Celebrating mother's day

First of all i would like to tell you that it is a great joy and blessing for me and my wife to be counted among the PIEI missionaries and for this we are grateful to God but also to our brothers and sisters through whom our letters reach you.

If until now, on Mother's Day we used to invite local women to church for whom we organized a special event on the occasion of March 8, this year we changed things a little.

Given that Mother's Day, March 8, is a day when every child should show their gratitude to their mother, we thought of holding an event to which we would invite the children who participate in our meetings this time. As we well know, we benefit from parents because God thought of us, and of course God shows us how much He loves us even by giving us parents to take care of us for a certain period of time. At this event we were able to talk to the children about the gratitude that they should have towards their parents and especially towards God. And because it was March 8, each child present at the event received flowers to take home to give to their mothers.

The children happily received the flowers knowing that it would be a pleasant surprise for their mothers.

We want the children's parents to realize that at church children are taught good things, they are taught to love and respect their parents and the most important thing is that these children have the opportunity to know God and His great love shown towards all humanity.

We invite you to continue to pray for us and for the salvation of those we serve and at the same time we thank you for your prayers so far, thank you for taking the time to read our letters and thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our experiences in the mission field!

With love,

Sfetcu Florin and Alina! - PIEI Romania Missionaries

Raising a young generation for Christ

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus

We thank God for the past year, a year blessed by God like all the others, a year with many obstacles but also with many joys.  During the past year, our children's team stayed with us, being present at absolutely all the meetings with the children, a fact that led us to think of giving them a nice surprise as well. The surprise was that these children enjoyed together with us at the Craiova Christmas Fair. This thought was carried out and we are grateful to God for allowing it. The children enjoyed and were delighted with everything they saw, but the most important thing was that both the children's parents and the children saw that we love them and what we want for our own children, we want for them too. It is true that only a small part of the children could participate in this event, the others being smaller. We pray that all the children who participate in our weekly activities will grow up healthy both physically and spiritually. We pray to the Lord to give us wisdom and understanding so that everything we do is for the expansion of His Kingdom. We thank you for your prayers and invite you to continue to be with us and the mission work in this locality and beyond. Be blessed! Sincerely, the Sfetcu family!

Pray for Romania’s spiritual situation

In these troubled times, I wish you that the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ reigns in your hearts and in your homes!

One of these days I met a few people who asked me this question: Why is your God not doing anything to stop the war in Ukraine?

Although Romania declares itself a Christian country, through such questions it proves to be further and further away from Christianity.  A genuine Christian does not ask such questions, a genuine Christian knows why we are currently facing a border war.  No, it is not God who is to blame, but man who wants to live independently of God. Man's independence from God produces such catastrophes, and not God at all. Man chose and loved sin more than God and this is the result of his choices.

This was my answer to the questions of my countrymen, and I admit that I myself would not have known it if I had not known God.  In these times we pray for our country, for the population of this country and we ask God that in the situation in which Romanians and Romania are at the present time, to touch the hearts of those who still do not know Him.

We would like to ask you to pray with us for a few reasons:

-        People that we talk with, to be touched by the Lord and respond to the gospel

-        Pray for Romania’s spiritual situation

-        Pray for Romania’s lidership – guvernment and politicians

 We thank you for your support in prayer, we also thank our brothers and sisters from the PIEI team through whom these letters end up being read abroad and we bless you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sfetcu Florin, PIEI Romania Missionary

Life problems

May God pour out His mercy, kindness and love on His children, and may this be seen in each of us where He has placed us!

Some time ago I met this woman with three little children who were clinging to her and looked quite tired. They were going home, and since they lived further away, I offered to drive them.

When I saw the little house where they lived I realized that they need any kind of support and since then I have been visiting them trying to help them as much as I can. Mariana, because that's the name of the woman we are talking about, is a rather caring mother for her three children, but not everyone who knows her approves of her. The last time I visited her she was crying and I hardly managed to stop her tears. I asked her why she was crying and through tears she told me that the social workers took the children away. Indeed, the conditions in which these children lived were not extraordinary, but why do such a great harm to a helpless woman? Why are we not more willing to help such people?

Mariana was devastated by missing her children and asked me to help her if I could. I can pray for her, but in order to help her, I also need help. I need help from God and I need people to help me so that we can build a decent house and the necessary conditions for the three children. I hope your kindness and love goes out to this mother. (Mariana)

We invite you to pray with us for this situation and for God to have mercy on Mariana. May God bless you all and shower His mercy and grace on each of us!

Sfetcu Florin, PIEI Romania Missionary

Raising A Generation Who Love God

Glorified and blessed be our Lord Jesus Christ, for through Him we have forgiveness of sins, and thanks to the work on Golgotha, we have brothers on every continent!

Children Who Love the Church

Maria and Vichi, two twelve-year-old girls, never miss any meeting we organize, including Sunday services. They are two girls who love to read the Bible and strive to learn poems and Bible verses every Sunday. Each time they come to the children's meetings, they always bring someone new with them. They have been attending children's meetings regularly for seven years, and they are a great joy to us. Our prayer is that these girls, and others, grow up loving and looking to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We invite you to join us in prayer, not only for Maria and Vichi but for all the other children as well!

God bless you!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

Summer Camp

The summer camp is one of our goals in expanding the Kingdom of God. We are grateful to God because He is the one who makes it possible for this goal to be achieved every year. We thank God for all those who, this year as well, have been dedicated to organizing this camp, which was attended by twenty-five to thirty children. It was a camp blessed by God, and through every activity, the children could know the Lord Jesus Christ better. Two years ago, we set a goal to raise new leaders from among our young people who have started to get involved in children's ministry. We thank God for Luca, Lois, David, Ruben, and Georgiana, the young people trained as servants in this ministry. In this year's camp, we observed these young people's dedication and passion for working with children.  

We thank you for your support in prayer and beyond, and we ask you to continue praying with us for these young people as well!  

Thank you for the love you show us and for the mission work in Teleorman (Beciu).  

May God bless you!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

Blessings and Dedication

Grace and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ!

Recognition is due to those who work hard

We thank God for the children He has given us and through whom He brings us countless joys. From the very first year of high school, we saw a change in Lois, our eldest daughter, that amazed both me and her mother. She studies forty kilometers away from the village where we live, and every day she has to wake up at 5:00 AM to get to school. This has sparked an indescribable ambition in Lois. She said that if she has to make the effort to wake up so early every day, she might as well make it worthwhile, and in this way, she began to study more and more each day. After two years, she has become the top student in her class and enjoys the appreciation of many teachers at school. She is invited to participate in various projects, which has allowed her to travel to many countries in Europe. God is working in her heart, and we see that she is interested in Him through her involvement in children's ministry and many other Christian activities. We pray that God will grow the faith in her heart and in the hearts of the other four children that the Father has given us. We also invite you to join us in praying for all children and for the mission work here. We embrace you and wish that God will bless you!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

A Journey of Salvation and Loss

We greet you with much grace and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior!

The individuals you see in this photograph are Sister Lenuța and Brother Iulian. Unfortunately, Brother Iulian is no longer with us. Two and a half months ago, he caught a severe cold and had to urgently go to the hospital in Caracal. After medical tests, doctors discovered that he had a lung infection and was sent to Bucharest for further analysis. Following the tests in Bucharest, doctors found that his right lung was destroyed and that he had lung cancer. We visited him several times in the hospital and made him aware that if he were to leave this earth, he was not reconciled with God yet. 

We asked him: where do you think you will end up? His answer was, in hell. We told him that he still had the opportunity to reconcile with God, to recognize his sins, and to ask for forgiveness. I was glad to hear that he desired this, and through prayer, he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

A few days ago, he went to heaven, leaving behind a grieving wife and a 36-year-old disabled son who needs care. Even though the parting from a loved one leaves behind a huge void and much pain, there is still immense joy, and it comes from the fact that the one who until yesterday was a sinner is today a forgiven man, a person who has changed direction by choosing heaven.

We thank all those who will sacrifice their time to read this letter and to pray for us and the Mission Work here!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

Pour Out

May the blessings of our Father in Heaven continually pour out upon all my brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ!

We are always grateful to the Lord for the wonderful way He works and touches the lives of people. God has provided us with the opportunity once again to give gifts to the children in the school and kindergarten, and we are thankful for this.

We started by distributing gifts to the primary classes, and while one of us was giving out gifts, the others were telling the children about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first classroom we entered, we met a teacher who was amazed by the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. She told us that she had never heard so many details about the birth of Jesus as she heard from us and suggested that we talk about the birth of Jesus in every class, saying that if she didn't know, surely the children didn't know either. We gladly and encouragingly did this, knowing that God is at work, and we pray that God would search the hearts of all the teachers and educators, as well as the hearts of all the children and their parents. We also pray for each brother and sister who supports us in prayer and in every way. May God bless you and reward you for all the love you have shown towards us and the mission work in the village of Beciu!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

Continue To Grow

Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

I thank God for all the brothers and sisters with whom, through these letters, we have the opportunity to share our experiences in the mission field. My name is Sfetcu Florin Iulian, and together with my wife Alina and the five children God has given us, we serve in the town of Beciu in Teleorman County.

Since 2016, the year we started spreading the Gospel in Beciu and its surroundings, we have had several objectives to fulfill the vision given by God. One of these objectives was working with children. We were the first in the town to do something for children without expecting anything in return. From various games, Bible lessons, workshops, skits, puppet theater, and camps, to involving children in playing different roles of Bible characters. At first, there were a few children, but with each meeting, their number continued to grow, and we often reached between forty and fifty children. This work sparked the curiosity of many parents who came with their children to see what was happening, and thus God allowed us to share the Gospel with them.

Unfortunately, over time, due to the pressure from the Orthodox priest, the number of children decreased (to a maximum of thirty-five children), but we did not give up. We continue to work and pray for these children and their families, knowing that this work belongs to the Lord, and He who begins it will bring it to completion. We thank God that in 2021, the Darwel family, Mark, and Florina, joined us, and together with their children David and Ruben, they made the mission work even more effective. Sister Florina helps us in working with children and sisters, and Mark in preaching the Word. We invite you to pray with us for this objective, for the number of children to increase, and for us to be even more effective in the overall mission work. May God bless and reward you for all that you do!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missonary

School Started

May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ triumph in the homes and families of each of you. This beginning of the school year was a great joy for Debora and Emima, and even for our youngest daughter, Rebeca. Debora and Rebeca couldn't wait for school to start; they were so eager that they asked almost every day how much time was left until the end of the vacation. On the other hand, Luca and Lois were not as enthusiastic about starting school; they would have preferred the vacation to be much longer. That's how children are, the little ones are eager to start school, while the older ones are less so.

We watch them and rejoice in them, and we remember the times when we were students ourselves. Time has flown by so quickly! We thank God for the children He has given us and for making us responsible for praying for them and educating them. Our most fervent prayer is that these children learn well, but above all, that they receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

From our home, we invite you to pray together with us for the children of each one of us; may they be a blessing to all people, and through them, may others come to know the Gospel.

God bless you!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

God Had Touched Their Hearts

This summer, I had the opportunity to send six young people to the MIA camp, which took place in Rasnov, Brasov County. Three of these young individuals come from Orthodox Christian families. The camp lasted for five days, during which these young people could participate in various Christian activities, listen to testimonies of other converted youths, and sermons, and get to know and socialize with other young people from the country and abroad. They had the chance to make friends, become attached to different camp leaders, and we thank God for the impact that such camps have on the lives of these youths.

I was the one who was involved in taking these young people to the camp and also in picking them up from Rasnov. Upon their return from the camp, it was easy to notice that something had changed in each of their lives. It was clear that God had touched their hearts, as their speech was more balanced, and even the music they wanted to listen to was different from what they used to listen to before leaving home. We have been praying for these young people since they left home, and we continue to pray. We invite you as well to pray with us, both for the salvation of these young people and for us to have the opportunity to organize and carry out such camps. Thank you, and may you be blessed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

Summer Camp

Grace and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Summer Camp hosts children between the ages of seven and fourteen for five consecutive days. This year has been a great joy for both the children and us because it is the first year after the pandemic when this beautiful work resumes. During these five days, the children enjoy biblical skits in which they themselves get involved in playing various roles of Bible characters such as Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Goliath, among others. They are encouraged to paint, color, learn biblical songs and verses, and engage in many other fun and attractive activities. Here, the children feel loved and safe, and we often get to hear various stories from their lives, whether from school, playtime, family, or with their friends.

This year, one of the more sensitive children named Marius, who is ten years old and comes from Orthodox parents, shared that he had a feeling of shame. His parents, in turn, have likely suffered in the same way as their child. It is common for us to raise our children exactly as we were raised ourselves. We tend to love them as much as we were loved, and I speak from my own experience here. I do not remember my father ever taking me in his arms and telling me that he loves me. That's why I accepted to do the biggest stupidities, to drink, smoke, leave home, and many other things just to be appreciated and accepted by my friends. I believe that for many people in the world, love is still an unknown subject. I saw in the eyes of this little boy the lack of love, protection, and the fear of being rejected. I was very happy that he was in our midst, that he chose to come to our community and participate in this camp. We pray for this child, even for his parents, and we want him to feel the love of God. This time, he learned that God is the one who surprises you, that He is everywhere, knows everything, and is present in every place. He learned to pray to the One who truly cares for him, and we pray that God touches his heart. We invite you once again to pray with us, not only for Marius but also for all children like him. Pray that God continues to grant us wisdom and understanding to do His will! Thank you, and may you be blessed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missioanry

Answer to Our Prayers

Be blessed in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

For a long time, we have prayed to the Lord for a building where we can carry out our church activities here. With the help of the Lord, in the autumn of 2022, we managed to purchase an old building, over seventy years old, and because it required restructuring, at the end of March this year, we began the renovation works on this building. 

Church gatherings and activities with the children have been taking place in a tent since April, due to the restoration works of the building that I mentioned. Currently, we have paused the restoration work due to the fact that the price of construction materials is quite high, and our funds have been depleted. 

We hope to be able to complete these restructuring works before the cold weather sets in. This is one of the main reasons why we invite you to pray together with us. Please continue to pray for the salvation of the people in this locality, especially for the salvation of the men and children of our sisters. Thank you for your support and we pray that God blesses and repays you.

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

God Is Working

Grace and peace from God, our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  

Some time ago I had the pleasure of working with Lulica, (not a christian) he is the husband of our sister Lenuţa and volunteered to help me with the works of the Church for a few days. We also had the opportunity to travel together from Romania to Germany, to his son who was hospitalized in this country for a period of six months. Throughout this period of work and travel, we had the opportunity to tell each other about experiences of each other's lives. I believe that the purpose of each and every one of us is for God to help us set good examples both in family life and in everyday life to any man we meet.

I don't know how, but one thing is certain, that God worked in such a manner that one day Lulica may express the desire to receive the Lord Jesus Christ in his life as Lord and Savior. There are still struggles in his life, it is a vice he wants to give up and it is quite a difficult step, this vice is smoking.

For this we are left, we will pray and ask God to give him power to come out triumphing over this vice.

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary 

Compassion

Grace and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

This is Andrei, he's seven years old and comes from a large family, there are nine brothers in total. Unfortunately Andrei like many other children in this locality is deprived of parental love due to the fact that his parents like alcohol more than caring for their children. I've known Andrei for a long time, since 2016 when he was one year old, and now has reached the age at which he has to go to school.

He's in prep class, he's actually in class with one of our daughters. One day when I was going to take Deborah to school, I met Andrei and I noticed that he was dressed very thin, instead of a thick winter jacket, he was wearing a sweatshirt. very thin. I asked him why he left home only in that sweatshirt and he said he had nothing else to wear.

On the same day, after I had prepared him some sweaters, two or three pairs of pants and a thick jacket, I went to his house to take them to him. When he saw me, he couldn't be more happy because he expected me to bring him a jacket. This is neither our first nor our last action in Andrei's life, but more than our clothes, we want Andrei and many other children like him to see in us people of trust, people to whom whenever he needs help to turn without restraint.

We're here for that, we're here to offer those around us compassion, love, the help they need, hope... We want people to see in us and our children our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you and we are grateful for your prayers and support so far and invite you to continue to pray for us and the mission work in this locality. Bless you!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

Young man in the role of parents

This boy's name is Florin and is twenty years old, his father died when he was ten years old. In total there are five brothers, three boys and two girls. After their father's death, her mother tried to rebuild her life and eventually found a man for whom she left her children. 

Thus they remained to take care of each other, but not long after the two sisters also left and Florin remained to take care of the two younger brothers. It is not easy for a twenty-year-old to do what Florin does. Now he must be the parent for Lucian and Ionut. He wakes up in the morning to prepare the little ones for school, he's the one who washes them, he's the one who prepares their daily meals and he's the one who has to work to give his brothers strictly what they need.

It's a sad story and it would be too much to tell about the situation of the three brothers. As much as we can, we'll try to help but our greatest wish is that Florin, Lucian and Ionut know who is the Father of the orphans, who can offer them much more than anyone else.

Once again we need your support and invite you to pray along with us for this young man and his two brothers. God bless you and reward you for everything you do! 

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

A Blessing In This Town

This time we had the opportunity to host for a few hours a team of a brother and sister from America and a young man from Romania, who brought with them glasses.

With the help of God, these brothers were a blessing for people with vision problems in Beciu. For some of the locals, because of their low income, the glasses were a great blessing. I can say that everyone at the event came to me and thanked me for caring for them.

We pray that these people can see beyond what these glasses can offer them, to be able to see He who can offer them much more and to receive in their hearts the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We thank you for your support and invite you to pray with us for the unbelievers. God bless and reward you!

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

The Old is Gone

Blessed be our God, because of His great mercy we were  reborn again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

To be where you can be useful and to be involved in the lives of others, often even by giving up your needs, means to leave life behind. 

”So whoever knows how to do good and does not do it, commits a sin.” (James 4:17)

God teaches us to do good wherever we are. About a month ago, lon, a person in his seventies told me about the old and damaged fence of his house and the fact that he needed to replace it, he just doesn't know how to get in touch with those who could do it.

It was clear to me that this man needed someone to help him, and so I offered to be of use to him. Seeing that I was willing to help him, he was filled with great joy and did not know how to thank me. On the day when the fence was replaced he was happy that his wish had come true. Today the fence was changed, the old fence is gone. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 Paul says: “The old has gone, the new is here!”

And all these things are from God, who made us peace with Him through Jesus. May the good God help us to be worthy of the call made and by any action, word or deed so that we can honor Him. God through us may touch all men even if they have the fences of their broken hearts, He will make all things new.

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary

From Generation To Generation

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ!

Through God's grace this week I went out with Deborah and Emima, my younger daughters, for the purpose of evangelism. I thank God that these little girls find pleasure in going anywhere with me, and in this way we spent time together.

Preaching the gospel to a group of young people, one of them was amazed by the respectful way Deborah and Emima addressed me. He asked me who was responsible for the education of my children. He remained amazed to hear that my children learned from observing how Alina and I respectfully speak to each other as husband and wife.

Our children have learned indirectly through the way we address each other. I used this example to show these young people that you become educated from the one you love and imitate. Then I had the opportunity to tell them that I wasn't always like this, but that one day I met the most educated man who ever lived on earth. From that moment I wanted to live like Him, learning from Him.

I am glad the education I have received from the Lord Jesus Christ can also pass to my children. I am glad my children’s respectful speech affects the hearts of those who hear them. In the future may God make my children people dedicated to His work. Thank you for your prayer support and I invite you to pray with us for the mission work in the town of Beciu.

Pray for us as a family. May God continue to give us wisdom and skill in how to behave as Christians first in the family and also in the society in which God has put us.

Florin Sfetcu - PIEI Romania Missionary