You may not know this, but I was the first PIEI missionary in Romania. Right after the revolution and the fall of the Romanian dictator Ceausescu, God put it in my heart to plant a church in the city of Victoria. There were no churches in that city, not even Orthodox churches, because Ceausescu’s wife Elena declared that there would never be a church there. However, by the grace of God I worked with PIEI to build a church in that very city! I’m so excited now to be coming back to PIEI as the new National Director of PIEI-Romania.
My first goal is to get to know PIEI-Romania as it is now. I do not want to create a vision that doesn’t work with what PIEI already has in place, so I have been spending all my time with the people and missionaries involved in PIEI to learn all about what we are already doing. I am determined to get to know our national missionaries, go to their homes, spend time with them, get to know their families, and learn their visions. I want to know their mission areas, the villages and locations they serve, the strengths and weaknesses in those villages, and their plans for 2021. Once I get an idea of what each missionary is doing, experiencing, and is in need of, I can then begin to envision what direction PIEI-Romania as a whole needs to go in for the future.
One incredible tool that PIEI-Romania has been blessed with is the Youth Center in Alba, so I would like to explore its potential to use it to the fullest. I would love to use it to meet with Pastors and other church leaders, creating relationships with all the churches in Alba and surrounding areas and allowing them to do their own ministry there, as well collaborating with them for some events. It is also a great location for the youth for sports, activities, Bible Studies, discipleship, and more.
Even through this Pandemic, I would like to see how we can use the internet to do ministry right now. For example, we are exploring the possibility of Gabi Stef leading an online women’s Bible Study right from the States.
A little while ago I had the chance to go to the south and spend time with some of our missionaries there. I spent a lot of time with Eugen Stef, Emanuel Joldos, Mihai Geabou, Florina Darvell, Moldoveanu Cornel, Cuc Gavrilă, and Marian Leonad. Yesterday I went to the Apuseni Mountains north of Alba to meet with Florin Botar, Relu Rodean, and Daniel Petrut to learn more about them and their ministry as well.
I am excited about this new role that God has given me, and I pray that God can use me to further promote the Gospel of Christ in the country of Romania.
Timotei Stanea, PIEI-Romania National Director
