On April 28^th we had a special Easter celebration at Bethel Baptist Church in Timisoara, like we have had since 1990, and 350 children and young people participated from different children’s homes, orphanages, penitentiary, street children or families with social problems.

This event was called “The celebration of the Resurrection at Bethel – a celebration for each one�. It was a special day in which each person, no matter the social or material status enjoyed God’s presence on the Resurrection Day. There where children from Recas, Lugoj, Deborah House, Beraca, students that where brought up at the orphanage in Lugoj, young offenders from the Correction Penitentiary in Buzias, prisoners from the Penitentiary in Timisoara and a group of street children. Also, among the guests of this event there were city officials, local politicians, representatives of different denominations, teachers and head-masters of these institutions.

The children sang and recited poems and prayed, and at the end they all had a meal together. It was a wonderful day that the children had been waiting for even since Christmas.

Afterwards, Rodica and I continued to work with them, have Bible studies and sing together Christian songs.

We are thankful to God that our relationships with the leaders of these institutions are very good and we are allowed to work with these children and teach them about our Lord Jesus and what He has done for us.

At Buzias we had the opportunity to present two Christian movies which had great impact in the lives of the young offenders there. We are glad that God is working and that the young ones choose to come to these meetings.

Recently, we celebrated Child’s Day, on the 30^th of May in Buzias. Over 200 children came from Recas, Lugoj, Otelu Rosu, Buzias, Bacova and Cheveres. In the first part of the program we sang Christian songs and I had the opportunity to talk about God’s love for us. Afterwards, each institution participated with songs, poems, sketches and at the end we had different games of football, tennis, volleyball.

The children from Recas were visited last week by brother Eugene Groza with a group of friends from Northern Ireland. We all sang and prayed together and had a blessed time.

Pray that God would continue to bless the work that we are doing and that He keep the doors open so that we could continue to work with these children.  We thank all those who pray for us and support us financially, from the bottom of our hearts. You are part of what we are doing.

May God bless you abundantly!

Doru & Rodica Racovicean

After an extremely hot summer, full of events, exams and changes, the girls spent a week with cold temperatures in the mountains together with the young people from Bethany Baptist church in a warm atmosphere. When they came back, the girls spent a few weeks together at Deborah 2, while the parents from Deborah 1 had a well-deserved holiday, after 4 years of constant working and serving.

Please see the following PDFs to read about this past month’s Pastor’s Retreat:

• 2007 Pastor’s Retreat Newsletter
• 2007 Pastor’s Retreat Participant Reflections

After celebrating Easter at Bethel together with approximately 300 children from several orphanages, we had a period full of activities in the orphanages in Recas, Lugoj and in Timisoara with the group of students that we meet with every week.

We continue to have meetings with the children, to learn songs and to study the Bible with them. We are glad that their participation is very good and they happily get involved in what we do. During the school year there are about 80 children who come to school from the villages around Recas and are not orphans. Through them our teachings reach their families. It is a chance and a great opportunity through which Jesus Christ can be known by the little ones and by their families.

We had the joy to be visited by several teams from the States. The children enjoyed their presence, their messages and of course, their gifts.

During the summer holiday (especially those who are admitted in the centers, and do not have families), went to school camps. Together with Rodica we visited them, and both the children and the tutors had the occasion to hear about the love of God. 

At Raul Alb, a camp in the mountains close to Resita, at about 80 miles south-east fromTimisoara, a team from Aldersgate United Methodist Church, from Toledo, OH, USA, lead by Tim Kreps visited the children, and they had biblical sketches, gifts and games through which they presented the Lord Jesus. We enjoyed spending time with the children in the beautiful landscape.

For the international day for children, 1^st of June, we were invited with the children from Recas and Lugoj and with the students from Timisoara to the Young Offenders Center in Buzias where we had a religious meeting. The children sang and said poems, and all those who participated, almost 250 people, were able to listen to a short message about the priority to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. God opened this door for me to present the importance of having Jesus Christ in your heart.           

Between 10-12 September we went with some of the students from Timisoara and a group of young offenders from Buzias to Surduc (a Christian center for Bible study, 100 miles east of Timisoara), where we studied the Word of God for 3 days, and played sports during the day, while in the evening we had a special time of worship. It was a blessed time.

Another school year has started now and we are daily involved in this ministry. We do appreciate very much your continue support in prayer, we need it very much! We are very much aware that only God can change the hearts of the children we minister to. At a personal level, please do pray for us as family, especially because my father is very ill, mainly is in bed all the time. We thank each one of you for your partnership in ministry! Thank you for your prayers, it means so much to us! During the years you have been such an encouragement and a blessing for us.

May God bless you all abundantly! 

Dear Friends,

Again thank you so much for making the MLI Conference a reality. The best way to find out what it meant for us is to let you read few of the thoughts of some of the participants:

The conference was amazing. The biographical study of the lives and work of the disciples of Jesus Christ was Biblical and complete, and also challenging and encouraging. Studying Psalm 22 has overwhelmed us through the richness of the Word and reset us in Jesus’ sacrifice and love. We admire and respect our brothers from Northern Ireland for their seriousness and Biblical knowledge.  Pastor Marin & Doina Tifrea, Piatra Neamt

Thank you very much for inviting us at this conference. For me and my wife this is the only opportunity per year when we can be on our own. This short vacation is very good for us and our three children; this way we can treasure more one another. Also, meeting the other pastors at this conference is a good opportunity to share our experiences. Thank you so much for the excellent accommodation offered to us and thank you very much for everything you have given us. May God richly bless you!  Ionut & Cristina Handaric, Piatra Neamt 

My dear brothers from MLI,
These days of worship from Sinaia have been a great blessing for us. We have felt God’s presence in every moment, and our souls have been refreshed. We really needed encouragement and spiritual food and the Holy Spirit’s flow in our lives. I am sure that in Heaven these days were marked down, and that our Father will open the flood gates of Heaven and He’ll send a rain of blessings on all of us (MLI, our brothers from Northern Ireland, the families that were present.) In the name of our Lord, Jesus, thank you from the depth of our hearts for everything.  Pastor Florin & Magda Botar, Campeni

It was a privilege for me to be at this conference, a blessed time spent together. The Biblical messages were relevant and inspiring for us. We were in the shadow of the cross and on the peaks with Jesus’ disciples. Thank you very much for the material blessings also. May God bless you! Ioan & Adi Asaftei, Botosani 

My dear brothers from MLI,
Both my wife and I were extremely honored for the invitation to this conference. With all the liberty in Jesus Christ we can say that we were deeply moved and above all we could feel God’s love and presence in an extraordinary way. The time that we’ve spent here with you almost stopped, and I can say that we were not only in a resort, but in an oasis full of grace. Someone said once: ‘You can only decide about the time that was given to you.’  I leave content from this conference and together with my wife, I want to thank you in the name of Jesus, our Lord, for the time of spiritual encouragement that you have given us throughout these days! May God bless you and keep you in His hands! Daniel & Mariana Ghuizela, Zlatna

I felt extremely honored to be invited this year at the conference organized by MLI. I thank God for the days spent together with my brothers and sisters. I was truly blessed by Dr. Stanley Barnes and Dr. John Morrow’s messages. Besides improving my knowledge, I was blessed with encouragement and spiritual growth. I will never forget the messages from the Messianic Psalms and the messages about Jesus Christ’s disciples. I pray that God’s blessings on our brothers from Northern Ireland who have served us through the Word of God, and also for those who have financially supported this conference. I thank God for Missio Link and I pray that He will send many blessings to MLI and especially to brother Eugene Groza, who leads this foundation, and to brother Florin Iosub, who helps him in this ministry. May God continue to bless you so that you can organize this kind of blessed events. Pastor Viorel Vuc, Bolvasnita

We thank God and the ones He used to make this conference possible! God has blessed us with rich spiritual food. We appreciate the good organization, the excelent accommodation and dinners and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. May God bless you, your ministry and your families! Through this conference we have grown closer to one another and together we have come closer to the Lord. May God abundantly bless you!  Pastor Dumitru & Maria Condrea, Dorohoi

I was touched by God’s presence at this conference. I felt God talking directly to me through His word and through our brothers Stanley Barnes and John Morrow. I was encouraged to continue preaching and inspire my church in Sambateni, Arad and also to get involved more in Bible study and national camps in our denomination Oastea Domnului. May God be blessed and may he repay the efforts made by our brothers who have visited us and by those who were behind the organization of this wonderful event. Emy Cara, Arad 

We participated for the first time at the conference organized by Missio Link International and we were fascinated by everything that has happened over the past days. It was a time of spiritual growth and also a time of relaxation. The speakers were lead by the Holy Spirit and I understood the importance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and we were motivated by the disciples’ live of service. The organization of the conference had all the high standards and we had the opportunity to meet other evangelical workers from several parts of the country. We thank God and everyone who made it possible for us to attend this conference. May God bless you all!  Pastor Ghita & Cornelia Campean, Sibiu 

The conference at Sinaia was a real blessing for our family. After a period of walking ‘through the valley of the shadow of death’, the Lord called us to worship ‘on the mountain’, to encourage us, teach us and give us new blessings to help us in our ministry. By the example of the brothers and sisters who have served us this week, God reminded us ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’ and that every disciple of Jesus is called to get involved and give with joy. Thank you for your sacrifice and may God fulfill His promises in your lives, giving you everything you need to accomplish His purpose in you! Be blessed! Valentin & Dana Apostoaei 

We thank God for the wonderful days that we have spent at this conference. There were great moments from all points of view: spiritually and physically. We have felt the Holy Spirit’s presence. Personally I was encouraged through the Word brought by our brothers from Northern Ireland. The messages were extremely powerful, challenging, and consistent, that brought comfort to those who attended. We want to thank all those who made this conference possible, those who got involved and organized and those who supported it financially and spiritually. May God bless you and reward your sacrifice and from what you have given, may He multiply a thousand times. It was a special conference and we would like to have more of these blessed meetings and we pray that God will make this possible. May the Lord’s blessing and grace be with you all! Pastor Lazar & Florica Arnaut, Borlova

We have been so blessed through you! We were glad to be together, to worship and to be encouraged. Thank you for the spiritual food, for the special accommodation and for the financial support, and for helping us in the ministry that we are doing for the Lord. May God bless you! - Pastor Daniel & Nely Furdui, Alexandria  (Philippians 4:19-21)        

Dear Friends, 

Greetings to you all in the wonderful name of Jesus our Lord.  MLI Pastors Family Retreat this year took place on September 03 - 07, as it was planned. Once again God blessed us in an amazing way! The teaching was great, the weather was very nice, the fellowship was warm and the whole conference was excellent. I am thankful to God for His grace and His provision for us but also my heart is filled with gratitude towards each one of you. Thank you for your prayers, support and generosity. Because of your love and generosity about 42 pastors and their wives were able to attend the conference. Once again I was overwhelmed by the goodness and the sovereignty of God. It is amazing how He coordinates all things to bless us. He knows the needs of each one of us and prepares the right people and the right messages to encourage and challenge us. Pastor Stanley Barnes, Pastor John Morrow and their wives, Ina and Norra, from Northern Ireland, were used greatly by God to teach, encourage and challenge us. Through them God gave us exactly what we needed. Thank you from the depth of my heart for being so kind, so generous and for understanding how important such retreats are for the Romanian Pastors and their wives. Most of these pastors are working in the poorest areas of Romania. For some of them this time at Sinaia (a wonderful mountain setting) was the only time of vacation for the whole year.  Please take few moments to read what some of the participants had to say:

My dear brothers from MLI, these days of worship from Sinaia have been a great blessing for us. We have felt God’s presence in every moment, and our souls have been refreshed. We really needed encouragement and spiritual food and the Holy Spirit’s flow in our lives. I am sure that in heaven these days were marked down, and that our Father will open the flood gates of heaven and He’ll send a rain of blessings on all of us (MLI, our brothers from Northern Ireland the families that were present.)  Pastor Florin & Magda Botar

I had the grace from God to participate at this conference together with my wife and with other families of God’s servants. In a natural environment of rare beauty, we have spent this time receiving teachings from the Word which have redirected my life. My dear brothers and sisters from Northern Ireland and all who have supported spiritually and financially this conference, thank you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through your love and generosity God has blessed and touched our lives!  Pastor Moisuc Stefan

As a family we have had a year filled with personal and professional events; some have consumed us a lot, and maybe some have tested our limits. I confess that every time I couldn’t make it anymore I would think that God would give us a time of relaxation and rest in September at the conference organized by MLI, and it was like that this year too. This conference is already a part of our lives and we perceive it as a blessing from the Lord…and we deeply thank you!  Pastor Remus & Patricia Runcan

Thank you very much for inviting us at this conference. For me and my wife this is the only opportunity during the year when we can be on our own. This ’short vacation’ is very good for us and our three children; this way we can treasure more one another.  Ionut & Cristina Handaric  

I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now….It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart.  Philippians 1: 3-7

Your brother in Christ, Eugen Groza   

The donations that have been received for Deborah House Center have had a significant impact on the lives of the Deborah girls. 

Many of the girls come to the Deborah House Center with little or no schooling.  There is much catch-up that needs to be done in only a few years to prepare the Deborah girls for reintegration into Romanian society.  The following gives a brief update on some of the accomplishments of the Deborah Girls.

One of the primary goals of MLI’s Church Partnership Program is to  
develop leaders in the churches and area where we are involved.  Soon  
after the ?89 Revolution we could see in Romania a hunger for the  
Gospel, the new freedom opened the door for many new churches to be  
planted in towns and villages across the country, and also for  
Christian pastors and leaders to openly practice their calling.  
Seventeen years from the revolution we find there is still so much to  
be done.  Many churches are having a hard time supporting a pastor and  
many pastors are finding it increasingly difficult to just be a pastor  
and not have a second job.  Through the Church Partnerships we are  
addressing the need for supporting leaders and pastors as well as  
investing in the development of new leaders.  We are very grateful for  
your support and participation in this work and we invite you to pray  
that God will raise more leaders, more people who are called to serve  
and invest their lives in the Kingdom.

Leadership Development Retreat in Sinaia

Every year the partnership between Zionsville Presbyterian Church in  
Zionsville, Indiana, and the churches in Giurgiu, Ftesti and  
Alexandria from the south of Romania reaches new dimensions.  We very  
much appreciate how these churches have understood to come together  
and learn from each other and support each other.  At the end of  
January the pastors and elders and workers from all those churches  
have come together for a three-day retreat in Sinaia.  This was the  
first such retreat where we were able to have the partners come with  
their spouses. Pastor Jack Jordan led the retreat based on a theme  
from Ephesians, The Spiritual Battle: How to be prepared and how to  
lead a victorious Christian Life.  Hope Jordan & Joan Gall led the  
Ladies sessions.  This is a great way of developing leadership in  
local churches.

Christian Witness in remote mountain areas of Transylvania

Grace Baptist Church from Normal, Illinois, is partnering through MLI  
with pastors Aurel Rodean and Florin Botar in Campeni and Abrud, two  
small mountain towns in a mining area in central Transylvania. We are  
honored to be of help in the advance of the Kingdom in this area,  
especially as the two pastors are involved in eight small towns and  
villages scattered in the mountains around Campeni.  We will ask for  
your prayers for the new start of a church in Carstea, a small gypsy  
village where there is only one Christian family.
Pastors Aurel and Florin also minister in the Abrud Children Home for  
more than 50 children with various handicaps.  They visit the children  
twice a month, on Saturdays, and have a great impact teaching them  
songs, poems, and Scripture verses.  At Easter they had a wonderful  
time celebrating the Resurrection together with the children in a  
special event.

Prayer and Fasting continues in Vatra Dornei

On March 16, it was one year since Pastor Vasile Hoblea and the church  
in Vatra Dornei, in northeast   Romania were called to a time of  
fasting and prayer. During this time, various Christian pastors,  
leaders and lay people came together to fasts and pray for the work in  
Romania.  The church in Vatra Dornei is in partnership with Highlands  
Community Church from Seattle, Washington, and under the leadership of  
Pastor Vasile, the church is very much involved in planting new  
churches in the area.  The church building is equipped with  
accommodation facilities in the back and many brothers and sisters  
coming to or through the beautiful mountain spa of Vatra Dornei stop  
here to refresh their relationship with God.  This year in March, The  
Association of Christian Policemen in Romania had a three-day retreat  
in Vatra Dornei with the same focus on prayer and fasting.

A group of 24 people from Northern Ireland, mostly from Hillsborough  
Presbyterian Church, came to celebrate Easter with us in Romania in  
April.  We very much appreciate the partnership of the church in  
Ulster as they have been involved with the Deborah House project and  
with churches in Romania for many years.  The group was led by Sharon  
Craig and Edwin Poots, and they visited the Children Home in Recas and  
the girls from Deborah.  The group went on a day trip to the Danube  
with the girls from Deborah and some of the young people from Bethany  
Church in Timisoara.

Florin Iosub