September 20, 2009 was the day when a 34 year old prayer was answered. In 1975 when my dad became a born again Christian and was baptized, his family told him that they don't want to have anything to do with him anymore. Years have passed and the relationship with the family was restored little by little, but not when it came to discussing about the message of the Gospel. A few years ago God also put on our hearts to pray for Florica, my dad's home village, that an evangelical church would be planted there and the message of the cross would be made known to the people. We went on mission trips and shared the Good News with the people, and at the same time we encountered great opposition from the Orthodox priests. But our God is stronger than any man. He answered our prayers and around 75 people witnessed the first church service in the village of Florica. As you probably know already, God helped us to buy a house in the center of this village that now became the building where the Baptist Church in Florica will gather for their services. We are so thankful to God for His great provision, for His faithfulness, for blessing us in such a wonderful way.
Not too many people attended from the village... only 5. The rest of us where from the churches around Campina and Pitulicea. But it was such a joy to see the 5 people there...my grandma, my aunt, two cousins and a neighbor. It meant so much for us to see our relatives there! We know that God loves this village and He has great plans with those people. Let us continue to pray for this ministry. Pastor Marian from Pitulicea will be there every Sunday and lead the church service that starts at 3:00 p.m. The church in Campina committed to go there once a month and the churches in Filipesti, Bratasanca and one in Bucharest did the same.
Below you may find some pictures with the house in Florica - how it looked in the beginning and how it looks now.
Here are a couple of pictures from the first church service in Florica. It was a great honor to have with us Pastor Chris Griggs and Paul Ratcliff from Denver Baptist Church, NC. Thank you for making the effort to be here and for supporting this ministry.
Blessings to you all!
Ioana
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