Stefs Ministry Trip to Romania and Ukraine - Summer 2023

We are already in Romania! Arrived here on June 29th. We will be doing various ministries in Romania

nd and we will be spending 10 days in Ukraine. Lord’s willing, we are returning on August 2 .

2 Corinthians 2:17 “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.”

This time we are traveling with a young lady from Michigan, Grace, who is also an artist. We are so excited to have her join us! She is most looking forward to our second part of the trip, to Ukraine. She was born there and this is the first time that she will be going back since she was a baby and adopted by a Christian family in the U.S. Grace will have her own story to tell! She is prepared to help children express their fears and feelings in art form, as well as share the Gospel with them.

Pray with us and for us! We are listing these requests first:

•   Safety in travel, as the checkpoints in both countries have increased, and the war continues in Ukraine. Traveling the Carpathian Mountains several times, in country travel safety.

•   Health for our team members. We have 7 other who are joining us from the U.S. plus translators from Romania, so we expect a team of 13; pray that everyone would stay healthy and be effective in working together.

•   Extra prayers needed for Gabi. She has recently injured her right shoulder, and was evaluated for repair surgery, which she is delaying until after the trip. She has a lot of pain in her left arm and shoulder, with reduced mobility. She also has a sprained ankle, so walking is more difficult.

•   PIEI meeting with all the missionaries and their families at the PIEI Center in Alba Iulia, Romania. Safety in travel to everyone coming and going from several parts of the country. Pray for an effective meeting, as there will be instruction and fellowship together with the national leadership and from the States.

•   Traveling to several mission points, working with orphan ministry and street evangelism.

•   Medical Optometry Team distributing eye glasses and doing one-on-one evangelism.

•   Pray for the PIEI Camp in Ukraine for kids, youth, and refugees. Pray for effective teaching-

  learning, safety around the Camp site, and many decisions for Christ to be made, as this is an evangelistic Camp. Pray for the local - national leaders and teachers to work well together with our U.S. team.

•   Pray for all the national missionaries as they are booked with many summer outreach events for children and youth, as well as for families. Pray for a great harvest of people coming to know the Lord, and also for encouragement and spiritual growth among those who are in the faith.

•   Pray for the U.S. team to be effective, patient, and flexible, as many things might change in the schedule as last minute. May all be changed and lifted up in faith as a result of this trip!

•   Pray that all the sending churches represented by our team might benefit from being encouraged and grow in mission work, in supporting missions, in increasing their vision for outreach, helping and encouraging people to discover their spiritual gifts and use them to offer a helping hand to our national missionaries in a variety of ways; that they will get involved in future short term mission trips with our ministry and overall.

  We are so thankful for our national leadership teams, both in Romania and Ukraine, who are preparing the way for our team to arrive. We are looking forward to serving alongside the national missionaries and letting the LORD lead us in a most effective partnership in reaching those who are in need.

Highlights of the Ministry Trip:

•   We spent a wonderful two days with our national missionaries Cornel and Nuți Fogoroșiu who brought several people from the village of Nou for a Couples Retreat at the PIEI Center in Alba Iulia. This was a first for them for such an event. The biblical teaching was challenging and people were touched. They had opportunities to share and the meetings were interactive. The outings in the historical citadel and fortress were interesting and welcomed with much enthusiasm. The meals and accommodations were so good and we all had a blessed time.

•   Meeting with the PIEI national Missionaries in Romania. We are looking forward to their arriving this afternoon at the PIEI Center in Alba Iulia. Several families are coming with the spouses and children. All the rooms have been cleaned, beds made, the meals selected. We are looking forward to a great time of fellowship and instruction, encouraging one another.

•   Visiting the field in several locations, evangelistic outreach. Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

•   Working with the orphans, encouraging them, bringing them some joy.

•   Traveling through the beautiful country of Romania, Transylvania, with rolling hills, and crossing

  the majestic Carpathian Mountains in getting to our several destinations, including driving up

  from Romania to Ukraine and back.

•   PIEI Camp in Ukraine - a favorite evangelistic outreach event for all the PIEI missionaries in

  Ukraine. We are so excited about doing this Camp. So many people are praying in preparation for it. Grace has prepared since last year for going and working with the kids at this camp also. Ask the Lord if you should be on the next trip and serve with your spiritual gifts to this Camp which we are scheduling every summer. Last year there were 150 kids, a lot of them of refugees’ families. More than half of them made decisions for Christ. Luke 18:16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

•   Encouraging the PIEI national missionaries and their families in Ukraine. After the Camp we are meeting with all of them for a day of fellowship and worship.

  Hebrew 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”

  Serving with joy, Cornel and Gabi Stef

Caring for those in need

This weekend our nation celebrated Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor those who have given their lives in service to our country. It has also been a time to acknowledge those who still fight for their lives across the ocean. When war broke out in Ukraine over a year ago, no one expected it to still be ravaging the nation 459 days later. The war continues to have a destructive effect on the people of Ukraine, and yet in the midst of these horrors the light of God’s grace has become a beacon of hope for the lost. Since war broke out, we have seen over 250 Ukrainians receive Christ into their hearts. How blessed are we to be God’s messengers to people in need of His love!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33

Now that summer has arrived, Gabi and I have made plans to go overseas and support our missionaries in person. We will be leaving for Romania/Ukraine at the end of June, and will remain until August. There is much work to be done, and no better time to do it!

In Romania we are planning a 3-day missionary conference in Alba Iulia where we can gather and uplift the missionaries and their families. This will be a time for prayer, rest, reflection, teaching, encouraging, collaboration, and fellowship. Our hope is to energize our missionaries as they enter a busy season of ministry.

We are also excited to work on the properties we have obtained in Romania for the purpose of creating spaces for retreats and camps. We hope that those properties become crucial assets for our ministry moving forward.

We would like to thank the missionaries in Romania who have faithfully supported their brethren in Ukraine. Pavel Petihachny, the PIEI National Director of Ukraine, connects will all of our Ukrainian missionaries so that he can learn what supplies are needed for the refugees they serve in different communities. He then communicates those needs to Timothy Stanea, the PIEI National Director of Romania. The close proximity of our Ukraine missionaries to Romania makes it possible for Timothy to gather and send those needed supplies over the Carpathian mountains every month, and our humanitarian purposes allow our convoys to pass through the border quickly and without complications.

We have also been thrilled at the amount of aid that we have received from our supporting partners! One US church managed to collect and ship 17 large boxes of supplies to donate to Ukrainian refugees for the Christmas season. Another group of pastors from England travelled with the convoy to Ukraine just this weekend and spent 4 days visiting and encouraging the missionaries there. Gabi and I will also join one of those convoys this summer, along with a Short-Term Mission Team, as we travel to Ukraine for their Summer Camp (July 24-29).

The Summer Camp in Ukraine is the greatest opportunity that we have for sharing the Gospel with children who have never even opened a Bible. Last year over 50% of the children who attended camp received Christ as their savior! Some of the children who attend are refugees, and are in desperate need of God’s word. Moreover, we know that many of the children who receive Christ at camp return to unbelieving families. Those children are the hope of salvation to their loved ones.

If you would like to sponsor a child to attend camp, you can Donate to Ukraine (Sub Fund: 24302- Ukraine Summer Camp) for $12/day. We would also appreciate your prayers for the missionaries, churches, refugees, campers, and families that will be served this summer. May God use us as His hands and feet!

In Christ, Cornel Stef

Are you being called to join a Short-Term Mission Trip?

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. -Acts 1:8

My friends,

As the daughter of Romanian immigrants who have been called to missions in their native country, I have been witness to God’s power in ways that I could not have imagined. It has been both an honor and a privilege that I have had the opportunity to participate in short-term mission trips to Romania and Ukraine many times since I was a young child. I started as a simple observer, but quickly became a participant, and now as a leader I see over and over again the life-long impact that missions trips have on team members. It is an experience that I would recommend to every follower of Christ.

Short-term mission trips can involve so many different types of ministry. When we plan trips, we find the gifts that God has given each team member, and find ways to bless the missionaries using those gifts. Are you a teacher? You can teach. Are you handy? You can build. Are you an encourager? You can visit those in need. Are you a child? You can show love to other children. Are you unsure what your gifts are? God will use the trip to reveal your gifts to you!

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. -1 Peter 4:10

Each time a short-term mission team works with our missionaries, they experience tremendous joy. The nationals pour their souls into their mission work, so our teams replenish their souls through our love, support, and encouragement. In return, we gain life-changing experiences that will grow our own relationship with Christ tenfold.

I encourage you all to pray and see if God is calling you to go on a short-term mission trip this year. No experience required!

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. -Proverbs 19:21

In Christ,

Sarah Stef (daughter of Cornel and Gabi Stef)

A Glimpse of God’s Faithfulness in 2022 and Hope for His Enduring Love, Guidance, and Protection for 2023

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who

seek You. Psalm 9:10

„Cei ce cunosc Numele Tău se încred în Tine, căci Tu nu-i părăseşti pe cei ce Te caută, Doamne!” Psalm 9:10

Looking Back at 2022 - This is the Will of God

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ

Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 16-18

2022 was a unique year in so many ways.

Rejoice! We rejoice*

● that in spite of the war going on in Ukraine, the LORD has protected all our PIEI national

missionaries and all of their families

● That God started a great spiritual harvest among the war refugees through the ministry and

work of our national missionaries

● That the partnership between the Romanian and Ukrainian national missionaries and the U.S.

PIEI leadership has increased to a new level due to the multiple trips with convoys of supplies

for the refugees from Romania to Ukraine

● For many who have received the LORD at the PIEI Camp in Ukraine

● For short term mission trips from the U.S. able to go to Ukraine even during war time

Pray without Ceasing

● We would like to thank everyone who has sustained us in prayer, prayers for our missionaries

both in Romania and Ukraine

● prayers for the safety of all the families in Ukraine during this war with Russia

● prayers for many to come to know the saving knowledge of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ

● prayers for the ministry, leadership, health issues, financial needs, etc.

● We know that, considering the time difference between the U.S. time zones and Romania and

Ukraine, prayers have been lifted up to the throne of grace without ceasing. We have many

prayer warriors who are bathing our ministry in their prayers.

In everything Give Thanks

● Thank you for praying, giving, and going!

● So thankful for all the funds that were received for the refugees in Ukraine! Thank you for

giving! Many boxes have been shipped, many supplies have been purchased in Romania and

our mission team drove several convoys of vehicles packed with supplies from Romania into

Ukraine with food and clothing, toys, and all necessities for the refugees.

● Thankful for our national leaders Timotei in Romania and Pavel in Ukraine who were

outstanding in their leadership and direct involvement with the supplies and distribution.

● Thankful for all the missionaries involved in collection, packing, storing, distribution, driving the

vans

● Thankful for all the missionaries’ wives and the women involved in cooking and hosting the

teams and events, feeding the refugees, and hosting people in their homes.

● So thankful for 50+ kids and youth who have accepted the Lord as their Savior at the PIEI camp

in the summer in Ukraine, a camp that was normally not allowed to be held! Pastor Pavel was

able to have this Camp as a “training event”, and they trained the kids in the word of God!

● Thankful for 250+ refugees that became believers last year under the ministry of our PIEI

missionaries in Ukraine

● Thankful for the three New Properties that PIEI in Romania has acquired: one as a training

facility in the South (Oltenia Region), second one in the Western Carpathian Mountains (1 h

from Alba Iulia) as a Retreat Camp and the third one nearby the city of Victoria in the

mountains as a Campsite.

This is the Will of God

● Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way! This is the way we follow, Jesus.

● We know that God has a plan with each of our lives. Jesus suffered and died, he was

not spared suffering and pain, and neither are we, His followers. He came back to life

again, and is a living Savior. There is life after death, and we have the living hope.

● Pastor Pavel wrote this Bible quote when the war in Ukraine started, from Romans 14:8

“For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we

live or die, we are the Lord’s.”

PLANS FOR 2023

• Short Term Mission Teams already set up for March/April- Start preparing the building for summer camps

• The Stefs will be in Romania and Ukraine in July, beginning of August.

• PIEI Kids Camp in Ukraine: July 24-29; teachers / translators needed

• 2 week Short Term Mission Team to Romania with traveling to Ukraine for Camp Week and

then returning to Romania (tentative dates: July 20-Aug 3); looking for people to sign up for

this trip. Use your spiritual gifts in a variety of ways: teaching (bible teaching, English), crafts /

art, evangelism, sports, etc.

• Work Teams needed for all three Campsites. Lots of renovation needed, from drywall,

carpentry, electrical, cleaning, construction, etc. These teams can be scheduled anytime, no

specific timeframe. We would like to have one of the sites ready for this summer if we can get

some workers there earlier this spring and early summer, so please, if you have some skills

and time, please sign up. Contact us asap.

• Other STMT (short term mission teams) throughout the year work; with individual

missionaries, either with kids programs (day camps, VBS, etc) or whatever project the

missionary has and needs help.

○ Use your spiritual gift: bible teaching, training, women ministry, arts and crafts, music, etc.

We can custom make the trip to fit your gifts and serve the needs of our national

missionaries to benefit their spiritual growth and their mission field.

• Investors; you might not be able to physically go, but you may be able to give. Invest in a

project or a person who is going. It makes an eternal difference.

○ We continue to send supplies to Ukraine for the refugees; this week there is another

convoy leaving Romania to travel to Ukraine with our national director Timotei leading

○ Lots of funds needed for the renovation of the three campsites. All of them need major

work before they can be used

○ Summer Camp in Ukraine needs funds, usually 100-120 campers

○ STMT of team members who need to raise funds

● Prayer Partners: Our most important partners in ministry are our prayer partners. From the

beginning of our ministry we always put prayer first! You might be able to give and support our

ministry financially, and you might be able to come alongside us on mission trips; but most

importantly are your prayers, whether you give and go or not. Your prayers make the

circulatory system connecting us with our Lord and that keeps our ministry alive and continues

to bring people from the darkness into the saving light of the Savior.

■ Pray -- thank you for praying in 2023

■ Give -- thank you for giving in 2023

Concept plan for the camp in Victoria

■ Go -- thank you for going in 2023!

*To God be the glory

Great things He has done

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son

Who yielded His life an atonement for sin

And opened the life-gate that all may go in

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord

Let the earth hear His voice

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord

Let the people rejoice.

(partial lyrics from “To God be the Glory” song by Lou Fellingham)

Cornel Stef - PIEI - Chairmen for Romania and Ukraine

Refugees and Retreats

At the beginning of July I had the privilege to join my daughter and a team from my home church of Liberty Bible Church in serving the missionaries in both Ukraine and Romania. What a joy it is to see my daughter thrive doing the ministry work that I love!

Liberty Bible church is one church with three campuses in Chesterton, Valparaiso, and La Porte, IN. Our team was unique in that all three campuses were represented in our team, and included Kevin Cram, the Pastor of Global & Local Engagement at Liberty. Some of us had never met until we planned this trip, so it was a blessing to bring together such widespread church members for a common purpose. Every one of us felt God calling us to make a difference to the people of Ukraine and Romania.

The trip was not without its difficulties. We had less than half the time than we usually have to meet and plan the trip, and for every meeting there was one or more team member who was unable to make it due to other obligations- the first time we all managed to come together was at the airport leaving for Romania! We also struggled to prepare for our trip, as there were so many unknown factors involved in travelling to Ukraine.

One of our major set backs came on the morning we were meant to leave. Two of our team members were a mother and daughter, but right before we met at the airport we heard that the daughter tested positive for Covid and would be unable to leave with us. Her mother was of course devastated not to serve with her daughter, and all of our plans in Ukraine had to be changed last minute to accommodate the smaller number of team members. This trip was certainly a lesson in flexibility!

Thankfully we all arrived in Romania on schedule, and the next day drove to Ukraine without incident. The line of trucks to the border was several kilometers long, but due to our humanitarian purpose, we got through the border in under an hour. Once there we met up with the Ukrainian missionaries and unloaded the supplies that we had brought.

UKRAINE

In Ukraine we split up into 3 teams to minimize travel and the size of our groups: Kevin and I met with missionaries and refugees and preached in several churches. David and Carole (husband and wife) went into the city of Chernivtsi and did street evangelism and radio programs. Martha, Sarah, and Elizabeth visited refugees and did children’s programs in different villages. At the end of our time in Ukraine, we gathered with all of the Ukrainian missionaries to have fellowship and share how God was working through this trip.

I’ve asked the team members to describe in their own words what they experienced in Ukraine.

David and Carole

Carole and I came home from the mission trip with a deep sense the softness of our life here in the USA is a barrier to our pursuit of closeness with Christ. We saw lives in Ukraine and Romania visibly poured out for Christ. The Ukrainian missionaries expend themselves selflessly showing love to the refugees. God is bringing so many to them and they create more and more ministries to reach the lost from sewing bullet proof wear to children’s camps, providing food and shelter when needed.

Martha

I am humbled and so very grateful to my Lord for using me to be his hands and feet in Ukraine. I am thankful for all of the refugees who allowed me to tell them about Jesus. All praise, honor and glory to God when the woman from Igor's village repented! I am also thankful to the missionary wives who shared their prayer requests with me. What a privilege it is and will continue to be to lift you up to the Lord in prayer.

Blessings to each pastor and wife who are so faithfully working with the refugee crisis despite their exhaustion. Each of them are a true testimony to what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus in such difficult circumstances. My time serving with you in Ukraine was much too short. May God bless them all!

Sarah

In Ukraine many of the stories that stuck with me were those of the refugees we visited in the mornings and evenings. In one household, a grandmother was taking care of her two grandchildren, and she worried because the boy was acting out. I suggested that she bring them to the children’s program we would give later that day. I was so thrilled to see both children come, and that little boy participated and had a lot of fun! He said that he was looking forward to returning for VBS in a couple of weeks.

I could really feel God at work as we visited the refugees. Martha usually took the lead in those visits, but I often felt the Holy Spirit compelling me to add a verse or some words of my own. I pray that God used me to tell those people exactly what they needed to hear.

Elizabeth

The days we were in Ukraine I assisted with a short one day VBS in three different villages. First village had 15 kids. The second one had 20-25 kids. So we thought that two medium sized bags of snacks and a single gallon size bag of candy were enough for the third day. Boy were we wrong. Lol. 55 kids showed up! And there was no way any of what we brought would be enough.

The pastor of that church opened a door to a small room full of extra snacks from previous events. Telling us that they don’t have any events coming up for a long while. Please use as much as you can. Which we gladly did. At the end we handed out the individual wrapped snacks and candy. Each child leaving with both arms full of snacks. After all the kids left we realize we still had the original bags of snacks and a half bag of candy left. Jesus just fed the 5,000 again! But on a much smaller scale.

From the moment we arrived I felt at peace. As if a piece of me was found. No I had never been to Ukraine before. Yet I felt as if I were home. I found information that I wasn’t expecting to find. On the questions I had held since I was 12. Though they were not answers they have directed my steps. I can’t wait to see where God leads me next.

Kevin

Throughout our time in Romania and Ukraine, we witnessed numerous examples of God answering prayers above and beyond what we anticipated. Leading up to the trip, we weren’t sure what to expect – knowing only what we saw on the news, we weren’t sure what our experience would be like visiting a country currently affected by war. What we found in Ukraine was an area of the country that was relatively untouched by the conflict. However, in every life that we encountered, there were real-life stories of the war’s impact. At one point, Cornel Stef and I attended a gathering in one of the villages with families who had fled the war. One particularly story broke my heart – we listened to a mother with her 10-year-old daughter share how they survived the bombing of Kharkiv living for 2 weeks underground in a metro station. There were tears in everyone’s eyes as we concluded that gathering. Perhaps the most blessed interactions I had while in Ukraine involved spending time with many of the PIEI missionaries serving in the region. Certainly, there were great moments of ministry with numerous outreaches, home visits, and preaching opportunities. But, I’ll always remember the mornings spent sharing time with Igor and his family as we talked about the joys and trials of ministry. These Gospel laborers are working so hard under incredible circumstances – it was an honor to experience life with them for this brief time.

ROMANIA

When the team returned to Romania, we invited all the missionaries there to the Christian Center in Alba Iulia for a 3-day retreat. We spent some time hearing each missionary’s story, and had some fellowship together. We also had sessions scheduled throughout led by Kevin, David, Martha, Carole, and even Sarah.

David and Carole

I am so humbled by the commitment I see in the Romanian believers to be God’s hands and feet. They live sacrificing all their time and energies assisting and bringing Jesus to all the lost. They see the harvest is great and take every opportunity to find ways to help people and children in need of a Savior. They are so spent in their energy and you can see it in their faces. How I pray that there would be more to share their burden. They carry a burden not many could understand without seeing and hearing them. Each has the people living around them that are trapped in a culture that doesn’t understand God’s love besides the people entrapped by war. We are praying for their strength and more workers as God enlarges their ministry.

Martha

I am thankful for the rapport the Lord gave me with the pastors wives and cooks. The time spent with the missionaries’ wives was a blessing and they welcomed me, but I was told what they really needed was counselors, mentors, and pastor's wives who could relate to them. They are struggling and I pray the next mission team will include women who are able to truly provide what is so desperately needed.

Sarah

In Romania I saw a group of missionaries with an immense passion for the Gospel. However, I also saw that they were disjointed and often felt isolated. I was so grateful that this retreat gave them the opportunity to fellowship together, and I hope that in the future they learn to work together more often and lean on each other for support and fellowship.

Elizabeth

I was able to spend time with a few little girls during our stay in Romania. They were an absolute blessing. Even though I couldn’t speak their language and didn’t have any translator we connected. It was amazing seeing one of the young girls come up to me later and pull me to come play with her again. It so warmed my heart. God showed me once again that kindness and love needs no words to be understood.

On this trip I briefly mentioned my desire to work with special needs orphans. God gave me the biggest response! I wasn’t prepared for the information I was to receive. I know God had led me here, but there was no way I would have even considered finding the information that I did. That wasn’t even the reason why I went, but God clearly had something bigger planned for my time there.

Kevin

We spent several days in fellowship with the PIEI-Romania missionaries at the PIEI center in Alba Iulia. It was amazing to connect with these wonderful servants of Jesus. Gratefully, I was able to facilitate times of teaching and discussion in the Scriptures that were a welcomed blessing to these new friends. My fondest memories though involved all of the incredible stories of God’s working in Romania that I got to hear. We stayed up late one night listening to Traian share story after story of witnessing and church planting during the Communist era. I can truly say that our time in both Ukraine and Romania was a significant encouragement and blessing for me as I pray that it was for the missionaries we were serving alongside.

NEXT STEPS

God was clearly watching out for this team, as he kept us all safe throughout our travels. The rest of the team went back to America after the trip, but I am staying in Romania until August, when I plan on bringing another shipment of supplies to Ukraine.

Continue praying for all the missionaries in both Ukraine and Romania, as they are overworked and exhausted. I am so happy that this team was able to bring them some encouragement, and look forward to seeing what God will do next in their lives.

God Bless you all, and thank you for your support!

Cornel Stef - Chairman for Romania and Ukraine