A woman should not be touched, not even with a flower!

Ioha is well and decided to be baptized

“A woman should not be touched, not even with a flower” is an expression used by men in Romania to highlight the importance of a woman and that she should be valued and protected. Ioha from my group says this expression very often, even though his wife makes fun of him almost daily, she undervalues him and behaves very wrongly with him. 

I wrote about Ioha a while back and about how he was going through a rough time. After some weeks of prayer, attention and care, he is better and is back to being himself. A few weeks ago, we had our first baptism in Craiova and at Raul’s invitation for those who desired to be baptized to come forward, Ioha went to the front, thus expressing his desire to be baptized.   

I thank God for the way that He is using Ioha and for the fact that he tells the people that he meets about Hope Church – a church where, in his words, he found peace, calmness and joy in his soul. 

Full joy of pastoring a small group  

I asked those from the small group why they decided to come to church, and the majority of them said that they found friendship, calmness, good words and are much more at ease when they go home. 

We finished studying the book of Colossians, reading a chapter each week. They were and are very active when we study Scripture. When they come for the group, they stay 3-4 hours and what impressed me is that they interact and respond to the questions, even if it takes an hour to study from the Bible.

 Two weeks ago, we started a new Bible Study called, “First Steps in Faith.”

Ilie, an elderly man of 70 something decided to participate in the small group, as well. He said that I was the first person to invite him to church when we met in the park, and at my invitation, he decided to come every Sunday to church.  Aurel, full of joy, told me on the phone yesterday that he has started to read the Bible and hopes to read it in a month. He was fascinated by the creation of people, the world, of Cain and Abel and others. 

Carp calls me often on the phone to ask me how I am, and always calls me “Mama Ana.” Many times I hear from his mouth, “Mama Ana, who else takes care of us, if not you?” 

God gives me these opportunities to serve and love these people, who are alone and with family problems. Almost all of them share with me about their problems, because they know that they are listened to and understood, receiving warm words, prayer and compassion. I love this group of people!