8/3/2019 Newslettersept 2011

1/3

HOPE CHURCH, DRGNETI-OLT

Praise the Lord!

In the month of September, our efforts as a church went into finishing construction of a

place of worship in preparation for the church dedication. A group from Woodland Baptist

Church in Texas, with the Lords help, came alongside of us to work on the electrical part.

They mounted a video projector and screen for use by those involved on the worship team.At the same time, in the church basement, they made two rooms for the childrens Sunday

School program. The heating system was also finished, along with other things that

required a lot of time, energy and concentration. Two groups joined us from World Race

and they were involved with the teens in the area to do clean-up and other activities. They

gave out hundreds of invitations, inviting people to come to the church inauguration. They

also did some renovations at the mission house where guests, who come with a desire to

help the mission in this region, are housed. When the news station ProTV announced

Cleanup Day in Romania, these two teams helped clean our city. We hope through this to

be an example for the people here.

The church inauguration began September 25th. The Opening Event was a very special

time in which approximately 200 people participated. Among them were those who had the

chance to hear the Gospel. A group from Alba Iulia led the church in worship through

music and a challenging message from the Word of God. With us were also some workers

from the community of Oltenia, represented by Pastor Viorel Cruceru, the community of

Hunedoara, represented by Pastor Viorel Chis and Pastor Marcel Cordos of Alba Iulia.

An emotional moment was when the delegation from Sumter, represented by brother Walter

McGee, gave us a framed letter on which was written some thoughts of thanksgiving and of

amazement at how God brought two churches together to work for the extension of His

kingdom. We are grateful to them for all the help they have given us and we praise the Lord

for them.

We also had with us Bob and Diane Wagstaff from Texas, Brian and Dorothy Pavey from

England, and a group from Holland. Each one of them brought words of thanksgiving to

God for all that was accomplished. In the week following the initial opening, there were

many events. On Monday, there was a special meeting for women, at which sister

Stephanie encouraged the ladies to walk close to the Lord. On Tuesday there was a meeting

for the men led by Pastor Raul, in which they studied how to present scripturally accurate

messages. Wednesday we met as a church for fellowship and to remember how God opened

doors to have this place of worship. A special program for children was organized for

Thursday. On Friday the teens enjoyed a special time. Among us was a group from Sebes.

The theme was How can Teens bring Hope to the World? On Saturday, there was a

conference for ministry workers in Oltenia. The conference theme was Teamwork and

those who taught were brother Phil Delsault and brother Lou Geense from Canada. Sunday

closed the week of inauguration. Pastor Liviu Costea of Craiova and Pastor Phil preached.

In the evening, the message was brought by brother Lou. We were strengthened and

encouraged through songs by a choir from Sebes.

8/3/2019 Newslettersept 2011

2/3

A week before the church dedication, brother Walter Windsor visited us and encouraged the

church through his testimony.

Brother Raul Costea started a study again to prepare those who preach from the Word of

God. In this context, brother Raul, George Serban and Danut Opris participated in a

conference on expository preaching.

In Coteana, God continues to work. This month, brother Danut Opris visited people there

and sought to strengthen friendships and to pray with them over their problems. Ten

people from Coteana attended the church opening and a teenager named Alin was

convicted by the Word of God during brother Marcel Cordos preaching. Since then, he has

regularly attended the church gatherings. At the same time, a man from there was also

impressed by the Christian atmosphere and wants to continue coming. Pray for the work in

Coteana, that a believing family will move there and that a church will be established.

This summer we set our sights on some locations where the Gospel is not yet present

places such as Farcasele, Gostavatu, Tia-Mare, Corabia. We pray that the Lord will send

forth workers into His harvest field.

At Stoenesti this month we concentrated our efforts towards childrens work. Every week a

few people would go out and invite the children to come to the program that day and hear

the Good News. Some young people from Stoesnesti and Draganesti participated in a 3-day

conference at Drobeta Turnu Severin. Brother George Serban had a special experience. This

is his testimony:

On this occasion the Lord surprised us. On the second day of the conference, during the

singing of a well-known song (Amazing Love), the Lord laid on my heart to pray for Claudia, a

girl from Stoenesti who comes regularly to the church. While I was praying for her and asking

the Lord if she was forgiven, she started to cry uncontrollablyso much so that she started

to draw looks from other people around her. Later she shared that all of a sudden she felt

guilty for her sins and she had a deep longing to be forgiven. Praise the Lord for His rich and

marvelous grace.

Another man from Stoenesti, who has been prayed for a lot, has shown a desire to be

visited by brother George in order to discuss Scripture. Pray for Flori, Gena, Claudia, and

Mihaela to stay close to the Lord and that their faith will not be shaken no matter what

comes into their lives. Pray for guidance concerning the Thursday night meetings and

whether it is His will to hold small groups in homes, rather than at the church. Pray forAna-Maria to open her heart to the Lord. She is from Farcasele and she heard the Gospel

when a group from Heart Cry came and served in this region.

In Maruntei, a village near Draganesti-Olt, Veronica Palcau continues to work with the

children, teaching them from the Word of the Lord. Brother Octavian Berechet is hoping to

begin teaching adults who are open to learning more from Scripture.

8/3/2019 Newslettersept 2011

3/3

Brother Alex Costea, together with his wife, were in Spain, by the Lords grace, and visited

some churches where they presented the work they are doing in Comani. The Lord blessed

them and they received resources to be able to continue construction on a place of worship.

HOPE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST CHURCH, DRAGANESTI-OLT AND SOUTHERN OLTENIA MISSION