One of my favorite memories from this month happened last Wednesday afternoon. I spent a good part of the day riding around with one of the Romanian missionaries, Marion and two women visiting from a church in Georgia that has partnered with the church in Draganesti for a few years now. We gave out bags of food and toys and prayed over families in the villages of Danesea and Pestra. The stories of these families and what they are walking through really touched my heart. Afterwards Marion asked if he could take us to his favorite spot. He stopped the car underneath a railroad bridge and we hiked up the side of a hill overlooking four towns in Olt county, Draganesti, Danesea, Stoenesti, and Berinder. Marion told us that this was where he came to pray. We sat there and worshipped calling out words that described our God: faithful, just, merciful, the Rock, the Beginning and End, joy, love, mighty, etc. We then prayed over the city of Draganesti and the surrounding villages, we prayed for the Romanian missinoaries who want to see their neighbors and friends know Christ, we prayed for an awakening for the people, and for the Lord to raise up the next generation to be witnesses in their community.
A missionary couple from Canada told us that the best thing any team could do for the ministry in Draganesti is cover it in prayer. Below are pictures and prayer requests, please join me and our teams in lifting up Draganesti and the surrounding communities to our God.
Last Saturday three of us girls went to the town of Stoenesti, which is about 20 minutes from Draganesti. George and his wife Dana are the Romanian missionaries there. We served soup, bread, meatballs, and tea at a Social Canteen. We also helped with the children's program Dana leads. We went out into the town with her daughters Sara and Lydia inviting the children to the church. The photos below are of Lydia and me walking through Stoenesti and of the children practicing their song for the big Christmas celebration in Dragaensti. We also played games and prayed with the children in Stoenesti.
Please pray for the ministry of George and Dana and for their children Sara and Lydia. Pray that the Lord will continue to bless their ministry in Stoenesti and that their lives would be an example to their neighbors of the love, joy, and hope found in Jesus. Pray that through the children’s program, the children’s families would come to know Christ.
This is a small village about 30 minutes outside of Draganesti. The building they use for their children’s program used to be a bar. This is a newer ministry please pray that the children would grow to love and follow Him and that He would use the children’s ministry as a door to build relationships with the families in this village. Please pray for a young woman named Madeline, who I had the opportunity to share my testimony with. Pray that the Lord would continue to speak to her through the missionaries and to let her know how much God loves her.
The Romanian missionaries build relationships with families by living in community with them. They want thier lives and their words to be an example to those they serve. When they cannot live in thier community, they ask families if they would like to be visited. The families below are visited regularly by the ministry team at Draganesti. On this I went with two awesome women from the missionary team from Geogria to pass out food bags and gifts to families for Christmas. We also prayed with and for each family.
Please pray for this sweet family. They are living in one room right now because the front room needs repair to the outside walls. The father is in and out of work and suffers from a common problem in this area, alcoholism. The mother asked us to pray for health for her family. Her oldest daughter has arthritis in her hands and it is difficult for her to use her hands and fingers.
This little girl is the youngest of seven. The father raises his children while the mother works in Italy to send money back to her family. Please pray for health for the family, that the mother would be able to make the trip to Romania at Easter to visit her family, and that the father would be able to continue to find jobs.
This grandmother is one of the only believers in her village and the only believer in her family. She raises her grandchildren because their mother left and their father struggles with alcoholism. Pray for health for the grandmother, for her life to be an example of love and hope to her village, for her grandchildren to know and follow Jesus, and for release for the children’s father from the grip of alcohol.
These four girls are a part of Marion and his wife Andrea’s cell group in a village called Danesea. Pray for these teenagers that they would continue to grow in faith and understanding. Pray that their lives would impact the lives of their families.
After we passed out food in the villages of Pestra and Danesea, Marion took us to the hill to pray.
Pray for awakening in Olt county. Pray for perserverance and strength for the missionaries here. Pray for more missionaries to be called out from the church in Draganesti to go to the farther villages of Olt county. The goal of the ministry here is for missionaries to live and work in the same town as the people they minister to so that they build daily relationships with people and that people can see how they live and follow Jesus.
The view from the hill where we prayed. Dansea to the right and and Breinder to the left.
Stoenesti and Draganesti are off to the right (not pictured).
