You may sometimes wonder whether your prayers are making a difference.

You may wonder what happens with the financial support you give.

You may ask yourself whether this investment is truly worth it.

And you may wonder whether it makes sense to stay committed to our vision over the long term.

Only God sees the full picture, beyond what numbers and reports can show. Still, I want to give you a clear picture of what has happened in recent months, the fruit we are seeing, and why your investment matters. Below are three main areas of our ministry.

1. Craiova: Gospel, Church, and Trained Leaders

The work in Craiova has two clear aspects. Growth through evangelism and the strengthening of the local church.

In recent months, new people have come to faith. We had four baptisms. Lives have been changed. I want to share a few short excerpts from the testimonies of those who were baptized.

Last Sunday, I baptized Andreas. His testimony was simple and powerful:
“From the fear of death to eternal life.”

Mihai shared:
“Through exposure to the Gospel, I came to truly understand God’s love and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I realized that God forgave all my sins and that His grace is greater than any mistake.”

Andrei shared simply:
“He saved me and made me His.”

David shared:
“One evening, while listening to a preacher talk about the Gospel, I thought I would hear the same message I already knew. But the preacher began by saying, ‘Today you are dealing with Jesus.’ That’s when I understood the message was for me.”

These testimonies are the fruit of your prayers and support.

Alongside this work, we intentionally invest in training leaders and elders. I personally work with them. Our aim is not to produce spiritual consumers, but servants who can shepherd, teach, and carry the work forward.

Looking back on this summer, I can only say: it was full! God gave us extraordinary opportunities — we hosted 4 short-term mission teams, organized day camps (VBS), evangelistic outreaches, fellowship events, a talent show that brought new youth into the church, concerts, and outings with teenagers. We had the privilege of preaching the Gospel both publicly and personally, in Craiova and beyond.

In addition to all this, we finished the sermon series from the book of Jonah, took 3 mission trips to Greece, and the work with the Roma community continues steadily. Andrei was baptized in June, a living testimony of God’s transforming grace!

In the midst of all these activities, God gave me the grace to have one-on-one meetings — for discipleship, pastoral care, or evangelism. But it’s exactly these personal meetings, alongside the events, that have highlighted a reality that weighs heavier and heavier on my heart: the urgent need for more workers.

There are dozens of people who need someone to disciple them personally. The children who now come regularly to church need a long-term, dedicated worker — someone who won’t just serve them at church, but will visit their families, evangelize their parents, and be present in their lives.

The vision is expanding: ministry with children, teenagers, and families. We cannot do all of this alone.

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to pray with me: “Lord, send workers to Craiova!”

We need:

• Short-term teams to support practical and evangelistic efforts
• Long-term missionaries (2 years) dedicated to discipleship and ministry among children, youth, and families
• One full-time worker for children’s ministry
• People who will visit, listen, encourage, and build real relationships with those coming to Christ

The harvest is plentiful. God is visibly at work.  But we need people who will say: “Here I am, send me!”

Will you pray this with me? And maybe… ask yourself: Could the answer be you?

We continue to witness how God powerfully transforms lives—whether it’s a former occult follower, women from prison, or marginalized Roma children. The Gospel brings healing, purpose, and light wherever it goes.

Francesco – From Darkness to Light

Francesco is a young man who was involved in occult practices while searching for purpose. His life was marked by fear, confusion, and demonic oppression. But one day, by the grace of God, he heard the Gospel. He says in his testimony, “When I first heard the Gospel, something inside me started to break. I knew I had to choose. That night I prayed to Jesus for the first time. And for the first time in years, I slept in peace.” He renounced every form of occultism, ripped and later on burned all related materials, and boldly declared Jesus as Lord over his life. He was baptized this past month. Today, Francesco is a witness of God’s light and joyfully shares the transformation only Christ can bring.

“See, I am doing a new thing!” – Isaiah 43:19a

God is at work in Craiova, and we are excited to share with you the new things He is doing in our ministry!

A New Church Building 

At the beginning of this year, we moved into our new church building. We had been looking and praying for a new location for about a year, and God has provided a great place close to the city center! Now, we have only one location that includes a sanctuary, offices, meeting rooms, and a spacious, welcoming lobby. This space is a blessing, allowing us to better serve our community, disciple believers, and reach out with the Gospel. 

The past couple of months have been a season of growth and joy in our ministry here in Craiova. We’ve witnessed lives changed by God, leading to decisions for baptism, and hosted a Gospel-centered puppet show for the children in our community.

In September, we celebrated the baptism of three people whose stories beautifully reflect God’s transforming power, with 110 people in attendance to witness this special moment.

Ianis is one of the young people who initially sought to guide his life through Stoic philosophies, which offered him disciplined thinking but left him spiritually empty. His search led him to the Scriptures, which he began reading extensively. With a deep hunger for God, he would reach out, even at 11:00 p.m., to ask questions about Christianity. In Ianis’s heart, the Gospel proved stronger than Greek Stoicism. How could I not baptize him when I saw that Christ had overcome the lifeless words of Stoicism?

Madalin and Adnana, a married couple, entered our church with surprise, discovering that we don’t require them to be separated during worship. Previously, they attended another church where they were asked to sit apart, Madalin on the men’s side and Adnana on the women’s side. The atmosphere of freedom and the understanding of the Scriptures here gave them the confidence that this was the community of believers they wanted to belong to. After a year of attending, they decided to be baptized and become members. Madalin serves in the Romanian army, where he boldly testifies about the Lord, while Adnana writes devotionals about a Christian’s relationship with Jesus.

In October, we hosted a puppet show that shared the Gospel message with the children in our community. With 96 attendees, including 52 children, it was a beautiful moment as the children and parents listened to a Bible story, followed by a presentation of the Gospel. The event also included interactive and competitive games, creating a fun and engaging atmosphere for the children.

Please pray for this ministry and share with others about our need for long term missionaries and short term teams. 

Also, I thank God that I am almost fully funded. Please pray that God would bring 8 more people to donate $25 a month for my personal expenses. I am almost there!

Thank you for standing with us in prayer and support. Your partnership helps bring the Gospel to the people of Craiova.

A Compelling Story of Faith

Robert came for the first time to our church 2 months ago. He had been following us on social media for a year and finally found the courage to visit us in person one Sunday. After the service, we went to the mall for lunch, and he shared how good it felt to be with us. Robert had many questions about God and, after our conversation, went home to listen to more of my sermons. He is earnestly seeking God. Three weeks ago, when I gave an invitation for whoever wanted to get baptized, Robert came forward. Praise God! Please pray for Robert as he continues on his journey of faith.

Church Growth, Elders and Small Groups

Church Growth: We praise God that our church is experiencing a significant increase in attendance, indicating a thriving and vibrant community. Because of this growth, we’re looking to rent a larger space to accommodate everyone comfortably. This new building is crucial for our continued growth and community engagement. Right now, our building holds 60 people comfortably and we have between 70 and 100 people coming each week. We are meeting in a temporary location once a month that fits 100 people, but we are praying for a new permanent location that seats 140 people. 

As we reflect on the year 2023, it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come since the inception of our church plant in December 2019. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and the Ukrainian refugee crisis, our journey in Oltenia, though tough, has been a testament to faith, resilience and community.

This year, by the grace of God and with your support and prayers, we’ve reached a significant milestone – transitioning to Stage 2 of our church planting. This means we’re now an officially operating church, recognized by the local government, with a dedicated name and address, and a growing congregation of over 21 members. Our regular church services and discipleship meetings have become the cornerstone of our spiritual journey.

Celebration:

We had 2 baptisms last year. In June, 5 people were baptized and in November, 6 people were baptized. These moments are a beautiful reminder of the love and grace of God and how He has brought each of us from death to life.

Such were the lives of the six youths whom I baptized on Sunday, November 19th, through the work of Christ’s grace. ‘Necros’ in Greek means death, and ‘poema’ means work of art. In recent months, I have been preaching from Ephesians, where chapter 2 mentions our state as spiritually dead people in verse 1, but in verse 6, it is said that we were brought to life in Christ, and in verse 10, we are transformed into a ‘poema’, a spiritual work of art.

Vio was rescued from the clutches of darkness, from the sex trafficking network, thanks to an organization of a member of our church that presents the Gospel. Two young women were rescued from the world of drugs and alcohol, and Edi, from the edge of the abyss, on the verge of ending his life. A young woman found us online and quickly integrated into our church, saying at her baptism that she usually feels anxious among strangers but felt like family at ‘Hope’.

God powerfully worked and brought these young people from NECROS to POEMA. I thank everyone who prays for me and the Lord’s work in Craiova. Prayer requests:

1. For the new believers, to remain strong in faith and to face temptations.
2. For the new location, as we have grown in number and need more space. Many non-Christians come to hear the Word. Pray for funds for the rent at the new location.
3. For more workers, considering the great need to make disciples.
4. Pray for a children’s worker.
5. Pray for more people to donate 25 USD/month. The work has grown, and so have the needs.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the prayers, encouragement, donations, and everything you do for the Lord and for us here in the mission field. Together we make a difference in this world, without Jesus!

This is what a young girl said publicly at youth camp. She struggled accepting God’s love. Because of legalism and spiritual abuse in her life, she thought that she could never please God. She thought it would be easier to kill herself than to keep trying to please God. But that night at youth camp, she received God’s love and said she experienced something that she never had experienced before. That night, many youth came forward and confessed what the Lord is doing in their life and how He set them free from sin and guilt. Many decisions to receive Christ and get baptized happened at youth camp. 

I want to thank all of you that have been praying for our youth ministry and for your donations. 

One of the largest evangelistic events happened in downtown Craiova last month. The Gospel was shared both nights at the Family Festival event. Also, this group from the US went to different neighborhoods during the week to share the Gospel. We had a follow-up event with those that wanted to learn more about our church and what we offer to the community. 

Every Saturday we have new youth coming to our weekly youth event. A short term team from Adventures in Missions helped us to put on an America’s Got Talent event and we were able to build relationships with the new youth who have started coming. We have been having follow-up one-on-ones with those that have just started coming to our youth events and are interested in learning more. With this team, we were able to put on an’ Eyeglass Ministry’ in Bals. We also had a team from the UK come and help us with our youth night and we had a pizza party for everyone that night. They also helped with our church service on Sunday. 

We are so thankful that short term teams are coming to work alongside us to help bring new people to our events and discipleship groups. 

Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray for the new people who want to get baptized. Pray that they will stay strong in their faith when it is tested. 
2. We praise God for the new people that have started donating $25 a month. We still need about 20 people to donate $25 monthly to my ministry fund.
3. We would like to have one short term team coming to work alongside us per month. 
4. E2E, our missionary training program, is starting in September. Please pray for each of the students that will be attending.
5. I am going to take a vision trip to Thessaloniki, Greece in September. Please pray for safety and guidance as we are seeking God’s will.