"But thanks be to God, who always gives us the victory in Christ Jesus, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place." 2 Corinthians 2:14

For over 2000 years, the Gospel message of Jesus Christ is the only message that has the power to save.  It is alive and active today; and we praise God for blessing us to be able to watch it in action here in Romania.  Jesus is coming again for His church and we need to get the message out!

"Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world" John 1:29b

In the month of September, JeJe's sister (Bella) came for a visit with JeJe's Aunt (Geta who comes every 3 weeks for chemo treatment).  They were walking in the town one morning, and JeJe took Bella to a historic church (Catholic) and statue in the very center of the city (one we are praying will one day be filled with Holy praise and truth-filled teaching).  She commented on how it upset her that they charged people for candles, baptisms, weddings, funerals, etc.  Their "Jesus" discussion began and continued on the 40 minute walk back to our home. 

One of our favorite spots in the center of Cluj.
We pray this church will one day be filled with Holy praises to Jesus and
the teaching of His Word.

They continued talking in our guest room and I walked into the room to get something (the children were busy with home school assignments) and we began discussing some of the religious sects in Romania.  It was a simple conversation about having Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and allowing Him to make changes in us; not conforming to man-made rules and having to "look" Holy before we enter the church.  He works in us, sanctifying us, until we get to be with Him in Heaven and are made perfect as He is perfect.

I left the room to return to the children, and about 15 minutes later, JeJe and Bella walked out of the room - with happy tears.  Bella prayed to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior.  JeJe then gave her a Bible and talked with her some more.  She read that Bible for the next 4 hours, stopping briefly for some lunch.

Glory to God in the Highest!

Thursday night, at our 3rd English Bible study, one our neighbors came.  It was Dumitru's second time at the study, and we had just begun studying the Gospel of John.  At the end of our lesson, we had discussion time and he talked about believing that Jesus could heal him. Dumitru, age 20, is on kidney dialysis and has been given 2 years to live.  He grew up in orphanages and a bad foster home environment.  We shared with Dumitru that we knew that Jesus could heal him, but we were certain that Jesus wanted to heal him spiritually first.  We talked more about people in the Bible who believed not only in Jesus' healing powers but more importantly that He was the Messiah, then they told others about Him.  After a little more discussion, JeJe invited Dumitru to pray to ask Jesus to be his Lord & Savior.  Dumitru did not hesitate and prayed the sinners' prayer.  He asked for us to pray for his healing; when we read James 5 to him about having the elders of the church lay hands on him and anoint him with oil - he did not want to wait until Sunday; he wanted JeJe to pray for him right away.  We explained that it is not the oil or JeJe's praying that would heal him, but it would be his act of obedience to the Lord.  Also, the Lord may not will to heal him; but if He does, we pray that He would receive glory and use Dumitru as a witness for Him.  Either way Dumitru knows he is in a "win-win" situation with Jesus Christ as His Savior.

Glory to God in the Highest!

We were also blessed to see our "little" friend, Adi, pray to receive Jesus.  Adi is a "little person" and has hid from the public most of his life.  He works in our neighbors garden once a week and JeJe befriended him our second week here.  He thanked JeJe for noticing him; most people run the other direction or make fun of him.  Conversations have continued over the past couple of months, and Adi finally accepted our invitation to come over (we invited him to Bible study, church or our Friday fellowship).  He came this past Friday night and as about 16 of us were gathered, discussion began about where Adi stood with his relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Adi explained he had been going to a Baptist church here in Cluj but never understood anything that was being preached.  He is ashamed to ask anyone, because he is already looked down upon.  When he was asked about having a personal relationship with Jesus, and if he knew whether or not he would be with Jesus were he to die today, he was unsure.  We were blessed to share with him that he could be certain and he could have his eyes opened to spiritual things through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Adi was excited to pray the sinners prayer and later as we prayed for spiritual wisdom and the Holy Spirit to fill him - he prayed himself to the Lord.  It was a beautiful moment, to be part of the Lord changing a life - forever.

Glory to God in the Highest!

Please pray for Bella, Dumitru and Adi to grow spiritually.  For the Holy Spirit to minister to them through the Word, prayer and attending the Bible studies; that they would be filled to overflowing.

We are so thankful for the prayer warriors who are lifting prayers on behalf of the church of Jesus Christ here in Romania.  Please continue to pray for Him to build His church here, for us to have wisdom and His words to minister to others.