Support Raised: 70 % out of $700.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24266 from the donation form
Alecs Tudoroiu
Alecs’ experience growing up in an Orthodox family showed him nothing but pain, strife, and abandonment. When his own mother threatened to put him in an orphanage, Raul Costea took him in and showed him what it was like to be loved and accepted by God. Now Alecs dedicates his life and livelihood to the God who loves him unconditionally.
Support Raised: 40 % out of $800.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24209 from the donation form
Emanuel Serban
Emanuel grew up familiar with church and going through the motions, but it wasn’t until he was 17 that he felt convicted of his unbelief and chose to truly follow God. He feels that he has the gift of discipleship, and desires to use it to call other to Christ.
Support Raised: 0 % out of $850.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24267 from the donation form
Veronica Palcau
Veronica lived at first as a rebel, with unsavory words and behaviors towards everyone. Through the youth ministry that Raul’s family started in Oltenia and then Slatina, Veronica accepted Christ and put away the old self. Now she is drawn to children’s ministry and hopes to pass on what she has learned.
Support Raised: 80 % out of $400.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24208 from the donation form
Gheorghe Bulfan
Gheorghe was involved in the church for a while before God specifically called him into ministry. God showed him the lost and the hopeless and inspired him to show them hope, grace, and love. He is certain that he has a role to play in Maruntei.
Support Raised: 0 % out of $650.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24231 from the donation form
Sorin Caragea
Sorin was one of the people involved in the 9,000 Souls movement to spread the Word throughout the southern part of Romania. He now feels that God is leading him to the village of Balanesti to evangelize and plant a church there.
Support Raised: 0 % out of $650.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24266 from the donation form
Mihail Geabou
As the son of a pastor who served in the midst of Communist persecution, Mihail felt called to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a pastor. However, he has seen that his true passion is in evangelizing to those who do not yet know Christ as their personal savior.
Support Raised: 40 % out of $800.00/mo. Important: Select Fund: ROMANIA MINISTRIES, Sub Fund: 24280 from the donation form
Meet the PETRUȚ FAMILY
Meet Pastor Daniel Petruț, his wife Rahela (Rachel), daughter Teodora, and son Filip.
They were our closest partners in ministry on several occasions this year, both in ROMANIA as well as in UKRAINE.
We spent some time with the Petruț family last year also, visiting their mission field in the village of Mihalț Alba District, where pastor Daniel works with the village children and youth as well as surrounding villages. We were delighted by the group of children who gather on a regular basis in their front yard for a weekly bible club and it was then when we were thinking of taking this family along with us to Ukraine for our annual summer camp.
ALEXANDRA
She is a very gifted teenager, who has a beautiful singing voice, and she is using her spiritual gift to serve the Lord with her family. It is so rare and so precious to see a young lady serve alongside her parents and also be so tender and kind to her little brother. We also got to see Alexandra be herself around other teens at Camp in Ukraine, happy, social, and very friendly.
The most amazing was to see how loving she is toward her aging widowed grandmother, taking the time to play table cards and spend quality time with her!
FILIP
This is a very unique five year old, who has the vocabulary of a grown up, an amazing memory for Bible verses, who also loves to sing and praise the Lord, who in one minute acts and speaks like a grown man and in the next has a temper tandrum and is just a little boy! Filip is a totally delightful young boy who will entertain you for hours in a long car ride from Romania to Ukraine and back (10-12 hours each way) and will not complain much, but make the ride so much more enjoyable!
RAHELA (Rachel)
We enjoyed getting to know Rahela, and seeing the interaction between her and the children. We could see the investment she is making in Bible memorization and singing and in keeping the family unit serving together. She is also a lot of fun, her charm and personality so vividly seen especially in her little boy!
DANIEL (PIE Missionary Pastor)
Such a talented servant, full of love, passion, care, tenderness, lots of talent! Pastor Daniel has extended himself so much, giving of himself so much to the point of becoming physically sick and ending up in the hospital! The needs of the people are so many and the workers are so few. Even among the believers there are so many issues, and pastor Daniel wears many hats. From working with children at the public school in town and driving the school bus, to pastoring several churches, to couseling and taking care of several congregations of believers in several locations that are spread out. Yet he and his family took the time to go to Ukraine with us to invest in the young children’s lives over there during the Summer PIE Camp.
We were also so blessed to visit several of the churches pastored by Daniel, and go on home visitations together. Our hearts are kneat together and our partnership in ministry has been lifted to another level of friendship and trust.
We give God all the glory, and we thank the PETRUȚ FAMILY for serving God by serving others.
Cornel and Gabi Stef
