Moldova – Land of the Living

Yep! We’ve made it to Moldova. I’m
not really sure where in Moldova
but we’re here. Our team, along with Team Malachi are working with Pastor Vitali
in a small community about an hour and a half outside of the capital city.
Vitali is a young visionary and it’s amazing to see what obedience to God and
driven vision will get you in just a few years.

 This
small church of about 25 members weekly ministers to street kids, the poor, and
have a program to help prevent human trafficking of which Moldova is the largest producer in Eastern Europe. 
This church also takes orphans in as their own and raises the children
to be followers of Christ as well as give them good education and training for
the future. In addition, they teach sewing and computer skills to anyone in the
community who wants to learn. This church is also farming beavers so the people
who are unemployed may be self sufficient. It may be the most amazing ministry
I’ve seen out on the field this year as they are very effective in their
efforts. 

Now the reason why this is so interesting
is because Christianity in this part of the world is nearly nonexistent and
because of the difficult economic situation no one really wants to stay in Moldova. The
people who do stay belong to the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church primarily
does not preach relationship with Jesus but instead tells their members that if
you confess to the priest or pay money to the church then you can go to heaven.

When Pastor Vitali first came to this
community the Orthodox Church was very against all Christians, so much so, that
several churches of different denominations tried to start a church here and
did not succeed. When Vitali came to this village he went to rent some space
for the church to meet, the priest purchased the land from the original
landlord and boarded up the building just so Vitali and his members could not
meet in the space. The Orthodox Church held so much power in this community
that when Vitali went to the authorities nothing was done. So finally an older
lady in the church told Vitali that God would bring justice and within a few
weeks the priest died in a car accident.

Maybe it’s just that time of year but more
than any other country I’ve been to, Moldova is gray and gloomy.
Hopelessness covers the faces of many who walk along the streets but I see hope
here. Hearing the story of Vitali coming to this village and how God just
opened doors for him it is clear that God desperately wants to meet with the
people of this village and from there change the country of Moldova.

“…I am still confident of this: I will see the
goodness of the Lord in the land of the living…”

I can’t wait to get involved in the work
happening here but I have been asked to completely step out of ministry until
we are fully funded. Please help be a part of what God is doing in Moldova by
helping me get back on the field. You may donate by clicking the “Support Us”
button on the side of the screen or by clicking this link: http://tinyurl.com/reyesworldrace